Too Many Losing Heroines! - Volume 7 - Chapter 1.2

I headed straight to the clubroom after my secret meeting with Teiara-san. Yanami and Komari gave me a displeased look the moment I opened the door.

"You're late, Nukumizu-kun."

"W-Where have you been off to?"

"Sorry, I had something to take care of."

I sat down and was about to take out the investigation report from my bag when I hesitated.

...Should I really show this to them?

Yanami placed a notebook on the table as I pondered.

"What's this?"

"We looked into Riko Shiratama. We went to Class 1-F and asked around."

"Wait, Komari too?"

Komari nodded with a smug look.

"I-I memorized Class 1-F's schedule."

Not exactly useful information…

I reached for the notebook, but then Yanami quickly pressed it down.

"...Am I not allowed to see it?"

"This notebook contains the true nature of Shiratama-chan. Can you handle the truth, Nukumizu-kun, after you are all smitten with her?"

"G-Go die."

"Ah, yeah. I probably can."

I've seen girls much worse, after all.

But if Yanami is making such a big deal out of it, there must be some dark revelations inside.

Steeling myself, I opened the notebook. Let's see, first are the impressions of Shiratama-san from the boys in her class-

<She talked to me.> <She picked up my eraser for me.> <She smells nice, like shampoo.>

...Seems like the boys have darker issues.

I pulled myself together and continued reading.

<She probably has a crush on me.> <No, it's me.> <She picked up my eraser for me, though.>

<She picked mine up 3 times, bro.>

…Yeah, I guess that's how it is. Feeling a bit let down, I looked up.

"Shiratama-san seems like a nice person. She picks up erasers, after all."

"Yeah, but isn't she picking them up too often!? It's only April, you know? Do they really fall that much?"

"Surprisingly, they do. And usually, no one bothers to pick them up."

Komari nodded earnestly. The dark reality of dropping erasers runs deep.

"So basically, Shiratama-san is like an eraser-picking fairy."

"Wait, read the reviews from the girls too! Don’t say I didn't warn you, okay?"

There's more? I turned my attention back to the notebook.

<She's cute.> <Like a doll.> <Smells nice.> <I want to teach her a lesson in another sense.>

…Okay, slightly worrying, but it seems like the girls also think well of her.

Maybe Yanami is just jealous of her youth. Shiratama-san does seem like a good person. Let’s see the next part…

<Flirting with boys.> <Too cozy with guys.>

…Hold up, why is the tone shifting? I turned the page.

<Getting spoiled by the boys.> <Got dumped by her boyfriend.> <How is that relevant?>

<My boyfriend asked me to introduce him to her.> <Is he really your BF?> <She picked up my eraser for me too.>

First-year girls are ruthless with their comments. And she's still picking up erasers here, too.

I read through the notebook once more carefully before closing it.

"...Maybe Shiratama-san is just popular, and people are getting jealous because of that?"

"I'm somewhat popular too, you know!?"

Yeah, we aren't talking about you, Yanami.

Komari chimed in cautiously after carefully flipping through the pages.

"B-But she doesn't seem like a b-bad girl…"

"Don't be fooled, Komari-chan! He always says it's nothing serious, and before you know it, he's head over heels for her. It's disgraceful!"

The personal grudge is becoming more evident, and the conversation's starting to steer off course as well.

"Yanami-san, our goal is to get her to join the club, right? And considering she's been suspended, it's clear she has some issues."

"That's true, but..."

Yanami's momentum slowed. Alright, time to press the advantage.

"Konuki-sensei entrusted her to us, issues and all. This is our chance to repay the favors we've received-"

..Repay Konuki-sensei? That sounds a bit disingenuous coming from me.

I hesitated, and Yanami nodded with a complicated expression.

"Well, it's hard to argue with that. Konuki-sensei has helped us a lot."

"Eh, Yanami-san, you really feel that way?"

"You think I'm an ungrateful person!?"

Yeah, kinda.

The not-so-grateful Komari and I exchanged surprised glances, and then Yanami stood up and tore off last month's page from the wall calendar that had been hanging for a while.

"Alright, let's just keep an eye on things for now."

Tomorrow, April 16th, marks Shiratama-san’s return to school after her suspension-

*

A sweet aroma greeted me as I opened the door to my house.

"Welcome home, onii-sama!"

My little sister Kaju ran up to me excitedly.

I glanced past her into the kitchen.

"Are you making sweet red bean paste?"

"Bingo! Your prize is a lifetime supply of Kaju!"

"Ohh, that’s quite a lavish prize."

I brushed off Kaju's joke and peeked into the pot on the stove.

Inside is a mixture of red bean paste and small white dumplings.

"Huh, are you making zenzai? But you're using dango instead of mochi?"

"Yes, these are shiratama dango. Please try some."

She handed me a small bowl with a dollop of simmered red bean paste and a single round shiratama dango.

Looking at the zenzai with shiratama dango, I couldn't help but think of our meeting at Minami JAS.

…What is the relationship between Shiratama-san and Tanaka-sensei?

As I absentmindedly picked up the wooden spoon, Kaju spoke up with a serious expression.

"Be careful, onii-sama. Dango can easily get stuck in your throat."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

I said lightly, about to take a bite when Kaju grabbed my hand.

"Kaju?"

"-Shiratama dango has a smooth surface and goes down easily, which increases the risk of choking."

Still holding my hand, Kaju scooped up a shiratama dango with the spoon and fed it to me.

The red bean paste is much less sweet than I expected- in fact, it has a stronger salty taste that spread across my tongue.

"...It's best to chew shiratama dango thoroughly and grind it down to the very pieces. That's the recommended way to eat it."

The salty taste in my mouth and the close-up yet fake smile from Kaju made me uneasy.

"...Onii-sama, please be careful, okay?"

I nodded silently and slowly chewed the shiratama dango.

*

The next day after school.

Yanami and Komari are fidgeting restlessly in the club room.

"Nukumizu-kun, Shiratama-chan is really coming, right?'

"Yeah, don’t worry. Konuki-sensei confirmed it."

Shiratama-san is finally coming to visit our club after her suspension has been lifted.

Komari is so nervous that she keeps standing up and sitting down repeatedly.

"Komari, calm down. You’re going to be a senpai too. Stay composed."

"S-Senpai…!?"

Komari stood frozen, eyes wide, as Yanami nodded.

"That’s right. Komari-chan, why don’t you practice being a senpai with Nukumizu-kun?"

What’s this about? Still, I'm curious to see how Komari envisioned a senpai.

"Okay, I’ll be the practice dummy. Komari, go ahead and act like a senpai."

"U-Uh, what should I do?"

Yanami crossed her arms confidently.

"Just tell Nukumizu-kun what you want him to do. Have him massage your shoulders or go buy juice."

"...Yanami-san, don’t make Shiratama-san do stuff like that, okay?"

"T-Then, Nukumizu…"

Komari looked down at me and continued.

"P-Pat…my head."

…Huh? The unexpected request brought a hush over the room.

"Wait, Komari, you’re supposed to be the senpai. It doesn’t make sense for the senpai to be pampered."

"B-But you told me to a-ask what I wanted…"

"...Komari-chan?"

Yanami's face got pretty serious for some reason.

Uh, I don’t quite get it, but does this mean Komari is playing the role of a senpai who asks for pampering from her kouhai? That’s a pretty sophisticated hobby…

As I pondered this, I noticed the clubroom door was slightly ajar.

"...Hey, what's going on in here?"

"Long time no see, Remon-chan!"

"It's been a while, Yana-chan! I heard there’s a new member coming today?"

Yakishio entered the room in her practice clothes and plopped down next to Yanami.

"Are you done with practice already?"

"Yeah, the coach told me to take it easy because I’ve been overworking myself. They caught me running all morning."

Holding the shaker with the opposite hand from Yanami is a result of her learning experience.

"Things are going well, huh?"

"Yeah, you better look forward to it."

She shook the protein shaker with a confident smile, like a sunflower after a rainstorm.

Her bright smile made me realize that I no longer needed to worry about her. She is already far beyond where I could reach.

Yet, I still feel a tinge of loneliness. It must be because of my own selfishness-

As I watched the cheerful conversation among the three girls, the door slowly opened again.

"Uh, is this the Literature Club room…?"

Timidly peeking in is Riko Shiratama.

Looking anxious, she smiled in relief when our eyes met.

"Are you Tama-chan? Come on in!"

Encouraged by Yakishio, Shiratama-san entered shyly, her head bowed.

She seemed overwhelmed by our gazes and stayed silent for a moment before bowing deeply.

"Uhh, I’m Riko Shiratama, a first-year. I’ll be a provisional member for now. Thank you for having me…"