Chapter 75 - The Moment Things Begin to Move
After making dinner for my younger sister Mai, Mashiro prepared drinks, towels, cooling sheets, and other things that might be needed. Once she finished tending to me, she turned off the lights in the room.
“Ryusuke, I’ll come check on you again tomorrow, okay?”
Waving her hand lightly as she said that, she headed home. With the new semester starting and everything being so hectic, I really can’t thank Mashiro enough for taking care of me.
When Mai got back from club activities and found out Mashiro had made dinner, she jumped around in excitement, absolutely thrilled. She ate the special hamburger steak while crying like a waterfall.
And then, she went so far as to say, “Onii-chan, just stay sick forever from now on,” making an outrageous demand just so she could eat Mashiro’s cooking every day.
Both of us siblings have clearly had our stomachs captured by Mashiro’s homemade meals, but for Mai, Mashiro’s cooking > her brother’s health… which is a bit complicated, to say the least.
Anyway, for now, I’ve decided to prioritize getting over this cold as quickly as possible, so I’ll be skipping school again tomorrow and resting properly.
If I were the one to call in, they’d probably just think, “Skipping again?”—so I had Mom contact the school for me. Right now, I’m quietly lying down in bed.
Maybe it’s thanks to the egg porridge, miso soup, and fruit yogurt Mashiro made for me yesterday. When I woke up this morning, my fever had completely gone down, and the headache and fatigue had vanished too.
Still, if I push myself like I did yesterday, there’s a chance it’ll come back, so today I’m absolutely going to take it easy. It’s a promise I made with Mashiro, and I don’t want to worry her any more than I already have.
So, curled up under the blanket, I fiddled with my phone and exchanged messages with Mashiro.
Stuff like “My fever’s lower than yesterday,” “Thanks for the porridge,” and “Mai was super happy”—just our usual kind of conversation showing up on the screen.
At Kio Academy High School, where we go, bringing phones to school is allowed. As long as you don’t use them during class, the teachers won’t say anything.
Mashiro’s the type who follows school rules properly, so once class starts, I won’t hear from her again until the next break. Just imagining her sitting seriously in class, facing the blackboard, makes me smile without even realizing it. It’s kind of strange.
As we kept messaging, the topic shifted to school life in the second semester.
The big event of the second semester is, of course, the culture festival.
Apparently, Mashiro’s class wants to do a maid café.
She told me excitedly that the class was already united and had started preparations during summer break.
[By the way, what’s Ryusuke’s class doing? Have you guys decided on any ideas yet?]
[Nah, not at all. Hearing your story, I’m honestly surprised at how motivated your class is.]
[Everyone’s super fired up, you know? So look forward to it, okay? I’m going to make a really cute maid outfit. I bet Ryusuke will like it too.]
[I’m looking forward to it. I’ll definitely come see it on the day.]
Culture festivals are a staple in school-themed romcoms, where the protagonist enjoys the festival with the heroine—it’s practically a rule.
Even in the “Fusekoi” episodes I know, the protagonist Fusagawa Raito went on school dates with the heroines, showing readers all kinds of romantic developments.
(A culture festival date with Mashiro… That would be amazing.)
I feel embarrassed just thinking about it, but asking me not to be conscious of my beautiful childhood friend is just impossible.
Besides, when it came to the culture festival in my previous life’s high school, I didn’t have any friends to walk around with.
Unless I was assigned to help with my class’s booth, I’d just sit alone on a pipe chair in the gym—where all the events were held—and let time pass by in a daze.
Because I had such a lonely culture festival experience, I’ve got a strong desire to enjoy it to the fullest in this second life. However—
“The culture festival… In the original story, it’s when Shindo Ryusuke really starts acting as the villain.”
By the time the second semester starts, readers begin to tire of just the protagonist and heroine flirting. So, as a way to shake things up, the strongest villain in the story finally makes his move.
Shindo Ryusuke had always viewed the protagonist as an enemy, but in the second semester, he clashes with Fusagawa Raito. In a rare appearance at school, Shindo Ryusuke picks a fight, and from there, the tension between them continues to build.
He starts relentlessly interfering with the protagonist, who’s leading the culture festival preparations. But the protagonist overcomes those obstacles and successfully pulls off the event with the heroines.
Fusagawa Raito’s class becomes the highlight of the culture festival, drawing huge crowds and receiving rave reviews… That’s how the story was supposed to go.
But I, who wish to break free from the role of the villain, have no intention of sabotaging the culture festival. On the contrary, I want to work with my class to make it a success. Still, this world seems to want the story to follow the original. I have no idea what’s going to happen.
Even so. No matter what, I’m going to enjoy the culture festival with Mashiro.
That feeling, at least, will never change.
Renewing that vow in my heart, I continued messaging Mashiro.
I hope tomorrow comes quickly so I can see her again. Thinking that, I smiled at the cute cat sticker Mashiro had just sent me.