Chapter 109 Conflict

Conflict

“Damn it! What should I do?”

Leaving the school building on his way home, Sou kicked a small stone on the ground as if to vent his anger.

The small stone flew into the air and then rolled forward with great force.

He didn’t know what to do.

If he hadn’t been caught with a weakness, he wouldn’t have had to listen to Ishii’s orders. Even if it came down to a physical fight, Sou had no intention of losing.

But that wasn’t the case now.

Sou had been caught by Ishii because he knew that he lived with Haruki and the others.

If the whole school found out, it would inevitably cause trouble for Haruki and the others. Therefore, Sou had no choice but to follow Ishii’s orders.

Of course, he might cause trouble already. Sou was at least somewhat aware of that.

However, he thought it would be worse if Ishii spread the information about his cohabitation, and Haruki and the others would be suspected or rumored.

After weighing the two options, Sou decided to follow Ishii’s orders. Even if Haruki and the others hated him. He had decided that it couldn’t be helped.

However, he did not want to hurt Haruki and the others in any way. Especially his actions towards Mizuki earlier had been a great mental burden. When he saw Mizuki’s expression, he easily understood that he had hurt her.

“I can’t help it. This is the way I chose. I don’t know how it will turn out, but… I have to see it through to the end.”

While muttering to himself to encourage himself, Sou radiated a dark aura.

With a hint of melancholy, Sou checked his smartphone, which had a notification.

[Good work. That’s all for today. I’ll count on you again tomorrow. I’ll increase the orders tomorrow.]

The content was a thank-you message from Ishii.

“Ugh. I’m not happy at all.”

With a big sigh, Sou went straight home.

A few tens of minutes after Sou left the school building.

Haruki and the other three were on their way home as well.

“Ugh. Sou-kun definitely hates me. I’m sure of it. It’s over.”

As they walked side by side along the school building, Mizuki had a clearly visible dark expression on her face, and looked like she was about to cry. The word despair fit her well.

“Mizu-cchi. You don’t have to be so depressed. Maybe Amane-cchi wasn’t feeling well either.”

Manami tried to comfort Mizuki by rubbing her back, trying to be considerate.

“I can’t believe this. Because. Because! Sou-kun looked disgusted. I saw it with my own eyes! He never made such a face in front of me!!!”

With tears in her eyes, Mizuki refuted the claim with facts.

“Ahh! This doesn’t seem to work. No matter what I say, it doesn’t seem to work.”

Seeing Mizuki’s reaction and condition, Manami could feel a mood of resignation.

“What am I going to do? If I can’t hug Sou-kun. It’s too painful. If I’m hated, it’s over.”

The negative aura around Mizuki became even thicker than before. It seemed as if a deep sigh could be heard.

“Haru-cchi, what should we do? Mizu-cchi looks like she’s going to disappear; she’s so depressed.”

Since Manami had given up trying to solve the problem herself, she asked Haruki for help.

“Un. She seems difficult. Even if we try to comfort her, she probably won’t listen to us.”

“Maybe we need Amane-cchi’s help?”

“Yes, I think so. Sou’s existence seems to be very important to Mizuki.”

“I see. Is that impossible?”

Manami showed a disappointed expression. Maybe she expected something from Haruki.

“That’s right. Right now….”

Haruki chose her words carefully.

“Right now. There’s something that’s bothering me.”

Manami furrowed her brow.

“We can’t leave it like this. I’ll try to find out more today.”