Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo - Chapter 3 Part 3

Chapter 3 Part 3

 

“…That’s why, at this rate, a nasty article about me will be published! So, can you please help me out?”

 

Lunch break. I called Cosmos and Himawari to the library, explained my situation to them and begged for their help in a polite manner with the full intention to trouble them.

 

“Mm! Your sweets are as tasty as always, Pansy-chan!”

“I’m glad you enjoy it.”

 

In front of me, Himawari was eating a muffin. Clearly she was having the time of her life.

 

I got her feeling. Pansy’s sweets were amazing.

 

“Do you want to try my sandwich, Pansy-san? If I may say so myself, I’m quite a good cook.”

“Thanks for the food.”

 

Sitting beside Himawari was Cosmos. She handed Pansy a sandwich.

 

Giving Pansy her own cooking in return for the sweets she made, what a polite girl.

 

“It’s tasty.”

 

And, sitting beside me, Pansy, looked happier than usual.

 

Seeing them getting along like sisters made my heart feel warm— Wait, no!

“…Oi. Are you guys even listening to me?!”

 

How could those guys ignore the plea that I made with all my might?!

They didn’t know how much I had suffered all this time!

That devil really went all out on following and asking me questions!

 

She completely forgot about the concept of time, place and occasion and followed me literally everywhere!

 

During recess, she kept a distance of 1 meter from me and refused to leave my side!

Not to mention all the accusations she made based on her own wild misunderstandings! She kept asking me questions like, ‘Are you going to add another girl to your list?’ or ‘When will you plan to meet the three of them in secret?’ She drove me insane to the point that I had to break my own words to not trouble the three girls!

 

I could only escape because I faked going to the toilet five minutes before the lunch break ended!

 

“I heard you! The other day, Asunaro-chan asked me, ‘What do you think of Joro?’ I answered, ‘I like him!’”

 

What the f**k were you doing behind my back?! 

 

That was a trick question, you natural b*tch! Why did you fall for it?!

 

Also, I knew that you became a mess whenever you talked to someone that you liked romantically!

 

“Asunaro-san also asked me the same question. I told her that I like you as much as I like omu-rice. You’re someone important to me. That kind of answer shouldn’t raise any kind of misunderstandings.”

 

That was one hell of a comparison! Were you implying that you’d never fall in love with omu-rice? Heresy!

 

Also, the second half of your answer would definitely cause misunderstandings!

 

“Hanetachi-san also asked me. My answer was ‘I love him more than anything in this world.’ That should change the content of the article from you trying to three-timing to us being in a lovey dovey relationship.”

 

That didn’t change anything! It was still a horrible outcome to me!

 

D*mn… There was no once I could count on here!

 

I thought they got my back, but instead they gave Asunaro more materials to work with behind my back!

 

Whatever, I shouldn’t cry over spilt milk. Since they were all here, let’s talk to them about our future course of actions.

 

“Anyway, can you guys stop talking to me for a while? At least until Asunaro–”

“No. “No way.” “I refuse.”

 

R.I.P my future.

 

“I just made up with you, I don’t want to stop talking to you again!”

 

Himawari said with a pout. Her words made me happy, but it wouldn’t help my situation at all.

 

“I understand your predicament, but we’re going to participate in the Kabuten together. If I were to stop talking with you, it’ll be a little bit troubling, don’t you think? …Besides, I’m lonely…”

 

Cosmos said as she munched on her sandwich. 

 

That was a good argument, but that last part of her sentence felt off…

 

“What about our promise?”

 

And I already figured out what Pansy’s answer was. 

 

Calm down. There was no use being upset with those three.

 

Calm down… Caaalm dooown. Be nice. Act cute. And strike quickly!

 

“Then, can you guys help me with another twing instead? Help me cwear up Asunaro’s misunderstandings.”

“““…”””

 

That cutesy sound I made had an effect on them! They placed their hands on their heads and began to think! …While frowning. I guess it wasn’t good enough. (T/N: He actually used -nanoda at the end of his previous sentence, which was used by Hamtaro from the series Hamtaro. He also made a reference to Hamtaro here, but I can’t translate it without it sounding awkward.)

 

“Hmm… Ah! Why don’t we just stay together all the time! That way, Asunaro-chan will think that we’re just really really good friends!”
“If anything, she’ll think that I’m up to no good with you three. Besides, that won’t solve the core of the issue here. Rejected.”

“Boo! But, it’ll be fun!”

 

We were here to discuss how to clear up her misunderstandings, not to have fun.

 

“Then, why don’t you talk to Asunaro-san directly? Just tell her that everything is her misunderstanding. She might not believe you completely, but if she believes you a little, it should be enough.”

“Done that already. The result? She said ‘I’ll be keeping a closer eye on you in the meantime.’ That girl literally followed me everywhere during the recess and lunch break, and I bet that she’d continue on doing so for a good while. There’s no point in doing the same thing again at this point. Rejected.”
“I see. So, she’s following you around now? But…”

 

Cosmos took out her notebook and started to scribble on it.

 

She didn’t continue her words, but it seemed like she was on to something, so I guess I could expect her help later in the future.

 

“I have a good idea. Why don’t you just go out with me and—”

“Rejected.”

“…At least let me finish.”

 

I would let you finish if you were to say something more realistic, Pansy-san.

 

“Joro-kun, may I?”

 

At that moment, Cosmos stopped writing on her note and raised her hand.

 

“What is it?”

“Why do you care so much if she were to publish that article? Honestly, if I were you, I wouldn’t care. It’s just filled with baseless accusations and assumptions anyway, it’s nothing worth noting.”

“T-That’s… W-Well, firstly, it would trouble my parents if a story like that were to spread around… A-And, I don’t want Sun-chan to think of me badly when we just made up with each other…”

“Based on your tone, the second reason seems to be your main reason. To be more specific, you don’t want your relationship with Oga-kun, Hinata-san, Akino-senpai and me to worsen. Am I right?”

 

Stop trying to read my mind, Pansy!

Also, you were off by a bit! I didn’t care about your relationship with me!

 

“Eh, is that it? You don’t need to worry then! No matter what happens, my feelings for you won’t change, Joro! I’m sure Sun-chan feels the same way! Have some faith in him!”

 

With a smile on her face, Himawari patted my head. So cute…

 

“Same with me. If you’re worried about Sun-chan’s feelings, you should quickly clear things up with him. I’ll help you out if you need me. Of course, I’ll be telling the teachers the truth as well, so you don’t need to worry about troubling your parents.”

 

Cosmos said with a gentle smile. That was a reassuring words to hear, coming from the student council president herself.

 

“I won’t go away from your life. We’ll be together forever even if you don’t like it.”

 

That would create a whole different problem than the matter with the article for me.

 

“But, if she were to publish that article, I wouldn’t be the only one affected. You guys will too…”

“I don’t care! You don’t need to worry about it! This conversation is over!”

 

Ugh! It was hard to go against Himawari when she acted like this.

 

Also, it seemed like everyone didn’t really care about this matter… There was nothing more that I could say to them.

 

“Fine, fine. But Asunaro will still be following me around, so I’m not going to involve myself with any of you for more than necessary, okay?”

“It’s fine. Even the slightest interaction with you will make me happy. I’m such an easy woman, don’t you think?”

 

Considering the amount of mental strain that I had to go through during that slight interaction with you, I’d say the opposite.

 

Anyway, Asunaro wasn’t here. So I guess, I could let my guard down for a little.

 

After we were done talking about my situation, we started chatting like normal.

 

Himawari was in her usual high spirits, talking about TV shows that she watched while munching on Pansy’s handmade sweets.

 

Cosmos checked on her phone, then she stared at me with a strange look before calling out to me.

 

“Joro-kun… Can you join me after school today?”

“What for? Practicing for the Kabuten?”

“No, we won’t be practicing until all the participants have been decided. So, what we need to do now is to decide on the participants.”

“What?”

“You see, the other participant, the first year, wanted to withdraw from participating.”

 

Huh, that was unusual… Or not. Himawari and Cosmos did the same thing last year. 

 

“Then, why don’t we get the fourth most voted girl to substitute for her?”

 

The rule was, if someone were to withdraw their participation, the next most voted girl would become her substitute.

 

Since the rule was clear, why didn’t they just follow it?

 

“You see… Yamada contacted me just now. Apparently the girls in the top ten apart from us informed the council about their withdrawals.”

 

By the way, Yamada was the treasurer.

 

He was irrelevant, so I kept his introduction short.

 

Dude was just a mob character.

 

“What? All of them? Why?”

 

When I asked that question, Cosmos showed me a troubled look.

 

“I don’t know. That’s why I was thinking of asking them directly later. I want you to come with me for that reason. Himawari-san has to attend her club activities, but you don’t. So, what do you think?”

“I have to refuse.”

 

What was she thinking? Did she forget that Asunaro was keeping a close eye on me?

 

There was no way that I’d go out of my way to something that reeked of romcom cliche with her while that devil was hot on my tail.

 

“B-But… I thought you’d help me…”

“I literally just told you that I won’t be interacting with any of you any more than necessary. I’ll just participate to dance in the Kabuten, I won’t be able to help gathering the participants. I can’t afford to let Asunaro get any more misunderstandings.”

“I-I see… I guess you have a point…”

 

Even if you acted so coyly while writing your note like that, there wasn’t anything that I could do.

 

“Uu… Now I regret removing you from the council… I just want to do something together with you again, Joro-kun…”

 

Look at this girl. She could tug on my heartstring in the middle of her depression.

 

If it was anyone else, they’d definitely fall for her ruse, but not me, not today.

 

“Don’t you pity her, Joro? Why can’t you help her?”

“Himawari. It will be better for her that I don’t hang around with her too much in front of the public.”

“That’s true. It will be better for Akino-senpai to go by herself if her goal is to persuade the other girls to participate.”

“S-See?”

 

I could feel the sarcasm beneath her words. Was she trying to say that I was ugly?

 

“Haah… I can’t ask the other council members for their help because they’re already so busy. I guess I’ll do it by myself. This world is so cold and lonely…”

 

Even back when I was still in the student council, this girl was the only girl who’d take on the menial chores.

 

She had more workload than the rest of us, but she somehow could get the work done.

 

Since that was the case, I trusted her to be able to do everything by herself! That was the student council president we all knew and loved!

 

“It can’t be helped then. I’ll do my best to appeal to the girls about how wonderful of a person our boy participant this year is…”

 

Wait. What was that? What did she just say?

 

“Uh, Prez?”

“What is it, Joro-kun?”

“What did you say just now? You’re going to appeal to the girls about how wonderful of a person I am?”

“Yes. I’ll tell them that you’re someone I trust the most, the kindest man I’ve ever known and anyone who’s going to date you will be the luckiest girl in the world.”

 

Not good… I had to do something.

 

If Asunaro were to hear something like that coming out of her mouth, she’d misunderstand everything again!

 

“…You know what, Prez? I’ll go with you.”

“Eh, really? Yay! Thank you!”

 

The unaware walking romcom cliche expressed her happiness in a girlish way.

 

Seriously, I hoped that she wouldn’t be this clueless about herself.

 

“Yes, yes, but under one condition.”

 

I’d really rather not go, but it would be even more dangerous to let her go off on her own. I had no choice but to go with her to prevent her spreading even a bigger misunderstanding.

 

But, going out without any kind of preparation would be foolish.

 

“What is it?”

“You see…”

 

And so I told her my idea. What she should do while we were out there.

 

“I see! I’m a little nervous about it, but I’ll do my best!”

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes, leave it to me!”

 

Cosmos squeezed my hand with a gentle smile on her face. Seriously, stop doing this already—

 

“…Hm? Oi, Pansy, what are you doing?”

 

I suddenly felt a strange sensation from my side, only to find Pansy grabbing the hem of my shirt while pouting.

 

She tugged at it repeatedly and it was getting annoying.

 

“Pat my head.”

“Why?”

“I’m lonely.”

 

What the hell was she on about? Did she genuinely think that I’d do that?!

 

I was about to reject her, but that book was already in her right hand.

 

If I were to reject her, I would be kissing Fabre’s Book of Insect again.

 

“…Is this enough?”

 

So I complied with her and stroked her head. To my surprise, her hair was silkier than I thought.

 

“Thank you. I’m satisfied now.”

 

That got her in a good mood, so I showed her that she turned my mood sour with my face. As a response, she hit me with Fabre’s. I guess there were just some things in this world that I was incompatible with.

 

*   *   *

 

After school. As I left the classroom, Asunaro followed behind me with her ponytail swaying while staring at me with an expectant look.

 

“Where are you going, Joro?”
“I’m going to help Prez persuade someone to join the Kabuten. The last participant bailed.”

“Huh. I thought you won’t be doing anything else for today, guess you’re wilder than I expected.”

I didn’t want to do it! But, if I didn’t do it, things would become even worse for me!

 

But, I wouldn’t go unprepared! I had a plan!

 

It was called, ‘Operation Cosmos and I are Just Friends!’

 

The goal of the operation was to convince Asunaro that Cosmos and I were just friends!

 

With this, her misunderstandings would get less wild, or in the best case scenario, disappear completely!

 

But, there was one hurdle to this plan. My attitude.

 

When speaking with Cosmos, I kept using honorifics, but my overall attitude toward her was pretty much casual.

 

Because of that, there was a huge chance that Asunaro would misunderstand our relationship.

 

So today, I’d be using that mode again! Let’s go!

“Alright, I’ll do my best today! Let’s persuade someone to participate!”

“Huh? Did your personality just change, Joro? Your eyes are filled with hope now.”

 

What was Asunaro talking about? Personality change? I had always been like this.

 

“What are you talking about, Asunaro? Are you okay?”

 

Now, let’s leave the misunderstanding machine behind and head to the place where Cosmos was waiting for me.

 

By the way, if you thought that Cosmos would be confused if I were to meet her in this dense and innocent mode of mine, fret not!

 

I had already explained my plan to her! I told her that I would be in this mode and that she should treat me like back when I was still a member of the student council.

 

Now that I’ve finished all my preparations, I was ready to go! Though, I still felt a little nervous.

 

As I went down the stairs to the floor where the first grade classes were, I saw Cosmos waiting for me there.

 

She was scribbling her note with a serious expression. Maybe she was trying to come up with ways to persuade the girls.

 

Ah, she noticed us and smiled at us. She was as pretty as ever.

 

“Did you wait for long, Prez—”

“Heya, Kisaragi-dono! I’ve been expecting you!”

 

What? Who? Why? Why did she use the samurai accent? Was this her attempt to fulfill my request?

 

I couldn’t believe that there was actually someone who was this bad at acting…

 

“U-Um, what’s wrong, Prez?”

“Nothing? Am I not acting the same as always? Hahaha!”

 

I didn’t recall you ever acting like this back when I was in the student council.

 

Out of nervousness, she somehow became a samurai… Unbelievable…

 

“My, hello, Hanetachi-dono! You seem to be in a fine mood today too!”

 

She even went out of her way to call out to Asunaro! What the hell was she doing?!

“A-Ah… U-Um… Y-You seem to be in a fine mood too…”

 

Asunaro actually replied properly! She was confused, but she got the spirit, I guess.

 

“As you can see, Kisaragi-dono and I are merely friends and nothing more.”

 

Why did you bring that topic up at this point of the conversation?!

 

Yes, it would be helpful if you were to tell Asunaro that she had been misunderstanding our relationship, but not like this!

 

It was too late to fix her mistake. I could only roll with it.

 

“Prez is right! We’re only friends! Do you understand that, Asunaro?”

“I have the feeling that I shouldn’t even try to understand that.”

 

So cold!

 

“You two are acting differently than usual.”

“What are you talking about, Asunaro? We’ve always been like this.”

 

I knew this would never work, but I had to force it!

“Right, Prez?”

“Indeed.”

“…’S no way that’s the case.”

 

Her distrust toward us peaked! Her Tsugaru accent leaked out!

 

No, it wasn’t over yet! I could still fix this!

Even if we were acting like weirdos, we could still tell her that we were just friends and clear up her misunderstandings!

 

“Alright, Kisaragi-dono, let’s move forward! The enemy is on the first floor!” (T/N: “The enemy is at Honnoji!” Parody of that famous line by Akechi Mitsuhide, who turned his back on his lord, Oda Nobunaga and killed him at the Honnoji Temple.)

 

Akino-dono, it wasn’t the occasion to act like Akechi Mitsuhide.

 

We were going to persuade those girls, they weren’t our enemies.

 

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

 

 

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