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Chapter 21: If We Ignore Her Flaws...
🕑 Added 2025-07-30 20:21:01 +0000 UTCWhether or not to quit his part-time jobs and seriously pursue PVC's original rock band project—that decision, for now, was something Aoki Kei chose to set aside.
Tempting as it was, he couldn’t help feeling a little hesitant.
For the time being, after bookmarking the video, he mentally shelved the whole “Be Original / Rock Band Project.”
After finishing shifts at the convenience store and bar, Aoki Kei walked back to his apartment in the light rain.
He took a quick shower, hung up his half-soaked uniform, and finally collapsed into bed.
The night passed uneventfully.
The next morning, Tokyo felt a bit less humid after the rain, even a little cooler than usual.
Still, having been caught in the downpour himself, Aoki Kei couldn’t help but hold a tiny grudge against the weather.
Yawning and half-asleep, he dragged himself into Shuchiin Private Academy.
And, as if to confirm what he already suspected, most of those “romantic comedy” setups in light novels were utter lies.
Despite arriving on time two days in a row, Aoki Kei hadn’t run into Kita-chan or Bocchi-chan even once at the school gates.
It wouldn’t be so bad if he’d simply missed them... but no, both mornings, he had coincidentally crossed paths with none other than Hikigaya Hachiman.
Clearly, the gods had mistaken his intended “chance encounter” partner and swapped them for Hikigaya.
Then again, getting it wrong two days in a row? That seemed unlikely.
More likely, the gods just had terrible taste in humor probably the Gintoki Sakata variety...
Still foggy from sleep, his thoughts wandered a bit too far.
While lost in daydreams, Aoki Kei glanced toward Hikigaya, who wasn’t walking too far ahead.
After a moment of hesitation—figuring they sat one in front of the other, after all—Aoki Kei decided to call out.
“Morning.”
Hikigaya was still mulling over what flavor of bread to get for lunch when he heard the brief greeting behind him.
He blinked, confused, but didn’t turn around.
Instead, he kept walking.
‘No subject. Sounds like the kind of casual greeting close friends would use,’ he thought.
‘I don’t have any close friends at this school. So obviously, that wasn’t meant for me.’
He ran a quick mental deduction before arriving at a conclusion.
‘Still… that voice sounded familiar. Who was it again? Oh—right. That guy who looks like he has social anxiety, but is actually some kind of ultra extrovert. Aoki Kei.’
Now curious about who this “popular kid” was actually talking to, Hikigaya glanced over his shoulder with a dead-eyed, mildly inquisitive expression.
And locked eyes with Aoki Kei.
“Morning,” Aoki repeated.
‘GAH—!? So he was actually talking to me?’
‘Is this guy one of those overly friendly types?’
‘What do I even say if he starts grilling me about my family structure or something?’
“...Oh. Morning,” Hikigaya replied with a small nod.
Aoki returned the nod and said nothing more.
Conversation over.
Hikigaya spent the rest of the walk speculating about why Aoki had suddenly spoken to him, all the way to the classroom door.
Just as he thought the interaction was over, right before they stepped inside, Aoki suddenly spoke up again.
“Hey, Hikigaya... why do you think, even after being transferred here for a while, I’ve never once run into any first-years on my way to school?”
“…?”
This time the greeting had a subject, which caught Hikigaya off guard.
He turned to give Aoki a look that clearly said, “What are you even talking about?”
“First-years start twenty minutes later than us. What are you even saying?”
Aoki froze mid-step, blinked, and then gave a very serious nod.
Inwardly, he offered a sincere apology to most light novel authors and to the gods.
Even though his apology was heartfelt, it didn’t stop the gods from punishing him.
That morning, the weather cleared.
Third period ended.
And just as Aoki Kei was about to rest his eyes on his desk, he heard fingers tapping sharply against the tabletop.
A familiar voice followed.
“Hey, Aoki. Come with me to the office.”
Last night’s laundry ordeal had cost him precious sleep, and he was already running on fumes.
Now, slightly grumpy, Aoki tried to weigh his options.
On the one hand, Hiratsuka-sensei could knock him out cold with a single punch.
On the other hand, divine punishment from the gods was still a little less tangible for now.
So, after mentally cursing those spiteful deities a few times, Aoki rose from his seat and followed Hiratsuka-sensei.
Keeping a polite one-meter distance behind her, Aoki found himself watching the teacher’s back.
Come to think of it...
If you looked closely, Hiratsuka Shizuka actually had a surprisingly attractive figure—slim waist, well-proportioned body, and legs like something out of a sculpture.
Honestly, a textbook example of perfect proportions.
If you could just ignore her awful fashion sense, her bad drinking habits, her love of cigarettes, her tendency to eat chocolate with alcohol…..
Her obsession with martial arts manga, her complete lack of femininity, her otaku tendencies, her ramen addiction, her disregard for appearances, her short temper, her advanced age…
Well, aside from all that, maybe—just maybe—Hiratsuka-sensei wouldn't be the worst possible choice for a romantic partner.
After seriously weighing all of Hiratsuka Shizuka’s flaws, Aoki Kei came to a conclusion.
Then, as if reading his thoughts, Hiratsuka suddenly turned around and shot him a look that clearly said: “Were you just badmouthing me in your head?”
Aoki Kei took a deep breath and ignored the look.
…Though, to be fair, his earlier conclusion was already falling apart.
Just the fact that she was violent made her completely unfit as a romantic candidate!
Following Hiratsuka into the faculty office, Aoki Kei noticed that, for some reason, none of the other teachers were around.
After sitting down at her desk, Hiratsuka looked directly at him.
"Sensei, what did you want to see me for?" Aoki Kei asked, meeting her gaze.
She raised an eyebrow, casually picked up a pack of Seven Stars White from her desk, lit a cigarette but not taking a puff just yet and spoke first.
“I’ll be honest with you, Aoki. The student council, the parent oversight committee, and the teacher ethics board have been cracking down hard lately. That thing with you... I’m having a hard time keeping it under wraps.”
Even though she was just stating facts, her tone somehow carried an underlying “You wouldn’t want me to slip up… right?” kind of implication.
Aoki Kei’s lips twitched.
“Sensei, no matter how desperate you might be, hitting on a minor is still very illegal. Especially if you’re trying to blackmail me using my vulnerabilities...”
"..."
Hiratsuka gave him a sweet, serene smile.
Then, before he could finish his sentence, she clenched her right fist and launched a punch that whooshed past his ear.
‘WHOOOSH—!’
The wind from the punch whipped by.
Acting as if nothing happened, Hiratsuka calmly continued, “Back to the point—because of the strict inspections lately, certain... special students, like you, are subject to periodic monitoring. So...”
“So?” Aoki Kei blinked, puzzled.
“I came up with a solution. But it means you’ll need to clear two days a week from your part-time schedule,” she said. “There’s a club at Shuchiin called the Service Club. I’m the faculty advisor. If you join just in name—I can sneak you past the radar...”
“Sensei, I’m still a student. Should you really be talking to me about ‘sneaking things past the radar’ and shady backroom deals?” Aoki Kei deadpanned.
Hiratsuka rolled her eyes and ignored the comment.
“You’ll join the Service Club on paper. Every Thursday and Friday, when the oversight committees do their rounds, you’ll be there. The rest of the time? You do what you want. How’s that sound?”
Aoki Kei let out a slow breath and seriously considered it.
As far as practical solutions went, this was probably the best Hiratsuka-sensei could come up with.
To be honest, he was deeply grateful to her—for agreeing to help him transfer, for handling the paperwork so quickly, and now, for offering him a way around this new obstacle.
Yeah, she could be a bit intense sometimes, but no doubt about it: Hiratsuka-sensei was a responsible and genuinely good teacher.
…That said, there was still the part-time job to worry about.
Even the nicest bar owner probably wouldn’t tolerate an employee taking off two fixed days every week, never mind the cranky manager at the convenience store.
As Aoki Kei mulled it over, a memory from the day before surfaced: that video about the original rock band project.
This was the universe pushing him to take the leap.
And honestly, what was the worst-case scenario?
He fails, runs out of money, and goes hungry for a while?
He’d already survived eating wild grass off the side of the road when he first came to Tokyo—how much worse could it get?
Still, dealing with Hiratsuka-sensei would be tricky.
If he refused her idea, she’d probably go out of her way to help him in other ways—maybe even dig into his bar job.
And if he explained his situation honestly, she might just try to help again out of concern.
He didn’t want to trouble her any further.
So after thinking it over, he asked, “Thursday and Friday each week, right? About how long would I need to stay at the club?”
“Hm… That part’s a bit fuzzy,” Hiratsuka replied, thinking. “But probably no more than half an hour.”
“I see... That should be fine, then.”
It wasn’t a huge time commitment, so Aoki Kei didn’t have any objections.
Plus, being part of the Service Club meant he could get closer to Yukinoshita Yukino.
And if he ever got truly desperate during finals week, he’d have more chances to poison her or something…
Just kidding.
...Maybe.
But as the thought of Yukinoshita crossed his mind, another question occurred to him.
He asked, “Come to think of it... Sensei, did the club president even agree to let me join just on paper?”
"Of course she did..."
“…”
“Ahahaha...”
