Volume 1 - CH 14

Posted on March 11, 2022by Soafp

Translator: Soafp

The day the rainy season was widely announced. Rumors were flying around Tenkain Gakuen.

“Did you hear about it, Shota?”

“It’s a rumor about the Black Goddess. I know it.”

The rumor that was circulating was about the Black Goddess.

The content of the rumors was that she was “dating a sugar da**y” and “paid dating” and other such juicy stuff.

This is not mere speculation. Apparently, a student had witnessed her walking arm in arm with an adult man on the street. They seemed to be getting along so well that rumors were flying around.

“Is it true?”

“Who knows”

That girl used to hate men.

At least she said she wasn’t good with men herself. She also told me about the episodes when she became bitter about men.

But that is just my subjective opinion. It is possible that she was actually a woman who loved men and was completely absorbed in her sexual desires, even though she said she hated men on the surface. Or she may have changed her mind after I moved to another school.

That’s why I couldn’t make a decision. The girl I see at the school has changed too much from the past, both inside and outside.

“I don’t know because I haven’t had any involvement with the Black Goddess.”

“Right. She is in a different class.”

“I think Mahiro knows better. You and that girl went to the same junior high school.”

“Huh, did I mention that Kuromine-san and I went to the same school?”

Blunder.

I didn’t hear directly that they were in the same middle school.

“Oh, that’s…… You said before that three out of four were in the same junior high school. The rest is just a hunch.”

“That’s right. Yes, actually, Kuromine-san was in the same junior high school as me. All except the White Goddess were at the same junior high school.”

“Except White. Got it. So, if you’re from the same middle school, you can tell, right?”

Mahiro makes a difficult face.

“The old Kuromine-san and the current Kuromine-san are too different.”

“Different?”

“She’s changed inside and out, or rather, she’s become a completely different person. If Shota saw her old self, you would be surprised for sure.”

Was that the perception even from Mahiro, who came from the same junior high school?

That’s why I don’t know even more. The Kuromine I came in contact with at my part-time job was that girl from junior high school. She is a serious and simple girl.

The Kuromine I happened to see on my way to school this morning was a different person from the one I met at my part-time job.

“I’d like to know more about her.”

“You’re that guy, huh? Copy that.”

Mahiro opened his mouth, looking as if he had been waiting and was good at what he was doing.

“Kuromine-san’s support base is quite skewed. There are those who take pleasure in being treated with salt, and those who like girls who are savvy. Then there are the delinquent types. Then there are those who like her because she’s tall and stylish.”

“…… I see.”

I tried to be convinced, but there are some things that don’t add up.

They are called the ” 4-color goddesses,” but I didn’t think she was on par with the other goddesses in terms of votes.

The Kuromine I see in the school is more of a sardonic type than a savvy or cool type.

I have no complaints about her looks. Her well-developed face is more mature than that of her peers, and combined with her height, she is more of a beauty than a pretty girl. The way she walks around with her hands in her pockets, dressed down in her uniform, gives the impression of a solitary loner, which I find attractive.

She is definitely a beautiful girl, but it is doubtful if she is the type of girl that men like.

Besides–

“I wonder if she’s a man-hater.”

After living here for a while, information will come in.

Kuromine is a salty person when it comes to men. When confessed to, she dismisses them out of hand, and when approached, she responds with a sour look on her face. She shows no mercy at all toward men. It is said that she sometimes clicks her tongue when spoken to.

I know she is smart, but I don’t think her personality will win her any support.

“Her biggest followers are girls.”

“…… girls?”

“She’s the type of person who is well-liked by the same gender. She’s not shy, she doesn’t hide what she wants to say, and she wears stylish makeup. In addition, she has leadership skills, so people can always count on her. I think the girls look up to her. She is a bit of a mean to the guys, but to the girls, she is kind and friendly. I’ve heard that she’s even been confessed to by a girl a few times.”

I was mistaken. So not only men but also women can vote in the Tenkain Contest. It makes sense if she is getting a lot of female votes instead of male votes.

At school, Kuromine is cold toward boys, but not so much toward girls. There is always a circle of cronies. In terms of female support alone, she is probably far ahead of Akazawa and Aoyama.

This may be the reason why Kuromine said that she doesn’t want her part-time job to be known.

“So she a man-hater and a very supportive female type?”

“It just goes to show what happens when rumors get out.”

” ……Any word on the veracity of the rumors?”

“I don’t know. It’s hard to tell.”

“You think there’s a chance it’s true?”

Mahiro thought for a moment.

“I think it was the spring of my third year of junior high school. Kuromine-san suddenly changed her look. Originally, she was so plain that she didn’t impress anyone. Not only did she change her appearance, she also changed her personality. It was as if she had been quiet until then, but she became aggressive, and in no time at all, she became a popular person at school. From that time on, whenever a boy made a pass at her, she would be in a foul mood and abuse him. It was that kind of attitude that made girls fall in love with her. She was positioned as a kind of female leader.”

Cold towards men and a womanizer?

The more I ask, the more hazy my picture of the person becomes. Was the dramatic change in her appearance due to family circumstances or because she had a man on the side?

“Any idea what the circumstances have been?”

“There is a circumstances?”

“There is!”

“It’s just that I don’t have any proof, and it’s not something I can say out loud.”

Mahiro looks around the classroom. Akazawa and Nekoda are chatting happily in the front. When Mahiro checked them out, he pulled a face.

“I have two things in mind.”

“Two?”

“One was a rumor that spread when I was in the second grade. A certain boy almost attacked her or something like that. The other was a rumor about a violent incident in the spring of my third year. It is said that she got into a fight with a friend and beat her up, forcing her to withdraw from school. Right after that, she got a makeover.”

I froze at the content.

I knew the first half of the story. It was the very incident in which I was betrayed by her. But I don’t remember the second half.

“I don’t know if it’s true. Both the rumored partners have transferred schools.”

“……”

They even had a violent incident? Has she really turned into a demon?

“Hey, but isn’t Kuromine kind to women?”

“That’s why I don’t know what to believe. It could have been a lie told by an anti-socialist.”

“…… She is such a mystery.”

The more I ask, the less sense it makes.

The truth of the rumor was never revealed.

That night, after my part-time job was over, I was pedaling my bike.

Kuromine, my part-time worker, did not seem to be concerned about the rumors. As usual, she served customers as usual, was a kind senior part-time worker, and was a serious clerk as usual. Today she left an hour earlier than I did.

Isn’t she aware of the rumors?

If she was popular with the girls, she would have known about it, but I didn’t ask her about it. I’m supposed to be the one who doesn’t know who Kuromine is, so it’s strange to ask.

“I should stop…….”

On the way home, I had an uncontrollable craving for ice cream.

Dinner would be ready when I got home, but I couldn’t resist and stopped at a convenience store. I bought some snacks and other things.

As I left the store.

“…..”

Kuromine was walking with her father. They were arm in arm, getting along well.

She was dressed in school clothes, probably having gone home after her part-time job and put on makeup. I don’t know what they were talking about, but Kuromine had a big smile on her face. She had a shopping bag in her hand.

The two of them disappeared into town.

Father and daughter on a friendly date?

I heard they are quite close, as he once came to pick her up after her part-time job.

I can’t wait to get to know my own father, too. We can have a reasonable conversation, but we are not close enough to go out together. I would love to go shopping with him.

–However, I don’t envy that devil.

A heartless woman who betrays her fellow wounded friends is not at all envious of me when she’s friendly with her father.

I straddle my bicycle and pedal toward home.

While I was pedaling, I remembered the rumors that were spreading in the school.

“……”

Huh?

Could this possibly be the truth of the rumor?

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