Chapter 16

guchi Keita　：Hey

Iguchi Keita　：Hey hey

Maharun♪：What is it, senpai?

Oh no, I made a big mistake.

Speaking about the current time, the date has changed, and it is October 2, 00:15 now.

While thinking dazedly that the mystery solving was fun, I ate dinner, and went to my bedroom to lay on the bed. I checked my dashboard on the web novel site to find out that the novels I had been re-reading several times had updated new chapters today, so I went to read the continuation immediately.

Yeah.

It was very rare to have many novels I followed to update so much in one go.

To have this situation happening, it means that I would spend my time reading all of the updates until I finished each of them. Namely, it was the ultimate distraction that made me not even realize the date has changed.

I repeat once again. The date has changed.

You might be thinking that what’s so important now that the date has changed.

Iguchi Keita　：About『today’s question』’s privilege,

Iguchi Keita　：Is it a carryover?

This is the problem.

In the train on our way back, I thought that I will just use my asking privilege later when I’m home, but now I probably already lost it.

Maharun♪：We haven’t decided it yet, but

Maharun♪：Do you want to make it so?

Iguchi Keita　：Nn

Maharun♪：But then, senpai and I will have two extra questions for each other

Eh?

Maharun♪：It is the first weekend’s share

Iguchi Keita　：I see

Maharun♪：But honestly, I don’t want it to be carryover

Iguchi Keita　：Why so?

Maharun♪：I think that our『question』usage has been pretty sloppy recently

Maharun♪：For example, like my question yesterday

Iguchi Keita　：So you realized it too?

Maharun♪：Just leave it alone.

Maharun♪：Anyway, carryover is a「NO」!

Iguchi Keita　：Yeah yeah

Iguchi Keita　：Good night

Maharun♪：[Maharun♪ sent a sticker]

Anyway, I felt like this is the first time I said「Good night」to this person.

The sticker she sent as a reply was a picture of a cat on a futon. So cute, oi.

＃　＃　＃

「Guess who it is~?」

Next morning, …or no. The date was still the same, huh.

As usual, when I was standing on the platform dazedly while stifling my yawn, I heard a voice from behind.

And at the same time, she suddenly stretched both of her arms, and her fair palms obscured my view. Even though I said ‘obscured’, her hands were curled up since I was wearing glasses, so I could see my front from the gap.

I felt agitated, not because my sight was blocked, but rather it was because of her cool fingers slightly touched my forehead, and her wrist touched the area around my eyes.

Well, of course I knew who this was.

There was only one person who will do this kind of thing at this place and time (it would be troubling if I happen to know other people who will do this!), and first of all, this kind of voice belonged to her alone.

Anyway, this question (even though it only consisted of three letters, it was still a question), did I have to answer it.

It would be a little cloudy, but I still could see well enough, so it wouldn’t be a problem for me to get into the train. The problem was if the girl behind me would be able to keep up with this position, though.

Since I could see my front, I felt like it would be more interesting to ignore her rather than answering her normally, to see how her reaction was. I joined my hands and stretched them without saying anything, as a physical exercise to wake my still lazy body.

「Senpai, this is the first time I did this kind of thing, so please at least answer me properly now.」

Ignore.

「You can even answer me with『I don’t know』, or something like that, you know. It might be even more interesting with that.」

Still ignore.

「Ahh, really. Senpai, you really can’t be helped. Then this is my『today’s question』.」

There was no way I could ignore that.

I could feel her approaching me, and her voice tickled my right ear.

「Who is this~?」

＊　＊　＊

「Yes, yes. It’s Kouhai-chan.」

Every time I whispered something to senpai’s ear, he would always twitch his body. His ears were ticklish, eh.

The train finally came, and we went into our usual position.

「Hey, yesterday, we just talked about how『both of our questions use are too messy』in LINE, right?」

「Yes.」

「Why are you wasting it again. That『who is this~?』question, no matter how you think it, the answer is definitely you.」

「Then what would you do if it was a complete stranger?」

「Complete strangers won’t suddenly put their hands on my eyes from me behind, okay? I won’t complain even if they kick me from behind. Also, the only one who will say『today’s question』is only Kouhai-chan, right?」

「…That’s also true.」

「Don’t make a face as if you just noticed it.」

I just noticed it, though. It couldn’t be helped.

「Then, what’s with that『who is this~?』」

Senpai finally asked me asked his question directly.

I turned my head towards him, and grinned. Maybe I could get away by doing this.

「Nn? Ah, so it come to this, huh… Eh… Oh well, it doesn’t really matter anyway.」

Senpai made a face that he couldn’t stomach being guided by me. Wasn’t that quite cruel…

「My『today’s question』. Why did you feel like doing that classic joke material,『who is this~?』」

「It is because senpai was standing right in front of me.」

「Ha? Seriously? Well, you should’ve been honest about that, but… are you serious?」

Actually, there were times when she is relatively self-aware that her acts were urged by the evils, although momentarily.

「It’s just that I feel that I never tease senpai like this, so it just happens.」

「I don’t want you to do it. Just do it on Halloween.」

「It’s fine as long as it’s Halloween, right! Then it’s okay for me to tease senpai during October!」

「Why does it become like that.」

「Disneyland also started their Halloween during the whole month of October for a long time too, though. What did they mean with ‘harvest festival’? Don’t they just want to make more money?」

「Come on, I’m sure they are harvesting something from the guests too.」

「Right. That’s why the whole month of October is Halloween. I pranked you too because of that.」

「I am not convinced with what you are saying, but I got it.」

「I’m glad that it seemed like you already understood.」

Well, there were many types of mischief, though.

Indeed,「hugging」will be quite serious in a lot of meaning, and it would be dangerous too if I did it on the platform. So today I did at least the「closing the eyes from behind」tactic.

「But why blindfolding?」

「When I did the ‘patting your shoulder’ one at the beginning, senpai avoided it cleanly, right?」

He turned his head in the opposite direction.

It had been a long time since I saw someone turned their head so naturally like that. In the first place, the opportunities to do that kind of mischief was not that much anymore when I started high school.

「That’s because the memories from my elementary school days had been ingrained inside my body…」

「You only need a friend to poke your cheek, but for the blindfold, I’m sure that no girls ever did that to you before♪」

「At least don’t put it into sentences, it irritates me, okay!」

「Now, now. Senpai has me now, right?」

「I rather rely on anyone other than you.」

「Now, now, don’t say that.」

Just like this, while having a rambling talk, we headed to the school.

What in the world is my position inside senpai’s mind?

I didn’t know much about his daily life, and I couldn’t imagine it. He would probably just read books regularly, though.

Am I an attention-seeking person who he has to respond to with his whole energy?

Or a worthy rival, who he had not easy yet fun conversations with?

Or maybe… just a cute, very cute junior?