I (30), Who Works for a Black Company and Died While Regretting My Gloomy Life, Started Over From High School! - Chapter 27
27. I wonder if handsome men are going to become extinct.
“… What’s with all that manga-like developments?”
“I know right?”
During the lunch break, Ginji and I were eating our lunch in the classroom.
In the middle of our conversation, Ginji opens his mouth in amusement as I tell him about Mitsurugi, the guy who suddenly appeared in front of me and arbitrarily decided to compete with me in the final exam with the penalty being to never approach Shijoin-san again.
“But then again, you’ve attracted another big shot’s attention… Of all people, it had to be Hayato Mitsurugi, ‘The Prince’?”
“What? He seriously has that nickname?”
“Yeah, his family runs the Mitsurugi Group, and he’s handsome, athletic, and has excellent grades, like something out of a shoujo manga, so the girls call him that.”
I see… it’s because he is such a perfect superhuman that he wants to have Shijoin-san as his girlfriend. He thinks that a beautiful girl like Shijoin-san is only girl capable of being with a good-looking guy like him
“But why would someone like him be in a normal high school … Why not attend a private school for rich kids?”
“He went to a prestigious private school in middle school, but according to … rumors, he was too self-centered and got into trouble with other rich kids, so his parents forced him to go to a normal high school or something.”
“It’s possible that he was sent here because this school mostly consists of ordinary people, so even if he causes trouble, it wouldn’t be much of a problem for his family. If that is the case, it’s really annoying.”
But, well, with his personality, the part about him causing a lot of trouble is most likely a given.
“But still, what is he, a grade schooler? Arbitrarily challenging you and forcing you to stay away from the girl you like if you lose. That’s pretty impressive … “
“Well, we can’t even hold a proper conversation.”
Comparing how I was in my previous life, Prince-Sama’s communication skill is pretty dangerous.
“But in the end, you didn’t agree to anything, so you have nothing to worry about, right? Even if Mitsurugi makes a fuss or forces you to go along with the penalty, you can just ignore him.”
“Yeah, I know that, but … I’m still going to beat that guy.”
When I said that, Ginji blinked his eyes in surprisement.
“Of course I’m not going to accept the penalty if I lose because I don’t remember agreeing with him in the first place, but I’m sure that Mitsurugi won’t stay silent if he won and will definitely make a big deal out of it.”
“From what you say, I guess that’s certainly true … what a pain in the ass.”
“Right? I don’t think he will ever drop his hostility towards me, so I’ve decided to win and see what kind of reaction he will make when he compares our scores and realizes that he lost”.
I learned from our first encounter that he’s a mass of self-confidence.
He believes in his own superiority and thinks I’m just another pebble on the sidewalk.
That’s why I think that my victory will give him a tremendous sense of defeat.
“Can you … do that? That guy took first place in the midterm last time. Well, you were tenth, so I guess it’s possible.”
“Yeah, he seems very intelligent, but I’m not going to lose.”
He may be a perfect superhuman, but he’s not invincible.
There is no reason for me to lose as long as we are competing in a high school level test.
“To be honest, I want to show that arrogant kid what reality is.”
As I muttered to myself hatefully, I recalled how the rotten prince referred to Shijoin-san as “Haruka” without any hesitation.
♢♢♢♢♢
Sitting in the living room of my house, I’m diligently writing with a mechanical pencil in my hand.
There are ten subjects in the final exam, and it covers more topics than the midterm, so I need to study each one thoroughly.
By the way, in my previous life, I got average grades every time, nearly avoiding the red mark.
Because I don’t possess any cheat abilities you normally see in reincarnation and time leap novels or manga. I could only study diligently.
The only thing I have is the driving force that comes from my intense regret in my previous life, and the mental strength and experience I gained from living as a company slave.
Thanks to that I was closer with Shijoin-san in this second life.
(But … what would happen if a handsome guy like Mitsurugi confessed to Shijoin-san first?)
Good-looking people are unconditionally strong.
No matter how much of a natural airhead Shijoin-san is, if a good looking guy whispers his love to her directly, the effect would be terrifying to imagine.
“I wonder if all the handsome guys should be wiped out.”
“What? What’s wrong with you all of a sudden, Aniki?”
My sister Kanako, who was reading a magazine on the sofa nearby, gave me a horrified look.
Oh, what’s wrong with me?
“I thought you’ve been studying harder than usual lately, but did something happen? Just now you’re muttering something with a lot of resentment in your voice.”
“Yeah, well, Prince-sama suddenly challenged me to the upcoming test … he said he can’t stand bugs buzzing around his flower.”
“What?”
I explained to Kanako about everything that happened between me and Mitsurugi when she asked for an explanation.
The prince’s reputation also made me think twice about trying to beat him.
“Hmmm … is he really that good looking?”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m worried, that … regardless of the outcome, if such a good looking guy confesses his feelings to Shijoin-san, maybe she’ll be moved … “
“Yeah, well, good-looking guys are strong. Just as there are no men who don’t like beautiful girls, there are no women who don’t like good-looking men”.
“Ugh…”
It’s a matter of course, but it’s hard when your normie sister bluntly informs you about it. Is this world really centered on handsome guys or is it just a theory of celestial motion…?
“But, that’s the case if the content is also handsome. From what I heard, he’s a piece of sh*t, so don’t worry too much about him.”
“Well, is that so?”
“Yeah, because his ‘I’m a prince’ move is terrible if it weren’t for the ‘hot guy’ filter.”
“Well … if a plain-looking guy did it, he’d just be treated like a psychopath and no one would want to go near him.”
“In any case, only a loose woman, who’s okay as long as a guy is good-looking, can tolerate this type of man. Any decent girl will avoid someone with a crazy personality like him.”
“… How can you come up with such an analysis so easily?”
“Because unlike you, Aniki. I’m popular.”
“Didn’t you just say the other day that dissing your older brother is forbidden?”
Seeing my sister fully showing off her normie status is painful.
“Well, no matter how good-looking a boy is, you wouldn’t want to date someone with an arrogant personality, would you? Hardware and software are equally important after all.”
“Surely.”
It reminds me of a beautiful office worker I met in my previous life who had been transferred from the head office.
She was full of confidence that she would be excused from her mistakes because of her looks. She always blamed her colleagues and juniors hysterically, and benefited from her cat-like attitude toward the boss.
At first I thought I was lucky being able to work with such a beautiful woman, but my appraisal soon turned out to be wrong. The truth is, she was just another b*tch.
I was truly relieved when she went back to head office.
“No matter how good your looks is, his arrogance and his tendency to ignore other people’s opinions is only allowed in light novels or anime … someone who’d actually do that in real life is just a real piece of sh*t.”
“That’s right. Is my Aniki’s beloved Shijoin-san the kind of person who would fall for such a prince whose only redeeming trait is his good looks?”
“No, I can’t imagine that at all, considering her … I mean, absolutely not. What the hell was I worried about …?”
Thinking about it calmly, the very thought of possibly falling for that arrogant man was an insult to Shijoin-san. It seems that I was more than a little anxious in facing the power of a handsome man, a power I had nothing to worry about.
” Ugh … I’m the worst … I was really thinking about how she might be attracted to him just because he’s handsome … I was being really rude to Shijoin-san.”
“Right? It is stupid to worry about her being taken by a handsome guy. If you let that sap your mental resources, you’ll never be able to win.”
Kanako laughed.
That’s when I finally realized.
This series of conversations was meant to cheer me up and relieve my anxiety.
“My current Aniki is three thousand times cooler than that rotten Prince-sama! So don’t worry about it, just keep doing your best and beat the hell out of him!”
“Yeah, that’s right … Thanks Kanako. When the test is over, I’ll tell you what kind of face that handsome b*st*rd has when he loses.”
“Yeah, that’s the spirit! Aniki, ‘The love warrior,’ will never be defeated!”
The words of my sister, who had been so bitter towards me in my previous life, sunk deeply into my heart.
I’m not going to let my heart waver again, not even a little, against the universal strength of a being called ‘handsome man’.
In order to respond to her innocent smile, I vowed once again that I would definitely win.
