Prologue â Momokawa Kotaro
September 19th, Respect for the Aged Day. I, Momokawa Kotaro, 2nd-year student of Shiromine Private Gakuen, am enjoying the so-called national holiday. To be specific, Iâm currently hunting for light novels, mangas, and games until I reach the centre of the city.
Although I belong only to the literature club, for a typical student like me, whoâs getting by with just a monthly allowance from his parents, I canât afford to spend too much of my funds on just one trip. Iâm somewhat an otaku-ish student, but I donât think I necessarily categorize as one. Currently, I donât have problems with my economic condition, considering I was originally a cheapskate.
ãMaybe itâs time to go backã
As Iâm leaving the large bookstore from where I bought a copy of this monthâs light novel, the sun was already inclined to the back of the mountain, coloring the cloudless, early autumn sky with a crimson color.
Maybe it was because Iâm shopping alone, I had a little premonition of the vanity of life when I saw that sunset, as I was walking sloppily on the road without thinking anything.
ãHey, donât touch meï¼ã
That, even if I canât say it as something like shrill, the nuance of the girlâs voice was like a scream. (EN: Why canât the author just say it was a girlâs scream?)[TL : Because itâs a girl scream]
When I noticed, I was looking curiously at the alleyway from where that voice came from.
ãEh, no way â¦â¦â¦â¦. ã
In that place, there were four men encircling two girls, I was partly expecting it but, the spectacle was filled with surprise.
The two girls were wearing the recently outdated sailor uniform. That was obvious since I am also going to Shiromine Gakuen. One of the girls with shoulder length hair is a cute girl, while the other one is just a plain glasses girl without any conspicuous point.
It seems the one whoâs screaming is the former. Though the glasses-san face is turning pale as she completely stepped back, it was clear when looking from where I was currently standing.
ãOioi, you shouldnât say those kinds of words to gentlemen like us, rightï¼ã
Saying that, the man corrected the two girls. Looking like gentlemen, no matter how he says it theyâre completely more like Yankees or hoodlums, despite their correction. What the heck is with that loose hip-hop parka, where the heck did he buy it?
But, no matter how stereotypical these juvenile delinquents are, I just couldnât do something stupid with the reality before me. Theyâre also high school students like me, even more so, theyâre most likely from the infamous Kurokawa high and are nicknamed as âStudents of Kuro highâ*. [TL : Kurokawa means âBlack Riverâ while the nickname changed into âBlack High Schoolâ]
ãNope, no matter what you say, thatâs impossible right? ã
Even I need to think twice with my game filled-brain, whether I must go against opposing those four hardcore Yankees to save the girls whose face isnât even in my memory only because theyâre of the same school as mine.
How can I fight against those Yankees with nice builds with my meager 152 cm height and 45 kg* weight. Of course I donât have that sort of mastery of martial arts or something with me. My poor specs match my appearance. [TL* : Shota?] [EN: Shota indeed]
ãDamn it, I donât see anything, I really didnât see anythingâ¦â¦â¦â¦. ã
I mean, who the heck going to blame me from running away at once from this place.
I mean, see, Iâm not the only one who notices this situation. Everyone is just hurriedly getting away from this place since some time ago even though they had a glance in this alleyway for a moment, theyâre just passing it like that as if it has nothing to do with them.
unable to do after all. )
Iâm not at fault here, I mean I donât think these guys are at fault too. There are some things that humans are able and unable to do after all.
Thatâs right, no matter how bad these delinquents are, theyâre not something like atrocious criminals who will rape or murder someone so calmly. After all, despite being students from the infamous âBlack Highâ, itâs only at the point of where theyâre repeatedly receiving a âGraceâ from the police when causing some brawl. I mean, though those two girls are a little frightened, theyâll eventually be released by those thugs.
And then, when Iâm about to leave this place as I turned away with my eyes shut tight, I felt a strong sense of self-loathing in myself.
ãOi, what have you been looking atï¼ ã
ãHAHï¼ï¼ ã
I unintentionally look back toward the voice that called me. The four thugs whoâs looking with trance expression at the two girls was simultaneously looking at my direction.
ãNo-Uhm, I just ââ ã
ãHah, WHAT, THIS GIRL IS SO INDIFFERENT HUH ï¼ã
They keep saying whatever they want, easily interrupting my all-out excuse.
ãHe~, Youâre quite a cute one there, want to become our girlã
ãYou stupid, look, no matter how you look at it, SHE IS A HEã
ãHah, seriouslyï¼ isnât she just wearing a boyish style?ã
ãEH? Hah? Damn it, are you kidding me, thatâll make me[ore*] lose my self-confidence rightã[TL* : Momokawa usually using Boku]
You guys might be joking right, no matter how you look at it, I[boku] am a man âââ or so I thought, itâs painful since I canât retort them.
I[boku], who has an androgynous face, though it might sound nice right, it doesnât mean that Iâm the so called handsome boy with rosy cheeks.
Though Iâve big eyes, itâs more like scornful eyes of the evil stray cat. Even if my eyebrows are somewhat thick, itâs unbalanced with my baby face. Iâm definitely not a bishoujo but, this level is around the level of a frail girl in the class right.
With these and a little bit of height, though thereâs a possibility that I can be judged as a man, I canât think of my small and slender build as only because nutritional deficiency. With my somehow round and shorth shoulder width, it made me lose my only chance for someone to make a distinction of my gender even just by my silhouette. It seems that my hair which is on the long side is also the reason for someone to mistake my gender. Itâs not like I have any intention to cut it though. Because Iâll look more childish when I cut it short. [TL : â¦â¦â¦.. Poor little Momokawa] [TL : just cut it already] [TL : â¦â¦â¦. Pitted between rock and hard place huh][EN: Just be the shota that you are!]
I mean my current attire is, a little loose white parka in a common jeans[jacket] and itâs not the kind of fashion that will bring in manly charm.
Even so, in the first what I need to do in the current situation is not to make an appeal to explain my gender, I need to made an escape from this place ASAP.
Maybe theyâll chase me out of curiousity if I escaped as it is. This place is somewhat quiet, thatâs if you donât accidentally end up in this place.
ãA-Uhmï¼ Theyâre my friends and weâre about to play with our classmatesï¼ ã
Iâm calling it, the strategy of âSome of my fellows are waiting on my backâ. Itâs a more reliable strategy than the sink or swim ãPolice officer-san, theyâre right hereã, right.
ãAh, thenï¼ My bad then, itâs looks like that plan going to be cancelled ã
It was shot down.
ãEh-No, thatâll be â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦.. troublingã
ãI say itâs okay, youâre these twoâs companions right ï¼ Come along with us, weâll give you a lot of love whether youâre a boy or girlã [TL : Eh!?] [EN: This is about to turn into a shota BL!]
Chills ran through my spine towards the words of the long haired-dye in brown coloured-man who first recognized me as a girl. This guy is he drunkï¼. [EN: What a descriptive sentence!]
Oh crap, I should run away with a dash without thinking about a guilty feelings or something. Though itâs a little unsightly, Iâll run to that konbini* and shoutingãHELP MEï¼ã. At worst, they might be just call the police. [TL* : Minimart]
And then, with that plan in my mind, Iâm doing a 180° turn and breaking into a sprint without minding the onlookers.
ãFugyaï¼ ã
But, my first step to escape was meeting with whatever object in front of me, my body which received the damage was rolling miserably on the cold road. Thatâs hurt.
ãAre, you, are you Momokawaï¼ã
Uwa, someone is grabbing my arm when Iâm knocked down, a refreshing tenor voice can be heard from above me whoâs half crying. When I raised my face reflexively, thereâs two faces that I recognized at that place.
ãAh, Souma-kun, Tendou-kunã
ãAre you alrightï¼ It seems you fell in a rather flashy wayã
ãLeave it, itâll look pitiful to let it go as it isã
My expression turned sour but, the ikemen were unexpectedly standing in that place. [EN: What is the author trying to say?][TL : basically he met two ikemen]
The one whoâs worrying about me is Souma Yuuto.
Putting on a sweet mask of an embarrassed idol wherever he goes with his tall and slender figure is the subject of admiration, even for men. If I was a girl, I wouldâve certainly fallen for him.
And pointing to that matter, despite being a little sharp, is a big guy with a different charm than Souma-kun.
His name is Tendou Ryuichi.
With a height surpassing 190 cm, and a massive frame with well-toned muscles. That peculiar, face isnât the gorilla type and paired with his blonde coloured-dyed hair, heâs a wild ikemen with a sharp look.
Despite the difference in style, theyâre wearing the same gakuran which can be differentiated from the girlsâ uniform of Shiromine Gakuen worn by the two girls over that alleyway. Even so, since theyâre famous within the school, thereâs no one who didnât know of their face.
Whatâs more, since theyâre my classmates who personally know me, they wonât mistake me even if Iâm wearing everyday clothes.
ãAh-Uhm, since Iâm actually okay, please save those two over thereã
I stand quickly and show the alleyway where the sum total of 6 people were gathered in. It might be obvious what kind of the situation is right now.
ãCHE, the guys from Black high huhã
ãIt seemsã
See, they instantly understood the situation.
Souma-kun is the holder of many heroic tales in which he saved many students of Shiromine from trouble with thugs without differentiating between gender, while Tendou-kun is the holder of legendary feats in which heâs fought 10 thugs alone. Oh God if itâs the two of them who have cheat statuses lending their hand, whether itâs 2, 3, or 4 thugs, theyâll somehow accomplish it.
ãWell then, I will âã
ãGeez, meeting such trouble again. Yuuto, letâs do this like the usualã
ãAs you wish, Ryuichi. Our fellow students will be in trouble if we didnât help them ASAPãn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Apparently, they have already forgotten about my existence. Luckily, thanks to the gallant entry of these two striking ikemen combi, the 4 thugs also forgot about me.
Or not, only that long haired-fake blondie is the one whoâs looking with regretful expression at me who made an escape. Uwaa, so disgusting â¦â¦â¦
At any rate, just like that, I escaped from that predicament. [TL : Yeah, and quite a dangerous one too] [EN: No BL for the lady readers][TL : Iâm glad it didnât happen otherwise Iâm afraid that itâll sap my SAN]
Ha~h, Iâm so miserable no matter where I go, just how small of existence am I compared to those two. I unintentionally self-loath my own powerlessness. But, not feeling disgusted or regretful is also a common misunderstanding.
Iâm different from them. Be it my face, brain, strength, or wisdom. Undoubtedly, including luck.
But, Iâm not feeling pessimistic about that. The great majority in this world is are not the kind of people who excel in just about anything and everything like them. Theyâre just too special.
Since Iâm looking at them from near, itâs not natural that I get used to their radiance.
Iâm me, itâs been like that so far, even from now on, Iâll spend my life corresponding to my own abilities. Amongst the people who live this way, something like saving the beautiful girl in pinch is an impossible event.
Regarding todayâs incident, right, I managed not to get punched and safely escaped from that place. In addition, with the two heroes entering the scene to save the day, the girls are is saved, the thugs are punished, itâs a perfect ending.
And me, just a mob character whoâs just happened to be on in that place, the Student A. Iâm not dissatisfied with that role or anything. Because Iâm not suited to save those girls.
Just like them who like brave heroes, that role isnât suited for me.