Chapter 21: Sense of Justice
It had been several days since then.
The problems were happening around Sakurada-san… or rather, focused on Sakurada-san.
“Haa…”
“Um… are you okay…?”
“Ahaha… I’m okay… probably.”
Seeing how clearly downhearted Sakurada was, Sado spoke to her with a worried look.
It is understandable.
In the past few days, strange—or rather, downright odd—things had started happening around Sakurada one after another.
Sakurada-san’s writing utensils, gym clothes, swimwear, indoor shoes, and lunch box often disappeared.
Then, a few days later, her missing things would be found in places like on top of the cleaning-supply locker, in the trash bin, or on the teacher’s desk in another class.
It was obviously someone’s doing, but no one had any idea who was doing it or for what purpose.
That situation continued.
Sakurada-san was completely worn out, both mentally and physically, and her anxiety had gotten to the point where it was painful to even watch.
For Sado, her boyfriend, having to see her like that every day and being unable to do anything must have been unbearably frustrating.
With that in mind, I decided to cautiously bring the matter up with Fuyunagi-san.
And she gave me exactly the answer I’d expected.
“I don’t know… and I don’t care.”
“Come on, that’s pretty cold…”
“If the people involved don’t understand what’s happening, there’s no way we would. And besides, it has nothing to do with us, not even one millimeter. We should just leave it alone.”
“………”
I stared at Fuyunagi-san.
She let out a sigh and finally answered.
“We’re in a very precarious position right now, you know? I don’t want to provoke any more resentment or hostility.”
“Well, that’s your fault to begin with, isn’t it? And besides, we owe Sado and Sakurada-san. We should at least try to repay that.”
“Haa… You’re so annoyingly earnest in the strangest ways… Fine. We’ll do what we can.”
That’s what she said.
“There’s a chance someone might falsely pin the blame on us if things go badly with this incident.”
“Sado and Sakurada wouldn’t do something like that, would they?”
“…Haa… I don’t mean those two. Even I don’t think they’d ever do something like that. I’m talking about the real culprit… or someone else in our class.”
“Someone else in our class…”
“Right now, you and I are outcasts in our class. It wouldn’t be strange at all if some of them were holding hatred or resentment toward us…”
“………”
“Which is why, even if we do try to find the culprit, I don’t plan on acting openly. So keep that in mind, okay?”
She was being unusually passive.
Well, I suppose that’s to be expected when it isn’t something that directly involves her.
I owe those two a lot.
I want to do something about this mess in any way I could… and repay that debt.
It may be more than I’m capable of, but that’s honestly how I felt.
Character Summary (non-official)
- Majima Takuma / Taku (真島拓真 / タク) — Taku is an utterly average high school boy in both appearance and ability. His hair and uniform are always neat but unremarkable, giving him the classic “background character” characteristic.
- Fuyunagi Shizuku (冬柳 雫) — Fuyunagi Shizuku is a stunning black-haired high school beauty with a mature, graceful aura. Her long, silky hair, elegant posture, pure and innocent atmosphere, and impressive figure—including her large chest—give her an appearance so gentle and comforting that a tired working adult might instinctively want to cling to her and call her “Mama.” Her looks alone make her feel like a UR-rarity heroine. At school, she’s admired as a pure, wholesome, and almost ideal girl—popular among girls, constantly confessed to by boys, and always at the center of her class. In private, however, Shizuku reveals a selfish, bratty, and emotionally unstable side. She’s clingy, easily upset, mentally fragile, and relies heavily on her boyfriend for emotional support while demanding secrecy and setting controlling conditions in their relationship.
- Sakurada Nagisa (桜田 凪咲) — Sakurada Nagisa is a gyaru and one of the central members of Fuyunagi-san’s friend group. With light-brown hair, piercings, and perfectly applied bold eye makeup, she has a flashy style but is undeniably beautiful—cute enough to stand out even among the popular girls. Sado Kengo’s current girlfriend.
- Natsume Kano (夏芽 華乃) — The class president. A dignified, serious beauty whose pure appearance gives her a charm distinct from Fuyunagi-san. She prioritizes efficiency, logic, and rationality above all else, resulting in a rigid, no-nonsense personality that makes her unpopular with most classmates.
Sado Kengo (佐渡 健吾) — A high-spec soccer club member who once acted as Shizuku’s fake public boyfriend. He is now Sakurada Nagisa’s actual boyfriend.
- Kato (加藤) —The textbook “protagonist’s best friend” character.