My Childhood Friend Seems to be the Main Heroine. - Chapter 23

“Yawnnー”

　The next day after forest school.

　Since there was no school, Saito was dozing off through the day.

　When asked why he was doing such a thing, the answer was that he was still tired.

　Perhaps it was because he had slept for two days in an unfamiliar environment, but he was more tired than expected.

　Saito did his morning run as usual, and after breakfast, he returned to a nap.

　After three hours, his stomach complained of hunger, and he opened his eyes to meet indigo eyes.

　Normally, this would have been an unusual sight.

　But his head, which was not working properly after waking up from sleep, could not notice the abnormality.

“Good morning, Saito.”

” …Good morning. Riri. Fwah〜 “

　They greet each other, and he gives a big yawn as he sits up.

“Yabane-san says lunch is ready.”

“Oh, thank you.”

　Saito thanks her for telling him that lunch is ready downstairs and leaves the room for the living room.

　Fried rice and egg soup were on the table, and Saito sat down on a chair and sipped the egg soup.

“Aww!”

　But the soup was freshly made and hot. If he drank it without any precautions, it had a level of heat that could burn his tongue.

　Saito, who drank it in a daze, screamed.

　His tongue tingled and hurt.

　This is a full-blown burn.

　While gasping, Riri came up behind him with a giggle and offered him a glass of water.

　Saito took it and drank it in one gulp to cool his tongue.

“It helped, thanks…but Riri? Why are you here? “

　The pain from the burns has brought him back to full consciousness, and Saito finally realizes that his childhood friend is at his house.

　Why is she at his home today when he has not promised to play with her?

　Saito asked Riri why she was there.

“I had some free time, so I came here to play.”

“I see. Thank you for coming all the way here.”

　What Riri told him was a trivial thing.

　She was free, so she came to visit him.

　It sounded like a casual reason.

　These two have known each other for a long time.

　It’s not unusual for them to show up unannounced, as she did today, so he accepts her visit without surprise.

“Do you want some lunch, Riri? “

“I’ll eat.”

　The same is true for Saito’s mother, Yabane, who also welcomes Riri.

　Even though she had to make one more serving on short notice, she didn’t complain about it, but on the contrary, she seemed a little happy and started cooking for more.

” ” ” Thank you for the food ” ” “

　And when the dishes were finished being prepared, all three sat down at the table and started eating.

” As always, the food is delicious.”

“It really is. It’s as good as the fried rice at the restaurant.”

“Ara〜 You won’t get anything out of me even if you praise me so much.”

　Yabane is embarrassed by their praise of her cooking.

　However, she does not seem to be opposed to their compliments.

　It seems that no matter how old she is, she is always happy to receive compliments from others.

“Hey, Riri. How is Saito at school? “

　This is because her son Saito does not talk much about his school life.

　Yabane asked Riri how her son was doing.

“Basically, he takes his classes seriously, but he always looks sleepy in the afternoon, maybe because he had lunch, and sometimes he sleeps. It hasn’t been that long since we entered the school, but he already has about ten friends.”

“Is that so? He’s always been good at keeping people close, so I wasn’t worried about making friends. I didn’t expect you already had that many friends… And Saito, You shouldn’t sleep during class.”

“Don’t be unreasonable, Mom. Everyone sleeps at least once during those hours.”

　They said that when the stomach is full, the blood sugar level rises and the secretion of something else can’t keep up. They say it makes them sleepy because their brains don’t get enough glucose.

　This is a natural part of the human mechanism.

　In such a situation, the student will inevitably fall asleep if the teacher, a sleep-magic magician, casts a spell.

　Saito is not at fault.

　If there is any fault, it is the school’s fault for having a magician as a teacher.

　Without any apology, Saito replies, “It is not my fault.”

　Yabane and Riri let out a giggle when they saw this.

(Well, I know how you feel. I used to sleep in the afternoon class, too, sometimes.)

　She understands Saito’s point of view because she had many similar experiences as a student.

　However, from a parent’s point of view, she would like her son to study hard, at least at school.

　So, she gave him a little warning, “Well, try not to sleep as much as possible from now on.”

“Okay… Well, thanks for the food.”

　Saito replied to Yabane with a listless reply and left the living room after finishing his lunch quickly because he felt he would get more complaints if he stayed here any longer.

“Oh, wait a minute. I haven’t finished eating yet.”

“Is that so? Well, come to my room when you finish eating. I’ll be ready to play.”

　After saying this to Riri, Saito walked up the stairs, leaving Yabane and Riri alone in the living room.

“He could have waited a little longer.”

“Well, well, at least he will be ready when I go upstairs later, so I don’t mind.”

　Yabane grumbled, [He’s a very thoughtless guy.] to which Riri replied, [That’s not true.]

　Saito is always considerate to Riri.

　For example, when they walk together on the street, Saito always stays on the outside part of the sidewalk and intentionally matches her stride.

　He also ensures that Riri does not leave his side so that men do not approach her.

　He also knows that Riri does not like people to look at her chest, so he does his best to avoid looking at them.

　(Though I feel sometimes he’s glancing at me these days. Well, it’s good because it gives me something to make fun of Saito. Besides, it’s not that unpleasant to be seen by Saito, yeah.)

　──Saito is always there for me when I’m down, and he notices if I’m having trouble and worries about me.

　──I try to hide it well, but for some reason, sometimes he knows.

(It helps me a lot, though.)

　Riri, who cannot honestly ask for help, has been saved by Saito many times.

　It was recently during the physical fitness test and the forest school.

　He was the only one who noticed.

　He was the only one who reached out to her.

　That fact makes her heart flutter.

　Riri unconsciously curls her hair around her fingers, and Yabane smiles slyly at her.

“Hey, anything good has happened to you lately, Riri? “

“N-none! There is nothing!”

“Ehh〜, but you look like a maiden. So I’m curious about you. What’s the love life like for high school students these days?”

“T-there’s really nothing! A-anyway, thank you for the food!”

　Riri’s face turns bright red. She eats the rest of the meal quickly and leaves the living room as Saito does.

　Yabane looked at her back and muttered to herself, [I see the resemblance in how you run away when things get inconvenient for you.]

　She thought it may be long before she could see her grandchildren’s faces.