Does This Love Suit Your Taste? - Volume 1 Chapter 6.2

Duel 2

 

One morning, during break time, I was being led by Shirahime from the staff room while carrying a stack of returned notebooks back to the classroom (one for each student in the class) that had been submitted some time ago.

 

“Whoa, heavy… Even a bunch of paper sheets can be ridiculously heavy…”

“Come on, stop grumbling and let’s get back to the classroom quickly.”

“Hey, I’m carrying your share too, you know? And to make things clear, I’m not the class representative, so technically this is all your responsibility.”

“If we’re talking about that, Toui-kun is my servant. Therefore, all my share is Toui-kun’s share.”

“What kind of logic is that… Why am I even doing this…”

“Little efforts build up over time. That’s how you steadily gain trust.”

“Damn it… But seriously, if you’re not going to help, why did you even come along?”

“… It’s nothing, really, I was just bored.”

 

Shirahime somehow dodged my retort. Well, it doesn’t really matter.

Carefully walking to avoid toppling the tower of notebooks, we approached the stairs. Just a little more to the second-year floor, and at the landing where we were about to get there, something happened.

 

“Ah! There you are! Princess! (Hime)”

“What…? Princess…?”

 

Shirahime, with a clear look of disgust on her face, was looking at a male student standing at the top of the stairs.

The guy had a soft mohawk that looked like it was cut at a cheap barber shop and high-tech-looking silver-rimmed glasses. Maybe he does sports, as he seemed to be slightly bulkier than the average person.

 

“Is he someone you know?”

“Tojoin-senpai… one of my fans…”

“Heh…”

 

Shirahime looked tens of times more languid than usual. Must be a really bothersome fan. I could tell just by the vibe.

That man named Tojoin said, ‘Ah, I’ve been looking for you’, as he came down the stairs.

 

“Ahh… you’re as beautiful as ever today…”

“…Hahaha, thanks.”

 

After giving Shirahime a thorough look from head to toe, Tojoin placed a hand on his chin and nodded thoughtfully. His aura screams ‘trouble’ all over.

 

“By the way, I saw it! Your recent mimi!”

“T-thank you…”

“No… As always, it was splendid. That tight outfit really highlighted your slim and graceful figure! Personally, I’d rather you not expose yourself too much in public… But those slender arms extending from the sleeveless top were truly beautiful…”

 

That was a fashion magazine, right?

The main focus is supposed to be the clothes, not this girl, right?

Anyway, I don’t have time to be dealing with such pointless chatter… the notebooks… they’re heavy…

 

“However I must say, even if it showcases your great figure, making you wear such body-revealing outfits seems questionable… The Princess’s body is neither a public spectacle nor merchandise! Damn you, mimi… exploiting the immature body of a high school girl for business… Ah, I’m sorry, I got carried away.”

 

Shirahime covered her body with her arms as if to hide it and hung her head, her face turning bright red. It seems she was at a loss of words. This is like a public execution…

Moreover, by looking at Shirahime’s utterly appalled expression, it’s clear that this oblivious Senpai is pretty messed up.

The fact that Shirahime couldn’t even fake a smile said it all.

 

“Oops… This isn’t the time to be doing this… I didn’t have business with the Princess today…”

“Yes…?”

“Then, Princess——”

“Ugh… What?”

 

Suddenly, my right shoulder was pressed down. I lost my balance and took a step back from that spot, and the bundle of notebooks I was holding scattered all over the floor.

Tojoin pushed my right shoulder.

 

“Ouch… What the hell…”

“Step away from this man.”

“…What?”

 

Tojoin stepped in between Shirahime and me, faced me squarely, and stood imposingly.

 

“You must be Kiminami Toui, right?”

“…So what if I am?”

 

At that moment, Tojoin grabbed my collar and, without any effort—lifted me above his head.

This guy… how strong is he…

 

“What the hell are you doing…! Let go…!”

“Toui-kun!”

 

With a face flushed red with anger(?), Tojoin glared at me with his eyes wide open and said,

 

“I have a lot of complaints!”

 

What did I even do to him… I wanted to say, but… I couldn’t say it because my throat was being squeezed…

 

“T-Tojoin senpai! What are you suddenly doing to Toui-kun? Please let him go!”

 

When Shirahime tried to pry Tojoin’s arm away, Tojoin said, ‘Hmm… if the princess insists…’ and released me.

Once I was put back on the ground, I took a deep breath and sat down on my knees on the spot.

 

“Cough… ugh… That’s surprised me. I thought I was going to die…”

“Toui-kun! Are you okay!?”

“Yeah… somehow…”

“I had heard you were the school’s number one delinquent, but I never imagined you’d be such a weak-ass brat.”

“…what did you say?”

“What are you trying to do… Tojoin senpai…”

“Actually, there’s been a rumor going around the school that ‘S-Hime has turned into a delinquent’ lately. Whether it’s true or just some misunderstanding, the source of this rumor is clear… It must be because this delinquent is always hanging around the Princess!”

 

Why…why does everyone always want to make me out to be the bad guy?

If anything, it’s this girl who keeps following me around…

 

“Damn you, Kiminami Toui… It’s all your fault… A delinquent who doesn’t follow the school rules and just skips class to fool around… you have no right to come near the Princess…!”

 

As I stayed silent under the unreasonable treatment, Tojoin cleared his throat and continued leisurely.

 

“What, I had heard that there were some fellows loitering around the Princess lately. When I heard it, I almost lost my mind…”

 

You crazy bastard, you are out of your mind already…

 

“Ever since then, I’ve been thinking about how I could punish you. How could I protect her? I’ve been thinking about the Princess all the time. I don’t know what kind of relationship you have with the Princess, but one thing is certain: you are a bad influence on her. This Tojoin Hideo
cannot overlook a delinquent trifling with our sacred and noble Princess.”

 

The tall Tojoin bent at the waist, lowering his face to the height of my head, and said one thing to me.

 

“Kiminami Toui, I challenge you to a duel.”

 

◇

 

Shirahime somehow managed to pacify Tojoin, but as he left, he declared, “One o’clock in the afternoon, at the dojo,” showing his intention to not give up on his challenge.

After leaving the notebooks in the classroom, Shirahime and I came to the usual old school building to talk about what to do about Tojoin.

 

“What’s wrong with that guy? He seemed really protective of you…”

“He’s just like Kazama-kun, one of the many who unilaterally follow me around…”

 

According to Shirahime, Tojoin is particularly troublesome among them, and the real problem is that he confronts any man who gets close to Shirahime, acting as if he’s her bodyguard without permission.

And so, being unilaterally targeted by him, the timid boys are overwhelmed by Tojoin’s presence and give up on getting close to Shirahime.

 

However, there was an incident where a boy who had seriously fallen for Shirahime got into a fight with Tojoin over her in the past, and Tojoin ended up injuring the boy.

Since then, it seems that there are not a few boys who avoid Shirahime because of Tojoin’s presence. As a result, Shirahime’s reputation has suffered, which has been troubling her for some time.

 

“Recently, there have been rumors starting to spread that I’m becoming a delinquent. I think it’s because I’ve been seen with Toui-kun, and that Senpai probably misunderstands it as Toui-kun’s fault. Anyway, it’s better not to avoid any involvement with him. If you don’t, who knows what might happen to Toui-kun. It could hinder your efforts to reform if you’re involved in any strange rumors now.”

“Wait a minute. So are we just going to let that guy keep doing what he’s doing?”

“We have no choice… Even if I tell him to stop, he won’t take it out on me if that offends him, but he might blame it on the people around me and lash out. It’s risky to make any moves.”

“That’s just not right… So what about the duel?”

“Don’t go. He’s really strong.”

“Strong, huh…”

“…Hey, you really shouldn’t go, okay?”

“Yeah-yeah, I get it, don’t nag.”

 

But, leaving things as they are with Tojoin is only a temporary fix and doesn’t solve the root cause.

Who knows when the same thing might happen again, whether in front of me, Shirahime, or someone else.

Besides, it irks me that she thinks I’m going to lose.

Sure, he might be big and strong. I let him have his way because he caught me off guard.

 

…As if I’d ever lose to someone like that guy.

 

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