ALL NOVEL Chapter 56
The results of the final exam were handed out before the summer vacation. Some were happy, others despaired, but among them, Ryuichi was looking over his results without any particular change in expression.
“…All thanks to my study session with Shizuna, huh.”
Overall, his scores were even better than in previous tests. It was nice to see that his studies with Shizuna had paid off, and he was happy to see the results of his labor in concrete numbers.
“Supplementary lessons… I’ve got supplementary lessons…”
“Hang in there, man.”
“Ugh… I should’ve studied harder…”
His classmate in the seat next to him was devastated with despair, and Ryuichi too muttered, “Hang in there,” in his heart.
As he was looking at his results like this, his eyes met Shizuna’s, who was talking with her friends at a faraway seat.
“?”
The instant their eyes met, she beckoned him with her hand, seemingly telling him to come over. Thinking back, this was her first time calling out to him like this, since she had always been the one to come to Ryuichi.
“Heyo, Shishido-kun~.”
“How did you do?”
Having been asked this question by Shizuna’s friends who he’d come to be acquainted with through her, Ryuichi readily spread his results on the desk, having nothing in particular to be embarrassed about.
“…Wow.”
“You’re so smart even though you’re a delinquent.”
“You didn’t have to add the delinquent part, did you?”
All of her friends were spouting rude things, but Ryuichi was already used to hearing that. Plus, Shizuna was laughing happily with her hand over her mouth, and once he saw her smile, he felt no need to retort at them.
“………”
“…Hnng.”
As he was staring at Shizuna, each of the girls suddenly blushed and cast their gazes downward. He wondered what was wrong with them, and they looked at Ryuichi and said this:
“What can I say… Shishido really is one hell of a hottie, huh.”
“Yeah, yeah. The look on his face when he was staring at Shizuna just now… It was so badass and crazy cool.”
“Fufu, Ryuichi-kun’s always cool. ♪”
Since it was a well-known fact that Ryuichi and Shizuna were dating, her friends laughed happily when she fondly spoke of him like this.
Well, the matter of the fact was, although Sohei had been the one who was closest to Shizuna, they never ended up going out, so it was as if Shizuna had never had a man in her life.
“Shizuna’s a total beauty herself. I’ll never get tired of staring at her.”
“Hyuu~ ♪”
“Wow. ♪”
“! …Oh you, Ryuichi-kun. ♪”
It wasn’t like he’d said that to get back at her for calling him cool, but Shizuna’s face reddened at his words as she happily hit his chest. Finding even that gesture of hers cute, the girls couldn’t resist hugging her.
“You’re too cute, Shizuna!”
“I can’t anymore… Hey, Shishido, gimme Shizuna please.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Shizuna’s my girl.”
“Kya! ♪”
Ryuichi pulled Shizuna’s arm toward him a little forcefully. He felt bad for applying a bit too much force, but the joy in Shizuna’s voice seemed to indicate that he did not need to worry about that. There were still many students in the classroom, and as such, some of the girls blushed when Ryuichi embraced Shizuna, who was arguably the most beautiful girl in the class.
“…Well, I guess I should’ve expected this would happen now that I’ve changed.”
“It feels like you’re a knight protecting a princess.”
“If I’m a knight, how upstanding and righteous would a real knight have to be?”
“Pufu?!”
Shizuna laughed at Ryuichi’s words. No one would have any qualms about Shizuna being called a princess, but as for him being a knight, even he did not want to imagine himself as that.
“Fufu, if I have you protecting me, I’d feel safe against any opponent.”
“I’m telling you, you gotta put that joke to rest,” his tired expression seemed to say. However, Shizuna and her friends seemed to think they should expand on the topic further.
“But you know, if Shishido was a knight, what do you think his weapon would be? A regular sword?”
“He wouldn’t be wielding a sword. He’d be wielding an axe or a hammer, for sure.”
“Ah, that’s true. He’d let his strength do all the talking!”
“Yup!”
“…Y’all are saying whatever you want now, huh.”
Incidentally, there was a time when Ryuichi too had had a penchant for all things fantasy. Although it hadn’t been as bad as the infamous chuunibyou phase, he’d been inspired by a certain manga and looked up to swords as weapons. But, that’s neither here nor there.
“Alright, let’s head home.”
“Yes.”
He went out into the hallway with Shizuna. In doing so, he ran into Sohei, but he was, as expected, different now.
“See you later, Shishido, Shizuna.”
“See ya.”
“Yup. See you later, Sohei-kun.”
Sohei had restored his relationship with not just Ryuichi, but also Shizuna to some extent. It was almost as if he’d become a different person, and perhaps he’d thought about how his relationship with Shizuna should be as he’d now gone back to being proper childhood friends with her.
It was no longer a matter of whether or not he was going out with Shizuna, it was about respecting what they had with each other now because they’d been together for a long time and were very close to each other.
“You look happy, huh?”
“Eh? Really?”
Ryuichi said this to Shizuna, whose cheeks were happily slackened. She thought for a moment, glanced at Sohei as he left, and continued her words.
“I’ve been together with him since I was a little girl. Maybe that’s why I’m so happy now that things have turned out like this. He even sent me a message telling me to be happy with you, you know?”
“Really, now?”
He was honestly surprised because he hadn’t known that. It was true that Sohei had said something similar to him when they went to the club together the other day, but he didn’t think he’d tell that to Shizuna.
“…He’s a good guy.”
“Yup. Falling in love with him is an entirely different matter, though.”
“Well, that can’t be helped, can it?” Ryuichi gave a wry smile.
Now then, school had ended for the day, but Ryuichi still had his part-time job to do.
“Time to work my ass off at work again today!”
“Good luck, Ryuichi-kun.”
“Yeah.”
“Because me and my mom will be visiting today.”
“…Huh?”
He thought he’d misheard her, but apparently that wasn’t the case. He had been looking forward to having a peaceful day of regular, hard work since Chisa and Satsuki had no plans to visit today, but apparently that wouldn’t be possible.
“You’re really coming?”
“Yup.”
With this, it seemed that it was set in stone that the two would come together. Ryuichi dropped her off at her home and from there he immediately headed for the club.
“Yo.”
“Hey, Ryuichi. You’re here.”
The manager, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV, noticed his arrival. After setting down his bag and making some preparations, Ryuichi sat down next to him, as he still had some time to spare.
“Here.”
“Thanks.”
He handed Ryuichi some chocolate, and Ryuichi thanked him as he threw it in his mouth.
“You’ve become more honest too, huh. In the past, when I tried to give you sweets like this, you wouldn’t accept them.”
“…Did I?”
Indeed, when he thought back on it, he felt that that had been the case. It may have been because Ryuichi wasn’t the type of person who liked sweets much in the first place, but the fact that he was starting to eat sweets like this was probably due in large part to the fact that he was spending time with Shizuna.
“Whenever I go to her house or she comes to mine, she always offers me sweets. Maybe that has something to do with it, too.”
“I see. Heh, I’ve heard she’s a good cook too, so she must really know you well.”
“Yeah. I don’t think I’ll ever be a match for her for the rest of my life.”
If he told this to Shizuna, she would probably tell him that that wasn’t true, but Ryuichi really felt that way about her. The manager patted Ryuichi’s head strongly, saying that that part of him had changed too, but Ryuichi strangely did not brush it off.
“You have a large build and a stern face, but a lot of people really cherish you. I’m sure you already know you’re popular with older people, don’t you?”
“Well, sorta.”
“Sure, you’re a bad kid. But to be honest, there’s a kind of parental love in me that really wants you to overcome a lot of things.”
“………”
“I’m half-grateful and half-jealous that it wasn’t me, but women you met later in life who showed you that.”
Ryuichi stood up and told the manager, who’d created a gloomy atmosphere, that he was grossed out.
“…Y’know, I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me, boss.”
“I see.”
“I’m gonna head to the toilet.”
He was still embarrassed when it came to expressing his gratitude, especially when it was to someone who had been taking care of him for so long. Flustered by the warmth of the manager’s gaze, he headed for the restroom as if to run away.