The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The young girl I encountered in town, named Saki-chan, turned out to be the cousin of ‘Onee-san’ who is none other than my crush, Yosaki.

“Once again, Seko-kun, thank you for bringing Saki here. This girl, I don’t know who she takes after, but she has no sense of direction, and I was a bit worried.”

“I’m not directionally challenged! It’s Onee-chan who’s the real directionally challenged!”

“No, I am not!”

Watching the two of them argue, I couldn’t help but think about how similar they really are.

I now understand the real reason why Saki-chan got lost, but does Yosaki really also have that trait…?

Every time she comes to hang out with us, she’s always dropped off by car…

No way, that can’t be.

“Now that the close-knit sisters are together, I think I’ll head home.”

“Rento-san, you’re leaving already?”

“After all, I’ve done what I had to do. Besides, I don’t want to bother the Yosaki family any longer.”

“But still! It’s a little sad to say goodbye just when we had the chance to meet like this…”

Isn’t she just too adorable?

I’m well aware of how cunning she is, but still, I’m overwhelmed by the desire to indulge this girl’s whims.

This…is this a protective instinct!?

“How about it, Rento-san? Were you happy just now?”

“You little devil!!”

“Kya…Hehe. Rento-san is really kind.”

I don’t know what’s kind about this, nor why I feel it’s okay to be teased by such a young girl. This…I won’t admit it!

“…It’s unusual. Saki showing that face to someone other than me.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“She usually pretends to be a little angel. She’s actually quite shy, and she only acts this cheeky with me… Seko-kun, what did you do?”

“What do you mean, ‘what did you do’? I didn’t do anything…”

“Hehe. Rento-san tried to hit on me!”

“What!?”

“I didn’t expect that joke to still be alive at this point…”

“What are you talking about, Rento-san? We even went to a cafe together.”

“Seko-kun? Can you explain?”

“Actually, I’ll explain even without being asked!”

In front of a fiercely protective Yosaki intently on defending her precious sister from a classmate, I earnestly and desperately explained.

Meanwhile, Saki-chan was giggling on the side.

Eventually, any suspicions quickly cleared up with me bringing her this far.

Yosaki said, ‘I might have lost my cool for a bit… I wonder what got into me,’ as she apologized in confusion.

Afterward, we decided it was about time to part after remembering that Yosaki’s parents were waiting.

With nothing to do in particular, I decided to watch the two of them leave.

As they did, I caught the eye of a dashing man seated in the driver’s seat of the car they entered.

Well, to be precise, I wasn’t sure our eyes met at first.

After all, he was wearing sunglasses. But, the man gave a grin, revealing his white teeth, and slightly shifted his sunglasses to meet my gaze.

At that moment, I felt something pierce my heart. I don’t want to admit it! That man is probably Yosaki’s father!

I… I won’t lose to the Yosaki family!

As I made this resolution, the rear window began to open, and the two girls appeared again.

“Seko-kun, I’m glad we could meet, even if it was just for a little while. Let’s take our time the next time we meet.”

“Thank you for guiding me this far. Rento… Onii-chan!”

I might as well admit defeat…

It’s not fair, Saki-chan. Why did she have to play that trump card at the end?

The Yosaki family, who brought that little devil into this world, is truly guilty of a great sin.

But then again, she did say she was in the sixth grade of elementary school, so I thought we wouldn’t be involved with each other since we wouldn’t be attending the same school.

***

“Rento-san, long time no see.”

The following week, I met Saki-chan again.

We hadn’t exchanged contact information, so the invitation came via Yosaki.

According to Yosaki, Saki-chan had asked to see me. It seems she has taken a liking to me, and it feels like I really gained a younger sister, which is kind of nice.

“We just met last week, though.”

“Hmph. To me, it was a long week. The time I spent wondering if I should reach out to you and wanting to see you again, Rento-san, went by in a flash.”

“Ugh… Saki-chan, you must be popular, right?”

“I have received a few confessions… but I’m not interested in love yet, so I’ve turned them all down.”

Not interested in love yet? With that behavior…as expected of a little devil!

“Onee-chan doesn’t seem to understand either. But Rento-san, you like Onee-chan, don’t you? That’s why I wanted to ask you about love.”

“Is this a torture?”

Even though I pretty much shout words of love to Yosaki every day, talking about love in front of her and her cousin…it’s too embarrassing!

“Oh? I’d like to hear about Seko-kun’s views on love too.”

“Yosaki, please stop!”

“Why not? I’m curious.”

“There’s a café over there. It has a calm atmosphere, and it seems like a good place for a leisurely chat.”

“Do you want this to be a long conversation!? I’d prefer to wrap this up quickly right here——”

“Come on, let’s go, Seko-kun.”

“Let’s go, Rento-san.”

With each of my hands grabbed by the two of them, I couldn’t forcefully shake them off, and so, I was taken away by the two of them without any means of resisting.

The café the two girls brought me into was a small, individually operated shop with an elegant shopkeeper sporting a white beard.

Perhaps due to his preference, the interior like the tables and sofas exuded a calming ambiance and felt quite stylish.

Seeing me, escorted in by two beautiful girls, he raised an eyebrow, pausing before welcoming us with a deep, “Welcome.”

Told to sit wherever we liked, I chose a table seat in a corner to ensure our conversation wouldn’t easily be overheard by others.

The two of them sat across from me. Then the shopkeeper brought over menus, and after a brief glance, I ordered coffee.

Yosaki ordered the same, and Saki-chan, like before, chose apple juice.

“Now, do tell us, Seko-kun, about your views on love.”

“Please forgive me… I’ll cover the entire bill here…”

“No, I’ll pay for everything. So, will you tell us?”

“Please, Rento Onii-chan.”

Yosaki looked up at me, quite literally giving me puppy eyes, while Saki-chan pulled the ‘Onii-chan’ card as her trump card to persuade me.

This sister duo is too formidable!

As we talked, the shopkeeper brought over our drinks.

While he was placing the cups and glasses on the table, I tried to signal him for help with my eyes.

Man to man, surely he would get the message.

He noticed my gaze and narrowed his eyes. Did he get it?

After delivering the drinks, he returned to the counter, leading newly arrived customers to seats on the opposite side of us.

Then, he froze with his hand cupped around his ear, facing our direction.

…Was he trying to create a conducive environment for our conversation while simultaneously eavesdropping with all his might?

He probably didn’t grasp my feelings at all.

Or perhaps he did but just chose to ignore them in favor of his own desires. A misalignment of intentions.

This might be the true essence of romance; I let out a random thought in my mind and cry.

Since the romance between the shopkeeper and me has thus tragically ended, the lecture on my romantic views proceeded as the two sisters (and the shopkeeper) had wished…