[Cram School IV]

The following week, Nishino went to school as usual in Class 2A. 

When he visits the classroom, he does not miss his daily morning greeting. This is a daily routine that he had refrained from just a few days ago, fearing for his future as a student. But after Gabriella's words, he was back on track. 

He went to his seat, talking a lot about this and that. 

The question of how to thank Gabriella when she comes back has been on his mind since the day before yesterday. He is a virgin who is able to respond to righteousness with righteousness, even if he is hesitant to accept a confession. 

"Hey, Nishino" 

It was just after he had reached his seat. 

He was approached by a classmate. 

Nishino puts his bag down on his desk and turns to face the person who called him. 

There, he saw a boy walking up to him.

"What? Suzuki-kun" 


325


He had been chatting with Takeuchi-kun, but when Nishino arrived at school, he seemed to make a move. In the background, you can see the most handsome man in the class with a complicated expression on his face as he watches the two of them face each other. 

"Is it true that you go to the same cram school as the Chairwoman?" 

The question was very direct and without any pretensions. 

Nishino's attention naturally turned to the two seats next to him. 

There, he saw Shimizu sitting in her own seat, getting ready for first period. 

She looked as if to say, What is this all of a sudden?

"Yes, it's true." 

"........" 

In response to Suzuki-kun's question, the Futsumen nodded honestly. 

The handsome man's expression immediately strengthened. 

In the back of the room, Takeuchi-kun is looking at the back of his schoolmate and has an anxious expression on his face. He looks as if he's trying to tell Suzuki not to bother him any more. However, he feels that it would be wrong to intervene out in the open, so he decides to wait and see. 

"You're not stalking the Chairwoman, are you?"


326


"I don't know what Suzuki is trying to say. But it is also a coincidence. It's not as if the choice of school is a coincidence, given the geographical limitations of commuting after school."

"........" 

Suzuki looks frustrated at being right.

However, when the other person is Nishino, the common view shown by the 2A class is that they can't help but have doubts. Since the preparations for the school festival, his past behaviour has confirmed to his classmates that he has a weak spot for women. 

In fact, he had joined the cram school in order to meet the opposite sex, so he was not far from the truth.

It's not a glorious background. 

"Suzuki-kun, do you go to a cram school?"

Nonetheless, Nishino is not afraid to talk about it. The youth-loving bastard is starved for conversation with his classmates, so he takes the opportunity to talk to Suzuki-kun. The chats before class are a treat for him. 

"Huh? Why are you asking me that?"

"I was thinking, if you're interested, maybe we could go together." 

"Do you think I'm an idiot?"


327


"No, I don't think so. It's a straightforward proposition." 

".........." 

While staring at Nishino, Suzuki is pondering. 

Because the proposal from the Futsumen was very attractive to him. Go to the same cram school as the person you are interested in. It is an interesting surprise of student life, not only for Nishino but for anyone else. Suzuki-kun was no exception to this rule. And lately he has been feeling impatient with his relationship with the Chairwoman. However, he is a handsome man who is not amused by Nishino's invitation.

"Hey, Nishino, I don't want you to bring me into this." 

As I was doing this, I heard a voice from the student in the middle of it. 

It was the Chairwoman. 

She standup from her chair and called out to him. 

"No, I never meant to......." 

"What would you say then?"

The Chairwoman has been dragged into a lot of problems on campus recently and has lost a lot of study time.  


328

 

"Why does the Chairwoman have to complain now?" 

"Eh?" 

It was a group of girls who were sitting a little apart in the same classroom. In the group of girls, one person spoke up. Her gaze leaves Nishino and Suzuki and turns to Shimizu, who is standing in her seat.

The Chairwomanwas surprised to receive an unexpected comment. 

She didn't expect to hear any defence of the accusations against Nishino. 

But it was short-lived.  

"Isn't it up to Suzuki-kun to decide which cram school he wants to attend?"

The fact that the subject of the sentence is Suzuki-kun makes it sound more like a follow-up to Suzuki-kun than a follow-up to Nishino. At least, that's how it seemed to the boys in the classroom. 

The girls, on the other hand, saw it differently. It was one of the group of friends who until recently had been working with the Chairwoman who spoke up. The appeal she made to the Risa-chan faction was just that, an appeal. 

"Oh ...... Yeah, I guess I was just a bit too egotistical......"

Shimizu sat quietly in her chair as her friend spoke. 

It is Suzuki-kun who gets into trouble when this happens. 


329


He begins to panic inwardly, thinking that his involvement with Nishino might have resulted in a bad impression in the eyes of the Chairwoman. He is worried that the relationship between the two of them has become particularly complicated, which only adds to his depression. 

"Chairwoman, you know, I don't have anything against you. ......" 

"I'm sorry, I have to go to the toilet." 

"Ah ..." 

After the talk from Suzuki-kun, the Chairwoman left her seat. 

In this situation, he just saw her off honestly. It is not possible to chase after a girl who has left her seat to go to the toilet. 

And then Risa came. 

"Good morning, Chairwoman! You're as cute as ever today!" 

"Eh? Oh, good morning, Risa ..." 

They met in the doorway of the classroom. 

Risa's face broke into a smile as she saw her beloved. She has been working on her approach for days, thanks to Gabriella's advice. She took a step forward and spoke loudly to Shimizu. 


330


In the past, she had been trying to get her dad to commit incest for several years. Her endurance surpasses that of most girls her age. No matter how much she was treated, she never gave up and continued her courtship. 

"What's the matter? You look a bit stiff. " 

"Sorry, I have to go to the toilet." 

"I see! I'm sorry I stopped you in such a hurry!" 

"Yeah, then..." 

With an apologetic look on her face, the Chairwoman left the classroom. 


◇ ◆ ◇


While Suzuki-kun is worrying about his day-to-day life, Nishino is on a roll. 

That day, too, he went to the cram school after school. And he arrived at the classroom 30 minutes before the first class started. The reason for this was to get to know the girls from other schools. He believes that the time before the teacher arrives in the classroom is the best time to meet new people.

The day before yesterday he had seen a girl with pigtails. 

But no matter how long he waits, he can't find the girl he wants. 


331


As he was doing this, Rose came instead. 

She was the one who had been left behind by the Futsumen today, because the homeroom of the 2B class was delayed by the 2A class. In one of the several classrooms at the cram school, Rose saw Nishino taking a seat in the back. 

"You're very keen on going to cram school, aren't you, Nishino?" 

"Of course. It's because I have to prepare for university entrance exams." 

"Wouldn't it be more reliable to choose a private tutor anyway?" 

"If it is necessary, I would like to consider it as well."

He was a virgin, and the phrase beautiful college student tutor suddenly popped into his head. But that's not exactly the kind of youth he's looking for, and he's put off considering it.  

This is one of the reasons why he is hesitant to accept Gabriella's proposal. 

It's too much of a luxury. 

And while Nishino is looking at the students in the classroom, the students in the classroom are also looking at him. The boys in his class, in particular, kept glancing at Rose. 

In one classroom there are about 20 boys and girls.


332


Half of them would be boys, and a few had already taken their seats. 

Then at least one student full of energy comes out.

"Um, do you have a minute?" 

Nishino and his friends, who were making light of the situation, were approached. 

One of the students had somehow made his way over to the seat they were sitting in. He had a smiling, cheerful smile on his face. He was a boy with a reasonably good face, though not as good as Takeuchi or Suzuki. 

He was the kind of student who would be below average if he wasn't standing next to a handsome man, but above average if he was standing next to a Futsumen. The slightly rough dressed uniform and the short, waxed mash look impressive.

"What?"

Nishino was the first to respond. He is a man who wants to have friends of the same sex as well as those of the opposite sex. The opportunity to add more contacts to his address book on the device he had at hand made him bite. 

But then he looked at Rose and said.

"Oh, no, I was talking to the blonde girl over there......."

"....Me?"


333


When he looks at her, she responds with a tilt of her head. 

It's also a cute gesture. 

The blonde-haired Lolita who was approached already had some idea of what the other person's intentions were in approaching her. So, she decided to use the opportunity to act out the conversation with the person in question, in order to show Nishino how attractive she is.  

"I don't know if this comes out of the blue, but the day before yesterday, you were solving an English problem in a lecture. I was attracted by your appearance, or maybe it was love at first sight, and I was wondering if we could exchange contact details?"

The student asked her a straightforward question. 

Rose responded with a big smile on her face. 

"I'm sorry. I'm his girlfriend." 

What do you think? I'm popular, aren't I? That's the appeal I get from the guys. 

The boys' faces tense up at the unexpected response. 

What? No way, he thought, as she looked at Nishino. 

"...... How long have you been talking about this?" 

"Since this moment, maybe?"


334


It's unbearable for the Futsumen.

Many schoolgirls have already arrived in the classroom. As a person who goes to the school for meeting people of the opposite sex, it would hinder his future activities if he were to be perceived as having a specific partner. The reply was naturally sour. 

"He asked nicely, so why don't you accept or decline in good faith?" 

"That's what's wrong with you. It's important to jokingly say no for the sake of the people around you."

"... I see. "

The boy who had approached her was speechless. He alternately stared at Nishino and Rose with a complicated look on his face, and then slunk back to his seat. The boys are all a bit jealous of the unattractive men.

At the same time, the Chairwoman appeared in the classroom. 

"........What is this atmosphere?"

Shimizu muttered to herself as she looked around the classroom, which had a different feeling than usual. 


◇ ◆ ◇


335


The unexpected approach from the students, combined with Rose's appeal to them, meant that Nishino had achieved nothing today. As the bell rang to announce the end of the class, the students were quickly leaving the classroom. The only exceptions were a few students who asked questions of the lecturer. 

Nishino, too, was urged by Rose to leave the classroom. 

But now he is a real man, with a real desire to bet on his youth. In order to get in touch with the opposite sex, he had made preparations in advance. It's a handbag that holds the sweaty gym clothes from today's class. 

"I'm sorry, I forgot my gym clothes in the classroom."

He had intentionally left this in the classroom. 

"Gym clothes?" 

"I'm sorry, but I want you to wait at the entrance."

He also asked Rose to wait for him, when previously he would have told her to go home first. He hoped that this would give her a sense of reality. 

Because he was betting on the slightest possibility. 


336


He wondered if there were still girls on the floor who stayed in the classrooms or in the corridors because they stopped by the toilets, asked questions to the teachers or did other things like that. If you can meet them by chance and talk to them, something might happen. 

"Okay, okay. Then I'll wait for you in front of the elevator."

Rose then agreed to wait. She stopped in front of the doorway of the first floor, where the classroom was located. Today, Gabriella was nowhere to be seen and it was just the two of them on their way home. She was desperate not to miss this opportunity. 

The Futsumen heads straight for the classroom where he has been attending classes. 

There he saw a familiar face.

"Isn't it wrong to conjugate this part?" 

"It's an idiom, so it's not a conjugation." 

"Oh, that's right ..." 

It's the Chairwoman, with a textbook in her hand, exchanging words with his English teacher, Sumika. 

There is no one else in the classroom but the two of them. 

It seems that Shimizu had stopped the teacher and asked her a question.

"Oh, what's wrong?"


337


When Nishino stepped into the classroom, there was a reaction from the other person. 

The Futsumen immediately tried to make an excuse. 

"I've come to collect something I forgot."

With a loud voice, he went to the seat where he had just been sitting. He did this while thinking that it would be benevolent to interfere with the Chairwoman's studies. At the same time, the virgin's mind begins to race with thoughts of how he should seek contact with the opposite sex. 

However, the presence of Rose in the entrance  interferes with this. Should he move outdoors through the windows? But the building's windows face the main street, and so on. He was thinking about it as he was gathering up the bag of gym clothes.

In the midst of all this, a man's voice echoed in the classroom. 

"Oh, there you are, Sumika! Why are you in a different classroom from the day before yesterday? "

"Eh? ...... Yuya, why are you still ......" 

"I'm sorry, but can you come with me again today? I'm on a bit of a tight schedule this month!"

"Wait a minute! I'm working now."

"But you'll be out soon, right? You won't have time for anything else."


338 


It was the host man who had visited the school the day before yesterday. 

He enters the classroom from the corridor and goes to the podium. There, the teacher's boyfriend is sitting with Shimizu at the same table. He moves lightly to the side of her and puts his hands together in worship, making a loud popping sound. 

"That's right! Please ask." 

"There are students here, you should be outside!" 

"If you accompany me, I'll leave right away!" 

The man looks up at her and speaks. 

The Chairwoman is shocked. 

Like Nishino the day before yesterday, she seems to have understood his profession. The wise Chairwoman knew the meaning of the word companion. At the same time, the teacher, who was on good terms with such a person, seemed to be suspicious, and the eyes went back and forth between the two. 

"I mean, is this girl one of Sumika's students?"

"......." 

The man's gaze turned to the Chairwoman. This is Shimizu, who is rather a handsome woman. Normally, it would be a pleasure to interact with an older, well-dressed, handsome man. However, she quickly realized that the person in front of her was not of a very complimentary nature. She also felt a sense of urgency, which made her back off.


339


"What year are you in? You look really good in that uniform.." 

"No, that's..." 

When this happens, it's the guys who can't keep their mouths shut. 

He was a virgin who felt threatened by the fact that his classmate was about to be seduced by a host.

If the Chairwoman had been smiling, I would have hesitated to take the first step. But fortunately for him, the Chairwoman's cheeks were firm as she stared at him. 

Nishino decided that he would not hesitate.  

"You're the host, but you don't have to persuade a woman" 

"... What?" 

Nishino's voice echoed in the quiet classroom.

The man, whose attention was focused around the podium, was apparently unaware of the Futsumen's presence. The unexpected voice drew his attention to the back of the classroom. There, he saw the same boy he had met the night before last. The two girls are also looking at him. 

After confirming this, Nishino continued with the bag of gym clothes in his hand.  

"That's the kind of talk that's going to get you a lot of sales in the shop." 

"Wha..."


340

 

With the help of the Chairwoman's line of sight, it's cynical. He places his middle finger between his  eyebrows and shake his neck slightly from side to side. This is another annoying behavior. 

"The class has already finished, but the teachers will have other jobs to do, such as finishing up and cleaning up. If you don't want security to be called, you can leave the building now. Or is it that you have no one else to ask to accompany you?" 

The host man was irritated by the more than usual exaggerated language. 

It also irritated the Chairwoman. 

"Hey, hey, hey. What the hell are you talking about?" 

The man moved in response to Nishino's light-hearted remark. 

He leaves the podium and heads towards the back of the classroom, towards Nishino. 

"Hey, Yuya! You can't be violent!"

Sumika raised her voice when she saw his fists clenched tightly. 

What came to her mind was the image of Nishino falling to the floor with a bloody nose even in the next moment. 

The boy with the bag of gym clothes looked weak to the eye, compared to the man who was doing the bare minimum of strength training as a host.

"I'm not going to hurt you, okay? I'm just trying to teach you how to talk."


341


"So instead, I'll teach you how to seduce a woman." 

"...... That's really annoying. Can you please shut up for a second?" 

The Chairwoman, who was watching the exchange between the two, agreed with his host in his heart. 

Today's Nishino was even more annoying than usual. He was so annoying that the host naturally raised his arms in the air. 

"Yuya-kun! No! Stop!" 

Sumika rushed out in a panic. 

It was a serious matter that an outsider had entered the school and assaulted a student. If Nishino, who was injured, reported the incident to the police, she would not be safe. It would be impossible for her to continue teaching at the school.

However, despite her fears, Nishino responded without hesitation. 

He swung his fist down with such force that it was blocked by his gym bag. 

It only made a small sound. 

"........." 

"What's the matter? Aren't you supposed to be teaching me how to talk?"

"What the hell is wrong with this kid?......" 

As usual, it was Nishino who received the fist-bump with his mysterious power. 

Of course, the man had no way of knowing. 


342


As Sumika had told him, the host had intended to stop him.

But no matter how hard he tried, his fist would not go any further.

He had no choice but to assume that the man had caught him with his hand. 

And through the thin cotton fabric, the sweat that has soaked into his gym uniform is trickling down the back of his hand. The man withdrew his hand as if it had touched something dirty. It was the sweat of a man who had shed it in gym class this afternoon. It's Rose's favourite food.  

"You, how much was your sales last month?"

"Oh? You've got to be kidding me......." 

"No, I just thought it would be better for you if you got a real job." 

"........" 

Nishino speaks here and there. 

The man's arm twitches again and he reacts.

But he weighs this down as he catches sight of the gym bag in his vision. Although he doesn't know why, he seems to have understood that there is no point in being violent. This was compounded by the coldness of the fresh gym clothes on his fist. 

What followed instead was a lot of words for words. 

"So what? Are you baiting me?"


343


"I'm just telling you the truth. " 

"Hmm?" 

Muttering something meaningful, the host man checks the appearance of the Futsumen. 

It's all very dull. 

His eyebrows, which had been trimmed by Adam for the breakdancing event, had already regained their anarchic appearance. And why the odd eye? The blue eyes are so flamboyant that they deny the normalcy of normal men and reduce them to a lower rank. 

"If you're so sure, why don't you show us what you're saying and what you're doing? "

"What do you mean?" 

"You're saying you can make more money than me? Then why don't you become a host and show me what you can do? You're going to teach me how to pick up women, aren't you? If so, you need to be in the same office. "

"... I see."

This is going to be a strange conversation, the Chairwoman thought. 

At the same time, she felt that it would be a bad idea. 

She knew that the boys in her class were more aggressive than they looked. And because they are honest in the strangest ways, they always get people into trouble.


344


"Hey Nishino-kun ..." 

"Okay, fine."

It didn't take long for the Chairwoman to call out.

The Futsumen man nodded enthusiastically and complied. 

"You've made a very good point." 

"Oh? Are you serious?"

"Why not?" 

In fact, he was interested in becoming a host. 

In order to achieve his ideal youth, he needs to have a good relationship with the opposite sex. He thought that being a host would be a good step up in this direction. 

"Are you really, really, really serious?" 

"Don't repeat it to me. I'm serious." 

"Hmm?" 

In response, the man who spoke with such vigor hesitated. 

It is not often that a host club welcomes high school students as cast members. 


345 


Even if there is, the management is sometimes suspicious. 

But he was afraid to go back on what he had said, because he had said it himself. 

As far as he was concerned, the high school student in front of him, who had no eyebrows and could have been mistaken for a junior high school student, could not leave him alone. There is also a customer, Sumika, nearby. 

So he proposed to threaten him. 

"Would you like me to introduce you to my shop?" 

They are just students who go to school. He thought that if he was offered a job opportunity, he would feel intimidated and back down.

But it was a fool's errand.

"Yes, please!" 

Who was the one who was trapped? 

The Fustumen happily agreed to a proposal from Yuya-kun. 


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Comments

  1. ngl, Nishino be gaming pretty hard at the end there

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nishino going all out, i wonder if he will actually turn out to be a good host, or will his akwardness interfere once again. Im also getting the feeling hes gonna run into the mob boss again.

    ReplyDelete

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