Translator: Haruto.

Our vacation is far from over, however, today we’ll be having an obligatory summer school day. It’s kind of depressing having to attend school in the middle of the summer break, but well, at least it’ll just be a half-day.

“Morning! I’ve missed you guys!”

“Dude, you got way too tanned. Haha!”

“Shoot! I haven’t made any progress on my homework.”

“Same. Wanna meet up and work on it later today?”

As soon as I step into the classroom, I note how lively it is inside even though it’s so early in the morning. It seems my classmates are having a blast talking to their friends again after not seeing them for a while.

Yuito and the two sisters are not here yet, which means that I’ll be completely on my own until they arrive.

“Haahh… The air conditioner feels so nice…” Having nothing better to do, I throw a glance at the AC once I’ve taken a seat at my desk.

Many of my classmates have cut their hair or changed their hairstyles, making them look different from usual. I guess they’re taking advantage of the summer break to spread their wings a little.

“Come to think of it, I still haven’t cut my hair.”

I grab some of my hair with my fingers. It’s gotten pretty long, having covered my ears already.

I haven’t cut my hair since I became Kasashima Yuuji. I hadn’t even thought about it until now. But well, that’s because I was busy trying to figure out ways to avoid a bad ending where I’m sat on and abused until I run out of strength.  

Contrary to my expectations, I ended up spending a surprising amount of time with Yuito, Mahiro, and Rina—also known as the main characters—but thankfully, I think I’ve developed a pretty good relationship with them. Not just that, I actually enjoy being around them, especially Yuito who’s basically become my best friend, or at least that’s what I’d like to think.

As long as nothing out of the ordinary happens, I’m certain my life will be as peaceful as—  

“G-Good morning, Kasashima-kun…!”

“Morning… Wait, what?”

It was almost a whisper, but I did hear someone greet me so I answered reflexively. Just one thing, though, Yuito and my other acquaintances are still not here. And yet, someone called me by my name…

Someone greeted me.

I raise my head and see a girl from my class with a nervous expression on her face.

“Ermm… Did you just… greet me?”

“Y-Yes, I did!” The girl nods her head.

I never imagined another classmate would greet me this morning…

Um, what about that guy? Should we invite him?

…Nah, he’d just ruin the mood for everybody.

But, like, what if he’s not as bad as he seems?

After all, I’ve been ostracized by the rest of the class since the first day of school due to my intimidating appearance and the awful rumors about me being spread. I was pretty sad about it back then, so I’m honestly happy that someone came to greet me like this today.

If I remember correctly, this girl’s name is…

“You’re Maeda-san, right? I’m grateful you came to talk to me,” I say and throw in a smile, trying not to scare her.

“…”

“Hm?”

E-Ermm… She isn’t saying anything…

Maeda-san is just staring at me right now.

S-Shoot… Is she frightened?  

“Hey, look…”

“Yeah…”

The entire class is looking at me all of a sudden?! Did I do something wrong?! Sorry?!

“M-Morning, Kasashima!”

“W-What’s up, Kasashima? How’re ya?”

Now two guys are talking to me.

“Morning. I’m all right, thanks.”

“Say…”

“I know…”

I smile at them too, and for some reason, they turn to each other and begin whispering…

“Umm, can someone tell me what’s going on? It makes me happy that you guys are talking to me now, but… you’re acting kinda strange.” I tilt my head, unable to understand the situation I currently find myself in.

The classroom goes silent out of nowhere, and one beat later—

“Ohh! He’s way nicer than I thought!”

“He’s still a bit intimidating, but… he really seems like a nice guy!”

“Kasashima-kun, you’re friends with Mahiro-san and Rina-chan, right? Tell me about them, please!”

“I’d like you to tell me everything you know about Lord Yuito!”

My classmates rush to my desk in droves.

“What in the world happened?!”

I can’t help but be confused. It does make me happy that they’re now talking to me, but I don’t understand what brought this on. Before summer break began, they were keeping me at arm’s length.

“Okay, okay, calm down, guys. Give Kasashima-kun some space,” a girl says and then claps a couple of times, instantly making the people gathered around my desk rein in their enthusiasm.  

The only person I know who has that kind of power is—

“You sure are popular this morning, Kasashima-kun. But well, I knew people would eventually realize you’re not a bad person after seeing us spend so much time together,” Mahiro says.

“Yup! I mean, if he really were a bad guy, we’d never have gotten close to him,” Rina chimes in.

“So everyone finally understands how charming Yuuji-kun is?! Awesome!” Yuito exclaims.

“Mahiro-san, Rina-san, Yuito!” I didn’t even notice them coming into the room, and now they’re standing right behind me.

“Yuuji-kun is super easy to talk to and being with him is a ton of fun! I hope you can all become his friends, too!” Yuito says, and many of my classmates nod back in approval.

I also notice that even a couple of guys are blushing as they hear Yuito speak… Whatever tickles their pickle, I guess…

More importantly, though, it appears the reason why people have decided to approach me is that they’ve often seen me talk to Yuito, Mahiro, and Rina, who are some of the most popular students in our class. It all makes sense now. I suppose all I really had to do to correct my classmates’ misconceptions about me was hang out with people who stand out…

I see…

They finally see me for who I am…

“Oh? You look happy, Kasashima-kun,” Mahiro remarks.

“Y-Yeah, I guess I am…” There’s a huge smile on my face right now.

Being with Yuito and the two sisters was fun, but… I never stopped wanting to get close to the rest of my classmates.

“Morning, guys! Ohh! What’s up with that crowd around Kasashima’s desk?! Lemme join in!”

“You’re too loud, Tajima. Try to calm down a little… Morning, Kasashima.”

Tajima and Satojima walk over to me as soon as they arrive, and now there are more people near me than I can count… This is kind of amazing.

Even our teacher, who arrived at the classroom a moment later, appeared bewildered at the scene.

“I can’t wait to see you again after the break”

“I hope I get to talk to you again soon!”

Homeroom is about to start, so one by one the students who had crowded around my desk return to their own seats.

“Y-Yeah, me too… and thanks!”

I’m alone once again…

When school began, I grew accustomed to being by myself rather quickly, but… Yeah, there’s no doubt that being able to talk with my classmates freely is much better. Now that they don’t think I’m a bad guy anymore, I’m really looking forward to my new school life after the summer break!

***

School ended before noon just as scheduled, and now I’m back at my apartment.

“Yuuji-sama, you seem to be in a great mood,” Hibari tells me.

“Really? Hahaha…”

“Yes, your intimidating face has reached a whole new level.”  

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?!”

“Here’s some barley tea. I hope you enjoy it.”

“Thank you!!”

Hibari hands me a cup of tea with ice as I’m relaxing on the sofa. It’s cold and delicious.

“I can’t believe the second half of the break has already begun… Hibari, do you have plans for the summer?”  

“Not really.”

“I see…”

I kind of knew that’d be her answer before I even asked…

I gulp down my tea and…

“…” I glance at Hibari, who’s currently cleaning the kitchen.

If Hibari doesn’t have any plans, that means it should be fine for me to invite her out.

I still haven’t forgotten about that promise…

Not at all. It makes me happy. Next time, I’ll take you somewhere you’ll enjoy even more than the amusement park or the mall.

That’s what I said back at the mall.

Yuuji-sama, you don’t have to worry about me… As long as I get to be by your side, my time is all yours.

And that’s what Hibari told me at the waterpark.

In short, I promised Hibari we’d go out somewhere nice. Well, alright, calling it a “promise” might be a bit of an overstatement, but the point of the matter is that I want to go on an outing with her, and I think she feels the same.

And I believe the summer break would be the perfect time to invite her, but… for some reason, I get weirdly nervous when I’m about to do so.

Not to mention, Hibari is…

“…”

I rest my eyes on her.

Her silky black hair reaches her shoulders, her face is small and round, her eyes are big, her nose is straight, her lips are bright pink, and her figure is perfect…

To put it simply, she’s beautiful.

Anyone would feel nervous inviting a pretty girl out, right? It doesn’t matter how long you’ve known her, right?! Right?!!

You’re all mine after school.

W-What?

Let us go.

Where?!

We’re going on a little after-school outing.

Now that I think about it, Hibari was a little forceful when she took me out last time. I was happy to be with her so I didn’t really mind, though. Maybe I should follow her example? I guess I’ll give it a try. I’ll never be able to go on an outing with her if I don’t.

“Yuuji-sama, is something the matter?”  

“Ah, no…”

Realizing that I was staring at her, Hibari raises her head and looks at me.

Wait, isn’t this… the perfect chance to ask her out?

Yeah, I think so.

“Hibari.”

“Yes?”

I stand up from the sofa and walk over to her. She looks at me with her usual deadpan expression.

I’ll try using somewhat of a forceful tone, but to be honest, I also want my invitation to sound kind of cool. I need to come up with something good to say…

“Yuuji-sama?”

Uh-oh, I shouldn’t make her wait too long.

In retrospect, I think I was feeling rather elated because of what happened earlier that morning. And sometimes when you’re feeling elated and you can’t think straight, you end up doing things you normally wouldn’t…

I extend out my hand, and…

“Would you go out with me?”

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