Chapter 32 OBIG Vol. 2 Chapter 2 Part 5

───● A Bookish High School Girl Wants to Help ●○●

Saturday.

For me, Saturday had become the day of the weekly decisive battle.

“I must get home with haste…!”

My morning classes were over, and I was in the middle of a mad dash home.

I had to get home fast, take a shower, and put on a cute outfit.

I had to prepare for the “Masato-sama Raid Event.”

“…Hm?”

Just then, the phone in my pocket vibrated.

It was a social media notification.

Did I already get a message from Masato-san?

<The Maiden’s Gathering>

Miyaki:  Shiori you went home way too fucking fast

You completely forgot the handout.

Mana:  LMAO

Isn’t it Shiori’s Prince Day?

Hatsumi:  Ahhh right right, send pics plz

I still don’t believe you.

It was the group chat.

They’re saying whatever the hell they want, aren’t they???

It’s true that Masato-sama is a prince, but I don’t have permission to take his picture…

A sneaky pic? No, I can’t bring myself to do that…

Shinomiya Shiori:  sry lol

If you could take a pic of the handout for me tonight that’d be a huge help.

It probably wasn’t an urgent homework assignment.

I was feeling grateful to my new friends… but then another notification came in right away.

Should I just ignore it and reply when I get home…? I thought, but then—

—The notifications started ringing endlessly.

What the hell!

Thoroughly annoyed, I had no choice but to open my phone again.

Miyaki:  Huh? lol wait a sec????

Was that always your icon Shiori?? lol

Hatsumi:  LMAO WAIT a sec your name is your full name now lmaooo

Dude lmao weren’t you ‘Shioricchi’ until just the other day?

Miyaki:  I bet you exchanged numbers with your Prince lol

Mana:  WAIT lmaooo your bio changed too lmaooo

Don’t you dare set a background song lmaooo

Miyaki:  Heee lmaooo my stomach hurts lmaooooo

Hey. It used to be “Wanna plaster my fave’s face all over my room.” Change it back.

Hatsumi:  Your icon was an anime character too, wasn’t it??? What are you doing. Change it back.

Stop with the ‘photo taken from behind on a beach you’ve never been to’ icon.

That’s not even you anyway, is it?

Mana:  My stomach hurts lmaoooooooo

If it’s not her then who the hell is it lmaoooo

Miyaki:  Don’t set some popular band’s song as your BGM. You’ve probably never even heard it.

And your bio wasn’t “I like autumn” lmao nobody asked you lmaoooo

…

Hmph.

I quietly closed my phone.

Alright.

It was short, but—

I’m unfriending these bitches.

I momentarily closed the novel I was reading and looked at the clock on the wall.

It was almost 3 PM.

Usually, the doorbell rings sometime between ten and five minutes before the hour, but Masato-sama still hadn’t arrived.

“…That’s strange.”

From my perspective, Masato-sama is… no, probably from anyone’s perspective, he’s a perfect superhuman who is rarely ever late.

Besides, I got a message from him 30 minutes ago, the usual “Almost at the station~.”

If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange at all if he was already here.

I left my room and went downstairs.

Of course, Masato-san was nowhere to be seen.

“Mom, Masato-san isn’t here yet, right?”

“? That’s right. How unusual. He’s usually here by now.”

I looked at the living room clock.

It was exactly 3 PM. Still no notifications on my phone.

If he arrived at the station at that time, he should have been here long ago…

I had a bad feeling.

“Mom, I’m just going to walk to the station.”

“What?”

“It’s basically a straight shot, so we should run into each other. I’ll be back.”

A sense of unease spurred me to quickly put on my shoes. If nothing was wrong, then great. But he’s an incredibly handsome man. It wouldn’t be strange if he was being harassed by some weirdos.

I bolted out the front door.

Clutching my phone, I walked on.

As I told my mom, there are a few ways to get from my house to the station, but the most straightforward path is a single road.

I’m sure Masato-san is coming this way.

I was getting close to the station when…

In the distance, I saw a familiar figure.

Today he was in his usual stylish getup of a white T-shirt under a wheat-colored vest. There was no mistaking him.

It was Masato-san!

He was surrounded by two women in suits.

Wait, are they hitting on him?!

“Won’t you please consider it! We won’t make you do anything you’re not comfortable with!”

“Uh….like I’ve been saying, I can’t, and besides, I’m in a hurry right now…”

I got closer.

From what I could hear… it didn’t seem like they were hitting on him. Maybe they were scouting him to be a model or something…? It’s true that Masato-san is undeniably handsome, so I guess that’s bound to happen…

But he’s way too naive! You can just ignore them and push past, you know!

Knowing Masato-san’s good nature, he probably listened to their whole story. And now he’s having trouble turning them down… That’s probably what’s happening.

Wait a second…

A possibility flashed through my mind.

If I rescue him here, could my affection rating skyrocket?!?!?

I-It’s here… the affection-rating-boost event… If I can swoop in and save him gallantly…!

“Hehe. Are you alright? Masato-sama…”

“Sh-Shiori-chan… I love you (thump-thump).”

HERE IT COOOOOOOMES!!!!

Total victory. I’ve won.

Alright, now to execute the plan—

…Hold the phone.

How exactly do I “swoop in and save him gallantly”?

“Excuse me. Could you please leave my boyfriend alone?”

That’s a high hurdle to clear!

I can’t just jump into girlfriend-mode like that!! What else?

“Sooorry~ Onii-san, did I keep you waiting?? C’mon, let’s go home, okay? ♡”

That character is way too intense. I can’t pull off a little-sister-mode like that.

Is there, is there any good idea?!

“Well then, could we at least get your contact info! Can we exchange numbers?”

“Well, I, um…”

“Just your phone number is fine. We’ll contact you later…”

This is bad!

I can’t just stand here.

Before Masato-san gives them his number!! M-My move isn’t decided at all, but I have to save him!!

I ran towards Masato-san at full speed.

Anything goes at this point! I-I have to do it!

“U-Uuuummm!!”

“…?”

My voice must have been louder than I expected, because the two women in suits turned to look at me.

Whoa, their glare is intense.

Do they think I’m some kind of slug??

B-But I won’t lose.

I mustered up my courage.

“H-Hmph! Such insolence! Do you know in whose presence you stand?!”

“…? Who are you?”

Oh, crap. My opening is already a mess.

I shouldn’t have read that historical erotica novel. Do I even know what the word gallantly means? I should look it up in a dictionary. ^^

I was supposed to be the valiant knight protecting my prince, so how did it turn into this…

Ugh! They’re looking at me so suspiciously! I have to do something, knight now! Get it? Knight? (Super clever gag.)

“Ahem—For seventeen years, I, a humble kunoichi of Iga, have lived. I had sworn to my heart to only use this technique in times of great need… but I have no choice. Hyaaa!!”

“Huh??? Gross… Wait! Hey!!”

It’s over.

What am I even saying?

All I know is, I grabbed the hand of a completely bewildered Masato-san and started running.

Whatever! Running away is a win in my book!!!

“Hah…! Hah…!”

Oh, right. I have the stamina of a fucking slug.

I was already out of breath before we even got home.

But it doesn’t look like they’re chasing us.

Somehow, we managed to shake them off…

“Masato-sama… are you, okay…”

Ugh, this is the worst.

My plan is ruined.

I was supposed to save him in a cool way and make him fall for me…

And now that I think about it, what I did was super cringe.

He must be totally put off by me… yeah… How am I going to explain this away?

That was not the act of a prim and proper young lady…

“…Pfft… Ahahahahahahaha!!!”

“Masato-san?”

I turned around to see Masato-san laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.

As I stared at him, dumbfounded, Masato-san finished his bout of laughter and wiped his tears away before saying.

“Thank you… Thank you, Shiori-chan! And… I didn’t know you could talk like that!”

“Ah~~ well, um, if you could please forget about that… really, it was just because I was so nervous…”

I-It’s over… he heard everything… I mean, of course he did.

This is the worst… I had perfectly performed the role of a pure and proper young lady… (according to myself).

“Really, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be laughing. Thank you for saving me. You really helped me out. And I’m sorry I’m late. They were pretty persistent… I couldn’t shake them off.”

“Y-Yes. That’s right. They did seem quite persistent…”

“But, you know,”

“…?”

…Oh, right. We’re still holding hands…

“I think I’d like to see more of that side of you, Shiori-chan.”

“…Eh?”

“I mean, you always seem to have this… wall up with me. Just now, you definitely seemed flustered… but you also looked like you were having fun? So… I’d like to see… not just the face you show me… but all the different sides of you.”

“…”

I squeezed his hand tightly.

I was afraid he would feel my heart pounding, and I wanted to hide it.

No. Absolutely not.

If I show him what I’m really like, he’ll definitely hate me.

And yet.

There’s a part of me that wants to try interacting with him as my true self.

Not as the heroine from a story.

A selfish desire to have him fall for the real me, Villager B, rears its head.

“…I’ll think about it.”

“Okay.”

I let go of his hand.

My heart was still pounding wildly, and I’m sure it wasn’t just from running at full speed.

I don’t have the courage yet, but.

If it’s him.

Maybe he’d… accept me.