I, Who Have Been Tasked With Taking Care of the Beautiful Young Lady of the Class, Am Troubled by the Heavy Affection Directed Towards Me

Wash my back!?

“You don’t have to do that! No, in fact, why did you come in while I’m taking a bath?”

She didn’t seem surprised that I was inside. And the fact that she offered to wash my back means that she knew I was inside.

“I heard from the attendant that Kimi-kun was taking a bath, so I thought I’d wash your back for you.”

“I see…. Thank you, but I can wash my back by myself without you going through the trouble, you know? Besides, the issue here is you are a girl and I am a boy!”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“How can I not worry about it!”

Rather, why isn’t she worrying about it?!

I don’t know if it’s because I’m in the bath or if she always does this, but Shiratori-san has a towel wrapped around her body.

So, there shouldn’t be any strange accidents, but even so, it’s normal to feel a little embarrassed, right?

“Does Shiratori-san not see me as a man at all, and only see me as a work partner?”

If that’s the case, it would be better for me not to be overly conscious of it, and I wanted her to confirm it. However….

“No, I think I’m feeling the strongest awareness of you as a man, right now….”

It seems she does see me as a man… But then, why is she so calm about it? I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

As I was lost in my own thoughts, Shiratori-san said, “Hey, can we talk about it while I wash your back?” And her expression turned serious.

“Talk…?”

“Yeah, I have something important to me that I want to tell you.”

Although I was confused earlier, since Shiratori-san said that she wanted to have a serious conversation, I decided to temporarily forget that we were in the bath together and focus on the conversation while she washed my back.

“Until I entered high school, there wasn’t a single person in this world who I actively wanted to become friends with.”

“Huh… Not a single person?”

“Yeah, of course, I became friends with people who approached me and talked to me, but I never really felt that I wanted to become their friend… because they only understood me at a surface level.”

Surely, me and Shiratori-san are people of different worlds. We see things differently.

“So when I entered high school, I thought I wouldn’t be able to meet anyone I wanted to become friends with. People—who were attracted to the “Shiratori” name—started approaching me, so I thought I might as well spend my high school years with those people. Just like I did many years before…. However, something different happened.”

“Different…?”

“Soon after entering school, I accidentally overheard a conversation between two boys.”

“What was the content of the conversation…?”

◇◇◇◇◇◇

Beginning of highschool.

“Hey, do you know that Shiratori girl in the next class?”

As I was walking down the hallway, I heard the voices of two boys talking about me from around the corner, where they couldn’t see me.

I thought they were probably talking about how I’m another rich girl or something like that, but for some reason, I decided to have a listen.

“Shiratori…? I don’t know her.”

“Seriously? She’s rich, beautiful, and rumour has it that she got the highest score on the entrance exam!”

Here it comes, that’s what I thought.

In the end, even in high school, it’s the same. Elementary school students, middle school students, high school students, university students, working adults… Everyone only sees what’s on the outside.

I was about to leave, thinking that even if I were to listen any further, it would just be the same old story… but the voice of the other boy stopped me in my tracks.

“I didn’t know much about school because I was busy with my part-time job. But turns out there was someone else in the same grade who was struggling as well.”

“Huh…!?”

Struggling…?

No one had ever said that I was struggling after hearing my story, so I was surprised and unintentionally stopped in my tracks.

“Struggling? How is she struggling?”

“Well, being beautiful can be a headache. And furthermore, she is smart, so that means she takes her grades seriously, which can bring a lot of pressure on her shoulders. And being rich may seem like a merit, but it also means one has to deal with pressure from family and what not. She must be dealing with struggles that we can’t even imagine… Maybe you wouldn’t last three days in her place.”

After hearing that conversation, I was enveloped in a sensation I had never felt before, and it struck a chord in my heart.

No one had ever understood me or even bothered to get to know me before, but this boy, who didn’t even know me, seemed to understand me.

“Even in middle school, I was in the basketball club, and I planned to continue playing basketball in high school, so I have confidence in my physical strength. How could you say I wouldn’t last three days?!”

“Man, I really had this thought since the entrance exam: are you an idiot?”

“Huh?! Tell me your rank in the entrance exam!”

“What I mean has nothing to do with academics or actual intelligence. I am talking about intellect. You’re an idiot in that regard… By the way, I ranked 22nd.”

“Ugh… That’s nine ranks higher than me…”

“What?! You’re 31st out of 167 students in the year?!… Sorry, you might not be very smart, but you are not bad academically either.”

“Kou~!! Let’s settle this in the upcoming physical tests!”

After that, their conversation turned more mundane, but for some reason, I really wanted to see that person’s face, so I peaked from around the corner.

One of them had brown hair styled with wax, and the other had black hair without any flashy features… However, I was captivated by something in him, and our eyes met. The moment I saw the black-haired boy, an emotion I had never felt before sprouted within me.

With that emotion alone, my high school life became much more enjoyable than all my previous school years combined.

◇Present◇

“…That’s the story, and I’m sorry it got so long.”

“No, it was a good story that allowed me to get to know Shiratori-san better… But it did surprise me a little.”

“What surprised you?”

“When I first entered school, I somehow heard a similar story about Shiratori-san and thought the same thing.”

“…Yeah, I think that might be true.”

Looking at Shiratori-san’s face reflected in the mirror, she seemed to be smiling a little.

“But my current thoughts are different.”

“…Huh? Different?”

“Yes, now… Although I can’t say for sure, I feel like Shiratori-san is working really hard.”

“Working hard…! It’s you who’s working hard.”

“Huh? Did I say something wrong?”

“No! Nothing at all….”

After that, while Shiratori-san washed my back, I washed my body by myself and soaked in the bath. Even though it was already a big deal to be in the same bath together, if we were to bathe together, I wouldn’t be able to calm my mind. So, when Shiratori-san was about to wash her body and get in the bath, I left the changing room first.

“Kimi-kun is really cool…!”

After changing and leaving the changing room, I didn’t know where to go, so I decided to go back to Shiratori-san’s room for now.

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