My Childhood Friend Seems to be the Main Heroine. - Chapter 26

“Hey, Minazuki. Do you know Nishizono, who’s been a hot topic lately?” “

“No, I don’t. What did he do?”

　One lunchtime.

　While eating lunch with Akashi and his new friend Nakayama, Saito shakes his head when he is asked if he knows a name he has never heard of.

“He looks like a gloomy guy, but for some reason, he seems to get along with all the pretty girls at school. Damn, I’m jealous. I envy him! Why is it that the guy in the shadows get the girls and I don’t? “

“Hmm.”

“I see.”

“You don’t seem interested!? You guys… Do you have a d*ck? “

“That’s why you’re not popular, Nakayama, because you always talk about that kind of stuff without hesitation.”

“Hahaha.”

　Saito is right. The girls are not so happy to see Nakayama always talking loudly about dirty jokes during lunch.

　The boys are also pulling back, and like Akashi, they are laughing dryly.

　Indeed, even Saito of the same sex does not want to go out with such a guy who talks about vulgar jokes in public.

　It would be interesting to have one as a friend, though.

“Grrh, the right argument is hard to deny. But even Minazuki would be envious of being surrounded by beautiful girls.”

“Well, I don’t know. Maybe I don’t want to be surrounded by them. I can’t play with my friends if I’m surrounded by them all the time.”

　Saito is also a man.

　He has the desire to be surrounded by beautiful girls as much as anyone else.

　However, he doesn’t want to be unable to play with friends of the same gender because of it.

　With the opposite sex, he can’t have a good time with silly stories and must be careful in many ways.

　Above all, if all the members were women except for himself, he would feel left out in that group.

　Such a cramped life, Saito cannot stand it.

　So, although he desires a harem, if someone asks him if he wants to have one, he’ll say no without hesitation, at least for now.

“Wow, you guys are so withered. We’re high school students. We’re still young. Let’s dream a little.”

“I’ll pass.”

“No. You can dream all you want, but I’m not gonna drown in it.”

“Take those words back. Who said it’s an impossible dreamーーー!?”

“…If that’s what you think, then give up.”

　If you are aware of it, why don’t you stop?

　But he also knows that men are stupid creatures and cannot give up so easily.

　So Saito and Akashi said nothing more and continued to eat their lunches.

“Damn. You’re pretending to be cool. You’re lucky you have Machigane-san with you.”

“Why the hell is her name mentioned? I’ve told you many times she and I are childhood friends. Nothing more, nothing less.”

　Saito denies it with a fed-up look on his face when his childhood friend is mentioned as usual.

“Really? You guys are too close for that.”

“That’s normal.”

“Normally, you don’t go to school together, even if you’ve known each other since childhood! Right, Akashi?”

“Uh-huh. Well, maybe not always.”

“Maybe Riri will be mol*sted if we go separately. I guess it can’t be helped.”

　My childhood friend Riri is objectively a beautiful girl.

　If he takes his eyes off her momentarily, she will likely be picked up or mol*sted.

　Riri can defend herself from such things because of her judo lessons, but it must be mentally tough. It is better not to be attacked in the first place.

　That’s why Saito is with her as a precautionary measure for her to avoid men.

　Well, it is fun to go to school talking with Riri, which is an additional benefit of doing that.

　He’ll keep quiet about this because it might be too much troublesome.

　He is sure Riri will make fun of him with this later if she knows.

“Well, Machigane-san is very beautiful. I can understand if that’s the case…”

　Nakayama was satisfied with Saito’s explanation but immediately pointed at something and asked, [But how do you explain this?] He immediately pointed at something and asked him like an interrogator.

　He was now pointing at a bento lunch box.

　It’s white rice with salted kelp, stir-fried vegetables, grilled salmon, and a rolled egg with green onion.

　It is a beautiful Japanese bento.

　It was not made by Saito’s mother but by a girl whom he grew up with.

　The taste, as you can see from the appearance, is unquestionable.

　Riri asks for his opinion every now and then, and lately, Saito has come to prefer her bento compared to his own mother’s.
　

“When I told her I didn’t have enough for lunch, she started making me something.”

“What do you mean “something”? I mean, it’s not like anyone is going to make a lunch for someone they don’t like.”

“I see it quite often in Manga.”

“Because it’s fiction! “

　(Uh. Well, it can’t be helped if you say so.)

　Looking at the lunchbox he received, Saito smiled bitterly, thinking that it was reasonable that he could be suspected.

　But in fact, he had never felt any romantic affection from Riri.

　There are many cases of friendship and intimacy, but none that he can think of are romantic.

　Therefore, his childhood friend must think of Saito as a family member, not a member of the opposite sex.

　This lunch box is probably made by an older sister for her hungry younger brother.

　But Saito can say this only because he has known her for a long time.

　Other people will not understand what he’s talking about.

“Well, Riri and I are the exceptions.”

　Saito ate his mother’s lunch box and reached for Riri’s lunch box.

* * *

“Saito, do you have a desire for a harem? “

　I was reading a romantic-comedy manga on my smartphone app at the station platform when Riri suddenly asked me such a question.

“Yes, because I’m a guy.”

　Saito replies without taking his eyes off the screen.

“Hehー. Saito wants to be pampered by pretty girls.”

　Then Riri’s voice suddenly became flat.

　Did I say something offensive?

　But as far as he can recall, he said nothing strange.

　Saito looks at Riri’s face, but an unusually beautiful fake smile covers her smile, so it is hard to tell what she is thinking.

“Well, that’s normal to have that desire as a guy. But if you ask me if I really want to, I don’t want to.”

“Why?? “

　 I say what I’m thinking in response to Riri’s question, and she asks me back in a happy tone of voice.

(I don’t understand Riri today.)

　Suddenly, she is in a state of depression or excitement.

　Saito is in a situation where his childhood friend is unusually emotionally unstable.

　However, even in such a situation, he answered her question.

“What’s a harem? Sure, you are surrounded by girls all the time. But it’s hard to be in a situation with one guy and multiple girls for a long time, and you must always take care of them. Sadly, I’m not that kind of a handy guy. I’d have my hands full with one person, and, well, let’s face reality, Japan is a monogamous country. So, inevitably, all the others except one will be unhappy. That’s why I don’t really want to have a harem. Uh, to begin with, I’ve never had anyone confess to me or make a pass at me.”

　I’ve given a long list of reasons, but it’s just the ramblings of an unattractive guy, he thought.

　He is sure that they’re not very convincing.

　So Saito smiles self-deprecatingly and tells her that it’s okay to laugh.

　For some reason, Riri let out a sigh of relief without laughing at Saito.

“I see. Yes, Saito is very good that he knows his own capability. Saito is limited to one person.”

“I know it’s a fact, but when other people say it to me, I get so angry.”

　Riri taps him on the shoulder to agitate him.

(Really. I don’t understand this girl today.)

　In the end, he didn’t know what had struck a chord with her.

　He ended up being pushed around by Riri.

　But she seemed to be happy, so he guessed it was all for the best.

　With this thought in mind, Saito turns his eyes back to his phone.