CH 36

It was 5:30 in the evening. Three people who have been spending a lot of time together recently came to my apartment to make plans for the consecutive holidays starting tomorrow.

One of them is Karakusa Keiichi.

He has been a friend of mine since childhood and is a handsome, high-spec boy who is both literate and good-looking. He is a beautiful man who has honed his natural weapons and is now even a reader model. Perish.

He used to cry and whine when he was beaten by girls in elementary school, but now he is struggling to relieve my trauma, and I am in the position of being saved. Apparently, having a girl friend is a pain in the ass.

And then there is Saejima Nono.

If I had to describe her in one breath, I would say that she is an aggressive girl armed with justice.

With medium-length brownish hair, she is a friend of Kohinata’s who gives the impression of being innocent.

She seems to have been close to Kohinata for a long time, and one gets the impression that she not only loves Kohinata, but is an equal friend. Well, I guess she is still the object of protection, though.

Saejima and I had a bad relationship for a while, but it was because of a misunderstanding, and now we get along well.

Finally, there is Kohinata Asuka.

She is a small, quiet classmate, about 140 centimeters tall.

She has light pigmented short bob hair, a thin body, and various parts that are small to match her body. She charms those around her with her small, animal-like movements and has many fans despite her lack of facial expression. Some students have been taken to the nurse’s office because of nosebleeds.

For me, traumatized by girls who talk a lot, I was really helped by the presence of Kohinata, who never talks at all.

I’m not sure I could have imagined a month ago that I would be making plans to hang out with girls on my days off.

“hmm, everyone seems to have a little bit of a schedule, and the days when we can get together seem to be less than I expected.”

We got into the kotatsu in the living room in our usual positions and declared the days we were available to each other. Keiichi was quickly compiling them in his notebook and making up a simple list.

I and Keiichi have part-time jobs, and Kohinata and Saejima have family obligations, so there are a few days when we can’t play together.

“Saturday, April 30th, and Thursday, May 5th, we all have no plans.”

Keiichi said, tapping his notebook with the tip of his pen.

“Two days. …… Well, isn’t that just about right? We’ve been getting together a lot lately, and if we played every day from morning till night, we wouldn’t have enough money.”

When I said that, Saejima scratched her cheek awkwardly and muttered, “You’re right,”

“I’d love to have fun, but it might be difficult to go to an amusement park or something that would cost a lot of money. I might be able to get away with it if I get down on my knees to my parents…”

Kohinata, who is sitting next to me, is shaking her head up and down in agreement with Saejima’s comment. You don’t have to get down on your knees, okay?

“Don’t go that far …… if you want to play games at my place, it’s free.”

“Oh yeah. In addition, in case of an emergency, we who work part-time will pay for the girls’ portion.”

Keiichi made a proposal involving me like this. Well, it’s not every time, and it’s okay if it’s just a few thousand yen for one person, but Saejima, the righteous girl, would not allow it.

“You don’t have to go that far! I’ll pay for the play by myself!”

“Haha, I knew Saejima would say so.”

The woman’s reaction was to lean forward, and Keiichi laughed at Saejima. What the heck, it was a proposal that he knew would be rejected.

Or rather, these two really got along. Was it that? Was it because of the “overcoming difficulties” meeting?

“…………”

Kohinata was looking slightly down at my feet, so she didn’t notice my gaze.

Thinking that she must have been somewhat awkward, or maybe she was just bored, I waited for her thin index finger to make contact with my body. After being pinched, I plan to ask, “What’s wrong?” I planed to ask her after she poked me.

When her index finger, which was trembling slightly, was about to touch me or not, Kohinata glanced into my eyes. Then she realizes I am watching her and lifts her eyelids higher than usual.

“…..(Punpun!)

Kohinata said, “I didn’t do anything!” She began shaking her head frantically, as if to say Her hands retracted with surprising speed. What kind of kid gets caught in the act of mischief?

“You were trying to poke me, weren’t you?”

Punpun!

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

Punpun!

Kohinata was trying so hard to deny it that I couldn’t help but laugh. She’s too cute, this girl. It’s impossible to be told “don’t feel protective” when we are in a situation like this.

Perhaps she wasn’t happy that I laughed, but Kohinata’s lips pouted a little as if she was a little unhappy. It’s not easy to tell, but I wouldn’t call her face expressionless right now. Just as I am getting over my difficulty, perhaps there are signs of improvement in her expression.

Laughing, I said to Kohinata, who had begun to protest by slapping my thighs, “I’m sorry,”

“I think I could eat three bowls of rice, Karakusa-san.”

“That’s right, Saejima-san”

The grinning duo said such things in a mysterious old man’s tone.

Of course, I denied it. I denied it, but …… I was aware that I had ignored Keiichi and the others and entered our world, so I couldn’t say it strongly enough.