Why was she messaging me when we were in the same room? Tapping the screen while suspicious—
[Bored~] (+ a stamp of a cat lying on its back showing its belly)
It was completely meaningless message. Just say it directly… Ah, no, stop sending those cat stamps at me. How many different kinds of bored cat stamps does this girl even have?
[Did you swallow a bomb that’ll kill you if you make a sound?]
I sent the message while also giving her a glare, but Shishihara still didn’t look my way.
[No no (angry emoji) Senpai’s studying so you shouldn’t bother]
[Don’t need your consideration. This is someone who can do sudoku at a train crossing. Also, that’s clearly not serious studying, do you even realize you’re interrupting my serious studying?]
[Oh, you’re the type who sends long messages without pausing to break them up (note-taking emoji)]
So what? I really don’t get it. I don’t understand girls at all.
[Let’s change topic, but does Komori-kun have a girlfriend???? (excited and very interested emoji)]
“…………”
I stand up without making a sound.
[Ah, if you doesn’t have one now, I’d also like to ask how many people you dated in the past~ please]
“Hey, no matter what, you’re being way too annoying, aren’t you?”
“Eh? Uwaaah!”
The boy standing behind her like a deva king with a demon’s expression—Shishihara notices me looking like I’m about to strike down lightning at any moment, and while flustered, she thrusts her smartphone forward like a seal.
“Come on, come on—Komori-kun! A-Ah, since Maon-san’s using modern technology to communicate so politely, could you not escalate this into a real-life fight!?”
“There’s a rule about that?”
“Yup! It’s banned internationally by the Nyamsaar Treaty!”
“…Only Werecats ratified that treaty…”
“Anywayyy? Is there? Or isn’t there?!”
Here we go again with the interrogation. While I sighed in exasperation,
“Tsubasa-kun doesn’t have a girlfriend~ 6-3 King…”
Saku-senpai answered casually, moving a piece on the shogi board with one hand. Our supposedly “secure” digital communication had been completely compromised. Shishihara nodded smugly at this absurdly satisfying information for no reason.
“Thought so! Makes sense… Jeez, I panicked for nothing, hehe.”
No self-awareness at all as she smugly accepted the situation. Then she giggled, “Aichan’s so cute~! I wanna get counterattacked by a bishop’s advance~♪” and resumed reading her novel.
I couldn’t even begin to understand Shishihara’s psyche anymore—it was like she’d regressed from high school girl to… something else.
“Hmm, the situation seems to be shifting.”
Saku-senpai, who had been watching the shogi board, stroked her chin meaningfully.
“What are you talking about?”
“This is where it gets interesting, Tsubasa-kun. In both shogi and life, the endgame is where it all comes down.”
I suddenly missed having normal people to talk to.
“With our cast of characters all here, I’d be over the moon if we could get a school-shaking scandal—like winning eight lifetime shogi titles at once!”
“That’s a reckless wish.”
“Seven isn’t eight, you know?”
Not the point.
I secretly wanted to keep solving cases like an armchair detective—no flashy visuals needed, just endless tinkering in this clubroom.
A knock-knock broke my thoughts. I sighed, dreading what was coming.
“Yoooo, come in~?”
Saku-senpai hurriedly hid the shogi board at lightning speed, like during a tax audit, and called toward the door.
I tensed up slightly. Please, let it be some obviously harmless outsider—whether my prayers reached heaven, I couldn’t say.
“Sup, excuse me~”
A loose, relaxed voice floated in. The sliding door opened, revealing a tall boy.
I recognized him immediately from head to toe—the epitome of a laid-back guy. But as I struggled to decide whether this was a lucky draw or a dud,
“Yo, Komori. How’s it going?”
“……It’s not going well, idiot.”
I snapped back at Takizawa’s booming voice. Honestly, I figured this guy couldn’t possibly bring anything serious. How naive I was.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Takizawa Kanata, my classmate and Shishihara’s, was nominally the soccer team’s ace. His favorite player? Eden Hazard back in his Chelsea days. His ideal girl? “Can’t choose!” and so on. After finishing his standard introduction, he said,
“Ah—crap, might cry… this is tough, ahhh…”
Saku-senpai’s face looked so divine right then, it seemed like she might say “Don’t bow to me.” Takizawa rubbed his eyes upward toward the ceiling like a fan meeting their idol. Shishihara had looked similar recently—I just remembered—but when a guy did it, it got weirdly creepy. Yeah, no, not surprising at all.
“I’m totally into your type, senpai!”
“Seriously? You said you couldn’t pick five seconds ago!”
“Converted instantly! Just give me your LINE first!”
Way too quick to jump from “idol” to “target.”
“Sorry, Takizawa. We’re not that kind of club.”
“I know. I know, so please tell me. And if possible, step on me really hard—”
“Saku-senpai, it seems he just came here to mess around, so please see him out.”
“Wait! It’s a joke, a joke!”
“Tch……”
“No tongue clicking, he’s a customer~ But seriously, why is Komori always standing behind me on standby? Are you being bullied because you don’t have a seat?”
“It’s obviously for times like this. Want to try flying once?”
“S-sorry…… Your eyes are scary, man. You’re seriously serious.”
Perhaps sensing danger to his life, the frivolity disappears from Takizawa’s expression. If he tried any weird imitation, I was seriously planning to throw this guy’s body out the window.
“……Koumori-kun has surprisingly strong possessiveness, doesn’t he?”
“Huh? Who’s possessing who?”
“Well, it’s fine I guess. Do whatever you want kind of feeling…… yeah.”
Shishihara was backing away. Probably about seventy percent backing away. The remaining thirty percent seemed somehow dissatisfied.
“I get it, Maon-chan. Komori skips being a familiar and goes straight to being Saiin-senpai’s loyal dog.”
“……Should I change my name to Hachi then?”
“Okay okay, Tsubasa-kun’s brain is going to short-circuit, so let’s leave it at that, shall we?”
At the elementary school teacher-like command, the two who respect her obediently comply with “Yes~” and “Sure.” Saku-senpai’s smug face, as if she’d thrown me a lifeline, was irritating.
“You have something you want to consult about, don’t you, Takizawa-kun?”
“Ah, yes…… I think it’d be faster if you just took a look first.”
Saying that, Takizawa takes out his smartphone.
After quickly operating it, he says “This is it” and places it in the center of the table so everyone can see the screen. What’s displayed is an SNS profile page. It’s that famous one mainly for short tweets, but it doesn’t seem to be Takizawa’s own account.
“[Trash Hypocrite-chan @Real person is a JK Myudent]…… Is this guy mocking us?”
TLNOTE: Gachikuzu: Real Scum
When I spit out in disgust at the chill I felt, Takizawa also gives a bitter smile. “It does seem pretty stupid.”
However, it seems to be very well-received by the public……
“Wow, she has thirty thousand followers.”
I didn’t notice until Shishihara exclaimed in surprise. Even ten thousand followers would make someone a small-scale influencer. There’s no way an ordinary high school student could gather that many with just mundane posts.
“Well, as for what kind of content it is…… sorry, it’s not pleasant for the ladies to look at.”
Takizawa apologetically swipes and scrolls back through the posts. Many of them had photos attached. As expected, close-ups of thighs, close-ups of cleavage, boldly opened clothing. Photos taken solely to satisfy male desires appear, and
“Gross…… I really hate this kind of thing.”
Shishihara, who usually doesn’t show disgust even at the worst things, frowns as if to say she physiologically can’t accept it. Whether it’s toward the act of uploading provocative selfies or toward the countless obscene words overflowing in the reply section, either way it’s a perfectly normal reaction.
“It’s like a secret account, or rather, a typical erotic account. Whether it’s to satisfy approval needs, or aimed at meeting people or money…… well, this type of content trends daily in certain numbers, so imagining the purpose is meaningless.”
“That’s right. Normally I’d just think ‘oh, another one of those’ and ignore it safely, but…… somehow since about last week, certain circles have been getting excited. When I asked why…… apparently there’s a strong theory that the person behind this account is a student at our school.”
“Strong theory…… is she uploading photos in school uniform?”
“They’re not putting out such obvious information.”
Then why. Saku-senpai answers my question.
“It’s a scary world. Even just scenery can be a hint – road signs, manholes, the number of lanes, strong thunder, heavy rain, a new apartment building nearby, traffic light construction, and various other things. If you’re determined, you can easily identify both places and people.”
If that’s true, it’s beyond just scary.
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