II /The Hardworking Guy Who’s Bad at Relying on Others
Let me tell you about Sumie Izumi’s story.
If I had to liken this guy’s circumstances to some kind of entertainment title, it would go something like this:
[The Useless Son Banished from His Family Home, Blending in as an Ordinary High School Student While Secretly Controlling the Academy as a Power Player in the Shadows]
Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, Izumi thought.
That’s a near miss overall. In terms of accuracy of information, it’s not even half right. In other words, less than 50 points. Unless it’s some kind of brutally scaled down test, you’d be looking at the possibility of a re-test, wouldn’t you?
For starters, I’m not some shadowy power player, nor am I controlling this academy. The “ordinary person” description isn’t quite right either.
This is just a regular high school. There’s no particularly high admission hurdle, nor does it get as rowdy as some yankee manga.
In the mornings, the cheerful chatter of students is in full bloom. During classes, about half are daydreaming. After school, the lively voices of club members echo through the halls. There are boisterous groups jockeying for leadership, and the occasional lone wolf striding with a guitar case. Just an ordinary high school in Tokyo.
There are no shadowy power players here, myself included. Well, if I knew one, I suppose that would disqualify them from being a shadowy power player, wouldn’t it? Never mind.
Anyway, it is true that I was banished from my family home as a good-for-nothing.
My wandering thoughts were drowned out by a loud voice.
“Izumi! You free after school today?”
“Huh? What?”
The shout next to my ear made it ring.
Izumi had suffered from middle ear infections as a child. Maybe that’s why, but I’m actually quite sensitive to loud noises. Not that it matters much.
Then three guys swarmed up to Izumi’s desk, making a ruckus.
“We’ve got a karaoke date lined up with the girls from St. Ren today!”
“Need your help, man!”
“Look, the only things you’ve got going for you are your looks and your family name!”
“Put that useless pretty boy mug of yours to good use for the world!”
“Seriously, being a bait is about the only value you add!”
It was an outrageous way to speak when asking for assistance.
It wasn’t just Izumi who wondered if they might actually dislike him, facing such harsh words at a time when they were supposedly recruiting him.
This was Izumi’s standing in the class.
Looks and family name…Izumi was indeed extremely blessed in the looks department. But that was about it. Far from controlling the academy from the shadows, he was little more than a mascot.
In response to the three of them, Izumi gave a deep, meaningful smile.
“You fools, you’re digging your own graves, you know?”
“Huh!?”
The three of them went silent, taken aback by his unusually confident demeanor.
A certified hottie refusing to join a group date. He claimed it would benefit the other guys. Just what did those words really mean?
And Izumi declared with the most serious expression imaginable:
“If I went on that group date, I’d steal all the girls from you guys. I can’t bring myself to do something so cruel.”
It felt like mysterious roses were blooming around Izumi…!
“……….”
Dead silence.
The three of them just stared at Izumi with blank expressions.
The mysterious roses blooming around Izumi immediately withered away. At the same time, Izumi’s face flushed bright red, and he began to tremble as he shouted at them:
“Say something! You know I just blundered big time, right!?”
He had clearly blundered, though in his mind he had narrowly avoided it.
Watching Izumi, the three guys exchanged glances and sighed.
“There it is.”
“If he’s embarrassed, he shouldn’t have said it in the first place.”
“Yeah, this guy’s hopeless. He’s gonna kill the mood every time.”
They were utterly dismissing him.
Faced with such a cold response, even Izumi had something to say about it.
“Shut up! You guys are the ones who asked for my help!”
“These days, it’s all about conversation skills, you know.”
“An ugly comedian gets more attention than a handsome actor with no personality.”
“Seriously dude, looks and family name really are all you’ve got going for you.”
Getting ruthlessly shot down with harsh truths…
“Uh, huh? Izumi-cchi, what’s wrong~?”
Those lively words came from a female student with bleached hair as she entered the classroom.
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[Amasaki Amane]
A current model and considered a trendsetter for modern teenage girls’ fashion – an outright beautiful girl.
Undoubtedly the academy’s acclaimed romance heroine.
Her arrival sent ripples of excitement through the class.
“Amane! Long time no see!”
“You’ve been gone since last week. What happened?”
“Work? You’re usually not away for this long.”
Amane gave an awkward laugh.
“Well~ Papa took me to LA for a bit…”
The fairly major revelation sent the class into an uproar.
“No way!”
“Awesome!”
“I heard Amane’s dad is a designer?”
Bombarded with questions, Amane hurriedly explained:
“He’s not that famous of a designer! This time I just tagged along with one of his mentors.”
“But you still got to go too, right? That’s amazing!”
“Not really~ It was fun watching them work, but going on such short notice was rough.”
As she spoke, she opened the tote bag on her arm, piling several types of keychains in bulk onto the lectern.
“Here, souvenirs for everyone. I went to a popular shop over there.”
She handed them out one by one, clearly tailored to each classmate’s tastes, much to everyone’s surprise. The girls happily remarked “Oh I love this one!” while the guys also seemed pleased with theirs.
Then one of the female classmates said:
“Oh right, Amane. Speaking of, did you hear about today’s pop quiz?”
“Yeah, the math one first period, right?”
“You sure you’ll be okay after missing it?”
“I did the prep work over there, so I’m all set♪”
“Whoa! As expected of the top student, Amane!”
Showered with admiring looks, Amane squirmed and shouted “Mooh~!”
“Fiine~ Anyone who doesn’t get it, gather around! Amane will teach you!”
They crowded around Amane’s desk as she cheerfully went over the key points. Her explanations were exceptionally clear, putting the anxious classmates fully at ease. This was Amane’s standing in the class.
-Later that day after club activities…
As the club members dispersed and the other students headed home, some of the girls in the “going home club” called out to Amane.
“Hey Amane, walk home with us~”
“We found this crepe place you’d absolutely love the other day~”
But they tilted their heads at the scene unfolding at Amane’s desk.
Izumi sat with furrowed brows, a stern look on his face as he grappled with a textbook. By his vibe, it clearly wasn’t going smoothly…
“……………………”
Amane watched him with a troubled expression.
“Izumi-cchi, how’s it going?”
“…I don’t get it.”
The female classmates who knew about Izumi’s grades let out a collective sigh.
“Izumi, just give up already.”
“Amane tutors you all the time, but you can never pull it off on tests.”
Izumi bristled, retorting:
“Shut up. I need to get a university recommendation, you know.”
“Which is why it’s pointless. Amane, you’d have more fun hanging out with us~”
Amane gave a gentle, motherly smile in response.
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