CH 25

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Kaede said apologetically. She was not happy with herself for being late in serving the food.

“If I had known this would happen, I could have made it a little earlier,” Kaede said,

Her expression was like that of a dog that was scolded by its owner.

I wasn’t sure what the right thing to do in such a situation would be, but I knew I should offer words of praise.

“I don’t care how fast it is because I’m grateful for the food you cook for me, and it’s always so delicious because you put so much time and effort into it.”

So I patted her head, telling her not to worry, and then Kaede being stroked like a cat, closed her eyes.

Does it make you feel at ease? If so, I am happy, but seeing her again at this close proximity, She really is cute.

“Mama, you’re cheating~~ Me too~”

With these words, Senpai hugged me. I tried to force her to let go, but she showed no sign of letting go, so I had no choice but to pat her head.

Then, like a cat, she rubbed her face against my arm.

I usually didn’t think of senpai as cute, but today, I unexpectedly thought of her as cute.

Kaede, who was standing next to me watching, did not have a good expression on her face. She had been in a good mood earlier, but now she was in a bad mood.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, but she turned away with a pout. Seeing this, I thought they both looked like cats.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

When we finished eating and I was washing the dishes, Kaede was talking with senpai about something.

When I finished washing the dishes and asked Kaede about it, she didn’t tell me. Moreover, her face was red for some reason.

“Kaede-chan, you were jealous just now~ You’re so cute~ So cute.”

“No, no, I’m not jealous …”

“That’s the kind of thing you don’t admit, that’s cute too.”

Senpai, who was rubbing her cheeks against Kaede, was gradually becoming sleepy, and had less vigor than before.

“Isn’t there anyone you like, Senpai!?”

Kaede seemed to have diverted the conversation rather than losing her patience.

“Hmm~? Someone I like? there is?”

“Eh!? Who is it?!”

“A Junior”

Then she pointed her finger at me. That’s when I got nervous for a moment. It had nothing to do with love, it was just that I felt uneasy because of what had happened in the past.

Moreover, I knew that my senpai didn’t have romantic feelings for me.

She would probably say something like, “I like you because you change shifts.”

“I like him because he changes shifts, as a junior.”

I was surprised to see Kaede taking a breath, as if she was relieved.

I wondered if I would be able to do it with that much relief.

“As In romantic and emotional, Of course it is Naruse-senpai, right!?”

I didn’t know why Naruse-senpai appeared there, but for a moment, just for a moment, when Kaede mentioned Senpai’s name, I was annoyed, I wonder why…

(Huh? Right now…)

“Who is it~?. Bubu~~, the person I like is…! It’s the Manager!”

“What? The manager??”

“What!”

“Eh? But the manager …” Kaede muttered,

No wonder Kaede was surprised. At first I thought she liked Naruse-senpai, too. But Hina-senpai was serious.

However, unrequited love was hard, because the manager was married.

“He’s married… But, it can’t be helped that I fell in love with him! Even if there’s 0 chance, I want him to know my feelings.”

“Besides,… I am…”

She said it halfway and fell asleep. I thought It was not a good idea to let her sleep here, but I couldn’t do anything about it and Kaede and I were trying to think of a good idea.

However, if something was not done, when she wakes up, she will find out that both of us are living together.

As we were both wondering what to do, the intercom in my room rang.

“Kaede! Stay here and watch over senpai.”

“Yes, I understand.”

If Kaede left, it was going to get complicated again, so when I opened the door from the entranceway, Naruse-senpai was standing there.

Naruse-senpai came to visit my room once, so he knew where it was, but I had no idea why he was here now.

“Naruse-senpai!? What are you doing?”

“No, isn’t that guy here?”

“By “that guy,”… do you mean Hina-senpai?

“Yeah, that’s right. Her mom asked me to look for her.”

“She’s here, but she’s …. sleeping.”

“Well, I’ll take her home.”

I was grateful that he was taking her home, but I couldn’t help wondering how he knew she was here.

“How did you know she was here? Some kind of psychic ability?”

“No, her mom sent me a picture of the location app.”

“I see… so that’s how.”

While saying that, Naruse-senpai was out of breath. He must have been looking for a lot, I was a little moved and almost cried.

I immediately brought the still sleeping senpai from the back of the room, giving her a piggyback ride so as not to wake her up.

“Thanks, you’re a big help.”

“Yeah, but isn’t it hard to go home carrying her on your back?

“Don’t worry, I’ve called a cab.”

“Eh, then shall I pay?”

“It’s fine.”

“But..”

The cab fare was not unreasonable, so I suggested that I would pay it, but he refused.

I was thinking that I might have been meddlesome, when he said to me

“Let me be cool in front of the girl I like.”

I could only nod my head in silence to that.

I thought he was very cool. Not many men would go this far for a woman they like, and besides, I think Naruse-senpai knows that Hina-senpai likes the manager.

And yet …

(Damn it, this super cool senpai…..)

“Later then, I’m sorry to bother you, and you two enjoy Christmas Eve, okay?”

“Huh?”

Naruse-senpai looked down and smirked. There were three pairs of shoes.

There was one more pair, not my size by any stretch of the imagination, but a woman’s size, not including Hina-senpai’s.

“Christmas Eve’s night is almost here, but make sure you wear a condom, okay?”

“I thought you were cool, but you’re ruining it! And I’m not ready for that yet!”

“Yeah yeah, yeah, not yet?”

Saying that, Senpai piggyback carried Hina-senpai out of my room.