As I Know Anything About You, I'll Be The One To Your Girlfriend, Aren't I? - Volume 1 Chapter 1.4

Why Is It Bright Red? 4

“…Kuuya? What’s wrong? You’re staring at me.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Though I joked about feeling unworthy a moment ago, that wasn’t entirely a lie.

“Hmm, are you tired? Were you painting non-stop without any breaks?”

“Ah, I was so focused that I got startled by the rain.”

“Hmm…”

Suika frowned thoughtfully and spoke in a muffled tone.

“It’s good to be dedicated, but you must take breaks appropriately. It’s no use if you wear yourself out. I’ve always known how you can’t stop once you get focused…”

“Is that so… Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

“That’s right! After all, Kuuya, you always work too hard! I’m really worried about you. The most important thing is to take care of your own body, so please, be more… Ah, there’s a puddle ahead! Be careful.”

“Oops, thanks.”

“No problem. Also, please tilt the umbrella more towards you. If your shoulder gets wet, it’ll be bad for your health! If you’re already wet, I have a handkerchief.”

“It’s fine, I’m not wet.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Suika has always been like this since we were kids.

Worrying about me, who’s not very physically robust and tends to neglect self-care when engrossed in painting, she always takes extra care of me.

However, I shouldn’t worry her too much or cause her trouble… Just as I was thinking that.

“Sorry, move out of the wayyyy!!”

──What!?

A loud voice echoed from the ground. I turned towards the voice, my body freezing.

A baseball was hurtling towards us with great force. The strong baseball team, continuing their practice despite the rain, must have hit a foul ball or something.

It was on a direct collision course. In less than a second, it would hit my head. All I could do was predict that. It seemed unavoidable.

In a corner of my mind, I thought, “I’m glad I was walking on the ground side.”

It’s a small mercy; Suika won’t get hit──

“…Hmph.”

Bachin, a powerful sound echoed.

“Eh?”

It wasn’t a scream that escaped my mouth. After all, the ball hadn’t hit me.

“Really! It’s fine to be dedicated to club activities, but, uh, no, putting others in danger is not commendable!”

Suika, who had somehow moved to the ground side without me noticing, had… caught the baseball with her bare hand. She didn’t drop or deflect it, and she did it with one hand.

“Ah,” she let out a voice and turned back to me in a hurry.

“Kuuya, did any mud splash on you!?”

“…No, no, no! What are you worrying about me for! Catching a baseball with such force barehanded…! Is your hand not injured!?”

Even as I said that, I knew. Still, she was concerned about me, my childhood friend.

…And then.

“Injured, you say? How insulting! It’s extremely insulting, Kuuya!”

Suika sharply raised her well-shaped eyebrows.

“──As if! As if a mere soft ball could best the well-trained right hand of an Ado woman!”

Gichigichigichigichii, the baseball in Suika’s grip let out a noise.

…Yes.

My childhood friend, who takes great care of me with her kindness, boasts an extraordinary physical ability far beyond the norm. That’s Ado Suika.

“…Soft, you say… That’s a hardball, right?”

“Melon bread doesn’t contain melon, and crab bread doesn’t contain crab. Names and reality are different.”

“True, cucumber rolls don’t have cucumbers wrapped in them, but I’m not sure about that logic…”

“Ah, but Kuuya, you must never catch a ball barehanded! It’s dangerous! And you’re not dirty, right? Show me your face and clothes. I hope everything’s okay…”

“I’m not dirty, I’m not, so it’s not me but Suika that… I know Suika is strong or, how should I say, extraordinary, but ah, my clothes got a bit wet from the rain…”

“Don’t worry about my clothes… Oh, I need to return the ball!”

Suika swiftly turned towards the baseball field. A baseball team member, looking apologetic, was running towards us.

“Um, sorry about that! Are you hurt!?”

“We’re fine! Here it goes!”

“Eh? O-Okay… Woah, seriously!?”

Along with a satisfying sound, the baseball player’s voice of astonishment reached us.

It was understandable.

Despite the considerable distance from us to him, Suika’s throw reached him without a single bounce, almost in a straight line rather than a parabola.

What’s more incredible is that the ball, without deviating in the slightest, was sucked straight into the glove of the baseball player, who had been called out by Suika. It wasn’t just power, but precise control.

“…Bravo.”

“It’s a tradition of the Ado women. In times of need, to be able to crush the head of a rascal with a stone rolling nearby…!”

“That’s impressive, but your worldview is kind of off.”

Notably, Suika wasn’t joking.

Her family, the Ado, had built their fortune in business during the Meiji era, but they were originally a renowned samurai family.

This spirit and tradition are still passed down today, and as the heir, Suika has been rigorously trained in all manner of martial arts. Whether stone throwing is included among the martial arts, I’m not sure.

“Well, that settles that. Let’s get back to our conversation.”

“What were we talking about again? That shocking scene just wiped my memory…”

“It’s a very important conversation about taking better care of yourself!”

“Why are you saying that after catching a hardball with your bare hands…”

Muttering that, I realized I hadn’t conveyed something crucial yet.

“Sorry, before that. Suika, thank you. You really saved me.”

“It’s for moments like these that Ado women train!”

Suika smiled cheerfully, wiping what seemed to be a slightly dirty hand with a handkerchief she pulled out.

The gesture was elegant, making the scene of her catching the hardball with her bare hand seem like a lie.

“Look, Kuuya, you really should take better care of yourself… You’re always overdoing it, especially when someone asks for your help.”

“Well, I do it because I love painting…”

“But, is the painting you’re currently working on at school really for yourself?”

That question made it hard for me to respond sharply.

“Well, that one is also one of the paintings I wanted to do… but.”

“It’s not something you chose to do on your own, right? Because you were asked to do it again, weren’t you? Where is it for this time? Last time it was a hospital, right?”

Suika sees through everything concerning me. Resigned, I nodded in agreement.

“The one I’m working on now is for an orphanage… or I guess they don’t call it that anymore, a child welfare institution. You know, the place just off the national road.”

“I see… Kuuya, that’s a wonderful thing to do.”

“I hope so.”