I'm in Love with the Gorilla Sitting Next to Me - Volume 1 Chapter 3.7

Choose Carefully Whom You Consult Your Worries With 7

“…Saiki, move, move. We’re going.”

“Oops, sorry.”

Urged by Hashimoto, I hurried to catch up with the line that had started moving without me. As we left the stuffy gymnasium, a breeze brought a momentary sense of refreshment… which was short-lived due to the crowded entrance where people were changing shoes.

Some students were sitting down to change their shoes, so it was inevitable that time and space were needed. Leaving my classmates searching for space behind, I headed straight for the school building. I had already taken off my gym shoes while waiting, so I could change into my indoor shoes once inside the building. Dirty socks were a small sacrifice.

…However, halfway down the bamboo-matted corridor leading to the school building,

“——Hey, first-year boy. Come here for a second.”

I had naturally stopped walking before I was called out to, having noticed the student with the head of a cat standing as if waiting at the entrance to the school building.

Up close, the tabby cat with sleek fur was staring straight at me. The height difference was clear; I was about 170 cm, and she was about more than 10 cm shorter.

Tora-senpai’s cat’s eyes shone sharply, and before I knew it, she had grabbed my wrist with a firm grip.

“Ah, what are you doing all of a sudden—”

“Just come with me!”

“Hey!? My shoes, I haven’t even put on my indoor shoes yet!”

“That can wait!”

It was a no-questions-asked situation. I was pulled into the school building and made to walk quickly down the hallway in my socks.

To me, it felt like just a cat’s paw tapping against me, but the sensation was definitely of being held firmly, which was strange. And despite the momentum, the grip wasn’t that strong.

Probably because she’s a girl… well, there are exceptions like Gossan.

Anyway, Tora-senpai, who was dragging me along, didn’t go upstairs to the classrooms of each grade but continued on the first floor, leading me to a rarely used part of the school building without anyone stopping us.

Finally, she let go of my hand, but instead, her paw-like hand grabbed the front of my shirt, and those uniquely feline eyes glared up at me from a very close distance.

“——What was that about earlier?”

“Uh… what do you mean?”

“I’m confident in my eyes and ears. You were the one who called me a girl earlier, weren’t you?”

Ah, so she did hear. And this response. So, it’s confirmed there’s a story.

As for what to do now… should I play dumb, or tell a convenient lie? Being honest wouldn’t make a difference since she wouldn’t believe me anyway, so that’s fine too.

She was much shorter than me, and with a cat’s face, and even though she was grabbing me, it didn’t hurt, so I could probably force my way out and run if I wanted to… but that wouldn’t mean much since we go to the same school.

…Alright. Since I’m not sure what to do, I’ll just answer honestly and see how they react. It’ll probably work out, yeah.

“Yeah, that’s right. You looked like a girl to me.”

“…How so? I’m clearly a man from any angle?”

“Well, even if you say ‘clearly,’ that’s a bit…”

It was just a judgment based on being an animal.

As for the body shape… there’s not much of a feminine curve, so I can’t judge based on that.

If I say ‘You look like a cat’ here, I feel like I might get punched in anger.

While I was hesitating,

“——Just tell the truth. I won’t get angry. I promise I won’t hold a grudge.”

…Can you really trust a ‘I won’t get angry’ promise? Plus, it’d be really unreasonable to get angry in the first place.

Despite the threatening atmosphere as if she was about to pounce, the desperation was painfully clear.

If this turned into a ‘If you found out I’m a girl, I’ll have to kill you’ kind of situation, my life would be a confirmed crappy game. Too many bad-ending flags here.

“Say it, say it! From this distance, what do I look like to you!?”

“Uh… that is, well… how should I put it…”

“Come on, be clear! Do I still look like a girl to you!?”

“…No, it’s not that you look like a girl, but…”

“——Do I look like a man?”

Her heated demeanor cooled in an instant, almost like resignation.

Caught off guard by the unexpected reaction, I blurted out without thinking.

“No, you don’t look like a man… I guess?”

“You! What kind of half-hearted answer is that!”

“Ah, well, I mean… Not like a man or a woman, but…”

“But!? So what is it then!?”

“That… you look like a cat to me.”

“Cat…? …You mean like a kitty cat?”

Her unexpectedly cute way of saying it took me aback, and I nodded heavily.

Then, she suddenly baring her sharp teeth.

“What kind of answer is that!? Neither man nor woman, but a cat?”

“I know you’re mad, and I think you have every right to be, but seriously! A cat! You look like a tabby cat to me! It’s because of a curse!”

I hurried to explain as it seemed she might scratch or bite at any moment, but was that really a good explanation? Or was I just adding fuel to the fire?

Naturally, I expected Tora-senpai to fly into a rage… but instead,

For some reason, she froze with her hands still clenched as if to strangle me.

Her eyes darted back and forth, with the cat’s eye pupils narrowing and then widening in an odd reaction, and then,

“Could it be… you too?”

The words came out in a raspy voice, and now it was my turn to be shocked.

——I had considered the possibility that Tora-senpai might have some special circumstances, but unconsciously, I had excluded that option from my choices.

It’s such an unlikely thing, just because it’s true for me doesn’t mean it’s normally possible.

I could believe to some extent if someone said they were magically transformed from a woman to a man, but I had never met anyone like me before, so I assumed I was an extremely rare case.

But… her manner of speaking and the discrepancy between her perception and that of Hashimoto and the others suggest that…

“——Is Senpai also… cursed?”

To such an outrageous word that would usually be met with a snort or a puzzled ‘Huh?’, Tora-senpai simply nodded in silence.