I Want To Make The School's "Silent Princess" Talk, So I Invited Her (Who's Super Cute) Out On A Date Today. ~Anyways, She's So Very Intense When It Comes To Skinship, That It's Going To Take My Reason Away~ - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The Princess’ Distress Part 2

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There were a few bad rumors about Mizuno-san and her group. That group was made up of a few self-centered people.

I’ve seen them talk badly about other people many times without hesitation.

Literally right in front of the people they were talking about.

When I was a freshman, I happened to witness a group of girls hiding my slippers.

They have a style of being merciless to anyone they don’t like, so it was no surprise that Aikawa-san became their target.

When most of the boys in the class are Aikawa-san’s fans, it’s obvious that the girls will be a little jealous. Perhaps that’s what they were talking about in Mizuno-san’s group.

Maybe they are saying something like, “She’s getting carried away.” It’s easy to picture them having a good time with sweets in their hand while badmouthing Aikawa-san.

“Here we go…”

I walked into the classroom and sat down on a chair, but there was no sign of Aikawa-san, who would always be wandering around.

Mizuno-san and her group were chatting and laughing while leisurely sipping their juice. As I listened, the topic of Aikawa-san had not come up.

“Hey, Ryuta~! Hehe~ do you know what this is~?

“…It looks like a chocolate chip cookie, but…”

Yusuke was suddenly talking In Front of me. Then, when I pretended to not know him, he gave me his biggest smile of the year and bragged it to me.

“This! Moezono-san gave me this! And it’s handmade!”

“Ooh~ you’re very popular, huh?”

Yusuke wiggled his body as he hugged the bag of cookies.

It was just plain weird, so I looked away, then Aikawa-san, who’s expressionless as usual, walked into the classroom.

“Aikawa-san’s wearing slippers, I wonder why?”

Yusuke spoke to me in a whisper so that Aikawa-san wouldn’t hear it. This is one of the good things about Yusuke, and I admired him for it, but I just simply replied, “I don’t know.”

“But you shouldn’t go around spreading the word too much.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Aikawa-san doesn’t seem to like to stand out. Also I felt like I’ve been getting a lot of attention since the rumors started.

If I’m getting that many stares, the amount that’s pouring down on Aikawa-san must not be half bad.

(…huh?)

When I turned away from Yusuke and looked at Mizuno-san’s group, they were laughing a little differently than usual.

Mizuno-san and the others were laughing as they stuck their fingers in a certain place.

When I turned my gaze along the direction where they pointed their finger, it overlapped perfectly with…  Aikawa-san’s place.

“She’s really an airhead, coming like that.”

“She’s not wearing the ones I threw away. I wonder if she borrowed those slippers.”

“Really? You’re such a negative person.”

Even though it’s a bit choppy, I could hear their voice.

The sight of them made me feel irritated inside my heart. But now I’m pretty sure it was this group that hid Aikawa-san’s slippers.

They were led by Mizuno-san, the leader of the group, then Maeda-san, and Sugiyama-san.

I have the impression that the group revolves around these three. Yusuke seemed to have guessed what was going on and looked at Mizuno-san’s group with a slightly grim expression on his face.

“They’re really annoying, aren’t they? You’ve been through a lot, too.”

It was hard, but I was harassed a little. Fortunately, Mizuno-san and the others seemed to get tired of me quickly, so it stopped after a few days. But ……

(I wonder if their harassment against Aikawa-san will end soon…)

I’ve had some naive thoughts like that, but… I don’t think that’s going to happen this time.

Aikawa-san doesn’t talk much, so even if someone said something bad about her, she won’t say it back.

If that’s the case, she was practically a humanoid sandbag. Since she doesn’t talk back, they could say anything they wanted. There was a good chance that the harassment would escalate gradually.

“Well then, Mr.Knight, protect the Princess, okay?”

“Who are you calling Mr.Knight…?”

Normally, we would have lightly joked around, but I’m not in the mood for that now. Yusuke seemed to have read the situation and headed towards the other group of extroverts without saying a word.

(Should I stay close with Aikawa-san for today…?)

When there was no one around Aikawa-san, there was a possibility that she would be harassed. So I thought it would be better to stay close to her, even if some rumors would be made.

The other side might think I was being cautious, but that didn’t bother me. Because it’s something I’ve suffered from in the past,

I honestly don’t like it when people I know are being harassed.

Aikawa-san seems to trust me more than a little, so it won’t be a problem.

“Hey, Aikawa-san… do you want to have lunch with me today?”

I’m sure she would be fine since I would be keeping an eye on her during the breaks between classes, but lunchtime was a different story. If we go to the usual stairs, we would be safe since there’s no one around.

“…U-Un.”

I thought she was a little distracted, but Aikawa-san looked at me as if she was a little surprised, and then her cheeks blushed slightly.

I felt like I caught up with her unnatural expression for a little bit.

(Is she really happy about that?)

Just as I was thinking that, I realized my mistake right after that.

We’re going to have lunch together. Now that I think about it, the act of asking a girl out from the guy’s side…

(…T-This is totally an invitation for a date, right!!?)

Aikawa-san’s face immediately returned to normal, but now I’m the one who’s blushing.

“W-Wait! T-That’s not it…! W-Well, I mean… Is it okay…?”

“…Mhn…Uun.”

Aikawa-san was also a little flustered and cringing. I want to curse my insensitivity for only noticing it just now.

(I-I understand now… that’s why Aikawa-san was reacting strangely…)

I desperately tried to come up with an excuse, but I couldn’t think of any particular reason. So I half-heartedly end the conversation right there.

I was more impatient than embarrassed, so I was sweating a lot more than usual.

“Good work. You’re so kind, huh~?”

When I returned to my seat, Yusuke immediately started picking on me.

“Leave me alone… also, you heard me…?”

“About the first invitation for a date in your life?”

“You bastard, you know what I’m talking about.”

“You’re such a clumsy guy~” Yusuke said so, as he smiled. I tugged on his ear lightly but he reacted in an exaggerated way.

“I think you should stay as close to the princess as possible from today on.”

“I know it’s none of my business, but… just in case.”

I can’t get that sad expression of Aikawa-san’s out of my mind.

I don’t like the idea of Aikawa-san getting harassed while she’s being friendly with me.

(Aikawa-san and I are… already friends, you know…)

I don’t know what Aikawa-san thinks of me, but at least I think I have a good relationship with her.

Also, I don’t want to see Aikawa-san get hurt too much.

“I unexpectedly like it… to be with her.”

We ate together and went home together. At least the time we spent together made me realize how much I liked those days.

If the harassment escalates and she ends up not going to school.

“…I would hate it.”

As I thought about this, my hatred for that group began to well up. If Aikawa-san was going to be hurt any further… I would have to do something about it, even if it meant using underhanded methods.

At least, for now, I’ll do what I can.

I’ll stay as close to her as I can until Mizuno-san and the others stop what they are doing.

With that in mind, I smacked myself on the cheek once.

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