I Managed to Bring Down the Entire Family of That Impossible-To-Conquer S-Class Beauty, Completely Filling in Her Outer Moat
โHaaahโฆ I’m so tired after everything that happened.โ
China, who had gone to the aquarium with her grandfather and Watarai-kun, muttered this to herself as she sat in the chair in her room.
They’d thoroughly enjoyed the aquarium, and then she’d run into Hikawa-kun againโฆ
And there was one more thing that lingered deeply in her mind.
โI never meant to say that to Watarai-kun todayโฆโ
The words she had spoken to him back then.
โEven if he’s a handsome guy, an oil tycoon, a model, or even Watarai-kun who makes a hobby of everything under the sun, I won’t be swayed.
She had never intended to say such a thing, even if she thought it in her heart.
โThud.
โHaaโฆ I feel kinda weird lately.โ
Ever since I started hanging out with Watarai-kun, my heart feels off.
Being with him never gets boring; it’s incredibly fun. It should be, yet sometimes my heart aches.
It’s fun.
It’s fun, though.
No, maybe because it’s funโฆ?
Watarai-kun is this incredible person who makes a hobby out of everything in this world.
Compared to that, Iโฆ have nothing.
โโThud thud thud!
โAhโฆ I see. Ugh. Maybe it would’ve been better if I hadn’t realized.โ
I realized it.
Once I grasped the true nature of what was swirling inside my heart, there was no going back.
Like virgin snow crushed underfoot, it can never return to being fluffy and pure white.
Being with Watarai-kun made me realize it.
โโโโฆI hate it.โ
My true feelings spill out from the depths of my gut.
ใใ๏ผใใ๏ผใใ๏ผ
The day after going to the aquarium with China-san and her grandfather, Nabatame-san.
I was walking my usual morning commute route, dawdling as always, when I spotted a familiar figure.
A beautiful girl with striking features, her black hair swaying as she rolled her blue eyes. It was China-san.
โAh, China-san. Good morning!โ
“Ehโฆ Ah, uh. Yeah, good morning, Watarai-kun. Um, I’m in a hurry, sorry!!”
โHuh? Oh, okay.โ
As soon as she saw my face, China-san hurriedly left the spot, looking flustered.
She hadn’t seemed in the slightest bit rushed just moments ago, but she must have suddenly remembered something.
I didn’t think much of it and kept walking, arriving at school.
โNozomu, good morning~~!โ
โGood morning, Kouki. Did you get sunburned or something?โ
โYeah! I had a little match over the weekend, but I forgot to put on sunscreen!โ
โAnd summer hasn’t even started yetโฆโ
Watching the energetic Kouki, a conversation between girls in my class suddenly caught my ear.
โHey, did you hear? Fumihiko-kun got suspended!โ
“No way!?ใWell, he was kinda acting weird lately, thoughโฆ”
โYeah, right~. He was probably someone you shouldn’t mess with, huh?โ
โWe were smart not to get involved. With a piece of trash like that.โ
โYeah~โ
So Fumihiko got suspended for messing up big time. I heard it secretly from Kouki, but apparently he was the one who set up that cat trap too.
His mask finally slipped, but hey, what goes around comes around.
I didn’t feel particularly sorry for Fumihiko. I shoved him to the back of my mind as easily as carrying an empty cardboard box.
Class proceeded without incident, and soon it was time for cleaning after school.
โSo we’re switching to the connecting corridor starting this week?โ
We moved from the classroom to the cleaning spot in the connecting corridor.
China-san seemed to be assigned the same cleaning area, but something about her felt off.
โChina-san, thanks for yesterday.โ
โUh, yeah. Um, I’ll clean over there!โ
โโฆ? Got it.โ
I definitely felt like she was avoiding me.
Had I done something wrong yesterday? No, come to think of it, she did warn me. Maybe it’s like, โDon’t get any more ideasโ?
I finished cleaning in a daze and changed into my shoes at the shoe rack to head home.
Right then, I bumped into China again, but she still wasn’t acting normal.
โChinaโโ
โMe! I’ve got stuff to do today, bye!!โ
โโฆโฆโฆโฆโ
It’s confirmed. She doesn’t want me invading her personal space any further.
If that’s the case, it’s best for me to stay out of her way too.
I made up my mind and started walking home.
After walking for a while, I spotted a kid crouched by the side of the road. Looking closer to see what he was doing, I realized it was someone I knew.
โโฆAki-kun?โ
โHuh? Whoa! Onii chan~~~!!โ
โWhoa! Ah, you’re still full of energy as everโฆโ
China-san’s little brother, Aki-kun, spotted me and immediately ran over, throwing himself into a big hug.
โWhat were you doing, Aki-kun?โ
โLooking for bugs! Did you just get out of school too, onii chan?โ
โYeah, that’s right.โ
โCome to my house!?โ
โNahโฆ I think I’ll pass today.โ
Given how much she’s been avoiding me lately, saying yes would just make things super awkward.
I felt bad for Aki-kun, but I had to turn him down.
โEhh?! Okayโฆโ
โLet’s play another time.โ
โYeah! โฆOh, by the way? onee chan seemed kind of down.โ
โChina-san?โ
โYeah. So, I want you to talk to her a lot too! Help cheer her up!โ
โโฆGot it. See you later then.โ
โBye-bye!โ
After ruffling Akitoshi’s hair, I headed home.
China-san was feeling down? I don’t know if talking to her will cheer her up, but getting her to talk seems difficult.
โโฆOh, right. We need to buy ingredients for dinner tonight. There’s nothing in the fridge.โ
I veered off my route home and decided to stop by the nearest supermarket.
After walking a bit, I passed through the supermarket’s automatic doors and grabbed a basket. Just as I was tossing ingredients into it, someone called out to me.
โWell, if it isn’t sensei!โ
โSachiko-san and Nabatame-san?โ
I ran into Sachiko-san and Nabatame-san, who were shopping while pushing a cart.
โSensei’s running errands? How admirable!โ
โWell, sort of. Are you two shopping too?โ
โMm. Hina asked us to.โ
They shopped arm-in-arm, clearly a very close couple.
But one of them looked far too young, making them seem like a grandfather and granddaughter.
โSpeaking of which, Nabatame san, after we parted yesterday, did China san seem normal?โ
โHmm, I don’t recall anything particularly unusual. Why do you ask?โ
โWellโฆ I felt like everyone was avoiding me at school today, so I wondered if I did something to upset herโฆโ
โHmโฆโ
Nabatame placed his hand on his chin and fell silent for a few seconds.
Then he spoke.
โChina has always had a habit of hiding her true feelings. She keeps everything bottled up inside, trying not to hurt others.โ
“Just as Grandpa said. So she must have something troubling her this time too.
Besides, China, you see, makes her dislike utterly obvious when she dislikes a man. Just like that little brat. Did sensei get that treatment?”
She had made that blatantly disgusted face toward Fumihiko.
But today’s Chinaโฆ it wasn’t so much disgust asโ
(โฆGuiltโฆ?)
Somehow, it felt like she was wearing a face that seemed to say, โI’m sorry.โ
I couldn’t sense any disgust or hatred in her expression.
So does that mean China doesn’t dislike me?
โโฆThank you for listening.โ
โNo problem. Come visit again sometime, Senseiโกโ
โMm. You’re welcome anytime. We’d be delighted to have you.โ
After thanking them both, I left. I bought groceries and headed home.
I passed the time with my hobbies for a while. When night fell, a call came in from the game chat app.
Checking the caller ID, it was Chitose san.., the father of China-san.
โWhat’s up, Chitose-san? Did we have plans to game today or something?โ
โNah, I just kinda wanted to talk about something. So I calledโกโ
โโฆIf you’re gonna talk like that, I wish it was at least a cute girl.โ
โOh my, mama is here too, you know~โช You’re such a good boy, Nozomu-chan~~โ
โHina-san!? Y-you were right next to himโฆ?โ
Suddenly, a sweet female voice rang out right by my ear, startling me.
But stillโฆ why would the Amagiri couple call meโฆ?
“I heard it from my father and mother~.
I thought it might be meddling, but given Hope-kun’s personality, I felt like if I didn’t say something, things might really turn sour between you two.”
โโฆYou really understand my personality well, Chitose-san.โ
โWell, we’ve been gaming buddies for a few years now, you know.โ
It felt a bit embarrassing, but I’d gratefully accept her help.
Then, Hina-san spoke up over the phone.
โChina-chan, you see~, she’s not good with people being too aggressive at first, but once you get to know her a bit, she actually likes it when you go all out~โ
โLike a boss enemy that changes form?โ
โI don’t really know much about games, but I think it’s probably like that. With you, Nozomu-chan, I think it’d be fine even if you stalked her so much she’d be totally freaked out~โชโ
โIs that so? Well, thanks for telling me.โ
โThat’s all. Hope-kun’s the only one who can get away with it.โ
“Sorry for calling you out of the blue, Nozomi-chan~”
Then the call ended, and silence fell over my roomโฆ or so I thought, until a scratching sound started coming from the windowpane.
I stood up and went closer. There,
โSerin-chan!?โ
‘Nyaa’
Outside the window was Serinuntius-chan, China-san’s pet cat.
With a clatter, she opened the window and hopped inside, staring intently at me as if pleading for something.
After receiving advice from all of China-san’s family and now this appeal from Serin-chan’s eyesโฆ Was this some kind of setup?
โโฆโฆโฆโฆ. Haa, fine.โ
โฆI’m not an altruistic person. I’m selfish.
I have a tendency to think that as long as I’m having fun, nothing else matters.
Soโฆ precisely because of that,
โโโIt’ll be more fun with China-san there. Let’s go for it!!โ
โMeowww!!โ
Her family, who had been digging a moat around me, had pushed me forward like this.
I’ll go bother China-san tomorrow, prepared to be totally rejected!
Maiasa