NOVEL NEXT chapter 26
26: Deniel
Living while facing the challenge of being “unnoticeable.”
“Unnoticed” “Unnoticed” “Unnoticed”.
Every morning, I recite this three times and look into the mirror.
Standing out is foolish. If you stand out, you will draw attention from “enemies.” “Victory” is not about “winning battles.”
For me, victory means “surviving,” in other words, “not even being considered for elimination.”
So, what I aim for is nothing more than a stone by the roadside.
Is there anyone who directs murderous intent towards a stone lying by the wayside?
If it’s a decently sized stone, someone might casually kick it away. But what about a stone small enough to be picked up with fingertips? Yes, I wanted to become a small stone. Unseen by anyone, with no one paying any attention, just a small stone by the roadside.
To achieve that, being unnoticed is crucial.
Since elementary school, I have been striving with all my might towards that goal—although it’s hard to say I achieved that goal during my elementary school days when there was a girl named Sheila.
But now, Sheila is gone, and there is no one in my class who competes with me like Sheila did.
I just need to live.
Not join any clubs, not be part of any committees, just avoid attracting attention…
By the way, around the same time as I entered the second year of junior high school, I joined the student council.
It was because Anna-san asked me, “Rex-kun, would you join the student council?”
Anna-san used to be the student council president.
In this school, it’s not uncommon for student council members to invite underclassmen to join the student council.
But I still wondered why it was me.
Naturally, I asked. Um, um, Anna-senpai… I’m glad you’re relying on me, but why me? I mean…
“The student council has a lot of odd jobs, takes up a lot of time, and the only good thing about it is the internal evaluation points. That’s why it’s hard to ask other kids.”
Anna-san only talked about the disadvantages.
I have no reason to accept such a thing—in the first place, the “student council” is an organization that is given “a certain level of authority from the teachers and has the role of monitoring students.”
In other words, it’s like a tool of the adults.
Even among the brainwashed, those who are more obedient to adults are just relegated to the position of errand boys, serving no purpose other than being bait with something as useless as “internal evaluation points” in the escalator advancement of education.
Moreover, they always stand in front of the students, so they stand out.
For me, who has set the goal of “not standing out” and is striving to live without losing the fighting spirit after breaking free from brainwashing education, there is no benefit to being a member of the student council.
As a result, I decided to join the student council as soon as I started the second year of junior high school.
… What’s happening!?
I don’t understand. Why did I end up joining the student council… I was supposed to think that there was no single benefit. So, I should have thought about quitting.
But before I knew it, I had finished the necessary documents and was knocking on the door of the student council room.
Considering several possibilities, I finally arrived at the biggest reason why I ended up joining the student council.
Anna’s existence.
She was someone who had managed me since my childhood. We met during our nursery school days, and we have maintained a somewhat sporadic friendship ever since.
Due to her busy schedule with the student council, we hadn’t been in frequent contact since entering middle school. However, whenever we did meet, we would have decent conversations, and she would treat me kindly like an older sister.
In other words, I was treated like a younger brother, and the problem with that was that Anna was always physically close to me. She would stand just a half step closer to me than to anyone else.
And here’s the most important thing… Anna was beautiful.
From a distance, she looked like a goddess with her blond hair. She was tall and slender, with a small head and a high body ratio. As an added bonus, she wore black tights on her legs.
Tights… Of course, being a teenage boy, my mind was preoccupied with physical desires, and I had a normal interest in the female body.
Speaking of tights, they were something that tightly covered the body. For me, who longed to accidentally see someone naked, tights were the enemy.
Despite being the enemy, whenever I saw Anna’s legs, my heart would beat 30% faster thanks to the tights.
I didn’t know why, so I decided to investigate. “If you don’t know, then find out.” That’s the attitude I take when facing the unknown.
As a result, I discovered that the unit of measurement for the transparency of tights is called “denier.”
Through further meticulous research, I found out that Anna’s favorite tights had a denier of 60. They appeared completely black, but they had a slight translucency that exuded elegance and sensuality. I became obsessed with this unit of measurement called “60 denier,” and as a result, I now get a little excited whenever I hear or see the number “60.”
A blonde, blue-eyed beauty wearing 60 denier tights would come close enough that I could reach out and say, “Join the student council. Please.” With my mental strength, I couldn’t refuse that request. My limit was to answer hesitantly, “Y-Yes. Okay. If it’s Anna-senpai’s request, I’ll do anything.”
And so, I became a member of the student council.
In order to not stand out… Just when I thought Sheila, who was obstructing this goal, had disappeared, a hidden soldier appeared unexpectedly and drove me into a place where attention was focused.
But I remembered.
Anna wasn’t even a hidden soldier to begin with.
Because…
Even the risk of having my name posted in the corridor, I constantly maintained my position as a top performer for Anna, who taught me how to study.
Anna had been working from the beginning to push me into a prominent position…
I can’t defy a beautiful older sister…