In mid-April, the morning sun streaming through the train windows conveys the warmth of spring.
「Gueh…」
However, the warmth of human bodies pressed against me in the crowded morning train, which I had just started taking this month after making my high school debut, was quite tough to endure.
But, complaining about it won’t suddenly double the number of trains, so every morning, I decide to evolve into an adult who has realized the absurdity of the world with just one groan.
Yeah, I’m commendable.
It’s a daily cycle of evolution and devolution.
「……」
Gatan goton, gatan goton.
As I indulge in these meaningless thoughts, the train continues to move forward.
Since I’ve entered adult mode, let’s think about something more productive.
For example… it’s still early days since enrollment, so let’s try to remember the characteristics of my classmates that might be useful at school.
Um, first is me, right?
A normal male high school student who failed spectacularly at his “high school debut” during self-introductions, receiving only dry applause from the entire class. The reason for the failure was probably my “My hobby is reading. Nice to meet you” self-introduction that made everyone think “So what?”.
Definitely gray.
There were a few cute girls in class, but they were all taken by the outgoing guys. Well, I guess I brought it on myself.
However, I’m not exactly a loner, as I have one best friend from middle school, so I won’t end up spending most of my time in the bathroom.
「……Ah.」
And, well, I don’t feel obliged to remember the outgoing guys who stole my rosy prospects, so I’ll skip them.
There was one person who stood out strongly.
Let me clarify that the past tense here doesn’t apply to “person”, but rather to “stood out strongly”, which has now completely disappeared.
『Ah, um… I don’t really have any hobbies. N-Nice to meet you…』
In short, that person failed at their “high school debut” even more than I did.
Female.
Bangs grown long enough to cover her eyes, suspiciously shining black-rimmed glasses, rarely speaks and has a default slouch, making it hard to tell if she has a good figure or not, a typical plain girl.
She left the hobby section blank in her self-introduction, giving no information to anyone, leaving a strong impression of no impression, currently a progressing loner.
Fortunately or unfortunately, no one went to tease this plain girl, so there’s one ultimate lonely girl in my class who you can’t even tell if she’s there or not… no, who doesn’t bother anyone at all.
Her name was… umm…
「……」
Come on, remember.
She’s one of your precious first high school classmates.
「……」
……
…………
…………Ah.
Satou. Satou Ayane.
A surname with high stealth capabilities combined with a somehow normally cute first name.
Yeah, I remember now.
…No, what do I mean by “somehow”? That’s rude.
Actually, the first half is pretty rude too.
「…Haa.」
Although it’s just begun, let’s end this topic here.
Having decided that with a small sigh, I secretly enjoyed the game of becoming an immovable king, not moving my body at all until we reached the station near school.
A few minutes passed.
「…Hm?」
I was absorbed in my solo game of “Daruma-san ga Koronda”, but at the next station, I was jostled by the wave of people and realized it was impossible, so I turned my body 180 degrees, and was even pushed towards the corner…
That’s when I caught sight of a familiar figure and let out a voice.
Black hair grown wild and unchecked.
Trademark black-rimmed glasses on her eyes. Her entire body wrapped in the girls’ uniform of my high school, a beauty… not exactly, a female high school student.
The plain girl, Satou Ayane, whom I had just been thinking about, was standing in the corner of the train.
I had a lot of things to say, like “Was she always going in this direction?” or “Isn’t it impossible to open a vocabulary book in this crowd?” or “She’s surprisingly serious”…
「……」
But I thank my mother for giving birth to me with a height over 175 cm.
Because if I didn’t have a certain height, I wouldn’t have been able to see Satou surrounded by a wall of people.
I wouldn’t have noticed the man pressing closely against Satou’s back in the crowded train.
──A molester.
That’s what I intuit.
Through the gaps between people, I can see her skirt unnaturally lifted.
This is… happening in real-time.
The man’s hand reaching downwards is likely ending up on Satou’s buttocks inside her skirt.
As evidence, since I found Satou, she hasn’t turned a single page of her vocabulary book. Moreover, Satou’s back is unnaturally straight. Her default is a slouch.
I need to help her right away.
…But what if the man gets angry and attacks me?
Unfortunately, I have no experience in martial arts.
──Light Novels──
──Read Here──
No, but──who cares about that.
Satou must be really scared right now.
If I’m the only one who notices, then I have to go help her.
That would surely be more appreciated by the timid Satou.
「Good morning, Satou-san.」
「……!?」
I somehow push my way through the crowd, pull the man’s hand out from under the skirt, and casually greet Satou.
Satou’s shoulders jump as she looks at me.
Ahh… she’s about to cry.
「H-Hinata-kun…!」
「Oh, you remembered me. That’s right, Hinata Kaoru. We were on the same train.」
While saying this, I hold down the struggling man’s hand…
「Tch…」
「Uwa, seriously the worst.」
The man forcefully escapes my grip, clicks his tongue loudly one last time, and flees to another car.
「Ahh…」
「Otto.」
As Satou, relieved from the tension, seems about to collapse, I support her, and she leans her face against my chest, apparently unable to put any strength into her body.
I want to say various things to her, but it’s not the place to talk loudly…
「Can I borrow this for a sec?」
「……?」
I take the vocabulary book from the puzzled Satou.
Fully utilizing my hobby of reading, I find the word I’m looking for and point to its Japanese translation.
『Molester?』
「……(nods)」
It seems she understood my intention.
Satou nods briefly, then moves away from me to lean against the wall.
…So that guy really was a molester.
Seriously, what a weirdo… well, I guess being a high school girl gives you a certain value.
…No, that’s way too rude. I regret saying that.
『Are you okay?』
「……(……nods)」
We continue to communicate somehow using the vocabulary book and gestures, but her right hand doesn’t let go of my uniform.
Although she said she’s fine, her whole body is clearly still tense, making me smile wryly.
「Don’t worry. I’m here with you now.」
「……Y-Yes.」
I have no choice but to whisper in her ear at the lowest volume, and Satou awkwardly smiles and gently lets go of my uniform.
I feel embarrassed by my own overly cool line, but if it made Satou feel even a little bit safer, then it’s worth it.
I can’t exactly let her keep holding onto my uniform until we reach school.
Until we arrived at the station near the school, I stayed by Satou’s side the whole time.
We didn’t talk, and of course, we weren’t close enough to ride the train together, but well, there was no place or timing to move anyway.
Kiiii, the sound of brakes.
Pshuuuu, the doors open, and a wave of people rushes out all at once.
「Then, see you at school.」
「Ah…」
Naturally, we were heading to the same place, but I thought Satou might feel uncomfortable staying with a guy right after being molested, so I say goodbye and start walking.
I step out the door, onto the yellow panel, and towards the ticket gate──
「U-Um!」
「……Hm?」
Just as I was about to head out, I hear the same voice from behind and stop in my tracks.
「What’s up?」
「Ah, um, well…」
When I turned around, she seemed surprised by her own loud voice.
Fidgeting… enough time passed for the train we got off to depart, and almost only Satou and I were left on the platform.
「Um… thank you very much.」
Satou bites her lip, her eyes wide open as she looks at me, her voice trembling with nervousness…
「Then… see you at school…!」
After bowing deeply to express her gratitude, she dashed down the stairs at an incredible speed.
「…She’s kind of restless.」
Watching her slender back disappear, I muttered softly and slowly followed after her.
「……!?」
「……」
And two minutes later, Satou and I met again on the bus.