The Cheeky Junior Gal Becomes Too Cute When She Gets Attached to Me-Chapter 6Volume 1 .3 - Puppy-like Junior Gal

Puppy-like Junior Gal

“Remember this.”

“Of course. I’m good at memorizing.”

“Hmph.”

With one last glance at Monaka, Shirahata left.

The surroundings fell into an eerie silence.

“S-Senpai… because of me… ”

Monaka collapsed on the spot as if her legs had given out, wiping her eyes with the hem of her cardigan and sniffling.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

“Monaka. Make sure you hide it properly next time if you’ve learned your lesson.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Senpai, you got into trouble with Shirahata because of me…”

“Don’t worry about me.”

She was crying because the target of Shirahata’s anger had shifted to me.

She had been so brave when she was the one being scolded, but now she was blaming herself for causing me trouble.

I took Monaka’s hand and helped her stand up.

We’ve attracted quite a bit of unwanted attention. It would be best to leave quickly.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I do worry.”

“I did it on my own. It’s not just for Monaka’s sake.”

This isn’t just to comfort her. It’s the truth.

It was the same as when Monaka was falsely accused of smoking.

It was simply because I didn’t like it.

“…You really are kind. Thank you.”

“Mm.”

“I guess it’s better for me not to be around you, Senpai.”

“Huh? What…”

Just then, the bell signaling five minutes before the end of lunch break rang out.

“I loved you.”

The words Monaka murmured were drowned out by the sound of the chime and went unheard.

Throughout that week, Ooba Monaka did not visit the Student Council room even once.

***

The following week arrived, and it was Monday.

A whole week passed without seeing her in the morning or at lunch, time just idly slipping away.

If we were in different grades, without making an effort to interact, we might never meet.

I only caught glimpses of her from a distance a few times, and the chance to speak with her never came.

The Student Council room without Monaka felt unnaturally quiet.

When Monaka was there, it was so noisy that there was hardly a moment’s peace, so the silence now felt all the more emphasized.

Before, this had been the norm.

Even Matsuri, who would visit occasionally, seemed somewhat lonely.

“Well, it’s just back to how it was.”

My muttering just faded away emptily.

Just a few days.

Even though Monaka had been around for less than a week, it felt as if it had been the norm, perhaps because the time we spent together was so intense.

Originally, Monaka wasn’t the type to get involved with someone like me.

It was just by chance that we had a connection, and we only talked because we got along for a bit.

Even without the incident with Shirahata, it was only a matter of time before we drifted apart.

“I’m not getting any work done…”

I knew why she stopped coming.

By helping her, I had become the target of Shirahata’s anger.

Monaka felt responsible for that.

She must be thinking that if she hadn’t been involved, she wouldn’t have caused trouble for Senpai… It wasn’t that hard to guess.

I didn’t think I was so insensitive as to not understand that.

“I did it for myself, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

To live efficiently. To maneuver so that only I benefit, to cut out waste and make things easier.

That was my creed.

『Sorry, Masachika. Dad’s not going to make it.』

Suddenly, a voice flashed back in my mind.

“…Ugh.”

I hurriedly covered my mouth.

I collapsed onto the ground as I tumbled out of my chair.

Somehow, I managed to swallow back the stomach acid that had surged up to my throat.

『I wonder if things would have been better if I had been kinder』

What a fool.

My father should have been meaner.

He was a man full of a sense of justice.

Altruistic, sincere, and kind to everyone.

Even at his own expense, he would help others. Not because he saw it as a virtue but because it was natural for him.

Truly, I think he was a fool.

Because of that, he was crushed by the unreasonable.

『You see, Dad want to make the world a better place』

Despite being an unremarkable office worker, he would say such grand things.

My father, who worked for an infrastructure company, would talk happily about how his job was helpful to people.

I was proud of my father.

Perhaps it was his diligent work and personality that got him recognized, and he was promoted to department head.

…That was the beginning of everything.

Once he was in a position that involved some management, my father noticed the company’s misconduct.

Misconduct that all the executives turned a blind eye to.

Complaining about it would only worsen his position, with no benefit to him.

But my father couldn’t overlook it.

However, it takes power to correct wrongdoing.

His opinions were dismissed, covered up, and he was threatened.

They sidelined my father, who continued to fight into a meaningless job.

There wasn’t enough evidence even if he wanted to leak it to the outside. And even if it were possible, he chose not to take that route because it would affect many unrelated employees.

It seems he was also subjected to various other unreasonable complaints.

He didn’t tell me, his son, much about it.

In the end, my father, whose beliefs were destroyed by the unreasonable… now lives listlessly, lost in a daze.

I can’t get his image out of my mind.

“…I won’t become like my father.”

Staggering, I somehow manage to stand up, using the desk for support.

I won’t live honestly and straightforwardly like my father.

I’ll live selfishly, rationally, and egocentrically.

But… I also can’t overlook people who suffer unjust harm like my father did.

Because that’s what I can’t forgive the most.

“Unreasonable and irrational, to hell with it all”

I didn’t help Monaka for his sake.

I don’t act out of justice like my father.

I only lend a hand when I can, just to relieve my irritation.