Truly, unlike Touji whose family relationships are a minefield no matter where you dig, there’s nothing interesting about my family story. My family structure is parents, one older brother, one younger sister—a family of five. I think we’re a typical household in the countryside boonies.
If asked how family relations were, honestly I have to answer they weren’t very good. My brother was so smart and athletic that I doubted whether the same blood really flowed through him, me, and my sister, and naturally he had a good reputation in the neighborhood, making him my parents’ pride and joy.
As for me, on the other hand, I was called my brother’s inferior version by the neighbors. That should tell you everything. My parents would try to encourage me, saying things like “Just do your best at your own pace,” but to my young self, I felt rather like they had no expectations of me.
So my sister, who was in a similar situation, and I got along fairly well, but after my sister demonstrated talent in a certain field, we became distant—I noticed while talking up to that point.
That Lou had departed for dreamland while still on my lap.
…It hasn’t even been five minutes since I started talking. Huh, was my story that boring? Also what do I do with Lou? My lap is so heavy. She looks like she’s sleeping comfortably, so I feel bad waking her up…
Just as I was thinking that, as if timed perfectly, Lou’s guardian came to visit my room.
“Hey there, Yukiharu-kun. Thanks for being my granddaughter’s playmate.”
No, I didn’t do anything though. Most of the time she was just finding it amusing watching me scream at the game.
The one who visited my room was the academy chairman, Ray-Elesius. The chairman lifted up Lou sleeping on my lap and gently cradled her at his chest.
“How about it, Yukiharu-kun? Over a year has passed since you enrolled in the academy—are you enjoying yourself?”
Enjoying… huh. Honestly, there were many things more disappointing than I imagined. Even with special powers, I wasn’t special at this academy. Even with protagonists around me, I wasn’t the protagonist. My faint hope that I might be popular with girls evaporated like dew, and I’m currently a loner. Taking all that into account, I answered with a smile:
“Not enjoying it at all.”
Seeing the chairman’s face that looked like “What?”, I felt a little refreshed.
– Secret Place
About once or twice a month, my mental state crashes. The reasons vary—when I get stuck in remedial classes after tests, when harem developments are shown right in front of me, when the entire class gets involved in a summer adventure but I’m the only one left out… there are various things, but the reason I crashed this time is—because I got last place four times in a row in a mahjong app.
Huh? You’re telling me not to crash over such a trivial reason? Shut up! Gaming is the number one cause of tantrums in life! (ranking by Yukiharu’s bias and prejudice)
Why does my 10-tile-remaining three-sided wait lose to a single-tile wait with three tiles already discarded!
…Anyway, when I crash like this, I go out at night to change my mood. The academy dorm is located a bit away from what you’d call downtown, and if you walk a little, there are spots where you can see the stars. There I gaze blankly at the stars and get a little self-satisfied with my situation to recover my mental state.
By the way, regarding the land where this academy is located—I have absolutely no idea what prefecture or city it’s in. The reason is, when I was brought here, I passed through every conceivable means of transportation—trains, airplanes, cars—and warp gates-like things several times over, so I can’t get my bearings on the location at all. I think it’s probably in Japan, but honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me it was overseas.
I once tried to pinpoint my location using my smartphone’s GPS function, but for some reason, it showed me in the middle of the ocean. It was too terrifying, so I decided to stop thinking about the location ever since.
After walking for a while, I arrived at my intended spot. Normally, I’d immediately lie down and gaze at the stars, but today there was someone already here.
“Look, isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yeah… it’s like the stars are raining down onto the city.”
“Lately, I’ve been seeing you look kind of depressed… so I wanted to bring you here. I wanted to show you this view.”
“Saki…”
There stood Watagaya Touji—a self-proclaimed ordinary person who is absolutely overflowing with protagonist attributes and is becoming increasingly distant from me—and Saki, a cool-type heroine girl who is one of Touji’s harem members.
As expected, I couldn’t possibly call out to the two of them, who were radiating an air absolutely packed with lovey-dovey vibes. I held my breath and hid myself in the nearby bushes. This might be the most improved technique I’ve developed in this past year. Dammit, I’m about to cry.
“When I’m feeling down, I’ve been coming here since I was small. It’s a secret place that nobody else knows about—you’re the first person I’ve ever told.”
“Is that okay? Saki, who loves being alone, telling someone your secret place…?”
“Yeah, you’re fine. Hehe, it’s our secret that only two of us know.”
Sorry, it’s become a secret that three of us know now.
While I’m consumed by guilt, Touji is blushing at the rarely-seen genuine smile from the usually cool heroine. What bittersweet youth this is. The story I had been hoping for was right there.
…………I’m going home. That night, I soaked my pillow with tears.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
-Chaos Field
I like the rooftop for its special sense of atmosphere. In a normal school, it’s basically off-limits, but at this academy, it’s permitted. Plus, unlike the barren, empty rooftops of normal schools, this one has potted plants and benches placed around, so even a loner like me doesn’t stand out too much when sitting alone. My designated spot is the bench in the very back, in the most inconspicuous shaded area. Being a gloomy person, after all—sorry, never mind that one.
In any case, for a loner like me, it’s definitely a comfortable place where I don’t have to worry about prying eyes. The problem, if there is one, is—
“I, I know! I know that you’ve been going on dates with Saki-san in the middle of the night!”
“Ah, that was… Saki was just trying to cheer me up because I was feeling down…”
Occasionally running into chaos fields between heroines and the protagonist (not limited to Touji).
Currently, a blonde twintail—a.k.a. blonde drill—high-handed ojou-sama heroine and my friend Touji are arguing. No, rather than arguing, it’s more like the blonde drill high-handed ojou-sama (hereinafter: Gold Drill) is the only one running her mouth.
They’re arguing right next to where I’m sitting on the bench, but thanks to the potted plant, it’s in my blind spot, so they can’t see me.
“Regardless of the reason, it’s indecent for an unmarried man and woman to go out alone together!”
“No, seriously, that was just me getting encouragement from a friend! Neither Saki nor I had any improper feelings!”
I doubt it. Whatever Touji’s case may be, I’m pretty sure Saki—the blue-haired iron-masked one—definitely did.
“And besides… I actually wanted to be the one to cheer you up…”
“Huh? What was that? I couldn’t hear well because of the wind.”
Why can’t he hear it? I could hear it from my distance, so there’s no way he couldn’t hear it from his distance. Did a sudden gust of twenty-meter-per-second winds blow up locally out of nowhere? This dense protagonist!
“N-No, nothing at all! If you couldn’t hear it, then that’s perfectly fine!”
Gold Drill believes it immediately too.
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