Ch.200Epilogue. Welcome to the Literature Club! (6)

First, regarding Sasaki.

Today, he was unusually alone.

Actually, this might be a somewhat unfair observation about Sasaki.

I rarely have occasions to meet with Sasaki one-on-one. He barely falls within the category of friend, but there’s never been a particular reason for us to meet by ourselves.

Naturally, I only see Sasaki at school, gatherings, or when Shii is around, and of course, during those times, there’s usually some girl hanging around him.

And recently, one more was added to the list.

So seeing Sasaki alone like this was somewhat refreshing. Whether it’s unfair to him or not, this was almost a first for me.

Sasaki was holding some kind of paper in his hand.

After stopping in the street to look down at the paper, he soon started walking again.

We followed Tsuneda, who was following him.

Keeping some distance between us.

Fortunately, Tsuneda didn’t seem to have superhuman hearing or anything, as he didn’t notice us following him.

The place Sasaki entered was a jewelry store.

Tsuneda froze upon seeing this. After contemplating for a while, he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to follow inside and just paced in front of the store.

I knew that whatever accessory Sasaki bought in there would be for his little sister, but Tsuneda didn’t know that.

I considered going over to tell him that Sasaki doesn’t have a girlfriend, but decided against it. He doesn’t even know we’re following him, so suddenly saying something like that would only confuse him.

When Sasaki came back out and started walking again, Tsuneda followed with what seemed like a bit of relief.

Where would he go next?

I could easily imagine Sasaki going to the supermarket on Shii’s request, but he wouldn’t do grocery shopping here. The house where Sasaki and Shii live is too far away from here to visit without taking the train.

The next place Sasaki headed to was a famous dessert shop.

Since it seemed like the kind of place where you’d buy gifts for a girlfriend or a female friend, Tsuneda froze again.

Come on, if you’re that concerned, just go talk to him.

But then I thought about my past life and shook my head.

I couldn’t approach pretty girls in my past life either, so it must be similar for him. When you really dislike someone, you really dislike them.

“Woo?”

When I made a distant expression, Koko tilted her head curiously.

Having finished his business, Sasaki came out of the store and put his notepad back in his pocket.

Then, with a very pleased expression, he started walking toward the station.

Tsuneda looked somewhat dejected.

“…Should I go tell him now?”

Yuka, who knew how close Shii and Sasaki were, asked, but I shook my head.

“That would mean telling him we’ve been following him the whole time.”

“That’s… true.”

She looked at Tsuneda with a somewhat pitiful expression.

Rather than telling him now, I should tell him about Shii tomorrow or when I get the chance later.

Whether they could actually become a couple was up to them, but I didn’t want to see him sitting there depressed because of a misunderstanding—

“…Oh.”

Just as I was thinking we should stop following them, a situation arose that prevented us from doing so casually.

“Hey, Tsubomi.”

A group approached Tsuneda, who was anxiously following Sasaki toward the station.

They all had a somewhat delinquent appearance, with hair dyed in various colors.

I can understand blue, but pink hair for a high school student? Wouldn’t teachers say something? It’s 2005, after all. There should be at least one old-fashioned teacher at school.

“You’re alone today, huh?”

“Ah…”

Tsuneda’s face darkened a bit when he saw those kids.

The three of us quickly exchanged glances.

We had enough human decency not to bother Tsuneda while he was following Sasaki, but we weren’t heartless enough to ignore a junior in trouble and just go on our way. Actually, having human decency means this should be the natural response.

As we quickly moved forward, the blue-haired girl at the front of the group said:

“You looked like you were having fun? Already hanging out with other people everywhere. You seem quite popular?”

“Yeah, so popular.”

“Though you don’t seem popular with boys~”

That last comment bothered me a bit, but we kept moving—

“You said you wanted to go to a co-ed school so badly, serves you right, traitor!”

Upon hearing those words, Yuka and I quickly hid in the nearby alley.

“Wah!?”

Koko, who hadn’t noticed us and walked a few steps forward, let out an involuntary scream as we grabbed her and pulled her into the alley.

We hid in the alley for a moment.

Passersby looked at us strangely, but we didn’t hear anyone walking from their direction toward us.

“W-we all took the exam together.”

We heard Tsuneda’s voice and carefully peeked out of the alley again.

“But you all failed.”

At Tsuneda’s factual attack, the group that had been bothering him—

…Well.

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call them friends?

Anyway, those kids were momentarily struck speechless.

“And all my other choices were girls’ schools…”

“B-but there weren’t any similar co-ed schools besides that one!”

Ah.

So it seems these kids weren’t bullying Tsuneda after all.

Perhaps they had all attended a girls’ school together, and planned to go to a co-ed high school to make their high school debut and maybe get boyfriends together.

But unfortunately, only Tsuneda got accepted to Hanakawa.

The others also went to reputable schools, but apparently they were girls’ schools, not co-ed.

“…”

I understand.

Well, it makes sense that many would prefer co-ed schools over single-sex schools. Everyone has fantasies about high school life.

Hanakawa High School is particularly good for fulfilling such fantasies.

I feel a bit foolish for having worried.

“I couldn’t give up the best high school I could get into with my grades.”

“Ugh! That may be true, but…!”

It seems the laughter I saw last time wasn’t mockery of someone’s appearance, but just teenage bravado.

“Damn! This is somehow infuriating!”

“Even if you’re angry…”

Tsuneda replied with a troubled expression.

He seemed more confident than when he was with us.

But shouldn’t they be happy that their friend goes to a co-ed school? If they want boys so badly, they could ask to be introduced to some.

Well, that only works if the friend has male friends. Tsuneda joined a club with only female members, after all.

“Ah, whatever! In that case—”

I don’t know if she was going to say “you should be our scout for boys” or something similar.

That sentence was cut off by someone who suddenly appeared.

“Hello.”

Someone suddenly approached Tsuneda.

A boy.

…Or rather, it was just Sasaki.

Do harem light novel protagonists have some kind of heroine detection sensor?

It wasn’t exactly a dangerous situation, but it could have looked like bullying from an outsider’s perspective.

He must have heard the commotion from that distance and come over.

And Tsuneda already knew his face anyway.

“Gasp!”

The blue-haired girl who had been at the forefront of confronting Tsuneda seemed startled by the sudden appearance of a “male student.”

Sasaki is undeniably handsome enough to be well-known among students.

Since they’re Tsuneda’s friends, they probably have a similar lack of immunity to boys and might react the same way.

“Tsuneda-san?”

“S-Sasaki-senpai…”

“S-senpai!?”

Seeing Tsuneda answer with a red face and fidgeting body, the blue-haired girl at the front exclaimed in surprise.

She was extremely shocked to discover that Tsuneda, whom she had just been teasing about “not being popular with boys,” actually knew a male student.

“What’s going on? Who are these people…?”

It seems he really did come over thinking Tsuneda was being bullied.

Tsuneda looked like she’d just seen a prince on a white horse, while her friends… well, their faces had turned pale.

Come on, is it really that surprising?

Well, I suppose even I would have been a bit surprised in high school if I saw a friend casually talking with a girl from their class.

“Ah, well…”

“Th-they’re friends!”

The blue-haired girl raised one hand and shouted.

All the passersby looked at them.

Her face turned red.

Honestly, it was a bit amusing until now, but at this point it’s getting annoying.

I wonder how many girls he attracts just by being handsome.

This was originally supposed to be a light novel with occasional threats, but somehow it’s turned into a pure romantic comedy.

It’s because of me, isn’t it?

“I’ve been friends with Tsubomi since middle school.”

The pink-haired girl emphasized the fact that they were friends while poking the blue-haired girl’s back.

“We were very close.”

The purple-haired girl added emphatically.

“Hey, Kotone.”

Yuka addressed me with a rather serious expression.

“Yes?”

“Is Sasaki really that handsome? Enough to fall for at first sight?”

Yuka, who asked me such a question with a serious face, looked even more puzzled after seeing my expression.

For reference, my expression said, “You’re asking me that?”

Well, in this timeline, Yuka never had a chance to fall for Sasaki. She became closer to me after getting involved in various situations.

Still, hearing such words from someone who was the female protagonist of the novel felt a bit strange.

“If you’re friends, then you weren’t fighting?”

“No, nothing like that.”

Tsuneda replied while fidgeting with her index fingers. Her eyes were consistently fixed on the ground, and her cheeks were slightly flushed.

Anyone could see it was the face of a girl in love.

“That’s right! Ab-so-lutely not!”

“We just had a small difference of opinion.”

The blue-haired girl emphasized, and the purple-haired girl nodded and said.

“I see.”

Sasaki still seemed to have some doubts, but with everyone looking at him so favorably, he didn’t know what else to say.

“Well then—”

“Wait!”

Before Sasaki could say anything, someone shouted.

It wasn’t Tsuneda or her friends.

That voice, coming from a bit further away,

“What are you doing there?”

was, for some reason, Nakahara’s voice as she stomped toward them.

“Nanami?”

Sasaki tilted his head with a genuinely clueless expression.

She probably hadn’t been following from the beginning; Nakahara must have been on her way home after finishing her business at school.

Just bad luck, I suppose.

Or good luck, depending on your perspective. Not from Tsuneda’s standpoint, though.

Tsuneda’s eyes widened at the appearance of a new girl.

“What are you all doing to Sasaki?”

Nakahara said as she rushed over and quickly linked arms with Sasaki.

The girls looked like they’d been hit on the head with a hammer.

“…Senpai?”

“Ah, this is Nanami. Nakahara Nanami. She’s a friend from my class.”

Despite being introduced merely as a “friend from class,” Nakahara’s expression remained confident.

Come on, you were just denied being his girlfriend, yet you make that face? Well, Sasaki probably didn’t intend it that way.

“Does that mean… you’re not lovers?”

“…We’re childhood friends!”

Nakahara flared up and glared in response to Tsuneda’s question.

But Tsuneda seemed rather relieved by that answer.

I’m not sure what kind of school life Tsuneda had in middle school. But if that group is the type of otaku group I’m thinking of, they would know one thing:

Childhood friends often end up losing in the end.

Even without knowing that specifically, she would be reassured just by the term childhood “friend.”

If they were lovers, he would have introduced her as such from the beginning.

Tsuneda gently placed her hand on Sasaki’s arm.

Her face was so red it looked like it might burst, but this was probably the most courageous moment of her life.

In other words, it was a local provocation.

“Tsuneda-san?”

Sasaki looked a bit confused, but Tsuneda mustered all her strength to squeeze out her voice. I don’t know where that courage came from. The appearance of a rival? Or perhaps the relief that at least Sasaki had approached her first?

One thing is certain: Tsuneda seems determined to enjoy her high school years to the fullest.

“I-I’d like to thank you for last time. Are you free today?”

“…!”

All the nearby teenage girls, including Nakahara, looked extremely shocked.

“Uh, well…”

Sasaki, struck by this bolt from the blue, was at a loss for what to do.

“…Shall we go?”

Thinking we’d seen enough, I spoke up, and Yuka, who had been watching the situation with disbelief, nodded.

“I want something bitter to eat.”

“Me too. I was just thinking the same thing.”

Otherwise, I feel like my teeth might fall out. Eating too many sweet things makes me feel bloated.

“Woo…?”

“Koko can have something sweet. Want me to buy you cake?”

“Waa!”

Koko’s face brightened at Yuka’s words.

We went straight to the most famous cafe in the area and ordered plenty of coffee and desserts.

I said I wanted something bitter, but well, chocolate has some bitterness to it, so that’s enough, right?

…But I feel like I’m forgetting something.

It was related to something about shrinking, but despite the nagging feeling, I couldn’t remember, so we just chatted for a long time before going home.

Only when I saw Kagami’s sulky face at home did I recall the connection to her saying she would “shrink from loneliness.”

Having suddenly become an unfilial daughter, I hurriedly took Kagami to a nearby family restaurant for a family gathering.

Throughout all this, Koko maintained a happy expression, simply pleased to be eating delicious food.