Chapter 174: Supporting a High School Girl!

After returning to the classroom, all the classmates watched Himekoji with weird expressions.

What exactly did he do to the newly transferred Shiina-san?

Their glances, constantly sweeping over, seemed to whisper about this topic.

Luckily, his reputation as a Pervert still held some weight. No one dared to be so tactless as to ask him directly.

But regardless, being stared at like that made him uncomfortable all over.

As a result, Himekoji spent the entire day feeling awkward during class.

……

School ended.

Himekoji remained in the classroom to continue copying his self-reflection essay.

Almost finished.

The classroom emptied as classmates drifted away, leaving just Himekoji…

No, wait. One more person.

Aoyama Nanami.

“What are you doing?”

Her single ponytail swayed as it traced a slight arc. The girl asked knowingly.

“Copying my self-reflection essay, obviously. Aren’t you leaving? No part-time job today?”

He recognized her voice. Himekoji kept writing furiously without looking up.

“Didn’t we agree? I’d go to your place to pick up Hikari?”

Huh?

So that morning’s comment was serious?

“Where will you take her?”

Dorm rules didn’t allow pets. That’s why Himekoji had agreed to look after the cat for Nanami.

“I’ll… find somewhere.”

Nanami answered vaguely, staring hard at the blackboard as if pondering seriously.

“Maybe…”

She started to speak again but stopped abruptly at a loud “Grrrrowwl…”

“……”

“…………”

Nanami’s face flushed. Her gaze floated away. Himekoji pretended not to hear.

After a pause and seeing his reaction, she relaxed, feigning calm:

“Maybe… I could ask Sensei to keep her at the teacher’s apartment?”

“Grrrrowwl—”

Her stomach interrupted again, rudely.

“…Ahem!”

Nanami suddenly coughed.

Likely trying to cover up the embarrassing noise.

Himekoji finally couldn’t ignore it. He glanced sideways at her.

“Huh? Weird. My throat feels… scratchy.”

Nanami gave a clumsy, unnecessary explanation.

“That thing pays your future bills. Take care of it.”

Her dream was becoming a voice actor. She took rigorous lessons for that goal.

“Y-yeah. You’re right.”

“Grrrowl!”

“Hey.”

Himekoji couldn’t keep pretending.

“It’s nothing!”

Nanami waved her hands wildly, face blazing crimson.

“GRRRrrowl!”

Her stomach betrayed her thoroughly…

“Gaaaah—seriously! What is wrong?!”

Nanami clutched her stomach, nearly frantic.

“My words exactly! I was pretending not to notice! Why keep growling?!”

“It’s not like I want it making noise! Since it came to this… why didn’t you just keep pretending?!”

“Don’t get angry out of shame!”

“Just… annoying!”

Nanami turned her face away.

Her ears glowed bright red. She mumbled indistinctly.

Even though it was her own fault, she blamed Himekoji.

Himekoji pulled Baumkuchen, saved for Mashiro, from his bag and handed it to Nanami.

“Look, starving yourself often like this isn’t a solution.”

Himekoji knew her struggles. But he struggled to phrase it, aware of her pride. She rarely accepted help, even pure kindness.

“No thanks. I’m dieting.”

“You’re not chubby enough for that.”

“You haven’t seen.”

Nanami pouted, slightly hunched, pressing both hands against her belly.

Yet her eyes glowed hungrily, fixed on the Baumkuchen like cursed prey.

Truly reluctant.

“How’d you know I haven’t seen?”

Naïve!

Himekoji, being a pervert, totally spied on the girls!

Otherwise, he’d be falsely labelled, getting no perks! That’d be unfair.

So, meeting everyone’s expectations—

The System rigged it. Once, he sneaked into the changing room. Peeking. Scanning every inch. Left, right, up, down—BABA! He witnessed every girl’s vibrant, youthful body!

Nanami’s measurements were 81/58/83. Himekoji remembered them clearly.

He just didn’t know if they still were.

Maybe they got bigger?

After all, girls are still growing at that age, you know.

But after thinking about her usual diet, Himekoji quickly dismissed that rather unrealistic guess.

Not likely, not likely at all. Nanami was simply not getting enough nutrition!

“You… you’ve seen them?! I’ll cut you down!”

Nanami exploded in anger.

“Just kidding! Kidding! Come on, eat up.”

He shoved it into her hand without waiting for a reply.

“How much?”

“No need.”

“You’re a student too. I can’t just take it for free.”

Such a serious and meticulous personality—that was typical Nanami.

“Then one hundred yen, plus sales tax.”

Nanami took out her coin purse and turned it upside down on the table. Out fell three coins—two ten-yen coins and one one-yen coin. Twenty-one yen total.

“What kind of comedy sketch is this?”

“This is all I have right now… I can’t even use my phone this month…”

“No way…”

“Hey, could you stop looking at me like that? My part-time job pays this weekend! It’s totally fine!”

No, it definitely looked like a problem…

“So, what will you do until then? Starve? Please, I’m begging you, eat the Baumkuchen. Seeing this hurts almost physically! Please. Eat it.”

Himekoji dramatically clutched his chest, pretending to be in pain.

No, it wasn’t all pretend; he actually did feel a pang of sympathy.

“Well… since you went that far… remember, I’ll pay you back as soon as I get my pay.”

Himekoji mumbled a vague reply and handed her the Baumkuchen.

She took it, unwrapped it, and immediately took a huge bite—then promptly choked.

“You should eat it slowly!”

Himekoji put down the pen he was holding. He’d finished copying notes while they talked.

He stood up and awkwardly patted Nanami’s back.

It didn’t seem to help much, though.

So he made a special trip to the vending machine by the stairs and bought Nanami a box of black tea in an aluminum foil pack.

He stuck in a straw and handed it to the girl.

“Gah… I thought I was going to die… Thanks…”

“I don’t want to be a killer, so you’d better be careful. ‘The Baumkuchen Murder Incident. The Baumkuchen witnessed it all.’ Definitely don’t want that…”

“Me either!”

Nanami glared fiercely at Himekoji.

“But it’s not my fault. See, since yesterday noon, I haven’t eaten anything in almost a full day.”

“Huh? But even with no money, the dorms usually provide meals, right? Breakfast and dinner are included in the lodging fees.”

“I told you I’m broke.”

“You’ve got twenty-one yen.”

Protest radiated from Nanami’s icy stare.

“That sentence felt packed with malice.”

“Well? What happened?”

“I’m… a little behind on my dorm fees.”

“A little… how much?”

“About three months…”

“Is that ‘a little’?”

Himekoji couldn’t help rolling his eyes in exasperation.

“Seriously, Nanami, what even is your definition of ‘a little’?”

“So my meals got cut off.”

“Oh. Said as casually as the water or power getting shut off.”

“The school gave an ultimatum. If I don’t pay this month, they’ll talk to my parents.”

Having started, Nanami poured it all out. Even someone proud and independent like her needed to vent sometimes.

Of course, she’d never thought she’d confide in this pervert.

“I remember your parents…”

“Yeah. They never liked that I left home. I want to be a seiyuu, so I have to earn my living costs myself. No causing trouble for others. No relying on family. Those were the rules for letting me go to Toyosaki. If they find out I can’t pay rent… it’s bad. They’d definitely drag me back to Osaka.”

“I see.”

Himekoji pondered it quietly. Knowing Nanami’s character, things might be worse than she let on.

“The tuition for my advanced seiyuu class is already paid. I’ll just work tons more during summer break! I’ve found another part-time job.”

Nanami smiled then—strong, optimistic, and diligent.

Seeing her like that made you instantly want to help her, straight from the heart.

If not for that pervert System, maybe Himekoji himself would have been like Nanami?

Of course, that was just ‘if’…

Come to think of it, before the System woke up, his life was much like Nanami’s too. Maybe not quite as tough.

Back then, he worked while studying. The money his foster parents gave him was silently saved, every single yen untouched…

Sigh, getting sidetracked.

Himekoji refocused and continued.

“But during summer, you still have to pay dorm fees, don’t you?”

“Yeah. That’s why I’m worried.”

Nanami sighed.

Still, pressing her lips together, sitting upright and straight in her chair, she looked determined—like she absolutely could handle this herself.

“Well then… move into my place?”

“Your place?”

Nanami’s shoulders twitched, faintly. Slowly, disbelievingly, she turned her head to look at Himekoji.

“Yeah. My place.”

Himekoji nodded seriously. He wasn’t joking.

One person living there or two people living there was the same.

Plus, if Nanami moved in, he could naturally foist Mashiro’s care onto her.

It was the perfect solution for the “Cohabitation Mission”, wasn’t it?

……

“Stop worrying about others. Worry about yourself a lot more first.”

The image of the female teacher surfaced in his mind again, her troubled face from that morning as she spoke—

“But Sensei… I’ve been thinking of nothing but myself…”

What else could he do, except stubbornly cling to his foolish, foolish method?

……