Chapter 20

Good morning, senpai. Today is finally your long-awaited Friday.」

This kouhai understands me pretty well, eh.

「This day… finally comes…」

「But then, I don’t know why senpai is that tired even though you don’t have any club activities.」

「Kouhai-chan also doesn’t go to your club activities anyway」

「That’s why I’m also full of energy today, senpai☆」

So lame…

「Don’t you feel tired working hard to take notes in class?」

「I always do that on my textbooks and print-outs, so it’s not tiring.」

「But you can’t get a high mark with just that, right?」

「My first semester score was around ten points higher than the average. I’m sorry for being good at making outline♪」

She stuck out her tongue. This brat is so lame… Ah, she is a young girl, huh. This young girl is so lame…

Knowing that I was not good with making outlines, she even messed around with me using that. Wasn’t that too unfair!?

Oh well, I just had to fix making better outline if I feel frustrated with her anyway. I’ll do my best.

「By the way, senpai. How tall are you? Ah, this is my『today’s question』.」

「You asked about my height… yet you didn’t specify the units that came after that… That means… anything is okay?」

I couldn’t think of unit of height other than centimeter that much. How about a light year? Centimeter light years, hmm?

「How many centimeters tall is senpai? Senpai, you are really troublesome.」

「It was 166 in the April medical checkup.」

「What’s with that extra information? I don’t think you can get any taller anymore right now, senpai.」

「I was 165 cm when I first entered high school, and I haven’t thrown away my hope to reach 170!」

「But I think that wish is only a faint hope…」

Kouhai-chan raised her hand over my head, and raised it even more around five centimeters above me.

Is she picking a fight?

「Don’t make fun of other people efforts.」

「Are you making efforts, senpai?」

「I put milk in my coffee every morning.」

「Isn’t it mostly caffeine in the end? You have to get more calcium, senpai. I heard that dried sardine is a great source of it.」

「I feel like I’ve heard that before.」

「I feel like I’ve said that too. Senpai, people who believe what they are told will be successful in their future, you know.」

「What about the naked emperor then.」1

「He is still a king anyway.」

「But isn’t he already the king from the beginning?」

「So it means initial funds are also important then.」

How cruel.

「Anyway, this is my usual『today’s question』. Kouhai-chan as well, how tall are you?」

＊　＊　＊

As usual, senpai returned my question cleanly.

Let’s put a cushion here as a reply. When I said a cushion, I meant it was as if both of us were having a pillow fight, but I would throw a cushion, not a pillow.

「Senpai, that’s terrible. Are you asking about a girl’s three size?」

「I didn’t say three size, right…」

「In the first place, it seems like senpai knows what three sizes is.」

When I said that, senpai was petrified.

「I don’t know, okay?」

He really didn’t know, eh…

「It’s height, weight, and sitting height, senpai.」

「I doubt it. Even I at least know that there is bust size.」

More than this, I might even cause damage to myself. This is bad, let’s just divert the topic.

「Well, it’s fine. My height is 156cm.」

「We have exactly ten centimeter difference, huh?」

Senpai also didn’t seem to bring up what we talked about just now. Great.

「Somehow, doesn’t 156 have a better feel than 166, senpai?」

「I don’t think both of them are. But I think it will be even better with 256.」

「Ah, 2 to the power of eight, right?」

「Isn’t your calculation too fast?」

「I just memorized that 2 to the power of 10 is 1024.」

「I see…」

＃　＃　＃

Speaking of 10 cm height difference, there was something I remembered.

「By the way, there used to be a popular illustration on『couple’s different heights combination』a long time ago.」

「Ah, I also remember it.」

I remembered with 25 cm height difference, there were six illustrations on what they could do, for example placing chin on the head.

If I’m not wrong, there was also an illustration for 10 cm height difference. What was it again?

「But, are you okay with it, senpai?」

Kouhai-chan had a smile at the corner of her mouth, making her look somewhat evil.

「You need to be the leading role for a punchline with our 10 cm height difference, you know?」

「Really?」

「It’s a shame that I’m not the one who needs to stretch my body to kiss you.」

「Wai-」

「If you want to kiss me that much, you can just ask me upfront, okay?」

「I don’t have the courage to do that with someone who is not my lover, and I also decided not to have any girlfriend anyway.」

「Ah, senpai is going back to that again?」

「Yes.」

Un. I won’t yield on this one no matter what.

It might be because I just had the determination, or I wanted to protect my own unpopular self. But I already decided to follow the rule, so I would do it until the end.

「Then, what can 10 cm height difference do, Kouhai-chan?」

「A headbutt.」

「Yes?」

「He・ad・butt. A headbutt. Something that makes your head go ‘pyuu’.」

That「pyuu」is so cute, oi.

「70 Power?」2

「With 30% Flinch chance.」

「Un, so it’s something you do with your head. My recognition wasn’t wrong.」

「Well then, senpai. Please don’t move.」

Yes?

「Even if I have 100 Accuracy, I might somehow miss.」

「Wait, wait, wait, why did it become like this?」

「Eh, but senpai, you want to give it a try, right? You talked about that illustration for this reason, right?」

「But I never said I wanted to try it!」

Well, it’s true that I never thought about what would happen if it was applied in reality.

「Okay. Please just accept it, and stand firm in order not to fall down.」

「No, no, no, are you really doing it for real?」

Kouhai-chan sidled up to my chest which was detained by the handrail. Looking at it closely, this height difference was certainly perfect to do a headbutt.

Kouhai-chan’s shampoo scent was even stronger than usual. I had become accustomed to this scent as well. It reminded me of morning, and school.

「Senpai, you don’t want too?」

Well, if I really didn’t want to, I would run away already, and I was sure I didn’t hate it that much.

She won’t do it strong enough to make me get hurt. Un. I believe in her.

When I lightly shook my head, Kouhai-chan gave me a sound of understanding.

「Please don’t bite your tongue since it can be dangerous. I think you should close your eyes as well. After all, I’m not sure whether it’ll make fire sparks or not.」

「Hey, are you really caring for me or not?」

「I’m always thinking about senpai, you know.」

「Are you being serious…」

For now, I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes tightly. Just by looking at this appearance, didn’t I look like a masochist?

Was my personality swept away with this situation?

The impact didn’t come no matter how long I waited.

「Nn? Oiii?」

The moment I voiced my uneasiness, something warm touched my cheek.

When I woke up from the confusion, anxiousness, and other things that crossed my mind, the physical impact on my chin finally came.

It was unexpectedly painful. She really did it for real!

But then, that thing just now.

Is it her finger, or…?

＊　＊　＊

For me to touch senpai’s cheek lightly (I won’t say with what though) was my secret alone.

…or that’s what I wanted to say, but unfortunately, we were on the train. Like this, wouldn’t we just seem like love birds? After all, our surroundings wouldn’t know about my thoughts and how senpai thought about me, and we only just acted like that.

「Hurts…」

「Well, it’s a headbutt after all. With 70 Power as well.」

「I felt like this week has been unkind to my body.」

「Will you be unkind to my body next week, senpai?」

「What kind of train do you think this is anyway…」

「Who knows?」

Ah. The train will reach the destination soon. I must tell him about my Saturday plan now.

「Senpai, you will be free tomorrow anyway, right?」

「Nn? Well…」

Senpai was making the face of ‘If I said that I’m not free, I would be lying.’

「Then, please meet me at Hie Station, 12:30 tomorrow.」

「Where are we going this time?」

「Please look forward to it later on.」

「Un, I knew you won’t tell me anyway.」

「If you knew it already, then you don’t have to ask in the first place, senpai.」

「Err, you see, I was asking just in case.」

Nn, I’ll just say ‘it’ now.

Rather than him panicking on that day, let’s make senpai panic now.

「Ah, my friends will also come along with us tomorrow. Senpai, please get along with them, okay?」

「…Ha?」

The things I knew about my senpai⑳

He seems to be exactly 10 cm taller than me.