← The Studious Boy and the Secret Account Girl
Volume 1
Chapter 04: A Crane Cries in a Trash Dump – Part 2
Chapter 4: A Crane Cries in a Trash Dump – Part 2
Turning toward the voice to see what was going on… there was one student, and one teacher.
They were glaring at each other, sparks flying between them, and the air was so hostile that even from a distance it was obvious things were about to get bad.
Neither of them was a direct acquaintance of Tsutomu’s, but both were famous around the school.
The student was a girl in his own class.
The first thing that caught his eye was the glossy, straight black hair that reached down to her waist.
Next was a face defined by breathtakingly refined beauty. Just looking at a girl this pretty was enough to make a person happy.
Large black eyes beneath long, narrow lids, and a straight, elegant nose bridge.
Her mouth itself was on the small side, but her tinted lips left a strangely strong impression.
Every one of her features was exceptionally well-formed.
More than that, the way they were arranged could only be called perfect.
She was tall for a girl. A little shorter than Tsutomu, who was barely over 170 centimeters, so about 160 centimeters?
Her figure was slender, and her hips sat high. The legs stretching out from her short skirt were white and dazzling.
The chest pressing up against her blouse boldly announced its presence, and her overall completeness was simply extraordinary.
‘Tachibana Matsurika’
Stunningly beautiful, excellent at both her studies and her sports, and highly sociable. She didn’t have a single visible weakness as a person.
She naturally occupied the center of the class — a girl who seemed born to be the heroine.
At the beauty contest held during last year’s school festival, she outshone even the third-years and claimed the Queen’s seat.
As for the teacher — he was the one in charge of student discipline.
A man in his fifties with a shabby, unimpressive appearance, wearing a matching tracksuit from morning to night, every single day.
He had the rare temperament of being unable to resist nitpicking everything the students did.
Rare as that might be, it was nothing to be grateful for. Being unusual didn’t make it a good thing.
A teacher who stood out in all the wrong ways — rumor had it he wasn’t liked even by his colleagues, let alone the students.
—What’s going on?
Matsurika and the discipline teacher both wore an atmosphere that was clearly less than ordinary. It was the kind of tension you could tell at a glance had turned bad.
It was dangerous, almost a powder keg a moment away from going off, and the other teachers couldn’t bring themselves to approach carelessly.
“Tachibana! Just how many times do I have to tell you not to come to school looking so flashy?!”
“Hah? Flashy, what?! No matter how you look at it, this is normal!”
Matsurika took the discipline teacher’s furious glare head-on with an exaggerated reaction.
The girl, who at first glance might have seemed delicate, showed no signs of being intimidated, contrary to how she looked.
Watching her stand up so boldly to the teacher’s bullying words, which would have cowed most students, gave Tsutomu, a fellow student, a sense of exhilaration.
“Normal? What about you is normal?! A kid like you getting all dolled up like that.”
“Getting all… what? That’s just creepy.”
—No, I couldn’t have agreed more.
Though he hadn’t spoken up because he was far away, Tsutomu agreed in his heart.
In this day and age when compliance was demanded at every turn, that remark could easily count as sexual harassment.
Even setting that aside, an old man well past middle age going on about sensuality concerning a high school girl was just plain creepy.
As a line from someone bearing the title of ‘Student Discipline,’ the word choice was completely off.
“‘Creepy,’ you say… why, you cheeky little brat.”
“So, you went out of your way to call me out here during lunch break — what exactly is this about?”
Matsurika didn’t even try to hide her irritation. He could understand the feeling.
Having her precious lunch break taken away over some incomprehensible reasoning — it was only natural she’d be angry.
…Compared to himself, who was just trying to brush off his annoying homeroom teacher’s nonsense, she was a lot cooler.
“That’s why I’m telling you: wipe off that makeup!”
Having declared that, the discipline teacher pulled something out of his pocket.
At once, Matsurika’s pretty eyebrows shot up.
“Whoa, makeup remover… are you serious?”
“I’m completely serious. We’re going to the washroom right now. Use this to wipe that makeup off, and hurry up!”
The older teacher nodded at Matsurika, who was thoroughly taken aback.
A triumphant smile crept across his face.
“Tachibana-san, this is a real problem, isn’t it.”
A voice mixed with a sigh came from beside Tsutomu.
It was his homeroom teacher. His homeroom teacher, who today as well had her makeup perfectly done.
“Is it really that bad to wear makeup to school?”
“Of course it is. It’s forbidden by the school rules.”
Just as the words slipped out, she answered immediately, without any hesitation.
—What is this one even saying.
In his mind, he stamped ‘Disqualified’ across his homeroom teacher’s face. He’d long since lost count of how many times he’d done that.
Since Matsurika was also her own student, you’d think she’d at least mediate between her and the nagging discipline teacher.
But this homeroom teacher poured an overflowing enthusiasm onto Tsutomu, while toward Matsurika she seemed to hang back.
—The reason… well, he could imagine it, but…
It was gossipy, so he wouldn’t dwell on it. It’d only make things more annoying.
Before he knew it, an atmosphere of ‘Matsurika should wipe off her makeup’ had settled over the staff room.
Even such nonsense, when spoken by a man bearing the title of ‘Student Discipline,’ was mistakenly given an air of authority.
Because that teacher was older, and his voice was loud, the weight of his title was amplified all the more.
“You’ve got to be kidding! Using some cheap thing like that to wipe it off carelessly… you’ve actually lost your mind!”
—So that’s where she gets angry…
Matsurika’s reaction was unexpected. Did that mean she’d comply if it were a high-end product?
By how she phrased it, it seemed she had no objection to removing the makeup itself.
Her way of thinking was, as always, thoroughly beyond Tsutomu’s understanding.
“You brought this on yourself. It’s your fault for coming in with makeup that the school rules forbid.”
“Anyway, why are you singling me out?”
“I’m not targeting you specifically. I just happen to be starting with you.”
The discipline teacher’s words sounded reasonable but didn’t reveal his true intent. The proof was that his eyes were darting around.
The girl named Tachibana Matsurika was one of the charismatic figures at this school.
She stood out, above all, in beauty, and her chatter, fashion included, was very well received in the classroom.
If he could bring a girl like Matsurika under control, the influence he’d have over the other students would be immeasurable. It wasn’t hard to imagine that enforcing appearances and dress codes would advance considerably.
Glancing at the teachers around him… most either sided with the discipline teacher or ignored it entirely, and there wasn’t a single one who tried to hear the students’ side.
—Sigh… I can’t keep watching this.
“Ah, Kariya-kun!? Where are you going?”
After letting out another sigh… Tsutomu left his homeroom teacher behind and strode over.
Approaching the two, who were radiating an about-to-explode, dangerous aura, he opened his mouth.
“Hold on a moment, please.”
The two gazes that should have been locked in hostility toward each other now turned, almost in unison, onto Tsutomu, the intruder.