Chapter 13: CH 13

Sei POV

As I looked up at Hisamura’s face while he was laughing, the corners of my mouth rose unconsciously.

When we first met alone after school ended, I wondered what would’ve happened to us, but we were able to talk normally, just as we had before the confession.

(No, not the same as before, because… this guy sometimes throws in some random stuff as well)

Before the confession, Hisamura had never said anything like “cute” to someone like me.

But today, while we were talking in the café, and even now that we were out of the café, those words came out of Hisamura’s mouth several times more than I was accustomed to.

Each time, I was unaccustomed to being told this by the opposite sex. I felt extremely embarrassed whenever I heard him compliment me.

(And yet, this guy has somehow said it to me over and over again… Maybe he’s used to saying due to other women?)

When such thoughts pop up, my heart instantly begins to feel fuzzy.

I don’t think Hisamura is the type of person to say such things to other women. But, once I start thinking about it, I can’t stop wondering about such a situation.

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Sei-chan?”

I seemed to have spaced out in the middle of the conversation and fell silent.

“No, It’s… Yo-You’re… no, It’s nothing!”

“What’s wrong? I’m curious, you know?”

Do you tell women other than me that they’re pretty or cute too?

(I can’t just go ahead and ask that! If I ask that to him, It would make me look like I’m jealous of other women.)

I was hesitant to ask this question, but I felt like I couldn’t erase the bother in my mind if I didn’t ask it, so I got up the courage to ask it.

“O-Oh, You often refer to me as cute….”

“Well, yeah. You are cute after all. Of course, I think you’re not only cute but also very beautiful as well.”

“Ku… I’m sure you’ve said this to other women as well. You seem to be very used to saying it for some reason.”

“Eh?”

Hisamura’s eyes widened in surprise, as if he had not been expected to be told such a thing.

He answered quickly.

“I’ve never said that to anyone else, really. I’ve only said it to Sei-cha-… Oh, sorry, no, there was someone else I had said it to.”

“Ah… See…? I was sure you did.”

The initial joy at the idea of it being “Only Sei-chan” was short-lived, as he quickly denied it.

After all, Hisamura himself said that he was the kind of guy who would say such things to other women.

(No, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be a man who can say such things about women, even if I’m not the only one he says it to…)

“I had called my sister cute. Just this morning.”

“What? You have a sister?”

“Hmm? Ah, I see, you didn’t know about it?”

“You didn’t tell me about her, so of course I wouldn’t know anything.”

“Well, that’s true I guess. I have a younger sister named Rinke, and I haven’t told anyone about her yet.”

“I-Is that so…”

I wondered if he could have a sister… but now on the contrary, I started to worry about something else entirely.

“Is Hisamura a Sis-con?”

“How’d you reach that conclusion now? No, I’m not a Sis-con.”

“So what would you do if your sister brought her boyfriend home one day?”

“Hmmm… I don’t know. I don’t think it’s possible for someone like Rinke to have a boyfriend… she’s a sub heroine after all, it’d be a shock if she somehow did have one.”

Hisamura is pondering about something with a difficult look on his face.

“If it bothers you so much, aren’t you basically a Sis-con?”

“No, I was just worried about my sister getting a boyfriend. I wouldn’t mind if he’s the person she actually fell for.”

“I see. Well then, I guess you’re not a Sis-con.”

“So, on the other hand, you said you have a brother right? Are you a bro-con by any chance, Sei-chan?

“No I’m not, But he might be a siscon. I might have gotten old, But I loved it when I was in elementary and middle school.”

“Oh, I see. Well, if you get a boyfriend and introduce him to your brother…”

“He might object to him.”

“Seriously… that sounds like a lot of work to deal with.”

Hisamura said with a slightly tense look on his face.

Seeing this, I wondered if Hisamura lost interest in going out with me because my brother was too much of a hassle.

“N-No of course not, If we like each other properly and go out normally, I’m sure he’ll approve of it.”

“Hmmm? That’s right. Did you just say that you’re going to go out with me and that you’re gonna introduce me to him?”

“Huh?!?! …N-No… W-We ha-haven’t talked about that part yet!”

“O-Okay, I understand.”

The air between them became awkward again with Sei-chan’s words.

(Ku, did I say something I shouldn’t have? …But Hisamura has a sister too. A sister huh… I wonder what type of girl his sister would be.)

Earlier, I thought of the time when Hisamura would meet my brother, but the opposite also holds true.

The day, when Hisamura introduces me to his sister, I’ll have to think about greeting her too.

If you’re going to go out with him, you need to get to know his family members as well… right…?

(Wait, no! That’s not what I meant! Why am I assuming that we’re gonna be dating already?!)

My face turns red again as I shake my head rapidly to throw off the delusions appearing in my head.

“Wha-What’s wrong, Sei-chan?”

“N-No, It’s nothing…”

As we were talking, we reached a junction.

“Well then, Sei-chan, I’ll RINE you if I hear anything more about Sunday’s date.”

“Yeah. Wait, speaking of RINE… why didn’t you, uh… reply to my message last night?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry about that. I fell asleep while I was looking at Sei-chan’s RINE.”

“I-I see. That’s good then…”

It was refreshing to hear about what I was worried about last night.

“I’m really sorry, I’ll be careful next time. I’ll definitely respond to your next RINE.”

“No, It’s fine. But it’s just like what Shiho had said huh, you really just fell asleep.”

“I’m sorry… Hmm? Just like what Fujise said? How did Fujise know about our RINE Sei-chan?”

“Ah…”

I hadn’t told Hisamura about it.

We stopped for a moment as I told him about how Shiho had heard about the confession Hisamura had given me before he left.

“Seriously…? Oh, so that’s why I felt Fujise glancing at me so much today?”

“I’m so-sorry. It seems that Shiho had only heard a part of what had actually occurred, but I misunderstood and almost told her everything that had happened.”

“Wah… That’s embarrassing.”

“Of-Of course. Neither I nor Shiho will tell anyone about it, so rest assured.”

“Ye-Yeah, I know that.”

(I mean, I could never, ever, ever tell anyone else something that embarrassing…!)

Finally, with both of them feeling extremely embarrassed about their current situation, they both head back home respectively.