NOVEL NEXT Chapter 55
“Um, so…”
“I’m definitely going to get punished!”
By the way, it’s not like we’re having forbidden cross-gender relationships or anything. I mean, in this world where it doesn’t matter whether you’re dating a guy or a girl, there’s no need to specifically say ‘cross-gender relationship.’ But saying something like ‘forbidden same-sex relationship’ feels a bit odd and unnatural.
Of course, even in such a world, dating more than one person at a time wouldn’t be accepted. Whether it’s this world or the one I lived in, marriage is still monogamous… I mean, should I say women to women is ‘monogamous monogamous’? Anyway, it probably wouldn’t be that different.
If I’m hanging around with two girls, it can definitely look dubious. I did cause quite a ruckus in the classroom.
But I never expected the Student Council to get directly involved. Aren’t they the most important students in the school? Is it really possible for them to know absolutely nothing about me?
As I pondered this, I glanced at the name tag on the Lead Committee Member’s chest, which had the name ‘Son Ah-reum’ inscribed in yellow. The name tag, made up of yellow, white, and bronze—probably to signify gold, silver, and copper—changes color every year when the first-year students enroll.
This year, the new students got their names written in gold, and they would use that color until graduation, passing it down to the kids who enroll in the year we graduate. So it becomes quite easy to distinguish what grade a student is in by just looking at their name tag. Teachers get confused sometimes, though.
So, she’s a first-year student who just became a Lead Committee Member and is overflowing with enthusiasm.
Noticing my gaze, she hurriedly covered her chest with her hands, looking like she had completely misunderstood me.
… Well, I did act in a way that invited misunderstandings.
Being treated so openly like this makes me a bit sad.
Among the four of us, the one who’s most cautious about any body contact, including myself, is me.
Even if no one would believe me.
… Hmm, thinking like this makes me want to tease her a bit.
“Just because someone has a homosexual orientation doesn’t mean they see everyone with a sexual gaze.”
Since she knew we were in the same grade, there was no need for me to speak formally.
So, I casually threw in a very, very straightforward comment.
“Uh,”
Even though homosexuality might be somewhat common, there’s still a perspective that views it negatively in this world. Naturally, what I said will only backfire.
Of course, I didn’t embed the phrase ‘I’m gay’ in that statement. If this topic came up later, I would just claim, ‘I only said that because I think of myself as a gay person.’
… Well, when you think about it, from the other person’s perspective, it would appear that way. I was behaving like that, and more importantly, the male body inside Ye Sara had no sexual interest in any men. Even if I happened to end up with a ‘real’ boyfriend later, it definitely wouldn’t be a man.
Son Ah-reum’s face turned pale for a moment and then blushed crimson. It seemed she realized it was a joke after seeing my beaming smile.
Son Ah-reum pointed at me accusingly and shouted.
“You, you’re saying you’re a pervert! That doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with gay people, right?!”
Well, that’s certainly the case.
But I’m not a pervert…
I thought that until I remembered the various positions I had taken while sitting on Ha Neul’s lap during class yesterday.
… No, that was behavior intended to make it look that way. I had gotten her permission.
Of course, I can’t deny any allegations here. I could be facing disciplinary action greater than punishment from the Student Council.
To turn this scenario into an outright incident where the school treats me like a nonexistent person, it would be better to let the other party misunderstand as much as possible.
“I—”
“So, what’s the problem?”
I was about to agree with that when suddenly, Yoo Ha-neul, who had been hanging beside me, opened her mouth.
“What?”
Son Ah-reum turned her gaze towards Yoo Ha-neul, asking back with surprise. It seemed she hadn’t expected Yoo Ha-neul to interrupt like that.
“Like I said, what’s the problem? It’s true we were hugging in class, and Sara did link arms with Sua while attending class. But so what? The teacher pretended not to notice.”
… Uh, that’s totally something an antagonist would say.
Or maybe it’s something a sidekick of the antagonist would say. Why is she casually speaking like that next to the overbearing antagonist who commits all sorts of misdeeds without any guidance?
If the heroine heard it, it’s not something that should come out of her mouth.
When I stared incredulously at Yoo Ha-neul, she leaned in closer and whispered in my ear.
“I have an idea. Just go with it.”
“……”
I pondered for a moment, then nodded.
Yoo Ha-neul’s initiative can be as powerful as a truck firing off into another world.
“What, what, what…”
Son Ah-reum turned red in the face, probably wondering what I was thinking as Yoo Ha-neul, unashamedly crushing her logic while pressing her face closely next to mine, whispered something.
In scenarios involving reverse harem tropes, the thoughts of student council members or similar characters are usually filled with dark and perverted ideas—it’s a sort of cliché. In lower age-rated media, it only goes that far, but when you hit adult visual novels or doujinshi, etc…
… Well, she is a character that doesn’t appear in ‘If You Wish’ at least. She’s not part of the three heroines you can target. If I had seen her in a segment that I couldn’t watch in a streamer’s play-through, she would just be an extra with no standing CG or anything. The producer already publicly stated that there’s no secret heroine or hidden routes in this game.
“Besides, whatever counts as ‘wrong’ hasn’t happened in school.”
“…Huh?”
Yoo Ha-neul’s bombshell statement instantly froze the atmosphere once again.
The Lead Committee Member in front of us, of course, and even those who had discreetly stopped to overhear our argument, had completely frozen in place. I could hear cars passing by outside the school gate, but within this area, it felt extraordinarily quiet.
“W-what do you mean, ‘in school’?”
“How can just hugging be seen as a ‘wrong relationship’? It’s not like we kissed or did anything like that.”
As she said this, Ha Neul was getting a bit embarrassed herself, stumbling over her words when she mentioned ‘such acts.’
“Uh, well then…”
“Exactly.”
I was barely keeping my composure after almost losing my mind from Ha Neul’s bombshell statement when I quickly composed myself.
“So, you mean we can’t just let this go?”
Son Ah-reum pointed harshly at me. By the way, she really likes pointing fingers. Is this the character trait of the Lead Committee Member?
I feel like it might be.
“Of course not! We absolutely can’t just let this go!”
I’m relieved she said that. It seems Ha Neul’s comment was incredibly effective.
Honestly, if I were the Lead Committee Member, and a fellow student was like ‘I just came back from a wild party yesterday,’ I’d probably be horrified and tell a teacher.
Of course, Ha Neul never even mentioned the word ‘sex.’
She said ‘slept,’ didn’t she?
… Perhaps she has a talent for politics?
When I looked at Ha Neul, she gave me a sly smile. If there hadn’t been anyone around, she might have even made a peace sign with her fingers.
“I’m gonna bring this matter up at the Student Council meeting and make sure everyone knows about your, um…”
“Um?”
“Your ‘indecent’ behavior! I’ll make it clear!”
What is she going to write in the report? ‘Ye Sara had a sex party with three other same-sex students’?
If she wrote that, I’d have something to say too, and as we dove into accusing each other, the school wouldn’t be able to ignore us anymore.
“Sounds good.”
I was about to cross my arms, then realized my arms were still being held by the two people and surrendered gracefully.
“Go ahead. We’re on the same page with this too.”
And then I raised one side of my lips slightly.
I could almost see the blood rushing all the way to the top of the Lead Committee Member’s head.
Well, it seems like she is thinking completely the opposite, but that’s a good thing, isn’t it?