From the Bottom to the Top

Volume 1: Chapter 6

Several days have passed, and Masachika Kuze didn’t find himself getting anywhere near his goal to earn Alya’s forgiveness.

Part of it was because of Alya herself. The girl seemed like she was dead-set on avoiding any kind of interaction with him, even when they’re doing the same task together.

But like his sister, Masachika can be stubborn when he wants to, and he had no intention of giving up.

For now though, it’s time for him to focus on his current task and be productive!

Today, he was walking with Taniyama and Miyamae through the forest in search of sticks, branches, and other things that they can use to start a fire or keep it alive.

Although they had an electric stove that didn’t require any gasoline to be used, the group unanimously decided that they should limit their usage of electricity as much as possible.

It’s why they’ve been cooking their meals over a campfire outside of the house for the past month and so far, they had no problems with that arrangement.

After reaching a new area located northeast of their lodge, the three got to work. The two girls collected sticks and other small pieces from trees off the ground, while Masachika worked on obtaining low-hanging branches from several trees.

“Why do you continue to tolerate Kujou-san’s behavior, Kuze-san?” Taniyama asked out of nowhere.

Masachika wiped the sweat from his face as he set down the axe he was using to chop some large branches — a very useful tool that they found within the house’s pantry after the typhoon — before turning towards her.

“Tolerating?”

“You know what I’m referring to, Kuze-san. It has been days since your episode with Kujou-san,” she continued, dumping another batch of sticks into the large garbage bag that they brought with them.

“And your point is?” he asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

“I noticed that you have been trying to approach Kujou-san for the past few days. But every time you try to get close to her, she either glares at you or tells you to leave her alone.”

“Is that supposed to mean anything?”

Sayaka pushed up her glasses coolly. “Kuze-san, I don’t think Kujou-san has any intention of listening to you at all.”

“Is that all?” he drawled, picking up the axe so he could get back to work.

“I am simply saying that you don’t deserve to be berated and chastised by Kujou-san. She may be the leader of the student council, but it does not give her the power to look down on others for not sharing her point of view.”

That made him turn around and face her again, this time with a frown on his features.

“Taniyama-san, allow me to stop you right there. She’s not looking down on anyone. Alya is just having a hard time like the rest of us.”

“And as I told Kujou-san, she is not the only one who feels the same way. Everyone else does, but the rest of us can put aside our personal feelings for the sake of our goal,” she explained. “Do you think that it’s easy to tell myself everyday that things will be fine, Kuze-san?”

“People cope with situations differently, Taniyama-san. You and Alya feel the same as everyone, but you’re different in that you can hide your feelings a lot better. Seriously, I have never seen another expression on your face except for that serious look you have all the time. I actually thought for a while that you have no idea what it’s like to smile.”