Himeouji 20 (Patreon)

Sequel 4B

RAW

There were already several girls in the classroom, some of whom were looking at Ryou.

The one who dropped their shoulders at the lack of action must be one of the criminals who put those in the locker.

Ryou, who must have noticed this, immediately put down her luggage and headed over to Yuuma while side-stepping them with a cold expression on her face.

However, there was someone who visited Yuuma's seat even earlier than that.

“Go-good morning, Onii-chan…”

“Yuuma, good morning!”

Nishina Miu, and Kitabayashi Ayaka——his former sister and his former childhood friend.

“...Yeah, good morning.”

Without even looking at their faces, Yuuma replied curtly, seemingly ignoring the two of them, taking textbooks and the likes out of his bag and began preparing for class.

Nonetheless, there was no way the two of them, who were calling out to him in this situation, would be discouraged by such a response.

“Umm, here… look, it’s Valentine after all.”

“We made it, can you accept it?”

The two packages held out in front of him were obviously chocolates.

If this had been a reference book or something, conversely, it would be chocolates at an impressive level.

For a moment, the air becomes unusually cold.

When he turned his eyes toward the cold air, his eyes met Ryou’s, who was about to head towards him from her own seat.

(Her face is way too scaryyy!)

Yuuma, wondering how he could calm down the girl who looked like a demon later, shook his head at the two of them.

Her expression looked like a devil

“I'm sorry, but I won’t accept that——because I have no reason to.”

It's the same as the chocolate that Ryou received. He didn’t feel like receiving it, but even without that, he didn’t intend to receive it.

Although he had promised both Ryou and Reiko-san, Yuuma himself wanted to have Ryou's chocolates as his first.

He refused clearly, but how would the two of them react to those words?

“I-it’s not like we have any ulterior motive... It's just an obligatory chocolate, you know?”

“Right, right, it's a friend chocolate you know. I give one to everyone.”

Those girls must have been suitably prepared for this.

They don't want to pull back, and they don't want to pull back the chocolate they've offered.

“Onii-chan, you liked chocolate crunch, didn't you? Besides, um…”

“Uncle is the same, right? Look, I have something for uncle as well, so it would be nice if you could give it to him at home, is that no good?”

Really——they said all that with no malice at all.

Involuntarily, blood rushed to Yuuma’s head, but he somehow managed to suppress his worked up emotions and spoke in a slightly stiff voice.

“——If you want to give it to dad, you don't have to go out of your way to leave it in my care. If Nishina says so, even if you go and give it to him, he shouldn't refuse.”

Don't involve my father just to give it to me——.

Yuuma thought he was hiding his feelings of wanting to say those, but from his reply, maybe they realized that they made a bad move?

“Ah——I-I’m, sorry… you, um… that is, I’ll go do that.”

When Nishina apologized, Kitabayashi also followed suit and did the same.

“I'm, you know… I-I've been told not to go to your house... but I'm sorry——I didn't mean to.”

This is why it's hard to do this——that's what Yuuma thought.

It's because they say things that hurt people's feelings without malice, then they apologize immediately when they realize it.

Once they apologized, the feelings of not wanting to complain forever, is something that would sprout even within Yuuma.

Of course, it depends on the degree——at least the current statement itself is not as bad as that incident, which put Ryou in such a bad situation.

That is why he didn’t blame them any more than he had to, but then they were back at the start.

“——That's good enough. But regardless of that, I won't accept it.”

“!...W-why?”

Why or not, how to explain it?

After pondering for a while, Yuuma told them the truth while choosing his words.

“——There is someone who wants to give it to me first. I won't be able to receive it from that person until the evening... I don't plan on accepting anything from anyone today.”

Of course, even tomorrow, he wouldn’t accept them, but...

With this in mind, Yuuma hoped that they would give up with that, but his remarks seemed to have been quite a shock to the two of them.

“Wh-what’s with that… who is it, who is that person!”

“...Could it be, the student council president?”

Their facial color changed as they questioned him in response, and Yuuma looked exhausted and let out a big sigh at that.

“No, it's completely different... or rather, why did you bring up the president?”

“B-but——Onii-chan, in the past… with the president, umm…”

While waiting for words Nishina hesitated to say, the classroom door suddenly opened.

Yuuma's seat is located near the rear door, and therefore, it opened right next to him.

“——Please excuse me. Is Hanyuu Yuuma… here?”

The owner of that voice was the person whose name had just been mentioned.

…

Yuuma sighed at Toujou Hibiki’s appearance, thinking it was troublesome.

Ryou looked at them with a smile from a distance, maybe because she had calmed down somewhat, or conversely, because hse had gone full circle and it turned into cold anger.

That would be scary.

“Yuuma, good morning.”

“...Good morning, student council president.”

“As you would expect, I already completed the handover, so I’m retired.”

“...So that’s how it is. Thank you for your hard work, Toujou-senpai.”

Calling her ex-president here would be too bad of a personality.

Even though he knew it would make her happy, Yuuma had no choice but to call her by name.

Sure enough, she smiled broadly in happiness when her name was called, even if it was her last name.

“Yes, thank you. So——today is Valentine's Day, isn't it?”

She held an elegant-looking paper bag in her hand, and it was easy to imagine what was inside.

However, before she could offer it, the previous two raised their voices.

“Wa-wait please, Toujou-senpai!”

“Senpai, weren’t you going to give it to him after school?”

At the two’s questioning words, Toujou tilted his head in puzzlement.

“What are you talking about? I didn't make any particular promises, but——”

Toujou said that, but she soon guessed it, her eyes widened, and her face naturally turned toward Ryou standing nearby.

Ryou, who was looked at, just slightly smiled with her poker face as usual.

As expected, she’s scary.

“...I did advise you not to do anything unhealthy.”

“——What could you be talking about, Senpai?”

Heading over briskly toward Toujou, who stared at her while scowling as she said those words, Ryou said that as if she doesn’t understand what she’s saying.

“Don’t play dumb, who else is there but you?”

“It might be a bluff by those two to keep Senpai in check, you know?”

With a giggle, Ryou lightly brushed her hair back.

“Well——it’s true that I was there when he made the promise.”

(You’re saying it?... No, there’s no reason to hide it though)

Moreover, her wording is rather ambiguous.

It could be taken to mean that she just saw him make a promise to someone.

Since the promise not to accept anything was made to Reiko-san, that one is not a mistake.

The promise to receive it after school is, of course, done with Ryou herself though.

“Eh?——Ryou-kun, and Onii-chan?”

“What, does that… t-that was just a rumor, right?”

Comparing the two, himself and Ryou, Nishina and the others were puzzled, while Toujou grinds her teeth.

They seem to be at the mercy of rumors that they are a couple.

(Well——It’s not a rumor, but the truth though.)

As Yuuma remained silent as though he had no comment to make, Ryou came towards him with a triumphant smile at the three girls.

“Yuuma, how about we go out for a bit. It's getting noisy, and it seems like it's better not to be in the classroom.”

“...That’s true, let’s do that.”

He already felt that the girls in the classroom were looking at them.

Yuuma agreed with Ryou's opinion and went to leave the classroom.

“Aa——wa-wait, Onii-chan!”

“We haven't finished talking, and even the chocolate——”

The two of them panicked, while Toujou remained silent, each with a package in their hand, chasing after Yuuma——.

…

Now then, what to do——.

Their usual empty classroom is a place of rest and relaxation for both of them.

Hesitant to go there, Yuuma walked while half-heartedly thinking whether they should go to the rooftop as he looked at Ryou.

“What?”

“No… that, sorry.”

“...Nn—n, I’m not particularly angry, you know. Since you properly refused.”

As if to say, 'don’t worry about it', she shook his body and touched it with her shoulder.

“That's true, but… at that rate, they're going to force it on me.”

“Isn’t it fine if you just throw them away?”

“Ruthless!”

At the very least, just like Ryou, he would want to deliver them as lost items.

Because throwing away food went against his style.

“Well, that's just a joke——”

“I hope so... but, really, what to do——I'll check with Reiko-san and ask over the phone.”

He suddenly thought of it and said that, but Ryou's face immediately turned sullen.

“...My bad, I guess you wouldn’t like it huh.”

“Sorry, I’m being selfish… but you know——”

It's not like he didn’t understand what Ryou was trying to say——or rather, he understood.

He could easily imagine Reiko-san's triumphant face, saying, ‘See, it’s just like I said, Ojou-sama.’

Ryou also felt vexed at that, but she also can’t bear the fact that he asked another woman to solve women's troubles right in front of her.

Besides, even if the other party was unmistakable, next time, he will just plan to give it to her after receiving it from Reiko-san.

“Yuuma, you don’t feel like receiving it, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Because a lot of things happened with those guys, it would be a mistake to receive it now... that's why I definitely don't want to receive it.”

In other words, you just need a logical reason not to receive it.

“If we’re dealing with some stranger, all I have to do is say that I don't like sweets.”

“...They even know your preference.”

“T-that was a story from when I was a kid… I don't particularly like it that much now.”

At the somewhat thorny point, Yuuma hurriedly made excuses.

Sure, he likes chocolate crunch, but it's nothing special.

When Ryou asked him about it, he didn’t specify any type, that’s what he meant——he would have to seriously think about it if he has to say it, is how he should have replied.

While reflecting on that, he was thinking of another way to divert the conversation.

“Because I have cavities… is probably difficult huh.”

“Having a promise to receive something is not a reason not to receive another. If they say something like ‘you don't have to eat it’, you wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“Then, how about ‘I’ve been gaining weight lately’, I guess that’s impossible…”

They have to think in case they say ‘you only need to accept it.’

“...I’ll just clearly say ‘I'm going to throw it away.’”

“They probably know that Yuuma wouldn’t do that anyway.”

“Uu…”

“Ah——sorry, it wasn't sarcasm just now.”

The ‘it’ just now meant that, as expected, about his preference earlier——

“Maybe ‘I’m short on money, and can’t prepare a return gift’… see, even if it’s obligatory, I’d worry about it.”

Shaking off the scary imagination, he said a different idea.

“It’s not bad, but… won’t they just force their way and say ‘no need for a return gift’?”

Certainly——he wasn't actually short of money, and even if he was, for Yuuma to give something in return, as expected, it wouldn't be a reason not to accept it.

Even if he said it's a nuisance, they can just tell him clearly that they don't need a return gift.*

After all, for them, Yuuma eating it or receiving a return gift from Yuuma are secondary, the most important thing is for him to receive it first.

(...No, wait, maybe?)

Reaching that thought, Yuuma suddenly tilted his head.

(Thinking about it the other way around, rather than a reason why I don't want to receive it, maybe I should think about a reason so that they don't give it——)

Before he receives it, it'll be better if they don’t give it.

In other words, he should find out the reason why they wanted to give it to him so much——and destroy that reason.

“...Yuuma?”

Without responding to Ryou's words, Yuuma stopped and looked back toward the three of them.

————

(T/N: the chapter often talked about chocolate without mentioning the word “chocolate”. Japanese sure is a pain. Also, there are some sentences here where even though I’m sure I know the individual words, I can’t really understand why it was like that or translate it properly, so this is the best I can do until I’m used to translating japanese.)

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