Chapter 4: At the very best, only as friends, OK!?
Part 1
The day after I went out with Ayame.
The weather was a bit gloomy.
Dark clouds spread out as if it would rain down at any time, but for now they were enduring. Although it seems like rainfall is not far ahead.
During our commute to school as usual, I was looking up at the sky with Ayame.
"I hate this weather. Aramiya, did you bring a folding umbrella?"
"Well, it's monsoon. I keep one in my bag all the time."
"Is that so..."
Why are you disappointed about it?
"Even though I thought we could come back sharing an umbrella."
"Was that the thing going through your head..."
Aiaigasa (people sharing the same umbrella) can be seen often in VNs as well as RL. Well, in RL people blocking the entire street receive a lot of ill intent. It's not people getting along well with each other that angers me, rather, it's their inconsiderate blocking of the whole road without thinking about the surroundings that's annoying. I almost want to tell them "you're being a bother so move aside".
"Like you know, how the umbrella not being wide enough will lead to one of our shoulders getting wet."
"Even the situation has to be how you want, eh?"
The person whose shoulder doesn't get wet ends up falling all over with the considerate person... That's too conventional.
TL Note: The author means something like it's a trope that's overused.
While having conversations of no substance, we reach the classroom.
Just as I enter, my classmates looked this way.
"W-what?"
Their gazes were fixed not at Ayame, but at me...
"So you're finally here. Come with me for a moment."
Tozaki catches me by the arm and leads me towards a corner of the classroom.
"What's happening?"
"Just come with me."
In front of the back window, Tozaki said while sighing,
"So you've now apparently turned into a shameless profligate..."
"Ha? For real?"
"For real. People from the other classes suddenly came in to ask. Apparently you are conducting debauchery with Ayame, Hatsushiba and Ibu."
"No no no no, that's not possible. In the first place no way you would do stuff like that in school!"
"Of course you're right, but..."
Has that rumor from before instead of calming down, spread out even further?
"To think such a rumor would spread out... something is wrong with our school."
"Going by your logic, don't you have the skills for debauchery?"
He got me there... not!
Where the heck will you find a profligate quality in me? No matter how you think about it, someone is maliciously spreading these lies around.
Just when the wall between Ayame and the rest of the class dissolved, now a new one being born around me is nothing to joke about.
Well, no, it's just that they're being somewhat cold at the moment...
"Be careful about your actions. Right now, you can apparently just wave your right hand a little and adult toys switch on to tease girls."
"What is this trainer type protagonist..."
Are there some girls in this school that act suspiciously?
Classes started with the miscomfort in the air, but luckily, nothing negative happened.
The problems started after school ended.
While going to the club room to get my stuff, I noticed a bunch of guys intently making clattering sounds in front of the door.
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?"
"Geh, Ayame!"
Seeing Ayame's figure, they all dispersed hurriedly. The rumors of her being scary is still in solid grounding for people not in our class, after all.
However, all that doesn't matter right now.
A piece of wire was left on the ground. I pick it up.
"... Were they trying to pick the lock with this thing?"
"Well, the working of the lock isn't that different from a padlock. The structure is made to be a bit complicated, and it's a pain to pick them though. ... If it's of this level, I can't pick it."
"That's not what I wanted to know."
However, there's a chance that the door might be unlocked by coincidence.
To think that idiots who would go this far to uncover evidence behind the yuri profligacy...
This time we came to the clubroom because I had something to pick up, but things could have gone terribly wrong.
There are no adult toys in this room. I mean, no debauchery even occurs inside, so they clearly don't exist.
Well, if they do search the interior, the suspicion of my being a brute will be blown away.
However, they'll definitely find the eroge, and everyone in school would come to know. If things go wrong then even rumors that I'm making them do stuff like in eroge H scenes might be born instead.
They'll also find out that I'm a deep otaku, and in the worst case, I'll be suspended. It'll totally be a deep impact... wait this is not the time!
TL Note: I think the author refers to the disaster english film called "Deep Impact". Not sure if a Japanese reference exists here haha.
"Isn't it better to transfer all the eroge inside to home?"
"Well, I also thought the same, but..."
There's two pretty sizeable cardboard boxes filled to the brim with eroge in the room.
If I try bringing them home stuffing my bag, it'll take around a month to transfer all of them.
For sending them in a package, a teacher's permission is required. It's not like I can't ask Kiriko nee-chan for help, but the problem is that it also needs a sign by the deputy head. If it is deemed as a matter of mixing private matters with work, it will be a terrible inconvenience to Kiriko nee-chan, and in case they want to look inside, things will go really really south.
Then how about dashing to the convenience store while hiding the cardboard boxes? No, we're out bold if a teacher inspects the contents while we leave.
TL Note: Hope you got the cricket reference. xD
Inside the school, it's not an issue to carry around cardboard boxes, but we'll definitely be seen if we move outside. Every gate also has some teacher overlooking it. It's also hard to climb up the high walls to escape.
"Isn't it safe if we stay inside the clubroom from now on?", Ibu says nonchalantly.
Unexpectedly, her suggestion has some credit to it.
"Now people are trying to enter even if they have to pick the lock after all..."
"So it's safer to do club activities inside, is it?"
Ayame nods as if convinced.
"How about bringing this attempted break-in incident to the teachers?"
"Not good, Hatsushiba. An inspection might be carried out if we do that."
If that happens, the teachers will definitely sniff out the VNs.
If the inspecting teacher is Kiriko nee-chan, then we can still dodge it... And if she's not in charge of inspection, then her reputation as the one allowing us to use this room will be damaged.
"Can't be helped. Let's restart club activities from today."
Not like we have anything to do here.
We enter the clubroom unlocking the door after a long while.
"Good day."
While we were holding a conference about the rumors inside the clubroom, student council president Yaotani dropped by. She really doesn't get tired of it.
"Hana, Asuka. Keep a watch on the surroundings outside. Don't let suspicious people come around."
"Yes." "Leave it to us."
The two accompanying her went outside.
Closing the door, the president looks at us intensely.
"The rumors got even worse."
"Thanks to you."
"I didn't ask you."
"Is that so?"
The president gives Ayame a kind smile.
"How about we at the Student Council take care of this rumor, Ayame-san?"
"Seriously? Erm, I mean, Are you really going to do it? Ah, but... it's not like you'd do it for free though..."
The president gives a calm nod, answering Ayame's cautious question.
"Of course. We'll have you quit this club and become a full time member of the student council."
Ayame's expression becomes stiff from hearing the condition.
Hatsushiba and Ibu's eyebrows also twitch. Although they're still refraining from speaking up. Hatsushiba is shaking her lips even now, and will probably jump the gun any moment soon.
"I want to clear up the rumors. But, making me leave the club for that is..."
It's as if the bitter feelings inside her heart were surfacing up.
Judging from Ayame's expression, she is clearly worrying about it.
There's no need to make her quit our club. It's also annoying to have everything go by the president's plans.
"Please wait a moment, president."
"I remember telling you to shut up?"
"You didn't. You just told me that you didn't ask me to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about."
"I do have something to say. I really wish you would clear up the rumor for free."
"Did you really think I'd agree to such a convenient term?"
"Yeah. Aren't you a fellow comrade?"
"Comrade...?"
"Yeah. So in the end, which 18+ game did you buy yesterday? You were very seriously thinking about which one to buy, after all."
TL Note: YES! Give it to her! Punch in the face!
The president's eyebrows visibly twitched.
Every club member opened their eyes in shock. It really was unexpected, after all. Well, even I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I saw her in the shop.
Kukuku, she can't give excuses for buying eroge.
"I'll ask once more, but can you do it for free?"
I feel like I'm making a sleazy face right now.
Well, she's not someone I can deal with straight, but how will she respond?
The president however, just narrows her eyes without losing her cool at all.
"Are you... threatening me?"
"As if. Do you think I can do such fearless things? Well, your actions have also tormented us in various ways, so let's call it even after this."
Her eyes are cold, making me shudder. It's as if she put ice in her gaze. It's perfect for the summer, dammit.
"What will you do after... spreading it? It's possible to mark that rumor as one trying to slander my reputation. You do know how I behave in the school, right? Do you think the students of this school will believe in you?"
This girl really understands her position well. It'll be hard to have other students believe.
So should I have just taken a quick picture in my smartphone? Nah stealing shots are a bit...
"And if you start such a rumor, the inspection of this room will also become definite. Who do you think will be in trouble?"
So she knew all along. I did guess it before.
"On top of that... since you know that I was in that place, you were also in that place. Together with Ayame-san..."
After saying that, the president shows us her the screen of her smartphone.
A picture of us dashing out of the shop interior while holding hands. Complete with 18+ posters hanging around, it was impossible to make excuses.
The president gives a ferocious smile after closing her smartphone.
"You really don't go easy... stealing a photo like that."
"Nope. I just coincidentally clicked this photo, it's not stealing."
"... Such coincidences also happen, I see."
"But of course. The world is full of mysteries, after all."
"Well, it'll be good if Ayame doesn't think she misjudged you."
Hearing that, her whole body shook. This time the effect was outstanding.
"W-well, even I don't want to go through such futile charades. If we continue further, we really won't go anywhere. Should we talk in private? Ara-whatever?"
She makes a gesture towards me to follow her.
"... That's exactly what I wanted."
I stand up while glaring at her.
And I follow the president who is about to leave.
"A-Aramiya!?"
"Don't worry. Just wait a bit."
As soon as I enter the hallway, I see the two from before keeping watch back-to-back. Aren't they diligent...?
After walking up to the president, we move to the deepest corner of the clubroom wing.
Entering shadows that no one is supposed to pass by, we look at each other.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
Did we have anything new to talk about, again?
"I want you to lend us Ayame-san... is what I want to talk about. We did have a similar conversation before, right?"
"If it's about that, we're done here. Please directly ask Ayame."
"I'm asking you because she declined. I still haven't given up."
She really pesters a lot. Such a pain...
"Then, what do you want to demand from me this time?"
"Let me also compromise from my end."
"Compromise? What will you compromise...?"
Because she's running the train too fast, I've no idea what she wants.
"Let me give up on making Ayame-san my own. So, let us have joint ownership. You'll be her male lover, and I'll be her female lover."
... What?
TL Note: Indeed, what? Are you nuts?
"Just what did you say right now?"
"Did you not hear me? You'll be her male lover, and I'll be her female lover, is what I'm proposing."
"Is your brain fried or something...?"
Just what she saying... inadvertently my brain makes a typo.
It's such a bizarre topic. Seriously, what the hell is this president thinking?
"If you do so, I'll also take care of your rumor. Then everything will be wrapped up nicely, right?"
"Nicely, eh..."
"As a plan in the current situation, I think it's pretty reasonable?"
I have no intention of selling away Ayame, though...
Although it is quite interesting that she's saying something that contradicts my mental image of her type...
"You seem to be the type of person who wouldn't tolerate the girl she likes going out with another boy though, am I wrong?"
"Well, I used to think like that... but I realized something. Did you not realize it already?"
"Realize what?"
The president smirks condescendingly at me. As if truimphing that she's the one who knows Ayame better...
"Only after all this time did I come to understand... the reason behind Ayame's cuteness and beauty-"
Opening her folding fan, she thrusts it horizontally towards me.
"- is because she's in love."
The president said so with an extremely serious look.
"I remember the names of every female student in this school. Of course, I naturally knew about Ayame when she used to be a delinquent."
Well, kind of expected with how she used to stand out. She was probably the number one famous person in school.
"At some point of time... she had suddenly bloomed. In full glory. Among all the beautiful flowers in the flower bed, as a beautiful woman emitting incomparable charm. No matter how hard I thought, I could not figure out the reason behind this transformation... but then I realized. She became like this because she fell in love with you."
"..."
TL Note: Oof what is with this president and her overly poetic language and choice of words? It's testing my vocabulary to the limit. Please stop talking already. You know you can't buy Ayame...
"Ayame's brilliance... although I hate to admit it, exists because you are with her, and it won't be complete without you. I desire for that beautiful Ayame-san. She's absolutely wonderful. Just like an angel descended onto this school. If she's with me, my ambition will also definitely be accomplished."
"Ambition...?"
"Yes. To turn this school into an orchard of females... an all-girls school!"
... Is the scale of this topic too big, or too small, or just idiotic?
"This is not an eroge, and I don't think you can do that overnight? It's not like the student council has that much authority, right?"
"You're correct. If we had that much influence, I'd have turned this into an all-girls school a year ago. That's why, we have to commit to a grassroots operation."
"Towards whom?"
"The city mayor or PTA I guess."
TL Note: PTA = Parent-teacher association.
"Rather, turning this school into an all-girls school itself will take ages. You're not going to be even here next year."
"However, I can sow the seeds. If the seeds are sown properly... I can repeat a year or even get myself expelled, or maybe as a faculty, I'll return here. It's at that time... that my hunger will be satiated!"
... Why did the students of this school elect this person as their president?
She's even worse than the perverted student council presidents that appear in eroge.
"And you too, seem to be somewhat scared that Ayame-san will be taken away."
"I am not even thinking about that, though."
"Nope. You must be scared right now... That Ayame's hymen will be gone. Am I right, virgin-nerd-san?"
Calling people virgin addicts while pointing a folding fan at them, doesn't this person have a wonderful personality?
"You are misunderstanding something."
While I'm a virgin nerd, I have never once thought that I wanted Ayame's virginity.
"No, I understand from your smell. While I don't want to think about it that much, you're an otaku just like me. Therefore, let me promise that I'll not tear her hymen."
She doesn't understand a thing.
But...
It really is impossible.
There's no way I can hand Ayame over to this person - no, this freak.
While I had a fleeting thought that she could become a fellow eroge enthusiast, it seems like it was impossible for us to get along right from the start.
"You."
I glare at the president.
"Don't fuck around! Virginity is not about the existence of a membrane. It gets taken the moment someone offers their heart."
"I see. Seems like you have some opinions about the definition of virginity."
"Not that it matters. In the first place, I don't have any such relation with her. I've been saying this from the beginning, but if you want her, persuade her by yourself. If you think you're yuri, don't drag the existence of a guy in the middle!"
While I'm not an expert in the field, I feel like this freak is even wrong as a yuri.
Finally, handing over Ayame to this person is something I will not agree to even if heaven and hell flip around.
"Well, even if you do end up persuading Ayame, I'll obstruct it to the bitter end."
Hearing that, the president's eyes turned a dangerous shade.
Oof, scary AF.
"Guess I'll just ask for now, but why?"
"It's easy. I can't digest the fact that you're treating her like an object."
"Object? How so?"
"The fact that you're talking about tearing or not tearing her hymen. It's something that neither me nor you can decide on. We don't even have that right from the beginning. It's to be given to the person that Ayame decides on."
The president hides her mouth behind the folding fan after opening it.
"... So negotiations are off?"
"It's not like there was any sign of it being established from the very onset."
Waving my hand at the president, I turn my back on her.
She's totally the king of wasting time.
Passing by the two attendants, I head towards our clubroom.
"I'm back."
Everyone looked back at me in worry as soon as I entered the room.
"W-welcome back. H-how did it go?"
Ayame asks, taking the initiative.
It's a bit hard to answer the person in question...
"She talked about her dreams."
"... what?"
Everyone makes a strange face.
Well, let's not talk about her proposal of "joint ownership" of Ayame and stuff... it's something that doesn't need to be said out.
Flumping onto a chair, I tiredly look up at the ceiling.
"Aramiya-kun, you look like a salaryman that just returned from a business talk."
"Aren't you watching too much drama or whatever?"
Didn't think I'll get told that by Hatsushiba.
Or rather, of course you'd get tired. Talking with that person is tiring.
In the first place, forcing conversation with people whose thought process is different is exhausting. Not like my words reached her in any capacity.
It's still good if we had something common to talk about, but our tastes in eroge titles even would probably be conflicting.
"Good grief... why is that person so obsessed with women?"
Does she grasp the existence of Saitani? If they still haven't met each other, I should thrust him at her as an absolute defense.
"She said she was cheated by a guy before tho..."
The person who seemed to have suddenly realized the reason, was none other than the girl with a face as lax as that of a mascot character, Ibu.
Since the input came from an unexpected person, everyone, including me, had round eyes.
"Who did you hear that from? Ibu?"
"From the council president herself."
"When?"
"Probably a long time back~ I feel like I went through hell by studying after that."
Now that she says it, she was once late because the president had called her. It totally slipped our minds to ask her why she was called. Wasn't it a talk about "assets" or something?
"And then, when I declined her, she told me that it's bad to go out with boys. Even though Seiichi is a good boy..."
"Nah, leave the part about me. What did she say about being cheated?"
"Umm, if I remember correctly... Probably when she was in middle or elementary school, she went out with a guy apparently-. She told me his name, but I forgot. Although it seemed like I have heard that name somewhere..."
"The fact that you don't remember if it was middle or elementary school, I think your story is pretty shaky..."
"P-president did go out with a guy before!!"
Well, it's probably fine to believe in that much. Since she's going this far...
"So, she's pretty, right? And the guy was also super cool-. So everyone was jealous that they were such a great couple."
A couple to envy eh. If people think about it that way, it probably sounds like middle school? During elementary school even if people become a couple they'd just be jeered at.
Well, let's leave aside the time period for now. Rather, it's not a talk about her assets but rather her personal history...
"So wasn't she also quite happy about it?"
"Yeah, at that time. But... apparently she was told on the graduation day..."
"... What was she told?"
"『Thank you for granting my school life with vibrant colors. But, I already found a cute girl, so I don't need you anymore.』, apparently."
... We were all at a loss for words for a moment.
It's Ibu's words. I don't think she can remember the conversation word by word.
But, the content was probably not that far off.
"Cruel..."
"...That guy's the worst."
Hatsushiba and Tozaki agreed with each other, frowning in distaste.
It's a story that hits home. If such a rival character appears in a VN, you cannot gain catharsis if there isn't an episode where they get chastised. If such an episode doesn't exist, I give those VN's a 1☆ rating.
"You kind of end up... pitying her."
Ayame's pupils shadow in sadness.
"That president had such a history..."
"She also said that the boy went out with another cute girl in his next school. She was super angry that in the end, she was treated as just an accessory."
"Of course she would. But if he treated her that badly, wouldn't have he become the victim of rumors?"
"That you see-. He was apparently a very serious type, and no one believed her even if she told them. In the end the president was called 『mean』, 『demon』 etc..."
So that's why she stopped believing in guys and turned towards yuri.
Whether eroge came first or her turning into yuri came first is something we don't know... but there's not a lot of difference.
"..."
I suddenly thought.
Her story is very familiar to me.
Since she's the same as me.
After being thoroughly deceived by the opposite sex, she also became unable to believe in them.
Teachers or classmates didn't even believe her when she talked with them about being cheated.
And then she dug into the world of VNs, pretty much like a female version of myself.
Being deceived by the person you love tears apart your mentality by that much. Especially if during puberty, that wound becomes deep and doesn't heal easily. Even more so if you purely believed in that person.
Nowadays I can get along well with Ibu, and since she's been very sincere... I can now believe that she never had it in her to do such a terrible thing. That itself was a huge jolt between trust and suspicion.
I had also become unable to go to school for a while, and probably the president also probably received shock to a similar degree.
... Although I didn't head over to homosexuality.
Also, it had become clear that even Ibu was being manipulated.
"Is that how she achieved such an over-the-top hobby..."
"Well... something like that, maybe."
At my words, Hatsushiba made a painful expression that conveyed that she couldn't really say anything.
"It's very painful... when the person you believe in betrays you."
Hatsushiba also had to encounter something similar during Songou's case.
We all sympathize with the president. She is pitiful. Although she probably doesn't want guys to think of her that way.
However, no matter in what form, she stood up on her own even after the tragedy.
That's something I can sincerely respect.
"However... this time, she has become unable to look at her surroundings."
"Did ya say something? Aramiya?"
Ayame asks in wonder.
I ended up muttering that in a small voice, but apparently she didn't hear it.
"... No, nothing in particular."
I won't really stop the president if she wants to be tied together with a girl. No one has the right to judge others or deny them for their preferences.
Romance is free. Even if you love 2D.
But then, there's a huge prerequisite: that you don't cause hindrance to the person you're aiming for.
The president is already too much obsessed with Ayame.
You never know what she might be up to. We must be careful at all times...
"Was it not possible, after all?"
Yaotani frustratingly bit her fingernails while looking at the back of Seiichi.
"President, your beautiful fingernails will break."
"... You're... correct."
Although she let go of her nails, her eyebrows were still knit together.
It seemed as if her anger was overflowing up from within.
"... Should we do it?"
The secretary proposed something ominous.
However, the president shook her head.
"Violence is bad. We must always move smartly."
"Hmm..."
"However... we need to use our final means. Not that I really want to use that... it leaves a bad taste in my mouth as the student council president."
Such dangerous words dispersed into the hallway.
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