CH 23

“……Sigh.”

The following Monday. At school, I held my head in my hands.

“Hey, you looked tired. Have a drink and relax.”

A can of Coke was placed on my desk. I looked up. Eiji was standing there.

He sat down in front of me and looked at me with a smirk on his face.

“You’ve been pretty popular since this morning, you know. Are you in your prime now?”

“Don’t make fun of me. It’s been really tough.”

My classmates have been asking me questions since this morning.

Why are you and The Ice Princess getting along so well?

Do you have her contact information?

Are you guys dating?

Introduce me.

……And so on. It was troublesome. I tried to cover it up or decline all of them, but they just kept coming.

“All right, let’s change the place for lunch today.”

“……Yeah, sure.”

Even now, all eyes and ears are on me. The reason is that they’re thinking of something interesting to talk about.

Eiji led me to a different location. The place was–

It was on the landing of the stairs leading to the rooftop.

“……Right here. Isn’t this a confession spot?”

“Yup. It’s a great place to hide and talk.”

“What if someone comes in?”

“Don’t worry. Now it’s a day where no one comes. I did my homework, you know?”

We sat down together on the bench that was there for some reason.

“Come on ! Spit it out !”

“The way you say it. ……I don’t want the other party to be mad at me. So I can’t tell you the details.”

“Oh, sure. Tell me as much as you can.”

I opened my lunch box on my lap and talked to Eiji.

Some incident happened, and I helped Shinonome. We became friends. And in return, Shinonome taught me how to study, and we became even closer. That’s how I got lunch boxes made for me, and how we got to be together on holidays.

“Is she a wife who lives elsewhere but regularly visits her husband !? She’s a lot more amazing than I imagined, isn’t she !?”

“Like I said, the way you phrase it is kind of. ……Ah. I heard that Shinonome didn’t have many friends. She’s the type to cherish friends when she has one.”

“Oh that’s right, The Ice Princess kept pushing people away, huh? …..Even so, I get the feeling that that was a face that she won’t show to just a friend.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

I said so and picked up the egg. Delicious.

“……Did The Ice Princess made that too?”

“Yeah. I won’t give it to you.”

“Don’t look at me as if I want it. ……If I hadn’t seen that face, I wouldn’t believe you.”

“Well, I admit her gap is huge.”

I wouldn’t believe it if I said the same thing to my April self. 

That The Ice princess makes me lunch…..and has her sleep on my lap.

I will never tell Eiji about the lap thing though. Because I can see that he will make fun of me.

“So? Why were you sighing again?　There must be something other than being bombarded with questions.”

…..Sometimes. This guy, he’s strangely quite sharp.

I wonder if it’s okay to talk this much, so I opened my mouth.

“This Saturday, my mom is coming over. and I told her about it.”

“Oh? So?”

“She said, ‘I don’t have any clothes to wear, so let’s go shopping together again. It’s rude to wear casual clothes’.”

“…… !?”

Hearing my words. Eiji’s eyes widened and he laughed.

“It’s not a laughing matter.”

“That’s right. …..Isn’t she already in love with you?”

“…..! don’t know.”

“You good for nothing.”

“There are circumstances. …..It’s not like that, it shouldn’t be.”

It’s not about love, it’s more like affection as a friend…I think.

“Well, that’s it. You said you helped her back then. Maybe she just wants to say thank you for that.”

“…….I guess so.”

“That’s a long pause there.”

“Actually……”

◆◆◆

Shinonome walked around. No matter how you look at it, she seems to be in a good mood.

She’s not the usual Ice Princess. With that, the number of people surrounding her has doubled.

“You look happy.”

“Hmm. After all, it’s tomorrow, you know? When Minori kun’s mother is coming.”

Even so, you wouldn’t normally be like that. One of the reasons Shinonome is in such a good mood is…..

“I’m looking forward to it ! I can’t believe I get to see Minori kun’s childhood album !”

That’s it.

He told her mother about Shinonome. A friend is supposed to come every Saturday.

…….He said it in a roundabout way, as if he wanted her to come on a different day of the week. Of course, she didn’t get the message.

She said she would bring his photo album if he wanted to. He told this to Shinonome, and this is the result.

“It’s not that interesting, is it? When I was in elementary school…..I didn’t really have many friends.”

“I feel a sense of familiarity !”

“I-I see……”

Shinonome said sad things with a smile. But she doesn’t care. She started walking happily again.

“….You look different today.”

I intended to whisper, but it seemed that it had reached Shinonome’s ears.

Shinonome stopped and looked at me with a smile.

“Yes. Because Minori kun is here now. Everyday is fun.”

With that, she touched my hand.

Her hand was very, very warm.

◆◆◆

“welcome…..huh? eh, huh?”

“E-eh, um.”

When we went into that clothing store to be taken care of again, the staff, Eiji’s sister, looked at us and widened her eyes. She started grinning.

“Heya, it’s been a while, you two. Have things changed a bit?”

“……Though it hasn’t been that long since then. Thank you very much for your help back then.”

“T-thank you very much.”

“I’m glad to hear you say so.”

When Shinonome and I thanked her, the staff smiled pleasantly. And then.

“So what’s the matter today? Dressed for a date again?”

Shinonome opened her mouth to answer that question.

-um. I’m going to meet his mother. And I don’t know what kind of clothes to wear.”

At Shinonome’s words. The staff and I froze. After a moment.

“…..C-congratulation on your marriage?　It was surprisingly quick, wasn’t it?”

“It’s a misunderstanding.”

Immediately I tried to clear up the misunderstanding. However, it was extremely difficult to clear up the misunderstanding. Of course.

I would’ve thought so, too, if she had said something like that to me.

And while I somehow managed to clear up the misunderstanding, the person in question, Shinonome, was….

Her face turned bright red and she was looking down. Well, I guess it can’t be helped. After about 10 minutes of trying to clear up the misunderstanding, she squeezed my sleeve. Of course, it was Shinonome.

“Eh, ah, um. I’m sorry, Minori kun. I’m sorry I made you feel bad.”

Shinonome was somewhat showing an apologetic expression.

The hand holding my sleeve was shaking a little.

I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to use a different method of communication.

She looked down like a child who just got scolded. Her hand that was holding my sleeve was trembling. 

Again, my heart made a sound at her unusual gesture.

….But I don’t want to see Shinonome like that.

“….Not at all, I don’t mind.”

I said so. I can feel that heat building up in my face.

“……Eh?”

Shinonome looked at me with a blank expression. …..Again, with that kind of expression.

“Like I said. I didn’t mind it, that’s what I’m saying.”

What the hell am I saying? I said that while my head was spinning. Shinonome’s white skin turned red like it was burning.

“….Uh, ah.”

Shinonome put her hands on her cheeks…..as if she were afraid of losing her expression.

But,……her eyes and mouth, or rather.

Those eyes. It was distorted with happiness…That’s what I thought. It might be my fault. No, I’m sure it’s just my imagination.

“…I knew it, so you two are getting married?”

“We’re not !”

I replied to the staff’s words. I waited for the burning sensation in my face to cool down.

I was so happy to see her.

After about ten minutes or so, Shinonome and I finally calmed down.

“Well, whatever. Just pick an outfit that suits Shinonome chan, right? You’re the kind of girl who attracts adult attention, so….I guess something a little more reserved would be good, right?”

“I-I guess so. Please take care of it.”

The staff nodded at Shinonome’s words and looked at me.

“Then, I’ll choose a few outfits. You tell me which one is your favorite, okay?”

“M-me?”

I asked back without thinking. The staff nodded.

“You too, Shinonome chan. In any case, you want to wear the clothes that he thinks suit you, right?”

“ah, um……..yes. I-if I usually wear it. I’m always with Minori kun. ….So I want to wear clothes that Minori kun likes.”

While saying that, Shinonome’s face turned bright red.

Hearing those words, the staff nodded in satisfaction.

“So, with that said. …..Give her lots of compliments, will you?”

Saying this, she took Shinonome with her and headed toward the back of the store. It seems that she will choose several clothes and change them all at once.

I witnessed it… with my back against the wall.

“….What the hell was that?”

And then, with my right hand, I held my heart that was beating loudly.

“That’s too cute.”

I muttered so…..and stayed in that position until I was called.