Chapter 12: I Can’t Be Honest

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Translator: Soafp

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The next morning, I was reading at my usual seat.

Because of the discount vouchers yesterday, I ended up buying more than I had planned.

I'd actually been interested in hiking and trekking through forest trails for a while. Being alone with nature, without anyone getting in the way—it was nearly a perfect hobby.

As for inviting Shinonome, I was thinking less about her and more about her dad.

If his beloved daughter quit high school and turned into a delinquent, the guy would be devastated.

The shock might even throw off the flavor of his tan-tan noodles. In other words, I was protecting the security of my future diet.

By the way, why was Amanatsu sitting at her desk glaring at me resentfully?

The bottle of green tea she was gripping had been crushed out of shape.

Then Shinonome entered the classroom.

She stopped beside me and shot me a sharp look.

But she quickly turned her face away, and a quiet murmur slipped from her pursed lips.

“…Morning.”

“Yeah. Morning.”

That was all she said before walking away.

A dull thud sounded.

The tea bottle slipped from Amanatsu's hand, rolled across the floor, and stopped against a desk leg.

She didn't even try to pick it up. She just stared at me with a pale face.

After school, in the clubroom.

Across the table, Amanatsu repeatedly twisted the cap off her tea bottle, put it back on, and twisted it off again with a displeased expression.

“Something about this doesn't sit right with me.”

“What?”

“…You getting involved with Shi-chan. It's not really your place to step in, you know.”

What a troublesome girl.

It looked like she was jealous because she thought I had extended a hand to Shinonome.

But unfortunately, my real concern was for the ramen-shop owner standing behind Shinonome.

Besides, I had no intention of forgiving someone who couldn't even apologize.

“More importantly, why did you suddenly decide to invite Shi-chan?”

“I ran into her at her house on Saturday, so it sort of went that way.”

“Ehh!?”

The bottle slipped out of her hand again.

She hurriedly picked it up, then leaned over the table toward me.

“W-What do you mean, you went into her house!? Is that why you greeted her this morning!? What kind of relationship do you have!? I demand an explanation that makes sense!”

Customer and employee, obviously.

I was about to say that, but then I remembered Shinonome had been hiding the fact that her family ran a ramen shop.

Looking at Amanatsu's eyes steadily grow murkier, I thought this was getting needlessly complicated. I leaned forward to match her and whispered:

“Amanatsu… this is a secret just between us.”

“Eep, w-why so suddenly!?”

“Actually, Shinonome has a Samoyed at home.”

“I know that?”

“And I happened to run into Shinonome while she was walking it around town. It was so cute that I followed her home.”

“What about my Hulk? Isn't that cheating?”

Why would it be?

I cleared my throat and put on a serious expression again.

“It would be embarrassing if everyone found out I followed a girl home because of her dog, wouldn't it?”

“You have normal feelings like embarrassment too, Hatsukade-kun…?”

What did Shinonome and Amanatsu think I was?

Amanatsu leaned back in her chair, groaned, and took a sip of tea.

“Well, if that's the reason, I guess it can't be helped.”

Her gaze softened, apparently satisfied with my explanation.

Amanatsu was so easily convinced that I was starting to worry about her.

“Anyway, I'm excited for the trekking trip this weekend. But staying overnight is a problem. What am I supposed to do about makeup…? I can't let anyone see my bare face, so I guess I'll have to keep my makeup on even when I sleep.”

“You were cute without it, though.”

“No way. You can only say that because you've never seen my real face, Hatsukade-kun… Wait, what did you just say?”

“Well, you weren't wearing makeup when I came to your house.”

“Waaah…”

With a tiny scream, Amanatsu knocked over her tea bottle and fell straight out of her chair.

Drenched in tea from head to toe, she muttered, “I can't live anymore…” Then she gave me a resentful look, forced out a smile, and slowly raised a thumbs-up.

“…That's a secret just between us too, okay?”

---

The trekking course was about two hours from the school by bus.

Mountain ridgelines surrounded a cloudless blue sky.

The forest trail each group would walk at the foot of the mountains wasn't especially difficult. It was a gently sloping path, just right for a stroll.

The handout given to each group listed assigned wildflowers and trees to photograph. Our goal was to find and photograph all of them.

As deputy leader, my role was to keep time and make sure everyone returned within the allotted time at a pace they could manage.

Still, even walking slowly would get us there on time, so I didn't think I would need to worry too much about the clock.

Or so I thought…

“Shi-chan, your outfit is cute. Where did you get it?”

“I went shopping with Sakura and the others…”

“Oh, I wanted to go too.”

“…Maybe another time.”

Just as expected, Katsurama was walking beside Shinonome and clinging to her, slowing down the whole group.

Look ahead when you walk, idiot.

Shinonome was getting slightly out of breath from trekking while talking, perhaps because she lacked stamina.

“Are you okay, Shi-chan? Are you tired? Want me to carry some of your stuff?”

Katsurama, this was your fault.

“I-I'm fine…”

Seriously, this didn't bode well.

From the back of the group, I raised my voice.

“Katsurama, get ready to take photos and walk closer to the front.”

“…Why?”

“There are probably some mountain wisteria blooms ahead—the kind listed in our assignment. You're the record keeper, aren't you?”

Hiiragi opened her mouth in surprise.

“How do you know that? Is it, like, future sight!?”

“You can smell the distinctive sweet scent carried on the wind.”

“Now that you mention it…?”

One of my relatives lived in the middle of nowhere, and mountain wisteria grew along the paths I used to walk there.

It had a strong scent, so I remembered it.

Hiiragi stared at me with sparkling eyes.

“Amazing. Are you secretly the kind of guy who can do anything?”

You were only capable of doing unnecessary things.

Masaki nodded appreciatively.

“Looks like making Hatsukade deputy leader was the right call.”

For some reason, Amanatsu looked as happy as if he had complimented her.

Katsurama, meanwhile, clicked his tongue under his breath and walked off, glaring at me from the corner of his eye.

And I didn't miss what happened next.

His foot caught on a tree root sticking out of the ground, and his ankle twisted sharply.

For an instant, pain flashed across his face. But perhaps he was embarrassed, because he acted as though nothing had happened.

Then he glared at me as if it were somehow my fault.

That was why I told you to watch where you were going.

---

By the time we reached the turnaround point, the sun was high overhead.

We ate lunch in an open area. Once everyone had finished, Shinonome—the group member in charge of supplies—took snacks out of her backpack.

She had almost no duties during the trek, but her one job was to bring snacks for everyone. We had all brought our own as well, so it was more of an extra.

She took out colorful gummy candy and animal-shaped cookies.

But then Shinonome tilted her head at something wrapped in a white cloth.

She opened it—

“The worst.”

—and held her head.

“I told him I didn't need this. Why did he put it in there without asking…?”

Inside was a ziplock bag of char siu jerky.

It was unusual enough that everyone in the group crowded around and began asking, “What's that?”

Shinonome made a bitter face and hurriedly explained.

“It wasn't my choice. My dad said that if I was in the same group as Hatsukade, I had to bring it.”

“Why Hatsukade?”

Masaki asked curiously. Shinonome immediately realized she had said too much, and the color drained from her face.

“U-Um…”

Rather than simply saying her family ran a ramen shop, Shinonome desperately darted her eyes around in front of Masaki.

I reached for the ziplock bag and bit into a piece of jerky.

“I have a bit of a connection with Shinonome's dad through his work.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Well, I wasn't lying.

Apparently satisfied, Masaki said, “Then I'll have some too,” and took a piece of jerky.

“This is good.”

I strongly agreed.

I had never considered turning char siu into something like this. Shinonome ought to be prouder of her father.

When I looked toward her with that in mind, she turned her face away.

She was troublesome too.

While everyone else happily ate their snacks, Katsurama alone glared at me.

“Your trekking outfit is nice, Hatsukade. It looks easy to move in, and I like the design.”

When Masaki complimented what I was wearing, Hiiragi raised her hand.

“He went shopping with us!”

“Oh, really? That's… a miraculous combination.”

“Hehe. He got lured in by the discount vouchers and came along. It was fun—Nakina and Shi-chan were there too.”

Katsurama's reaction to that was dramatic.

He looked back and forth between Shinonome and me, then gave me a look filled with hatred that I couldn't have imagined from his usual teasing-target persona.

When it was time to resume trekking, I was about to put on my backpack when Katsurama bumped into my shoulder.

Without apologizing, he kept walking.

…What a child.

From the rear of the group, I watched Katsurama's back as we continued along the trail.

He no longer had the energy to talk to Shinonome.

He walked silently, drenched in sweat.

His foot must have hurt.

Maybe he was too embarrassed to report that he had clumsily sprained it, so he was forcing himself to keep up with the group at the front.

At this rate, he wouldn't be able to maintain the pace for long.

I walked alongside him and spoke.

“Hey. If your foot hurts, report it to Masaki.”

“…It doesn't hurt.”

He answered bluntly, making no effort to hide his bad mood.

“Let me tell you something: hiding an injury is more embarrassing.”

“W-What the hell? It has nothing to do with you!”

“My job is timekeeper. If you push yourself, worsen your injury, and become unable to move, we won't make it back to the lodge on time.”

“I said I'm fine!”

I see.

As a test, I lightly nudged his sore-looking foot with the toe of my shoe.

“Ghhh—!?”

Katsurama crumpled down instantly, looking at me as though I were a monster.

“A-Are you insane!?”

“So it does hurt.”

“S-Shut up.”

“You're way too self-conscious. Nobody is going to think anything just because you got hurt. Look.”

I pointed at the group ahead.

Centered around Hiiragi, who was chatting cheerfully, they continued walking along at a steady pace.

“No one has even noticed us. They aren't interested.”

“Don't lump me in with someone everyone hates, like you!”

Katsurama, stocky in build, painfully pushed himself to his feet.

“You piss me off. What, are you trying to threaten me? I know you're always looking at me like I'm an idiot.”

“Huh?”

“You're keeping quiet about how I leaked Masaki's crush to Shi-chan, so you can mess with me.”

“I'm not doing that.”

I wasn't looking down on him. I was simply exasperated.

“I know what you're after. You're interested in Shi-chan, right? You're pissed that she and I get along.”

What was this guy even talking about?

For some reason, Katsurama interpreted my silence as confirmation and snorted.

“No girl would ever like a pathetic guy like you. Go ahead and expose me if you want. Masaki will laugh and forgive me, so it won't hurt me at all.”

I had thought he was a pathetic guy, but I hadn't expected him to be this bad.

“That only proves Masaki is generous; it doesn't change how small you are. It solves nothing.”

“What!?”

“And while we're at it, give up on Shinonome already. Anyone can see she isn't interested.”

“You b*****d!”

“If you still can't give up, then you should change your approach. Right now, it only looks like she dislikes you.”

“Don't get carried away!”

Katsurama flew into a rage and grabbed me by the collar. I kicked his sprained foot, and he let out a pathetic shriek before collapsing with surprising ease.

I called out to Amanatsu and the others.

“Hey! Katsurama seems to have injured himself just now. Let's stop for a break and check on him.”

Only then did Amanatsu and the others notice us and turn around.

“You…”

Katsurama spat the words like a curse.

I shrugged.

If he had kept forcing himself to walk, he would only have hurt his foot more. He should have thanked me.

Still… once we got back to the lodge, he would probably complain about it endlessly. What a pain.