Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

But this weak, hesitant expression on the Class Rep’s face was only momentary.

“I heard that the school is going to hold a student assembly in a few days to emphasize this matter… so everyone shouldn’t take it too lightly.”

“Ehhh~ What a pain~”

“Those old geezers, who knows what they’re thinking about all day? Do they think we’re little kids?”

“Exactly.”

As her friends displayed impatient expressions and complaints, a smile appeared on the Class Rep’s face, but her attention drifted elsewhere again.

In that moment of distraction, her unfocused gaze unconsciously wandered to that corner.

…

“This won’t work! I already made plans to go out with my boyfriend today. I can’t stand him up this time… Oh no, we might break up over this…”

The girl with braided hair suddenly remembered something and displayed a “This is bad!” expression, her face clouding with worry.

The girls exchanged glances with each other.

“Hey, how about we try to gather some information? Maybe we won’t have to go after all.”

“If it’s the Class Rep, maybe you could reason with those stubborn old folks and change their minds…”

“That’s impossible. Even our homeroom teacher couldn’t do it, so I certainly can’t be of any help. If there’s anyone in the school who could accomplish this, it would probably be Nogami-sensei—”

Itou Maho shook her head.

The girls collectively fell silent.

Indeed, if it were that mysterious beautiful teacher from the Student Mental Health Counseling Office, perhaps she really could easily influence the school’s decisions. The problem was that none of them knew her personally. Most of what they’d heard about Nogami-sensei came from rumors. Who knew how she would react if they bothered her with something like this?

“No… let’s not.”

“It’s better to think of another solution.”

“Why don’t you discuss it with your boyfriend? He can’t be that heartless, right?”

—”But, Liang-kun… well, he seems to know Nogami-sensei. Maybe we could ask him for help.”

Itou Maho bit her lip and finally decided to “sell out” a certain someone.

If it’s Liang-kun, he probably wouldn’t scold me too severely for something like this… probably. Of course, if he complains bitterly afterward, there’s nothing I can do about it.

Thinking this, she couldn’t help but shrink her neck.

“…Is, is that so?”

The girls’ attention unconsciously focused entirely on the boy who remained completely unaware, lying on his desk with a book covering his head.

“If it’s Liang-kun, it might really be possible…”

“Mmm. After all, he always has that mysterious air about him…”

Slightly beyond Itou Maho’s expectations, the girls’ impression of the Novelist’s abilities wasn’t bad at all. The reason they normally ignored and isolated him was possibly more out of respectful distance.

“Talking to Liang-kun about this kind of thing… we can only rely on the Class Rep!”

Looking at the round-faced girl smiling at her, the Class Rep secretly breathed a sigh of relief inside, while trying to answer with a natural expression.

“Umm… okay.”

Itou Maho smiled as she answered.

With this, she had finally achieved her goal.

At last, she could talk to Liang-kun. Although she had taken quite a detour in bringing up the subject, deliberately guiding the conversation, her purpose was to avoid drawing the attention or misunderstanding of her friends—or rather, “a certain one” among them.

Afternoon.

Under the watchful eyes of the girls behind her, Itou Maho approached the Novelist’s desk. After bending down and exchanging a few quiet words, the boy slowly stood up.

The Novelist didn’t show any annoyed emotions and obediently followed the Class Rep out of the classroom.

…

At the doorway.

Through the glass windows embedded in the corridor, clear light streamed in. The girl’s smooth black hair gleamed brilliantly under the dazzling sunlight from outside. He found himself unconsciously mesmerized by the sight.

The Class Rep relayed the girls’ request, watching him carefully as if worried he might get angry.

…It was a bit disappointing.

The way she had approached him earlier made it seem like the Class Rep had something important to tell him personally. Had he actually been hoping she would talk to him in class?

Since he hadn’t been hopeful, naturally he wouldn’t be disappointed. Still, he genuinely felt just a tiny bit of regret!

“…Putting aside the matter of asking Sachiyo for help.”

The Novelist observed the girl’s expression.

“Class Rep, you actually have something else you want to talk about, right?”

“…Yes.”

Itou Maho hesitantly nodded.

“I really can’t hide anything from Liang-kun, can I?”

Despite saying this, she still showed no intention of continuing, her attitude remaining hesitant and indecisive.

“Class Rep, what are you hesitating about?”

“…Um, have I been bothering you too much lately…?”

The girl lifted her obsidian pupils, her long eyelashes trembling anxiously.

“Ah, about that… to be honest, a little bit.”

The Novelist scratched his cheek.

“Ugh…”

The Class Rep looked very dejected.

“But you don’t need to worry about that. Because I’m used to it.”

Especially compared to those women who were accustomed to talking at him.

…

In the end, the Class Rep honestly expressed everything she wanted to say.

First was about Misao. Unknown to her, “Misao and Liang-kun’s relationship suddenly became good—how strange, I wonder why?” Something like that.

He would put this matter aside for now.

The key point was the second issue.

“There’s a girl in our class who’s participating in some sort of suicide cult club from another school.”

“…Isn’t that really bad?”

The Novelist couldn’t help but say.

Had his experiences regarding such matters suddenly increased recently?

It was like once you learn a new word, you start noticing that word appearing more frequently in reading materials than before—sometimes you have this kind of experience. It was probably a psychological illusion.

“Exactly.”

The Class Rep sighed, showing an uncharacteristically worried expression. She was clearly quite concerned; even the troubling situation of “her best friend’s relationship with a certain familiar male student advancing by leaps and bounds” had to be temporarily set aside.

“And before I clarify the specific situation, I don’t want to draw Mutsumi’s attention.”

Nishikawa Mutsumi was the round-faced girl in class who had a close relationship with Itou Maho.

“…I see.”

Now he understood why the Class Rep had been working so hard to divert the attention of the girls in class.