Vol. 2 Chapter 55 – Summer Festival (6)

“L-Like…? You mean… me, like Taiju-kun…?” (Ichiru)

Ichiru breathed out the words, stunned, as if someone had just pointed out an emotion she hadn’t even realized she possessed.

“What? You gonna say I’m wrong?” (Minami)

“W-Wrong isn’t the right word… It’s more like, I’ve never even thought about it that way… Taiju-kun is just Hikaru-chan’s brother, and I was only planning on treating him to dinner today as an apology for getting his clothes dirty…” (Ichiru)

“Hmm… You two looked pretty chummy for that, though. Just a minute ago, he even had his hand around your waist.” (Minami)

“Th-That was just because I bumped into him and almost fell, and he caught me!” (Ichiru)

Facing Minami’s gaze, which seemed to peer deep into her soul, Ichiru frantically denied it.

“Okay, then what about Taiju-kun?” (Minami)

Minami spun around on the spot, turning her attention now towards Taiju.

“Eh? M-Me?” (Taiju)

“What do you think of Chiru? Surely you didn’t come to the festival in matching yukatas just thinking, ‘She’s merely my sister’s boyfriend’s cousin,’ right?” (Minami)

“Uhm… Well… I… I mean… I certainly do frequent Mizumori-san’s restaurant… but that’s because the food is delicious…” (Taiju)

Minami was pressuring Taiju now, trying to extract a confession.

This is bad, bad, bad. This has gotten really bad.

There’s no way the spineless Taiju can withstand this kind of pressure.

In fact, he was looking right at me, practically screaming—

‘Reiya! Reiya! What should I do!? Help me!!’

—desperately pleading for help.

I need to step in before he panics and blurts out something weird…

But how…?

“I think Mizumori-san is a really wonderful person!” (Hikaru)

Before I could make a move, Hikaru jumped into the conversation from the side.

“She’s kind and beautiful, and most importantly, she’s an amazing cook!” (Hikaru)

“O-Ohhh… Y-Yeah… she is…” (Taiju)

“As a little sister, I’d be super happy if someone like Mizumori-san became my big brother’s girlfriend!” (Hikaru)

“G-Girlfriend, you say… Oof!” (Taiju)

He got an elbow jabbed into his side, a clear signal from Hikaru to shut up and let her handle this.

Honestly, Hikaru is brilliant at managing relationships.

Forcing a direct confession-like statement out of Taiju right now would be premature.

If handled poorly, it could negatively affect their future relationship.

Perhaps thinking along those lines, she framed it as the little sister’s opinion, indirectly guiding Ichiru’s attention towards Taiju.

“… that’s what his little sister is saying, you know?” (Minami)

Following Hikaru’s lead, Minami shifted her target back without waiting for Taiju’s response.

“Eh… Even if you say that… It’s just, a bit sudden…” (Ichiru)

Though bewildered, Ichiru was undeniably starting to become conscious of Taiju.

Now’s my chance—

“W-Well, now! Like Ichiru-san said, maybe we don’t need to rush things quite so much!” (Reiya)

I quickly jumped in to support them, steering the conversation towards a softer landing.

Hikaru sent me a glance that clearly said, ‘Nice!’

This feels like taking down a giant raid boss with three attributes (+alpha).

“What’s this, Reiya? Wouldn’t you worry less too if Chiru just hurried up, got a boyfriend, and settled down?” (Minami)

“Well, yes, but… This feels a bit too forceful, don’t you think…?” (Reiya)

“You know damn well this girl needs someone to give her a push, even if it’s a bit forceful, right? If she misses this chance, when will the next one be? Five years? Ten years?” (Minami)

“That’s also true, but…” (Reiya)

Considering Ichiru’s skill at deflecting and Taiju’s lack of assertiveness…

If those two factors combined, it was clearer than seeing fire that even ten years from now, their relationship wouldn’t progress beyond ‘shop owner and regular customer’.

“That’s why you just gotta get them together first and figure out the rest later! So, right now—” (Minami)

“I get it! I totally get that you’ve been incredibly worried about Ichiru-san for a long time, Minami-san!” (Reiya)

“W-Worried…? That’s not really…” (Minami)

“But everyone moves at their own pace, right?” (Reiya)

Not everyone can be like Asahi Hikaru, recognizing an unknown feeling swirling inside as love and immediately charging straight towards fulfillment.

“So, maybe we should watch over them a little more gently for now… That’s what I think, anyway.” (Reiya)

After stating my stance, albeit a little timidly, Minami let out a loud sigh, ‘Haaaah.’

“…Alright, fine. You’re right, I was rushing things too much.” (Minami)

Hearing her reluctantly concede, I let out a breath of relief.

“But, that being said, I’m still going to meddle.” (Minami)

With that, Minami produced two slips of paper from somewhere.

“What are those?” (Reiya)

“Amusement park tickets. Got ’em as payment for helping out today. Getting two tickets when I’m single felt like they were picking a fight, but talk about a timely rescue. You two, use these to go on a date next time you have a day off.” (Minami)

“A d-date…!?” (Ichiru)

Ichiru cried out in surprise, her voice louder than usual at the sudden suggestion.

“Yeah! It’s the quickest way to figure out your own feelings, right? If you go and feel like it’s not working out, then that’s that. If even the slightest something sparks, you can build on it next time. By the way, this isn’t a request, it’s an order. You don’t get to refuse.” (Minami)

Just when I thought she’d given up, her continued tyranny left Ichiru at a loss.

“But, it’s not just about me…” (Ichiru)

Ichiru glanced towards Taiju, gauging his reaction.

“What about you, Taiju-kun? Unlike Chiru, you don’t owe me anything, so I won’t force you.” (Minami)

“I… uhm… If Mizumori-san isn’t keen on— Ouch! I-I’ll go! I’d love to go!” (Taiju)

Nudged by Hikaru from the side with a silent ‘Just take them,’ Taiju pathetically agreed.

“…is what Taiju-kun is saying?” (Minami)

“Well… If Taiju-kun says it’s okay… It’d be a waste of the tickets…” (Ichiru)

Cornered, Ichiru also reluctantly agreed.

“Alright, it’s settled then! Well, I guess I’ll stop interrupting this meeting of young hearts and make myself scarce. I’ll be asking all about it after the date, so make sure you contact me.” (Minami)

Leaving those words behind, the raid boss departed towards the festival operations tent.

“Haaah… Honestly, she’s always so pushy…” (Ichiru)

Watching Minami disappear, Ichiru let out her biggest sigh of the day.

“Taiju-kun, sorry for dragging you into this weird situation too. If you only agreed because it was hard to refuse in front of your senpai, you can still back out now, I really don’t mind—” (Ichiru)

“N-No! It’s n-not forced… I-I’m… l-looking forward to it too!” (Taiju)

Before Hikaru could nudge him again, Taiju, drenched in nervous sweat, declared it clearly in his own words.

“I-I see… Then, I’ll have to keep my next day off free…” (Ichiru)

Ichiru averted her gaze, looking embarrassed.

Whether that feeling is romantic love or not, neither she nor we know yet.

However, the stage for finding out the date has been set.

What happens on the actual day remains to be seen, but we can worry about that later.

And just as we were about to pull ourselves together and return to the festival—

“Reiya-kun, sorry about that too. Making you worry unnecessarily…” (Ichiru)

Ichiru spoke to me in a small voice, just loud enough for me to hear.

“No, I’m sorry… for meddling like that…” (Reiya)

“No, no, I really appreciated the sentiment… So, thank you.” (Ichiru)

“Yeah… It doesn’t matter if the guy is Taiju-san or anyone else. I genuinely want you to be happier than anyone, Ichiru-san…” (Reiya)

To those words, uttered with a bit of courage, Ichiru just gave a faint, weak smile without replying.

It’s been ten years this year since she lost her parents in that accident.

Perhaps she still believes, like a curse, that ‘I don’t deserve to be happy.’