Chapter 79

Translator: mii

Editor: Ryuunakama

# # #

Monday came again this week.

It’s about time when everyone started to call it as「just before the test」, and the teachers would also use various means of constriction to end the test range. When they crammed it like this, it was hard for me to take notes or even remember it, so I wanted them to stop it.

…Well, there wouldn’t be any teacher who would stop even if I said that. Reality was hard.

First of all, I’ll face the current reality (Kouhai-chan) and go to school.

Let’s exchange greetings for the time being.

「Morning.」

「Good morning, senpai.」

December 4.

Today, she was standing at the station’s platform, with her small body and face buried in her coat and scarf.

「It seemed like today is E.T. day.」

「ET?」

「You don’t know? Well, it happens before we were born after all.」

「Ahh, I know, I know. It’s a film, right?」

Let me explain.『E.T.』is a title of a movie.

「What is it about?」

「How can I know that.」

Cold wind blew through us, who were standing at the station platform.

Ahh, it’s cold.

「Ha?」

「I’m sorry.」

It seems like it is a story about how the protagonist has a bond with an alien. I never watched it before.

「It seems like it’s famous for a scene where they can fly after an alien rides on a bicycle.」

「Ah, I think I heard of it before. Maybe.」

「Telekinesis is really powerful, huh. They can even make a bicycle float.」

「It’s amazing that they can make two people float. Senpai, please make me float up too.」

When we were having that meaningless conversations, the train arrived.

「It’s impossible to make even one person float.」

「Ahh, there are people who did that kind of thing, right?」

I’ve seen it on TV before, Kouhai-chan said after we settled in our usual position on the train.

「By the way, the one who can only float the front is called Willie.」

Thanks, Mario Kart Wii.

「Hee, is that so? Then how about someone who can only floats the back?」

「I wonder if it’s possible?」

I imagine someone doing that. It seems possible to do that in theory. What am I even saying now?

I lost to my curiosity and took out my smartphone. Google-sensei, help me.

「Are you cheating, senpai?」

「I don’t know, so it can’t be helped.」

It seems like they are called jackknife.

* * *

Senpai turned to me, as if just remembered something.

「Did you ride your bicycle recently?」

It feels like it was a long time ago since senpai taught me how to ride it.

If I’m not wrong, it happened at the beginning of November… just around a month, huh.

「I would ride it to senpai’s house if senpai let me come and play.」

「Were you planning to come to my house?」

「Yes, of course.」

We went out on Saturday after all.

I thought that I had to show my face to senpai’s mother sometimes, but I didn’t want to disturb senpai who wanted to study, so I canceled the plan.

「Ahh, I’m glad I rejected your invitation.」

I felt like I saw a little loneliness in senpai’s relieved face.

「What’s with that?」

「No, nothing.」

「Seriously…」

Even looking at senpai who can’t (won’t) be honest is fun.

# # #

「Then? You didn’t ride it other than for that?」

「I was going to ride it, but…」

「You can just ride it, you know.」

Well, it’s complicated since she doesn’t know where to go, huh? But she looks like someone who is comfortable with cycling in the riverside.

「It’s cold…!」

Kouhai-chan answered my remark with a pout.

「Ahh, I see.」

「Won’t your ears become very cold? It’s a very uncomfortable cold, right?」

「I understand.」

When I cut through the cold air, my ears would become so cold that I didn’t feel like they were a part of my body.

「That’s why I didn’t ride it.」

「Uh huh.」

After I gave her a vague reply, I remembered something I wanted to ask Kouhai-chan.

「Hey, it’s my『today’s question』.」

「What is it?」

「Kouhai-chan, don’t you use ear muffs?」

I imagined Kouhai-chan wearing a fluffy ear muffs on her head, like headphones.

「Eh?」

She froze for a moment.

And then, she responded while blinking her eyes.

「Ahh, ear muff? I don’t.」

「How about the one with fluffy fur?」

「No, no.」

「I feel like it will suit you, though.」

The moment I said that, she gulped a breath and looked away from me.

Nn? She got embarrassed?

「That’s… not, true.」

When I heard Kouhai-chan say those words of denial as if squeezing them out from her throat, my mischievousness began to sprout

I didn’t understand why she was so embarrassed, but I planned to make her even more embarrassed from now on.

「You’ll definitely look cute with it.」

A white rabbit tail-like fluffy furs covering her ears, and the headphone-like structure pressing her glossy hair a little bit…

It’ll definitely suit her.

「…Nn~!」

Kouhai-chan leaked a moan that didn’t sound like a voice.

When did she ever become this shy? This might be the first time I saw her like this. Speaking of which, I haven’t said “cute” for a long time too.

I was satisfied, so I took my eyes off Kouhai-chan and looked out the window.

The train was about to arrive at the nearest station to the school.

Kouhai-chan who returned from her frozen state stared at my feet and whispered this.

「Stupid senpai.」

* * *

What is that?

What the heck is that, uu…

Senpai suddenly started to say something like「will suit you」or「cute」. Really. Senpai, please look at my condition too. Seriously. Ahh!

「My『today’s question』!」

I finally calmed down. As revenge, I would ask you a question.

「Senpai, won’t you also wear ear muff!」

「No, I won’t. I’m definitely unsuitable for wearing those fluffy things.」

I imagined a fluffy fur sticking to the senpai’s ears as he was standing in front of me.

「Ahh…」

This is…

「Right?」

「How can it be this unsuitable?」

「How would I know?」

My plan to ask him a question as revenge completely misfired.