CH 99

“Akimi―”

“Mou~…”

“―Eh?”

After convincing Kasumi, Yō went to talk to Marin, but he unconsciously backed away when he saw Marin’s cheeks puff out.

He then looked at Nagisa in confusion, who shook her head from side to side with an expression that said, “Oh, dear.”

“What are you mad about…?”

Yō, not understanding why Marin was angry, asked her.

Marin’s cheeks puffed out, and she glared at him.

“Hazakura-kun favors Nemoto-san too much just because they’re childhood friends…”

It seemed like Marin thought that Kasumi was the only one being favored.

From Yō’s point of view, he is intentionally favoring Marin, but perhaps the other person perceives it differently.

Kasumi looked at Yō as if she wanted to say something to him, but she held back because she had just made a promise to Yō.

“Let’s talk alone over there for now.”

Yō, feeling that things were getting out of hand, decided to take Marin out with him.

Marin glanced up at Kasumi.

When their eyes met, sparks began to fly between them silently.

“I told you to stop…”

Yō looked back and noticed that they were fighting with their eyes and grabbed Marin’s hand.

This caused Marin’s face to turn red in surprise, while Kasumi’s face turned blue and her mouth twitched.

Kasumi then stared at Yō with teary eyes and puffed out cheeks, but Yō did not seem to notice and took Marin away.

(Yō-kun, if you don’t realize that you are starting the fire, it will go on and on…)

Nagisa, who had decided to sit on the sidelines, saw the interaction between the three of them and thought about this to herself.

◆

“Hey, Akimi, what’s your problem?”

Moving to a different location, Yō immediately asked Marin why she was so angry with him.

He could guess that she probably didn’t like Kasumi’s behavior, but he would not know the answer until he heard it from her.

Marin opened her mouth with a childish expression.

“I’m not complaining about anything…”

“Do you want me to show you the mirror…?”

“No, thanks…”

Marin’s expression of dissatisfaction combined with her stubbornness left Yō in a bind.

At that moment, Nagisa’s words came to mind.

(It’s true… in contrast to their behavior in school, Kasumi is actually more straightforward while Akimi is more stubborn…)

What should be done in such a situation?

Reflecting on his past actions, Yō quickly reached out his hand to Akimi’s head.

“Ah…”

Marin let out a happy squeal as she was gently stroked on the head.

And so, after being stroked on the head, she became meek.

“Ehehe~…”

The voice that leaked out on the way to the restaurant looked so happy that everyone could hear it, and her face was slightly disheveled and relaxed.

Apparently, a simple pat on the head can fix her mood.

(Really, I don’t know whether she’s sweet or stubborn…)

Yō thought so, but he still stroked Marin’s head until she was satisfied.

―Immediately after that, he felt chills all over his body.