And our party met the Sasaki siblings, like it was a lie.
…Well, in reality, it’s not that dramatic. It’s a festival, but it’s not one held outside the school, right? No matter how big and wealthy the school is, the area we can roam is limited.
On top of that, Sota is in the same class, and we often talk.
I’m a girl, and Sota’s a boy, but the phase where we’d feel shy about talking to each other passed long ago. Above all, this school is co-ed. With girls and boys mixed in the same class, there are plenty of opportunities to talk, and it’s not that awkward at all.
Sota has many friends, and Nanami, who always sticks by him, has a lot of friends too. Initially, the boys who were jealous of popular Sota realized that if they hung around him, they’d get a chance to talk to girls too, which made their hostility lessen significantly.
In fact, it seems like a few couples have formed.
…But Sota, who always hangs out with Nanami, still isn’t a couple with her. Is it because of Hagiwara?
“Hello, Koto Ne.”
Sota was the first to speak.
“Hello.”
As I responded to Sota’s greeting, I felt my cheek getting hot and turned to see Kagami staring at me wide-eyed.
…Why?
“Hello.”
“Oh my, hello.”
With Nanami and Shii on either side of me… No, that’s a bit unfair to Sota. Those two were literally just standing beside Sota.
Besides, Shii is Sota’s little sister.
Unless the author of a light novel is a real incestor and goes for a bold approach, a little sister character is rarely anything more than an emotional rival.
Unless it’s a stepsibling situation, genuine siblings would evoke a lot of discomfort for readers.
…Um, maybe not? I think there have been instances in works like ‘Shin Denki’ where they just go for it. Of course, such characters rarely end up being heroines, though.
Anyway, as that’s what I think, it seems Kagami doesn’t see it that way.
Even without Shii, Nanami is still next to me. Shii was merely standing beside Sota, but Nanami was quite pressed up against him, not holding hands or anything, but close enough for their shoulders to almost touch. It was almost magical that they weren’t actually touching given that proximity.
To anyone looking, they seemed like a couple or at least close to it. That’s probably what Nanami is aiming for.
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have paid it much thought, and neither would Yuka or Koko. It’s not my place to meddle in whether Sota gets a girlfriend or not, right?
If there’s an issue…
“You two seem to have started calling each other by name.”
The problem is that my slightly obsessive mom, who wants to know everything about my situation, is standing right next to me.
I don’t currently have a boyfriend, and honestly, I doubt I’ll ever have one, so no matter how much I try to explain that, Kagami wouldn’t seem to listen.
“Ah, yes, we know each other pretty well.”
“……”
Upon hearing that, I looked back at Kagami. Her eyes narrowed. They were already thin, but they’ve gone even thinner, reminiscent of when she first talked to me.
“Last year, we had a lot of experiences together.”
I was pondering whether to nod seriously or not, and finally decided to just remain blank.
“Is that so? Indeed, Koto Ne has been calling everyone by their names.”
To be fair, there’s Tsuneda, but she still finds me a bit strange. It’s probably because she looks exactly like Koko yet has a vastly different personality.
…Should I have Tsuneda call me by name soon? She will probably be the president next year.
“A guy who calls girls by their names—kugh!?”
When I poked Kagami in the side, she let out a small shriek.
She looked up at me with a perplexed expression while rubbing the spot I poked.
“Trying to say something strange.”
“Something strange?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Sota, who is strangely oblivious in this regard, tilted his head, and I hurriedly changed the topic. Given Nanami’s stiff expression beside me, she could likely gauge the situation well enough.
Kagami interrupted before she could say something strange, but for some reason, she now looked at me with suspicion.
No matter how much I’m not thinking of getting a boyfriend, isn’t it normal for a high school girl to at least have one? Does she perhaps seriously believe in some NTR scenario after going to a university MT?
I found it a bit amusing that I couldn’t fully deny that idea. Kagami may seem sharp on the outside, but she learned about human relationships mainly from media, not through real interactions. On top of that, having to live in suspicion all her life seems to mean she operates on a half-baked level, yet suddenly gets serious about strange topics.
And usually, those “strange topics” concern my personal life.
I pondered briefly on how to diffuse the situation and turned slightly to look back.
There stood Tsuneda, twisting her body and looking at me with a strangely similar expression to Kagami’s.
“…”
So she’s suspicious too.
After a moment of thought, I grabbed Tsuneda’s wrist.
“Uh? Senpai?”
Then I pulled her forward and set her in front of the Sasaki siblings.
“Sota.”
“Yeah?”
As I pushed Tsuneda forward by the shoulders, Sota blinked in surprise.
“Show her around the school a bit.”
“Se-Senpai…!?”
“Koto Ne!?”
As I blatantly threw Tsuneda to Sota, both Tsuneda and Nanami spoke at once. Yet even Nanami, who didn’t wear a similar expression to Kagami, seemed to respond strongly to my words.
“Uh….”
Sota looked like he didn’t know how to respond to my request.
Well, I guess that’s understandable.
Sota and Nanami are ‘for now’ literature club members. I got them to join after summer vacation ended.
Though the club structure is similar to before. Most of the tasks are handled by members that have been around since the beginning of the year, making Sota and Nanami feel more like latecomers.
Honestly, it was almost like a gift I gave to Tsuneda, so I didn’t particularly force club activities upon them.
Nanami is scheduled to play a maid role tomorrow, but Sota doesn’t have much else to do besides helping fill out the literary magazine’s pages and assisting when we’re moving things.
I can understand that. With only one guy in the club, it would definitely feel a bit uncomfortable even if he was on friendly terms with the other girls. While having female friends might sound easier, that’s true only for meetings where they’re talking, not surrounded by all of them.
But I think it’s nice that Tsuneda and Sota will have more chances to talk.
“Shii.”
Within that short time, I came up with another reason.
“Yeah?”
Shii, who had been blankly observing the sudden turn of events, replied in a somewhat dazed voice.
“Are you thinking about joining the club when you enter next year?”
“Ah, yes!”
Shii immediately responded to my question.
“By the way, she will be the president next year.”
“Eeh!?”
Tsuneda was stunned.
But Shii didn’t seem too shocked. Of course, since I’ll be a third year starting next year.
I’ll have to step down from the presidency, and for the time being, Tsuneda is the only second-year in our club. After we all graduate, it seems we’ll revert to a smaller club format for a while.
“So, Tsuneda, take Shii around and show her the school. While you’re at it, Sota, you can help a bit too.”
“Ah.”
After saying that, Sota seemed to understand a bit more.
“Got it. That does make sense. From next year, Shii will be with us here.”
“Yeah, even if it’s only for one year, let’s get along!”
With that bright smile, I figured I should see to it that she has some fun in between studying.
I tapped Tsuneda’s back gently as I said.
“Make sure to help the literature club stay running after we graduate.”
“Ah, yes…!”
At my words, Tsuneda made a slightly teary expression.
Good.
I just prevented myself from being dragged down an uninvited, unfortunate path.
Nanami looked at me with an incredulous expression, but what can I say? I don’t want to become Nanami’s rival.
At least, it’s a blessing that Hagiwara isn’t here.
…Where is that person, anyway? I haven’t seen her even once. She must not have transferred schools or dropped out.
Well, I’ll probably see her sometime while wandering around.
“Then… you’re headed to the club, right?”
“Yep. I heard there are things to help with.”
I’m sure there will be some hard work to do around the time everything wraps up. The cafe will open tomorrow, but I still need to finish up the day.
“Well then, see you later.”
I waved my hand, and Sota waved back.
Tsuneda, all tense and stiff, left with Sota’s group with a shining face.
Then I looked up at Kagami.
Did you see that?
Kagami, who saw me toss Tsuneda to Sota, had a somewhat dazed expression.
Then she looked at me again and broke into a wide smile.
…Did she think I’d leave if I got a boyfriend?
To be fair, in manga, characters often get married quite early. I’m not really sure about the actual statistics, though.
No, despite that, I never planned on moving out right after graduating high school.
I’m thinking of going to university, after all.
With my shoulders slumped, I took a long breath and lets out a sigh in my mind.
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