CH 53

I take off my sweaty clothes and take a shower.

I dried my wet hair properly with a hair dryer and went up to my room.

This usually pleasant time of the day is now only vaguely marked by a feeling of depression.

I pull the towel over my shoulder over the back of my chair and sit down on my bed.

I turned over on my back as I took out my phone and opened Nyain.

The tip of my finger is very close to the screen of my talk with Saijo-senpai, but I don’t move any further.

“… What am I supposed to do?”

Nothing can start without finding out if Saijo-senpai is dating another woman.

If it’s just a misunderstanding, there’s nothing we can do about it.

But from the looks of Karen, I don’t think she’s going to confirm it.

–I’m fine with it, just the way it is.

Remembering Karen’s words, an inexpressible sense of irritation welled up in me.

I know it’s not right for me, a mere childhood friend, to feel this way, or to question her boyfriend about his relationship with women.

I know that, so I can’t choose anything.

“Ha~…”

I let out a big sigh as I look at my phone.

My thoughts were going in circles and I couldn’t organize them very well.

As I was unable to do anything as it was, I received a notification on the talk of Ageha, which is two above Saijo-senpai’s.

“Haru-kun, look out the window!”

“Out of the window……?”

Based on the message sent by Ageha, I stood up and walks towards the window.

When I turned up the curtain and looked down, there was Ageha waving at me.

“… Eh.”

I ran out of the room in a panic.

◆

“Haru-kun, are you angry…?”

On the way to a nearby park, she peeked in at me and asked,

I tried my best to be angry and spoke as if to rebuke her.

“I mean, what boyfriend wouldn’t be worried about his precious girlfriend walking around alone at this hour?”

“Heh heh.”

“I didn’t mean it as a compliment.”

As I was poking into the smirking Ageha with my hands on both cheeks, I arrived at the park where I wanted to go.

It was too late to bring her home at this time of night, and it would be awkward to talk to her in the middle of the street, even if it was nighttime.

In that sense, the park was the perfect place.

I walk up to the vending machine, which emits a dim and unsettling light in the darkness.

I pull out my wallet from my pocket and choose a drink at random.

“Haru-kun told me to think about it.”

“Hmm?”

When I was taking out the change, Ageha opened her mouth as if she remembered.

“I think it’s nighttime and some boyfriend left his precious girlfriend alone somewhere.”

“… Ugh.”

“As soon as I paid the bill, he went away.”

“Ugh.”

If you take that sentence alone, I’m a piece of shit.

No, well, it’s about right, so that means I’m scum.

When I couldn’t say anything back to her, Ageha burst out laughing.

“I’m just kidding. Don’t look so serious.”

“It doesn’t sound like a joke… No, I’m sorry I left you.”

While saying that, I held out the cafe au lait.

After a moment of fluttering her eyes, she accepted it with a smile and said, “Mm, I forgive you!”

We left the vending machine and sat down side by side on a nearby bench.

I opened the can with a pshawing sound and cut it out.

“So what are you doing at this hour?”

“I thought I’d ask about onee-chan. She went to her room as soon as she came back.”

“… Nyain would have been fine.”

“Sometimes it’s better to speak directly!”

When I heard Ageha’s puffy words, I thought it was true.

Sometimes it is not possible to convey what the other person is thinking when they say it only with letters.

Pour the cafe au lait down your throat once and calm down.

I let out a sigh.

“I don’t think Karen would want you to know about this, though.”

“I know. But I think I know you well enough.”

“—-“

I don’t know what that “know” means.

However, I thought that Ageha might be able to change this messy situation.

After moistening my throat once more, I decided to open my mouth.