How To Ruin A Love Comedy – Chapter 9

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Nekorune
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There was a significant difference in academic performance between Tetsuya and me.

If he was average to below average, I was rock bottom.

It seemed impossible to study together effectively with such a gap in our levels.

Or so I thought, until Miyuki left me speechless as she expertly tailored her teaching to each of us individually.

She made sure Tetsuya and I received personalized instruction based on our individual needs.

She didn’t stumble or hesitate, answering Tetsuya’s questions fluently and quickly.

All the while, she made sure to include me, helping me review the semester’s material in such a way that even a brainless idiot such as myself could easily grasp the concepts.

I knew she was passionate and skilled in teaching, but this was practically cheating!

She would be an amazing teacher in the future.

After almost two hours of non-stop personalized tutoring, Miyuki seemed a little exhausted. She placed her hand on the tatami floor and leaned back slightly.

“Can we take a 20-minute break?”

“You’re the teacher, do whatever you want.”

Miyuki’s lips curved into a faint smile, seeming pleased with the word ‘teacher.’

I could faintly see her beige bra through her white t-shirt.

She had big breasts, though not as big as the school nurse’s.

I couldn’t shake the urge to grab them.

I blinked a few times to regain my composure and stood up.

“Want some juice?”

“Oh, would that be alright?”

“Of course. You’re teaching us for free, so I have to offer you something, right?

Stop asking so many questions and just make yourself at home. Help yourself to whatever you want…”

I trailed off and looked at Tetsuya.

I had to be nice to him too. That’s how I would earn points with Miyuki.

“Miura, you don’t have to be so stiff, chill.”

Though, I couldn’t help but add a slight verbal jab.

Tetsuya thanked me timidly.

“Ah. Thanks, Matsuda.”

I placed three glasses on a small tray, poured orange juice, and carried it to the round table.

Miyuki smiled sweetly and said,

“Thanks, Matsuda-kun.”

She brought the glass to her lips and started drinking.

Her face was the epitome of innocence, yet the way she swallowed was incredibly sexy.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt like she should be mine.

“Matsuda, do you work out?”

Tetsuya’s annoying voice interrupted my appreciation of Miyuki.

I turned my head and replied,

“I used to. Why? Want to work out?”

“No… I just noticed your biceps and chest muscles are pretty defined.”

He said no, but it was obvious he wanted to.

He wanted to show off his muscles in front of Miyuki, didn’t he?

Unfortunately for him, I had no intention of teaching him how to work out.

Go look up macros and lat pulldowns on the internet and figure it out yourself, loser.

“If you used to work out… does that mean you quit?”

Miyuki asked.

I nodded nonchalantly.

“Yeah.”

“Can you tell me why?”

“Got bored of it.”

Time to put on some melancholic eyes.

Like there was some kind of story behind it, but I didn’t want to talk about it, so I was brushing it off.

“Ah… I see. What do you do for fun on the weekends, Matsuda-kun?”

Miyuki, completely fooled by my acting, changed the subject with a sympathetic look.

I would tell her later, when we were closer and alone.

“Weekends? I hang out with my friends or stay home.”

“Friends? You mean Watanabe and his group? Those guys from that club… what was the name again…”

“Supreme Circle.”

“Right… Supreme… There are a lot of bad influences in that club. Are you a member too, Matsuda-kun?”

“Yeah. I’m in it with Takashi and a few other friends.”

“Why?”

When the immature Matsuda Ken became infamous for causing trouble, they invited me to join.

I didn’t want to join.

And I was going to leave soon.

After using them to gain affection points during events with you, Miyuki.

“I don’t know. It just happened.”

“…Are you… proud of being a member of that club, Matsuda-kun?”

“No. Not really.”

“Then just quit. You’re the only one who’s losing out by staying with them.”

“Are you saying that because you’re genuinely concerned?”

“Of course…! Only students who don’t care about their future join those sorts of clubs…! You’re trying to change, Matsuda-kun, but that…”

Miyuki stopped mid-sentence and looked at me intently.

Seeing my smirk, she continued cautiously,

“Of course, you might think I’m being nosy…”

“You said you were genuinely concerned. I don’t think you’re being nosy.”

“T-Then… don’t you think you should quit…?”

“It’s not easy to quit.”

“What do you mean ‘not easy’? Are they threatening you or something?”

“Do I look like someone who gets easily threatened?”

“W-Well, no, but… If there’s something troubling you, you can tell me…”

“Why, so you can tell the teachers?”

“The academy is keeping a close eye on the Supreme Circle… They cause a lot of trouble, you know that, right, Matsuda-kun…? They might face disciplinary action soon…”

Disciplinary action probably meant expulsion, right? Or at least suspension.

Thanks for the heads-up, this was some useful info I didn’t know when I played Doki Doki Academy.

So I shouldn’t stay in that club, huh?

I should use this as soon as summer break ends…

But before that, I needed to secure Miyuki’s affection.

“Thanks for your concern.”

Hearing my serious tone, Miyuki stopped herself from saying anything further.

As if realizing my resolve, her expression brightened slightly.

“Okay… Should we get back to studying…?”

“Sure.”

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“I’m surprised you followed along so well today.”

I chuckled at Miyuki’s words as I walked her and Tetsuya to the front gate.

“Did you think I’d give up after a few minutes?”

“Should I be honest?”

“No. Just get out of here.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“We’re doing this again tomorrow?”

“You’ll forget everything if you don’t study every day. It’s best to do this daily until you build a solid foundation, Matsuda-kun, and until Tetsuya-kun develops his application skills.”

I scratched my head with an exasperated expression.

Of course, my inner thoughts were the complete opposite.

“No way, you are serious…”

“It’s tough, isn’t it? Learning from scratch is always challenging. You’ll start enjoying it soon.”

People actually enjoy studying?

That’s… worth researching.

It was a shame she was leaving without taking a shower.

I had even prepared the open-air bath and made a peephole.

“See you tomorrow, then.”

“Yeah. We’re leaving. Take care of those plants, okay? And don’t forget to review.”

“Alright.”

“There’s a quiz tomorrow.”

“I said alright…”

I waved my hand dismissively and exchanged a few meaningless words with Tetsuya before closing the gate.

Miyuki’s laughter echoed in the distance, followed by the fading sound of two pairs of footsteps.

I peeked over the wall and watched Miyuki and Tetsuya slowly disappear from view.

The reason I let them go was because of an event.

Miyuki, unable to sleep, would end up swinging alone at a small playground near her house, and I was planning to intervene.

It was possible that the event wouldn’t happen because our study session had altered the future.

But I had to go anyway.

I had to try everything in my power to maximize Miyuki’s affection points as much as possible.

I checked the time.

It was seven o’clock. I should wait until the sun completely sets and then head out.

And I needed to call Takashi and ask to meet up.

I needed an excuse for Miyuki.

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The houses formed two lines across the narrow street, facing each other across the road.

Somewhat peaceful, I guess? Miyuki’s neighborhood was as quiet as mine.

After discreetly scanning the area, I headed towards the playground.

The dimly lit playground was deserted.

That was to be expected. The playground across the street was bigger and had streetlights.

I licked my lips and sat on a swing, waiting for Miyuki.

Even after a long time, Miyuki didn’t show up.

Was the event canceled because of my intervention, as I had feared?

It was certainly a possibility, but I had faith in the gods who sent me here.

Even gods must have gotten frustrated after playing Doki Doki Academy, right?

That’s why they sent me here. To become the true protagonist.

As I was kicking the sand absentmindedly, trying to comfort myself, I heard footsteps approaching the entrance of the playground. I quickly pretended to be swinging.

“…Oh? Someone’s here…”

Miyuki’s voice came from the entrance.

Just as I thought, I was the true protagonist of this version of Doki Doki Academy, not Tetsuya.

Internally cheering, I stopped swinging and stared at Miyuki’s silhouette illuminated by the streetlight.

“Hanazawa?”

“Huh…?”

Miyuki looked incredibly surprised.

She must have never expected to hear my voice in a place like this.

After a moment of confusion, she peeked further into the playground and asked,

“Is that… Matsuda-kun?”

“Yeah. What are you doing here?”

Miyuki hurried towards me.

She scrutinized my face, as if to confirm my identity, and then said in surprise,

“Why are you here…?”

“I just asked you the same question.”

“Ah… well… this is my neighborhood…”

“Your neighborhood? Like, your house is around here?”

I feigned astonishment, and Miyuki slowly nodded, pointing at a house with her finger.

“Yes… That one’s my house.”

“Really…? I had no idea.”

“Now answer my question, Matsuda-kun. What are you doing here…? Shouldn’t you be resting at home?”

“I was supposed to meet with Takashi, but I ended up ditching him because I thought it would be boring, so I was on my way back when I saw how quiet this place was and decided to stop by. I just had some things on my mind.”

Miyuki’s expression contorted with disgust at the mention of Takashi, as if she had just seen a cockroach.

Poor Takashi, if only he would stop being a delinquent.

I wasn’t one to talk… but I still felt sorry for him.

“Does Watanabe Takashi live around here too? Or was your meeting place just near here?”

“The latter, but it’s a bit further away from here.”

“Ah… that’s good to know…”

Miyuki, visibly relieved, sat on the swing next to me.

Then, she pointed at my phone, which was buzzing in my pocket.

“Isn’t that your phone?”

“It’s a text.”

“It seems urgent. Is it Watanabe Takashi?”

“Yeah. He’s whining about why I’m not at the meeting place. Want to see?”

“Ah, no… I don’t really want to see…”

Despite Miyuki’s words, I took out my phone and showed her the message.

And despite saying she didn’t want to see, she stared intently at the screen.

It was human nature to be curious about other people’s phones.

“What does it say?”

“…He’s asking why you’re not at the meeting place… T-There are too many curse words, I can’t read it…”

This should dispel any remaining doubts, right?

This was why it was important to have insurance.

I chuckled and put my phone back in my pocket.

Then, Miyuki rested her arms on her lap, leaned forward, and asked,

“What were those things on your mind that you mentioned earlier?”

“Oh, that? Just thinking about the future. Like what I’m going to do with my life… that kind of meaningless stuff.”

“Ah…”

“You were about to say, ‘Oh, so even Matsuda-kun worries about that kind of stuff?’, weren’t you?”

Did I hit a nerve?

Miyuki flinched.

“N-No…?”

“Don’t lie. I know I’m right. You’re a terrible liar, you know?”

Miyuki sighed softly at my words.

“Sorry if I offended you.”

“Why are you apologizing? You’re too kind for your own good.”

“Really…? You think I’m kind, Matsuda-kun?”

“To be honest, yeah. You seem like the type who gets easily scammed.”

“Oh, come on… So I’m not kind, I’m just gullible, huh?”

Miyuki laughed lightly and kicked off the ground, setting her swing in motion.

Then, she continued,

“Instead of worrying about the future, how about focusing on the present? We’re only freshmen. We have plenty of time.”

“Isn’t that what lazy people say? ‘We’re still young, we have our whole lives ahead of us…’ until they regret it later.”

“That’s not what I meant. I meant that we have plenty of time to build a solid foundation. If you keep working on the things you need to do, Matsuda-kun, I think the future will naturally fall into place.”

“What are the things I need to do?”

“Well, right now, that’s studying. Did you review what we covered today?”

“Not yet.”

“What? I’m going to punish you if you fail tomorrow’s quiz.”

“What, are you going to tie me up and whip me? I’m into that kind of stuff, you know.”

If Tetsuya had said that, Miyuki would have scolded him with a serious look on her face.

But because it was coming from me, who was known for my flippant remarks, Miyuki burst out laughing.

I wouldn’t have dared to say something like that if we weren’t close, but since we had gotten closer after the groping incident, Miyuki easily brushed it off.

“What are you talking about… I could never do something like that.”

The mood wasn’t bad. Let’s keep this up.

I kicked off the ground like Miyuki, setting my swing in motion, and we continued to chat for a long time.

We mostly talked about studying, but I also threw in some lighthearted jokes that were consistent with my image.

Nothing too over-the-line, of course.

And thankfully, Miyuki seemed to enjoy my jokes.

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