CH 43

Chapter 43: Pursuit Contest, One-Day Camping (Part 3)

February 25, 2022

Suddenly, my phone vibrated.

I picked it up and found a message from Touko-senpai.

She’s less than five meters away from me.

I opened the message.

>You can take me home in your car.

>That’s fine, but wouldn’t that be unnatural?

>You’re coming in Kamokura-senpai’s car, right?

>We’ll be fine on that point. I’m sure Kazumi will be able to talk you out of it.

>Tetsuya is very pushy today. So I don’t want to ride in Tetsuya’s car on the way back!

…… So you’re saying that today’s Kamokura is trying to forcefully take Touko-senpai somewhere. ……

Instantly, an incomprehensible anger flared up inside me.

I’m not going to let that happen!

>I’m not going to let that happen. Please take my car on the way back. Is it okay if I call out to Toko-senpai from me?

If it comes to it, even if I have to tell her everything I’ve done, I’ll take her home with me!

>You don’t have to do that. You don’t have to do that. I made sure to get Kazumi to talk to me.

I felt uneasy, but there was no point in arguing with her.

Besides, someone might think it’s unnatural for me and Touko senpai to be playing with our phones for so long in a place where everyone is.

>I understand. I’ll see you later.

Then I close my phone.

…… Damn it, Kamokura no Bastard! ……

But publicly, Kamokura is Touko-senpai’s boyfriend, and I’m an outsider.

At a time like this, it’s frustrating that I can’t act out in the open.

…… but when it comes down to it, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect Touko-senpai. ……

I made up my mind to do so.

After the roast chicken and minestrone, I served a dessert of yogurt and canned fruit, which was also very popular.

Thanks to this, I was able to converse with all the girls in an even manner.

Although it was annoying to hear Karen sometimes complaining that she was the one.

After the barbecue, we played some light Frisbee and volleyball.

Catching the Frisbee was only for the boys, but it was a lot of fun.

There was one person who got in the way.

“Karen’s going to play too!”

In Frisbee catching, one person throws the Frisbee, and six people dash after him to catch it with one hand.

Of course, Karen, being a girl, had no chance.

We give Karen a handicap, but it doesn’t help her because she can’t catch the ball.

To put it bluntly, Karen’s inclusion in the game was a turn-off.

“Why don’t we play volleyball so the other girls can play together?”

I suggested.

I called out to the girls who were watching around us, and we played a mixed-gender game of “how many tosses can you keep?

Eventually, it was time to go home.

As I was putting away the barbecue tools, Kazumi came with Touko senpai.

“Isshiki-kun, your car is a mini-wagon, right?”

Kazumi asked in a very loud voice.

“Yes, it is.”

“Can you make the back seat fully flat?”

“Of course it can.”

Then Kazumi raised her voice even louder.

Then Kazumi raised her voice even higher so that everyone around her could hear.

“Can you take me and Touko in your car on the way back? It seems that Touko has a back injury. It’s hard for her to sit down.”

I see, that’s how it is.

Me, Touko, and Kazumi all live close to each other.

And when my back hurts, I have no choice but to lie down and sleep.

It’s very hard to stay in a sitting position for a long time in Kamokura’s passenger car.

“I understand. I’ll get ready, and you two can get in my car.”

I replied in a loud voice.

Then Kamokura came flying in, his face changing color.

“Hey, what are you talking about? I’ll take her back with me.”

I glared at Kamokura.

You can’t always let him do what he wants.

“Touko-senpai says her back hurts. In a passenger car, her back pain will get even worse. On that note, in my mini-wagon, the back seat can be fully flattened, so you can go home lying down. It puts less strain on my back that way.”

“Even in my car, if you fold down the passenger seat, it’ll work.”

“Isn’t that why Kazumi wants my car, because she thinks it would hurt?”

Everyone gathered around to see what all the fuss was about.

From among them, Kazumi stepped forward.

“Kamokura-san, Touko says her back hurts a lot. She says she can’t bear the thought of riding home in a passenger car for hours on end. That’s why I asked Isshiki to help.

But Kamokura didn’t back down.

“It’s okay. I’m Touko’s boyfriend and I’ll take good care of her on the way home. If she is in a lot of pain, we can rest on the way home. I should be the one to take her home in that respect as well.”

Is this guy still planning to take her somewhere when she says her back hurts?

“She said that her parents want her to come home today, and that they have some business to attend to tomorrow. If you’re going to take a break somewhere, you’re ignoring Touko’s convenience!”

Then Nakazaki, also a third-year student, arrived.

He is in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, but his department is different from ours: Electrical Engineering.

He is the head of this club.

“Hey Kamokura, Touko-san is saying that her back hurts, right? You can take it easy here, and let her take Isshiki’s car so she doesn’t have to worry.”

“But you know, ……”

“Maybe I’m worried about you as a boyfriend, but Kazumi says she’ll tag along. It won’t be a problem.”

Kamokura still stared at us for a while.

Finally, Nakazaki-san said.

If you’re so worried, Kamokura, why don’t you just follow Isshiki’s car? If anything happens, just call him.”

“All right, Nakazaki. I’m not that worried about it.”

Kamokura glared at me one last time and then walked away.

“I see. That’s how it is.”

In the car on the way home, it was Ishida who said that.

In the end, it was just me, Ishida, Touko and Kazumi in my car.

“I didn’t expect Kamokura-san to be so pushy.”

Kazumi replied in a dumbfounded but chuckling manner.

Tetsuya is the type of person who doesn’t back down once he’s made his point.

“I wasn’t going to back down this time either.”

I said resentfully.

“That’s why I’ve come between you and him. Isshiki-kun was also unusually eager to fight, you know.”

Kazumi said with a laugh.

I didn’t mean to be so obvious, but did it look that way to the people around me?

That may not be good for the future, though.

Finally, Touko-senpai concludes.

“But it really helped. Tetsuya was very forceful today. I was scared too. Thanks to Kazumi and Isshiki, you saved my life.”

She then bowed her head slightly.

Kazumi lightly patted Toko-senpai’s head with a “yoshi-yoshi”.

It’s okay! Leave it to me. I won’t let Touko fall prey to a cheating man!”

Later, as I was holding the steering wheel in the driver’s seat, Touko-senpai gently approached my face.

“Thank you so much, Isshiki. I was so happy when you covered for me.”

She said quietly in my ear.

I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or not, but I felt a subtle heat in her words.