My Childhood Friend Seems to be the Main Heroine. - Chapter 32

“Hey, Saito. Wanna come over to my place today? “

“No problem, but why? “

　Riri made this suggestion on the Train on the way home.

　Saito, who had no plans for the rest of the day, agreed without hesitation.

　However, Saito asked Riri what kind of a surprise it was since he had never been asked by Riri to come over to her house after-school.

“My mother and father bought some gifts for the Minazuki family, you know? I thought I’d ask you to bring them back.”

“So that’s how it is.”

　The Minazuki and Machigane families are good friends.

　They have dinner together about once every two months, although it is irregular.

　So it is no surprise that Riri’s parents buy gifts for Saito’s parents.

　However, since they haven’t gotten together recently, why don’t they get together for the sake of souvenirs? He doesn’t know, but he thinks it would be good for them to get together for the sake of souvenirs.

　As for asking Saito to bring back the souvenirs, maybe they have bought something that can get stale quickly.

　Saito was convinced by Riri’s invitation.

“When I go home, I’m going to look like a student returning from a school trip.”

　Considering that Riri had given her one, her parents would probably give him another gift.

　Saito said that if that happened, he would have to return home with his hands full of souvenirs and looking out of season.

“It’s going to be very conspicuous, that’s for sure. Fufu. But, well, you’ll get to eat some good food, so you’ll just have to put up with it.”

　She imagined Saito looking strange and uncomfortable on the station platform.

　[Train, please hurry up!], Riri is sure he would wish in his heart that the Train would come quickly.

　Riri let out a small chuckle as she could easily imagine the situation.

　Saito, who also somehow senses what Riri is imagining, looks gloomy.

(I’m starting to feel like I don’t want to go there right now.)

　Saito mutters this in his mind.

　However, since he has already answered that he will go to Riri’s house, she will not forgive him if he suddenly wants to go home.

　Saito let out a small sigh and stopped thinking negatively.

　Instead, he thinks about what Lucy and Masanori, Riri’s parents, bought as gifts for his parents.

(Lucy probably bought us something safe. I guess it’s something like Shiroi Koibito (snack), udon noodles, etc. On the other hand, her father will buy weird things for sure. When we went to Shikoku, he bought a strange old man’s figurine sipping udon, and in Hokkaido, he bought Genghis Khan caramel…)

　Looking back on their past souvenirs, he realizes that they are a reflection of their profession.

　Lucy, who has to deal with many people as a photographer, doesn’t buy offensive gifts because she needs to build an amicable relationship with them.

　Masanori, on the other hand, is a writer and has a strong curiosity about various things, so he buys things on the spur of the moment, thinking that if he finds them interesting, others will too.

　Riri, who has inherited their blood, now usually buys safe things, just like her mother, Lucy.

　Yes, she used to be different.

　When he was in elementary school, she used to bring me strange T-shirts that said “HANIWA” or “UMEBOSHI” on them as souvenirs.

　He didn’t complain about the first one because he knew it was famous in the places Riri had visited in their social studies class.

　However, he didn’t want to wear the second T-shirt because it was really lame.

[ It’s lame, I don’t want it. ]

　He refused to accept it, even though she had gone to the trouble of buying it for him.

　Looking back on it now, Saito feels that he did a terrible thing.

　Riri was shocked by his words.

[ Um… I knew it… If I think about it, people don’t usually appreciate a gift like this. Only my dad would be happy. Sorry, Saito. My dad has the mind of a child, so I thought a kid like Saito would be happy too. I’m so sorry. ]

　I remember she was so depressed.

　Riri sits in the corner of the room and mutters an apology over and over.

　Naturally, his mother, who was watching him, was very angry with him. She said,

[ You can’t say such a terrible thing to me after she went to the trouble of buying it for you!]

[ Oww! ]

　After he got a fist on his head, he realized what he had done was wrong and immediately apologized to Riri, who then forgave him.

　After that, Riri never bought him anything strange as a souvenir anymore.

　Probably, no doubt, it was because of the incident he had just thought about.

　Once again, he really did a terrible thing.

　However, Saito feels indescribable that he is now receiving proper souvenirs thanks to that incident.

“Riri, I’m sorry.”

“? What’s wrong, all of a sudden?

　Saito felt uncomfortable and apologized to Riri.

　Riri suddenly received an apology that she did not remember, and a question mark appeared on her head.

　Author’s Postscript

　I have been suffering from burnout for a long time.

　I will try to improve it by writing every day from now on.

　My apologies for the long delay.

TN : Currently last chapter in the raw.