Chapter 54: False Confession

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Translator: Soafp

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After school, once the final homeroom ended, the campus grew noisy as students headed off to their club activities.

Ginji stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Without a word, Sora stood up as well, and the two began walking in opposite directions.

The art room was usually used by the art club after school. Ginji knew that Aika was technically a member of the art club. Technically, because as a student council officer, Aika never actually showed up, and it was Sora who did all the drawing—Aika didn't do any painting in the art room herself.

“The door… is it unlocked?”

When Ginji opened the door, the room was pitch-dark, the blackout curtains drawn.

With a click, the lights turned on.

“You came… Momoi-kun.”

“…So I am not popular after all, huh.”

With a sigh, Ginji looked ahead to see Mio Hazuki, the transfer student, standing there.

She brushed her short hair back and approached him.

“Is that so? From the looks of it, Takagi-san has feelings for you too. And you received a love letter from me, didn't you? Why not let yourself believe you're popular?”

Glaring at him, she shut the door behind him and locked it.

“Heh. Never thought you'd be into me. If this is a confession, then sure—I'll hear you out.”

Ginji walked past her and sat down on the wooden worktable near the teacher's podium.

“Yes, it's a confession.”

With a nervous expression, Mio approached again, leaning in close to Ginji's face.

“Hey, now… What are you trying to pull?”

“This!”

She grabbed Ginji by the collar and pulled him toward her. Since he was sitting on the desk, he lost his balance as he was yanked forward.

“Guh—”

He braced himself by jumping down, ending up hunched over—right in front of Mio's face.

Thick eyebrows, a face twisted in disgust, and her breath close enough to feel—it was all too close.

“That's enough. Get off me.”

This time, she shoved him, and he hit the desk with his back.

“Ow. Let me ask again—what the hell are you trying to do?”

“Hmph. I'm going to teach that stuck-up Takagi her place.”

“Sora? What are you talking about?”

Mio climbed up onto the teacher's podium and pulled out a smartphone from behind the supply cabinet.

Then she shoved the screen in Ginji's face.

“With me behind you like this… it looks pretty convincing, doesn't it?”

The screen showed what looked like Ginji leaning forward to kiss Mio—clearly a paused frame from a video.

“You trying to frame me as some kind of molester? You'd get hurt by that too, you know.”

“No. I'm going to show this to Takagi. That girl will crumble just from seeing it. Deny it all you want. The more she tries to make sense of it, the longer she'll suffer. That's all I want.”

As she frowned, Ginji slowly stepped closer to her.

His expression was clearly angry, and Mio involuntarily stepped back.

“W-What!? If you try anything, I'll scream!”

This time it was Mio who bumped into the desk. She had nowhere left to retreat. When she looked forward, Ginji had grabbed her by the shoulders.

She braced herself, expecting to be hit. But the blow never came. When she opened her eyes, Ginji was staring at her.

The anger in his face, now that she looked closely… also seemed sad.

“What kind of idiot threatens people with such a pained expression, you dumbass!”

“Huh?”

“If you don't like something, just say you don't. Let me guess—you did this because Shiki asked you to or something, right? You're not cut out for this kind of thing.”

A light smack echoed in the art room. Mio had slapped Ginji's cheek. But Ginji didn't flinch—he kept his eyes fixed on her.

“Shut up! That's not it. I did this on my own! Takagi got all that attention… and Aika-sama was troubled by it. A-Aika-sama has nothing to do with this!”

“…You weren't even supposed to be involved. Sora!”

“Uu… Ginji!”

From behind a plaster statue in the back of the art room, Sora revealed herself. She ran straight toward Ginji.

“Takagi!? Why are you—”

“A-Are you okay, Ginji? Y-Your cheek is swollen. You need to put something cold on it.”

Ignoring Mio, Sora reached up to touch Ginji's cheek.

“It was too obvious. So I gave her a heads-up. Sora's in the art club, and since she sometimes helps the student council, she has access to keys. I asked her to sneak in after I entered, and watch from the back… Hey, Sora, don't cry. I'm okay. Let's see, where was I—right, tell Shiki that it all went according to plan. That'll help you save face. We'll stay quiet too. But one thing…”

He snatched the smartphone from Mio's stunned hand and deleted the video file.

Then he tossed the phone back.

“If you give this to Shiki, you'll be the one getting blackmailed next. Sora, hey—back off, you're getting snot on me.”

“Uuuu…”

Sora had completely broken down and was rubbing her face into Ginji's chest as she cried. Ginji patted her head to comfort her, but today, it didn't seem to be working. Sora didn't even acknowledge Mio's presence. That fact irritated Mio.

“Later, Hazuki. You're pretty cute, so don't do weird crap like this.”

“…Don't mock me!”

Mio shouted, but there was nothing else she could do. All she could do was watch the two of them leave the art room.

By the way, after hearing Ginji's final remark, Sora kicked him in the shin out in the hallway—and Ginji let out a cry more pained than when he'd been slapped.