CH 7.1

Chaotic Lunch Break

In the end, Shiki decided to withhold his answer, and after leaving Karin and the dark-haired girl and returning home, he did as he was told, keeping his face cool with ice and resting.

The next morning.

Shiki sees his face in the mirror and decides to take a day off from school to go to the doctor.

When he went to see the doctor, the doctor looked at him suspiciously, wondering what had happened, but when he told him that he had been attacked by a delinquent from St. Lukimantz Academy, he immediately understood and even sympathized with him.

He was reminded again that the school he attended was the end of the century of the school.

Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with his bones, and he was told that he should continue to keep his cheeks cool while taking care of frostbite. Then Shiki left the doctor and bought the game software that he had missed buying yesterday.

After returning home, Shiki did as he was told and spent the rest of the day playing games, not only the ones he bought but also some free social games (Soshage), perhaps to escape from the reality of what would be waiting for him when he went back to school tomorrow.

And the next morning.

Shiki leaves his apartment, relieved that the swelling on his face is much better than yesterday.

Even though the security was better thanks to Karin, fights between delinquents in the school were a common occurrence, so it was also common to see delinquents with swollen and bruised faces everywhere, just like Shiki now.

Therefore, not many people cared about the injuries on his face before he arrived at the classrooms of Class 2 of the second year.

He thought that the only such person would be Karin, who was always on the lookout for those who bullied the weaker students.

( Why is everyone glancing at me…? )

Shiki, who had taken his seat, couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with how the students, delinquents and non-delinquents, were glancing at him.

At the same time, Kawato enters the classroom with his cronies.

Since the relationship between Shiki and Kawato is well known by many of his classmates, the air was tense for a moment.

“…tsk.”

Kawato passed by Shiki with a single click of his tongue and headed straight for his seat with his followers in tow.

Shiki, who could barely look in Kawato’s direction, was nervous inside, but then he listened to the whispers coming from everywhere.

“Hey, Kawato didn’t even come close to Orifushi.”

“That means… did the Empress really have Orifushi’s back? “

“Of course. In fact, yesterday during lunchtime, the [Empress] was here asking about Orifushi.”

Shiki is convinced after hearing such a conversation.

( I don’t know if it was to make sure I wasn’t coming to school disobediently or to create a situation like the one I’m in now, but now I know everyone was glancing at me because Kohinata-san showed up in this classroom yesterday. )

I don’t know if that’s the only reason, but I don’t think I’m getting into any more trouble here.

( If that’s the case, then even if Kohinata-san doesn’t teach me how to fight, Kawato-kun won’t touch me anymore… )

With such a faint hope, he fearfully looked at Kawato’s seat with a side glance and immediately averted his eyes.

――He was staring at me.

Kawato was staring at him with a murderous look as if he was trying to avenge his father’s death.

It was obvious that Kawato was determined to pay back the debt for the front kick, but maybe he was afraid of breaking his promise to the [Empress] not to touch Shiki if he lost the match.

The bell rings, and a dull old man, the homeroom teacher, enters the classroom to start the morning homeroom.

Kawato and his classmates did not even show any sign of approaching Shiki during recess time.

Although he was happy to have a peaceful break time after a long time, it was very unsettling when his classmates saw this and started to murmur that there was the “Empress” behind Shiki.

At lunchtime, after the third and fourth-period classes, he checked that Kawato and his classmates were leaving the classroom to show their faces on their factions as usual, and then he got up to buy some bread from the store.

Shiki’s routine is to get his lunch while Kawato and the others are away, go to a secret place where Kawato and the others cannot find him, finish his lunch there, and hide until just before the lunch break is over.

But…

( Maybe since Kohinata-san came to my classroom yesterday, she might come again today――)

“So you’re Shiki-kun～～?”

Then he heard an alluring girl’s voice from behind him.

“Whoaa?! “

He lets out a strange scream because she blows on his neck.

While he’s wondering what’s going on, the girl hugs Shiki from behind… and his thoughts are immediately short-circuited by the two unknown but instantly recognizable bouncinesses transmitted from his back.

Or rather, he had no choice but to short-circuit because the blood would flow immediately to his lower abdomen if he thought about it even a little.

The girls chuckle brightly at Shiki, who is now red in the face up to his ears.

“Hmm, perhaps this the first time a girl has done this to you? You’re so cute~.”

She presses her chest against Shiki’s back and puts her chin on his right shoulder.

Shiki turns his head forward and stiffens like a stone statue. He glanced sideways and saw the girl’s face so close to him that her breath could reach him.

She had long, somewhat quirky flaxen hair that reached her back.

Her eyes were slanted and her eyelashes were so long that he wondered if they were really open, and despite the somewhat seductive tone of her voice, she had a soft smile on her cheeks that reminded him of the Virgin Mary.

Although it was only visible up close like this, he could see that she was wearing a lot of makeup, especially on her thin lips.

Probably, she was wearing natural makeup that made her look like she was not wearing any makeup at all.

Judging from the fact that she did not lift her heels, she might be about the same height as himself.

With these features confirmed, the identity of the girl who was attached to him from behind was obvious to Shiki――or rather, obvious to the students of St. Lukimantz Academy.

――The girl’s name was Hiyama Touka.