Volume 1 - CH 4.3

“Ah, there he is.”

“I see he is fast asleep.”

I was the first one to arrive at the classroom, but Shu was motionless as he plopped down on his desk.

I think it would be nice if he didn’t create his own world like that when he enters the classroom, but he should have the opportunity to talk with his classmates around him. …… Even I and Ayana can’t force him to do all that.

“Hey, Yukishiro.”

“Oh, Aisaka.”

I greeted Aisaka back and took a seat.

Ayana approached to deal with Shu, who looked up at her and smiled with his hand over his mouth, giggling as he talked to her about something.

“It looks like he’s in a better mood now.”

I was relieved that I was right.

As I took my study materials from my desk I began to think about Mari, who I had just been talking with.

“…… She really is a good girl.”

A pure child who did not have the kind of ugliness that all people carry, was the image I had of Mari.

It is a causal story in a sense that both Mari and Iori met Shu through Ayana’s introduction….and it’s a story of fate in a sense that they are taken away, but if I can somehow do it, as a person who knows their future. , I thought I could help.

“Towa.”

“What’s up?”

Shu approached me with Ayana and called out.

“After school we decided to spend some time together until it is time for Ayana to go shopping. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with us too.”

“Hmm?”

I see. So Ayana is following up in her own way.

I was tempted to ask if it was okay for me to be in their private space, but since he invited me like this, it would be rude to ask such a question.

“Sure. I will hang with you”

And so our after-school plans were set.

On that day, Iori came to the classroom and took Shu away, but no one, including Somiya and the others, made any move to harass Shu, probably because Ayana and I had pointed them in the classroom.

On the contrary, I saw a slight change.

“Hey Somiya, what are you going to do after school today?”

“Eh? Right….Uhm”

“What are you nervous about? We’re just going to hang out, right?”

“……T-That’s right!!”

I turned my attention to the conversation between Somiya and Ayana’s friend, Uesaka.

Uesaka is the girl who invited Somiya and the others to karaoke at the right time yesterday, but today, I feel that the two of them are very close to each other.

I don’t know how it was in the past, but judging by the reactions of people around the two , it seems that today is the first time they are getting along like that.

“What’s wrong?”

Ayana, who was standing beside me, looked at me, nodded her head, and continued.

“I heard they hit it off better than I thought they would at karaoke. She seemed to be having a lot of fun, so she must have really liked it.”

“Heh. …….”

It’s also a rare combination that I didn’t …… think was possible.

Both Somiya and Uesaka are flamboyant in appearance, but they are not bad-behaved delinquents.

As for Somiya, although he was malicious toward Shu, he listened to our side of the story……. Well, it would have been nice if he didn’t do that from the beginning.

“Is that the kind of girl you like, Towa?”

Ayana said this to me, perhaps because I was staring at Somiya and Uesaka.

I don’t know if it was my imagination or if it was really her eyes that showed a hint of jealousy, but Ayana immediately chuckled.

“I’m just kidding. I’ve known what Towa-kun likes for a long time♪.”

I quickly averted my gaze from her smiling face.

This was partly because I simply could not look directly at Ayana’s smile, but also because I felt that she had seen through my own tastes, not Towa’s.

(It’s true that I love a clean and neat girl like Ayana,……, but if I may be greedy, such a clean and neat girl may be a bit heavy on love and s*x…….)

When I think about it, my gaze naturally turns to Ayana, and I think …… I’m so simple.

“By the way…”

“Hmm?”

“What would you do if I dressed and acted like a so-called “gyaru” (gal) like her? What would you do?”

These words came as a big shock to me and made me feel as if a thunderbolt had struck behind me.

Certainly in my memory, I have many stories of that kind of gal-ization of a beautiful innocent girl like Ayana preserved in my memory, so based on her current visual, an all too obvious gyaru-ization Ayana popped into my brain ……, but I was sure that I was right. I was most likely thinking that while I thought it was naughty and totally fine, it didn’t suit her.

“No, …… I think Ayana should stay the same”

“Fufu, I understand.”

I knew Ayana must have known this reply as well, I thought as I looked at her smiling face.

(…… even so)

Once again I looked at Someya and the others and wondered if they were the ones Shu was talking about in the game who were jealous and involved.

The classmates who got involved with Shu in the game were treated as mobs, so their names weren’t revealed, nor were their appearances explained.

(To begin with, it’s a year from now, and we’re in different classes……so I guess it’s not a good idea to even think about that at this point)

I reset my thinking to that.

There is a princess next to me, who is nearby, but keeps pleading with me not to think, so I should spend my time on that for now.

It was soon after school and all three of us were out on the town together.

“Are you going to stay until about five o’clock?”

“Yes. Let’s play until then.”

The time limit is quite close to 4:00 p.m., but Shu is still happy just to spend time with Ayana.

Knowing that Ayana had nothing to do, I felt sorry for Shu, but I also thought that it would be nice if Ayana could have a day like that.

“Then let’s go somewhere right away, Shu.”

“Yes.”

If time is limited, let’s enjoy the time with the three of us.

But with only about an hour to spend together, there was only so much we could do, and the three of us just walked around talking nonsense.

(…… but he’s so happy about all this stuff)

Nevertheless, Shu seemed happy anyway.

He was talking to Ayana so much that he probably didn’t even need to ask me out, but I’m sure Towa had been watching them like this for a while now.

“Ah, they sell ice cream over there”

We were walking along the street when we spotted an ice cream truck and approached it.

We each bought a different flavor of ice cream, and decided to spend the rest of the day sitting on a bench nearby, relaxing and eating.

I was enjoying chocolate ice cream, Shu was enjoying mint, and Ayana was enjoying vanilla ice cream, when Ayana turned her attention to Shu.

“?…..Fufu”

I looked at him too, and I just burst out laughing at the look on his face.

He was looking at me, wondering what was wrong, and there was ice cream under his nose, as if he had a green beard and mustache.

“Shu-kun, please don’t move for a moment.”

“Eh? Yes.”

Ayana took a handkerchief from her pocket and put her hand under his nose.

“Yes, it’s all right now. “

“Thank you.”

Ayana’s behavior made Shu realize that the ice cream had gotten on him, and he thanked her while looking down in embarrassment.

Not only that, but there was also some embarrassment at the fact that Ayana’s face was so close to his at point-blank range, but it seems that even that much is still too much stimulation for Shu.

“I-I’m going to look at something else!”

“Oh, Shu-kun.……”

Unable to hold back, Shu got up and went.

Ayana, who had been staring at his back, slowly turned around and smiled deeply, as if she had been waiting for Shu to be gone.

“Towa-kun….ara.”

“What’s wrong?”

She looked at me the same way she had looked at Shu earlier.

Don’t tell me that some ice cream got on my mouth without me even noticing it? I thought so and tried to wipe it off with my hand, but Ayana stopped me.

“Stay still for a moment.”

“O-ou…..”

Ayana slowly approached me, brought her face close to mine, and licked my cheek with her tongue.

“There was ice cream on you, Towa-kun♪”

Probably not a lie, but I didn’t think she would do this to me after wiping off the ice cream from Shu normally.

I am of course embarrassed in front of a smiling Ayana, but the rough feeling of Ayana’s tongue that just touched my cheek is still there.

(……Thank goodness. Shu didn’t see it.)

I glanced at Shu, who was still busy choosing his next ice cream.

I was a little worried about what Shu would say if he had seen what she just did, but I also felt a slight sense of superiority toward him.

“……Ayana, you can’t just do that out of the blue—-“

“Ufufu♪ What if it wasn’t out of the blue?”

“Well, that’s…..”

Ayana was again moving her face close to mine, as she had done earlier, and she had a very attractive expression on her face.

I can’t tear my eyes away from Ayana’s face, and if I were to stare at her lips, I’d be sucked into her face.

(Damn ……, what’s this feeling ……, why do I want Ayana so much ……!)

I’ve been whispering in my head that I want Ayana.

Just when I thought I didn’t know what I would have done if I had stared at Ayana any longer, Shu finally returned.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I bought another one.”

“….I see. You’ll gain weight if you eat too much, okay?”

It sounded too toneless for me.

Nevertheless, I headed for the nearby restroom to calm myself down in that unsure feeling of whether I was disappointed or grateful that Shu had returned.

“…… phew.”

No time to exhale is probably what I’m talking about.

Too many things have happened with Ayana in the last few days, and I’m thinking that I’d like to stay in bed for a few days and not think about anything else.

That’s how many things I don’t understand and how many shocking things are coming at me at a furious pace.

I’ve been thinking about Ayana, and I feel that she’s important to me.

I spoke to my reflection in the mirror, in other words, to Towa.

Hey Towa, why did I come to this world? Why am I here as you? What the hell do you want from me?”

With that said, I reached out and touched the mirror, but naturally there was no response.

I stared at the mirror for a moment, let out a sigh, and then returned to the two, but it seemed I was in trouble.

“Hey, hey, why don’t you come play with me instead of this plain-looking guy?”

It was a very nasty-looking flirtation.

The man, probably a college student, was looking down at Shu, while he was directing a lecherous gaze at Ayana.

“Oi, what are you looking at?”

“….”

The man gave him a big shove, and Shu looked down and took a step back.

This is the same as admitting that you will give up on Ayana and give her to him.

“……What’s he doing?”

No, I’m not in a position to complain after I left that place.

Besides, Shu is not the kind of person who gets into fights, and he is not that strong-willed, so he knows he cannot stand up to a man who is bigger than he is.

But I still wanted Shu to stand up. I wanted him to raise his voice desperately, even if in a haphazard way, to protect Ayana.

“Tsk….”

I clicked my tongue and immediately rushed over to them.

Just as the man was about to place his hand on Ayana’s shoulder, I grabbed his hand.

“That’s enough of that.”

“A~h?”

“Towa-kun!”

“Towa….”

The man looked at me like he was in a bad mood because of my sudden appearance.

I’m the one in a bad mood, and most of all, I couldn’t forgive him for trying to lay a hand on Ayana… I glared fiercely at the man as if my feelings of not letting Ayana go were showing on the surface.

“….What the hell you little”

The man shook off my hand as if he was afraid and turned his back on us as if to spit at us.

I was sure that I was going to get into a fistfight with him, so I was glad that he backed away from me.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. ……”

I called out to Shu and he nodded reassuringly.

During this time, I thought I felt a strange hot gaze from Ayana, but now I just had to tell Shu.

“I know it’s not my place to say this, but, Shu… why did you take a step back?”

“That’s because …… I was trying to call for help! Yes, that’s right!!”

“……I see, well, that’s not bad. But if you’d left the place, Ayana might have been taken, and you might have scared her for a little bit, okay?”

“You don’t know that… In the end, it was Towa who helped us.”

……You’re right, I saved you because you backed away.

I decided to avoid another morning of bad air, so I stopped short of giving Shu a hard time.

Well, the atmosphere was still a little unpleasant, but it was just before five o’clock and we decided to split up.

“I guess we’re splitting up for the day.”

“Yeah. ……”

“I guess so.”

I felt a little sorry that I had said too much when I saw Shu turn his back on me and walk away quickly.