Chapter 21 Question

Question

After being called out by her homeroom teacher, Seira has not returned to the classroom since.

Time passes, and the sixth period ends. There is a gap before the homeroom. There are about five minutes left before the teacher starts homeroom.

Sou is on his way back to class after relieving himself in the bathroom. Since homeroom hasn’t started yet, several students are talking in the hallway. Most of them seem to be having a good time.

As he approaches his classroom, Sou sees Haruki talking to a girl near the back door. The girl was the first one to talk to Seira this morning.

Haruki makes a satisfied face and ends the conversation with the girl. The girl is sucked into the classroom.

Haruki also turns on her heel to return to the classroom.

“Wait a minute, Yakumo-san.”

Just as Haruki was about to return to her class, Sou called out to her. He wants to ask Haruki something.

“Amane? What’s wrong?”

Turning around, Haruki answers.

Sou, who stopped Haruki, looks a bit nervous. It takes a lot of courage to say what he’s about to ask. After all, it’s about Haruki. It’s probably a delicate matter.

“Well, sorry, I’ll ask straight out. It was Yakumo-san who leaked the information about Ito-san, right?”

Sou lowers his voice so that the people around him can’t hear and asks the question. He has a good guess and is sure. But he dares to ask the question to get proof.

“…Oh~ good guess. That's correct, Amane.”

Haruki tells the truth without playing dumb. She doesn’t seem to care much about the people around her. But her tone of voice is not that different from Sou’s.

I knew it; this person was the culprit, Sou thought to himself.

“I knew it. I thought it was suspicious. Besides, Yakumo-san was the only person who could have leaked the information.”

Sou speaks his true feelings. Since early this morning, Sou has been speculating that Haruki might be the culprit.

“I see. So what do you think? Now only Amane knows that I’m the culprit. Are you disillusioned?”

Haruki asks Sou in a somewhat amused tone. There is no malice in her expression. She seems to be really curious. It also seems like she’s testing Sou somehow.

“N-no, that’s not it. To be honest, I didn’t feel anything special. I’m just being honest.”

“I see.”

As if convinced, Haruki closes her eyes. She stays like that for a while.

Even with her eyes closed, she’s a beautiful girl; she’s picturesque.

Sou is naturally attracted to her.

“Also, I want to ask you one more thing; is that okay?”

There was more than one thing Sou wanted to hear; there was more than one question Sou wanted to ask. If anything, he was more interested in this one. He hadn’t even landed on it yet.

“Please.”

Slowly, Haruki opened her closed eyes and stared at Sou.

Haruki’s sparkling, light blue eyes came into Sou’s field of vision and gave off a sense of presence. It gives the illusion of sparkling. It’s so beautiful. It’s so un-Japanese.

“Ishii’s childhood friend and a girl named Miyagi Manami said it. I wonder what the promise was between all of you.”

He felt nervous and anxious.

But it was a phrase that had stuck in his mind since he first heard it. A promise made by Mizuki and Manami. And according to them, Ishii broke that promise and ended their friendship. In other words, it must have been an important promise for Haruki, Mizuki, and Manami.

“I see. So you’ve already met Mizuki and Manami.”

“Even though we met in person, it was at the level of a small conversation.”

“I see. So why do you want to ask about the promise? I’m curious.”

“Hmm. Maybe because I’m curious. That’s all. I don’t have any particular reason.”

Tilting his head in a troubled manner, Sou answers honestly.

“I see. The promise… I’m sorry, but I can’t grant Amane’s request. I don’t feel like telling you right now. It’s not that there’s something wrong with Amane. It’s a problem with my heart.”

“I see. It can’t be helped.”

To be honest, he wanted to know the details of the promise. He wanted to know out of curiosity. But he doesn’t want to pursue it. It would be annoying if he kept asking. Besides, it might make Haruki feel uncomfortable.

Sou is also considerate. He is a person who can guess people’s feelings.

“But it’s more like a hint. I could tell Amane one thing.”

With a deliberate cough, Haruki clears her throat. As if she wants to get the timing right.

“Me, Mizuki, and Aimi are Ishii—no, we’re the ex-girlfriends of that shitty #2.”

“Huh… What….”

Sou’s face freezes at Haruki’s shocking words. The shock makes his brain stop thinking.

What did Haruki say? It repeats in his brain. Ex-girlfriend? Ex-girlfriend? Ex-girlfriend?

The same words repeat over and over again. The word ex-girlfriend completely dominates Sou’s mind. It’s as if it has taken over.

“That’s about all the hints I can give you. I have to go back to my classroom soon. See you, Amane.”

Haruki turns around and waves with her right hand. She starts to move towards the classroom next door.

“Wait, wait. Can you tell me more?”

Sou calls to Haruki’s back as his mind begins to recover.

“That’s impossible. And if Amane doesn’t get back to the classroom quickly, the homeroom will start soon.”

Without answering, Haruki enters the class next door.

As Haruki pointed out, Sou looked around the classroom. Just as Haruki said, the teacher is standing at the podium, and the homeroom is about to start.

“Oh no!”

In a panic, Sou entered the classroom through the door at the back of the classroom, slipped in, and quickly sat down.

Immediately, the homeroom teacher started the homeroom session.