ALL NOVEL Chapter 61
“Looks like you’ve been getting ahead of yourself lately, huh?”
“Don’t get too full of yourself just because you got a big body.”
“………”
Ryuichi let out a big sigh in his heart, wondering how things had come to this. On a certain day during summer vacation, Ryuichi was being harassed by two senior boys at school. The reason why he was at school during the summer vacation was simply because he was here to help prepare for the sports festival that was to be held after the summer vacation.
…What a pain in the ass. Also, now that I think about it, getting into fights like these is kinda nostalgic.
Ryuichi laughed as he thought about something a little out of place. Seeing Ryuichi in a calm and composed state, the two boys reached a hand out for him and barked, “What are you laughing about?”
“Well, it’s just that I’ve always been cocky, y’know?”
“You bastard.”
“…Now you’ve done it.”
Ryuichi, Makoto, and Kaname were all well-known delinquents at school, so although it’d gone under the radar, there were of course other students who were considered delinquents, both juniors and seniors.
These two were among said delinquents, but compared to Ryuichi and his friends, they weren’t as impactful, or rather, they could even be called cute delinquents.
“For the record, this is a school, and here, we’re your seniors.”
“Don’t get too smug, smartass!!”
Ignoring Ryuichi’s warning, he growled and came at him with a punch, but Ryuichi avoided it nimbly and grabbed his hand. Ryuichi then added force into his grip, creating a creaking noise. The senior who’d had his hand grabbed grimaced in pain, but once again, Ryuichi was amazed at the high specs of his body.
I can see his arm movements, I can avoid him easily, and most importantly, I’m really strong… I guess you really do have to be at least this strong to have the qualifications to call yourself a staple cuckolding character.
Heh, as if. Ryuichi lightly smiled to himself.
However, he knew that if he fought back here, it would cause trouble, so he racked his brains as to what he should do. In the meantime, he continued to apply pressure, and as his grip grew stronger and stronger, the senior let out a squeal of pain.
“L-Let go of him!”
“Hmm?”
When Ryuichi turned his gaze toward the other senior, he took a step back, perhaps frightened by Ryuichi’s glare. Judging that he’d done enough, he let go of the senior’s hand, and the two of them backed off a distance away from him but did not stop glaring at him.
“…God, what a hassle—”
“Ryuichi-kun, what’s wrong?”
It was then that a refreshing voice echoed throughout the area. Perhaps she was worried about Ryuichi who wasn’t returning as Shizuna slowly approached from behind. She would probably glare at the two seniors and give them a piece of her mind if she knew what had happened, but Ryuichi saw no need for her to go that far.
“It’s nothing; I’ll be right back.”
“H-Hey!”
“Hold it!”
Ryuichi glared intensely at them, seemingly telling them, “Back off.” The seniors completely shrank at his glare that was even sharper than before, and Ryuichi made his way to Shizuna, finding their reaction pathetic as he did.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Did you think something happened to me?”
When he asked that, Shizuna shook her head and smiled.
It was possible that Ryuichi had garnered even more hate from those seniors, but he smiled ferociously, thinking that if they tried to pick a fight with him again, he would have to pay them back accordingly.
“…I can tell you’re thinking of something bad, Ryuichi-kun.”
“Oops.”
Of course, Shizuna always watched Ryuichi when they were alone, so she seemed to be able to accurately tell what he was thinking. It was almost as if she could see right into his mind, but since it was Shizuna, it didn’t make him feel uncomfortable, and in fact, it even made him feel as if she understood him very well, strangely enough.
“Do you think I’ve been cocky lately?”
“Hmm, don’t you think that was the past you?”
She was completely right. Ryuichi had, on the contrary, become much more mellow as of late, and he could still remember how his teachers’ evaluation of him had changed a little bit and how he was now adored by the students. Perhaps it was precisely because he’d become more mellow that he looked like a tiger that had lost its fangs.
“If I did actually fight back, then a full-on brawl would’ve been inevitable, though… I wouldn’t want to make you worry, and more importantly, I’m sure you wouldn’t like me fighting either, would you?”
“Huh? Well…”
Contrary to Ryuichi’s expectations, Shizuna sank into thought. After a brief think, she replied with this.
“It would certainly make me worry, and I would hate to see you get injured, too. But, if it comes down to it, I’ll respect your decision, Ryuichi-kun. You would never use violence without a reason, so if you do use force, I’m sure you’ll have a reason behind it.”
Those words had come from the fact that she completely trusted Ryuichi. It was often said that power, whether it be violence or otherwise, came with responsibility when used, and Ryuichi as he was now had no intention of wielding his power recklessly.
It would be irrefutable if one called what he did earlier a form of violence as well, but at least when Ryuichi wielded his power, it was to protect someone important to him.
“…What am I, some kind of isekai hero?”
“Fufu, that sounds nice. I think you have the makings of a hero, Ryuichi-kun.”
“Spare me from that. I have more than enough on my hands just being a delinquent.”
After that, they went back to the classroom and helped prepare for the sports festival once more. That being said, though, there wasn’t really much to do; he would be told to do this or do that, and he would simply do as he was told. He took the initiative when it came to carrying heavy loads, so he really fit in with the class and was adored by many.
“Shishido-kun, could you take that one with you?”
“Alright.”
“Shishido! Help me out here!”
“Got it!”
“Shishido-kun! Make out with Shizuna more!”
“Sure… Oi, the hell you just say?”
“Ahaha!” The class erupted in laughter. Shizuna was working with her usual group of friends, and she really seemed to be laughing happily seeing Ryuichi teased by the class like this. What’s more, there was an array of voices teasing her too, but she didn’t get the least bit embarrassed and took it all in stride.
“See, Ryuichi-kun? They’re telling us to make out, so wanna make out?”
“It’s hot, so we’ll do it when we get home.”
“All right. Looks like we’ll be working up a sweat, in more ways than one.”
Many of her classmates’ faces flushed red as she muttered those words with a giggle. Ryuichi didn’t even want to imagine what they were thinking as he directed a slightly reproachful glare at Shizuna, but her expression was calm and composed.
“In that case, I guess we should leave things off here for today.”
“Roger that.”
“It’s finally over!!”
Since Ryuichi and the others’ were fundamentally grouped by their grade at their school, they had to manage their own grade’s festival like this every year. Of course, last year Ryuichi did not participate in any of these things, so in a sense, the interaction was a new experience for him.
“…So damn hot.”
“It is hot, huh.”
Once they exited the air-conditioned school, the hot sun and the close to thirty-degree celsius air hit Ryuichi and Shizuna. Although they were both dressed coolly, they still felt distinctly hot.
It was just before noon, and they were on their way to Shizuna’s house to have somen noodles.
“It’s been so long since I’ve had somen noodles. I rarely have them now that I’m alone.”
“When my father was still alive, we used to do things like nagashi somen… I miss those times.”
“Huh.”
Shizuna, or even Sakie for that matter, didn’t really speak much about their already deceased father. He had been far from the kind of person Ryuichi’s parents were; he was the ideal parent, a very kind person… Because of that, he thought that just recalling his memory would be painful for them.
…I wish thinking back on you two gave me that same feeling, too.
Ahead of Ryuichi and Shizuna, two parents and their child were walking happily together. The father and mother were holding the small boy’s hands, and although he had seen this kind of scene before, they definitely gave off the air of a family, with warmth and smiles in the air.
“Hey, Ryuichi, are you having fun?”
“Yeah!”
“Fufu, we’re such a close family, after all.”
When Ryuichi imagined this hypothetical situation, his face puckered up in disgust. It was an absolutely impossible scene, which was why he regretted imagining it.
“Ryuichi-kun, you have your part-time job today, don’t you?”
“Yep.”
“So, you know, I talked to the manager, and I thought I’d like to help out a little bit.”
“Hrm…”
“There’s the condition that I don’t serve men, along with many others, but today, I’ll be helping you out too.”
“I see… Hmm?”
Ryuichi had a feeling he’d heard something huge as he tilted his head in confusion. Then, time passed and night fell, and Shizuna was at the club where Ryuichi worked part-time.
“It looks good on you, Shizuna-chan.”
“Thank you very much.”
“………”
Seeing Shizuna dressed in clothes that, unlike the other waitresses, showed no skin at all, Ryuichi glared at the master, wondering what was going on.
“She wants to stay by your side as much as she can, or so she told me.”
“…Geez.”
It seemed that he would be working together with Shizuna today. That being said, he could rest assured knowing that she would be right next to the manager and would only be helping him with the cooking. However, in situations like these, it seemed to be par for the course that there would be troublesome customers visiting on this very day as well.