I'm in Love with the Gorilla Sitting Next to Me - Volume 1 Chapter 2.5

From my first encounter with Gorilla-san to the present 5

For now, the only class girl I interact with is Gorilla-san next to me, but after two weeks of attending all sorts of classes, I’ve come to understand a few things.

First, Gorilla-san is tall. Of course, I noticed this on the first day. When sitting, I seemed to be a little taller, but when we stood up to head to the gym for the entrance ceremony, it was clear she was slightly taller than me. She seems to be the tallest girl in the class.

The next thing I noticed came a few days later. During break time, as I returned to my seat after chatting with the other boys, Gorilla-san was, as usual, reading a book at her desk. Not a smartphone, but a paperback.

A gorilla exuding a literary girl vibe… an intellectual gorilla… I want to give her a set of a beret and glasses…

Well, aside from that desire, it seemed that Gorilla-san didn’t interact much with the other girls, or rather, she wasn’t the type to initiate conversations. When a few girls, and occasionally boys, approached and talked to her, she would respond properly. It didn’t seem like the conversations were very lively, but at least she wasn’t isolated. She was properly invited during the orientation for new students to deepen their friendships. In fact, I was the one who almost missed joining a group and was in a pinch.

By mid-April, when I had started to match my classmates’ names, faces, and their respective animals traits, I rushed into the classroom just in time to avoid being late and took my seat with a quick greeting to my neighbor.

“Gossan, Morning.”

“Good M… huh, are you talking to me…?”

Gorilla-san, furrowing her brows sternly, seemed to ask if I had made some mistake as she checked with me, so I, having taken my seat and feeling sweaty from running, fanned my face with a placemat that had been left inside my desk and nodded.

“Of course. There’s no one else, right?”

“Why the rural dialect all of a sudden… No, more importantly, why such a nickname…?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it for the past few days. Calling you ‘Goura’ seems a bit too harsh, you know?”

“…I suppose I understand that.”

“So, calling you by your first name feels too close, right? And ‘Gocchan’ doesn’t quite fit as well as ‘Gossan’, so after careful consideration, I chose this way of addressing you.”

“…”

Gorilla-san, maintaining an expressionless face, stared at me in silence. The pressure from this gorilla was quite intense. I had gotten somewhat used to it over the past two weeks, but it still felt life-threatening. However, this is for the best for both of us.

I deliberately chose not to read the mood.

After all, every time I try to call her ‘Goura’, I almost blurt out ‘Gorira (Gorilla)’.

Because what I see is a gorilla in a school uniform, right? And there’s the surname ‘Goura’, which is so close to ‘Gorira’. It’s more natural for ‘ri’ to come between ‘go’ and ‘ra’ than ‘u’, right?

But the other party is a girl, and moreover, one who has a trauma from being called a gorilla in the past. I absolutely want to avoid accidentally saying it. So, as a desperate measure, I decided to settle on ‘Gossan’ in my mind to distance myself from the gorilla. Choosing her first name would be too intimate given our level of familiarity.

For a girl, ‘Gossan’ might be a nickname they’d rather avoid, but I hope she’ll forgive me. It’s a matter of whether I might accidentally call her a gorilla or not.

Gorilla-san, with her yellow hair ornament, stared at me intently, and it was hard to tell if she was angry or pondering, but…

“Well, do as you like. I did feel a bit of respect in the fact that you added ‘san’ to it.”

“Oh, that’s good. I chose the one that felt most fitting. I’m glad you’re pleased with it.”

“I’m not pleased with it. By the way, what were the other options?”

“Hm? Oh, I thought about using ‘Gori-san’ by taking ‘go’ from ‘Goura’ and ‘ri’ from ‘Riho’, or even ‘Gohho’ by taking ‘ho’ from ‘Riho’…”

“I see, I understand now——I’m annoyed, so I’m going to hit you.”

“Wait, hold on, those were just the rejected candidates… Ouch!”

Before I could make any excuses, Gorilla-san’s left hand swung and hit near my right shoulder.

Is this really a girl’s strike? It’s so painful that I can’t help but make a sound, and it’s not an exaggeration. Even if my brain is mistaken due to the visual impact, the pain is real. If it hit my face, I’d probably cry.

The gorilla appearance wasn’t just for show… and as I rubbed the sore spot, I saw the calm profile of the gorilla who had just delivered a powerful slap. It seemed like a lie considering the sound it made, but more than half the class was looking this way, wondering what had happened.

Ignoring everyone’s gaze and my reaction, Gorilla-san began preparing for class, and I raised a voice of protest.

“Hey, Gossan. Nowadays, violent heroines aren’t popular, you know?”

“I’m not a heroine, and I don’t resort to violence, so it’s irrelevant.”

“Hmm? Then what was that you just hit me with?”

“That was a physical manifestation of the pain in my heart. It’s distinct from violence.”

“…So you’re not a violent heroine, but a verbal abuse heroine…”

“I told you, I’m not a heroine. Want another hit?”

How is this not a violent heroine? From my perspective, she’s a rough gorilla. It feels like untamed wilderness.

But… well, yeah. Gossan has a point.

“Indeed, it wasn’t good to treat you as a heroine. Gossan, you have more of a hero vibe than a heroine.”

“…For future reference, what’s the difference?”

“To me, it’s like the type who takes action rather than waits, you know? More of a protector than the protected, like a character who starts as an enemy and later becomes an ally but hates getting too friendly and insists on being a lone helper.”

“I see… I don’t understand at all.”

“That’s okay. Maybe it’s too difficult for girls… Ah, the pain is finally starting to subside.”

“It’s an exaggeration. I held back properly.”

“…Really? That was holding back…!?”

Her astonishing statement made my eyes widen, but Gorilla-san’s displeased glare told me it was true. It was more painful and shocking than when I was hit by my little sister’s dropkick in a fit of rage.

If that was her holding back.. I don’t even want to think about her full strenght…!