Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

The final bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day. As usual, the classroom buzzed with chatter. The Novelist staggered into the room from the hallway.

Fujishima Misao, who didn’t have practice today, came to find Class Rep. The two girls were about to leave together. The Novelist relayed the details of his negotiations with Nogami-sensei to them, word for word.

Thanks to Sachiyo’s help, the originally planned school-wide assembly had been reduced to a class-only announcement.

“Hey, why do you look so drained?” Misao asked suspiciously, eyeing him. “Did something happen between you and Nogami-sensei?”

Beside her, Class Rep widened her eyes as if sensing something unbelievable.

“She must have put him through the wringer,” Misao remarked.

The Novelist didn’t elaborate on the specifics, responding only with vague mumbles.

“Also, Class Rep, you won’t need to worry about Nishikawa-san anymore going forward.”

“Huh? R-Really?” Itou Maho nodded, placing a hand on her chest with a relieved expression.

She didn’t ask why. It seemed she really trusted his judgment on the matter.

In truth, he wasn’t entirely confident. But Asami-senpai had assured him so earnestly. Wanting to keep Class Rep away from this incident, the Novelist had decided to inform her of this outcome in advance.

He picked up his bag, about to leave, when—

“Ah, wait…! Are you heading home?” Misao hurried after him.

“If so, let’s go together. Maho-chan and I are going shopping, and there’s something I need you to help carry…”

The Novelist shook his head.

“From now on, I may need to regularly attend club activities after school… Sorry.”

“What?!” Misao looked utterly shocked.

More than just being turned down by a guy for shopping (though that was also a big deal), the truly unbelievable part was the idea of him joining a club.

…Needless to say, Class Rep had the same bewildered expression.

“No need to be that surprised, right?” The Novelist scratched his head.

“I’m just your average Japanese high school student. What’s wrong with joining a club?”

“No, no, no. It doesn’t matter what other people do. But you’re absolutely the type who would never walk the path of social fulfillment and enjoy a rosy youth!”

How rude!

“I-It’s a matter of my life philosophy!” he retorted.

Class Rep stepped closer, concern written all over her face.

“Liang-kun, did you experience some kind of mental shock recently? Are you sure you’re okay?”

The considerate girl’s tone was naturally gentler than her friend’s, but in a way, it stung even more.

“Okay, fine,” the Novelist sighed.

“…Actually, this is Nogami-sensei’s request.”

For some unfathomable reason, Nogami Sachiyo had made his club participation a condition in exchange for granting his request.

Of course, he had initially refused.

Unsurprisingly, it had no effect… If he hadn’t strongly expressed his displeasure, he might have been spared some of the verbal harassment and mental anguish. The Novelist was starting to regret it a little.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t expect Liang-kun to have to go through so much for my sake…”

Class Rep boldly clasped his hands in hers, looking on the verge of tears.

“I understand. Please take care of your physical and mental health, and don’t push yourself too hard…”

Misao gazed at him with pity, her tone unusually gentle.

No… Just what kind of misconception did these two have about him?!

He had been coming here more often lately; it might even become routine in the future. The mere thought zapped his motivation.

As long as the club atmosphere was fairly relaxed, it wouldn’t have much impact on his daily life. His recent break times had been more plentiful.

“Sachiyo said someone would be waiting for me here… Huh, is that…?”

With her eye-catching appearance, the Novelist spotted Asami-senpai crouched in the flower bed at first glance.

“Oh… It’s Kouhai-kun. So, have you changed your mind?”

The girl with long bangs covering her face waved her sleeve at him like a flag.

…Maybe it would be better to pretend he hadn’t seen her.

“Senpai, what are you doing…?”

“Observing the ecology of ants transporting food,” she replied.

“…”

Faced with the Novelist’s silence, Asami Yuko continued in her usual flat tone.

“There’s an ant nest under a hole in the wall here. Yesterday, I noticed four ants that always stuck together. They might be siblings… Ah, did you see? The darker-colored one is Taro. He was on lookout duty yesterday, but today he joined the food transport team.”

Senpai pointed with the twig in her hand at one ant within the winding procession of several dozen ants crawling through the soil.

“This is Jiro. He’s bigger than the average comrade. Usually in charge of heavy lifting.”

The twig pointed in another direction.

The Novelist crouched beside her, closely following Senpai’s movements and the twig’s path. Indeed, he spotted a “big guy.” Of course, size differences among ants were inherently subtle. One could easily miss it without careful attention.

“This is Saburo. Always seems to stray from the group… Hehe, looks like a sly slacker.”

“And this is Tenosuke. The little one always trailing behind Taro…”

Wait, why were the naming patterns for siblings so inconsistent? No, wait—before that—

“…How can you tell them apart?”

“Hm? I just remember them normally.”

Senpai tilted her head, giving him a puzzled look.

No, that was yesterday.

Naming four ants might not be that weird (probably), but identifying them a day later was quite remarkable.

Ah… Right.

Come to think of it, on that night in the club room, Asami-senpai had quickly noticed the Novelist’s special attitude toward his own work. When he had asked how she knew despite being asleep, she had replied, “The books hadn’t moved from their positions in my memory”…

“These are trivial matters,” Senpai said, as if responding to the question in his mind. She tossed the twig aside and unsteadily got to her feet.

“Now that Kouhai-kun is here, let the detective game officially begin—”

“Huh? W-Wait…”

Without waiting for his reply, the girl grabbed his sleeve.