After spending some quality time with a nice high school girl with a ponytail named Hwasai Mugiyama, I went back to the guys again.
They served me a dish called "Meat Rice," which was piled high with meat, just like high school boys. It was not a dish from the restaurant, but something they had made.

What is this violent dish?

A bowl of rice stuffed with so much meat you can't see the rice. And so much sauce was poured over the rice.

'That's how we feel. Please take it.

That's Gento from the tea ceremony club.
How do you feel? How should I feel if I'm served apocalyptic rice by a guy who looks like a Heian-era aristocrat?

'......

Extremely reluctantly, I began to eat. I chewed while cheering my tongue, which was too familiar with meat, in my heart, because I felt sorry for the restaurant if I left it behind. Frankly speaking, it was painful. My taste buds are going crazy.

Can I ask you something?

Gento, the cause of all this suffering, said this to me while my mouth was in an incredibly grotesque state.

What kind of a guy is Hiu?

Oh, no.
I guess he is the type of guy who, like Makoto and all the boys in the school, is attracted to the appearance of the poisonous rose and has become curious about it.
Alina is a newcomer who can create a soundproof wall to shield her eardrums, so her love call won't reach him. She's only generated it because she doesn't have ear lids. Adaptive to her environment. It's the mystery of life. I salute you.

"He's a pervert who enjoys humiliating people and finds violence more gratifying than anything else.

The former is for a good reason, but the latter is for me, the victim. I think Alina is an abuser. How many times has she been stabbed or punched in the side? She slapped me when I tried to hug her as a joke. She almost shaved my cheek.

And for comets?
'Of course. I'm better than I was a few months ago. He's loosening up, especially with the same s*x. Look at that.

She indicated with her chin that Alina was wiping dirt from Tsuru's mouth with a paper napkin. If I had been in the crane's shoes, I would have had my lips cut off with a cutter. And then they would have been burned on the grill.

'As you can see. It's getting round.
'Is that so ......'
'Gento. It's going to be difficult to cage that thing.'
'I'm not interested in Nippa. I'm just curious how the comet got hold of Hiwa.
'Does it look like he's taking to me?'
'I see it. It's a big difference from freshman year. I was in the same class as Hinoha, so I know.
'That sounds like a lot of work.
'At first, I talked to Nippa regardless of gender. She's a very beautiful woman. It ended up being a Pandora's box.
'I had a hard time, too.

There was too much meat, so I passed it on to Shinji. This is a lot of meat for a cooperative effort. I thought about pushing it to Makoto, but since he and Ryuka are still next to each other, I decided to give him a break. You should be thankful, Makoto. Don't forget the history of one man's sacrifice of honor.

Don't you love Nippa?
How can that be? It's true that there are times when I'm attracted to someone who looks like an actress, but I'm not going to take the plunge.
'Then how did you come to be working with Nippa?'

That's an earful.
It all started when Dr. Akakusa asked me to correct Alina's tone of voice and attitude, and I always keep my cloak over my head to avoid touching the heart of the matter.
But in fact, she has a dual personality. I was confused when I found out that the other personality had asked Dr. Akakusa for help. It was also discovered that Alina had a history of domestic violence and memory impairment.
The only people who knew these facts were me, Alina's mother, Dr. Akakusa, and a senior student who eavesdropped on us, Kanzawaguchi. Tsuru also found out by chance, but there is no need to be alarmed because it is only a superficial matter of correcting Alina's tone of voice.

How to dodge the issue?

At that time, I suddenly thought of Ugin's face. I don't know why my sister's face came to my mind at this moment, but I burned a lot of calories to make the most of this material. My brain screamed.
And the solution came.

'My sister, Alina, helped me before. In return, I'm temporarily his servant.
''Servant?''
''Yes. Servant. Also known as a slave.

Uh. You missed. Alina can hear you. She's staring at me.

'It's hard being a slave ...... how many times I've been punished ......
'This looks bad. ......'

I decide to run to the bathroom. Alina beckons me. Ordinary boys would have come to her like insects wandering in the dark in search of light. I hoped she would kiss me on the cheek.
But I know her. That's the gateway to hell. Don't be fooled.




This year-end party has come to an end.
At the end, Tsuru says, "Wishing you a happy new year. Cheers! The night ended with the following words.
It was a satisfying time. I am happy that the Empress seemed to enjoy the party even though I was a slave for a while.



Each is free to go. But I had to buy a souvenir for Ugin. The day before, he got mad at me for yelling at home, so I had to buy him a souvenir. It was my fault, so I had no choice.
I said goodbye to my friends and went to the shopping mall by myself.
If there was a souvenir that Ugin would like, it would be food. It would make him smile instantly. And it has to be something that won't disappear or I'll be reminded of it every time I see it. I think cream puffs would make him jump for joy.
I went to the corner where desserts are concentrated in the food section and picked out two cream puffs and a caf au lait. Just when I thought that I could greet the New Year with no regrets. I bumped into Alina.

Yo, yo.
'What a coincidence. I wonder if he's following me.
'I'm so sorry, sir. I'm in the food department for a good reason.
''Yeah?''

Then Alina burst out laughing. I thought she had lost her mind when I saw her laughing with a stifled laugh. But I knew immediately what was wrong.

Why 'now'?
'Do you know what I'm talking about?

The other Alina. There was Alina, lovely as an angel.

'Did you meet Aki-senpai?
I haven't seen him. I just asked Alina to come out for a minute.''
'Hmm. I mean, can't they replace me if I ask them to? I thought that meeting someone from the past with whom you had a strong relationship was the key to changing personalities. ......'
'I don't know either. But lately, when I think, 'I wonder if you could take over for me,' I often get a chance to switch. I'm not talking directly to them, though.
'I don't understand, ...... it's hard for me to understand.'
I feel the same way.

I wonder how it feels to have another person. I wonder if they are reserved with each other. You can't hide what you want to keep secret, can you? Or is it acceptable because the other person is also "yourself"? It's difficult.

'Even so, Alina is really an incomparably beautiful girl right now.
What is it? Suddenly!''
The gap is amazing. That's all I'm saying. So why did you come out? You have a reason for this, don't you?''
'Yeah. I was actually chasing the comet.
'Really?'
'I wanted to thank you. Um, thank you.

Alina bent at the waist and bowed.

'What, what, what, what? You bowed suddenly. Look up quickly. Only arthropods are allowed to bow to me.
'Thank you for responding to my selfishness. I wanted to thank you for being there for Alina. I know I told you at the festival that I didn't want to be involved anymore, but I'm so glad that you were still there for me. Thank you. I look forward to working with you again next year.

She gave a small smile and bowed again.

'...... You're really sweet. I feel like I'm being treated like a human being for the first time.
'I don't know. Alina tells me to stop, though. She tells me to be more tough.
'It's just like her.
'But this is me.
'Yes, it is. The one and only.'
'Yeah.'

Alina steps back and folds her hands behind her back,

'I hope we'll be in the same class next year.

With these words, she left.
I hoped so, too. Somewhere deep inside of me, I have always wanted to be in the same class as Alina, even though I can't say it out loud.

We're so easy, aren't we?




He returned home safely and gave Ugin a souvenir.

Thanks! What's in it?
'Cream puffs and a drink.
'Yay.'
'Enjoy it!

He seemed to be pleased and immediately started to put his hand on the kotatsu. That settles it.
I went to my room, changed into pajamas, and went back to the living room to warm myself on the kotatsu. Ugin seems to be satisfied with the cream puffs, mumbling 'yummy yummy yummy' as he chews them. It seems that they have made up.
The phone rings. It is a message from Alina.

Forget it.

A three-letter imperative. From the Tongue Rose. She must be ashamed to know in some way what the angel Alina has said or done.

She's grinning at you, brother. It's disgusting.
'Take a good look. It could be your future face, you know?


'U~. Eye poison.'

I'll never forget it,' he replied.

After a while, he said, 'So. He wrote back, 'Have a good New Year.
He is an elusive character, either disciplined or brusque.