Chapter 37: An Unbelievable Method of Repelling

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Translator: Soafp

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The three girls' faces twisted.

They narrowed their eyes at me and shouted.

“What do you mean, ‘fallen so low'!?”

“I mean exactly what I said. You whisper behind people's backs, badmouth them, and try to drive a wedge between Shinonome and me. However you look at it, that's shitty behavior.”

“N-No, I only said it because I was thinking about what was best for Hatsukade—”

“There it is. That classic selfish line: saying ‘I'm doing this for your sake' when all you really want is to make someone stop doing something you don't like. You really are awful.”

“…”

If they wanted to gossip behind someone's back, they could do as they pleased.

Everyone probably had moments when they wanted to vent.

But saying it directly to me, someone who had gotten close to Shinonome, made their malice completely obvious.

“You wanted me to speak badly about Shinonome too, didn't you? Sorry, but unlike you, once I trust someone, I intend to keep trusting them until the end.”

Upon hearing this, Shinonome, who was standing behind me for some reason, seemed to be affected by it and exclaimed in a groaning voice, “You’ve opened your heart to me!?”

“W-Well, I trust Hatsukade too. A-And I heard you call me cute, so… hehehe.”

Why was she so excited when she was the one being insulted?

See? Those girls' faces were even redder now because she was getting on their nerves.

“W-What is wrong with you two!? You were fighting until just recently! Why are you getting along now? It's disgusting!”

“The fact that you find that disgusting says everything that's wrong with you.”

“What!?”

“A normal person would just say, ‘I'm glad you two made up.' The only reason you reject it is because you want Shinonome to stay isolated.”

“T-That's not true!”

“You were the same during that group overnight training. Katsurama and Shinonome had an argument, and you tattled to the teacher about things that never happened. Shinonome was the victim, but you made it sound like she was the bad one.”

The girls awkwardly looked away, refusing to meet my eyes.

What a pathetic bunch.

When they felt superior, they could chatter endlessly. The moment they were at a disadvantage, this was all they could do.

“…That's just how it looked to me.”

“You think you can cover it up with a lie like that?”

“I-It wasn't a lie.”

“Then that makes it even worse. You spend so much time looking for faults in other people that you probably saw it that way. Tell me—what are you so dissatisfied with? No one has directly harmed you, yet you treat someone like an enemy. And when that person fails, you celebrate as if they've fallen down to your level. Tell me, what's fun about that?”

“Stop making baseless accusations! We're nothing like Shinonome!”

“Yeah, you're right. Shinonome is far more attractive than you are.”

“…”

“My apologies. I take back what I said earlier.”

“…”

Why did they involve themselves so much in other people's lives?

Probably because the place where they were in life differed from where they wanted to be.

In short, they were dissatisfied with their own lives.

So they twisted their jealousy and envy until their eyes turned toward other people.

As long as they did that, they didn't have to look at their own lives.

Without even realizing that, somewhere along the way, they had become blind.

“Phew. Well, anyway. I'd like to think I've mellowed out quite a bit lately.”

“Huh???”

The version of me from right after entering high school would probably have dismissed trash like them as not worth caring about.

But I had learned a lot recently.

I had even changed my mind enough to say that I liked Shinonome and Sakura, despite how much I once hated them.

“I think you should live more honestly.”

“What are you—”

I lightly patted Suzuki on the shoulder.

“Because it's true. All three of you are cute when you're not being sarcastic.”

“!?”

“You just haven't realized your own appeal.”

I had only been shown such an ugly side of them that they seemed like nothing but awful people.

But perhaps they, like Shinonome, had an awkward sort of charm hidden inside them too…

Maybe. Probably.

“W-What even are you?”

“Your classmate.”

“That's not what I mean!”

“Then I'll be happy to listen if you ever need someone to talk to. You act so spitefully that you might need emotional support. I'll help.”

“～～～!?”

“Though I don't want to hear you badmouthing Shinonome, so spare me that much.”

Come to think of it, if I had handled things more gracefully, maybe I could have stopped Katsurama before everything turned into such a disaster.

I had no intention of repeating the same mistake.

I had meant it as encouragement, but Suzuki trembled with anger as she yelled at me.

“Don't get so full of yourself! N-Nobody wants help from you!”

“Calm down. Let's start by keeping our heads cool. I'm sure we can understand each other.”

“Go die!”

With that, the three girls hurried off together.

“Hmm. I hope that made them reflect, at least a little.”

“Yeah, no chance.”

As I watched them leave with a sense of satisfaction, Shinonome kicked lightly at my foot for some reason.

“What?”

“W-What's with that unnecessarily supportive act? What if Suzuki ends up following the same path I did with you…? No, no way. That's impossible. Impossible!”

Shinonome frowned with a complicated expression and pursed her lips.

“If someone stabs you someday, I'm not defending you.”

Why not? That would be a serious crime.

Shinonome stomped off in a bad mood, then turned around and briefly stuck out her tongue at me.

“Bleh!”

“…”

I thought I had defended her.

A girl's heart really was difficult to understand.