His Childhood Friend is a Beautiful, Reclusive Girl, So He Spends His After-School Hours in Her Room (But He’s Not Her Boyfriend!) - Ch. 80: Experimental Mini-Interlude: Mikami of Highschool (Middle)

It was currently break time between fifth and sixth period.
I was hurrying down the hallway, talking on my phone.
The person on the other end of the line was a third-year girl, a mad scientist in the science department.

“Mikami-chan, all the equipment in the locker room is set. We’re monitoring everything perfectly, got it?”
“Thank you very much. The science department is quite polite and helpful.”

“Hahahaha! Nothing comes out of praise, you know. Well, I guess I’ll just make the poultice compresses you requested 3000 times more aphrodisiac, how about that?”
“Thank you. I really appreciate how serious the science department is about their work.”

The mad scientist on the other end of the line goes by the name Arko-san.
She was very popular, but no matter how many handsome men she was approached by, she ignored them. When asked, “What’s your favorite type?” she replied, “Einstein. Ah, the one who completed the general theory of relativity.” And that was how I came up with the nickname “Arko.”

“Eh, you don’t want it? A poultice with 3000 times the aphrodisiac. It’s gonna be great, okay?”
“I don’t want it from happening! I’m working hard every day to prevent that from happening!”
“That’s great, don’t choose any other means and just get together with your childhood friend. Everyone will congratulate you.”
“If I could do that, then I wouldn’t have any trouble.”

“Duh. Ah, that’s right. What should I do with the key to the women’s basketball team’s locker room? Shall I send it to you by drone?”
“No, that can wait. I’m on my way to the locker room with the captain of the women’s basketball team. If you fly a drone and the culprit finds it, we’re in trouble.”

I hung up the call after hearing Arko’s reply, “Fine.”
I looked to the side and saw a female student with a shortcut next to me. She was the captain of the women’s basketball team, the one who had asked the student council for help this time.

The captain is somewhat confused as she runs alongside me, hurrying along at a small run.

“Did you really set up the equipment in our locker room? I thought you were joking when you borrowed the key…”
“The science department is a bunch of mad scientists, so they were happy to give it a good test run.”

“And aphrodisiacs and drones…”
“The science department is a bunch of mad scientists. It was a simpler way to address them..”
“So more complex…”

The captain of the girl’s basketball team gave me a puzzled look but didn’t ask any more questions.
Thank goodness. To be honest, I can’t really explain the mysterious super-science of the science club either.

She seemed to be a very nice person, as she understood the subtle nuances. The girl’s basketball team was one of the more decent ones at our school, and I really wish more people like her would join.

So, this request came from her.
The other day, she found a hidden camera in the locker room of the girls’ basketball team.

Unfortunately, the club was currently in the middle of an important period before a tournament.
If the situation was made public at the wrong time, it would affect the morale of the team.

The captain of the team was so troubled that she consulted the student council for a quick solution.
That was why the request came to me.

When I glanced at her, I could see that she still had a great deal of anxiety on her face.
She was the one who had to deal with a voyeur. It was only natural.

I wanted to do something about it right now, at least to get her in a better mood.
I raised my voice and spoke in a clear tone.

“Captain, please don’t worry.”
“Eh?”

I smiled confidently at the captain, who looked at me in surprise.
I usually don’t smile at anyone other than Yuika…but this is a special occasion.
I assure her with a slightly overly cheery smile.

“I’m going to take full responsibility for this. I’ll definitely have it sorted out by the time school’s out. I’m sure you’ll be able to practice from today’s club activities without any worries. So don’t worry.”
“Ah…”

The captain’s face turned a little red and turned her head.

“Thank you…I don’t know, but when Mikami-kun says so, it makes me feel at ease.”
“Is that so?”

“Yes, because there are people all over the school who have been helped by Mikami-kun. Some of my kouhais have also been helped by you. And also to the senior alumni. If this Mikami-kun can say it out, I think it would be okay. …Ahh, my face is so hot. I’m in the third year and I’m older than you.”

The captain said in a joking tone and fanned her reddened cheeks.

“It was a good thing I have someone I like, otherwise I might have been in danger. I might have fallen for Mikami-kun. You have to be careful with that kind of thing.”

“No, don’t joke, senpai. You’re not going to fall for this, are you?”
“Ah, you don’t know! I’ll tell you! When you’re in a pinch, and a younger boy who you can rely on gives you a strong pep talk, all the girls in the world are going to fall for it! Be careful. This is your sister’s advice, okay?”

“Hmm, is that how it works?”
“That’s how it is. The way you encourage her, like you’re cutting right into her heart, is like a 3,000-fold aphrodisiac. So you don’t need the poultice anymore, do you?”
“No, that’s not why I need a poultice! Please don’t misunderstand that!”

I retract my previous statement.
I thought the captain was a normal, nice person, but she seemed to be the type of woman who torments you. I can’t let my guard down on this one.

But I think I’ll heed the advice she gave me. The only person I want to fall in love with is Yuika.

At any rate, I’m sure I can solve the problem by after school.
I asked the science department to come in during lunch break and set up infrared sensors and ultra-small monitoring equipment in the locker room. If the culprit showed up, we would get them.

In addition, I already have an idea of who the culprit is.
As a matter of fact, the captain and I just went to the class of the culprit.

It was the captain’s wish that if the matter could be settled through discussion, then so be it…Unfortunately, the culprit was not there.

He probably noticed that we had set up the equipment during lunch break. Nine times out of ten, the culprit was now on his way to the locker room.

Therefore, the captain and I followed him to the locker room.v

…But however.
It was my bad luck that things don’t go that smoothly.
Whenever I try to solve a problem, other problems usually come my way. That’s how it goes for me.

And that’s exactly what happened herr.
As I turned the corner of the hallway, a boy at the end of the hallway saw my face and shouted.

“Ah, Mikami! Good timing!”
“No, not good, not good at all. I’m in a hurry, so if you want to ask me to play a board game, I’ll see you tomorrow during my lunch break…”

“No, it’s not a board game! And I don’t want to play anymore because I can’t win a game with Mikami! Don’t be silly, help me!”

The boy rushed to my side, fussing.
I was about to collide head-on with him, so I quickly caught him and did a spin. I took the force and sat him down on the floor like a stuffed animal.

“Why, what is it? It’s a simple question! And as I’ve always said, don’t come at me when you don’t know what you’re doing!”
“I’ve got soccer in gym next class! I’m on the soccer team and I want to show the girls in my class that I’m cool!”

“No, you’re gonna have to work on that. You’re gonna have to work on your skills.”
“I will! I was going to do my best! But I can’t do it! Look, look, at the front gate!”

The boy points to a window in the hallway. From this school building, I could see the front gate right in front.
What is it? I thought, and turned my gaze to it.

“The diliquents are fighting with students from other schools! We can’t have classes in the schoolyard like this!”
“What!? What are they all doing…!”

Just as he said, there was a fistfight going on in front of the main gate.
The teachers can’t even handle our school’s diliquents. And if the student council goes out, it will turn into an all-out war.

“The only one who can stop them is Mikami, right? Please, stop that fight and give me a chance to show off!”

I held my head in my hands. Even if I leave aside the nice appeal, I can’t let that fight go.　
I apologized to the captain next to me, “Sorry.”

“Senpai, why don’t you go ahead? I’ll catch up with you soon. Wait for me by the locker room so you don’t run into the culprit.”
“That’s fine, but what are you going to do, Mikami?”
“I’ll use force to stop them. I don’t have much time, and I’m on a super express. —Open the window there for a second.”

Pointing at the boy, I head back down the hallway a bit.
I then positioned a crouching start pose.
I made sure the window was open and rocketed off!

“Mikami, the window’s open, what are you…What!? Eh!? Eh!?”
“Mikami-kun, what are you doing? We’re on the second floor!”
“No problem! The third floor is the same as the first floor!”

I ran down the hallway as fast as I could, pushed my foot off the window frame, and jumped into the air.
In the back, the captain, the boy, and everyone in the hallway shouted.

The ceiling of the hallway disappeared from my sight, and a beautiful blue sky spread out in its place.
What appeared in front of me was a branch of a tree standing along with the school building.

Grasping it, I made a half-turn like a pendulum.
Adjusting the angle, I landed in front of the main gate!

There were a dozen or so delinquents brawling with each other. Half of them were our students, and the other half were from other schools.

Suddenly a shadow fell in front of the main gate as if it had clouded over, and the delinquents looked up at the sky. They all peeled their eyes open.

“What the hell is that? Something’s flying at us like a missile!”
“Hmm? That can’t be… a bird! It’s a plane!　No, it’s Mikami from Uraban!
“Mikami, of Uraban!? That one, he’s the new legend who beat the legendary leader who won a hundred battles! Come at me, I won’t just back down—ugah!?”

For now, I landed a dropkick on the face of the guy who looked like the leader of the other school.
The leader’s huge body collapses, and I land in the middle of the delinquents.

“…You know, I’ve been busy chasing down a voyeur.”

I slowly looked up.
I waved my hands in the air and appealed to everyone on site.

“You guys need to stop fighting right now! Nothing can come from violence—!”

For a moment, silence fell.
Then, our leader pointed.

“No, but at your feet! You’ve got one person who’s been crushed by the excessive force when you fell from the sky!”

Just let it go for now
Well, there are times when that happens.