The Salty Princess Told Me That I Was a ‘Convenient Keep’, so I Tested What Would Happen if I Introduced the Most Beautiful Girl at Another School as My Girlfriend
“So, you brought me here, what’s the story?”
The men brought me to an empty, unpopular classroom. The men brought me to an empty, deserted classroom. It hasn’t been that long since classes ended, so I can hear the voices of the sports club and the people making noise on their way home from afar.
If they were going to do something wrong, it would be wiser to take me off school like Miwa, or better still, to call out to me in a place where they wouldn’t be seen. This place isn’t popular, but by the time I was brought here, I’d passed a few familiar faces. If we do anything fancy, we’ll be traced immediately.
With this in mind, I make some light preparations, but what do they care about me? The leader of the group of men, who stood at the front of the group, did not even look at me, but brushed his hair out of his habit and said
“You, stop causing trouble for Sakaki-san any more.”
“……, there’s that kind of talk again.”
Same as Miwa-kun from before, unilateral decisions and orders from above. …Mori-kun said earlier that we were a good match, but I guess it seemed to most people that I was threatening Sakaki-san.
….. Really, what’s so wrong with that? Is it wrong with this flashy blonde hair? I asked the hairdresser to make it as flamboyant as possible, but maybe I should go for a more muted colour next time I go.
I exhale heavily.
“I’ve had enough of that sort of talk. I don’t know who or what rumours you believed, but that’s between me and Sakaki-san. I have no right to be told what to do by the outside world.”
‘That’s only if you have a healthy relationship with her, right?”
“Haa……?”
“I already know you’re threatening and forcing Sakaki-san into a relationship!”
Yes, that’s right, the men behind me chorused. A sigh overflows from my mouth again.
“What a pain in the ass. So what are you guys trying to say? Are you by any chance supposed to be the heroes who rescue the heroine from the villain?”
“…… What if I said that’s so?”
“No, I think it’s lame. Is that kind of thing in fashion now?
t’s like rescuing a girl who’s been deceived by a terrible man, and then falling in love…. No, it’s been around for a long time.”
I try to be playful, but the men’s faces only get more serious. …Honestly, it’s a pain and I’d like to just brush it off like I did with Miwa-kun, but if they found out that Sakaki-san and I broke up, they’d think something was wrong and they’d come to Sakaki-san.
I
think a bit about what I should do. I wonder how the men interpreted my silence, and they sounded somewhat proud of themselves.
“Don’t you know that Sakaki-san hates you too? Even during PE today, you forcibly hugged Sakaki-san!”
“That’s right! Sakaki-san doesn’t like to be touched by men! Can’t you even understand that!”
The men raise their voices. I lightly shrugged my shoulders.
“Even if you say that, we were just practicing the two-legged position. Even if you say we touched, it was only the shoulders and legs, right?”
“Don’t lie! You were forcibly …… hugging Sakaki-san, who didn’t want to!”
“hat’s right! She …… didn’t like it! Sakaki-san shouldn’t be so careless with men like that!”
“What’s that? I don’t get it. Why do you guys decide what Sakaki-san should do? …… you’re just taking it out on me because you don’t have the courage to pick up a woman yourself?”
“Don’t be silly! We’re not light men like you!”
“That’s right! We’re protecting Sakaki-san from afar! I’m sure Sakaki-san cares about us more than you do!”
“…………”
I don’t think so, but it doesn’t really matter. I kind of understood what these guys were trying to say. …Honestly, I’d feel sorry for Sakaki-san, but that’s not for me to say.
There are other things I need to talk about now.
“First of all, can I have my phone back? I’ve already bought a new one, but if you give it back to me now, I’ll keep it without taking too much care of it.”
“…… don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The leader of the group laughed with a blasé look on his face. I laughed, too.
“Really? Then I guess it’s no use.
We’re going to have to get serious and take care of it. Worst case scenario, you could all be expelled, but that’s just what you deserve.”
“You’re bluffing. You lied like that and deceived Sakaki-san too, right? We know everything.”
“Can you still say that after seeing this?”
So I show them the phone cover I got back from Sakaki-san. The men shudder in surprise.
“This was delivered to me by an acquaintance who said he found it falling in an empty classroom. If I take this to the police and ask them to check for fingerprints and stuff, maybe they’ll find one of you guys‘ prints on it.”
“…… That’s another bluff. If a guy like you goes to the police and asks them to check fingerprints because your phone was stolen, they’re not going to take you seriously, are they?”
“”That depends on how I do it, right? Even if I don’t, I’ve heard that you guys were wandering around my seat after school. I’m sure you’ll find out sooner or later.”
I laugh lightly, as if trying to provoke them. The men look at each other, as if annoyed.
…… Well, actually, there’s no guarantee that there’s a fingerprint on this phone cover, and even if there was, I don’t think it would be evidence of theft. And it’s also a lie that there were witnesses. If there were, they would have moved on much earlier.
…… No, did Sakaki-san witness the face of the criminal who stole my phone? Then, if I ask her, she can help me identify if the culprit is among these people.
Well, I can’t bother her in that way now.
“Well, what do we do now? If you guys want to play dumb, that’s fine.
If you give it back to me, I promise I won’t take it too seriously. The choice is yours.”
“……”
The men back away, as if upset. ……They’re already saying they’re the culprits by the way they’re behaving, but I don’t think they’re paying attention to that.
“…… I don’t know what am I doing.”
All of a sudden, it started to feel ridiculous. I didn’t really want to do something like this. I wanted to change, but I kept trying to become someone, but all I had was more trouble.
Some of my classmates are nice to me, like Mori, but that’s just because they’re nice guys, not because of my efforts. I dye my hair, do flashy things, but in the end everything is just a waste of time. Even Sakaki-san and I broke up after only three months.
Koga-san said she was glad I hadn’t changed like this, but that’s probably thanks to my past behaviour. Koga-san is kind, so I’m sure she would have been kind to me even if I had stayed in my shell like I did when I was in junior high school.
─ ─ Then, what was my effort this past year?
“…… Well, okay.”
Messy, squabbling fans of Sakaki-san. No matter what I say, they won’t listen to a word I say. …… However, they don’t seem to be the kind of people who have much of an idea, so if I corner them a bit more, they should give me back my phone honestly.
After that, it’s none of my business what happens to these guys…
“Can you please not torture them too much?”
“You are …….”
There, Miwa-kun, a tall man wearing sweet-smelling perfume, appears. Miwa-kun, as usual, stepped between me and the men in a somewhat theatrical manner, and his voice echoed with amusement.
“Hello, how often do I see you today?”
“You’re the one who’s always asking me out, aren’t you?”
“Men who talk to me in that nasty way are not popular, okay?”
“I’m not trying to be popular.”
“Haha, you say the funniest things, don’t you? ….. very unlike the words of a man who was desperately chasing Saori’s back.”
“That’s mutual, isn’t it? Just because Sakaki-san doesn’t want to date you, stop taking out your worries on me. If you want to be popular, try getting a girl to date you.”
“…………”
“…………”
We stare at each other in silence. Miwa-kun came here by chance. …That won’t happen. If so, does Miwa-kun have some sort of connection with them? Or did you come here to have a relationship? It’s not good, I can’t read what this guy is thinking.
From the looks of it, he seems to be a narcissist, but even so, I feel that he is …… somewhat depressed. Did his inferiority complex to his sister make him crazy, as Sakaki san said?
I’ll shut up for now and wait for him to say something. Miwa-kun fluttered his beautiful black hair and said, not to me, but to the men.
“I heard, you guys stole his phone.”
“That’s …….”
“No, no need to defend yourself now. He doesn’t seem to be stupid, and it’s you guys who are in trouble if you make excuses. It’s not too late. Can you spare me here and give it back to him?”
“….. if you insist. ……”
The man in the leadership position then takes out a smartphone from his pocket. The case is off, so it is hard to distinguish it from the outside, but I guess that is my phone. Miwa takes it from the man and holds it out towards me
“Look, from now on you’re going to take a bit more care of it, okay?”
“…………”
I accept it, somehow not understanding it. Miwa-kun already remembered the faces of the men. If any problems arise, I will be able to respond accordingly. …Well, I don’t plan on making it that important, but…I still can’t accept it.
“Well, now we’ve got the phone issue sorted out. The rest is between you and Saori.”
“…Don’t make it your own. Generally speaking, whatever the relationship between Sakaki san and I is, it has nothing to do with you or the people behind it, right? Don’t make me say the same thing over and over again.”
“I understand. You want to say that since you and Saori have already broken up, it has nothing to do with each other. But isn’t that too irresponsible?”
“What do you mean……?”
“It’s just what it says. You have a habit of trying to approach a girl, and then just because she’s not what you thought, you dump her and move on to another girl. Saori, left alone, is surrounded by only bad rumors. If that’s the case, I feel so sorry for Saori.’’
“That’s …….”
What is that? It’s true that I’m not responsible, but I shouldn’t have done anything that would require me to be that careful. Regardless of the form, I confessed to Sakaki-san and she accepted it. In that case, the responsibility should not only be on me, but also on her.
…… But he won’t accept that kind of logic. In his mind, I am the perpetrator and Sakaki is the victim. And in fact, Sakaki-san didn’t like me.
I let out a small, gasping breath.
“So, Miwa-kun, what are you going to do by making things difficult for me again? Me and Sakaki-san have already broken up. I’ve already had my phone returned. There should be no more reason for you to get involved with me, and no more reason for me to get involved with you.”
“Are you going to irresponsibly say that again because it doesn’t matter, just do whatever you want? You’re only going to cause trouble for Saori. Hurt her as much as you want. You’re tired of it, so you’re going to tell me to do whatever you want, aren’t you? Saori must be regretting it by now… Or maybe she’s crying. It seems like she hates you.”
“If that’s the case, that’s already Sakaki san’s problem, isn’t it?…… You guys, come on. I don’t care what you guys think about Sakaki-san, that’s none of my business. Don’t get involved with me every time.”
“Oh, that’s scary. Did you also threaten Saori like that?”
“You’re annoying. If you want me to teach you how to seduce a woman, I’ll teach you, so don’t mess with me anymore. It’s annoying.”
“Haha, that’s a funny thing to say. What do you want to teach me?”
Miwa-kun laughs. I don’t laugh.
“Miwa kun, I don’t think you’re as popular as you think you are. No matter how good your face is, if you’re pretentious like that, girls won’t be attracted to you.
…… No, no. You’re probably afraid that they’ll see that you’re empty inside, so you’re deliberately acting the part of a rough guy to protect your weak self. Right?”
“…………”
Miwa-kun’s smile breaks. It seems that I had hit the nail on the head. I continue speaking.
“The people in the back are out of the question. No one wants to deal with people who pretend to be bystanders and mess around in the distance. If you like her, just say you like her directly, you gutless people. I’m afraid you’ll all get hurt that much. I mean, people who don’t have the courage to embarrass themselves gather together to harass someone, who’s going to fall in love with that?”
“Don’t talk nonsense! Sakaki-san, about us…”
“That’s enough. That’s your delusion. Not once did Sakaki-san ever say anything to you, did she? Don’t force your escape from reality on me.”
I laugh. I don’t particularly want to laugh. This is not what I want to do or say. It’s not like I wanted to do something like this and worked really hard. …But that’s okay. Enough is enough. If that’s what you want, I’ll do everything I can.
I stare at the men in front of me. Miwa-kun …… still laughed.
“Hahhaha! I knew you were that kind of guy! That Saori likes you is still a lie! There’s no way Saori would like a man with such a cold face!”
“That’s right! You’re just causing trouble for Sakaki-san!”
“There’s no way Sakaki-san would like a man like you!”
“You misunderstood piece of male trash, give Sakaki-san back!”
The guys also join Miwa-kun in cursing me. …… Okay, I get it. I’ll buy that fight. I’m going to break the bones in all of your noses with your miserable pride if you’re going to be that messy.
I grab Miwa-kun by the chest. With just that, Miwa’s smile tightens.
“Y-you end up resorting to violence, right? If you do something like that, what will happen later…”
“I don’t care.
You should be whining to your mum while your nose is bleeding.”
“Hiii ……!”
I raised my fist in the air.
…… but the classroom door opened as if to intercept me.
“Why are you here ……?”
I instinctively lower my fist. The person who came was the girl I thought had already left… Sakaki-san. When she saw Miwa-kun and me clutching his chest, her eyes widened in surprise.
“L-look at this, Saori. This is the true nature of this man.”
Miwa’s voice bursts with joy and he looks at Sakaki-san. The men follow suit.
“Yes, that’s right! Sakaki-san shouldn’t be with a man like him!”
“f you don’t like him, you can say you don’t like him like you always do! We will protect you!”
The men are proud of their victory. I’m sure he thinks he’s managed to fit me in.
…These guys are truly an auspicious bunch. Do you think I’ll stop because of something like that? Do you think I’m afraid of Sakaki-san hating me now?
I raise my fist again, not caring who it is.
“…… hiii!”
Miwa-kun and the men’s voices tremble. After all, these guys think they are the victims no matter how far they go.
……Oh, it’s irritating. I’m pissed off, all of you. Why do you people, who are just looking at me from the outside, deny me when I’m struggling so hard to get by? You’re just running away, you’re just spoiling it, but somewhere along the line you think you’re special. Really, it’s frustrating. just like the …… old me.
“…… Really, what am I doing?”
The voices of troublesome men echo. I can’t hear the content anymore. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care, so shut up already. I don’t care about Sakaki-san, about these guys, about myself, about everything anymore.
So…
“………… Eh?”
The noisy classroom instantly becomes quiet. It’s as if time has stopped and there is no sound. Just for a moment, with just a slight touch, the atmosphere of the place changes completely.
─ ─ Sakaki-san kissed me.
It was an unexpected action, and neither I, Miwa-kun, the guys, nor anyone else could say anything about it. …… but Sakaki-san is different. In the false silence, she just looked straight at me and said.
“───Sakashima Ochiha-kun. I like you.”
-Maiban