CH 24

Chapter 24 – The Déjà Vu of Helping Someone from Being Hit On.

TL: Nakki

The two girls had dyed hair and wore thick makeup. They were dressed in trendy clothes, and were indeed looking like today’s modern female college students.

On the other hand, the gentleman was dressed in a way that would certainly attract any girls’ attention.1 From Naoya’s point of view, only the man’s back can be seen. However, he saw that the man was wearing a hat that was pulled down to his eyes and a light jacket. He was on the tall side and had an atmosphere somewhat different to a Japanese.

Both girls were relentlessly trying to hit on such a gentleman, their eyes were those of a predator aiming for its prey. The gentleman, unable to stand up to the girls, just gave up as he was completely overpowered.

Somehow… It feels like I’ve seen this sight before…

As I thought of this, the sight of rescuing Koyuki from a skirt chaser a few days ago flashed across my mind.

Although in Koyuki’s case, it was her who was being hit on, this time however, the genders are reversed. Nonetheless, the fact that they were both in trouble remained unchanged.

So, Naoya took a small deep breath, made a big smile and walked up towards them.

“I’m sorry for being late, sensei!”

“Huh….?”

When Naoya called out to the man, he was surprised as he stared at the youngster approaching him, looking confused.

He had deeply chiselled features and blue eyes. Naoya was right in assuming that he is a foreigner. Not bothering the latter’s confusion at his sudden appearance, he continued walking up to them with the same big smile on his face.

“Iyaaa, I missed the train, so I had to ride the next one… I’m really sorry for being late, sensei. C’mon, let’s go.”

“Y-you..”

“Looks like sensei has troubled you, ladies. I’m sorry for that. Well then, please excuse us.”

Naoya immediately grabbed the man’s hand and tried to leave the place. However, their path was quickly blocked by the duo.

They scrutinizingly inspected their seemingly new prey… their eyes sparkling more intensely. It seemed that Naoya also became a target of interest.

“Ara, you’re quite cute as well. Are you in highschool?”

“If you like, won’t you have fun with us together with your sensei~?”

“Uh, I’d like to decline. I already have a girl I like, so please excuse us.”

“Come on~ Don’t say something so stiff now~.”

The duo didn’t seem to care at all as they just outright ignored Naoya’s statement.

As Naoya had a closer look, he saw that both girls were rather pretty. But unfortunately, Naoya wasn’t attracted to anyone but Koyuki herself only.

Hmm, what should I do in this case I wonder? Oh, that!

As Naoya carefully thought about plans of getting out of their current situation, he suddenly realized something.

Although it’s such a drastic measure to actually carry out, Naoya couldn’t back away now.

Naoya smilingly talked towards the girl, specifically the one with a lighter hair color.

“More importantly, onee-san.”

“Ara, what is it?”

“This is just a guess on my part, but.. I think that your friend over there might be aiming for your boyfriend..”

“..Huh?”

“Wha–!?”

The light-haired girl’s face was saying, “What the hell is this guy talking about all of a sudden..”

However, contrary to her reaction, the other girl was clearly flustered.

“H-how did you know that..!? Did someone perhaps happen to see me on a date with him the other day…!?”

“Hah!? You! What the hell is that supposed to mean!?”

“Hmph! It’s your fault for acting like a b*tch whenever Tomo-kun’s around!”

“B*llf*ckery!2 You’re the one who’s a b*tch here, not me, you b*tch!”

Thus, the curtains have been safely raised at the new love-triangle bloodshed.

“Yoshi. Well then, if you’ll excuse us.”

“Y-you.. what the hell are you..”

Naoya once again grabbed the gentleman’s hand and successfully left the place with a smile on his face.

After they moved a little bit far away from that place, the gentleman at last finally looked a little more relieved.

He deeply sighed and bowed his head down 90-degrees towards Naoya.

“Goodness gracious, you really saved me back there. But, what kind of trick did you use just now? For a random guess, that was an extremely accurate inference.”

“It’s not that big of a deal. Just that, my intuition is sharper than most people… ahaha..”

I simply noticed that the other girl was emitting an aura that told me she was looking down on the other, so I just tried to make a fool out of her. Though, I didn’t expect my guess to be completely right on the mark.

More importantly.. It feels like this isn’t the first time I’ve met this oji-san…

Once again, Naoya looked at the gentleman’s face, this time however, more intently.

30? No, perhaps in his 40’s… A deeply chiselled face and blue eyes.. He’s obviously a foreigner, but his fluency in Japanese suggests that he’s been in Japan for a long period of time…

It was definitely Naoya’s first time meeting such a man, however, he had the impression that the latter wasn’t a total stranger.

With a hint of certainty, Naoya smiled awkwardly and slightly raised his hand.

“W-well, then.. I’ll go now—”

“No, hold on!”

As Naoya was about to turn his back on the gentleman, the latter quickly grabbed his hand firmly. Naoya turned around and was met by a clinging gaze.

“By all means, please let me express my gratitude. Are you free after this? I’d like to treat you to a cup of tea.”

“No, no! There’s no need for that! It’s only natural to help each other when in need!”

“Oh, wow! So there are still modest youngsters like you nowadays, huh!” The gentleman exclaimed in a low voice, as if overcome with emotion. He then took his hat off politely.

What appeared underneath it was—clear silver hair.

He then continued to ask Naoya with a sparkling smile.

“Please. If I can’t repay this favor, regret would hunt me for the rest of my life. Would you be so kind as to spare this old man a moment of your time?”

“H-hah…”

Naoya thought that it would be so cruel for him to ignore the gentleman’s plea.

And, since Naoya arrived much earlier than the appointed time, he, of course, had some time to spare to have a cup of tea with the gentleman. However, there was one serious problem—

This man… is definitely Shirogane-san’s father, right!? He came here ahead of time to act as a recon for inspecting his daughter’s ‘supposed-to-be’ boyfriend, didn’t he!?

Thus, Naoya developed a slight grudge towards himself for being so perceptive.