Chapter 14: Intelli-gyaru

About ten minutes after seeing Shigure off. I entered a family restaurant on a major street in the city and headed not to a seat but to the staff room in the back.

I've been working here for about a year. The hourly wage isn't much different from other part-time jobs, but I quite like it because the human relationships work out well.

I lightly greet the manager I passed and enter the break room.

「Ah, senpai. Ossu.」

When I entered the break room, a blonde girl greeted me.

Sparkling golden long hair. Round emerald-colored eyes. Her healthy tanned skin is probably the result of her efforts.

In her hands is a textbook with "Eiken Grade 1" written in large letters. The scene of two contradictory existences coexisting in this space no longer feels strange once you're used to it.

「Yo. ...Studying again? Misumi.」

Misumi Ruri. A kohai one year below me and a part-time coworker here.

Since we often have shifts during the same time slots, I naturally have many opportunities to talk with her. We often run into each other like this and chat before work.

「That's right. I'm taking Grade 1 next time.」

「...Didn't you just pass Grade Pre-2 recently?」

「Grade Pre-2 was easy, so I thought I'd skip Grade 2 and go for Grade 1. I was scared for nothing... Want to try it too, senpai?」

「I'll pass. ...As expected of the intelli-gyaru.」

Misumi possesses intelligence that ranks among the top in school. She recently passed the Eiken Grade Pre-2 as a hobby.

For her, studying is both a hobby and life. She wouldn't be Misumi Ruri without learning.

Misumi also holds various other qualifications like Kanken Grade 1, TOEIC 750, commercial bookkeeping, hazardous materials handling Class B Category 4, and so on. Despite appearances, she's a super intelli-gyaru.

Misumi snapped her textbook shut and looked at me sitting across from her.

「By the way, senpai. You're the talk of the school.」

「Well yeah. It's been tough thanks to that.」

「Today's commotion at the school gate, I didn't think it was senpai... You were the type to do that kind of thing?」

「It shouldn't have been. ...I don't really understand it myself.」

At my vague response, Misumi snorted indifferently.

「In our class, the consensus is that senpai is surprisingly viable.」

「What's "viable" supposed to mean? Are we talking about guts?」

「Whether you'd work as a boyfriend. Because of that, I was pressured to get senpai's contact information.」

「Why does it turn out that way... It's not like you don't know about the situation with me and Shigure.」

「I don't really understand that either.」

She said, sighing tiredly.

Her friends are mostly bright, active people. Many of them act on momentum and that kind of energy. Misumi sometimes seems to have trouble dealing with them too.

「...Hey Misumi. I want to ask you something, the super intelli-gyaru.」

「What is it? If it's about electrical work certification, with a bit of study...」

「That's not it. ...If you had to fight an opponent you couldn't beat with strength, how would you win?」

At my question, Misumi tilted her head slightly.

「Is this about Minazuki-senpai?」

「Who knows. I don't really understand it myself.」

「Senpai has a lot of things he doesn't understand. ...Well, I'd try various approaches. Psychological attacks, grasping weaknesses to weaken them, surprise attacks, crushing them with authority. There are various attack methods.」

「...Right.」

I imagine patterns of fighting the blonde bastard that floated in my mind, but no matter how long I think, I can't arrive at a winning pattern. In the end, it becomes a scenario where I'm overwhelmed by those muscles. At best, I could land one punch to his face.

「...Senpai, are you planning to do it?」

「Not really, I was just wondering what I'd do if it came to a fight.」

「Why are you thinking about such elementary school stuff... Well, I don't think it'll avoid becoming a fight.」

Faced with a problem with no visible solution, a gloomy sigh escaped my mouth.

「In senpai's case, muscle power is impossible. The difference in strength is obvious. However, senpai has one thing that beats that person.」

「Me...? Provocation skills?」

「...That's true too, but there's one more decisive thing. That is... the power to see through lies.」

Misumi said confidently. At her certain words, I ended up making a blank expression.

「Senpai is someone who detests lies. Maybe because of that resentment, senpai can see through lies. The other day too, you saw through the lie I told the manager about "my grandmother's condition suddenly deteriorating..."」

「That was because you were obviously agitated...」

「Even aside from that, I've witnessed many scenes of senpai seeing through lies. You saw through the lie when Nanaboshi-senpai said he had a girlfriend before. ...Hating something means you know about it as well as someone who likes it. Senpai knows about lies as well as someone who likes them.」

Misumi's words had definite persuasive power. It wasn't because she was a solid genius, but because of my absolute trust in Misumi.

「In mysteries, that would be protagonist-level ability.」

「How does that help me beat Minazuki-senpai...」

「Mmm, people instinctively tend to hide their weak points. Exposing that in front of everyone, maybe?」

「That's impossible...」

「There's no other way to win. Otherwise, you'd better just quietly commit seppuku.」

If Misumi says so, it must be true, I conclude and give up. Fighting that person is definitely out. I can only somehow escape.

「...Speaking of which, hasn't Misumi ever been pursued by Minazuki-senpai? Senpai seems like he'd be into someone like Misumi...」

「Fufun, true strong people don't let them get close in the first place! I've a super gyaru barrier!」

「Intelli-gyaru can even put up barriers...」

Something as unscientific as a barrier, I feel like Misumi might actually be able to do it. While smiling wryly at her, I started preparing for work.