Volume 2 - CH 2

Two weeks have passed since the beginning of summer break, and we’ve reached the first half of August. Counting in terms of days after the water park, it’s been five days now. Early in the morning, after sleeping until 10 am, I made my way to the living room, my family nowhere to be found. My little sister, my mother, my father, nobody was present in the living room. Well, our parents have to work so it’s to be expected that they’re out, and since my little sister had her club activities to attend to, I went ahead and sat down on my sofa, checking out what’s popping on TV.

I yawned loudly, wondering what I should get for breakfast when my phone on the table vibrated. Honestly, I’m still not fully used to this whole vibration thing despite the phone being so old. Every time I get a message it feels like my heart is going to leap out of my chest. Maybe I should look for a part-time job and switch to a smartphone…But if that isn’t the newest model of this time, it’ll just stress me out. I’m so used to everything going so smoothly, I might just get annoyed even more. With these idle thoughts in my mind, I grabbed my phone, seeing that it was an incoming call from Mom.

‘Ah, Nanaya. What would you like as a souvenir?’

“Souvenir? Where are you going?”

‘Hm? Starting today, we’ll be away for a week in Hawaii.’

“Huh?! Hawaii?! Who is we?! Are you speaking French?! I didn’t hear about that!”

‘What? You said you didn’t want to go, right? It’s too late now, either way. We used up all of our vacation and money, and we made up a proper plan to fully enjoy ourselves.’

What kind of plan are you talking about?! Wasn’t this supposed to be a family trip?!

“What about Kofuyu?”

‘She’s with us, of course. Are you still half-asleep?’

Hold on, am I the weird one? This is the first time I’ve heard about a plan like this…Or actually, after leaving back in time. But, what about before that? Eleven years ago, even before last May…Yeah, I remember now. This plan has been standing since March, I think. Right when I moved up to high school. Since I didn’t know if I was going to join any club or time-extensive committee, I went ahead and declined to join them for the trip. With a condition, that is. In the event that I decided against joining a club, wanting to go with them on the Hawaii trip, I should tell my parents during May and look for a hotel.

Naturally, since this happened eleven years ago, I had fully forgotten about this, and the topic of Hawaii never came up ever since I traveled back in time either. Now that May had ended, the plans had solidified since my parents assumed I didn’t want to go after all.

‘We’ll buy you something random then. Don’t destroy the house while we’re gone.’

As I reminisced in the past, Mom already hung up on me……Damn it, I really wanted to go to Hawaii though! Back when I first went through my high school life, I actually decided to tag along, and it was lots of fun. Ever since then, I haven’t been to Hawaii ever again. I would have loved to go once more.

“Haha…It’s fine, really…At least I have the chief here in Japan.” I looked up at the ceiling lights of the living room, letting out a dry laugh…all alone in the living room.

That’s right, this summer is my perfect chance to get closer to the chief. Just as Yuito-san said, I need to do something for the chief so that she feels indebted to me. All so that we could be on equal ground, so I don’t have time to worry about some trip to Hawaii. Ahaha…Bzzz bzzz!

“Woah?! God damn, that scared the crap out of me! Who is it now! Was she not done talking after all?! Stop rubbing it into my face!” I was half-annoyed and picked up the phone again.

“Yes, hello?!”

‘Hello. Is this Shimono Nanaya?’

“…?”

It wasn’t Mom after all. I looked at the display of my phone, but it was an unfamiliar number. Who…? I feel like I heard this voice before.

‘Would you mind coming to the nearest family restaurant right now?’

This particular tone of talking…There’s no mistaking it, it’s Sakonji Biwako.

*

I walked along the national highway, heading to the family restaurant Sakonji-senpai told me about. The sunlight burned into my skin on the way. Why does Sakonji-senpai know my phone number? When I asked her, she said ‘Finding out your number with Biwa’s connections is super easy,’ and that was the end of it. What a terrifying answer that was. Only now did I realize that I may have angered a terrifying individual. I wonder what she’s going to talk about? That I won’t even be able to show my face at school anymore? Or to turn me into their errand boy?

No, that’s still on the better side. Her friends might be waiting at that family restaurant to beat me up…! Thinking about it that way, I’m starting to doubt if I should actually obey her orders. I could just run away… No, she’s managed to even get my phone number. Just running away would merely prolong my life, nothing more. If so, I have to fight her head-on.

It’ll be fine, she’s still only in high school. I have much more life experience than her. I know the mature way to resolve these kinds of things. If things go out of control, I’ll call for an employee. I’ll just call the police. Then the school will get contacted. Yes indeed, society will protect me! This is the wisdom of an adult living in a lawful state!

It’s fine, I’m not scared at all. My legs aren’t quivering because I’m terrified. I just have severe muscle pain from the pool still……Damn it! Right now, I should be on a plane heading off to Hawaii, so why am I making my way into hell itself! And then, I appeared at the door to said hell. I walked through the parking lot of the family restaurant, reaching the front entrance. After taking a few deep breaths, I pulled on the door, immediately greeted by a cool wave. Now, onwards to my trial. I told the employee greeting me that I was meeting someone, and looked around.

—Found her. Those blonde twintails immediately entered my view. Albeit reluctantly, I made my way over there. Judging from how I saw it, Sakonji-senpai was alone. However, I can’t let down my guard just yet. There’s a good chance she’s just aiming to ambush me. No, maybe they’re already lurking around inside the family restaurant? Suddenly, all the other customers and employees look like enemies to me.

The sweat from the heat had vanished, but now my body felt chilly. I tried my hardest to calm my feelings and stopped in front of Sakonji-senpai.

“Sorry for the wait, Sakonji-senpai.”

She wore her usual flashy pink hoodie, putting her melon soda on the table while looking at me. Her pink lips shook ever so slightly, as she spoke up.

“Ohh! Nananosuke! So you’re here! Come on, take a seat. Biwa was getting tired of waiting.”

She smiled at me with what felt as bright as the power of a thousand suns, greeting me. I felt utterly baffled, my body freezing up from the shock.

“What are you doing? Come on and sit down, Nananosuke.”

“Ah, yes, I’m sorry, Sakonji-senpai!”

“Heeey, call Biwa Biwako, okay! Nananosuke, come on!”

Sakonji-senpai stabbed her elbow right into my lever with an adorable body blow.

“P-Please stop that, Sakonji-senpai!”

“Call Biwa Biwako already! Nananosuke, c’mon!”

“I-I get it already, Biwako-senpai! Also, why are you calling me Nananosuke?!”

“What, no girl ever called you by a nickname? What a virgin, hey~”

Since she didn’t stop with her reckless jabs, I hurriedly sat down across the table. Just what is this situation I find myself in? She doesn’t look angry at all. I thought she was a cool-type of a gal, but she’s just your average gal now. What even is an average gal?

“Um…Biwako-senpai, you’re not angry?”

“Huh? I don’t get what you’re talking about, hilarious.”

“About what happened at the water slide.”

“Ahh, that. Biwa got a bit too agitated back then. She should have known that you didn’t take off her swimsuit…Soz.”

For some reason, she apologized to me.

“I’m just glad the misunderstanding was resolved.”

“Ahaha, were you that scared thinking Biwa would be angry at you? That’s adorable. But, why did you not tell the guys that it was a misunderstanding back then?”

“Well, I’m sure that you were still suffering despite that…and I didn’t want to cause a ruckus.”

“Oh, aren’t you a kind one, Nananosuke. Oh yeah, Biwa never thanked you for finding her swimsuit and protecting her while she put it back on. Thanks a bunch.” Biwako-senpai grinned, pushing her fist towards me.

“Y-You’re welcome.”

Albeit feeling awkward, I responded with my own fist. It seems like my worrying was for nothing, after all. I didn’t think she’d be that of a relaxed superior. Because I was relieved now, I felt exhaustion reign over my entire body. But if she isn’t angry, then why did she call me here? Even to the point, she called me on my phone.

“Biwa’s really gotten interested in Nananosuke, you know~”

“Huh? Interested?”

“Yeah! You’re a good guy, and you’re totally cute.”

“Right…Thank you very much?”

What kind of development is this?

“Hehehe.”

“Biwako-senpai…?”

She flashed a devious smile, looking at me.

“Hey…Nananosuke…Could we go someplace where it’s just the two of us?”

“J-Just the two of us…?”

“Yeah, a place where…nobody will interrupt us.”

Seriously, what kind of development is this?!

*

We were in a dark and secluded room. The ceiling lights shone with a red and green light, illuminating us in a mysterious light. Biwako-senpai sat next to me on the sofa, pushing her body against mine. I could directly feel all of her softness.

“Hey, Nananosuke.” She called out to me with a bewitching voice, which left me unable to look at her directly.

Trying to escape this, I dropped my gaze. However, that landed me right on her cleavage. From deep inside her hoodie, I could see a black bra. Albeit small, I could see two developed mounds, drawing me in deeper. I swallowed my saliva again.

“Y-Yes…”

Her blonde hair swayed, pushing a sweet scent towards me. She was like a venus flytrap, inviting me in.

“Next is…”

Gulp……

“Let’s sing something!”

“How many more songs are you going to sing?! I thought you wanted to talk about something!”

It’s been three hours since we came to the train station’s karaoke box. I’ve been forced to sing duets with her this entire time. Is this what she meant by nobody getting in the way?! I mean, we can sing to our heart’s content, but still?!

“A bit more excitement wouldn’t hurt, Nananosuke. You’re pulling Biwa down!”

“You say that after forcing me three full hours?! Can we get to the main topic, already?!”

“Nananosuke, your retorts are so sharp! Hilarious. You’d make a good comedian~”

“A great evaluation from a gal doesn’t help me much! Just get to the point!”

“Ahaha! Got it, got it. Stop making Biwa laugh like that.”

Just what is going on with her? She said she wanted to talk about something with just the two of us, and I went out of my way to tag along for karaoke…For crying out loud.

“So, what did you want to discuss with me?”

“Don’t tell anybody about this, okay? Biwa is only telling you because she’s taken a liking to you, but she won’t forgive you if you let this loose outside this room.”

“Yes, I understand. I can tell how serious you are about this, Biwako-senpai.”

“Then Biwa will say it.”

“Yes.”

“…Kamijou Touka.”

“…Yes?”

“About Kamijou Touka.”

…She brings up the chief here? Honestly, I somewhat expected this. I remember the exchange that happened at that food corner. I was curious about what was going on between the two of them. Albeit in different directions, they still stand at the top of the school caste, so they might share some kind of connection. Well, calling it a connection might be going a tad bit too far, but it was clear that Biwako-senpai felt clear hostility towards the chief. And if that wasn’t hostility, then she’s just a tsundere. The chief’s caught on to this evident hostility. If not, she wouldn’t be this uncertain when dealing with Biwako-senpai. Maybe Biwako-senpai figured out a weakness of the chief?

That would mean…if she were to reveal this with me now, I might get sandwiched between the two positions. However, I can’t just run away either after agreeing to hear her out. She must have thought about this a lot and came up with the decision to tell me. If so, I should at least hear her out. I might find a solution in doing so. With that thought process, I looked directly at Biwako-senpai.

“About Kamijou-senpai, yes?”

“That’s right…Biwa actually…”

“……”

“Biwa wants to get closer to Touka-chan!!”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“…Huh?”

“Biwa wants to become friends with Touka-chan!”

“You want to?”

“Yes!”

“With the chief?”

“Who is that?!”

Holy smokes, I can’t follow at all. She emitted so much hostility, yet wants to get along with her?

“I’m a bit bewildered, but why do you want to be friends with the chief?”

“Again, who is this chief you talk about?! Do you call Touka-chan Chief or something?! That’s kinda gross!”

“I don’t want to hear that from you! Who are you calling Touka-chan! I’m the one who’s confused here! Didn’t you start a fight with the chief back at the water park?!”

“Ah…that’s…!”

“That’s?”

“Whenever Biwa’s in front of Touka-chan, she gets nervous and things always end up like that…”

Ahh, I get it, I get it……So she’s just a tsundere! She’s the perfect example of a tsundere!

“So…you actually don’t hate the chief or anything.”

“Yep.”

“Rather, you like her, and want to be friends with her?”

“Yep. It happened back in our third year in grade school…”

What’s this? Flashback time? Talking with a gal sure is confusing.

“Biwa and Touka-chan were in the same school, you know. As the Madonna of the school, Biwa was pampered and liked by both classmates and upperclassmen, and she thought that she was the beautiful princess shining over everybody. But then a rumor of a girl even cuter than her having transferred to her neighboring class went around. That was Kamijou Touka.”

Oh really? So these two went to the same grade school. I guess that makes them…childhood friends?

“Biwa immediately went to that class to check. Honestly, she really was cute, almost like a doll. But Biwa still thought she was a lot cuter than her in the end.”

Hold on, she was already a gal back in grade school? Makes sense she’s reached the top now.

“And still, everybody at school was infatuated with Kamijou Touka. Biwa was so frustrated. Super-duper frustrated.”

She sure is getting emotional now. Feels like I’m getting an audiobook read to me.

“That’s why Biwa went to punch Kamijou Touka.”

“Why?! How would a grade school student come up with something like that?! Gals are scary!”

“But at that time, Biwa happened to bump into a boy in a higher class than her, and she fell over. She thought of complaining, but that boy looked down at Biwa, saying ‘Out of the way, ugly’ with a glare. That was the first time Biwa felt like she lost against Kamijou Touka. Even though all of them treated Biwa like a princess, the second a real one appeared, they threw her away like a toy they had gotten tired of. Realizing this, Biwa suddenly felt terrified of the tall boy in front of her, and couldn’t say anything. ‘Ahh, so lame. Biwa’s no princess at all. Better go back to the classroom’…right as Biwa felt that way, Kamijou Touka offered her hand to Biwa. And then she turned towards the boy, and said ‘Apologize’. Kamijou Touka said that to a boy taller than her, not showing any signs of being afraid. Biwa completely fell for her. She wanted to become a strong person like Touka-chan, that’s what she felt from the bottom of her heart. That was the first time Biwa met Touka-chan…And, do you get it now? The reason why……Wait, why are you crying?!”

“Aaaaaaaah…! That’s the chief for you! As expected of her! She’s been the chief even in grade school! What a kind and wonderful person she is! So cool!”

“Nananosuke…you really get it! That’s right! Touka-chan is so cool!”

“I do, I do! It’s obvious! I’m happy you understand how great of a person she is!”

“Heeey! Nananosuke!”

“Biwako-senpai!”

It felt like we formed a deep connection. When I first talked with Biwako-senpai, I thought she was someone like the chief, but now I see how it is. I get why. She admired the strong and confident chief, who always pushed her own opinion, and Biwako-senpai wanted to become a strong person like her. And her explanation was easy to understand. She put her heart into it and perfectly changed the way she addressed the chief to express the change in her emotions. It made me all emotional.

“You’re really good at talking, Biwako-senpai. I was surprised how easy it was to understand.”

“Oii, what are you so surprised about, huh?”

“Ahaha, I’m sorry. I just thought you were a bit of a silly gal.”

“Hey, who’s silly, huh? Well, you’re not wrong, haha. Compared to Touka-chan, Biwa scored 80 fewer points during the end-of-term exams.”

“Biwako-senpai can even throw out a self-deprecating joke?! What was that?!”

“Oiii, Nananosuke!”

“There’s no way! An 80-point difference?! In what subject!”

“Overall though?”

“You’re hella smart!”

The chief scored first place in the end-of-term exams, right?! She had an average of 98 points! So that means Biwako-senpai also has around that?! Man, prejudices really are hurtful. I completely looked down on a gal like her.

“To get back on track, that’s why Biwa wants to get along with her beloved Touka-chan.”

“But…despite having known her since grade school, you didn’t manage to approach her even once? Did you not become friends right after that?”

“Biwa ended up moving to another town right after that.”

“I see, and you were reunited at high school.”

“That’s right! But she became even more beautiful in high school. It’s like you can’t even properly approach her? Especially during our first year, she gave off a scary vibe, you know~”

“Right…”

I remember the chief being that way, yeah. I’ve been watching her from the shadows, but I’ve never seen her being particularly close with anybody. I guess she was just busy with her studies and as the student council president.

“Biwa tried her best to talk to her, but she ended up nervous all the time…”

“Which is why you end up that hostile.”

Well, I get how she feels but isn’t she too much of a tsundere?

“She probably started to see Biwa in a negative light by now. She’s been avoiding her for a hot minute. Ahh, it hurts.”

“Well no shit, if you keep picking fights like that time after that, everybody would eventually start avoiding you.”

“Biwa knew that. No need to spell it out, Nananosuke, youuu.”

“Ouch…”

Biwako-senpai pinched my cheek without restraint.

“Whatever~ This is Biwa’s loss—is what she thought, giving up.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yep. But then, it probably started in May. Touka-chan suddenly started softening up. It’s not that she drastically changed, but Biwa can tell. The aura around her turned a lot more gentle.”

May…that’s right after the time leap. She’s unexpectedly sharp, huh. If I had to guess, since the chief’s mentally grown up, the atmosphere around her seemed a lot more gentle. Experience does everything, after all. Then again, it’s crazy that Biwako-senpai caught on to this small change.

“It seems like she still doesn’t want to deal with Biwa, but she’s opened up a lot more lately. Even more, she greeted Biwa, saying ‘Hello Sakonji-san’! Isn’t that amazing?! This is a chance, right?!”

She’s like a maiden in love!

“That’s why Biwa-senpai decided to give it one more shot, I see.”

“Exactly, Nananosuke! Biwa can’t waste this chance! But things aren’t working out when it’s just Biwa. You saw how things went at the burger restaurant, right? Biwa happened to spot Touka-chan in the distance, so she ran away. There’s no way we could become closer at this rate! But, you’re pretty close with her, right? Back at the pool, Biwa was a bit hostile because she was jealous of you and Touka-chan! Biwa is sorry about that, so please help her!”

Ahh, so that’s why she said we weren’t a good fit. That explains a lot. Now as for those two…It doesn’t seem like the chief has gotten better at dealing with her even after the time leap…If we were talking about a business, she’d probably be happy to talk about anything, but as this involves her private life, there’s a line I can’t cross. I don’t want to do anything that would make her hate me. In the previous timeline, I never even got this close to her, after all.

—No, hold on. What if the chief wished for this…I remembered the words she told me with a red face.

‘I want to experience youth.’

She wants to enjoy a youth different from devoting everything to the student council. I see, I get it…The kind of youth she wanted…was to redo her days of solitude, and have fun. This youth she talked about must be referring to a fun high school life that she could spend with friends. If so, if I were to accept Biwako-senpai’s request, and help them get along, it might connect to that—and I would help out the chief, which creates a debt…All right.

“I understand, Biwako-senpai. Shimano Nanaya will help you!”

“Seriously?! Thanks a bunch, Nananosuke!” Biwako-senpai seemed delighted, as she clung to me with a big grin on her face.

“B-Biwako-senpai, this is embarrassing!”

“It’s just the two of us, so what’s it matter~! You damn virgin!”

Hey, this is the second time you insulted me as a virgin. We’re still in high school, remember?

“Also, with that tsundere personality of yours, do you actually have any experience~?”

How’s that? I can do the same against you. Well, it’s not very effective.

“All right. We’re done talking, so let’s keep singing.”

“……Hm?”

“Biwa’s going to sing this one~”

“Huh? Biwako-senpai?”

“Come on, let’s sing something together, Nananosuke!”

“Wait, don’t tell me.”

“You. Will. Join. Biwa. Right?”

Her smile scared me.

“Yes, with pleasure!”

All right, let’s keep what happened here as a secret between just the two of us.

*

One week later, I was shaken left and right in my local train car, gazing at the country road with the mountain range in the distance. A natural scent of green drifted down the train from an open window.

“I had no idea that your family had a private residence, Nanaya-kun. Are you sure about inviting all of us there?”

At a seat for four, the chief sat across from me, asking this as she pushed up her hair.

“Well, everyone from my family went off to Hawaii, and I got permission to use it freely during that time. There’s a famous lake nearby, with yearly festivals, and even fireworks during the night of the festival.”

“Hey, hey, I’m looking forward to that, Nanacchi! Let’s do some BBQ as well!”

“Hell yeah, Onikichi! Sounds great.”

Onikichi grabbed my shoulder as he sat next to me, and I returned a smile. At the same time, Nao, who sat next to the chief, gave me a deadpan stare.

“Nao? Something wrong?”

“You had a private residence? First time I heard of that.”

“W-Well, yeah, there’s always going to be things you don’t know, even if we’re childhood friends.”

“Hmph.”

I ignored Nao’s sharp glare and looked at everyone, flapping my legs up and down.

“Maybe I should eat some sweets…H-Huh?”

“What’s wrong?” The chief sounded worried, as she asked me.

“I can’t find the sweets I prepared…Ah, crap! I took the wrong bag with me! That means…Oh no, I forgot the key to the residence at home!”

“Oh my, oh my, Nanacchi! Are you serious? That’s no good, ahaha!”

“Onikichi-kun, this is no laughing matter! Maybe you put it in your suitcase, Nanaya-kun?” The chief looked at the suitcase stored away close to us.

“No, the key is definitely in my bag that I left at home.”

“I see…But even if you went back to get it, it would take an hour and a half by train…How troublesome.”

“I-I’m sorry…” I lowered my head, checking out the expressions of everyone.

Nao looked at me with narrowed eyes, but I ignored her. I said that I would try to solve things, and took out my phone. Immediately after, the door to another train car opened, and a relatively small girl appeared.

“Ahh, so hot~ Maybe this part is a bit cooler? I hope the A/C isn’t broken here! Ahh, so hot.”

I showed my head from my seat, looking at the girl.

“Ah! If it isn’t Biwako-senpai! What a coincidence! We run into each other a lot lately, huh!”

“Oh wow! It’s Shimonono Nananosuke! Didn’t expect you here!”

The chief was already starting to panic, looking at me with a pale face and despair written all over her. I can tell that she’s bad with Biwako-senpai, but to think she’d be this shaken…Nao already started waving her hands. What’s that reaction about? Anyway, I decided to ignore the flustered chief and continued my conversation with Biwako-senpai.

“Are you going on a trip as well, Biwako-senpai?”

“Yup, yup! Biwa’s going to visit her Gramps in the countryside! Where are you going~?”

“We planned to go to my family’s private residence, but I forgot the key! Ahh, how troublesome!”

“O-Oh no! That sounds rough! Where is that residence supposed to be?”

I showed her my phone screen.

“Right around here.”

“Hmmmm.” She looked at it. “Oh, huh. Over there. That’s really close to Gramps’ place. Then why don’t you all just stay over there for the time being?”

She returned my phone that showed absolutely nothing on its screen, to which I said.

“Wha? Really~? That’d be a huge help!”

“Of course, of course, come with Biwa!” Biwako-senpai smiled, looking at everyone.

“Yay, yay, sounds nice! Nice to meetcha, Biwako-senpai! Let’s get a lo-lo-long!”

All right, Onikichi is on board.

“I wanna see her grandpa’s place as well!”

“H-Hold on a second, Nao-chan!”

“What’s up, Chief~?”

“Don’t give me that! Remember what we talked about?!”

“Hm? Ah! What’s it matter~ Come on~!”

I wonder what she meant by that? No idea, but Nao’s caught as well. Leaves only the last hurdle.

“Let’s just take her up on her kind words, Chief.”

“No.” She declared without a moment’s hesitation.

I winked at Biwako-senpai. I knew she’d say that.

“We can’t trouble her grandparents.”

“W-Well…”

“And this…seems suspicious.”

“Suspicious…?!”

The chief’s sharp gaze encaptured me and Biwako-senpai.

“Anyway! It’s a shame that we can’t go to that private residence, but we can just do some sightseeing and take a same-day train home.”

This also was part of what I had anticipated. Though I don’t understand why she’s suspicious this much, we’re still at an acceptable level. Just leave this to me, Biwako-senpai. I’ve spent five years together with the chief, I know exactly how to move her heart.

“Urk…You’re right…I’m sorry…it’s all because I’m useless! I just wanted everyone to have fun, but I can’t even do that right…Ahhhh, I’m sorry everyoneeee!”

“Hey, Kamijou Touka! Why are you making your junior cry like that!”

“Huh?! What?! Na-Nanaya-kun?!”

“It’s fine, Biwako-senpai! I’m the bastard who’s at fault here for forgetting the key to the private residence despite inviting everyone here!”

“Biwa is saying that it’s totally fine, and yet you still plan to make Nananosuke carry even more of this burden?!”

“Huuuh?! No, but…won’t we trouble your family if we arrive with such a large number…”

All right, one more push ought to do it. Usually, the chief’s always strict, but she cares for her subordinates to the point she’s willing to take up all the blame. She surely will come to help if I feel bad about something. At the same time, the chief is always bad at dealing with Biwako-senpai. I don’t know why she’s so weak towards her, but she most likely won’t fight back as hard as usual. I don’t enjoy the feeling of deceiving the chief, but this is both for her sake, as well as Biwako-senpai’s.

I looked at Biwako-senpai, signaling her to pull all stops. She nodded along, and took out her phone riddled with straps everywhere.

“This is actually a message Biwa got from Grandma the other day.”

‘Peeep…Biwako-chan? When are you coming this summer break? I can’t wait to see you. Ah, but I feel bad for using up all your time to come out to meet us. I’m sure you’d rather have fun with your friends instead. I wouldn’t mind if you bring some friends with you, but I’m sure nobody would be willing to travel all the way over to us. I’m sorry, Biwako-chan, I’d be happy if you made lots of friends to come over, but I doubt it…I’m sorry.’

“I’m sure Grandma would be happy if Biwa brought some friends over. If this is just needless meddling though, then she’ll leave…”

“Let’s go! Let’s all go! I’m sorry, Sakonji-san, and you too, Nanaya-kun! Let’s make your grandmother happy!”

Caught her!

“That’s decided then! Ah, then maybe Biwa should move to this place as well, then. She’ll go grab her belongings from the other train car.”

“Ah, let me help you with that, then, Biwako-senpai!”

I said and got up from my seat, moving to the train car next to ours.

“Yaaay!”

“It worked out perfectly, Senpai!”

As soon as we reached the sight of the other three, Biwako-senpai and I shared a high-five.

“Thanks a bunch, Nananosuke! Biwa didn’t expect things to go this smoothly!”

“I’m still shocked your grandmother agreed to pre-record that message.”

“Biwa told you, right? Her grandma actually loves to play along with these kinds of jokes! And you were good at inviting all of them, Nananosuke.”

“I actually don’t have any private residence, so Nao was on my heels the entire time, but I guess it worked out. This should help you in getting along better with Chief, Senpai.”

“Yeaaah! Aren’t you a cool guy, Nananosuke?”

“Come on, stop that~”

She slammed her fist into my stomach, and I picked up her suitcase. That day when Biwako-senpai called me over to the family restaurant, we spent six hours in the karaoke box. Every year, Biwako-senpai goes back to her rural place to visit her grandmother. They have a river nearby, and her grandfather brings over BBQ and camping stuff, going to the summer festival with her grandmother, Biwa-senpai telling me of all those memories that made her look so happy. She brought up the idea of showing her love and pride to the chief in hopes of getting along with her more.

At first, I didn’t feel like helping her out. After all, with their current relationship, I couldn’t see them actually spending time together in a rural area. If the chief doesn’t agree to it, there’s no plan to work around with. If anything, knowing how bad the chief was at dealing with Biwako-senpai, she might become only more scared of her. However, the very idea of the plan wasn’t half bad. Spending a lot of time together would surely get them closer together. Whether it’s through BBQ at the river, going to festivals, watching fireworks…they will all surely turn into great memories. If anything, I was starting to feel interested as a way to cope with not making it to Hawaii.

I told her to wait for three days. In that time, I tried my best to come up with a method to drag the chief out there. I racked my brain about it. And today was the day to put the plan into action. It was a rough plan with a lot of holes, but everything worked out fine so it’s all a-okay. With this, Biwako-senpai will be able to close the distance between her and the chief, and the chief will get to enjoy an exciting summer with her friends. Additionally, she’ll feel indebted to me. It’s three birds with one stone! What a wonderful idea! Not to mention that I get to enjoy going on a trip with the chief!

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Right~ It’s all thanks to you, Nananosuke, so Biwa’s eternally grateful.”

“It’s fine. Anyway, let’s get back to them.”

“Okay~ Also, Nananosuke.”

“Yes?”

“Biwa’s grandpa might be a bit special, so please take care of him~”

“……”

Biwako-senpai didn’t elaborate further and just walked away. Sounded ominous, but…Welp, should be fine.

*

“H-Huge…”

“Hm? What? Talking about my boobs? You really love big breasts, Nanaya~”

“You do, Nananosuke? Hilarious. Nao-pon’s are explosive though, that’s for sure. Hella soft, all right.”

“Ah, don’t just fondle them without asking, Biwako-chan! That’s 50 yen for each rub!”

So cheap?!

“Also, I wasn’t talking about boobs either!

I declared towards Nao, who had her boobs fondled relentlessly through her t-shirt by Biwako-senpai. Also, these two got way too close way too fast. As expected of two normies. Why can’t Biwako-senpai just do the same thing with the chief? God damn Tsundere-senpai. Talking about the chief, she looked at me like the devil reincarnated, so I was forced to prove my innocence.

“I was talking about this huge house!”

I corrected my misleading statement with as loud of a voice as possible so that the chief would hear me. In fact, I was talking about the house belonging to Biwako-senpai’s grandparents. After our plan worked out, we reached our original destination, hopped on a bus, and moved further inland. Once we got off the bus again, we were greeted with mountains all around us. The scent of grass and the faint splashing sound of water made it feel like we walked right into a movie set. Only a single cumulonimbus filled the sky.

After walking down the street for about twenty minutes, we reached this ancient giant wooden house. It possessed the size that would allow us to play baseball inside, as well as space for four cars. I could even see storage shed in the distance. And another building complex was to the side, which seemed like a dojo. Unable to hold back my curiosity, I called out to Biwako-senpai.

“Say, are your grandparents rich by any chance?”

“No clue, but probably?”

“You’re taking this so lightly…What’s that dojo place over there?”

“Gramps is super strong at karate, it’s hilarious~”

…Why exactly is that hilarious? Is he acting as an instructor, maybe? Man, I suddenly feel terrified. I hope he’s no scary person at least. We stepped on the gravel path in front of the house, moving up to the entrance when the door suddenly opened, an elderly woman showing her face. She must be Biwako-senpai’s grandmother. She was about as small as Biwako-senpai, but she had her back straight, which made her seem a lot younger.

“Welcome everyone.”

The grandmother greeted us with a smile. And then, the chief stepped in front of us.

“Thank you very much for letting us stay here despite our abrupt arrival. I am the representative of this group, Kamijou Touka. We will be in your care for the next few days. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Man, she really is a perfect representative caring for her new subordinates! I’m the only one who even understands what you’re doing!”

“My oh my, Kamijou-san, thank you for the polite greeting. I heard about you from Biwako-chan, please come in.” The grandmother was just as polite as the chief.

We relied on her gentle words and entered the residence. As the last in line, I closed the door behind me, took off my shoes, when the grandmother suddenly grabbed my arm.

“Are you possibly Nananosuke-dono?”

“Y-Yes?” I was taken aback, flustered, as I answered her.

“I could tell from just your face…He he he, just leave it to me.”

“Um…what might you be…”

“No need to say it, no need to say it. Rest assured. Please, come on in, Nananosuke-dono.”

I did as I was told, and came inside. What was that about? Since she’s Biwako-senpai’s family, it really is hard to tell. Either way, questioning myself about it won’t do anything, so I’ll just follow after the others. We put down our luggage in a large guest room, walking down the creaking hallway when a large and white-haired man appeared.

“Biwako, so you’re here.”

His height probably crossed 180 centimeters, muscles all over his body, and his neck was as thick as a rugby player’s. This must be the weird grandfather that Biwako-senpai mentioned.

“Ah, Gramps! Been a while!”

“You brought friends with you, I see. Quite the rare sight.”

“Guess so~”

We greeted him as well, to which he closely inspected each and every single one of us with a close look, and crossed his arms.

“Hey, Biwako, you brought boys with you.”

My body shook in fear. Her grandfather’s expression tightened up, as he didn’t bother hiding his displeasure.

“What’s the big deal? Not like it has anything to do with you, Grandpa.”

“Hmph, you boys better not make a move on Biwako, you hear me?”

“Grandpa, annoying. Hilarious.” Biwako-senpai poked fun at him, but I could tell.

He saw me and Onikichi as an actual enemy. My average employee sensors were going crazy because of him. I can’t give him any half-baked answer here. Laughing it off with a joke is third-rate. I’ve learned from my many mistakes. As the top salesman, Assistant Manager Nakagawa most likely would have already changed into full-blown serious mode. Of course, after my career of five years, I know how to handle things myself.

The one I’m most worried about is Onikichi. He’s basically the representative of all normies, and if he were to react like an entertainer of Oosaka origin here with some insolent and over-the-top friendly attitude, we might just get kicked out and forced to survive in this mountain area. I’m not confident we could make it down to human civilization again.

My heart was racing painfully fast, when I turned around towards Onikichi. He sat on his knees, showing a beautiful and polite posture to the point I looked like the cheeky one. I joined him, and we responded in unison.

““We would never!!””

The grandfather looked at us for a solid three seconds.

“Very well.” He said and disappeared deeper into the hallway.

“Phew, that had me sweating buckets for a hot minute, here we!”

“Yeah, I thought I was going to die.”

Never knew you could use ‘Here we’ even in a situation like that, but all right.

“Nananosuke, you were sweating like crazy! Hilarious.”

Acting like this isn’t even her problem…Whatever, it seems like his evaluation of us went up because of that. As expected of Japan’s future number one host, he knows how to handle people. I put my hands on the tatami floor, sighing in relief. Wondering what time it was, I looked at the clock.

“It’s already 11 am, huh.”

I was starting to feel a bit hungry.

“Hey, hey, hey! Let’s have a BBQ at the river! Here we go!”

“That’s all you’ve been saying the entire day! How desperate are you for a BBQ?!” I commented on Onikichi’s exclamation.

The chief joined in as well.

“Onikichi-kun, I wholeheartedly understand your desire for some BBQ, but it’ll take some time to buy the food and prepare for everything. It’s a shame, but we have to skip out on it this time.” She declared with a calm and rational tone.

“Ehhh, I wanna do some BBQ as well, though~? Without meat, my boobs will shrink.”

“I highly doubt your boobs will shrink because of that, Nao-chan!”

Damn it! I should have recorded that! I missed my chance to record the chief saying ‘Boobs’! That would have been an SSR recording! I could loop that for eight hours and fall asleep!

“We do, though.”

As everybody was causing a ruckus, Biwako-senpai put both hands on her hip, exclaiming.

“Huh? What do you mean, Sakonji-san?”

“B-Biwa said it’s doable, Kamijou Touka! We have meat, vegetables, yakisoba, and noodles. Biwa happens to have all the ingredients on her, so we can start with the BBQ right away!”

“Do you only have ingredients that could be used for BBQ in this house?!”

The chief seemed genuinely shocked at Biwako-senpai’s words. Well yeah, you normally wouldn’t have that at home. We planned for a BBQ to happen during this trip, but I guess she took it a bit too far in the end. Also, her way of phrasing things wasn’t the best.

“Biwa told you already! Kamijou Touka, were you even listening?!”

Hey now, hey now. Cool down there, buckaroo. I thought you wanted to get along with the chief?! How bad can your tsundere habits be? I’ve never seen one quite as bad as her. If anything, if there is any girl more tsundere like her, I hope you bring her over to let me meet her.

“I’m sorry…”

See, the chief’s all sad now! She really is weak against Biwako-senpai. She’s losing against a girl her age despite winning against the sexual harassment director. Also, a depressed chief is so cute! Is she an angel?

“I-It’s not like Biwa had her grandma prepare all that stuff beforehand because she was looking forward to having a BBQ with you or anything. It was just a pure coincidence. Just this once, Biwa will take you along, Kamijou Touka.”

“You’re right…since we’re here already, we might as well.”

Biwako-senpai’s tsundere act actually is no joke. I’m a bit scared now. It feels like I wandered into an anime world. Also, how does the chief not realize that Biwako-senpai is just being a tsundere? Does she not watch any anime? Is she just dense? I can already see this going south…

Either way, first it’s BBQ time. Now, this is starting to feel like an actual high school summer break.