CH 41

“Heeeh, Tomoki and Keiichi are not alone. a coincidence.”

“You suck at this! You can’t even read a word out loud!”

Kaoru came up to me in a clearly deliberate manner and said something like that, so I immediately shouted a few words of protest.

Incidentally, the octopus that crashed down when Kaoru stopped hit Yuu directly on the head. Keiichi and Saejima are heading toward Yuu, who is cowering holding his head. What a gag.

“…… phew, I can’t help it if I’m found out – even if I am! The two of us, me and Yu, had heard that Tomoki had overcome his difficulty and was flirting with someone, so we came to find out if it was true or not! Also, we were simply bored!”

I feel as if what they added at the end was their true intention, but it is true that they care about me, so it is hard to argue with them.

By the way, I was described as “lovey-dovey,” but Kohinata was not shy and had a clear expression on her face as she held my pinky finger. I guess she doesn’t mind what people she doesn’t know say about her, since they are not classmates.

“Is that the girl I’m talking about, that Kohinata-san?”

Kaoru looked next to me and asked in a curious manner.

“That’s right. Ah, Kohinata. His name is Mikado Kaoru and he’s a friend of mine from elementary school. He looks like an idiot, but he’s not a bad guy. He’s definitely an idiot, though.”

Kohinata nodded her head in a “hmmm-hmm” kind of way. In contrast, Kaoru had a disappointed look on his face.

“Don’t be a douchebag! Well, I may be stupid from Sakura Sei’s point of view, but come on!”

“If you’re frustrated, go study.”

“I hate studying!”

“Then give it up.”

“That’s right! Giving up is the key, isn’t it? Brain muscle!”

Seeing Kaoru recover in an instant, Kohinata nodded her head in agreement. Was there some part of him with which she could agree? I don’t know.

Me and Keiichi’s friends – Mikado Kaoru and Shiranui Yuu – attend a private high school in the area where I used to live – Shunade Gakuen.

Sakura Sei Gakuen, the school we go to, is a preparatory school, with a deviation score of nearly 60. I am proud to say that it is one of the top public schools in the area.

“Even so, they naturally hold hands, don’t they? I just can’t imagine Tomoki turning pale when a girl came up to him. And since he says he’s not in a relationship, it’s even stranger.”

Kaoru looked at my and Kohinata’s hands and muttered in admiration.

“This isn’t like that, by the way, Kaoru, is there a nice shady spot available?　I’m looking for a place to have lunch.”

I walked around for a bit and found that the good spots were already occupied. I asked the two who had arrived before us if they might know something about it.

“Well, Yu and I came at 8 a.m. and got the best spot! We’ve got a shady spot at the end of the plaza–the one with the athletic fields on the higher ground.”

“You’re here at 8:00 a.m. …… or are you going to have lunch with us?”

“That’s right! I’ve already done my business of checking on Tomoki’s situation, and I don’t want to intrude too much, so after lunch we’re going home. By the way, I’m going to give the place to Tomoki and his friends as it is!”

“Even if you say so. ……”

Hmmm. I and Keiichi don’t think anything of it, but the problem is Kohinata and Saejima.

☆ ☆　☆　☆　☆

As a result of the meeting, the six of us decided to have lunch together.

The deciding factor was Saejima’s comment to Kohinata, “Wouldn’t you like to hear Karakusa-kun and Sugino-kun’s old stories?” Kohinata was more enthusiastic than I expected, so I and Keiichi had no choice but to reply, “Well, let’s eat together.”

Saejima’s sociability was on full display.

“You know how they say idiots and morons like to be on high ground?”

When I asked him why he chose the high ground, Kaoru confidently gave me such an answer. It seems that smoke is not in his dictionary.

Currently, we have a rather large space by connecting the leisure sheet that we brought to the leisure sheet that Kaoru and Yu had spread out. It’s just enough space for the six of us to have a meal together.

“I’m relieved to hear that Tomo’s heart seems to be healing, just as I’d heard from Kei. Oh, I’m not going to touch your lunch box over there, so don’t worry.”

While taking the convenience store bento out of the plastic bag, Shiranui Yu says so with a smile and a smirk on his face. He is a short guy with fair skin and a childlike face. He is a different type of handsome guy from Keiichi.

Like Kaoru, Yu goes to Shunade Gakuen, but in his case, he is the type who chose the high school only because it is close to his home, not because he is not good at studying. I don’t understand the details, but I heard that Yu excels especially in computer-related fields. His father is a white hacker in the police force, so he is probably influenced by that.

Kohinata slides an oval bento box in front of me without paying any attention to Yuu’s conversation. It seems that Saejima and the others have prepared lunch boxes for each of us, instead of a large picnic-style lunch box.

“Did Kohinata prepare this for me?”

Kohinata looked me straight in the eye and nodded. Then she sat down and rubbed her head against my chest. Yes, she is an angel, no matter how you look at it. Thank you so much.

“I prepared Karakusa kun’s and Asuka prepared Sugino kun’s. If it was for a large group, I could share it with Shiranui kun and the others, but this time, please don’t!”

While I was enjoying Kohinata’s head-butt, Saejima said so without showing any fear of meeting someone for the first time, and Kaoru and Yu both responded in agreement.

While Kaoru and Yu were responding to Saejima with their mouths, their gazes were on Kohinata, who was still head-butting with Kaoru.

I guess you could call this lovey-dovey, but I don’t blame them.