Chapter 8: The Trash Scion's Close Call
On a weekend morning, I woke up in a wide, incredibly soft bed.
Ever since taking on the role of a shadow double, I've been living alone.
My home is a luxury high-rise apartment located fairly close to the school.
It's a property owned by an affiliate of Hoshimiya Central, arranged for me by Chairman Genzou. The furniture and home appliances inside are all high-end items.
You could say my ordinary life has completely transformed into a luxurious celebrity lifestyle... but honestly...
"Sigh... Every day is just so exhausting..."
Living a life where you're surrounded by girls at school every day—described like that, it sounds incredibly glamorous.
However, I have a secret. The secret that I'm Hoshimiya Eitarou's shadow double.
It's a secret that absolutely cannot be discovered by any of the students.
The heavy pressure of continuously hiding my true identity casts a shadow that completely overshadows all that glamorous radiance.
...Have I actually managed to become something?...
One of the reasons I accepted the shadow double mission was the attractive compensation. Chairman Genzou is providing full financial assistance for my tuition and living expenses, along with support for my future.
But I have a bigger goal than the reward.
I wanted to throw away the boring life I'd led up through middle school and try living as someone else.
I thought that by doing so, I might discover a new side of myself.
Did I find it? Did I find the meaning of life by becoming a different person?
I don't know.
Touka, Mao, and Uine—well, Uine is a bit of a handful—but they would all probably be fun to hang out with if we just had normal conversations.
But I have to interact with them as Hoshimiya Eitarou.
I avoid getting close to anyone, spending my days off holding my breath alone at home.
I feel like this isn't much different from the gray youth I wanted to throw away.
As I vaguely pondered these things, I looked at the clock on my desk and saw that it was past 10:00 AM. Between the daily mental fatigue and everything else, it seemed I had overslept.
When I got out of bed and changed clothes, my stomach let out a growl. It was already close to lunchtime.
While I was hesitating about what to eat for lunch, a message arrived on my smartphone.
The sender's name displayed was Akiji Kaede.
"Eitarou-sama. Are you experiencing any troubles on your day off?"
It seemed she had contacted me out of concern for me spending my time alone.
About an hour later, I was with Kaede at a fast-food restaurant in the shopping district.
I was wearing a hat and sunglasses, making me look exactly like an entertainer traveling incognito.
Kaede, on the other hand, was dressed in a jacket and skirt that looked perfectly proper, much like a uniform.
"Hmm... So this is what you call a hamburger..."
Sitting across from me at a window seat on the second floor, Kaede held the hamburger wrapper with both hands and took a bite.
"You've never had one?"
"I always ate my meals at home, so I never had the opportunity."
She mumbled as she chewed, a little ketchup smeared at the corner of her mouth.
To think it was her first time eating a hamburger—as expected of a member of the upper class. ...But then again, if you rarely get the chance to eat out, maybe it's to be expected.
"Sorry about today. Making you keep me company for lunch."
"Please do not worry about it. If anything, I only wish I could look after you more."
"Just having you here to talk to helps me out. I felt like going back to my real self for the first time in a while. It's tough having to play the part of someone else all the time."
Kaede had taken on the role of being my confidante.
But originally, we just happened to be attending the same school. Chairman Genzou had thoughtfully explained the situation to her beforehand and asked her to keep an eye on me.
She had her own school life to lead, so I couldn't make her worry too much.
Even so, just for today, I had relied on her to create some time for me to relax.
"If I am acceptable, I will keep you company anytime."
Swallowing her bite of hamburger, she smiled gently.
After we spent about thirty minutes like that, the restaurant began to crowd up with the lunchtime rush.
It happened when we went down to the first floor to leave the store.
Two female students from my class were waiting in line in front of the counter.
"This is bad. Let's go before they spot us."
To keep them from noticing, I pulled my hat down over my eyes, kept my face down, and headed for the exit.
However, as I tried to dodge past the people in the crowded store, I lightly bumped into someone else.
It was only a slight impact, but my sunglasses slipped down.
"Kei? Isn't that Kei! What are you doing in a place like this?"
When I looked back, the other person was a boy around my age.
He was hanging out in a group of three, but I recognized one of them. I'd heard that casual nickname, 'Kei', more times than I could count.
He was a boy who had been my classmate in middle school. We weren't particularly good friends, but we had chatted decently enough.
"What are you doing here...?"
"My old man got transferred, so I go to a high school near here now. Are you going to school around here too, Kei? What a coincidence."
I couldn't exactly tell him that I was acting as Hoshimiya Eitarou's shadow double.
I hastily pushed my sunglasses back up and played dumb.
"O-Oh, you have the wrong person. I'm not this Kei guy."
"You look exactly like Kei, no matter how you look at it. You recognized me just now, didn't you. ...Hm?"
He turned his gaze toward Kaede, who was standing right behind me.
"Whoa, hey! You've got a cute girl with you!? Is she your girlfriend, Kei!?"
Several customers waiting in line at the counter turned to look at his loud outburst.
"Like I said, you have the wrong person. ...Let's go."
I took Kaede's hand and began to walk briskly, slipping past them.
"Kei! Come on, introduce us! ...What the heck is up with him?"
"An acquaintance of yours?"
"Just a middle school classmate. He was kind of a forgettable guy with no presence, you know?"
Hearing those voices behind my back, I exited the store.
I stopped once we were a good distance away and finally let go of Kaede's hand.
"Ah... Are you all right, Eitarou-sama...?"
Perhaps because we had been walking so fast, Kaede's face was faintly flushed.
"S-Sorry. I panicked and grabbed you too hard. Did it hurt?"
"No, it is perfectly fine. ...Who were those people just now?"
"It looks like I bumped into a middle school classmate. We won't be seeing him again, so don't worry about it."
Regardless, from now on, I had to thoroughly maintain my shadow double persona even out in the city.
Afterward, I walked Kaede home before returning to my own apartment.
Once the weekend was over, I would be Hoshimiya Eitarou once again.
☆
On Monday after the weekend, the class representatives gave their reports during homeroom.
Mao and I were standing on the podium at the front of the classroom, explaining the Founding Anniversary Party to be held next month.
"—And so, anyone who wishes for their guardians to attend the party must submit the application form to the class representatives by the deadline. Are there any questions?"
A few hands went up, and I answered them one by one.
Once the questions died down, Mao, who was standing next to me, softly whispered in my ear.
"Hoshimiya-kun. You really do take your class representative duties seriously, don't you."
A delighted smile formed on her lips.
"Well, I'm the one who will be carrying the Hoshimiya name in the future. I'll properly handle the work I'm given."
I answered while playing the part of the Hoshimiya family scion.
Toward the end of the report, I heard a girl in the front row talking to another student.
"Hey, is Hoshimiya-kun dating Akiji-san from the next class?"
"Wait, seriously!? That serious-looking girl is his girlfriend!?"
I turned around at the alarming content of their conversation and saw the female student who had been at the fast-food restaurant the other day.
It seemed she had witnessed the scene where I ran into my middle school classmate.
If people misunderstood and thought she was dating a womanizing scion, it would cause trouble for Kaede.
"W-What are you talking about? She and I aren't in that kind of relationship. The Hoshimiya family and her family are relatives; we've known each other for a long time."
I hastily denied it.
However, the girls were unconvinced, directing even more suspicious glares my way.
"Are you really just acquaintances?"
Even the boys in the surrounding seats started joining in on the conversation.
"There's no way Hoshimiya would find a cute girl and not make a move on her."
"Ah, I get it. A secret date on a weekend, huh."
Furthermore, the girl who had spotted us spoke up as if she had just remembered something.
"Oh, right, he was talked to by an acquaintance or something, but Hoshimiya-kun, you were called by some weird nickname, weren't you? Kei... or something like that..."
I felt the blood drain from my face.
That was the one point I absolutely could not allow them to pry into.
"T-That was apparently a case of mistaken identity..."
"But didn't you rush out like you were running away?"
This was bad. The more I opened my mouth, the deeper I dug my own grave.
My mind went completely blank, and I had no idea how to get through this situation...
"Too bad, Hoshimiya-kun. If you're going after Akiji-san, you're wasting your time."
A voice echoed, drowning out the classroom's commotion.
It was Touka. She was staring at me, a cold smile on her lips.
"Because she already knows exactly what kind of man you are, Hoshimiya-kun. That you're a scumbag who's only interested in a girl's body."
Touka, what are you saying...?
Not understanding what she meant, I stared back at her.
Then, as if giving me a signal, Touka gave me a light wink.
...Did Touka just throw me a lifeline?...
My mind began working again, and Hoshimiya Eitarou resurrected within me.
"Are you kidding me! No wonder she gave me the cold shoulder after I tried so hard to woo her. And it's a total misunderstanding that I'm only interested in bodies!"
Sigh... I let out a massive sigh in front of the entire class.
"So you actually were trying to hit on Akiji-san!?"
"So what? Even I fail sometimes. Hoshimiya Eitarou isn't going to get depressed over something like this. The ironclad rule of hitting on girls is to cast a wide net!"
Saying that, I looked around at the girls in the class.
"Hold on, don't you dare try hitting on me!?"
While some girls flatly rejected me...
"Hmm, I wonder what I should do~"
...There were also girls being suggestive.
"Don't screw around, Hoshimiya! Stop going after every girl you see!"
Complaints flew in from the boys.
While putting on a frivolous smirk, I breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed everyone's minds had completely moved on from the topic of Akiji-san. The questions about the name "Kei" had vanished into thin air, too.
"Hoshimiya-kun! We're in the middle of homeroom! Everyone, please be quiet!"
At Mao's voice, the rowdy students fell silent and faced the podium again.
I cast a quick glance in Touka's direction.
She was listening to the class representative's words as if nothing had happened.
Why did Touka throw me a lifeline?
☆
The day after my close call, I went back to being Hoshimiya Eitarou at school as usual.
There was no sign of yesterday's suspicions being brought back up.
When the lunch break arrived, I headed to the small room in the corner of Building No. 3.
The Equipment Storage Room. Once I went inside, I found her sitting there today as well, eating her bento alone.
"Mind if I join you?"
Touka, who had been looking out the window, gave a slight turn of her head.
"That's rare. Do as you like."
I sat down on the floor a short distance away from her and opened my bento box.
After we had continued eating in silence for a while, I casually asked her a question.
"Why are you always alone, Touka? Don't you try making friends?"
"I wouldn't mind making them, but I don't want people prying into my business."
"Prying? Are you hiding a secret too, Touka?"
"What do you mean, 'too'?"
"No, well, I just figured everyone has a secret or two they don't want anyone else to know."
Hearing that, she fell silent for a moment, as if searching for the right words.
"I don't have any secrets. Rather... I have nothing at all."
"If you don't have any, why don't you want people prying?"
"All I have is my position as the daughter of the Rindou family. I'm just an empty person living solely for the Rindou family... Maybe I'm just afraid of people finding that out."
Those words—an empty person—lingered in my ears.
Up until middle school, I had felt that I was the kind of person who didn't matter whether I was there or not. Even now, my true self was no different than back then.
The way she expressed it was different, but her feelings might be similar to mine.
However, she had a strong presence in the class. Why was she empty?
It's not like I knew Touka all that well. I didn't know her true feelings, why she wanted to know my real identity so badly, or why she had saved me from my crisis.
"Why are you so insistent on making me admit that I'm a fake, Touka?"
"Let's see... Maybe because I'm interested."
"What's so interesting about it?"
"You're hiding another personality beneath the face of Hoshimiya Eitarou. A different face visible behind the frivolous womanizer. That's what I think."
"Even if I was hiding something like that, what are you going to do once you find out?"
"For an empty person with nothing like me, it feels like an unknown entity, and it stimulates my curiosity. What is that other face thinking? Why are you playing this public role? Maybe there's something there that I'm lacking."
The other face behind the scion. Did she mean my true self?
"...There's nothing. I don't have any hidden face."
"What's that supposed to mean? Are you still going to insist that you're the real Hoshimiya Eitarou? Or are you trying to say that you're an empty person too?"
"..."
Touka had completely seen through the fact that I was a shadow double.
Knowing that, she had still prevented my true identity from being exposed during homeroom.
"You did something to help me yesterday. Why?"
"Akiji-san knows your true identity, doesn't she? I don't mean the womanizer thing, I mean your true identity."
"I..."
To be honest, I was debating whether or not I should just tell her my secret.
She was convinced. And I owed her for saving me.
Besides, judging from her behavior so far, even if she knew my true identity, she seemed like she would keep quiet about it to everyone else.
"I am... Hoshimiya Eitarou."
However, that was how I introduced myself. Hiding my identity was a condition of my contract as a shadow double.
Touka lowered her eyes, looking slightly disappointed.
"I have my reasons right now for not being able to have a romance with anyone. That's my secret."
"What kind of reasons?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Even though you've been relentlessly hitting on girls?"
"Yes, even though I'm hitting on them."
I knew it myself. This was practically a confession. It was basically an answer confirming that her conviction was correct.
"Then what about 'Kei'? It doesn't seem to have any connection to the name 'Hoshimiya Eitarou'."
"...It's just that I used to be called by that nickname a long time ago. 'Ei' in 'Eitarou' and 'Kei' sound pretty similar, don't they?"
"Hmm... Well then, can I call you 'Kei-kun' too?"
"Why?"
"Because I want to. Okay? Kei-kun."
The name she spoke at that moment sounded incredibly soft and pleasant to my ears.
It definitely wasn't the English letter 'K'.
It was a nickname filled with affection.
"Well, I don't mind. Just please don't do it in front of other people."
"Of course, I'll only use it when it's just the two of us."
"Also, just so there's no misunderstanding, I'm Hoshimiya Eitarou, alright?"
"Yes, yes, I know. Mr. Scion of the Hoshimiya Family."
She was beaming with a smile.
It wasn't as if I had admitted to being the shadow double.
But having explained a little bit of my circumstances, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders.
It seemed I didn't need to put on much of an act in front of her anymore.
"By the way, there's one more thing. It's really important, so I need you to tell me without hiding anything."
Touka leaned in toward me, her expression turning dead serious.
"Why so formal all of a sudden? What is it?"
"You aren't a-c-t-u-a-l-l-y dating Akiji-san, right?"
She was completely serious. The look in her eyes was incredibly serious. It didn't look like she would forgive even the slightest bit of deception.
"I'm not dating her! I'm telling you, we aren't dating!"
"That's fine, then."
She immediately returned to her bright smile.
...No, for some reason, she looked even happier than before.
At any rate, this was how my life as a shadow double welcomed a slight change.
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