Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e

Volume 15.5, Chapter 2: THE BEGINNING OF THE SHORT-LIVED VACATION, Part 3

“Phew…I was about to break into a strange sweat.”

No, it’s safe to say I was already sweating.

Less than 30 seconds after Himeno left the room, I also slipped out of the demonic room 5034.

It may be heaven for some people, but for me, I’m sorry, but it was a painful place to be.

I can’t say I’m very good at interpersonal relationships, after all.

If I had committed to this kind of thing from the start, it may have been a different story, but I decided to play an inconspicuous high school student. Suddenly changing that was no simple task.

However, since I hadn’t had much contact with Ichinose’s class before now, I think I was able to close the distance to a certain extent.

With Ichinose at the centre, I was able to get a vague idea of the students surrounding her.

What do they have and what are they missing? At this point, I know the strengths and weaknesses of Ichinose’s class.

The presence of students who can speak up is essential, no matter who is in charge in future.

The only person I can think of who can do that right now is Kanzaki from the boys in the class.

However, in a class that revolves around Ichinose, the girls seem to be just as outspoken as the boys.

Kanzaki is the type of person who can speak up against Ichinose, but whether he can appeal to the whole class and control the girls is an entirely different matter.

“Hmm?”

Himeno complained about having a headache and said she was going back to her room, but she walked in a completely different direction from the guest cabins.

I only caught a glimpse of her as she turned the corridor, but I was sure I didn’t mistake her for someone else, as she has a very distinctive hair colour.

Himeno, the one who seemed to be a bit out of place during the girls’ party earlier.

She was acting a little suspicious, so I decided to follow her.

It was already late at night when we arrived at our destination, the stern of the ship, so there was no sign of life.

I watched her profile from a distance and recalled Himeno Yuki’s OAA scores.

2nd Year Class B Himeno Yuki:

Academic Ability: B- (63)

Physical Ability: C (51)

Adaptability: C+ (58)

Social Contribution: C+ (58)

Overall Ability: C+ (57)

Except for a high level of academic ability, they are neither good nor bad, and as far as I can tell, she does not possess any outstanding abilities.

However, that’s just from what the school has decided. It’s possible for students to have strengths and weaknesses that can’t be seen from the school’s perspective. I’d like to keep digging a little more.

The fastest route would be to speak with her directly.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh…? What?”

She averted her eyes with a slightly displeased look on her face.

It’s unnatural for her to be here since she left the room claiming she had a headache.

“Is your headache gone?”

She muttered a few words which were mostly drowned out by the wind, but I thought I made out the word “annoying”.

There are certainly a few boys and girls who use abusive language, but in Himeno’s case, rather than to be abusive, it seems she spoke like that so that others would keep their distance.

However, perhaps concerned about how others would view her, she cleared her throat once and turned her gaze in my direction.

“I thought that the breeze might help it ease up a little, so I was just stopping by.”

“Do you get headaches often? You said something along those lines earlier.”

I was planning to ask her for more details, but she kept quiet, as if she didn’t want to continue this conversation any further.

She hadn’t said a single word during the party, except for when she was leaving.

In addition to that, the other girls basically never approached Himeno.

It’s not like she’s being bullied as Ichinose would never tolerate such a thing. Also, if their relationship was so bad, they wouldn’t want to show it to someone from another class like me.

In that case…

They must have been quite forcefull in inviting Himeno to the party.

If I think about it as them desperately trying to get a classmate to have fun, even if just a little, I can see the connection.

“It’s because I get migraines.”

She gave a short reply, in a cluttered manner.

“If it’s a migraine, cooling it down is the correct response.”

Migraines are caused by the dilation of cerebral blood vessels due to changes in hormones, fatigue and lack of sleep. Blood vessels dilate less when cooled, so exposure to a cold breeze is not a bad idea.

However, that’s only if it's really a migraine.

She was about to start speaking, but I cut her off,

“Isn’t your headache just an excuse to get out of an unpleasant situation?”

“Huh? Are you saying I’m a liar?”

Himeno had been relatively calm up to this point, but when I suggested she might be lying, her face changed. She was a rare type of person for Ichinose’s class, where there are so many mild-mannered students.

My intuition wasn’t wrong after all.

“I can see you’re pissed off, did I hit the nail on the head?”

“You’re wrong. Oh, what’s this? Ah, my head is starting to hurt again…I’m going back to my room.”

“I’m sorry if I upset you. It’s just, could you listen to me for a moment?”

Holding her forehead, Himeno looked back in disgust.

“My headache is getting worse though?”

“I’m sorry.”

“‘I’m sorry’ you say…It’s just a front to get me to listen, right?”

“You don’t seem to like this.”

“I don’t.”

The conversation flowed like a game of catch, and I could see it. This one seemed to be her true self.

“Oh well, guess I have no choice.”

Do you understand now? I shrugged my shoulders in exasperation.

“I guess I have to go back to the party now and let them know that Himeno might be faking her condition.”

“H-huh? Don’t go treating me like this is a fake illness. You liar.”

“A liar? I’m just saying you ‘might’ be faking your condition. At least that’s the impression I got, so I’ve got the right to throw an accusation. You can just prove whether or not it’s true or false in front of everyone later.”

“There’s no way to prove a headache, is there?”

“Maybe.”

“What’s up with this? Everyone kept on praising you but you have a nasty personality.”

“Well, at least I don’t believe they ever praised my good personality.”

I don’t really want to say it myself, but all they did was thank me for helping Shiranami.

“Oh, yeah.”

“In any case, you’re a strange one, Himeno. How to say it? It’s kind of unlike a member of Ichinose’s class.”

“Strange? If you ask me, the people in my class are too good-natured. Our class tends to get together in large groups to do everything. Well, I don’t mind that in itself, but the problem is that these meetings take too long, and nobody ever wants to leave.”

If I had to repeatedly go to meetings I didn’t like, I’d get fed up with it.

However, Ichinose’s classmates enjoy these gatherings.

That’s why nobody wants to leave, which of course results in the meetings taking too long.

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to participate, right?”

“Do you really think I can do that? Even if I think it’s irritating, it’s important to stay in line.”

“Well, I guess so.”

Their class as a whole is a cohesive unit, and there is an especially strong sense of unity among the girls. Even if you are secretly unhappy, it takes a lot of courage to throw a stone and cause a ripple.

Himeno. Perhaps my encountering her will be the one factor that will change the path her class is heading on. Normally, I would not get deeply involved with Himeno, a person of the opposite sex, unless there was a special situation.

However, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to take a step forward here.

Of course, if it ends up troubling Himeno, then so be it.

“If you want to relieve stress, isn’t screaming the best thing to do?”

“Screaming…? Even if I wanted to, I’d get in trouble if I screamed here.”

“Not many students come to the back of the ship, and when you consider the sound of the engine and the wind, even if you screamed, it wouldn’t be heard. It would immediately be drowned out and disappear.”

“But…”

She looked puzzled, as if she had never screamed with all her effort before.

“Well, why don’t you go ahead and scream first?”

“…Me?”

I couldn’t help but feel flustered by her unexpected response.

“I don’t really know much about you, but you seem rather quiet…You don’t seem like the type to scream out. If you show me how it’s done, I’ll try it myself.”

I’m in trouble.

I don’t remember ever feeling a strong sense of stress in my life, so if you were to ask if I’ve ever screamed out loud like I’m suggesting, I’d say no.

“If you can’t do it, hurry up and leave.”

If I back out now, this will probably be the last time I will speak with Himeno.

“Alright.”

Having made up my mind, I screamed out into the ocean while Himeno watched.

“Ah───── Okay, now it’s your turn, Himeno.”

“…Are you kidding me?”

“Not at all?”

“Your voice didn’t even have a shred of volume. I’m serious.”

“Then show me how it’s done.”

“I won’t give you an example or any other sh*t.”

I spoke at Himeno’s back as she tried to leave in disgust.

“I thought you said that if I did it, you would do it too, Himeno?”

“No, I don’t care if you think you did it, that was just useless.”

“Whatever the volume, I’m pretty sure that you heard it and reacted. But if your voice is just as low as mine, you have no right to make fun of me.”

To make sure she doesn’t just scream in the same low voice, I preemptively shut her down.

“Geez…I know, I know. I just have to do it once, right? Then you’ll leave me alone?”

After taking a breath, Himeno put both her hands up in front of her mouth as if she had no choice.

“"WAA───────!!!”

The sound of the ship’s engine and the wind drowned out the rest of the world, so no one aside from me could hear it.

However, a voice, twice as loud as I had imagined, echoed inside my ears.

I felt like the ship was rocking…But it was only a feeling, it shouldn’t actually be shaking.

Her usual speech and demeanor were that of a downer, her tone was low and her voice was subdued. However, in actuality, she has a tremendously powerful voice.

“Hah…That felt refreshing.”

Himeno nodded in satisfaction, seemingly unconcerned by my surprised reaction.

“Right? I also felt better after screaming.”

“No, no, you didn’t scream at all.”

She poked and prodded me while sending me a cold gaze, like she was looking down on me.

“Well…I suppose I could have done better considering the stress I’ve been under.”

“Yeah? You really don’t look like it.”

“You were much better than I thought you would be. You must have been under a lot of stress.”

“Ha? I’ll kill you, you know?”

She gave me a very sharp look.

Even when she was angry, she would always use her mouth before her hands and feet.

“I went a little too far.”

I apologized for my behaviour, but she didn’t seem to be offended.

Maybe this Himeno has a fearless side to her too.

“I’m going back to my room.”

“Ah yeah, I’m sorry I held you up with all this.”

“It’s good that you know that you were in the wrong.”

After saying this, Himeno returned to the ship.

“I think I'll head back to my room too.”

The party was supposed to be a celebration, but I felt unusually tired.

It seems I’m going to have a deep sleep today.