My Childhood Friend Seems to be the Main Heroine. - Chapter 29

　Two days had passed since Saito and Riri had played together, and it was Saito’s day to get together with his classmates from junior high school.

　They were going to karaoke at 13:00 in the afternoon, so he was free during the morning.

　So he passed the time by playing ranked matches of Duel Link and replying to the pictures of Riri’s trip sent by her from time to time.

　After twelve o’clock, Saito decided to change from his nightwear to casual attire.

　He was dressed for a bunch of boys today, whereas he was usually careful about what to wear when playing with Riri and other girls.

　There is no need to worry about what to wear.

　He pulls out a pair of jeans and a hoodie at random and changes into them.

　After leaving the room and eating lunch prepared by Yabane, Saito leaves the house.

　He gets on his bicycle, which he does not usually use, and heads for the next town.

　There are few entertainment facilities in Saito’s town, consisting of a park and a card store. There is only a small game center next to a supermarket.

　Therefore, children living in this neighborhood often go to the next town for karaoke, bowling, and shopping.

　He pedaled his bicycle for 20 minutes.

　Then he arrived at his destination, a karaoke bar. When he went around to the bicycle parking lot, his friends had already arrived.

“Hey. Long time no see. You guys. “

“Long time no see, Saito.”

“Long time no see, Saito-kun. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s been a while, Minamina. “

(tn: he called Minazuki by Minamina)

　He parked his bicycle and called out to his friends, who greeted him warmly.

　The first one to speak up was Takuto Kadono, an intelligent guy with glasses. He is the smartest guy in the school and is also Saito’s benefactor, who taught him how to study during the examination season. He is an Anime Otaku.

　The second one is Akari Himeno. He is often mistaken for a girl because of his small stature and childish face. He is usually as fragile as a girl, but when he loses her temper, he becomes unruly, perhaps because of the blood of her father, a former delinquent. For this reason, he was called a [Mad dog] in junior high school.

　The third one is Tsuda Seijuro. Contrary to his strict-looking name, he is a very flirtatious type, but he takes good care of his friends. He is a fierce person in the sense that he kept saying that his hair was natural for three years despite the fact that he obviously dyed his hair. In fact, he is the former president of the tennis club and the best tennis player among all of them.

　These are the three members of today’s group. They are friends who practiced together on the tennis team in junior high school.

“Aren’t you guys early? You know, I’ve never been the slowest.”

　We have played together many times in the past, but Takuto and Seijuro usually arrive late, so this is a very rare sight.

“Well, I couldn’t wait to see Minamina and Takuto for the first time in a while. I left unusually early.”

“Same here. We usually see Seijuro at the same high school, but Saito-kun and Takuto are in different high schools and we don’t see each other often. I wanted to come early and have a chat with you.”

“I was going to kill some time at some anime store until the last minute, but the two of them found me and took me away. Damn, I missed out on buying some Kaede-tan goods because of these guys.”

“I see. It’s kind of creepy to hear you guys talk like that. Takuto, come with me to Meito after karaoke. I was just thinking of buying some manga too.”

　He’s glad they were looking forward to meeting me, but it doesn’t make him happy to hear it from a guy.

　After cutting them off, he follows up with Takuto, who was pitifully being taken away from the store by the two of them.

“Hey, Minamina, isn’t that too much? “

“You’re too harsh!”

“Ah, Saito, my true friend. You know what I’m talking about.”

　The two who had been abused complained, while the one who had been invited smiled, and the four of them walked into the restaurant while making a lot of noise.

　After they spent some time at a drink bar, they started karaoke in a spacious room.

“Pretty Cure! “

　While Takuto, the first to sing, sang an ani-song from Puicua, the remaining three started talking about what they had been doing recently.

“How’s your school life, Minamina? “

“Pretty normal. Just hanging out with my new friends and talking nonsense as usual.”

　Asked first by Seijuro, Saito tells what has been going on.

　It’s not very interesting, but it can’t be helped because nothing special happened.

“Ah, okay. I’m glad to hear that everything is going well. I was worried when I heard that there were no students in Saito-kun’s class from the same junior high school.”

“Akarin is a worrier. I told you that Minamina’s communication skills would be high enough. You made at least one on the day of the entrance ceremony, didn’t you? “

“How do you know? Seijuro, are you stalking me?”

“Huh, you know what, Seijuro-kun? Saito-kun only likes girls with big bre*st.”

“What are you two talking about? I’m not stalking him and I’m not into guys. I like married women.”

” ” Woww ” “

　Seijuro tries to clear up their misunderstanding.

　However, at the very last moment, he dropped a huge bombshell, and in the end, Saito and Akari pulled out of the conversation.

　After that, he said, [It’s just a preference! There is no way I’m actually trying to approach them!] but they don’t believe him.

　The reason is that when he said he liked married women, his eyes were serious.

　Takuto’s song is over, and it’s now Akari’s turn, and the members switch places.

“What were you talking about? “

　When Takuto came back and asked what they had talked about, Saito told him that [In the future, when I get married, I will break off relations with Seijuro.]

“I see. Then, I’ll cut him off too.”

“Isn’t that too much, guys!? “

“I’m serious.”

“Can you say you’re joking? Takuto.”

　Seeing Seijuro half-crying, the two apologize ” Sorry, it’s a joke.” He is so responsive that they can’t help but make fun of him.

“Talking about marriage reminds me of something, Saito. Have you confessed your feelings to your childhood friend?”

“Pfft!? “

　Saito, who had been thinking that he would just keep on playing with Seijuro and stay in the safe zone, was caught off guard by a sudden stray bullet, and he blurted out.

“Huh, what is it? Did you finally have a girlfriend, Minamina?

“No, I don’t have a girlfriend. In fact, there’s no one I like”.

“Is that so? You said you were studying to go to the same high school as your cute childhood friend, so I thought you’d confess your love to her when you got in.”

“You’ve got it wrong.”

　It is true that he asked Takuto to help him with his studies, but he never said he liked her or that he would confess to her.

　Saito immediately dismisses Takuto’s misunderstanding.

“Uhh, is that so? You were very serious when you asked me. That’s what I thought.”

“Well〜, Minamina rarely calls girls cute, so it’s not like he’s not interested, I think. Takuto, think back. What did Saito say when he complimented a girl?”

　Takuto is about to be convinced, but Seijuro stops him and reminds him what Saito used to say to him in junior high school.

[ Not bad. ]

[ If she were a little more fashionable, she’d be able to change her impression. ]

[ I guess she’s okay. ]

　Indeed, he doesn’t remember Saito using straight expressions such as “pretty” or “beautiful” to the girls in his class.

　On the other hand, I think he used them all the time when he talked about a girl he grew up with.

“That’s true…”

“Right? I’m sure Minamina likes his childhood friend.

“Seriously, guys, don’t get any weird ideas. I don’t see her as a romantic interest.”

“What’s going on? I just heard you talking about something interesting. “

　While they were fussing, Akari, who had selected a short song, returned.

　This situation was not good for Saito.

　Akari loves this kind of talk. If he gets mixed up with this, he will ask a lot of questions, and it will be annoying.

　Saito operated the touch panel and switched the order of the songs, forcing the audience to take his turn.

“It’s my turn next. This conversation is over.”

“He’s gone.”

“He got away.”

“He ran away.”

　The three of them saw this and sighed, saying that he always runs away when things get bad.