Chapter 403: Broken Circle

Spending at least 20 minutes drinking tea and chatting with both Himeko and Mina, I left the Poem Appreciation Club on a good note.

Throughout that time, the two seniors remained busy with their calligraphy and although they sometimes called Himeko and Mina to get their opinions, the two were ignoring my presence completely.

They would even click their tongues whenever Himeko would try to call out to me to also give my opinion.

Well, that was her way to help me interact with the two. However, with that kind of reaction, instead of pushing to interact with them, I told Himeko to let it be.

Besides, I wasn’t there for them so… I spent my time reviewing Mina’s tea recipe. Himeko who was watching me do it for the first time had her mouth turned into ‘O’ shape as if she’s watching a professional tea expert explain stuff.

I couldn’t bear to tell her that I only made it sound great for their ears when in fact it was only a very simple review if I removed the flowery words. It’s not sweet enough and the tea was overboiled.

Since she still hadn’t perfected the recipe, the tea test would still go on. Perhaps that competition with her mother would take place next week.

In any case, I had no problem continuing the tea test. Not only could I spend time with her, but I could also drink delicious tea without paying.

Ah. No. The most important part was that… I could fulfill my promise to her. Mina was pleased with it and that led me to know more about her. Naturally, not only her past but every interesting thing she could remember. Her previous extrovertedness was slowly being unearthed that even Himeko was glad to witness.

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For my last stop for today, it’s the same clubroom of the Student Support Club.

With what happened earlier during lunch, I wonder what that coward would do when I picked up Nami again.

As long as he remained in his fantasy, that club would always be awkward. Perhaps by Monday, we could finally reveal it and stop that guy.

Whether Ogawa would change or not, it’s something that was hard to predict.

But one thing was for sure, Nami would finally be able to tell him that it’s time for him to stop fantasizing. I just needed to take care of the aftermath.

Most likely, it would be even more awkward or chaotic, depending on how Ogawa would react.

Will the Club President Izumi-senpai be able to handle it? I don’t know.

Ah. Ogawa wasn’t the only problem today. I know that although I told Arisa-senpai to blame it on me and clear her head, she would still think about it.

With how much guilt she showed earlier, perhaps she wouldn’t be able to look Nami in the eye today and in the following days…

Well, I still need to see to be sure. Here’s to hoping that Arisa-senpai could still be that playful senior for today.

“Ruki...”

This time, instead of Saki, Hina was the one who opened the door for me. There were still a few traces of how she bawled her eyes out earlier. Even if she covered it with her makeup with my observer's eyes, it couldn’t escape my gaze.

“Are you fine now? What’s happening there? The clubroom sounded quiet.”

Right. Compared to the last three days, their club room was awfully quiet today as if… there’ were fewer people inside.

“Arisa-senpai is absent. Kazuo stormed off earlier. He looked royally pissed but he didn’t say anything about what happened or about his relationship with Nanami. Daiki and the others left to look for him. There’s only me, Saki and Nanami here. They’re doing the request for today in place of the others.”

Hina explained the situation with a somewhat sad voice.

I guess the way that guy stormed off affected her? Or… this girl was feeling sad about what’s happening in their club. The previous harmony was now gone.

And it was all my fault.

Izumi-senpai, who's still devotedly chasing after that guy, was most likely the first one to look for him. As for Tadano, the silent guy and Kikuchi, I guess they had their own reasons.

The silent guy might be urged by Saki. Tadano, who was already aware of some things, most likely wanted to hear what happened to that guy. As for Kikuchi, considering she’s Hina’s close friend, that girl was probably made aware of what happened earlier.

Then there’s Arisa-senpai who didn’t show up…

As expected, she was affected by what happened between us during lunch. Perhaps knowing that she wouldn’t be able to look at Nami straight, she chose not to come. And since Izumi-senpai was here, she probably made some kind of excuse why she couldn’t go.

I have no idea if she’s still in school… but even if she is… I have no time to look for her… Besides, she wouldn’t like to be alone with me again. Our attraction to each other would surely kick things up for us. When that happens, we might not be able to stop this time…

Haa… it’s better to let her be for now.

“I see. Do you need an extra hand for that request? Since I’m here to pick you two up, let me help so that you can finish early.”

I was responsible for what’s happening to their club so… this was something I could do.

Besides, if they didn’t finish it, I wouldn’t be able to walk Nami and Hina home.

“Alright. Thank you, Ruki.” Hina nodded and opened the door wider for me to enter.

Upon seeing me, Nanami, who had a pile of paper in front of her, immediately bloomed with a smile. Saki, who was somewhat busy organizing the finished papers, was also delighted with my appearance.

“This room now feels too big with only three of you here. How can I help?” I said as I moved towards Nami and sat next to her.

Hina took the seat in front of me as she leaned over to pick up half of the pile of paper and put it in front of me.

“Ruu, here let me tell you what you need to do,” Nami said as she leaned over to me, instructing me on what to do with this pile of papers.

However, when her face drew near to my ears, she whispered something else in a voice that only I could hear. “Kazuo stormed off because I already told him about us. What happened earlier with Hina felt like my fault for stalling this long. I felt responsible for it so I’m sorry if I didn’t consult you first … I told him to not make a commotion so instead of staying here, he left. Izumi and the others followed him.”

Ah. I see. That’s the reason. She finally broke his fantasy. After getting sick and formulating that master plan of his, it was like a balloon that was pierced by a needle when Nami opened her eyes to the truth.

As I turned my head to face Nami, I could see that her eyes were now filled with guilt. Although she was really happy to see me here… She’s now also feeling guilty not just for Hina but also for that coward.