CH 126

“Please tell me!”

“I won’t tell you.”

“Useless.”

“No.”

“Muu~!!”

I came home after practice for the sports festival and was being bombarded with questions by Rin.

I’m not sure what she’s so obsessed with…

It’s been like this ever since I got home.

I was sitting cross-legged reading a book when she put her hand on my knee and stared at my face.

Even if I try not to look at Rin, I can still see her in my field of vision…

When I try to read my book, … she interrupts me by pulling on my arm.

I gave up, put the book on the table and sighed.

“Rin, why are you bothering me…”

“Tell me please.”

“That thing during the day, there’s nothing you can do about it, okay?”

“No, there is no such thing. If there is a flaw, it needs to be fixed. I don’t know what those shortcomings will lead to in the future, so I want to cut off any worries. I’m prepared for anything … it’s my motto to take all possible precautions.”

“Oh, so that’s what you mean… Rin has a perfectionist nature, you know. If that’s the case, I should probably tell you.”

“It’s not that I’m a perfectionist, but I get an itch if I don’t get to the bottom of something that’s bothering me.”

“An Itch… But Rin. It’s hard to tell.”

“Well, does that mean you don’t like to talk about it?”

“I don’t mind it. It’s just that it’s very close to a sensory thing~.”

“Mhm… are you perhaps trying to smoke me out?”

“No, no, that’s not it.”

Rin seemed to be skeptical, but I’m not trying to be particularly cruel.

Well, it’s true that I want to keep it a secret because it’s the first time I’ve had one over Rin…

But if I think about it for Rin’s sake, I think I should tell her.

Since Rin saved me, I’ve always wanted to help her in any way I can.

But even if I tried to convey something sensible, it would be too abstract and the explanation would be too baffling.

In front of Kenichi, I said confidently, but in reality, there is no clear basis for understanding Rin’s falsehood.

“Like this!” or “Somehow!” and speculation follows.

There’s no such thing as ‘Rin’s pout went up a millimeter, so it’s a lie.’

I don’t know what to do…

As I twisted my head around to think of how to tell her, Rin chuckled and laughed in a funny way.

“I understood. Well, let’s check and see, shall we?”

“Check?”

“Yes. To me, it doesn’t look like Towa-kun is telling a lie. I can guess that it is a sensory thing that you are wondering how to tell me and that I can tell.”

“You’re still an esper as usual…”

“So how about I tell you an actual lie and you can tell it apart, Towa-kun?”

Rin then brought a deck of playing cards, checked one of them, and wrote something on a notepad.

Then, she carefully separated the eight playing cards, counting that one, and laid them out in front of me.

“Towa-kun. There is only one card in these eight playing cards that I drew. Show it to me one by one and guess the lie.”

“I see. You mean you’re going to confirm it with… cards?”

“That’s right. Can you spot it from my poker face?”

“Oh …, I’m on it.”

I showed Rin the cards one by one.

“Is this it?”

“No.”

“Then this.”

“No.”

“……”

Repeating this process for eight cards, I kept a watchful eye on her.

I thought I had enough time to do this because I was able to recognize her at lunchtime, and I took it lightly…

Oh no.

I can’t recognize it at all…

The gestures, the tone of voice, the movement of the eyes…

I can’t see any change in any of them.

Even the blink of the eyes has the same interval.

The more I lost confidence in my ability to ‘understand’ at that time, the more perfect Rin’s demeanor was.

Then, of course…

“Ace of hearts, right?”

“Nope. It’s the King of Diamonds, as I drew on this piece of paper here.”

“Seriously…”

Rin chuckled and I slumped my shoulders.

On second thought, I’ve never been able to beat Rin at cards.

So it was my ego.

Ha.

I feel disappointed, even though I thought I had finally figured it out.

I mean, Rin said she made notes on paper, but did she copy the card?

In such a short time?

Amazing, hey.

“Fufufu~. I guess I win now. It proves that my performance still hadn’t been discarded yet.”

“Haaah… it’s my complete defeat.”

“You needn’t be discouraged, you know? I’ve been taking acting lessons from my mom for over a decade.”

“Well, I shouldn’t be able to tell the difference… The years are too many.”

“By the way, my mother not only has a poker face, but she also mixes in some deceptive acting, such as impatience and crying,… I have yet to win against her.”

“I wouldn’t even be a match for her if I were you.”

“Well, let me put the cards away and get dinner ready.”

“…Thank you.”

I sighed, hung my head on the table, and looked sideways at Rin as she walked to the kitchen.

Rin was walking normally, but I felt something strange about it – I hurriedly called her to a halt.

“… Rin. Could it be that your leg is injured?”

”It’s nothing to worry about, okay?”

She tilted her head slightly with a curious look on her face.

I really don’t follow.

It seems that … she has that kind of attitude.

“I don’t care if you’re thin or not. Let me see your leg for now.”

“Um, does that mean … you want me to take off my clothes…?”

“Buh!?!?”

I looked at Rin, who had her hands on her clothes, and I winced.

Then, with gestures, I denied it.

“No, no, no! Just the legs! I mean, just roll up your shorts. Oh, is this request also bad …?”

“If you say it so suddenly, I’d be embarrassed too…”

“I’m telling you, it’s not that! Don’t interpret it in a weird, expansive way!!”

“…Is it wrong? Huh…”

“Just start with …”

Rin tried to cover it up, but I urged her on and she reluctantly rolled up her shorts.

Then I saw that she had scraped her knee.

…I knew it.

I brought some disinfectant and a bandage and did the simplest thing I knew how to do.

Thank goodness, I’m sure I can handle an injury of this magnitude…

It doesn’t sound like she slipped on artificial turf and her skin got scorched and left scars.

I thought, since it’s Rin, she’d be putting up with something worse…

I gently patted my chest and let out a breath of relief.

“…How did you know?”

“See, I told you. I know how you act.”

“But just now, you missed the card by a long shot…

“You’re right, I did.”

It’s a strange scene, both of us tilting our heads at each other.

But it can’t be helped.

I can’t explain this clearly either.

Because I understand this kind of Rin for some reason.

Rin’s cheeks flushed red with happiness when she saw that her leg had been treated.

“Thank you very much. Towa-kun.”

“No problem. I’m a relief worker.”

“You’re already doing your job, aren’t you?”

“It’s a bit early.”

“But then again, only … Towa-kun. Only Towa-kun can…”

“Yeah … only me?”

“Fufu. It’s nothing.”

Perhaps embarrassed, Rin stuck out her tongue a little and then headed for the kitchen to prepare the food.