What If You Spoil a High School Girl Who Looks Like a Landmine? - Volume 1 Chapter 4.9

Fight a monster with a monster 9

“Maybe it’s because he works part-time? He always takes the initiative and is always dependable. He does seem a bit mature, I guess… Right, he’s not the overly outgoing type, but he feels more mature than those around him. He doesn’t seem like a typical high school student.”

“What about his studies…?”

“His grades are good. He should be ranked quite high. He’s serious in class.”

“And sports?”

“Well, he doesn’t do any club activities, but I feel like he was quite active during the sports festival. I wonder if he plays soccer…”

“…..”

“Regardless of sports or studies, he manages to do everything smoothly. If I were to exaggerate a bit, he seems like a guy who can do anything.”

“I see…”

Raihara-san seems lost in thought about my answers.

Maybe that was unexpected?

“As for other things… He’s popular among girls. I mean, it’s not surprising. There’s no reason a mature, considerate guy wouldn’t be popular.”

“…That’s true, isn’t it?”

She sounds incredibly conflicted.

“But he doesn’t have a girlfriend and probably hasn’t been in a relationship either. Also, as far as I know in our school, I don’t think anyone has confessed their feelings to him.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Chifuji-kun goes straight to his part-time job after school. It’s rare for someone in our school to be that committed to work, so people probably guess that he has some sort of circumstance. And with that, they might feel that he wouldn’t prioritize a relationship.”

“I see…”

“More importantly, it’s hard to close the distance with him. Many girls have asked male friends close to Chifuji-kun to invite him out, but I don’t think anyone has succeeded.”

He’s pretty much invulnerable in that sense.

From what I know, female classmates aiming for Chifuji-kun probably think that since he’s likely busy preparing for entrance exams, they should focus on their studies for now and then confess their feelings on graduation day, even if it means facing rejection.

So, it was actually a bit of surprising news at school when Chifuji-kun was spotted hanging out with a girl on a holiday.

To be honest, the friend who told me about it had asked me to find out more details.

On the other hand, there are rumors that Raihara-san goes out with Chifuji-kun, but how did she manage to get that close to him?

That’s surprising.

…but I’m afraid to ask because it might stir up unnecessary trouble.

“…So, no one’s confessed. I see…”

After a long pause, Raihara-san, deep in thought, finally asked me:

“Do you think Chifuji-san is aware that he’s popular among the girls?”

“Ummm, I wonder? I get the impression he might not really realize it.”

…This is a girl thing, but there’s also a sentiment like, ‘Chifuji-kun is probably busy with various things, so let’s not approach him directly and inconvenience him!’

“Hmm…”

Raihara-san seemed to quickly understand as well, but of course, that’s just a facade.

In reality, it’s a truce formed from a shared sense of urgency that says, ‘Right now, it seems like it’d be pointless to actively approach or confess to him, so I want to maintain the status quo. But it would be the worst if someone reckless other than myself were to swoop in and succeed during this time.’

Needless to say, in the world of women, there’s nothing more terrifying than breaking these unspoken rules that have somehow formed among everyone.

“…I’ve been on the receiving end of those glares too.”

“Really?”

“Just recently! Chifuji-kun seemed like he had a fever, so I instinctively placed my hand on his forehead to check. Then, I got this ‘What are you doing?’ kind of look. I have a younger brother who often gets fevers, so I just did it out of habit.”

“I see…”

Oh, shoot. Raihara-san is like that too…

“Well, given such a tacit agreement is in place now, maybe he doesn’t realize he’s popular? To begin with, he seems to have low self-esteem.”

“He has a low self-esteem… Kusakabe-san thinks so too?”

“Yes. He seems like the type to brush off compliments, thinking they’re just flattery.”

Why is that, I wonder?

“…I see, thank you.”

“No need to say thank you, that’s all I know about Chifuji-kun from my perspective. I don’t know anything else…”

I owe Raihara-san for helping me out in the past, but on the flip side, I also feel guilty for seemingly repaying her kindness with betrayal by having her kicked out of the club.

So, wanting to somehow be of help, I vigorously searched my mind, repeating ‘Chifuji-kun, Chifuji-kun’ like search keywords.

What came up was…

“Oh, if I had to say… he might have quite a few unusual injuries.”

“Injuries?”

“Yeah. Though I’ve never seen Chifuji-kun trip or bump into anything at school…It seems like he’s quite clumsy.”

“…..”

“As far as I know, he’s broken his bones at least twice. Both times, it wasn’t at school but at home. I think he broke a rib in his first year? He had to skip PE for a while. And at the end of his second year, it was either his left or right hand… was it his right hand?”

We were in different classes at that time, but I remember being surprised when I saw him with a cast in the hallway.

“Injuries… injuries… injuries?”

“Yes… Raihara-san?”

“Could it be… No.”

“Raihara-san…?”

I unintentionally gasped.

For the second time today, a sharp intake of breath escaped from my throat.

“…If that’s the case, then…”

I’ve always been afraid of this quietly murmuring person ever since that summer in middle school.

As I once told Chifuji-kun, she feels like a completely different kind of creature from the rest of us.

Her seemingly boundless compassion becomes more incredible the more I understand it——so gentle and warm, yet so elusive.

I sometimes think she’s truly a different entity from us, and therefore her deep-seated motivations, thought processes, and even ethics might operate on an entirely different system.

Maybe that’s why she’s so hard to understand.

Even though I know it’s impossible for that to be true, such fantasies somehow make sense.

“…If that’s the case, then…”

Raihara-san murmurs the same words once more.

The strangeness I felt from her kindness, I can now recognize it in the coldness of her voice.

I’ve never seen her angry, and she’s unusually kind to the point where I can’t imagine her ever being otherwise, but precisely because of that…

“R-Raihara-san?”

“…..”

At this moment, I didn’t know what she was going to do.