Chapter 6: Red ogre.

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Translated and Edited by: luccayn.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you're close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it's cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one's older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

I recommend reading the following folktale for clarity’s sake. It won’t take you five minutes, and it’s interesting from a cultural standpoint: The Ogre Who Cried.

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Noon came around. And as expected, I was approached by Hareta himself. No shot a guy as prideful as him would let a game end in defeat after all.

Still, I didn’t know one thing. Did he get his harem to surround him, or did they do that themselves? Regardless, all signs pointed to him not having the balls to fight alone at this stage of life.

Maybe he’s a coward, or maybe he’s not interested in whatever’s happening around him. Either way, one can’t help but feel jealous of another who has everything.

“Apologize to the girls for all the bad things you said the other day. You were wrong, admit it,” he insisted.

“Apologize? For what? Calling you all cringe? Or saying they’re idiots that aren’t trying at all?”

“For all of those things! You hurt them, you b*stard!”

Unsurprisingly, he’s acting like the emotionalist he is. Not just that, he lacks the who, the what, the where, the when, the how, and the why. He acts empty of substance and has no intention of bargaining for what he wants.

Here’s a funny guess. What Hareta really wants is to convince his enemies he’s right, to persuade them like I do just to feel good about himself. This, in turn, is effective against weak-minded people whose opinions are malleable as water, or just people afraid of getting hurt. Ah, some women too, indicated by his current flock.

In other words, he’s strong against people whose arguments aren’t solid. He knows by his talent that captivating words and logical arguments don’t mix. Pitting the two against each other is as useless as a three-way rock-paper-scissors ending in a deadlock.

That’s why I’m not actually going to argue right or wrong here. Swordsmen use swords, wizards use magic. Fighting with the weapon you’re good at is the principle of any battle, and there is no value in style. All that matters is winning, and this also applies to arguments.

Of course, I have my preferred method. But at least I don’t plan on bringing some self-preferred righteousness into it.

“This isn’t fair, y’know?”

“…What?”

“I mean, it’s true, isn’t it? You’re flirting with these girls in class without thinking about what anyone feels seeing that. So it’s strange that I’m apologizing like I’m the one with all the blame in the world here.”

“That’s not the point!”

“It is. Don’t go out of your way to call me just to parade your lunacy around.”

I overdid it.

My response wasn’t intelligent. As long as he had his girls with him, they would be the ones to hold the objective judgment over this empty room we were in. Not just that, they wouldn’t allow some rando to make fun of the guy they all love. And to put the nail in the coffin, they already had a bad image of me, so no logic or evidence would sway them otherwise.

Yeah, I messed up. No matter how stupid the other party is, as a fellow man, it’s not right to just step on another’s nuts.

“Takatsuki…” His voice trailed off.

“Don’t just call my name. Think a bit before you speak,” I betrayed myself.

Personally, I believe there’s a line that should not be crossed in both war and romance. And I know I’m, unfortunately, a b*stard who crosses that line. Maybe my messed-up nature was what made Michiru beg for my help. I’d get my hands dirty, after all.

It’s over.

“Don’t f*ck with us!”

I also know that the thirsty-for-drama onlookers, who overheard the commotion, also lack the humane capacity to think and analyze the core issue. They would crowd around us and believe the one being criticized is evil, fixating on phrases they don’t particularly like, just to play justice.

F*cking great. I hate this so-called democracy.

“I will never forgive you! Kou is speaking up for us! He’s different from selfish people like you!”

In other words, someone among the heroines will be the one to hold judgment over this situation. At the same time, this debacle presented an opportunity to “capture” Hareta. Utilizing the position of a third party is indeed the most effective way to attain objective justice, and to make yourself look good while doing it.

“…Let’s stop this, everyone.”

“M-Michiru-chan?!”

There’s a fairy tale about a red ogre who cried¹. The absurdity of what’s about to unfold is, in a way, an application of that.

“Kou-kun, it’s our fault.”

“Michiru, what are you on about?!”

“Sorry, Shinji-kun. We got you involved in something weird,” she continued, addressing me.

The other “heroines” were left speechless at their peer’s betrayal. But the one most shocked by it was none other than Hareta himself. Regardless, the climax was about to happen. Keep your eyes peeled.

“Why would you say such a thing, Michiru?”

“It can’t be helped. I mean, he’s just a kid. We can’t just step down to his level,” she continued, playing into what I told her.

Her words were enough to make Hareta come back to his senses instantly. It seemed like he knew the saying, “Fights only occur between those of the same level.”

Ignoring someone was, after all, the most contemptuous action one could do. Silence and ignorance hurt far more than any words and, in essence, Tsukino managed to convey this idea to him. They’d hurt me in the most roundabout way possible.

This way, the ever-so-proud Hareta gained the luxury of “forgiving” the actions of someone lower than him. Additionally, he’d get to revel in the kindness of not punching anyone. I’d say he was at the best position he could muster, and having a fight would be idiotic. I was confident in that.

And it was Tsukino that made him realize that.

“You said it,” he told her after a few moments.

“…”

Furthermore, from his point of view, he could earn a ton of “points” by granting her request. This whole plan had numerous advantages for him, all coming from different angles.

In other words, with Tsukino around, he had no need to pay heed to the creepy dude who’d tarnish his reputation at the drop of a hat. Her presence would be enough to lower the guard of that pride-monger.

Rejoice. Hareta will soon begin to see you in a new light and need you. Taste the happiness in being needed by the man you love, girl. Feel free to throw it down while savoring it.

“We… We need to become adults, y’know. It’s pitiful to seem like we’re bullying the weak.”

That’s right. You’ve memorized the script well.

“I don’t…”

Hm? What’s wrong? Just a little more and you’re golden.

“I don’t want to see you hurt anymore, Kou-kun. Let’s just… Just…”

Just a smidge more, and it’ll end. The final line would be, “Let’s leave this terrible guy alone. It’s a waste of time to even look at him.” C’mon, all this planning will mean nothing if you don’t complete it.

“L-Let’s just leave this terrible guy alone. I prefer the usual you, Kou-kun.”

“M-Michiru…”

Honestly, her ad-lib was better than the lines I came up with. More than that, it was all my kind of stuff. More than that, it was evident from his expression alone that he was reevaluating her, maybe even starting to fall a little.

Rather than appealing by belittling me, putting the guy in focus and expressing her feelings for him honestly was more effective. Persuasion at its finest.

Yeah. Even a carefully thought-out plan couldn’t compete with someone in love.

…Still, I had to find a way to make her pique Hareta’s interest, but she refused to say anything decisively bad about me with all her might. Even when I told her to say something more in the gray area, she wanted to be as fair to me as possible — a trait I believe to be the biggest difference between the two of us.

I should’ve researched more about her personality. In hindsight, there’s no way a normal high school girl would ruthlessly stick to a plan like mine without a twinge of pain in her consciousness.

“…Ah, I see,” I muttered unintentionally. Well, deep down, I already knew. Perhaps she, someone kinda like me, was trying not to truly separate herself from the normal as I did. To not become me.

Not being straightforward is something I can relate to.

“W-What are you talking about?”

“Nothing. Anyway, are you letting me off the hook?”

“…Yeah. Nothing good would come from involving ourselves with you.”

“That so? I’ll head back first, then. I don’t intend to complain about your little game where you pretend to be a king,” I ended with a laugh then tried to pass by them.

“Wait.”

“Huh?”

“Hit me back, and this matter will be settled.”

…Haha.

“What are you on about, idiot?” I couldn’t help but laugh with exasperation at the guy. He continued to push responsibility onto others, played the victim, and ran to protect himself until the end.

I mean, isn’t that right? Even Aoyama, an impulsive girl, believes she did the right thing and refuses to apologize for hitting me. She suppresses whatever guilt she may feel, however small it may have been, and moves on forward even in the event of being accused and punished for it. She wholeheartedly believed she was in the right.

…This sentiment. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt this way.

From the bottom of my heart, I hated Kou Hareta.

“W-What’s with the look? Stop it…” Aoyama spoke up. Is this the first time you’ve seen serious contempt in someone’s eyes, maybe? Don’t be scared. I actually respect you a bit. Hitting someone else for the sake of your beloved isn’t an easy thing to do, after all.

“Whatever. I’m a weak guy, so just think of it as me asking to be punched.”

“What?!”

“See ya,” I raised a hand and left.

Dude, you ruined a perfectly good plan because of your unnecessary words. Things would’ve ended so much better otherwise. If there were even a slightly more sensible girl among the other heroines, the atmosphere would’ve changed drastically.

However, I never expected that there would be someone so lacking in basic responsibility among them. And to think he’s blessed with being loved by so many beauties.

You’re way too unfair, real world. Maybe his weirdness is enough to stir a woman’s protective instincts, making them think, “This guy’s no good without me,” or something?

If that’s the case, there’s not a chance in hell someone like me, who’s used to fighting alone, would be ever loved by anyone. There’s no way I’d be admired for enduring hardships and savoring in the joy all by my lonesome.

…No. That’s not it.

The biggest problem is that I have the exact opposite personality of the red ogre in that folktale.

Tch. How ridiculous.

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1 — It’s a fairy tale about a friend who sacrificed himself socially to prop his friend up. It was used in a plethora of other anime, such as Re:Zero (Rem and Ram). Here’s the fairy tale in only a couple hundred words: The Ogre Who Cried.

I recommend reading it. It won’t take you 5 minutes.

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