CH 78

——About a week ago

After finishing our dinner, I was enjoying my after-dinner dessert as usual, relaxing and enjoying myself.

Today’s dessert was a chocolate brownie. Of course, it was homemade by Rin.

It’s a sweet that she often makes for me. ……　

It’s very good and a great treat.

“We still have some left, just let me know if you want some, okay?”

“Oh, thank you. It’ s so good, I’m afraid I’ll overeat.”

“Hmm. I’m glad to hear that. However, there is a limit to how much you can eat, so please be careful not to overeat.”

“No, I can’t! It’s Rin’s fault for making this thing that makes me want to keep eating it.”

Rin’s eyes sharpened at my words.

“The next time I prepare this, I’ll include it with the word memorization, so for every one you eat, you have ten new words.”

“Geez! Isn’t that too much ……?”

I’ve had this sweet …… made a few times and it’s now my favorite.

If someone took it away from me, I’d …… die.

No, those chocolate brownies …… are seriously delicious.

It’s not just simple chocolate, but she makes different kinds with nuts and different kinds of moistness so that I don’t get bored of it. ……

Ah~!

If I can’t eat these anymore, I’m sure I’ll have a “chocolate brownie crisis”.

I put my head on the desk and turned my face toward Rin.

I guess my expression looked weak, but Rin said in a slightly flustered tone., “Well, you can’t look so sad, you know!”

I guess it’s just my imagination that makes me think, “If we stick with this, maybe things will be okay. I’m sure it’s just my imagination.”

There is no way that Rin is that naive…….

Rin coughed lightly and sat back down beside me with a beautiful posture.

“Listen, Towa-kun. In order for people to work, everything needs a driving force. Think of this as one of them.”

“Haha, ……. If I work hard, will you really cook it for me?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll do my best. All for the sake of chocolate brownies!”

I opened my vocabulary book right there and started memorizing the words while chewing on a chocolate brownie.

I think I’m making more progress than usual.

Rin was dumbfounded by my situation and said, “I can’t believe that, that Towa-kun is so motivated. After all, it means that your stomach is important ……”

I was certainly caught up in the food, but …….

I think “that Towa-kun” is excessive, you know?

Boo-boo-boo!

As if to put a stop to my motivation, my phone starts to vibrate and wobble.

I took one look at the phone and tried to ignore it, but Rin chuckled and said, “You should answer the phone,” and held it up for me to see.

A big sigh escaped my mouth when I saw the screen displaying “Kenichi”.

I reluctantly took the phone and pressed the answer button on the screen.

“Hey! Towa! As I said before–“

“This call cannot be connected for the convenience of the customer.”

“Oh, really? You’re blocking my calls!?!?”

“…………”

“No, the only person with a voice this weak could be Towa.”

“That’s rude, dude.”

“Hahaha! Sorry, sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

I heard a high-pitched voice over the phone.

I reflexively reached for the end-call button.

“It’s about time, so get ready to go or something, okay?”

“………………”

Oops, that was close.

I was about to hang up. ……

“Hey, ……, there was a weird pause just now, but ……. I know you didn’t, but did you try to hang up?”

“No, of course not. …… Where are we going?”

“Did you forget? Summer Festival! Summer festival!”

“Ah. Oh, yeah, I remember that. ……”

I had pushed it to the corner of my memory because it was too unpleasant. ……

It’s a gathering of people.

They make a lot of noise anyway.

The uncooperative stalls.

–I hate everything about festivals.

Well, I promised Rin that I would go this time, so I had to go.　

This is a summer event that I would never want to go to.

“So, Towa, why don’t you get your luggage ready?”

“Yeah? What do you mean by luggage? Is there anything I need to bring to the festival other than my wallet?”

“No, no, no. You need a change of clothes, right? You’ll sweat in the summer and we’ll be staying overnight.”

–Staying?

The corner of my mouth twitched at the disturbing words I heard from Kenichi.

“…… Hey Kenichi. Isn’t the festival a local one? The smaller ones.”

It was a summer festival that Rin had suggested that we go to. It was a small local festival and it ended in early August.

It is now the middle of August ……. it’s already long past.

“Oh, that’s right. That’s what we were planning to do at first, but due to bad weather and stuff, it seems to have been pushed back to this time of year.”

“No, but …… that festival was going on. There were people riding their bikes past my house.”

“Ahh. You’re right, it was happening. You’re misunderstanding me, aren’t you, Towa?”

“What? Misunderstanding?”

“I said around the beginning of August, but I never said anything about ‘local’.”

——I stopped thinking.

I froze with my phone in my hand.

Rin looked at me with concern, “Are you okay?”. She tugged on my shirt a few times.

I was thrilled by her cute gesture and immediately called out to Kenichi.

“Kenichi, ……. You set me up, didn’t you ……?”

“Haha! It’s okay, isn’t it?”

“It’s not okay at all.”

“Relax, relax, relax. The reason I chose a non-local festival was out of consideration for Towa, you know?”

“…… Consideration?”

“You see, if you’re not a local, there’s less risk of meeting people you know, and you can enjoy yourself without worrying about it.”

He added with a laugh.

…… Hey, stop worrying about me.

I chuckled and swore in my mind.

“So, please get ready! I’ll send you the location later, so please check with Wakamiya. By the way, I don’t want you to get scared off and not go now, so please bear with us!~”

“…… Hey, hey. I have a lot to say, but I’ll keep my …… promise.”

“Well, can I ask the guardian to take over for a moment?”

“The guardian is you …….”

I held out my phone to Rin.

Rin was giggling next to me, as if she had heard my exchange with Kenichi.

“Here you go, ……. Rin. Kenichi said, ‘Take over for me.'”

She picked up the phone and said, “I’ve taken over. It’s Wakamiya.” answering the phone in a clear voice with no intonation.

They say that when you make a phone call, the tone of your voice rises, but in Rin’s case, it’s more understandable.

I sipped my tea and watched the conversation absentmindedly.

I don’t know what Kenichi said to her, but Rin’s occasional panicked look seemed refreshing and made me smile.

“Yes. Unfortunately, I don’t have any. ……”

“………………”

“Eh !? Is that true !?”

Her large eyes blinked in surprise at something.

But I can’t hear anything he says.

The only thing I can say for sure is that she looks very happy.

“However, I can’t ask you to go that far. ……”

“………………”

“……. Is that right ……?”

“………………”

“…… I’ll take your word for it. ……”

“………………”

“Thank you! I really appreciate it a lot.”

After this, I took over the phone from Rin, who repeatedly bowed her head, and asked Kenichi, “What’s up?” “Did you do your homework?” “How’s your studying going?” We had an ordinary conversation.

In the middle of the conversation, I heard “…… Kenichi is a jerk,” so Fuji must have been there too.

I could almost see Kenichi being berated.

◇◇◇

–And, well, that’s how it happened.

“……. Towa-kun, that’s …… wrong. ……”

“You’re taking care of me in your sleep?” I complained to myself.

My mouth naturally broke into a smile at the sight of Rin.

“Well, let’s try to make it to our destination …….”

I let out a big sigh and stretched my wrists so as not to wake up Rin.

I took out from my bag a drink that I had bought beforehand to help me sleep, and poured it into my mouth.

———————————————————————————–

TLN: Updates may slow down for max 3 weeks, I got some exams.

If I have the time, updates will remain every 4-5/days (like usual). Idk, I need to make a proper schedule for myself, rn I’m just updating all my series in order. Anyway, bye. <3