I (30), Who Works for a Black Company and Died While Regretting My Gloomy Life, Started Over From High School! - chapter 10

 10.Love Letter and Mounting Back

“Hey, Nihama ……, I like you. Let’s go out together.”

Sakai confessed to me, and my head was in a state of great confusion.

(What do you mean? That letter was a prank, wasn’t it?)

I thought it was obvious, and it just so happened that I was passing by here, the place where I was supposed to be called out, but Sakai was actually there and said that she likes me.

No way, really, seriously, Sakai is …… talking about me?

(…… No, no, no.)

The virgin thoughts crossed my mind for a moment, but my reasoning rejected them immediately.

(I’ve never really talked to Sakai, and there’s no sign of tension in her expressions ……. I don’t think she really likes me.)

But I have no idea what’s going on here.

( No way …… is this a punishment game of a forced confession? Is Sakai being bullied and ordered to confess to someone she doesn’t like?)

However, I often see Sakai’s  group in class, but they don’t seem to have been bullied, and for a punishment game, her expressions don’t show any pain.

Then what the hell is this ……? I honestly don’t understand.

“Hmm……, kuku…….”

“Hmm?”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha! This guy is for real!”

“Oh, I saw it, I saw it! That was really funny!

” You have no idea how dumb you look!”

Suddenly, Sakai started laughing, and then some boys and girls came out from the shadows of the school building and started giggling.

” Me?, confess my love to you? No way!”

(…… Oh, I see! This is a ” Lie Confession”! You know, the ones you see in novels and manga!)

The situation finally made sense to me, and I clapped my hands in my mind.

It’s the kind of thing where a girl makes a false confession to a dull boy, and the guys hiding in the corner enjoy watching his reaction of embarrassment and delight.

(I couldn’t have predicted that someone would pull such a stupid prank in real life. …… I underestimated how much free time high school students have.)

“No, it was a masterpiece! His face was all red when Sakai confessed to him!”

No, I was just confused because Sakai suddenly confessed to me on the way to the library and it didn’t make sense……

“Oi, Sakai, don’t start laughing! I wanted to see how he would respond to your confession!”

“Hahaha, sorry, sorry! When I saw that he was seriously pondering his answer, I burst into laughter!”

No, I was just worried that Sakai was being bullied and forced to play a punishment game, and I blinked my eyes at how meaningless the situation was, but I didn’t even have a thought of answering her confession.

“No, but it was really funny. That was a good show, Nihama!”

“Haha! It looks like you were really shocked that the confession was a lie!”

(I haven’t said a word since a while ago, how can these guys get so excited?)

In their heads, they’re probably thinking that I was so excited about the confession, and now I’m stunned to find out that it’s a lie, but that’s not the case at all.

“Hey Nihama……, do you know why you’re being set up?”

“Yeah, no, …… who the hell are you anyway?

“What? We’re in the same class, me and Sakai! Don’t be stupid!”

If you put it that way, I’m pretty sure we were classmates.

Let’s see, …… was it Tsuchi …… Tsuchi …… Tsuchiyama?

I’m sure he was in a group of men and women with Sakai, going to karaoke and arcade and playing around the city, but to be honest, he didn’t have much of an impression.

“It was my idea, you know. I wanted to play with you, since you’ve been getting carried away lately.”

Tsuchiyama said proudly for some reason.

But then again,”getting carried away”

Seriously, those words are really convenient.

” You’ve been really cheeky lately. You should be sitting in the corner, but you’re making friends all over the place, and suddenly you’re studying too hard. …… You’re getting ahead of yourself.”

“That’s when they asked me to be the confessor. I’m also annoyed at people like you who didn’t know their place.”

(Oh, ……, I see. These guys are the “second-rank”, If you think they are not that impressive. So they were afraid of a “third-rank” like me standing out.”.)

Although they belong to a powerful group, the core of the group is made up of the most powerful students, known as the first group.

And as second-rank troops, they are in a position of being lackeys and followers of the first group

Even with such treatment, the fact that they belong to an influential group gives them a sense of privilege and makes them feel secure in looking down on those who are “lower” than them.

In such a situation, the fact that I, as a third rank member, stood out must have terrified them.

Once they admit that the people ”below” them may rise in their position, they can no longer look down on them with a peace of mind.

So these guys came up with the idea to frame me, ridicule me, so they could take the mount for their own peace of mind.

“Did you really think that a girl as cute as me would be interested in a guy like you?”

“Well, don’t say that. Unlike us who usually play with girls and have a good time, this poor guy has no woman in his life.”

“Well, he’s a gloomy nerd. He’s the kind of guy who’ll die lonely and never have a girlfriend. Unlike cool guys like us――”

“Oh, Nihama-kun! There you are!”

Suddenly I heard a soft, cheerful voice, and my brain was instantly filled with happiness.

“Shijoin-san, ……?”

The beautiful girl who appeared in the courtyard and walked over to my side with a giggle was definitely Shijoin-san.

“Oh, geez! I was looking for you because you didn’t come to the library for a while! It’s not fun without you, so please don’t be late!”

“Ah, yeah, I’m sorry.”

“I also want to talk a lot about my impressions of the new issue of Bladers that we talked about the last time we went home together! I don’t want to miss a single minute or second of talking to you, Nihama-kun!”

For some reason, Shijoin-san is strangely angry, but I can’t help but admire her pretty face as well.

“Eh, what….. Shijoin-san and Nihama……?

“You said you went home with him…….”

When the most beautiful girl in the school suddenly burst in, the faces of the people who had been looking down on me earlier all froze in disbelief.

” Well, Sakai-san and Tsuchiyama-kun are in the same class,…… and the others are from a different class. What happened?”

” Er, ……, ah, ……, no, …….”

“That …… uh, …….”

Tsuchiyama and the other boys were mumbling. They were stunned as if a bucket of water was poured on them. They seemed to be unable to speak properly as Shijoin-san suddenly appeared in front of them.

“?,.. Well, if it’s nothing, I have plans with Nihama-kun from now on, so we’ll be going now. We are going to have a nice time alone together now!”

“Huh, just the two of you ……?

“What do you mean by ‘good time’ ……?”

Shijoin-san, who is a natural, says a lot of things that could be misunderstood, but of course we’re just going to go to the library to do our job as library committee members and chat about her favorite light novels.

However, it sounded like I was about to make a passionate after-school date, and the guys who had been making fun of me were stiff with shocked, soul-deprived faces.

“Well, that’s how it is. So, I’m going to go now.”

There’s no point in talking to these guys anymore, and I can’t be goofing off because my time with Shijoin-san is worth more than anything else.

“No way. …… Why? …..”

As I was about to leave, I heard Sakai’s voice, who had falsely confessed to me.

It sounded like a curse.

“You’re a ”bottom-tier”,…… Why are you with such a cute girl,……! Why don’t you just stay on the ground! You bottom-feeders should be scared to death of us good-looking people!”

I guess she was quite frustrated to be surpassed by Shijoin-san’s appearance, and she blurted out her true feelings quite straightforwardly.

(You’re being pushed around because you care too much about rank within the school……. I feel sorry for you in the eyes of a adult.)

In reality, hierarchical relationships in school have no meaning in life.

But while you’re in school, you’re convinced that everything revolves around it.

‘…… Is it really that stressful to keep your position? On a level where you have to look down and feel superior to get by.”

“…………”

As I thought, I was correct, and Sakai shut up with a bitter expression on her face.

“Top and bottom?, aren’t you tired and bitter because you care too much about that stuff? The people you call ‘lower’ are simply hanging out with friends they like and having a lot of fun.”

“………………….”

Sakai kept her head down and didn’t say anything back.

And I didn’t say anything more either.

I leave, accompanied by Shijoin-san, who looks at me strangely, not understanding our concept of up and down.

“That ……, what did Sakai-san and the others want with Nihama-kun after all?”

On the way to the library, Shijoin-san asked me a natural question.

” Ah, well, actually, I got a love letter from Sakai.”

“Eh, …….”

When I say that, for some reason all signs of expression disappeared from Shijoin-san’s face.

“Yeah, it was a prank, though. They wanted to make fun of me by seeing how excited I was over a false confession.”

“What’s that ……? That’s something you shouldn’t do as a human being! No kidding!”

The good thing about Shijoin-san is that she can clearly show her righteous anger there.

The girl I love has a very pure heart.

“Yeah, but now that Shijouin-san came, they’ve quieted down.”

” Eh, ……, why am I the reason?”

“Well, that is, I guess, because you’re way above the middle…….”

“? ? ?”

Shijoin-san tilted her head, as she was not familiar with the school caste system after all.

“So, are you okay? I’d be so scared if someone confronted me, that I’ d be in pain for a day. ……”

“Yeah, they said something like, ‘You’re a gloomy nerd, but we’re hot enough to go out with the boys and girls often, we’re different’ but I’m fine.”

“Huh? Well, …… the way they say it, …… are boys and girls becomes great when they go out with each other?”

“No, it doesn’t make you great, but …… it will actually make people envy you and you’ll get more recognition.”

At my explanation, Shijoin-san muttered, “Oh really? ……!” She said in a somewhat surprised tone.

Apparently, she never had the concept that being popular was a status before.

“Oh! Then I have a good idea! If the experience of going out with the opposite sex will make Nihama-kun feel less belittled and less entangled, how about going somewhere with me? I’m still a girl, after all!”

“Haha, thanks. I’d be happy to.”

“That’ s right. …… I’m looking forward to it.”

(…… huh?)

I had taken it as a light joke, but Shijoin-san’s faint whisper reaches me.

I glanced down and saw her beautiful eyes looking up at me.

“When you do, please take me somewhere nice, okay?”

I blushed and froze when Shijoin-san, who looked more mature than usual, quietly said those words.

Eh, this is …… Shijoin, how serious are you about …… this?

“Well then, let’s get the library committee work done as quickly as possible! After that, I’ll have you join me for a Light novel discussion!”

While I was still flustered, Shijoin-san said this with her usual childish smile and started walking further and further towards the library.

(I can’t stand it. ……)

She can be innocent, but she can also make you nervous by saying unexpected things like this. The more you interact with her, the more her charm is revealed.

The caste ranks in the school are silly, but the girl with the highest rank in my mind is without a doubt Shijoin-san.

Ah,……, if you say a line that gives such expectations, a virgin like me will misunderstand, you know?