“Hey… Misumai… do you have some time after school today?”
“Ah, yeah… Barato-san… that’s fine.”
“Thanks… then, after school…”
In the classroom early in the morning, when barely any students had arrived yet, that was all Barato Nanami-san said to me before quickly returning to her two friends. I usually come to school fairly early because I hate being late, but today they had arrived just as early.
Maybe they chose the early morning so it wouldn’t turn into a scene. Her two friends deliberately avoided looking at me, instead patting Nanami-san on the back and whispering things like, “You did great… you really did…” to encourage her.
…Come to think of it, I call her Barato-san out loud, but in my head I keep calling her Nanami-san. Well, whatever.
After that, we had absolutely no interaction until after school. I spent the day with my small group of friends, while she stayed with her own friends and the outgoing popular kids in class.
Still, it was impossible not to be aware of her. I found myself glancing at her from time to time. Maybe she was doing the same, because our eyes occasionally met.
Each time, she quickly looked away in a panic… If I didn’t know this was a penalty game, I definitely would’ve misunderstood that.
She was probably nervous. I was nervous too… but thanks to all the advice Baron-san gave me yesterday, I managed to stay somewhat calm.
And then… before I knew it, school was over.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Misumai… um, could you come with me for a bit?”
In the empty classroom after school, only Nanami-san and I remained. Her friends weren’t here either. Since this was supposed to be a penalty game, I thought she would confess here, but it seemed we were going somewhere else.
We walked without speaking, and I silently followed behind her.
…This is bad. I thought I’d calmed down, but the longer I followed her, the more nervous I became. Also, the way her hips swayed as she walked kept pulling my gaze—no, stop. That’s not good. Remember what Baron-san said yesterday.
‘Listen, girls are far more sensitive to where you’re looking than guys think. When you receive her confession, make sure you look straight into her eyes. Don’t let your gaze wander to her chest or legs or anything like that.’
Right. Stay calm… calm. Keep my eyes straight ahead.
Where we eventually arrived was behind the school building. It was surrounded by fences, completely deserted, and safe from anyone seeing us. On the other hand, discarded materials were scattered around, making it feel dangerous in a different way.
“I think here is fine…”
Muttering that, she stopped and turned to face me. That simple motion alone made my heart leap, but I forced myself to stay calm. This was just a penalty-game confession… Even knowing that, my heart still raced.
“Misumai, thanks for coming… um… there’s something I wanted to tell you… Do you… maybe know what it is…?”
She began speaking while keeping quite a bit of distance between us.
I didn’t know whether that distance meant she was wary of me or simply showed how inexperienced she was with boys… but I decided to listen quietly until she finished before replying.
“Sorry… um… we don’t usually talk, Barato-san, so I’m not really sure why you called me out here… If this is about money, I don’t really have much.”
“This isn’t a shakedown or anything like that!”
I pretended to know nothing about why I’d been called here. I wasn’t sure if my act was convincing, but judging from her immediate retort, it seemed to be working.
“Um… um… well… I… I… I…”
She stumbled over her words, unable to get to the point. She looked exactly like a girl gathering her courage to confess for real. It was hard to believe this was supposed to be a penalty game.
Even knowing it was fake, my heart pounded. Still, I kept my eyes fixed directly on her face, refusing to look away.
The more conscious I became of it, the harder it was to keep my gaze steady… I remembered Baron-san saying that when that happens, you should look slightly upward instead of downward. Looking down might seem like you’re staring at her body, but looking slightly up wouldn’t give that impression… Right, upward… upward…
Following yesterday’s advice, I lifted my gaze slightly.
And that was why I noticed it—purely by accident.
“I… Misumai… I… l-l-l-l-like you… so… would you… go out with me…?”
Before she even finished speaking, I was already running toward her. At home, all I do is play games or work out while watching videos. This distance should be manageable…!!
I’d never really run like this before, but I had to make it. Believe in myself!
What I had noticed was a large bucket sticking out from an open school window. One of those buckets always kept around for cleaning. The moment I saw it, I remembered—this was a place where students sometimes lazily dumped dirty cleaning water out the window instead of carrying it properly.
And directly beneath that bucket… was Nanami-san.
At this rate, she was going to get drenched in dirty water.
The moment I realized that, my body moved on its own.
It wasn’t like I’d get injured. I’d just end up soaked instead.
Maybe that was a fitting punishment for someone receiving a penalty-game confession.
But even if it was a penalty game… seeing her face turn bright red as she struggled to confess…
Maybe it was just acting, but she looked like a girl desperately gathering courage despite not being used to boys. The thought of her getting drenched like that… somehow, I just couldn’t stand it.
“Eh? Kyaaaaaaa?!”
She screamed as I threw myself over her, shielding her body. Good—I made it in time!!
The moment relief washed over me, freezing water slammed across my back and soaked my entire body. It hurt more than I expected! Cold, dirty, and painful! The icy water seeped into my uniform, instantly stealing away my body heat and making me shiver.
Who uses water this cold for cleaning?! At least make it lukewarm! No, that’s not the problem—don’t throw it out the window in the first place!
“Eh…? Eh? Huh?! What is this?! Water?! Why?!”
Still confused, she looked around beneath me as she slowly grasped what had happened. Meanwhile, I found myself worrying about completely unrelated things, like whether the unpaved ground had dirtied the back of her uniform.
Then, before I could say anything, a heavy impact struck my head. At the edge of my vision, I saw the bucket falling. Apparently, whoever dumped the water had been startled by her scream and dropped it.
A little water remained inside, spilling onto the ground. Thank goodness… if that had hit her, she might have been injured.
Looking down at Nanami-san’s face, I noticed a red spot on her cheek. Wait—was she hurt?
“Are you okay, Nanami-san? You’re not injured, are you?”
“I’m… fine… No, are you okay, Misumai?!”
“I’m fine. I’m just wet and cold… I don’t think I’m hurt—”
“You are hurt!! You’re bleeding from your forehead!!”
Only then did I realize it. The bucket must have cut my head slightly when it hit me. The red spot on her cheek… was my blood.
“Ah, sorry… I shouldn’t get blood on you… I’ll move… Nanami-san, you’re not wet, right?”
“That doesn’t matter!! You’re the one who—”
That was as far as I heard. The moment I stood up and stepped away from her, my body suddenly swayed. The impact from the bucket must have been stronger than I thought… a dizziness like standing up too fast overtook me.
“Misumai!! Misumai!!”
The last thing I heard was her voice calling my name in panic.
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