NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41
“…Oh my.”
“Hmm?”
It was after school. Unfortunately for Ryuichi, today was the day he had his part-time job, so he couldn’t hang out with Shizuna after school. Nevertheless, he would still walk her home…because whenever they walked home together, she would seem very happy. Of course, part of the reason he did it was because he wanted to see her smile, but he also wanted to do everything he could to follow her whims as a way of thanking her for everything she did for him.
“What’s up?”
It should have been a normal after-school day, but there was something unusual that had been placed inside Shizuna’s shoe locker. It was a letter; more specifically, a love letter.
“What’re you gonna do?”
“I’m not interested.”
That was all she had to say before she stuffed it into her pocket. He could tell from her expression that she truly wasn’t interested in the letter at all, but the fact that she put it away in her pocket could mean that she would just read it when she got home.
“I’m not even going to read it when I get home. I’m just choosing to throw it away at home since I won’t have to worry about anyone else seeing me there.”
“…I see.”
Still, Ryuichi thought it was reckless of the sender to confess their feelings to Shizuna. Though he wasn’t in a relationship with her, anyone could see that she held sincere feelings for him from the bottom of her heart. He wasn’t trying to be arrogant or brag about her feelings for him, but he inwardly expressed his lamentations for said person whose name he didn’t even know.
“Shizuna.”
He hugged her shoulders as if to tell that person, If you’re watching her from somewhere right now, you better burn this scene into your eyes.
“Did you maybe get a little jealous?—”
“I did.”
“—just kidding. I can’t imagine a world where you’d get jealou…oh?”
There was no way he would’ve been jealous since he knew how she felt for him, and it was obvious that she didn’t reciprocate the feelings of the sender of the letter. However, she didn’t seem to have caught on to the fact that he was only joking, and his response made her eyes open wide in surprise.
“…Fufu. ♪”
…Well, she seems to have brightened up in one go. Guess I’ll just let her think I’m jealous.
When he saw her eyes wide in surprise and her cheeks loosening into a broad smile, he didn’t bother to correct her misunderstanding and justleft it as it was.
“I see~. I guess I should’ve known even you can get jealous, huh, Ryuichi-kun. ♪”
“Yeah, totally. I’m sooo jealous. You’re my woman, y’know?”
“Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I’m Ryuichi-kun’s exclusive woman! ♪ Muhaaaaa!!”
“………”
Though her voice had gone completely strange, it was still cute, and her sloven expression of happiness also seemed to highlight her adorableness as well.
After that, he walked Shizuna home and made his way to the club where he had his part-time job. The club wasn’t open yet, but the manager and employees were already present, and everyone approached him as he entered.
For students, it was an impure place, and for adults as well, it was a special kind of club where people with those kinds of interests gathered, but strangely enough, the atmosphere was good and many of its patrons were kind-natured.
“Hey there, Ryuichi.”
“‘Sup, boss. Gonna be countin’ on your help again today.”
A fierce-looking man with his hair swept back came in. He was the manager of this club and a man with somewhat homosexual tendencies, being more interested in men than women.
“I know you’re tough and all, but don’t push yourself too hard, ‘kay? You’re ultimately just a student. Don’t let yourself get tainted by the atmosphere of this place…though it’s probably too late for that now, huh.”
“No shit.”
He’d already visited the club countless times even before he’d gotten his part-time job here, so it really was too late for that.
“Somebody’s put in a request for you. You won’t have to do anything else.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Well, you’ll find out when they get here.”
Leaving those few words behind, the time for opening arrived. While the waiters were going about their respective jobs, two people approached Ryuichi as he was diligently helping the manager.
“Yoohoo, Ryuichi~. Hard at work, aren’tcha?”
“Good evening, Ryuichi-kun. We’ve come to visit. ♪”
He didn’t even have to turn around to recognize their voices. He let out a small sigh and turned to face the visitors. There, he found Chisa and Satsuki standing side by side, gazing at him.
“So it was you guys. I had a feeling it might be you since the manager said they specifically requested for me.”
“I mean, I can’t think of anyone better suited to handling women than you. Plus, I know it’s work, but it puts me more at ease seeing you talk to people you already know.”
“…I see. Guess it can’t be helped, then.”
Well, that being said, it had become routine for Chisa and Satsuki to come visit the club on the days when Ryuichi worked part-time. Though Chisa was one thing, it may have been surprising to see Satsuki visiting the club again after that incident, but the reason she came was because Ryuichi was here. In fact, she had said that she never would’ve come if it weren’t for him.
“Ugh, guess that means I’ve got to work again.”
“You dimwit, taking care of your customers is a splendid job. Aight, I’m leaving this delinquent of a brat in your hands, Chisa-chan, Satsuki-chan.”
“You got it. Leave him to us.”
“We’ll take care of him, sir.”
Thus, Ryuichi was thrown into the den of the two girls. The manager nodded in satisfaction when he saw him sandwiched between the two, and even the other employees looked at Ryuichi with smiles on their faces.
“…Damn, he’s always being so soft on me.”
When he spat those words out, Chisa put her index finger on his cheek.
“C’mon, don’t say that. The manager knows about your family situation to some extent, too. You’re trying to act normal to avoid worrying others, but that must be pretty hard, isn’t it?”
“…Well, yeah.”
Ryuichi’s present life was relatively harder than that of most high school students. He had always been considered unwanted by his parents since he was a child, and yet despite his already cruel parents, he was forced to live without the love of his grandparents either after their early passing. In other words, Ryuichi had never known the warmth of a family and what it was like to be loved by one.
…Come to think of it, I don’t know anything about my family in my previous life, either. Or should I say, it’s like I can’t remember them. It’s such a strange feeling.
It was a fact he sometimes forgot, but this world was a manga world, and it was why there could exist a family environment like this that would not normally be possible.
In that case, he should’ve been able to remember his previous life’s family and understand what the warmth of a family was like, but for some reason, he couldn’t remember them.
“………”
Well, that being said, however; it wasn’t like being unable to remember made him particularly sad. In fact, from his point of view, it was a good thing that he had no regrets about his previous life, because then he wouldn’t have to get hung-up over it, and it wouldn’t make him feel sad.
“C’mon, Ryuichi, why don’t you order something too? Better eat up here and now.”
“…You do realize I’m on the job right now, right?”
“It’s your job right now to eat with us, you know?”
“Heh, you heard the two. I’ll cook up some nice food for you, so order fast.”
It was as if he was a small child surrounded by adults who were spoiling him…or rather, it was like a neighborhood uncle and two older sisters spoiling the youngest kid among them.
Although he wasn’t completely on board, he knew the girls wouldn’t back down here, so he decided to listen to them.
“…Sigh. Fine, I’ll order something, boss.”
Ryuichi ended up giving in to them. Just to be clear, things like these obviously weren’t an everyday occurrence, and there were a fair amount of times when he worked himself too hard and felt tired the next day, much to Shizuna’s concern.
“Ryuichi-kun. ♪”
Satsuki, sitting next to him, leaned in closer. As he was enjoying the feel of her touch on his body, he suddenly felt something like a gaze on him and turned his attention toward it.
“……?”
One male customer was looking at not just Satsuki, but Chisa as well. Well, this club served as a place for people to find partners as well, so he guessed he had his eyes on either Chisa or Satsuki. However, he seemed to have given up trying to talk to either since Ryuichi was next to them.
“I know you can’t drink, but here, take this to go with your meal.”
“Aight.”
He obediently took the bottle of beer and poured some into Chisa’s cup. It bubbled up and almost spilled out, but Chisa hurriedly sipped from it just in the nick of time.
“Drinking with you and Satsuki like this really does make the beer taste good.”
“Really, now?”
“Fufu, maybe I’ll have a few drinks today myself.”
Satsuki also started sipping some beer. Even as she drank her beer, however, Satsuki never moved her body away from Ryuichi. It felt as if she was implicitly telling him that she did not want to be separated from him even for a moment, so he pulled his arm out of her embrace and hugged her shoulder.
“Don’t drink too much. I’m sure you aren’t that heavy-weight. Unlike a certain woman.”
“Don’t worry. I know my limits, and I plan on drinking within them.”
“Oh? If you can’t keep your promise, I’ll play a little prank on you like this, okay?”
He shifted his hands from his shoulders and put them on Satsuki’s ample breasts. Her eyes immediately widened; she drank the beer from her glass in one gulp and then said this.
“Looks like I’ll have to drink a lot and get you to play more pranks on me…don’t I?”
“…So that’s what you’re going with.”
Satsuki, too, had become much bolder in front of Ryuichi. Whereas not so long ago she would have been trembling in nervousness for even the smallest of things, now she was more confident in herself and was showing Ryuichi how she honestly felt.
“Hey~! Why’re you two flirting with each other!!”
Chisa, perhaps feeling left out, also joined the fray. For Ryuichi, this was supposed to be his part-time job, but thanks to these girls, he was spending time that felt nothing like a job. Well, it was work in itself to deal with these girls, but anyone who looked at him would collectively say, “What an enviable job!”
“Master! You got any condoms~?”
“You seriously think he’d have those…?”
“I do.”
“What?!”
It seemed that this club…no, its manager was definitely the most unusual one.