Chapter 19

After leaving the coffee shop, we went to the other side of the station to check out some antique stores.

When it comes to shopping, I either decide what I want to buy in advance and get it done quickly or be Yuna’s luggage carrier, so this was a new experience for me.

「Hey, Amane」

「What’s up?」

It’s a bit past 3 o’clock so I guess she’ll talk about taking a break or a snack.

「I’m not sure but, that one with the girl over there looks like Shinozaki-kun.」

I thought “No way” and looked inside the café from the glass wall and saw Shinozaki talking happily by the glass wall. The one Shinozaki was talking with was sitting with her back facing the glass wall so I couldn’t recognize her.

「That’s him alright. What are they doing?」

「Perhaps they are having a date.」

A date? There’s no rumor about anyone. He has always been everyone’s Shinozaki Kazuya. It must be hard for the other party. As Hirose and I were looking at Shinozaki through the glass wall, Shinozaki’s face, who had been chatting happily behind the glass wall, tensed up. Shinozaki started using his cell phone.

Even if you’re not on a date, I don’t think it’s a good idea to use a cell phone while talking with someone?

「Amane, your phone is ringing.」

Hirose told me that and I found that I have a new mail. I checked the sender’s name and opened the mail. The sender is Shinozaki, the one on the other side of the glass wall. The message says we should go in.

「Hey, what do you think we should do?」

I showed the email to Hirose. She looked at it and groaned. When I looked at the glass wall, I saw a familiar-looking girl and Shinozaki who lowered his head.

「It can’t be helped. Let’s go.」

I entered the café with Hirose and headed to the table where Shinozaki and the girl were sitting.

They seem to have changed their seating arrangement. Shinozaki is now sitting next to the girl and there are now two vacant seats facing them. I pull a chair for Hirose and sit in front of Shinozaki.

「What do you need?」

No one seems to want to speak. The atmosphere on our table was dominated by some kind of atmosphere. It was Hirose who opened her mouth first.

「Why don’t we order something? It would be better to have something while talking, right?」

When I turned to the Shinozaki couple, he nodded. I looked at the menu on the table.

If you order a cake and a drink together, it will be cheaper. Should I order cake then? I drank coffee a while ago so what should I drink now….

「Are you ready?」

Hirose asked if everyone had something to order. Since everyone nodded, I called the clerk.

「Darjeeling and chiffon cake.」

「Royal milk tea and cheesecake.」

「Two more coffees」

The waitress recited the order and left, leaving on the BGM playing through the restaurant.

「Now, what?」

I could no longer stand the suffocating atmosphere so I decided to talk to Shinozaki.

「Before I answer that, can I ask you something first?」

「What is it?」

「Were you guys on a date?」

「Yes, we are.」

Mei answered for me.

Is that so? So, we are having a date? I didn’t know that we were on a date but I guess we do.

「My bad.」

「It’s okay. It’s just a matter of time before we go home. So, what do you want?」

「Ah, yeah. Where do you want me to start?」

「I don’t know anything. Start from the beginning and summarize it.」

When Shinozaki was sorting out what he was about to say, the girl spoke.

「Let me introduce myself. My name is Wakamiya Nanaka. We are in the same class. I’m the manager of the track and field club and Kazuya-kun’s girlfriend.」

Hirose and I were surprised.

Though we already anticipated when we saw them from the outside that they are close, we never thought that they were in a relationship.

「Do you want us to keep our mouth shut?」

Hirose asked what I wanted to ask. By the way, isn’t Ashi-san’s group supposed to get along with Shinozaki? Perhaps she’ll be caught in between now. It’s hard to belong to society after all.

「No, we need your help.」

Shinozaki was the one who said that. After that, he explained the situation sloppily but it was very long. On the way, the clerk brought our order and I had already eaten half of my cake.

The summary: Shinozaki fell in love with Wakamiya-san, who was seriously doing her manager job, and confessed to her the other day. Although they were getting along, Wakamiya-san began to experience harassments. It’s still a long holiday but once it is school days again, it will spread in the class and it will be difficult for her to even go to school. They want us to think of something to prevent that from happening.

「I definitely want to help you.」

Hirose seems to be on Shinozaki and Wakamiya’s side.

「How about you? You’ve been talking a lot with Shinozaki lately, right? Is there anyone troubling you?」

I asked Hirose who’s next to me. They are targeting him enough for her to even be punished to confess to me. Even so, I’m honestly worried since she’s going to side with them.

「No, no one’s harassing me at all. Everyone has a boyfriend or someone they care about. Are you worried about me?」

I can only reply to Hirose with a smile. If that is the case, what’s the point of that punishment game confession? I thought it was the right answer but it’s only getting harder and harder to understand.

「How about we ask Risa for help? Risa hates harassment so I think you’ll be fine if she backs you up.」

「I don’t want to trouble Sunohara-san. I don’t even want to cause trouble to the two of you.」

That’s Wakamiya-san’s reply. I didn’t know that Ashi-san’s family name was Sunohara….Now, what should we do?