CH 25

Ch 25 I’m back! (Souta’s POV).

It’s been about half a month since I left for my short-term study abroad trip.

It wasn’t because Yukiya told me to, but I was telling someone about my life abroad.

Oh, it’s from Rinka.”

I think I just got a reply.

“Souta-senpai, you’ve gained a lot of weight.”

Oh, come on, that’s what I get for reporting on my elegant solitary time in a stylish open cafe with a view that can’t be imitated in Japan?

“Well, I guess being cooped up in Japan makes you worry about small things like that.”

It’s true that I’ve been here for half a month now, and I’ve gained about eight kilos from being addicted to real junk food. Probably it was due to the fact that I no longer had to take care of my personal life since I came to live with my parents.

“That’s not healthy! Is that how you’re going to make it over there?”

“What are you talking about… Azaka-senpai?”

I chuckled to myself.

In the first place, studying abroad is just a temporary thing until things cool down. It’s just a temporary thing until the bad reputation of me as a “public heartbreaker” and “misunderstood bastard” due to the incident in front of the entrance disappears.

Furthermore, by daring me to disappear, I’m aiming to make everyone aware of my existence.

For example, it seems that my sister-in-law Chris has replaced me on the student council, but will the student council really be able to run without me?

There’s no problem.

That’s what Chris said… Well, we’ll have to wait and see when I get back.

And I’ve hardly contacted Kanae, who is the most important person in my life.

The reason for this is to make Kanae aware of the magnitude of my existence.

I failed to make Kanae aware of her true feelings for me by using the goodwill of Rinka and Azaka-senpai in front of the entrance, but this time, since I myself was gone, the effect would be great.

By the way, when Chris questioned me about my series of thoughts after that commotion…

“What are you talking about…? Did you think that Kanae had romantic feelings for you just because you went to and from school or spent your lunch break with her…? Kanae didn’t participate in the morning flirting around, and I don’t think she usually said or did anything that would cause her brother to misunderstand…”

It’s like looking at a stalker… It’s disgusting. So I told her to think about what it means for a girl of her age to be with the same boy all the time. I’m not the insensitive type.

“Haha… So let’s say there was a time when Kanae had a crush on your brother…”

Chris said with a big sigh, and I couldn’t help but sigh in dismay.

“But Kanae didn’t confess to you, and brother didn’t confess to her, right? Then that’s it, isn’t it? You can change your mind, of course, and you are free to accept favors from other people.”

I quickly explained to her that once you have taken a liking to someone, the right way is to keep thinking of them as a childhood friend.

“What’s that…? The judgment of favor is one-sided and vague, there is no confession, but it’s right to keep thinking about you… It’s completely the idea of a menhera stalker…

Huh… I’m not talking to you at all. That’s why I’m asking you to think about what it means for a girl of your age to be with the same boy all the time on the basis of favoritism… It’s an infinite loop.

‘In the first place, if you like Kanae, why don’t you just confess your love to her?”

I really can’t talk about it. It’s not that I like Kanae, it’s that Kanae likes me.

But when I said that, my parents were called, and I was sent to study abroad for a short time.

Well, it was a good deal for me because of my bad reputation.

In this way, I was able to gain experience studying abroad. It’s not uncommon in my romance novels to have a “loner” who is actually a returnee from abroad or who is actually fluent in English.

I guess I’m getting close to being one of those “loner” again.

But the sad thing is that people here don’t understand that at all.

When my classmates said things like, “You need to look at reality, Souta,” or “You watch too much anime with nerd characters,” or “You’re popular because of your face, not because of what’s on the inside,” …my beliefs were shaken.

At that time, however, I found out something through my contacts with my Japanese friends.

It seems that my concerns about the bad publicity caused by the misunderstanding of the public confession near the entrance, Azaka-senpai’s early efforts to put out the fire, and the bomb I left behind at the end (the school kissing photo of Yukiya and Kanae) worked as I had calculated, and now it seems to have been almost forgotten.

Scandal begets more scandal… It turned out just as I had predicted.

So it might be a good idea to go back and take a look.

When I told this to Yukiya, he showed his true colors and told me not to come back!

“If you can, it’s best not to come back now. If you have to come back, stay away from the school. For some reason, Souta is under suspicion because of the photo of me and Kanae that I explained before. I and Kanae don’t mind it, but the school seems to be taking it a little too seriously.”

It’s true that that school is strict in some weird ways. It’s a well thought out story for you, Yukiya.

Well, I can see why you want to stop me from leaving. Now I’m a “loner” with overseas experience. I don’t want to go back, but I know that in the end, it will be me that the nakama will gather around and my childhood friend Kanae will choose.

In fact, in the novels that I promote, all the loner are successful. They solve all problems with their hidden good looks and their hidden talent, gaining the respect of people and building a heroine harem.

It’s no longer a term for a “loner”, but a cloak term for a cheat character.

And I’m a loner, which means that Yukiya’s tricks won’t work on me.

I immediately asked my parents for permission to go back to Japan for a few days.

Of course, they told me that if I ever had a problem again, I’d be living here permanently, but I’ll make it work.

And then…

I had temporarily returned to my hometown and dared to come to school in order to expose Yukiya’s intention to keep me away from school.

It was the first time in half a month that I was at school after school.

After contacting the three girls in my group, I walked into the school grounds.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of eyes on me, and when I turned around to look at them…

Azaka-senpai and my sister-in-law Chris were rushing towards me, accompanied by the student council members I had missed.

It seems that everyone was waiting for me. Yukiya, what a pity!

I whispered fearlessly to my sister-in-law and senpai.

“I have been back.”

–I said.

And then I was caught.