Episode 31 – There’s No Way The Girls Are Gossiping About Me (Kouhen)

Since the girls-only gathering started, we have gotten to know each other better and have been doing more and more things together. And when we started calling each other by our first names, I was really touched.

After all, I spend my time with the top caste girls in my class.

I can’t even imagine this kind of thing when I was in middle school.

….I feel glad that I made my highschool debut.

And today, after a few days have passed, the girls were like empty shells in front of me. All three of them were silent and had a gloomy expression in front of the drinks they each bought.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You don’t look so well Asunyan ! ! Are you troubled by something?”

When I called out Asunyan who’s sitting in front of me, she raised her gloomy face.

Then, she looked at my face with teary eyes.

“…..My favorite author, he might be retiring ! !”

Her words revealed the pain in her hearts, it made me down as well.

“Is that it, I thought it was something crucial. But it doesn’t have anything to do with you right, Asunyan?”

Her sharped gaze made me stunned.

“You’re wrong ! ! It’s a big problem ! ! My future husband is at the edge of the abyss. And yet I can’t do anything to help him ! !”

……I wonder how much fantasy you have in your head. How can you call someone you haven’t interacted with your husband. 

I couldn’t help but smile bitterly as I was taken aback by Asunyan’s brain that is full of flower gardens.

“But you don’t have any contact with the author right, Asunyan? Then, you can’t help but feel down…”

When I made a fair argument, she was taken aback and she opened her mouth while muttering something [Matsudaira sensei…]. 

“So, what kind of worries do you have, Sorachi?”

If I play along with her fantasy any further, I’m sure that I’ll step on a landmine, so I switched the subject from Asunyan to Sorachi.

Sorachi opened her mouth while wrapping her hand around the plastic bottle and gently shaking it back and forth.

“…On the last rainy day, I finally met someone I like.”

“Hee〜, good for you. Did you call out to him?”

Sorachi shakes her head at my question.

“No, I didn’t. It seems that he was waiting for his  girlfriend.”

“Eh, is that so? Did you see his girlfriend?”

She shakes her head again.

“Then how can you know.”

“…He brought an umbrella.”

“Eh, I mean it’s raining, so you have to bring an umbrella, right? That doesn’t mean he has a girlfriend.”

As far as I can tell from her story, I can’t smell any woman in it.

“Because he had an umbrella for himself, but then he brought another one ! ! Moreover, it looks like an umbrella for women, he also changed his clothes, so I’m sure he returned home and went back to the school to meet that person ! !”

While I was having a bunch of question marks in my head, she revealed the pains in her heart.

“Hmm? Wait a minute, maybe he just went to pick up his family? Like his siblings…”

“Is that so….do you think so?”

Sorachi was holding the hem of her skirt with a complicated expression as she fell silent. After I finished talking to her, I looked at Ayanon.

“So, the last one. What’s wrong with you, Ayanon? If it’s like the two of them, I’ll get mad you know ! !”

I clenched my fists and threatened Ayanon in a joking manner. The truth is, the other two were making too many assumptions.

“….You’re asking me?”

Ayanon looked at me with eyes that had lost their spark.

No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t seem like a trivial matter.

I gulped and wait for Ayanon to start talking.

“I saw the person I like on a date with a woman.”

“Oh my, that guy, seriously? But aren’t you just overthinking?”

I put my hand on her forehead to encourage her, and she shook her in denial.

“I’m not imagine it. She stroked his head and his face turned bright red, you know !? if he didn;t like that person, he wouldn’t react like that ! ! Also….”

Her tone, that was loud at first, gradually became quieter.

“And what happened?”

“He was looking at the house in front of a real estate agent with his girlfriend ! ! This can only mean that they’re cohabitating ! !”

Perhaps she was recalling the scene, Ayanon turned her eyes and talked about her excitement.

However….

“Wait a minute, he’s the same age as us, right? Isn’t it impossible for him to live with his girlfriend? Maybe they’re just brother and sister?”

“No, they don’t look alike at all, and he didn’t seem to be against the idea either…”

Seeing Ayanon worried again, I held her head with my hands.

“Well, why don’t you confirm with the person himself tomorrow? He’ll be there, right? I’ll go with you〜.”

“E-eh !? I can’t do something like that ! !”

When I saw Ayanon shaking her head at my suggestion, I thought that being a maiden in love is troublesome.

“But it’s better than being worried without knowing it, right? That person, who is he…..! ! “

“Do I have to say it?”

Ayanon listened to my words and hesitated to say his name.

Seeing her in that vague attitude.

“Wait a sec ! ! I want you to tell me, but wait. Sorachi, can I borrow your toilet?”

“Ah, yeah…”

When I asked Sorachi where the toilet was, I said [Ayanon, tell me about that person later, okay ! !] and left the room to go to the toilet.

“…..Ahh, what a pain in the ass. I wonder why women are so troublesome. They always hesitated…”

When I’m alone in the private room, I vented my anger that had built up in my heart.

And when I got out of the toilet, I went to the washroom to wash my hands. Then I heard the door open.

I left the washroom while wiping my hands, to check where the sound came from, then I saw a male student from the same highschool there.

[[Ah! !]]

Both of our voices overlapped and we stared at each other for a while.

“Sorry to disturb you ! !”

When I greeted him quickly, he came to his senses and said [don’t mind it…] and went upstairs to his room.

I was a little bit stunned and couldn’t move for a while, but when I came to myself, I quickly returned to Sorachi’s room.

Bang ! ! As I opened the door vigorously, they had a surprised expression on their faces.

“Hey, Sortachi ! ! You have an older brother?”

“E-eh? What are you talking about?”

She can’t hide her bewildered expression when I ask her that question.

“Don’t play a fool ! ! you should introduced me if you have such a cool brother〜 ! !”

“Hee〜, so Sora have an older brother.”

“What kind of person is your brother, Sora san?”

Asunyan and Ayanon agreed with my words.

She was puzzled at first, but she gradually became more and more quiet at our question. And then….

“I don’t have an older brother ! ! My brother died a long time ago ! !”

We closed our mouths as she was furioused at us.

And then silence came, but after a while, Sorachi opened her mouth. 

“He…., Riku is…..”

After this, we heard a shocking fact come out from her mouth, but we didn’t know that this was Pandora’s box.