Ch.447IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (144)

I can guarantee that all the girls in the Literature Club are on the pretty side.

Even comparing them to Yuka, who’s established as truly beautiful, none of them have particularly lacking appearances.

Of course, that includes Izumi and Kaoru. While both have somewhat plain impressions, they’d definitely stand out if they properly dressed up.

So honestly, I wouldn’t find it strange if any of the girls around me got boyfriends.

For Harumi, it’s actually stranger that she hasn’t had a boyfriend until now, and Yuu simply chooses not to have one. As for Mako, she gives the impression that she might have someone she likes. I wouldn’t find it strange at all if someone said she was their first love.

…Well, Shii is too young, and Nanami likes Souta, so those two are completely different stories.

Anyway, while I’m thinking this, the actual “pretty girls” like Izumi and Kaoru…

How should I put it, they don’t seem like they’d have boyfriends?

No, it would be awkward to openly discuss this in front of them, but their impression is just like that.

They’re definitely pretty and cute, but, hmm.

“I’m telling you, he really existed! He definitely gave me an application form!”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it, I got it. But he hasn’t shown up even once until now. Well, if we’re being technical, we already have Sasaki anyway. Doesn’t that make this irrelevant now?”

See?

Kaoru acts casual, but she actually has an awkward attitude toward Souta. Rather than putting up a wall, it’s more like… yeah. She lacks confidence.

Even now, while she seems to be casually talking about boys, she noticeably speaks less in front of Sasaki.

She’s conscious of a boy who’s a year younger than her.

…If you asked her if he’s handsome, she’d answer yes without hesitation, but actually, no one in the Literature Club has trouble speaking in front of Souta out of embarrassment.

“It’s amazing that you can’t even speak properly in front of a junior who’s a year younger, yet you claim someone submitted a club application to you.”

That’s right.

When it comes to Izumi, she doesn’t even initiate conversations. Souta, who has his name registered with the Literature Club and occasionally comes to hang out, found Izumi’s attitude somewhat perplexing. He even consulted with me about it.

Well, Kaoru probably shouldn’t be the one to talk.

“Urgh.”

Izumi gritted her teeth.

While she herself becomes unable to speak in front of boys, she apparently hates being called out on it.

…Speaking of boys, the reason Souta doesn’t come often despite having his name registered is because everyone in the Literature Club except him is female.

Isn’t that the dream club for any otaku? In fact, I think there are rumors spreading about us when people see us heading up to the Literature Club room.

“The Literature Club is Hanakawa High School’s flower garden,” they say.

Though I think the club room is too old and worn-down for such a grand rumor.

“Fine, I’ll show you proof.”

Izumi closed her book with a thud, stood up, and went to the bookshelf to rummage through the books.

“Not this one, not this either…” she repeated, then exclaimed, “Ah, found it!” and turned around triumphantly.

A small piece of paper that had been tucked in the middle of a rather thick book.

…Don’t tell me she’s been using the application form as a bookmark all this time?

Izumi raised her chin proudly, came over, and placed the application form on the table with a thud.

Noboru Nakano.

That was the name written on the application.

“It’s an application form, right?”

Kaoru asked, tilting her head.

“Shouldn’t this be submitted to the teacher? If you’re holding onto it, that means he hasn’t officially joined yet.”

Faced with Kaoru’s suddenly rational objection, Izumi’s face flushed.

“T-that’s…”

Izumi held the application form in her hand again. Crumple. The edge of the paper wrinkled slightly.

“…He only wrote his name on the application…”

“…”

We all stared blankly at Izumi for a moment. Even Harumi’s trio, who had joined not long after me, Koko, and Yuka, stared blankly at Izumi.

“Why, why!? He applied anyway! I, the club president, received it! Isn’t that enough?”

“If that were enough, I could proudly go around saying the Occult Research Club actually exists.”

“No, that’s different!”

Izumi strongly objected.

“T-this can be submitted anytime!”

“…”

Kaoru looked around at us.

No, even if she looks at us… Is she seeking our agreement?

“Well, fine. Anyway, he was a student at this school, right?”

“Y-yeah, so?”

“Then he should be somewhere in the school.”

Izumi seemed to have caught on to what Kaoru was about to say, and backed away nervously, clutching the application form with both hands.

“Then we can just find him, right? This Noboru Nakano. Haven’t you ever thought about looking for him? Someone who supposedly joined but never once came to the Literature Club room on his own.”

“…”

Izumi’s face turned bright red.

That makes sense.

Izumi, who can’t even speak to boys, was also intimidated when she first met Harumi and Yuu. While she becomes like a chihuahua when fighting with Kaoru and occasionally shows her senpai side to me, she’s basically too timid to approach people taller than her.

She probably couldn’t wander around unfamiliar places alone looking for a boy she only knew by name.

“If you look for him and he exists, I’ll acknowledge it.”

“No, it’s not about acknowledgment…”

Izumi’s voice was a bit quieter, as if lacking confidence.

“But, if he doesn’t exist…”

“If he doesn’t?”

In response to Izumi’s question, Kaoru’s eyes lit up.

“Obviously he’s a ghost! A ghost!”

Kaoru exclaimed energetically.

Wouldn’t most people think it was just a prank?

I had that thought, but I didn’t feel the need to contradict Kaoru’s idea.

It’s not my business anyway.

“A ghost?”

And just as I had that thought, Harumi’s eyes sparkled.

“Yes, a ghost!”

Kaoru said, looking at Harumi.

“You’re saying a boy you’ve never seen before suddenly approached you, right? But he’s not at school. He must have been wearing our school uniform.”

I think our gakuran uniform could be found at other schools too if you looked.

Well, it would be a bit strange for a student from another school to come in when there wasn’t some kind of exchange event.

“…What do you plan to do if it’s a ghost?”

Yuka, who had been quietly listening, asked.

“Huh? We have to find him, of course! A school ghost must be the spirit of someone who committed suicide or died in an accident on campus.”

No, if it’s that kind of ghost, just leave it alone.

I looked at Yuka with an incredulous expression, but Yuka’s expression wasn’t quite the same.

She generally looked indifferent, but her expression when looking at Kaoru wasn’t one of denial.

“Find him?”

Harumi’s eyes sparkled.

“That’s right. It’s only natural, yes.”

“W-what would you do after finding him?”

Mako asked.

Mako was glancing in my direction for some reason.

…I specialize in youkai extermination. Ghosts aren’t really my concern.

Ah, but I did show something suspicious during the Kokkuri-san incident.

“Hmm, well, I’d ask why he’s still here… and if possible, help him find peace!”

“…”

My eyes met Yuka’s. Yuka shrugged.

…

No, normally you’d just think this is nonsense and move on.

But because the world is the way it is, I can’t just ignore it.

I shook my head.

For reference, Koko had been eating dorayaki with a completely uninterested expression from beginning to end.

*

“Could it really be a ghost?”

“Hmm, well.”

Yuka responded indifferently.

“It could be.”

“…It could be?”

When I hooked my arm through Koko’s for no particular reason, Yuka smiled.

“Well, even if there is one, it’s usually not a big problem. They typically just pop out and startle people. If it were a truly problematic type, more specific rumors would have spread by now.”

Ah, I see.

If it were the type to possess people and harm them, given the nature of light novels, it would have definitely appeared by now.

Or maybe things were happening without the protagonist knowing.

Like Harumi’s trio, the students in the Literature Club were also characters not mentioned at all in the original story.

If they just experienced a simple paranormal phenomenon and moved on, it would just be an incident that group experienced once and that would be the end of it.

It probably wouldn’t have had a major impact on the original story—

“Ko-chan, Ku-chan!”

Before I could finish my thought, a student ran energetically from behind me and hugged both me and Koko, who were standing close together.

“How is it? Did you find Noboru-kun? I just finished going around the second-year classrooms, and while there are both Nakano-kun and Noboru-kun, there’s no Nakano Noboru-kun.”

“…Ko-chan?”

“And Ku-chan. Cute, right? You’re our Literature Club’s adorable twins.”

…

What kind of naming sense is that? She probably didn’t derive it from Kurosawa. Most likely, both nicknames came from “Ko.” Just casually assigned nicknames.

“So, did you find him?”

“No.”

Yuka said.

“I thought so! As for the third-years… hmm, we’ll look for them. And if he’s still not there!”

“Whoa?”

Kaoru, who was hugging both me and Koko tightly, said with a joyful expression.

“We’ll have to go ghost hunting, right?”

She clearly intends to bring the entire Literature Club along.

…I don’t know what to say.

I looked at Yuka.

Yuka shrugged.

Is it strange to say she looks a bit excited?