Chapter 41: Obsessive Compulsion

Chapter 41: Obsessive Compulsion

“Damn, Yatsuno!”

When he ran into Miura Akihiko at the school gate, before they had even started greeting each other, the other boy stared at him with a shocked expression.

The exaggerated cry of surprise, completely undisguised, seemed intent on drawing everyone’s attention around them.

Yatsuno Gen looked at him irritably.

“In broad daylight, did you see a ghost or something? Why are you yelling? I haven’t even started exerting myself yet.”

Miura Akihiko:???

He shook his head. “What are you even talking about? Of course I didn’t see a ghost. It’s you.”

“I’m a ghost?”

“No, I mean... did you get taller again?”

Standing beside him, Miura Akihiko straightened his back as much as possible, only to discover a cruel fact. Previously, when they stood together, they were about the same height. But now, Yatsuno Gen’s shoulders were clearly higher than his own.

And he could no longer look directly into his eyes.

Yatsuno Gen looked at him strangely. “Isn’t it normal for high school students to keep growing?”

“Yeah, but you’re growing way too fast. When we entered first year, you were still shorter than me.”

Miura Akihiko gestured as he spoke.

It was true. When Yatsuno Gen left the orphanage, he was only a little over 1.7 metres tall (~5′7″), and back then he looked genuinely thin and frail. Even when he entered his first year of high school, he was only around 1.73 metres (~5′8″), not yet 1.75 metres (~5′9″).

But now, Miura Akihiko was about 1.78 metres tall (~5′10″). Across all of Shoujitsu Private High School, that was already considered a fairly good height. After all, in this country, tall and slender men were not exactly the norm.

He came from a wealthy family, had enjoyed excellent food and clothing since childhood, and had never lacked nutrition. In fact, he had probably received more than enough.

Yet up until now, Yatsuno Gen’s quality of life had not improved much. Instead, he was like a continuously growing tree, becoming increasingly dazzling and increasingly outstanding.

He’s got to be at least 1.8 metres now (~5′11″), Miura Akihiko thought.

Yatsuno Gen laughed. “Some people mature early, some mature late. What’s so strange about that? Or are you just upset because I’m taller than you now?”

In truth, Yatsuno Gen knew the reason himself. It was because of cultivating the cultivation method. Not only had it improved his internal energy and mental strength, but his body was also undergoing transformation day and night.

His bones were developing, becoming sturdier and better suited for exerting force, naturally making his physique stronger as well.

Of course, that did not mean he would eventually become some giant three or four metres tall. That would be a bit too bizarre.

Other people were using a powerful horse to pull a small cart. If he became a heavy transport truck, who could handle that?

Miura Akihiko even reached out and squeezed the muscles on Yatsuno Gen’s arm. His eyes widened even further.

“Damn, you’ve got muscles too? You’ve been secretly working out!”

“Isn’t that normal? I work part-time too. What’s strange about having some muscle definition?”

“You could seriously become a model now. Why are you even studying? With your looks and body, just become a host. One step straight to success.”

Miura Akihiko sighed with admiration.

Yatsuno Gen directly ignored the suggestion.

“I possess a noble soul, so I won’t do something that sells my body.”

“Hm? What if all the customers were girls like Kazama?”

“Then I could consider it.”

“You really are...”

“Ohayo, what are you guys talking about?”

As they reached the entrance of the school building, Kazama Sakura appeared from the other side.

Yatsuno Gen remained calm, but Miura Akihiko was startled. After all, they had just been talking about her.

He immediately stammered, “N-nothing... Oh right, Kazama, have you noticed something?”

“What?”

After appearing, Kazama Sakura naturally moved to Yatsuno Gen’s other side. Although she had originally come from Miura Akihiko’s direction, she deliberately made a detour.

Miura Akihiko did not notice this small detail. Instead, he seriously leaned past Yatsuno Gen and said, “Yatsuno seems to have gotten taller again.”

Kazama Sakura glanced at Yatsuno Gen.

Under the morning sun, the boy still possessed a charm that was impossible to ignore. Golden light fell upon him as though the entire world were celebrating for him, draping him in radiance.

It was a face that made people blush just from looking at it.

Pretending to be completely normal, she rose onto her tiptoes beside him.

“Seems like it. But isn’t high school the time when boys are supposed to grow?”

“He’s growing a little too fast. He looks pretty decent right now, but maybe by the time he graduates he’ll turn into a two-metre giant.”

A two-metre-tall Yatsuno Gen?

If he picked her up...

Wouldn’t she be like a toy?

Kazama Sakura instinctively imagined such a scene.

“Probably not, right?”

“Hard to say. This guy’s too weird.”

“Why are you describing me like some urban legend? That’s enough.”

Yatsuno Gen rolled his eyes at Miura Akihiko, who immediately broke into a mischievous grin.

“I’m just joking. By the way, summer vacation is only a month away. Do you guys have any plans to go somewhere?”

It was already late June, and summer vacation would begin in late July.

A month seemed neither particularly long nor particularly short.

Still, plans made at times like this were usually forgotten by the time the date actually arrived.

Especially among young people. It was not that their memories were poor, but that they loved setting all kinds of goals and making grand vows for themselves, only to forget them entirely a few days later.

Including love.

Kazama Sakura shook her head.

“No plans. I might take a summer job or something.”

“A summer job?”

Miura Akihiko found that somewhat strange.

In his view, a special girl like Kazama Sakura should not be doing such things. She ought to be a happy girl living among flowers and gifts. Only that seemed worthy of her beautiful appearance.

Yatsuno Gen also glanced at Kazama Sakura.

Kazama Sakura did not want to explain too much about her family situation, mainly because she did not want Yatsuno Gen beside her to feel troubled.

Sometimes, boys seemed willing to do many childish things for someone they liked, trying to solve all their problems.

But over time, wouldn’t they become irritated?

Wouldn’t someone who constantly brought trouble eventually become a burden?

She did not want him to dislike her.

She immediately changed the subject.

“What about you, Yatsuno?”

Yatsuno Gen shook his head.

“No plans. I’ll probably work too.”

It was normal enough for Yatsuno Gen to work, but Miura Akihiko hooked an arm around his shoulders.

“What’s so fun about working? Let’s go somewhere. How about Asamizu? It’s a famous summer resort. My treat.”

Yatsuno Gen immediately refused.

“Everyone knows it’s a summer resort, which means there’ll definitely be crowds everywhere. It’ll just be people squeezing past other people.”

“You two are so boring. Is there really nobody willing to go have fun with me during summer vacation?”

Miura Akihiko let out a helpless sigh.

By the time they finished talking, they had already reached the classroom.

After temporarily parting from Kazama Sakura, Miura Akihiko dragged him into a few more random conversations. Only when class finally started did Yatsuno Gen gain some peace and quiet.

Actually, Miura Akihiko was not bad. He was not the type who genuinely annoyed people.

Neither was he weak-willed, irresponsible, or the sort who became jealous of others and secretly sabotaged them.

At most, he simply had not made many close friends, so he liked talking to Yatsuno Gen about everything and was slightly long-winded.

It seemed like an ordinary day of classes.

Things ought to have remained peaceful for the time being.

However, after Sakuraba Yuki’s foreign language class ended, she once again said in front of the entire class,

“Yatsuno Gen, come to my office.”

After calmly saying those words, she left the classroom first.

Many students immediately shifted their gaze toward the handsome boy.

Yatsuno Gen felt somewhat helpless.

Wasn’t she supposed to have a strong sense of boundaries?

Calling him to her office alone again and again. Was she treating him like a Japanese person or something?

Wait.

It seemed he actually was Japanese now.

Sigh.

He stood up and ignored the gazes and the faint whispers around him.

Acting awkward would only make him seem guilty. Naturally, he would not make such a mistake.

Besides, even if he and Sakuraba Yuki had known each other before, their relationship was perfectly innocent now. What was there to feel guilty about?

At least for now, it was still perfectly innocent.

When he arrived at the office, quite a few teachers were still inside.

Sakuraba Yuki sat leisurely at her desk.

The clean teacher’s uniform somehow looked more like something designed to provoke men’s desires when worn by her.

Her impressive figure, and the chest that looked as though it might burst the buttons of her shirt at any moment.

The black stockings reflecting the light seemed to be of a different thickness again, thinner than before, perhaps because the weather was growing hotter.

She did not notice the fleeting glance from Yatsuno Gen.

Instead, she casually handed a form to him.

“I looked into this recently. These are school clubs that should suit you fairly well. Pick one.”

“That fast?”

Yatsuno Gen was surprised.

He had wanted to delay things for a while longer. For the moment, he had little interest in playing house with high school students through school clubs.

Sakuraba Yuki proudly raised an eyebrow.

“Of course. As a teacher, when it comes to students’ matters, efficiency is important.”

“...Putting so much effort into something useless. That’s impressive.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. I said thank you for your hard work, Teacher.”

Clearly having heard something, Sakuraba Yuki glared at him.

There was a certain intimacy in that look.

At least, it did not resemble a normal teacher-student relationship.

Yatsuno Gen took the list and looked through it.

There were quite a few bizarre club names.

[SOS Research Club]

What anime world did this one come from?

[Afternoon Nap Management Club]

I don’t take naps.

[Anonymous Confession Agency Club]

Why make confessions sound so creepy?

[Dessert Research Club]

This was probably the most normal club Yatsuno Gen had seen so far.

Still, it looked familiar.

If he remembered correctly, Kazama Sakura belonged to this club.

Objectively speaking, it suited him quite well. After all, he could cook too.

The only problem was that there were too many girls.

He did not like places where large groups of girls gathered. They were always filled with endless gossip and various tiny private conflicts and cliques.

Yatsuno Gen continued scanning downward.

Then he saw it.

[Life-Wasting Club]

He immediately raised his head and looked at Sakuraba Yuki.

“If I absolutely have to choose one, I’ll pick this.”

Unexpectedly, Sakuraba Yuki showed no surprise at all.

On the contrary, it seemed she had anticipated this outcome.

A mysterious smile appeared on her face.

It was somehow a little unsettling.

“I knew you’d choose this one. Good. I’ll take you there at lunchtime to complete the paperwork.”

Yatsuno Gen frowned, suppressing the strange feeling in his heart.

“Is there really any need to be this considerate? Doesn’t Teacher Sakuraba have anything else to do?”

Sakuraba Yuki smiled faintly.

“A teacher’s job is naturally to take care of every student. If I don’t personally take you there, who knows whether you’ll deliberately find some excuse not to join or try to fool me?”

“...Teacher Sakuraba, do you have obsessive-compulsive disorder or something?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Why do you always like forcing me?”

“Get lost. Stop saying useless things. Get ready. I’ll contact them, and I’ll take you over there at lunchtime.”