Vol. 1 Chapter 20 – First Date? (5)

“K-Kageyama-kun!? Are you okay!?” (Hikaru)

“I-I’m fine…! Just a little surprised…” (Reiya)

Waving off the concerned Asahi-san beside me, I swallowed the soba.

I never expected to be gouged from that angle.

“…So, how about it? Are you dating?” (Ayaka)

“No way, no way, no way! Me and Asahi-san!? Impossible!!” (Reiya)

“Then why did you come all the way out here to hang out, just the two of you? What’s this common point you mentioned earlier?” (Ayaka)

“Uhm… Well…” (Reiya)

I glanced quickly at Asahi-san.

She looked back at me, just as troubled.

‘There’s no way I can let her know she’s been hanging out in my room for games.’

‘If I handle this badly, the previous argument could reignite, several times worse.’

“A-Actually… Asahi-san’s older brother and I are friends…” (Reiya)

Therefore, I decided to tell a bold-faced lie here.

“With Taiju-san?” (Ayaka)

As expected of someone who’d known her since elementary school, she knew of Asahi’s brother.

“Y-Yes! With Taiju-san! And actually, the three of us were supposed to come shopping today, but… right before the meeting time, he contacted us saying something urgent came up and he couldn’t make it… But since we had already gathered, we decided to hang out just the two of us today…” (Reiya)

“Y-Yeah… That’s right… You know how Onii-chan can be like that, right, Ayaka?” (Hikaru)

Using the communication skills honed in It Needs Two, the two of us conspired to create the lie.

Hino-san slurped her soba, directing a fixed, suspicious gaze towards us.

“Well, I guess that could happen with Taiju-san… It is Taiju-san…” (Ayaka)

Hino-san seemed exasperatedly convinced.

It didn’t look like she completely believed us, but we had weathered the immediate crisis for now.

‘Thank you, Taiju-san, for being the kind of person who would do something like that.’

‘I’ll make up for lowering your favorability rating somehow later.’

By the time the three of us finished our tempura soba, Asahi-san and Hino-san had returned to their usual relationship.

Confirming that they were back to being the close pair they always were, just like in the classroom, with no room for me to intrude, I once again breathed a sigh of relief.

By the time we left the building, it was past seven o’clock, and it had grown completely dark outside.

Naturally, since we were all heading in the same direction from here, we boarded the same train.

However, here came another miscalculation.

Asahi-san, who lived nearby, got off first, leaving me and Hino-san alone in the train car.

We didn’t speak; only the heavy silence and the running sound of the train echoed.

‘Awkward… Way too awkward…’

“Kageyama-kun.” (Ayaka)

It was she who first broke the silence.

“Y-Yes! What is it!?” (Reiya)

“You… were lying earlier, weren’t you?” (Ayaka)

There was no maneuvering, just words thrown out abruptly, words I knew exactly what she was referring to.

“Eh? Wh-What are you talking about? D-Did I lie…?” (Reiya)

“Really… Both of you are just too easy to read…” (Ayaka)

She cut me off with that exasperated tone I’d heard countless times today.

“I-I really have no idea what you mean, though…” (Reiya)

It was clearly already exposed, but I still attempted a desperate resistance.

“It was easier than Question 1 on the math exam, you know?” (Ayaka)

“Well, from my perspective, that’s plenty difficult…” (Reiya)

“But… it seemed like a lie told out of consideration for Hikaru, so I’ll let it slide for today.” (Ayaka)

Just after Hino-san said that with a faint smile, the train stopped.

“Well, I get off here, so see you at school.” (Ayaka)

Standing up from her seat, she exited through the opened doors.

And so, the only one left in the train car was a boy holding bags filled with a large quantity of prizes and a gaming cushion.

My first battle against the Fire Attribute Hino-san… well, let’s call it a draw.

＊＊＊＊＊

Arriving home, I checked my phone and saw a message from Asahi-san.

Sorry for dragging you into that weird situation today.

Even through the text, I could faintly sense the lack of her usual brightness.

Sitting down in my chair, I thought for a while about how to reply.

‘I don’t want to make her worry unnecessarily,’ I thought, repeatedly writing and deleting—

Looks like it ended up okay for now. The fun outweighed the trouble, so it’s a net positive.

In the end, I once again said something out of character.

Thanks. I had a lot of fun too.

It was marked as read instantly, and a reply came back.

Leaning back deeply into my chair once more, I carefully considered how to respond to that.

‘Work hard at tennis practice starting tomorrow.’

‘Try not to cause Hino-san too much trouble.’

Several serious phrases came to mind, only to be immediately dismissed.

‘Thinking about it, even briefly, I’m not the kind of person who can say things from such a superior standpoint.’

If you feel like skipping again, feel free to come over anytime.

So, from my lower position, I used the word ‘again’ for the first time myself.

This time too, it was marked as read immediately, but no reply came.

‘After being pressed that hard, I guess she has no reason to come anymore…’

Just as I thought that and was about to put my phone down on the desk.

A notification sound chimed, and a new message appeared.

Well then, maybe I’ll come over next Saturday to check the feel of the gaming cushion.

I couldn’t help but give a wry smile at the content.

This time, without thinking, I immediately typed a reply.

Roger that. As a pro slacker, I’ll prepare the ultimate environment.

Pressing the send button, I placed my phone on the desk.

“Hino-san is probably going to hate my guts for this…” (Reiya)

Muttering to myself, I took the cushion out of the shopping bag and placed it in its usual spot.