"N-No..."
Komari Chika felt as if the sky were falling.
If she hadn't unsent the message, Izumi-kun wouldn't have noticed. So to speak... she shot herself in the foot?
If Izumi-kun tells others that I eat in the restroom... I'll definitely get bullied, right?
In her panic, Komari began to tremble all over.
At this moment, Sora's voice rang out:
"Speaking of which, I've also eaten bentos in the restroom."
"Eh?"
Komari Chika lifted her small face in surprise, her eyes full of disbelief.
Eating bentos in the restroom?
Izumi-kun is a normie who has girls delivering water to him. He definitely wouldn't eat 'benjo-meshi' (toilet meals) like me, right?
"That was in middle school." Sora said softly. "At the time, due to family circumstances, I hid alone in the restroom and ate my bento a few times... So don't worry, I definitely won't tell anyone about today."
Komari Chika breathed an immediate sigh of relief, bowing gratefully to express her thanks:
"Thank you, Izumi-kun."
Although her voice was very soft, it was louder than before, and he could finally hear it clearly.
Knowing that they were once 'kindred spirits', Komari Chika was finally not as fearful of strangers.
"Komari-san, are you sure you saw someone acting suspiciously going upstairs?"
Sora asked with a serious expression.
"Y-Yes..."
Komari Chika nodded hurriedly, asking carefully:
"Umm... what do we do now? Should we go upstairs and take a look?"
A sneaky, suspicious middle-aged uncle sneaking upstairs—no matter how you look at it, he doesn't seem like a good person. Komari was super concerned and felt she couldn't just ignore it.
Sora sighed:
"Making a few hundred bucks a month, what are you risking your life for?"
"Huh?"
Komari Chika stared blankly up at him, her expression bewildered.
"Let's go, we're heading back to the sports field." Sora simply turned around and started walking out. "Report the matter to the student council."
Do your duty where you stand.
As an ordinary student, there's no need to play the lone hero.
If there's a problem, just report it directly to the student council.
"T-That makes sense..."
Komari Chika's eyes quickly brightened:
"Izumi-kun is so smart!"
Sora turned to look at her. Confirming the look in her eyes, she wasn't just forcing a compliment.
Clearly, Komari-san was not very smart.
As Sora walked outwards, he complained:
"If you hadn't bumped into me, Komari-san, were you planning to sneak up there alone?"
"U-Umm..."
Komari Chika looked down at her toes, stammering and remaining silent.
She indeed had that thought.
Similar plots often appear in TV dramas. Although she was a socially anxious girl, she also had a small wish to be a hero.
"When you encounter a situation, don't be impulsive. If you can ask others for help, go ask others for help. Only an idiot would secretly follow someone up there."
Sora ruthlessly delivered his evaluation.
"Mmm..."
Komari Chika dejectedly lowered her small head.
I got called an idiot...
Sora continued:
"If that middle-aged uncle really is a bad guy, it's too dangerous for you to follow him alone. Komari-san is quite cute, after all. You might provoke him into doing something wicked."
"C-Cute?!"
Komari Chika's body trembled slightly. She rapidly lifted her small face, cast a glance at Sora, and quickly lowered her head again. Then, a barely audible giggle escaped her.
"Hehe... Ehehe..."
(Aside from Mom and Dad, this is the first time an outsider has called me cute...)
(I-Izumi-kun must definitely have bad eyesight... I'm clearly not cute at all...)
(So this is what it feels like to be praised...)
(P-Please praise me more...)
"..."
Komari dizzyingly followed behind Sora, her head filled with wild thoughts.
"Komari-san, explain the situation one more time."
Sora's voice suddenly rang in her ear.
"Eh?"
Komari Chika looked up blankly, only to realize she had actually arrived at the sports field. Not only that, but in front of her were two members of the student council.
"What's wrong, Izumi-kun?"
Tia, having just finished her bento, was drinking vegetable juice, looking curious.
Sora took a half-step back, revealing Komari Chika behind him:
"I went to the restroom just now, and Komari-san said she encountered a sneaky, suspicious middle-aged uncle secretly sneaking upstairs."
"Eh?"
Hearing this, Tia was startled and hurriedly looked at Komari Chika:
"Komari-san, did you really see a strange middle-aged man?"
"Y-Yes..."
Komari Chika parted her pink lips. Her social anxiety acted up again, and she couldn't make a single sound.
"Use your phone to type and communicate."
Sora reminded her from the side.
"Mhm, mhm."
Komari Chika hurriedly took out her phone, rapidly typed out a line of text, and then held it up in front of Tia.
A fragrant breeze quietly wafted into Sora's nose, followed by a soft, bouncy, wonderful sensation against his arm. Turning to look, he saw Shikiya Yumeko leaning directly against his shoulder, her tone drawling:
"I... understand..."
Hey, hey, if you're going to talk, just talk. Don't lean on people, it'll cause misunderstandings, alright!
Sora remained expressionless:
"Shikiya-senpai, men and women shouldn't be overly intimate. You're too close."
"Mmm?"
Shikiya Yumeko tilted her head, her expression confused:
"Izumi-kun... has hugged me... many times..."
Damn it! Don't slander my innocence!
Those times I hugged you, it was entirely because you suddenly shut down, alright!
"Yumeko-senpai, don't tease people, serious business is important right now." Bamatsu Tia looked over anxiously. "What did you mean when you said you understood just now? Do you know that sneaky, suspicious middle-aged uncle?"
"I don't know him..."
Shikiya Yumeko shook her head, speaking as weakly as ever:
"I saw in a movie... a middle-aged uncle... running into the women's restroom... to secretly take pictures..."
Sora: "..."
Is that movie you watched a proper movie?
I couldn't tell, but the gyaru senpai's reading material is super extensive!
"S-Secretly taking pictures?!"
Hearing this, Tia widened her eyes. In a panic, her hands covered her skirt, and her pretty face flushed crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye.
If someone secretly took pictures of me... I would die, right?
I would definitely die!
"Yumeko-senpai, don't scare people. There wouldn't be someone that perverted in the world, right?"
Tia's voice was tense.
I'm sorry, there are super many perverted people in the world, especially in Japan, where the repression is second only to India.
I saw news before about an elementary school principal who specifically called female elementary school students in for talks. He actually had a small mirror on his shoe to peek under their skirts. There are even perverts who hide in ground-level drainage ditches, enduring the stench and mosquitoes, lying there for a whole day just to peek under the skirts of passing women.
"Secretly sneaking upstairs is indeed very suspicious." Sora offered a suggestion from the side. "Tia can go find a security guard to check the school surveillance cameras."
"Izumi-kun is right."
In her anxiety, Tia even forgot to add 'kun'. She tensed her pretty face, her expression serious, and briskly turned to leave:
"I'll go find a security guard right now!"
"Wait... I..."
Shikiya Yumeko, her arms dangling limply, staggered like a zombie salaryman who had worked overtime for twenty-four hours, swaying as she followed.
"Izumi-kun, what do we do now?"
Komari Chika looked over blankly.
"It has nothing to do with us anymore." Sora put his hands in his pockets, his tone indifferent. "Leave it all to the student council and the school security guards."
After taking a few steps, Sora suddenly realized he seemed to have forgotten something.
"Wait... I don't think I've gone to the restroom yet."
Just now, he was only focused on taking Komari away, and indeed forgot to go to the restroom.
Helpless, Sora turned around and walked towards the general building again.
After finishing in the restroom, Sora washed his hands, turned to exit the restroom, and happened to bump into two girls.