Volume 8, The Second Question

Volume 8, The Second Question

Amongst the famous works of Shakespeare, please state the 4 great tragedies.

Himeji Mizuki's answer

“① Hamlet, ② King Lear, ③ Othello, ④ Macbeth.”

Teacher's comment.

Correct answer. Shakespeare had other famous works like 'Romeo and Juliet' and the 'Merchant of Venice', and these 4 are known as the '4 great tragedies'. Though Romeo and Juliet was the most widely known work, do remember that these are the 4 great tragedies.

Yoshii Akihisa's answer

“① Hamlet, ② King Lear, ③ Romeo and Juliet, ④ My dad's married life.”

Teacher's comment

How is your dad treated at home anyway!?

Tsuchiya Kouta's answer

“① Losing my wallet, ② Running out of film. ③ Dirt running into the eyes at the critical moment when a photo's about to be taken, ④ Broken Hard Disk.”

Teacher's comment.

If ④ really did happen, maybe sensei will be crying as well.

“Fuuwaa…why is it that I always feel like sleeping whenever it's morning…”

“You can't do that, Akihisa-kun. You have to sleep well at night or else you'll ruin your body.”

On Monday morning, Himeji-san and I were walking side by side with each other as we just so happened to talk about this.

“Even if you say that, that book was really too interesting, so I couldn't help but—fuuwaa~”

“Really…Akihisa-kun, your necktie's crooked.”

“Eh? Really?”

I moved my necktie a little bit. It should be alright now, right?”

“Ah, now the collar is undone…can you please turn around and face me?”

“Ahh, there's no real need to be concerned about it.”

“No. If you can't even wear your shirt properly, Nishimura-sensei's going to be angry with you.”

After saying that, Himeji-san turned around to face me and reached her hands out to adjust my necktie and shirt. Uu, uuu…why do I feel a little shy…

“…”

“Himeji-san?”

“…”

Erm…Himeji-san?”

“…”

“Himeji-san, do you hear me?”

“Eh? Ah, yes!”

“What's going on? You were stoned over there and blushing.”

“It, it's nothing. It's just…a little weird…”

Oh, so I'm not the only one shy about this. This action of adjusting the necktie looks no different from husband and wife…

“Tha, that's right, Akihisa-kun. Did you bring your handkerchief?”

To change the mood, Himeji-san changed the topic. Let’s see, handkerchief, handkerchief…

“Ah! Now that you said it, I forgot.”

I don’t remember putting my handkerchief into my bag. OR rather, I’ll normally forget about bringing it.

“In that case, please use mine.”

On hearing that I didn’t bring my handkerchief, Himeji-san immediately took out a handkerchief from her bag and passed it to me. Is she lending it to me?

“Ah, no need. It’s alright even if I don’t have it. Also, Himeji-san, if you lend it to me, you won’t have one to use, right?”

“It’s alright. I brought another handkerchief along too.”

Himeji-san said that as she took out the other handkerchief from her pocket. She’s really well-prepared.

“Uu, since Himeji-san says so…”

In that case, I’ll take this handkerchief according to her kind intentions. As I thought this, I reached my hand out for the handkerchief in her hand.

“Here, guys must not trivialize such minor things, or else you won’t be popular with girls—”

For some reason, Himeji-san went silent. She didn’t hand the handkerchief over to me, but held it tightly in her hands.

“Himeji-san?”

“…I guess…it’s alright not to have one!”

“?”

After saying that, Himeji-san hurriedly placed the handkerchief back into her pocket.

I really don’t understand what she meant by that, but on seeing that I can talk with Himeji-san in such a happy manner, I’m rather happy too.

—And up till now, these were all the only happy memories I had in the morning.

☆

“From now on, we’ll start with the interrogation of the heretic Yoshii Akihisa.”

About 5 minutes after that, I was arrested by the FFF.

I was forcefully taken away from the puzzled Himeji-san, and my limbs were all tied up as I was mercilessly pushed onto the hard tatami of class 2-F’s floor.

“Yoshii Akihisa, do you have any last words?”

“I only met Himeji-san on the way to school! It’s not like I’m completely innocent…but I earnestly request to have my punishment reduced!!”

“…”

After hearing my explanation, the leader of the FFF seemed to ponder for a while. Even if the FFF would severely deal with any guy who interacts with girls, if I only met her coincidentally on my way to school, wouldn’t that be too heavy of a punishment? If they’re always jealous about this, it would never end! Don’t tell me that they were blinded by jealously because of such a trivial thing? I think they’ll send 5 members to pinch my arms with the thumb and middle fingers—

“—Then, 10 members shall deal flying kicks to Yoshii Akihisa.”

Seems like their jealousy’s more than what I could imagine!

“Wa, wait! Isn’t this punishment too heavy!? If you want to punish me, what will happen if something similar happens to you?”

“Uu…”

The leader went silent again. He should be considering the possibility that ‘the same thing may happen to them’.

“Leader, I don’t think what the accused said is unreasonable.”

“We’re not merciless devil. For this level of action, I think we can just close an eye and forgive him.”

“Maybe one day, this lucky event of getting to walk to school with girls will happen to us too.”

“Also, I’ll be punished everyday if I’m being punished for ogling someone.”

The members rallied around me. It seemed that the ‘this thing may happen to you’ statement had some effect.

“In that case, we’ll specially reduce the punishment such that it’ll be a flick on the forehead by the leader.”

Just when I heaved a huge sigh of relief because of such a large reduction in punishment—

“Please wait a moment!”

Himeji-san panged as she rushed into the classroom. Hm? What’s going on? Did Himeji-san run over because she was worried about me?

“Akihisa-kun didn’t do anything wrong! I—”

Himeji-san blushed as she desperately tried to explain to everyone.

“—I forced him to come to school with me today!”

“20 members shall now carry out German Suplexes.”

“““NO OBJECTIONS!!!”””

What’s going on? What Himeji-san said changed my punishment from a flick on the forehead to German Suplexes, and the number went from 1 to 20! Such a drastic change is really hard to react to!

“Hi, Himeji-san, I’m grateful that you spoke up for me, but what you just said would only create an opposite effect…”

“But, it’s my selfish intention to adjust Akihisa-kun’s collar and let our hands touch each other! This has nothing to do with Akihisa-kun, it’s not Akihisa-kun’s fault at all…”

“FLIP THE TATAMI! SMASH HIS HEAD DIRECTLY ONTO THE FLOOR!”

“YES! THE WORK’S DONE HERE!”

“WE CAN ADD SOME NAILS TO ADD TO THE EFFECT!”

“I GOT SOME IRON STAKES READY!”

Damn it! These guys are already thinking about burying this immobilized me now! If I don’t hurry up and explain…that’s right! I just need to make them feel like this is nothing! I just need to explain to them that it’s something trivial in our everyday lives—

“Everyone, calm down! If you’re punishing me because of this, what about Yuuji? Don’t you often see him coming to school with Kirishima-san?”

“In that case, we shall punish Sakamoto Yuuji as well.”

Sorry Yuuji, it seemed that my words caused you to be punished too.

I was sending my apologies in my mind to that bad friend of mine with the wild presence as I clapped my hands together. At this moment, CRAK, the entrance door to the classroom was slid aside.

“Good morning~fuuwaa…I really feel like sleeping…”

Ahh, Yuuji, why did you have to turn up just at this moment?

“Hm? Akihisa? What’s up? You got captured by the FFF again? It’s been tough on you in the morning—OI, WHY ARE YOU GUYS SNEAKING BEHIND ME AND TWISTING MY ARMS!!?”

Yuuji, who looked sleepy as he came to school, was immediately grabbed on the waist from the back by the FFF members with their strong arms.

“Himeji-san, can you please turn over and look at me?”

“Eh? Ah, okay.”

I tried to gather Himeji-san’s gaze and concentration onto me.

From the corner of the classroom, Yuuji’s body flew in a beautiful arc in mid-air, and at the same time, ‘THOMP’, ‘THOMP’, ‘THOMP’, blunt sounds could be heard. That would be three times already…

“Good morning—WHAT IN THE WORLD? YUUJI’S BLOODIED FACE’S SLAMMED ONTO THE GROUND!!”

17 times already?

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? HURRY UP AND GET BACK TO YOUR SEATS!!”

As the heavy sound echoed for the 18th time, Ironman’s arrival finally calmed down this commotion. Ah, that was dangerous. Once Yuuji’s head takes another 2 hits, the next one would be me…

☆

“Damn it, ending up with such dumb luck in the morning!”

After morning lessons ended, afternoon break finally started. Yuuji finally regained consciousness as he sat at the seat right in front of me with his bento there.

“Though it is the same as usual, seeing that so early in the morning really isn't good for the heart…”

The one who said that was the bishoujo girl carrying the bento—Hideyoshi as he walked over. He had smooth silky hair and wide puppy-like eyes. Hideyoshi himself was already very cute, but ever since second year started, I started to feel that Hideyoshi looked a lot tenderer. Is this so-called youth? Does Hideyoshi have someone he likes?

“…Other people’s happiness is the taste of poison. This is the tradition of the FFF.”

After that, the one who approached us silently after buying the rice ball from the convenience store was Tsuchiya Kouta, nicknamed ‘Muttsurini’. He’s a short and small classmate of mine who gives a silent vibe.

“That’s strange? Didn’t you take part in the execution this morning, Muttsurini?”

“…I went to investigate a few things.”

“To think that there are even executioners and accused amongst friends. Even I feel that this is way too weird…”

“Really? Isn’t there a saying that ‘yesterday’s enemy is today’s friend’?”

“I say…the way you guys switch between enemies and friends is way too intense.”

From my personal experience, we’re enemies about 90% of the time and 10% in critical danger.

“You guys are always repeating the same thing over and over again.”

“I thought that this would be a peaceful class when I came to second year…”

Minami swung her ponytail about as she walked over, and Himeji-san followed her from behind.

After moving a few short tables together, the six of us tucked in our lunches like usual. Such a scene is gradually becoming more common nowadays.

“Eh? Aki, you brought a bento today?”

As I opened my bento on the table, Minami asked me.

“It’s rare for Akihisa to bring his own bento.”

“Yeah, there were a lot of side dishes left yesterday.”

I accidentally cooked too much yesterday. Luckily, these were all dishes that can be eaten cold.

“Then let’s do ‘that’ again. Scissors, paper…”

“““Stone!”””

Muttsurini showed scissors. Everyone else showed stone.

“…Uu…”

Muttsurini looked at his hand that showed scissors in a remorseful manner. It seemed that he was really bothered.

“It’s rare to see that we can decide the winner in one go. I want Oolong tea.”

“I’ll take green tea then.”

“I want lemon soda.”

“I want milk tea.”

“Excuse me, please help me get sugarless red tea.”

Everyone took out a 100 yen coin and handed it to Muttsurini.

“…I’ll get the drinks then.”

After collecting the money, Muttsurini ran off alone to the teamwork club to buy drinks for everyone. This punishment game of being a gofer is a common scene during lunch break.

“Ah~ I’m hungry.”

Yuuji opened the bento he brought, and everyone else opened their bentos on the table. It’s a basic rule not to wait for the gofer to come back before we start eating. If not, we will feel bothered and end up restraining ourselves.

“Akihisa, your bento looks rather good.”

“Yours too, Yuuji.”

It’s rare that Yuuji and I would each bring our own bentos as we couldn’t help but compare. Yuuji’s side dish is teriyaki pork…it looks good.

“Is that tuna…ginger fried tuna? Not bad…”

Yuuji’s voice came from beside. It seemed that he had already locked onto his target.

“Alright, Akihisa, let’s have an exchange.”

“Ok, what do you want, Yuuji?”

“I want that ginger fried tuna of yours. You?”

“I want that teriyaki pork of yours.”

“Okay, deal’s set.”

“Yeah. Here’s the ginger fried tuna.”

“Oh, your teriyaki pork.”

IN? Cherry tomato stalk (dipped in teriyaki sauce)

OUT? cabbage shreds (Ginger flavored)

“YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME!!!??”

“I’LL RETURN THOSE WORDS RIGHT BACK AT YOU, BASTARD!”

Both of us grabbed each other on the collar. This guy’s really petty! Can’t he just let me win a little bit?

“Are you two kids…”

Seeing Yuuji and I tussle each other as we grabbed each other on the collars, Hideyoshi could only sigh in a somewhat reluctant manner.

“No, that’s not it, Hideyoshi. I’m already an adult, but Yuuji’s a despicable scumbag!”

“Hideyoshi, don’t compare me with Akihisa, will ya? That guy’s the only one with the brain of a primary school kid!”

““!”” (Widening our eyes and glaring at each other)

“You two are just like kids in situations like this…really, you guys…”

Hideyoshi sighed and then used his chopsticks—

“Well, isn’t this enough?”

““AH!””

Just when Yuuji and I were roaring at each other and holding each other off, Hideyoshi had already switched our dishes over.

“Of course, I want my share too.”

Hideyoshi said as he moved his chopsticks and swapped the deep-fried pork chop he brought over too. Now everyone’s dishes looked much more interesting and appetizing.

“Can’t be helped then. Since Hideyoshi said so, I’ll forgive you for today, damned Yuuji.”

“That’s my line!”

My hand released Yuuji’s collar and retracted back. Instead of doing such a stupid and meaningless thing, it’s more important to put the food into my stomach.

“Really…can’t you two just eat your own bentos quietly?”

“If someone would prepare a bento for me, of course I’ll just eat my own share.”

“There’s a lack of surprise when I prepare my own bento. It’s kinda lonely.”

“Then shouldn’t you guys just exchange your dishes in the first place…”

If Yuuji and I are to bring our own bentos, we’ll normally prepare our own dishes. It’s good that we can choose whatever dishes we like, but there will be no sense of expectation when we open the bento box, and that’s a little empty feeling.

On a side note, the option to exchange dishes quietly never existed in the first place. Because if that happened, we can’t increase our bento’s share. Don’t underestimate a high school guy’s stomach!

“Mizuki, what did you bring to exchange with everyone today?”

“Ah. In that case, then…let’s exchange a little…”

“Un. Then, here.”

“Here, please have some.”

Seeing our commotion, it seemed that the girls wanted to try it out too. Himeji-san and Minami wanted to try the fun of exchanging dishes as they handed their bento boxes over to each other. It’s a lot gentler when girls do the same thing, and this is quite a nice scene.

“Heh, you have quite the interesting side dish. Is this tuna…ginger-fried tuna?”

“Yes.”

“Un? Ginger-fried tuna?”

“ACK!”

I choked hard on my food.

DA, DAAAAAAMMMMNNNN IT! Speaking of which, I prepared Himeji-san’s bento too, so the dishes inside are completely similar to mine! Got to smoke this through somehow!

“Tha, that’s quite a coincidence, Himeji-san! Did your mom watch the ‘simple cooking’ program yesterday?”

The next second, I blurted out the excuse of watching the same TV program. Please, Himeji-san, please go along with what I said and end this topic right now!

“Eh? Akihisa-kun, have you forgotten? Today’s bento was prepared by yo—UU!”

“Himeji-san, let’s go somewhere else to talk first!”

She’s way too na?ve!

I frantically covered Himeji-san’s mouth and moved to a corner of the classroom. I vaguely realized it a while back, but Himeji-san’s really slow-witted!

(You can’t tell them, Himeji-san! If you tell them the truth, wouldn’t they know that we’re living together?)

(Eh? We can’t tell everyone else that we’re living together?)

(No way! Absolutely not! We mustn’t let other people know about this!)

Whether it’s about Himeji-san’s reputation or my own life.

(Ah…that’s right. It’s really not good if the school knows that we’re living together.)

(That’s right, that’s right. It’s great that you can understand.)

(I got it. Then, this will be our little secret.)

Himeji-san clenched her small fist in front of her chest.

Now that I remember, I realized we have never talked about keeping the fact that we’re living together a secret. Even so…but she never really thought about it. It seems that Himeji-san’s really a little weird. She said that she’s like her mother, so I guess it’s definitely about being so na?ve that she‘s an air head.

(Akihisa-kun, let’s work hard to hide this secret!)

(Un, let’s do our best.)

After achieving common understanding with Himeji-san, we returned back to our seats. From now on, we have to protect this secret with a bronze wall like stance!

“What the heck, Akihisa, did you prepare the bento for Himeji?”

But the first attack rattled me.

“Ahh, no. That’s…eh…”

It’s moments like this that Yuuji can easily see through lies. Also, he had Hideyoshi beside him. To think that there’s such big trouble at this moment!

Just when I was thinking about this—

“What are you worried about? She’s just helping you finish off the seafood deluxe set you drew the last time, right?”

“That was really a lot.”

It seemed that Yuuji and Hideyoshi didn’t really worry about it. That’s strange? Was I able to sneak through like this?

(You must have said to Himeji something like ‘since there are leftovers, I’ll just prepare something for you as thanks’ and prepared the food for her before sending her off, right? Your mind’s rather quick at times, Akihisa.)

(I really have to look at you in a different light.)

They deliberately whispered to me. I see, so there’s such a misunderstanding. Anyway, it’s great that they would think this way about that.

“That’s right. It’s like we didn’t use up much food after we had the hotpot party.”

“It can’t be helped though. A lot of things happened back then.”

“The hotpot then became a black hotpot that didn’t really have any relation with the seafood. The only one who really used the seafood was the cold dish Shimada and the rest did, right?”

“Yeah, that was really good.”

I remembered the appetizer Minami, Kirishima-san and Kudou-san made for us that day. There was a seafood cold dish, steamed oysters and seafood salad. Each one of them was really good.

“That’s right. Minami, the sauce for that seafood cold dish—”

I wanted to turn around and ask Minami how she prepared that sauce. But…

“Humph!”

I found that Minami was giving me an unhappy look.

“What’s wrong, Minami?”

“…Nothing, nothing at all.”

Though she said that, it’s obvious that she was unhappy about something. Uu, does Minami want a bento too? We tried her cooking the last time, but there wasn’t any response, and I only made a bento for Himeji-san, so it’s kinda unfair to Minami. I see. If that’s how it is…

“If you don’t mind, Minami, I’ll make a bento for you next time.”

“Eh? Will you?”

“Un, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s a 3 persons share or 4 persons share.”

It didn’t really matter whether I cooked a person’s share or many’s. If the current situation can be resolved by making a bento, it’s not some difficult problem.

“I see. I’ll tell you the recipe for that cold dish~ for the sauce, do not add too much balsamic vinegar, and also—”

Minami shook aside the unhappiness that shrouded her and happily told me the way to make the cold dish sauce.

“Balsamic vinegar? Must I add distilled pesticide to acetic acid?”

Beside me, Himeji-san muttered something really scary. If she says that she wants to make a seafood cold dish, I have to be careful the next time! I again checked the danger hidden within Himeji-san.

Anyway, let’s tuck in first. This is the first time I tried making ginger-fried tuna, and unexpectedly, it tastes good even after being cold. Maybe it’s really suited to be added to a bento.

“…I’m back.”

Just when everyone was talking and eating, Muttsurini carried a large number of dishes with both hands as he finally came back.

“Oh, you took quite some time today. Were there a lot of people inside the teamwork club?”

Yuuji asked as he received the Oolong tea Muttsurini handed over. It really took quite some time today, and for the quick and nimble Muttsurini, it’s really rare.

“…Someone discussed something with me when I went to buy drinks.”

“Discussed something with you—”

Who is it? Just as I was about to ask, a certain person happened to appear right before our eyes.

“It doesn’t matter, Tsuchiya-kun. I’ll talk to them directly.”

She had nice short shoulder-length hair and a cold expression. Her arms were folded right in front of her as she looked down at us while we were tucking in as we sat on the tatami mat. This person in front of us was—

“Hello, everyone in class F.”

“Hm? That’s quite a rare guest.”

The one who came over was the class rep of C class, Koyama-san. Like what Yuuji said, she was really a rare guest.

“In that case, the one who went to discuss things with Muttsurini was—”

“That’s right, it was me. But, instead of a discussion, I’ll say that we just so happened to meet each other in front of the teamwork club, so I asked him a few questions.”

“…It seemed that she wanted to know about F class’ plans for the summoning battle.”

“Our class’ plans?”

“It seems that the system maintenance was done, and we should be able to carry out our summoning battle two days later in the morning. I want to ask what F class will be doing.”

The summoning war that was supposed to be allowed once the second term started had to undergo some maintenance because of change of equipment and other situations (the given reason though was that they wanted to change the summoned beasts' equipment). However, the summoning war that was delayed for quite a while will finally be restarted two days later. Our F class’ aim is obviously to take revenge after losing in the first semester.

Even so, it was unexpected that she would actually come over to check on us, the worst class.

“You’re really cautious.”

Yuuji said in a mocking manner. As for this, I had the same thoughts as Yuuji.

“Really? You F class created lots of chaos in the first semester among the second years, and it wasn’t any different from the eye of a tornado. It’s obvious that I would be more cautious, right?”

Koyama-san wasn’t affected by Yuuji’s taunting words as she calmly smiled back.

“That’s quite an appraisal for us…but can that really do? Once second term starts, class C will finally get back their original facilities, but to think that you would consider about the summoning battles…”

Yuuji said to Koyama-san in a criticizing manner.

One of the rules of the summoning war was that ‘the facilities that were swapped because of a loss in the summoning war will be reset once the new term starts’. Of course, while nothing will change when the upper-ranked class lost to a lower-ranked class and caused a change in facilities, but if the lower-ranked class lost and had to degrade their facilities, it’ll be reset in the new semester.

“Speaking of which, C class lost to A class before and had their equipment downgraded to D class, right?”

“Then C class should be able to get back C class’ equipment once the new term starts, right?”

To emphasize on this rule. The main aim is to hope that the students can take part in a summoning battle enthusiastically. In that case, once a summoning battle begins at the end of the semester; the lower class will challenge the upper-ranked class without much risk.

Even if we wanted to carry out a summoning battle after we were streamed, the points difference between us was way too great, and normally speaking, we won’t easily go for battle. The school hoped that students would study hard while regretting this and check their progress at the end of the school semester. However, we started a riot right from the beginning of school term, and with the adjustments of the summoning system and all sorts of events, the end of the school semester was rather quiet.

“What do you mean by starting a summoning battle? I never talked about taking the initiative to fight. I just want to know the action of F class, which was the central cause of everything the last time.”

“That’s really an indirect way of saying it. In other words, if we don’t provide information, you won’t say anything, right?”

“You can interpret it like that too.”

Koyama-san gave a proud smirk as she said that.

Is she asking for an alliance? I guess not. She’s just going to make a deal with us. She will talk about C class’ movements, and also, we have to talk about F class’ movements. There won’t be any problems if we don’t get into each other’s way. If not, we can think of a countermeasure early and avoid attacking each other if we know what will happen.

“In that case, why didn’t you just ask Yuuji straight away?”

Why did you ask Muttsurini?

“Well, if I ask Sakamoto-kun, I won’t have to make such a deal. It’ll be best if I don’t have to automatically provide information.”

Facing my doubt, Koyama-san didn’t flinch as she honestly answered. That’s just like her.

“Uu…Yuuji, what do you intend to do?”

“That’s good. I accept this deal.”

“Really? That’s really a great help.”

Koyama-san looked like she knew that Yuuji wouldn’t refuse right from the beginning and said thanks indirectly.

“I just need to tell you the class we intend to go against, right?”

“That’s not enough. You need to say the time you intend to attack. If we know the class you intend to target, I wouldn’t have to come over and ask you.”

Koyama-san’s right. Our F class’ ultimate aim was to beat A class, and everyone knew about this. It’s not much of a deal if she knows who we want to attack.

Yuuji showed a somewhat hesitant look as he was asked to mention the timing of the attack. Don’t tell me that he hasn't decided on those details yet? It’s not like Yuuji to say triumphantly that we’re going to beat A class without thinking of a plan.

“As for A class, about a week after the summoning battles are allowed—latest 2 weeks, and we’ll attack. That’s my plan.”

“Un…I see…”

That’s strange? Do we have to wait that long…I thought that with Yuuji’s personality, we’ll be attacking immediately after the summoning battles are allowed.

I wanted to ask the question, but Yuuji gave me a sharp stare that said ‘don’t talk too much’. It seemed that the information battle had begun silently even when the battles hadn’t started. In that case, I’ll let Yuuji handle this.

“And what about your class? If you’re aiming for A class, we’re enemies.”

“We’re not so ambitious. We just want to attack B class. It’s about the same as you guys, most likely, about a week or two after the summoning battles are allowed.”

“…”

C class was aiming for B class? It’s true that this was a rather logical consideration. They couldn’t fight it out to decide the winner the last time, so they intended to fight B class. I can understand that.

“But is that really good? I remember B class’s Nemoto-kun…should be Koyama-san’s boy—”

“I’ll kill you if you dare continue.”

It seemed that I misappropriated her unforgettable past.

“I like smart guys, and not guys who’ll only study.”

“That’s right. That Nemoto’s just a despicable scum.”

“To achieve victory, it’s rather effective to use all sorts of despicable tactics, isn’t it? I kinda like it…but I had enough of that guy.”

Koyama-san cackled. To think that she would like despicable guys. I guess everyone thinks differently…

“I’ll be later than others when playing janken.”

“What are you saying!? Don’t you always lose even when you showed up late? You’re not despicable. Unlike me, I’ll pretend to have a tummy-ache every time it’s my turn to sweep the floor!”

“Nonono, I’m the real despicable person.”

“There’s no such thing. I’m the really despicable one here.”

“…Actually, I have a cousin of the same age. I once asked him about dating, and he introduced his classmates to me.”

““YOU DAMNED BASTARD! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!””

“…But I remember that guy should be studying in a guys’ school.”

“…I’ll give you this can of juice.”

“…I’ll treat you to takoyaki when we go home.”

“…Thanks guys…”

Our nearby classmates started boasting about how despicable they were. Our guys were really too understanding.

“I see, so Koyama-san likes smart guys.”

“That’s right, Himeji-san, I like smart guys. Fufu~”

Koyama-san gave a somewhat meaningful smile.

“In that case…Sakamoto-kun’s a smart person too, right?”

“““…(Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh)!”””

“Oi, you guys! Don’t stab those penknives into the tatami mat. That’s really uncomfortable, you know!”

A few of our classmates far away stabbed the tatami mats beside them with the penknives. If they were a little more direct, the ones that would have holes pierced through wouldn’t just be tatami mats, but Yuuji’s body.

“Speaking of which…really? One, two weeks after the ban’s lifted…I see…”

Koyama-san muttered with a somewhat meaningful tone, and Yuuji looked surprised as he stared at her.

“Thanks for sharing this with me. It seemed that our aim was different. Let’s do our best when we start the battles, then.”

Leaving this sentence behind, Koyama-san folded her arms, turned around and left F class’ classroom. Now that we knew that we wouldn’t be fighting C class in the next summoning battle, there was one less enemy we had to be wary of.

“Looks like the other classes are already testing each other out and preparing for the summoning war.”

“It’s been a while ever since we swapped classrooms. Now even if the quality of the classes have changed, it’s not really that surprising, isn’t it?”

The last time, it seemed that only F class took the initiative. However, the summoning war that will soon start seems like it will cause quite the ripple among the 2nd years. Will that be good or bad for us…

“Ah, speaking of summoning battles, didn’t I hear that the summoned beasts’ equipment changed? What will they be like now?”

Beside me, Minami tilted her head and asked. That’s right, how do our summoned beasts look like now?

“Change in equipment…we have to check it out so that we can control the summoning battle well.”

“…It seems that the system’s repaired.”

“Now we can summon our summoned beasts, right?”

“I guess. Do you want to try it out? Who’s going to get the teacher—”

Anyway, we have to get permission from a teacher before we can summon our summoned beasts.

Perhaps it was perfect timing as we saw our homeroom teacher, nicknamed Ironman—Nishimura-sensei walk over from the corridor…

“It can’t be helped then…”

“Yeah, lunch break’s about to end soon.”

“Then…Nishimura-sensei!”

“Hm? Yoshii, Sakamoto, what’s the matter?”

Once I called out, Ironman walked into the classroom. He frowned in an irritated manner. That attitude was basically ‘there’ll be trouble once we talk to him’. How rude!

“Sorry, can you please ‘nope’ allow us to ‘no way’ summon? ‘Rejected’ the summoning war ban’s ‘I refuse’ lifted, ‘give up’ so the new summoned beasts ‘don’t force me’…oi, how many times have you refused us? I only asked you for one thing, and you refused me six times before I even finished. This is the first time I met such a situation, how infuriating!”

“It’s because you brats never listen to me, right?”

No, I think that was completely far off. Sensei wasn’t even listening to me…

“I mentioned it before that your summoned beasts can’t be summoned whenever you want to, right?”

“Even though you did say so…”

My summoned beast’s different from others, one that can touch other physical objects. As I have a special summoned beast that can touch other objects and has several times the strength of an ordinary person, it’s no wonder that Ironman would be so worried. However—

“Sensei, don’t worry about it. Have we deliberately caused trouble up till now?”

“I remember you two had to write more than 100 reflections in the first term, right?”

“Let me see…that’s about 1 every day.”

“That’s enough to make a book…”

“How many have you two written anyway…?”

Yuuji definitely wrote 99 of them!

“Besides, if you would call me ‘sensei’, it means that nothing good will happen. Are you going to come up with some tricks again?”

Ironman stared at Yuuji and me with a suspicious look. What the heck, so we called him wrongly.

That’s simple then. We just need to change the way we call him.

“Please, Sou-kun~ (PAKK!)”

“Thousand please, Souichi~ (BEKK!)”

“WHO ASKED YOU TO CALL SENSEI BY HIS NAME NAME DIRECTLY!?”

““MY HAAANNNDDD!!!””

As we just said that, our arms that were reached out were twisted by a powerful pliers-like force. If we can’t call him that, what’s next?

As we were clutching our right hands and rolling on the floor in pain, Himeji-san and Minami went in front of Ironman.

“You can’t allow us, Nishimura-sensei? It’s not like I and everyone else want to do something bad. We just want to call out our summoned beasts and see if there’s any change in equipment.”

“Minami-chan’s right. We won’t summon our summoned beasts for pranks.”

“No…but…”

““Please, Nishimura-sensei.””

“Haa…it’s not like I don’t understand how you feel about wanting to check out your new equipment.”

As the two model students in our class pleaded earnestly, Ironman’s attitude showed some signs of softening.

Alright, now, once more!

“Please, Tetsun (PAKK)☆”

“We’ll leave it to you then, Te-chan (BEKK) ?”

Now our left hands, which were fine, were twisted. Damn it! How can there be such a stubborn guy!?

“You two, really…okay, make it quick.”

“Eh? What quick?”

“I’m busy here. Just summon if you want to. Really…”

Ironman sighed as he said that. What, so he still agreed in the end.

“And besides, no matter how I refuse, you’ll use Sakamoto’s platinum bracelet to summon, right? In that case, I might as well let you take action under my watch, and I’ll…feel more at ease.”

I see, so there’s such a reason. But in that case…

“If you think that way, shouldn’t you have just allowed us to summon right from the beginning?”

“Yeah, and my hands got twisted. That was really quite the loss.”

“If I gave you permission just like that, you guys will definitely get ahead of yourselves.”

Of course we won’t…ah, maybe.

“Never mind, at least we got permission.”

“Yeah, we got what we wanted in the end.”

“…(Nods head).”

“I’m looking forward to it. I don’t know how our summoned beasts would look.”

“I’ll just pray that it’s not a concrete wall like the last time…”

“Then lets summon and see, ready—”

“““SUMMON!”””

Our gang shouted out. Soon, patterned array appeared around our feet, and the summoned beasts that were shaped off everyone’s looks appeared.

“Wow…nice armor…it really looks awe-inspiring.”

“A lance and armor? Have I evolved into a knight? That’s great…it’s great that I’m not using a chopping board as a shield. This is really great!”

“Oi, Yuuji, look at me. My uniform has a dragon woven.”

“Look, Akihisa, mine’s a tiger.”

“A longsword and a coat…so I became the Shinsengumi. Looks really strong.”

“…I got improved to a jonin.”

Unn, I see. So everyone’s equipment became better.

““JUST WAIT A SECOND, DAMN IT!!””

“What now, Yoshii, Sakamoto? You’re really noisy.”

“OF COURSE WE HAVE TO COMPLAIN! THIS IS OBVIOUSLY UNFAIR!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Just look at the changes on Himeji-san!”

“Eh, my armor’s sturdier than before, and my weapon became longer and larger.”

“Minami?”

“My army uniform became a knight’s uniform, and my spear became a lance.”

“Then Hideyoshi?”

“My Naginata warrior became a Shinsengumi member.”

“Muttsurini!”

“…I went from a Chonin to a Jonin.”

“But Yuuji and I—”

“Only had patterns woven on our school uniforms!”

““THAT IS WAY TOO STRANGE!””

Yuuji and I said that in perfect unison. This is way too different from the rest! Why is Yuuji and my equipment almost the same as before!

“No, Akihisa, wait, I’m different from you. My weapon changed too.”

“Eh? Really?”

“Yeah. My metal knuckles became a bat.”

“THAT’S NOT MUCH DIFFERENT!”

It looks like no matter how much changes happened, I’m always given the equipment of a delinquent. Or rather…is it the principal’s doing?

“Alright, you should be happy now, right? I’m going to revoke the permission.”

Once Ironman said that, the summoning field disappeared, and at the same time, our summoned beasts disappeared. GUUUUUU…! I CAN’T ACCEPT THIS…!

“Lunch break’s almost over. Don’t play around and prepare for the next lesson.”

Leaving those words behind, Ironman left the classroom.

“Aki and Sakamoto haven’t grown up at all.”

“Shimada, don’t associate me with that idiot. It’s too disrespectful.”

“Yeah, Minami. My brain’s different from Yuuji’s brain and Minami’s chest, I did grow—(CRACK)”

“What did you just say?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Akihisa really hasn't grown up at all…”

I held my hands that were twisted to the limit and endured the sharp pain that came from the joint as I continued the afternoon lessons.

☆

Time flew, and it was already after school.

“It’s been a while since things were quiet. Let’s just look forward to the upcoming days of school dismissal.”

Carrying the school bag that wasn’t really heavy, Yuuji walked beside me and muttered.

“Because we had to stay behind for after-school supplementary lessons recently.”

The school’s nature allowed for more supplementary lessons for classes that were more likely to be involved in summoning battles. We had to take lessons, and also had to take exams to replenish our points.

“It’s because you guys always skipped lessons that you ended up having more supplementary lessons than the rest.”

I had no idea about what Minami was talking about at all.

“…We should be grateful that we can look forward to school dismissal in such a free manner.”

“Speaking of which, it’s like our free time was extended. It really feels like we earned it.”

Muttsurini and Himeji-san said that in a seemingly happy manner. On a side note, Hideyoshi went for his drama club practice. He’s the only one among us who’s taking part in club activities, so there’s not many chances for him to go back with everyone.

“It’s rare for us to leave school early. Why don’t we walk somewhere?”

Yuuji raised this usual plan as we never had a planned schedule.

Normally, I would definitely agree to hang out with him, but…

“Forget about today. I need to go to the supermarket to buy ingredients.”

“You’re going shopping? I thought there was a lot of that seafood you won.”

“There is a lot, but I want to cook meat. I remember that eggs and meat will be cheaper on Monday.”

In fact, as there were 3 people at home, the seafood we won was almost finished. It’s okay if nee-san and I were at home, but since Himeji-san’s living at my house, I had to put some more effort in cooking. As we had been eating seafood for the past few days, I wanted to try a meat dish.

“Really? I’ll have meat today too.”

Yuuji’s in charge of cooking today too (In his situation, it should be ‘again’)? He seemed to be pondering as he said this.

“Oh yeah. What do you intend to cook tonight?”

“Hm…about that…”

That’s really troublesome. Even though I said that I wanted to cook meat, I don’t really have things that I want to cook…and every menu has to vary, which is really troublesome…ah, that’s right!

“Himeji-san, what do you want to eat tonight?”

“Eh? Me?”

I turned around and asked Himeji-san. It’s rare for her to be a guest of mine, so I’ll like to hear what she wants to eat. I’ll have some idea on what to cook.

“I don’t really have things I like or hate…but more than that, Akihisa-kun, what do you like to eat? Akihisa-kun cooked yesterday, and it’s my—”

“No no no no no! It’s my job to cook! You really don’t have to worry about this!”

Before Himeji-san could say something even more dangerous, I hurriedly interrupted her. I’ll handle the cooking; no way will I back off from that!

“““…”””

Just when I was discussing dinner with Himeji-san, Yuuji and company looked at us.

“Oi, Akihisa.”

“What is it, Yuuji?”

“Why are you asking Himeji what she wants for dinner?”

“Eh?”

Now that Yuuji mentioned it, Himeji-san and I subconsciously looked at each other.

Damn it! I was thinking about dinner tonight and accidentally blurted out that we’re living together! How could I make such a simple mistake! An, anyway, got to calm down! Got to find some way to hide this!

“Tha, tha tha tha that’s because of that! Right, Himeji-san?”

“Ye, yes! It’s because…eh, Akihisa-kun just wants to use what I like as reference so that he can prepare dinner tonight. It’s not for me to eat!”

“““…”””

After hearing Himeji-san’s explanation, the stares on us had even more doubts and suspicions.

“Eh…the…I’m going to the supermarket first. I’ll make a move first!”

“I, I have something I have to do. Sorry, I have to leave!”

Before everyone else could comment, we ran off. Though they didn’t chase up, the stares on my back were so piercing that they were aching me.

“Is, is it alright? We weren’t discovered, right?”

“I, I guess we’re definitely alright. We just explained it properly just now.”

After turning around the corner, Himeji-san and I looked at each other. It’s really hard to hide secrets from others…

“In that case, how about you go home first, Himeji-san? I’ll go back once I’m done buying the stuff.”

“No, I should come along if I want to buy stuff. I've been treated kindly by you, and I would be bothered by it.”

“But it’s not good for us to buy ingredients together…”

“How about you leave the shopping to me? I’ll be in charge of dinner tonight. Akihisa-kun can go back to study for tomorrow’s lessons…”

“Alright, let’s go shop then! What should we have for dinner tonight?”

“Ah, Akihisa-kun, wait for me!”

Asking Himeji-san to cook, and for me to study…wouldn’t that be the worst case scenario? There’ll be no problems if it was the complete opposite…

☆

“Akihisa-kun, I heard that eggplants are going at a special price today?”

As I carried the basket into the supermarket, Himeji-san said to me after seeing the vegetable area near the entrance.

“Eggplant…that's good. Do you eat eggplants, Himeji-san?”

“Yes, I like eggplants the most!”

Himeji-san answered with an ever-radiant smile.

We're now entering autumn time, and it's the time when eggplant tastes best. If it's a little cheaper, I'd really like to buy it. Maybe I should deep-fry and then stew it, or maybe I should add green peppers and meat slices to stir fry if I want some seasonal taste. It'll taste good once I add ginger soy sauce after frying. My mouth started to water as I imagined it.

“Miso yakitori’s good too…no, we can also steam it with chicken…”

“Sounds good. Eggplants have low calories and are really healthy, and since it is autumn, it’s the best season to eat eggplants.”

“That’s right.”

Just when we intended to buy some eggplants, a shop worker was walking over and shouting energetically.

“OVER HERE, OVER HERE! CHEAP AND HEALTHY STUFF ARE HERE! COME CHECK IT OUT!”

It seemed like I heard this mysterious tone before…is this shop attendant a foreigner?

As Himeji-san and I widened our eyes curiously, the shop attendant continued to shout in front of us.

“TODAY’S VEGETABLES ARE VALUE FOR MONEY! ESPECIALLY THIS—”

At that moment, the shouting stopped.

The shop attendant’s eyes were staring at the eggplant he was holding in his hand as he tilted his head slightly before shouting again.

“ESPECIALLY THIS…how should I call it? Eh…THIS THING THAT LOOKS LIKE A PURPLE BAT! IT’S REALLY DELICIOUS!”

Doesn’t this guy know what an eggplant is?

“IT’S COMPLETELY RIPE AND FULL OF HONEY! IT’S SWEET AND DELICIOUS!”

What’s with that eggplant? What’s added inside!?

“Ohh, the newly-wed couple over there! How do you feel about this…purple thing? Wanna buy some?”

Maybe we were looking too interested as the shop attendant that was hawking soon noticed us. Damn it. This person doesn’t look normal in any way. It’s best to run away before we get involved with him…

“Call, calling us a newly-wed couple…”

Himeji-san beside me was blushing as she looked all fluffy, and had no intention of running away.

Speaking of which, Himeji-san’s really like a girl. It seems that girls are powerless against words like ‘bride’ or ‘newly-weds’.

“Come, look! What do you think of this purple rod, kiddo? It’s cheap and ripe! It’s extremely sweet!”

“Sorry. If possible, please don’t give me that ripe and sweet one.”

That unnaturally soft and sweet smell must be because the inside’s rotten already, right?

“No no, kiddo, you don’t have to be so kind with me! This purple rod’s sweet part is the best! This, eh…this has the label ‘local produce’! It has lots of calories, and has nothing to do with nutrition! Also—”

This shop attendant was not even listening to me at all as he continued to mutter rubbish…Himeji-san hadn't recovered yet. Looked like I could only continue to stay there…

“…And something like that. It’s a good that’s well-loved from the past! Once this vegetable had been used in the north pole 800 years ago…”

As I stood in front of the shop attendant who was continuing to fire off, I sank into deep thought. Let me see…aside from the ingredients for the dishes tonight, is there anything else I need to buy?

“Ah, speaking of which, kiddo…”

There are still napkins, and there’s no problem with the toilet paper and toothbrushes.

“I’d like to know the name of this purple vegetable?—”

If I have to say it, it’s the one thing we didn’t have much left the last time we did cleaning…

“—Toilet cleaner…”

“Oh! I see! Thank you very much!”

“Hm?”

Once I recovered, I found that the shopkeeper was standing in front of me, holding my hand and thanking me. Ahh, so he finally finished talking?

“I’ll have a bag then. Let’s go, Himeji-san.”

“Ah, okay, my beloved—no, Akihisa-kun!”

Himeji-san looked like she finally recovered too. I took a bag of eggplants, and soon after, left the vegetable section.

“WE’RE SELLING TOILET CLEANERS CHEAPLY TO YOU! RIPE AND SWEET TOILET CLEANERS ARE NOW FOR SALE! FOR SWEET STUFF, CHOOSE TOILET CLEANERS!”

The shop attendant just now was shouting behind me about something he was selling.

“Akihisa-kun, what was that shop attendant selling?”

“I don’t know either…”

I heard toilet clean or sweet or something. Are they selling a new product, edible toilet cleaner?

“Oh yes, Akihisa-kun, do you know?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Do you know the saying ‘don’t let your wives eat eggplants in autumn’…”

“Ah, I think I heard of that before.”

The source of this saying should be because aunties feel that ‘it’ll be a waste that the delicious eggplants in autumn are fed to those irritating spouses’, I guess. That’s rude.

But Himeji-san was thinking so thoroughly for her to ask this. Maybe she was wondering if she could eat eggplants.

“Himeji-san, you don’t have to worry about that saying. That’s an old generation's way of thinking.”

“Tha, that’s right. I shouldn’t be thinking about this and work hard to give birth to a healthy and energetic baby!”

Why must you mention a baby? I don’t understand what she meant at all.

“Akihisa, I think I have to explain it to you. The saying ‘don’t let your wives eat eggplants in autumn’ is because ‘eggplants have few seeds, and they feared that the chances of pregnancy would be lowered’, so they would prevent their wives from eating eggplants.”

“Heh~ I see. Yuuji’s really knowledgeable.”

“It’s not that I’m knowledgeable, but that you lack common sense.”

Really? I didn’t know that—HEY, HOLD ON A SEC!

“Yu, Yuuji? Why are you here?”

“Sa, Sakamoto-kun! When did you come here?”

“Nothing, I just came here to buy ingredients for dinner…”

Speaking of which, Yuuji did mention that he had to cook dinner tonight too…there are not many supermarkets from school to home, so it’s not really surprising that we would meet here. It’s because we just went our separate ways that I made a huge mistake…

“Say it! What’s going on?”

“Wha, what are you saying? Himeji-san and I just happened to meet at the supermarket and went together!”

“That’s right, Sakamoto-kun. We really met coincidentally before shopping in the supermarket!”

“Hoho? Really, you two said that you wanted to buy ingredients for dinner together. Looks like you have quite the good relationship there.”

“That’s not it. It’s not like that at all!”

“Speaking of which, it’s too suspicious that you two would enter a supermarket together. You must be hiding something else besides shopping together, right?”

Seeing that Himeji-san and I were looking uncomfortable because of his words, Yuuji placed his hand under his chin and gave a pondering look.

“Yesterday’s dinner, today’s lunch and tonight’s dinner are the same…it seems that you two have been eating the same dishes together…and you two came to school together…”

WAAAAHHHH!! Yuuji’s getting closer to the truth! Got to find some way to change the topic!

“S, speaking of which! There’s a lot of social news everyday!”

“Yes yes! Like airport strikes, flights terminated and all that stuff!”

“That’s really bad! A lot of people can’t go back to Japan if the airport’s under strike!”

Himeji-san and I tried our best to divert the topic to the latest news. But after hearing what we said, Yuuji frowned harder.

“…Airport stop…Himeji had to stay at Akihisa’s house two days ago…are you two…”

Most likely, Yuuji noticed some critical fact as he inadvertently widened his eyes. Wha, what what? Does he know about it?

“Oi, Akihisa, answer me honestly! Don’t tell me—”

“Wha, what do you want to say?”

“—You’re staying together with Himeji…!?”

WERE WE DISCOVERED? SO QUICKLY TOO!

“NO, NONONONONO, OF COURSE NOT! HOW COULD SUCH AN IMPOSSIBLE THING HAPPEN!?”

“THATHATHATHATHATHAT’S RIGHT, SAKAMOTO-KUN. THAT’S COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE. HOW COULD IT HAPPEN! YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT HAPPENING!”

“Yo, you two…why must you two come up with something like this at this moment!?”

Our denials were meaningless as Yuuji gave us vengeful looks as he glared at Himeji-san and me. Damn it! If anyone knows of what happy things happened in my life, I’ll have people jealous of me and killing me…

I predicted the attack manner Yuuji may choose and stealthily got into defensive position. However—

“How did that happen…this is bad! This is really bad! Damn it…!”

Yuuji was clutching his head and shaking as he didn’t do anything cruel to me. Eh? That’s strange?

“What’s with you, Yuuji?”

“AND YOU DARE ASK ME WHAT’S WRONG!? DAMN IT…WHAT DID I…WHAT STUPID THINGS DID I SAY!? I REALLY WANT TO WHACK AKIHISA AND ME THIS TIME…”

If you really want to do so, couldn’t you just hit yourself only?

“Ah well, it’s pointless to grumble about it. Oi, Akihisa. Nobody knows that you two are living together, right?”

“Uu, ah, yes. I don’t think anyone other than Yuuji knows.”

“That’s really the best thing I heard in this misfortune. If you find out that this is about to be discovered, hurry up and tell me, and I’ll try to cover up for you.”

“Eh…Ah, un, thanks then.”

To think that Yuuji would say such things. I thought that he would be hollering in anger ‘how can you get so cocky you idiot’ and beat me up.

“However, you must never ever let anyone else know that you two are staying together! You must be extremely careful, understood!?”

“I’ll definitely try my best not to let others know…”

“What’s with those spineless words!? It’s not even to try! Akihisa, listen up! You must, never, ever, let anyone else know about it!”

“Uu…un, I understand.”

Yuuji glared at me viciously as he continued to remind me over and over again.

“If other people come to know about it, I’ll beat you down into the path to hell, or else I won’t be able to erase the anger within me!”

What’s going on? Will something horrifying happen to Yuuji if the fact that Himeji-san and I are living in the same place gets out?

“Got it, Yuuji. I’ll keep that secret no matter what.”

“Please. I really want to avoid doing meaningless actions like taking revenge on you! Hurry up and go back before other people discover you.”

“Got it. Then, here’s a present.”

After handing the eggplant in my hand, we said goodbye to Yuuji. It’ll be alright. Though that guy said it as if something will happen, but nobody will know that Himeji-san and I are living together!

“I’m worried, but it can’t be helped…I have to hide this secret for them with my utmost—!”

“…Yuuji.”

“…………………………………What is it?”

“…Do you remember our promise?”

“Ha…haha, ha…Shouko, since when were you…standing there…”

“…Right from the beginning. Because Yuuji wouldn’t come home with me, I came over to punish Yuuji.”

“I, I see…I’m really sorry then…”

“…Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter now.”

“That’s right. Then—”

“…Un.”

“Farewell!”

“…Don’t run. You won’t be able to escape.”

"DDDDDDDDDAAAAMMMMMNNNNNN IIIIITTTTT, AKIHISAAAAAA!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULLLLTTTT!!!”

I felt a little killing intent behind me, but I must be thinking too much.

After walking out of the supermarket, Himeji-san and I walked side by side with each other as we went home. Really, it’s because Yuuji suddenly appeared that I forgot to buy vegetables…

“Wah, speaking of which. I haven’t bought ingredients for dinner!”

“Ah, you’re right.”

It took a lot of my mind to think of how to handle the situation just now, and I forgot to buy vegetables. This is bad.

“Can’t be helped then. I’ll go back and buy again. Can you please head home first, Himeji-san?”

“No, in that case, I should follow…”

“No, we were just discovered by Yuuji. I don’t know what he will say if we head back to the supermarket together.”

“I see…”

“I’m going back then.”

“I understand. Please take care.”

I waved my hand and bid farewell to Himeji-san for the time being. Alright, I have to buy the ingredients for dinner tonight and hurry back home.

☆

And so, after buying all the ingredients for dinner, I went back home.

“I guess it’s about time it starts raining too, but this is bad…”

I already felt that the air was a little too humid, and soon, it started raining as expected.

“This is bad. And I didn’t bring an umbrella…”

I took note not to let the rainwater enter the grocery bag with the dinner ingredients inside. Anyway, better get to a nearby convenience store to avoid the rain. It’s not far from home here, and I’m fine with running back in the rain, but I saw some manga that were recently released—maybe I should go home when the rain’s lighter.

I noticed the outside situation as I took the magazine out to read. Unn, there’s going to be a lot of games coming out next month. I don’t know if I can secretly get some money from nee-san…

I browsed through the magazines for quite a while and found a lot of interesting reports, but just when I wanted to stop reading and brought it directly over to the cashier, I found—

—ZABA ZABA ZABA ZABA ZABA

The rain outside was like a pail that was fully filled with water being kicked, and had become a torrent. Looks like…I will get wet no matter whether I bring an umbrella out or not…

I took out my handphone, went to the internet and checked the weather report. The webpage did note that I have to be wary of heavy rain. This is bad. I was thinking about not letting Himeji-san cook so much that I didn’t notice the weather change. But the good thing is that I let Himeji-san go home first.

“Looks like the rain won’t be stopping anytime soon…”

Looking at the current situation now, the rain will only get stronger. Can’t be helped then, I can only run home…

I got ready to get drenched as I walked out of the convenience store. The magazines will only get wet under such large rain. Next time, I guess.

BAYABAYABAYA. The rain continued to pour on me as I couldn’t see the road in front of me. Uuu…if I don’t hurry back to take a shower, I might catch a cold…

The ground collected lots of rainwater as the cars that moved by created splashes like they were wading through a river. The sound of rain and wind swirled beside my ears, and my eyes and hearing were covered by the stormy rain all around me.

At that moment—

“Uu…”

It seemed that I heard a soft sound.

Hm? I think I have heard this voice before…

To hear that voice clearly, I gathered all my concentration.

“Uu…it’s so cold…this place is so cold…”

On hearing that, it sounded like a girl crying.

To find the owner of that voice, I could only widen my eyes at the visual range that was only several meters in radius and search. That voice…I think it came from the park?

Since I’m already wet, I might as well go into the park.

Looking inside the pavilion,

“Hazuki-chan?”

“Ah…baka onii-chan?”

I found Hazuki-chan, all wet and looking like she was about to cry.

“Why did you come here? You’ll catch a cold.”

“I came to see baka onii-chan! I thought that I’ll see you here if I waited here!”

“Eh? You came to see me?”

Ah, that’s right. Speaking of which, I did meet Hazuki-chan for the first time at this park.

“But why are you looking for me?”

“Onee-chan was too much. She always lied and wouldn’t let Hazuki go to baka onii-chan’s house.”

As she said that, Hazuki-chan puffed her cheeks unhappily.

“So Hazuki kept it a secret from onee-chan and came to look for baka onii-chan!”

“But it suddenly rained, and you didn’t even know where my house is, so you came to the pavilion in the park to avoid the rain?”

“That’s the case…”

And that’s quite the coincidence. But since I can meet Hazuki-chan here, I guess it’s the best thing among all these.

“Kuchuun.”

Hazuki-chan was trembling from the cold as she let out a cute sneeze.

As I went there before, I guess Minami’s house wasn’t that near to my house. It was really tough for Hazuki-chan to go out alone in such weather.

“Then come over to my house. You’ll catch a cold if you continue to stay here.”

“Can I really? That’s great! Hazuki’s really happy!”

“Guu!!”

It seemed that she was really happy as she hugged me happily and hit her head straight into my chest. Due to the difference in height, that one hit from her slammed straight into my weakest point. I know Hazuki-chan shouldn’t have any ill intent, but if she’s going to meet me like this all the time, my life may be at risk…

“Hazuki-chan, you better grow up…”

“Hm?”

At that moment, your head won’t be hitting my chest.

“Ah, that’s right, so baka onii-chan means that. Hazuki understands and will do her best. Hazuki will work hard and grow bigger!”

“You understand?”

“Yes! Hazuki wants to hurry and grow up to become a beautiful bride!”

Un, she’s thinking the wrong way.

“But I don’t really have confidence about my chest’s size…”

Hazuki-chan placed her hand on her chest and said in a somewhat dejected manner.

That’s not true—I wanted to comfort her like that, but I couldn’t say more. I remembered Muttsurini saying before that this is most likely genetic…

“An, anyway, you have to get yourself dry. Let’s go, Hazuki-chan.”

“Okay!”

To escape from this rain that continued to pour hard, I took Hazuki-chan’s hand and started running again.

☆

“Akihisa-kun, you finally came back. It’s quite the heavy rain outside, are you—oh my?”

“Ah! Pretty onee-chan!”

“I’m back, Himeji-san.”

Himeji-san, who came back home first, met me at the entrance with a large towel, but she couldn’t help but widen her eyes after seeing Hazuki-chan come back with me.

“I found her at the park nearby. She can’t go back home alone in such heavy rain, so I brought her back. Right, Hazuki-chan?”

“Yes!”

“I see. It’s easy to catch a cold when you’re all wet. Hurry up and wipe yourselves dry, I have prepared the bath.”

The indoor slippers let out a clapping sound as Himeji-san went back into the house to get another towel. To think that she would even prepare the bath water. She’s really a thoughtful girl.

“Go take a bath first, Hazuki-chan, I’ll see if nee-san has a shirt or something for you to wear—”

“Got it! A bath it is, right?”

Hazuki-chan nodded her head and immediately got ready to take off those wet clothes of hers. Eh? That’s not good no matter what, isn’t it?

“Well…Hazuki-chan, it doesn’t really matter if you wet the floor, but you should head to the changing room before taking off your clothes.”

“? I can’t take off my clothes here?”

“Un. Hazuki-chan’s not that young anymore. I feel that it’s not right to take off clothes in front of the opposite gender.”

I won’t have any perverse lust for such a small kid (I guess), but even so, she can’t just take off her clothes right in front of me like that. Though Hazuki-chan’s na?ve and carefree, she’s a little too liberal in some aspects.

“But even if we take off our clothes separately, Hazuki’s going to bathe with baka onii-chan, right?”

“You want to bathe with me!?”

“Eh? Hazuki often bathes with onee-chan, like after watching a scary TV show, we will always bathe together.”

Minami…if you’re so scared that you have to bathe with a primary school kid after seeing such a scary show, you might as well not watch it in the first place, right…

“And I would also bathe with daddy and mummy.”

“No, it’s not really a problem if it’s with family members…”

“Then it’s alright, because baka onii-chan’s Hazuki’s husband, so you’re family!”

It sounded right, but our conversation didn’t seem to match. Uu…what should I do now?

“Or rather, will baka onii-chan feel weird somewhere if you bathe with Hazuki?”

Hazuki-chan looked at me with really sincere eyes. Nononono. It’ll be bad if I have such an interest!

“That’s not true! There’s no one able to keep a steady emotion and remain unshakable like me!”

“That’s great. Then we can bathe together!”

“Of course!”

………………………Eh?

“…”

“??? Baka onii-chan, what’s wrong?”

Eve, even though it’s not really possible, but did I…

“Did I lose in a debate to a primary school kid? How did this happen…”

“Hazuki’s not really sure what’s going on, but Hazuki is happy that baka onii-chan’s willing to bathe together!”

“MY GOOODDDDD!!!”

Did I just verbally lose to a primary school kid? I’m already a high school student!

“Hazuki-chan, that won’t do. Akihisa-kun’s a boy, so how can you bathe with him? That’s not good.”

Just when I was clutching my head because of this unacceptable fact, Himeji-san came over with another towel.

“Uu…that won’t do…”

“That’s right. Hazuki-chan’s a girl, so you have to be more wary of guys.”

“I understand. Hazuki wants to bathe with pretty onee-chan then!”

“Eh? Bathe with me?”

“Yes!”

Hazuki-chan smiled happily. Girls can bathe together, and that will really help me out a lot. That’s gratifying, gratifying—

“Akihisa-kun. I’ll like to talk to you later about you two wanting to bathe together just now.”

As she handed the towel to me, Himeji-san’s eyes gave off an inexplicable aura.

“Alright, Hazuki-chan. Let’s hurry up and bathe.”

“Okay!”

Himeji-san led Hazuki into a room. I suddenly felt a bad chill and hurriedly used the towel to wipe my wet hair as I entered the house. While they’re bathing, I should wipe myself dry and change clothes…ah, before that, I should call Minami first. I think she should be worried about where Hazuki-chan is.

After taking out the handphone, I used the towel to wipe the wet screen and searched for her handphone number. However, the phone rang a few times and then went straight to the mailbox, so I could only leave a message in her phone ‘I found Hazuki-chan in the park nearby, so I’ll send her back later. Don’t worry’. That should do, I guess?

“Waa~ pretty onee-chan’s really amazing! It’s completely different from my onee-chan!”

“Hazuki-chan, you’ll get a cold if you don’t hurry up and enter.”

“I will enter only when I touch your breasts!”

“No~! I’ll let you touch later. Get into the bathtub first—”

“Fuwaa…amazing…onee-chan’s breasts are so soft…”

“Ahh, really…can’t be helped. Once you have enough, get inside the bathtub and warm your body up.”

“Okay!”

“…”

Okay, now I should…

“Himeji-san.”

“Ah, yes. What is it, Akihisa-kun?”

“I’ll go run a few rounds outside.”

“Eh? Isn’t it raining now?”

“And also, I bought some dishes on the way back. You can start off with Hazuki-chan. No need to wait for me.”

“Ah? Akihisa-kun! Why are you suddenly…”

“I’m going out then…”

Himeji-san’s surprised voice came from behind, but I sprinted out of the house. No! This isn’t some despicable perverse lust, but that I’m overflowing with abundance of youth and a lust to abuse housewives…that’s all!

I muttered to myself in the rain and ran for quite a few minutes, catching Minami’s call on the way. The moment I got home, my brain and my body were all cold.

☆

“Fuu…that’s a nice bath…”

It felt really good to be bathed in hot water after being drenched in rain, and I accidentally stayed inside the bathtub for too long. It was a luxurious happiness to be able to have a warm bath in cold weather.

“Onii-chan, you’re all warm now that you bathed!”

As I returned back to the living room, Hazuki-chan, who was dressed in pajamas, ran to me.

“Are you cold, Hazuki-chan? There are no problems, right?”

“Yes!”

Hazuki-chan showed me a bright smile. Seeing her like this, I won’t have to worry about her getting a cold, right?

“That’s strange? Where’s Himeji-san?”

“Pretty onee-chan looked like she went to dry Hazuki’s clothes.”

The blow-dryer’s buzzing came from the room. Himeji-san, must be using the iron and blow dryer to dry Hazuki-chan’s clothes.

“Hazuki said that she would do it, but pretty onee-chan said that it’s dangerous and wouldn’t allow me to do it…”

“Un…that’s true. The blow dryer is alright, but the iron is really too dangerous for you.”

Maybe Hazuki-chan can really dry her own clothes, but it’s better to leave this to Himeji-san. Having lived together in the same house as Himeji-san during these past few days, I understand that Himeji-san is good at every form of housework except cooking.

“Hazuki-chan, do you want to watch TV with me?”

“Okay!”

I took the remote control and sat on the sofa in the living room. Hazuki-chan then sat beside me. Unn, this little critter-like action’s really cute.

“What show do you want to watch, Hazuki-chan?”

“Erm…Hazuki wants to watch a drama!”

“A drama? Which one?”

I don’t really watch dramas, so I was somewhat shocked to hear her say that. So do kids nowadays love to watch dramas?

“Hazuki doesn’t really want to choose one…but Hazuki wants to watch one!”

Hazuki-chan looked around before answering. Oh, I get it…she’s trying to be like an adult, right? Hazuki-chan most likely watches other shows.

“But there are a few interesting shows on other channels too.”

“I don’t want to watch those childish shows. I want to watch those shows that are related to romance!”

Hazuki-chan forcefully voiced her opinion. Un…was there something wrong with the way I suggested it? Maybe I should choose a show Hazuki-chan may be interested in. Besides, I feel that it will be better watching it.

“Then, let’s see what sort of interesting drama we can find…”

I searched the program menu, but the time wasn’t right, and there was no drama showing now.

“There’s no drama.”

“Ahh…”

“Ah, speaking of which.”

I remember I recorded some ridiculous drama accidentally because I failed in my recording. I guess I haven’t deleted that program…oh, got it, found it.

“Can this do, Hazuki-chan? This looks like a drama too.”

“Okay, Hazuki wants to watch this!”

After obtaining her permission, I pressed the play button on the remote control. Soon, the melody of the main theme came from the screen, and then the drama was aired. This drama’s called ‘Waiting for you under that legendary tree’…hmm, let me see.

“Shinji, I’m sorry for taking something to smash you. Thinking that you wouldn’t accept my love, I couldn’t hold back my emotions…”

“That’s not something that can be settled by apologizing.”

“As an apology, I prepared a bento for you. Are you willing to eat it?”

“That’s suspicious. Did you spike the bento?”

“Ho, how could I do such a thing?”

“As expected. Let’s check it out first. (licks) this is…anesthetic!”

“Damn it! You find out…that’s right! That’s a powerful anesthetic that will numb you with just a lick. As expected of George, for you to find that out!”

“Fufun, I’ve already seen through your thoughts (bkun bkun)”

Fuu…this drama was really boring…we started from the middle, so I really couldn’t tell what the drama was about, and up till now, it was all about guys…

“…(Nods head, nods head).”

As I looked beside me, Hazuki-chan seemed to feel bored too as she leaned on me and slept.

“I’m tired from all the running today too. I just had a nice warm bath. Now I want to sleep…”

My consciousness felt like it was floating away as my eyelids became heavier and heavier…

☆

“Hm? Ugh…”

Ah, this is bad. I fell asleep!

My mind wasn't really awake, but I still tried to wake up, and I found—

“Eh…ah, waahh! Akihisa-kun!”

Himeji-san was in front of me, looking all flustered.

“Eh…Himeji-san, what are you doing?”

“Eh, we, well…I entered the living room and found that both of you were sleeping, so I wanted to join in…”

“But your eyes were open, weren't they…”

“Tha, that's not true! I wasn't staring at Akihisa-kun's face!”

Himeji-san raised her hands to deny it. Is that so? I guess I'm mistaken then.

“Hm…baka onii-chan?”

“Ah, Hazuki-chan, are you awake?”

“Yes…”

Rubbing her eyes sleepily, Hazuki-chan sat up straight on the sofa. I looked at the clock and found that the minute hand was between '9' and '10'.

“Ah, we slept too much. Hazuki-chan, it's about time to go home.”

“I understand…”

I handed the still sleepy Hazuki-chan over to Himeji-san and let her change Hazuki-chan's clothes. I got up to prepare the rainy day attire to send Hazuki-chan back to Minami's house.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

After waiting at the corridor for several minutes, the still-somewhat-sleepy Hazuki-chan came walking towards me with her clothes changed.

“I'll send her back then, Himeji-san.”

“I'll go too…”

“No no no. If you do that, Minami will know that both of us are staying together.”

“Ahh…that's right. I'll stay at home and wait for Akira-san then.”

“Un, I'll leave it to you.”

I took two umbrellas and pushed the main door of the corridor.

“Good night, Hazuki-chan.”

“Good night, pretty onee-chan.”

Hazuki-chan waved her hand and said goodbye to Himeji-san before following me out of the house.

The heavy rain's over already, I guess. As it drizzled, I held Hazuki-chan's hand as we walked slowly down the night street.

“Hazuki-chan, are you still sleepy?”

“A little…”

Hazuki-chan struggled somewhat with holding the umbrella as she yawned and walked.

“In that case, I'll give you a special service.”

I knelt down in front of Hazuki-chan, who was nodding away in a sleepy manner, and she immediately understood my intent.

“Thank you, onii-chan…”

Hazuki-chan said as she climbed up my back.

“Heh!”

I leaned the umbrella in my hand on my shoulder and carried Hazuki-chan as I walked on. The weight that came from behind was warm, and that sure did feel good.

And then, we continued to walk in the middle of the rain.

“Aki! Hazuki!”

Just when we were about to reach Minami's house, someone called our names.

“Ah, Minami, sorry for being late.”

“No, I should be the one. I'm sorry for not bringing her back.”

It's dangerous for a girl to walk alone at night. Even though Minami wanted to come over to my house to pick up Hazuki-chan, I was the one who stopped her, so she didn't have to apologize to me. Minami's rather polite too.

“My turn to carry.”

“I'll just carry her over to your house.”

“It's alright here. My house's nearby.”

“Un, got it.”

I handed the weight over to Minami. Hazuki-chan twitched for a moment, but soon found that Minami was the one carrying her and went back to dreamland.

“Hazuki, say thank you to Aki.”

Minami shook Hazuki-chan gently and prompted her to thank me.

“No need for that. She's still asleep. You don't have to worry about that.”

“That won't do. Oi, Hazuki, thank Aki.”

“U…onii-chan, thank you very much…”

Even though she was almost asleep, Hazuki-chan thanked me politely.

“No no, it's alright.”

I responded back,

And then—

“Please help Hazuki thank that pretty onee-chan too…”

“Eh? Hazuki? Are you talking about Akira-san?”

Minami asked the half-asleep Hazuki. Argh, just treat it as if she was talking in her dreams and leave it at that!

“I, I understand! I'll pass Hazuki-chan's feelings over to nee-san!”

I deliberately emphasized that the sister Hazuki-chan said was nee-san and wanted to end this topic.

However—

“That's strange? I remember pretty onee-chan is used on Mizuki…”

Minami still noticed the suspicious thing about this. In that case, it can't be helped!

“I'll leave it at that then, Minami! See you at school tomorrow!”

“Ah! Wait a minute, Aki!”

If all else fails, retreat! I ran away as fast as I could before Minami discovered even more.