“Kinoshita, think about it. You don’t like it when people talk about you without your knowledge, right? And it’s natural to be concerned about the content of those conversations.”
“Yes, but you also seem to bring her up a lot when she’s not around, don’t you?”
“I never said anything bad about her though.”
“Then we have no problem.”
Haruki responded to Yō’s words with a generous smile.
Yō, who had seen this attitude before, exhaled, blurting out, “We’re so similar…”
“No matter what, you aren’t going to tell me?”
“I wouldn’t go that far out of my way, either.”
“…………”
In the face of Haruki’s stubborn defense of Marin, Yō understood that further persuasion would be futile.
He wondered what’s the point of “ask me anything”, but he didn’t call him up to get this out of him, so he changed his mind and decided to fulfill his original purpose.
“That’s enough. What I wanted to ask was what Kinoshita wants to do from now on.”
“What do I want to do? Why are you asking me that?”
Haruki asked curiously.
Yō looked away from Haruki and opened his mouth with a blunt expression.
“Even though Kinoshita took advantage of Nemoto, she was the one who originally tried to take advantage of you first. That’s why there’s a lot of mess. So I need to clean it up.”
“You really love Kasumi-chan, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t. It’s just that I can’t overlook when my childhood friend does something stupid. You don’t either, right?”
“Well, I don’t know. I’ve never had the opportunity to clean up Marin-chan’s mess, and I think she’s been more than happy to do it for me.”
Even though Kasumi and Marin were childhood friends, they were completely different types.
The same can be said for Yō and Haruki, and therefore they have not been on the same path.
In fact, the unconsciously caring Yō would have been on the side of Marin, who wanted to do everything for him.
Therefore, Haruki could understand Yō’s thinking, but he did not feel the same way.
In other words, Yō didn’t necessarily feel the same way about Haruki’s response.
“No, I think Akimi is the type of person who would do something like that…”
Yō’s current impression of Marin was that she was a risky girl.
The quiet and mature personality she used to have was temporary, and now she fights back like a pet biting its owner’s hand if she doesn’t like something.
Yō thought that she was a girl who would do something strange when she fought back, causing embarrassment not only to her opponent but also to herself.
But then― when Haruki heard Yō’s words, for some reason, he suddenly started laughing.
“Haha, that’s only for you, after all. I’ve never seen her act like that with me.”
“What’s up with that? I don’t get it….”
“Don’t say it like that. It means that Marin-chan, who was always taking care of others, thinks that she can be spoiled only by you.“
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Author’s Afterword:
I apologize for the late updates…!
I’ve been working a lot of overtime, so my update pace will be slower from now on.
But I’ll do my best, so please continue to support me!
Also, I’m in second place for the quarter!
I’m very happy about that!
I will continue to do my best so that everyone can enjoy this series.
Well then, I’ll be in your care!