The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me - Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Upon arriving at Katase-Enoshima Station, we got off the train, passed through the ticket gates, and stepped outside the station.

In front of the station were groups of boys and girls wearing the same uniform as us.

Amidst their lively chatter, teachers were calling out to them, urging them to quiet down.

Spotting Oda, who had arrived before us, we approached and called out to him.

“Good morning, Oda.”

“Hmm, good morning, Seko. And to you, Yosaki and Hinata as well. It seems all three of you have made it on time.”

“Good morning, Oda-kun.”

“Good mornin’, Oda-kun! As if we’d be late for a field trip!”

“Ahahaha. Certainly, no one would want to miss out on this big event. However, there are still some who haven’t arrived yet.”

“What? The train we took was the one right on the edge of being late, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. I thought Rento-kun wasn’t good with mornings, so I chose a later train on purpose.”

It seems they chose this train time for my sake.

I had thought it was unusual for Misa, who usually acts with plenty of time to spare, so when I heard the reason, I understood.

“Ah, true. Matsui-sensei looks impatient.”

Haru says this after spotting Matsui-sensei, who is taking attendance of the students gathered in front of the station.

“She seems more angry than in a hurry,”

“No, I think Matsui-sensei is just really kind, so she’s probably worried something might have happened to the person who hasn’t arrived yet,”

“Hinata… I bet she’ll cry tears of joy if you tell her something like that.”

“Eh, why!?”

Haru is surprised, but I’m sure Matsui-sensei would be over the moon.

No, maybe it’s better to stop her; she might be so overjoyed that she’ll ascend to heaven.

Matsui-sensei adores Haru, and sometimes, she looks at her with passionate eyes.

But I think, or rather I want to believe, that her love is nothing more than the protective love of a guardian.

As I wondered who could be running late, Kaita walked up to Matsui-sensei and spoke to him.

“Moriya seems to have mistakenly gone to the Enoshima Station on the Enoden line.”

“…Huh? That guy, even after I specifically warned him, he got the station wrong?”

It appears that Moriya is the one who is late, and upon hearing the reason for his absence, Matsui-sensei truly shows her anger.

The station Moriya mistakenly headed to doesn’t seem to be too far from here, and after being contacted by Kaita to hurry over, the issue was temporarily resolved.

Then, Matsui-sensei, who already looked exhausted, came over to take attendance.

“You guys were just in time, huh? Is this what they call a ‘top executive arrival’?”

“We’re on time for the gathering, so it’s all good. By the way, Haru said that the teacher who’s worried about Moriya is really considerate and kind to the students.”

“…Hinata. Seriously?”

“Eh… Ah, yes. I said it. Ehehe.”

“…Sighh. Hinata’s cuteness will save the world.”

Revitalized by Haru’s encouragement, Matsui-sensei, who had been sluggish just a moment ago, completely changed and began to take attendance with swift movements.

“You look tired.”

“Of course I am. Taking a bunch of kids outside who can’t act like adults is madness. Please, I’m begging you guys, don’t start any trouble again.”

“It’s not like we caused the previous incident.”

“I know that. But what I’m saying is, control the source of the fire properly. You never know who might ignite it.”

She’s being blunt, but I can tell she’s worried about us.

Maybe she just doesn’t want to get involved in any trouble herself.

“But according to the schedule, we have free time after this, right? Doesn’t that mean Matsui-sensei can relax and enjoy herself too?”

“No, you idiot. It’s obvious I’ll be patrolling around the island to keep watch. Sighh… Walking around the island… Why is it that we teachers are the ones doing the most field trip-like activity?”

“Please do your best, sensei. I’ll say hi if I see you!”

“…Maybe I should walk around a lot~”

“This person is trying to increase the number of encounters with Hinata…”

“Stop talking you idiot. Hinata will find out!”

“You think she doesn’t already know?”

“Encounter? What do you mean?”

“It seems the person in question doesn’t understand…”

Whether she doesn’t understand the intention behind Matsui-sensei’s words, or she simply doesn’t understand the meaning of the word… I was afraid to ask for an answer, so I decided to leave the truth in the dark.

Anyway, Matsui-sensei went on to check the next student after confirming our attendance.

Then Oda spoke to me in a way that Misa and Haru couldn’t hear.

“Seko, it seems you’re getting along well with the two of them.”

“Hmm, I wonder if that’s the case. It kind of feels like we’ve gone back to the beginning of April this year.”

“Indeed. I was slightly thinking the same thing. Perhaps it naturally ends up taking that shape when the three of you get along.”

I could only agree with what Oda said.

After all, we may have no choice but to maintain this delicate balance.

But, the situation is indeed different from those days.

I can’t do anything lover-like with Haru in front of my classmates, but there’s no problem with Misa.

So──

“Rento-kun. Please remember our promise.”

“The bell?”

“Fufu, I’m glad you remembered. That bell was made in homage to a love story that remains in Enoshima. It’s said to be a spot for making vows of love.”

In front of everyone, Misa boldly talks about things that seem like a couple’s conversation.

“Wow. I’m surprised that Misa is interested in that kind of stuff.”

“I told you before. You changed me. And this is something Saki taught me.”

“I se──Misa’s cousin’s huh?”

I was about to say, ‘I se’e but then I changed my words at the last moment.

Haru still doesn’t know that I’ve been meeting with Saki-chan before.

Since I had been keeping it a secret from Haru in the first place, maybe it’s better not to talk about it in the future.

While I was talking about such things with Misa, Haru stared at me silently.

Her eyes seemed slightly moist.

I have a promise to ring that bell with Haru too, but I can’t bring up that topic right now.

Therefore, I diverted the conversation a little and spoke to her.

“Hinata, did you know about the bell story from earlier?”

“…Yeah, I know about it. Because it’s famous.”

“It’s famous… I didn’t know that. So, what’s this love story about?”

“Ah, um, you see… A long time ago, there was this dragon with five heads that used to do bad things around here. The dragon fell in love with a celestial maiden who descended to Enoshima. Initially, she rejected his confession because of his bad behavior, but then the dragon reformed himself, and ultimately, the two were united!”

“Ah, I see. So that’s why it became a sacred place for lovers. Hinata, you seem to know a lot about it.”

“Ehehe. I did my research before coming here! The view from where the bell is located is also really nice!”

“I’m looking forward to that.”

“Me too!”

Having regained her spirits, Haru began to hum a tune.

It’s quite easy to tell her mood, which is really nice.

As I observed the cheerful Haru gazing at a distant island, Misa quietly approached me and took my hand.

Of course, it was the kind of handholding where our fingers intertwined with each other.

“Misa?”

“It’s fine, isn’t it? After all, we’re dating.”

Misa said softly, dismissing my concern, and tightened her grip on my hand.

Haru watched this with darkened eyes and then turned her face away as if to remove it from her vision.

Enoshima, known as a lovers’ sanctuary.

I feel a little anxious─I wonder if we’re really the right guests to be in such a place.