← The Studious Boy and the Secret Account Girl
Volume 2
Chapter 15: The Gariben Notebook - Part 2
Chapter 15: The Gariben Notebook – Part 2
The cynical smile of Tsutomu, which he rarely had occasion to show before others.
Chastened by that ruthlessness, Matsurika leaned back and, after a moment’s hesitation, opened her mouth.
“B-but, surely some people use it well, right?”
“That’s fine, either way.”
“So you’re supplying salt to the enemy on purpose?”
“Enemy? What do you mean by enemy?”
Tsutomu’s question contained pure curiosity.
In the peaceful school life of Japan, the term ‘enemy’ didn’t quite fit.
He started to say ‘just who is it you’re fighting?’ and stopped.
“What do I mean… something like someone who uses Kariya-kun’s notebook to threaten your seat at the top of the grade?”
“Ah, that sort of thing. That’s nothing to me.”
He took out his smartphone to check the time and gave a casual nod.
As Matsurika said, there might well be those who could digest and take in the ‘Gariben Notebook’ well in their own way.
Whether such a person existed or not, Tsutomu had little interest. He wasn’t especially attached to the grade-topper position, either.
“‘T-that’s nothing to me’…”
“Regular exams are nothing more than a task for measuring the degree of knowledge retention.”
Taking the result—good or bad—and carrying it forward: that was supposedly the true purpose.
Because a number appears, people tend to get flung around by it, but comparing oneself to others was meaningless.
Even if it served as a benchmark toward one’s target school, it was ultimately a self-contained thing.
“Th-then, what about as your rival in the university entrance exam?”
“If I’ve got the ability myself on top of that, there’s no problem.”
At the succession of answers that were just shy of extreme, Matsurika’s eyes went round and her mouth flapped open and shut.
He hadn’t meant to be grandiose, but how the listener took it was no business of Tsutomu’s.
Because he’d never been asked up until now, he’d never told anyone what was inside his heart.
Thus, though not widely known, ‘Kariya Tsutomu’ had always been this kind of man.
“Geez, Kariya-kun, you’re nothing like I imagined…”
This isn’t even a scheme.
Dumbfounded, then wry laughter.
Matsurika tossed her strawberry milk carton into the waste bin.
With a glance, he saw her lightly dabbing her mouth with a handkerchief.
Her wet, glistening, adorable lips and the tip of her tongue showing. His attention was drawn to them, quite naturally.
“So, what about the notebook?”
A light cough.
Perhaps he’d talked a bit too much.
He was aware there was something scheming about him.
He’d thought that if he said up to here, she’d normally refuse… but,
“Lend it to me.”
The answer came at once.
This time it was Tsutomu who was left at a loss for words.
With his middle finger, he pushed his slipping glasses back into place.
Gazing at Matsurika’s smile, he finally opened his mouth.
“Then, to Amakusa…”
“If possible, I’d like you to leave Amakusa-kun out of it.”
I’ll send along my impressions of how I properly used it.
Added that, and the smile had faded from Matsurika’s face.
A considerably serious expression, one he’d never seen in the classroom.
From her words and from her gaze, he felt an unwavering, strong will.
“Why do you avoid Amakusa?”
“Because… if I bought it from Amakusa-kun, it’d get out that I used Kariya-kun’s notebook.”
Matsurika puffed out her cheeks.
The intent still evaded him.
“You’d be in a bind if it got out?”
“I would. It’d hurt my image.”
“The rumor of being academically excellent, you mean.”
“That one. It feels good to be praised like that, but it’s a pain at times like this.”
A self-mocking smile was plastered onto her elegant features.
To protect her position as a charismatic idol, she wanted to keep her grades up.
But she didn’t want anyone to know she was working hard.
And even more so—it was out of the question for it to come out that she was borrowing someone else’s notebook, not relying on her own strength.
“He’s not the type to leak customer info.”
“Amakusa-kun might keep quiet, but you never know who’s watching where.”
“Like your secret account?”
The words that leapt from his mouth at once were, how to put it, terribly tactless.
‘Even so, that was careless’—he clucked his tongue inwardly.
Of all times, to say it here and now, it was enough to make him want to clutch his head.
The Matsurika before him—didn’t seem to be that put out.
“That’s true. Kariya-kun’s seen through a lot of me, so one or two more on the pile… that’s also part of it, maybe.”
Matsurika had been posting erotic photos on SNS while hiding her identity, and they were well received.
Why she did such a thing—her true feelings remained unrevealed.
The erotic secret account ‘RIKA’ was still posting, even now that her identity was exposed to Tsutomu.
—This one really is beyond me.
“Even celebrities have their troubles, huh.”
He thought Matsurika’s claims were self-serving.
At the same time, he thought ‘maybe that’s just how it is.’
Human relations are a complex and bizarre thing. No need to be told.
To Tsutomu, who’d turned his back on them as a hassle, Matsurika’s obsessions were utterly incomprehensible.
Uncomprehending as he was… the thought that it was nonetheless something one should not take lightly also lingered in a corner of his mind.
“Well, yeah. Even if it was my own choice, it’s definitely a pain.”
‘Tachibana Matsurika’ had been a girl who caught people’s eyes from the moment she’d enrolled… so it was said.
At the time they’d been in different classes, so all he’d heard was her name occasionally whispered in the classroom.
‘This year’s first-years have an incredibly cute girl.’
He recalled it being that sort of vague rumor.
What had explosively raised her fame was—as expected, the school festival’s beauty contest.
That she’d participated in the contest of her own accord meant she’d resolved to gather the public eye there.
She must have had something in mind, but asking the reason would plainly just be deflected.
—What to do here, now.
He agonized.
To say it bluntly—had it been anyone else, he’d have turned her down in no time flat.
That he couldn’t refuse immediately was due to nothing other than the fact that the other party was ‘Tachibana Matsurika’ and ‘RIKA’.
It was favoritism with no excuse. If he was agonizing, the answer had already formed.
“Fine. If you’ll go that far, I’ll lend it to you.”
“Really!? I’d pushed only my own convenience on you, so I thought I’d be refused.”
“You’re aware, then.”
“Well, that… more or less. Why did you come around to lending it to me?”
“Hm, that’s a good question. Lending you a notebook gains me nothing, though… no, maybe not nothing.”
If there seemed to be actual harm, he’d hesitate, but if not, there was no need to make a fuss.
He was also curious what impressions Matsurika would have of his notebook.
The information Shiro had gathered so far hadn’t included data from anyone called academically excellent.
…He’d made that reason up on the spot. Everything was nothing but excuses for himself.
“That phrasing, it kind of bugs me, you know.”
“…What does?”
“Like, I get nothing good out of lending you my notebook!”
“Isn’t that unreasonable?”
Is there some gain he’d made visible?
Tsutomu was perplexed.
“Or rather, Kariya-kun… you’ve got this way of playing the villain, you know.”
Shrinking back under Matsurika’s grin, a ‘hehe’ of a laugh, he fell silent.
Since he was being watched in the staff room scene the other day, he couldn’t very well deny it.
“…Using others isn’t something good, I suppose.”
Hitting a sore spot, he was left speechless.
That he felt guilt over what Matsurika called ‘guinea pig treatment’ was a fact.
Perhaps that was why. When he made himself out to be the villain, it eased his mind a little.
Which was why, even when thanked that ‘his notebook had raised their grades’, he could no longer take joy in it plainly.
“It’s okay. This Matsurika-sama will use Kariya-kun’s notebook properly and put it to good use.”
The effort Tsutomu had put in until now could make other people happy.
She would prove that herself, Matsurika said, smiling softly.
Not the sun-like smile she always showed in the classroom, nor the impish smile she showed only before Tsutomu.
A gaze as though seeing through everything pierced Tsutomu dead center.
“So, you should praise yourself all you like. It’ll give you incredible power!”
“…I don’t really need you to go that far.”
To have something like that said, straight on, with that expression, was terribly mortifying.
No longer able to look at Matsurika’s face, Tsutomu softly averted his gaze and spoke words he didn’t mean.
At that, Matsurika’s brows shot up at once. It seemed he’d made her angry again. Truly baffling.
“Just you watch! Along with the last one, I’ll give you a pretty amazing thanks!”
“That… am I allowed to expect all sorts of things?”
“Anything a little bit sexy is allowed!”
“For real!?”
He’d asked half in jest, only for an unexpected answer to come back.
At Matsurika’s words, hard to believe his own ears, any composure to make do went flying off somewhere.
He was moved from the bottom of his heart that he’d made that notebook. One hundred percent male desire.
He had a feeling he’d lost sight of the original purpose, but the immediate gain was too great.
—A ‘little bit sexy’… just how far is that allowed!?
The photos of ‘RIKA’ recorded in his mind’s eye were instantly lined up.
Matsurika, who’d been casting a heavy, damp gaze at the wide-eyed Tsutomu, muttered softly.
“There we were having such a nice talk… Kariya-kun, I genuinely think you’re too much…”
“…That’s unreasonable.”