The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me - Chapter 97

Chapter 97

“She seems like a quiet girl. I wonder if Rento-kun prefers the calm type.”

“There’s no way that’s true, right, Ren? Am I too noisy? Should I be quiet?”

The two of them approached me with vacant eyes, staring at me.

“ ‘That ain’t it.’ ” (TN: ちゃうねん Chau nen instead of 違うんだ Chigau nda, (It’s not like that))

“I wonder why you’re speaking in the Kansai dialect. Could it be the influence of that girl? Are you so close to her that she influences you?’ ”

“Is Ren into dialects? Should I start using the Kansai dialect too? Um, let’s see ‘why the heck?’ ” (TN: なんでやねん nandeya nen instead of なぜですか naze desu ka)

“You’re cracking a joke with the Kansai dialect on the fly… No, wait, that’s not it. This girl is…”

Just as I was about to make my case and clear the suspicion, a series of new messages arrived on my smartphone.

『Huh? The message has been read, but there’s no reply.』

『Could it be, senpai, that you’re currently intently observing Oda-senpai’s girlfriend’s face?』

I wonder how she could know such a thing, but these messages were a godsend.

It seems that both of them had seen the message notification that appeared over the displayed image, and gradually, a light began to shine in their eyes.

“Oda-kun’s girlfriend? Could it be, is this girl his lover?”

“Y-yeah, exactly. She’s Koido’s classmate, and she gave me a photo of them together, so I was just looking at it.”

“Oh, I see, that’s what it is. Wait, Ota-kun got a girlfriend! Maybe I should congratulate him next time?”

“I wonder if it’s better to wait until he tells us himself. There might be people who don’t want to spread it around too much, and Rento-kun might feel bad if he finds out we were told without his permission.”

“Ah, that’s true. But still, to think that this girl is Ota-kun’s girlfriend. They seem like a good match!”

“Right. It’s easy to picture them together, or rather, their pairing has a calming feeling.”

“Hehe. And to think that Oda-kun would have such a cute girl as his girlfriend, he’s not someone to be underestimated.”

My suspicions were cleared, and the three of us shared our impressions of Oda’s girlfriend.

Just when I thought everything was settled, Haru continued, ‘But you know…’

“Re… Seko, you’ve been in touch with Koido-chan, huh? In this short time since we’ve been apart.”

“It just so happened that she reached out to me at this time. I was just responding to that.”

“Hmm. And how did it come to you receiving that photo earlier?”

“… I’ve been causing Koido a lot of trouble. She has helped me out a lot, but I was worried about her social life since she’s always taking care of me, so I asked to see a photo with her classmates.”

“…I see. As always, Seko, you’re kind.”

“I think this isn’t about kindness. I just wanted to confirm that there’s no responsibility I need to bear. It’s pure ego.”

“You’re trying to take on responsibility, and that’s admirable no matter what. No matter how much you deny yourself, I will affirm you.”

“Ah, me too! Seko is great! So admirable!”

As I was being self-deprecating, Misa and Haru both affirmed me.

Misa slowly explained that I was admirable. Haru’s approach was a bit casual, but it still cheered me up.

Both of my girlfriends were affirming me.

Could there be a happier place than this?

Yet, the weight hanging in my chest is still not completely lifted.

“But I’m still not happy that you were in touch with Koido-san during this short break.”

“That’s right. So, let’s send a picture too! A photo of the three of us getting along!”

“Fufu, that’s a good idea. Let’s show her how close we are.”

The conversation moved on without me, and Haru prepared her smartphone with the front camera on.

“Come on-come on, Seko, get closer!”

She beckoned me over, and I stood next to her. Then Haru snuggled up close enough that our arms touched.

On the other side, Misa stood, intertwining her arm with mine and resting her head on my shoulder.

“Okay, I’m going to take it now. Ready!”

I thought there would be a countdown, but the shutter was pressed immediately.

I hoped I wasn’t making a weird face, but seeing the photo, Haru smiled brightly.

“Perfect! I’ll send this to Seko, and Seko, make sure you forward it to Koido-chan, okay?”

“Why doesn’t Hinata send it? You guys exchanged contact information the other day, right?”

“…It was Seko who’s been in contact with her, so Seko should send it. That’s more normal, right?”

“Yeah. It would be weird if Haru suddenly sent a photo.”

“Hmm, that makes sense. Okay.”

Convinced by Haru’s reasoning, I forwarded the photo she sent directly to Koido.

The message was read immediately, and the reply came quickly.

『I thought you weren’t going to reply, but what is this! Sending me a photo with your cute girlfriends!? After ignoring me to take this photo, you’re showing off. Senpai, you’re a real devil!』

The message was sent in an angry tone, and right after it, a series of stamps with a small, deformed angry bird was sent repeatedly.

Misa and Haru were also watching the flow of events from next to me, and when the stamping stopped, the two of them chuckled softly.

“Ahaha, Koido-chan got mad.”

“Fufu. Maybe we were a bit mean to her.”

Despite saying this, there was no sign of regret or reflection in their words; on the contrary, they seemed quite satisfied as they moved away from me.

“Seko. We bought the tickets, so let’s go ride the escalator right away.”

“Our time is limited, so let’s do that.”

Saying so, the two of them headed towards the escalator entrance ahead of me.

I dropped my gaze from the backs of the two people and stared at my smartphone screen.

Then I sent a brief message.

『Thank you』

Immediately, a reply came back saying, 『I don’t know what you’re talking about—』

I chuckled, realizing she always saw right through everything.

Just when I was about to turn off my phone, I received another message.

『Jealous of their outing with senpai』

This message deeply moved me.

The reason was clear. She often expressed her thoughts but rarely her feelings.

So, this rare disclosure of her emotions surprised and confused me.

I pondered over what to reply, trying to keep the usual vibe as I typed out the message.

『So that would make us classmates. Koido won’t be my junior anymore?』

『No way! I am your junior, senpai! Please forget what I just said! I didn’t mean to send that!』

『But you were thinking it.』

『Yes, I was! I thought that it would be fun to go sightseeing and say silly things with Senpai! Is that so bad?!』

This time she seems genuinely angry, and while reflecting on whether I teased her a bit too much, I feel slightly happy to know her true feelings.

『I couldn’t go last year, so I don’t know anything about your field trip. Tell me about it next time, your thoughts or anything.』

I replied, and while she read the message instantly, her response took a while.

Did I say something wrong, or did I tease too much? Just as I started to worry, a message popped up.

『Geez, senpai, you’re so hopeless. I’ll tell you all about it next time! Like, for three hours!』

『That’s way too long. Just give me the gist, please.』

『Don’t you want to hear it! Ah, but considering how you were all ‘dere’ before, it’s time for the ‘tsun’ phase now! It’s okay, senpai, I’ve got it all figured out──』

“Sekoー. What’s wrong—?”

“Rento-kun. Let’s hurry up and go.”

While I was in the middle of reading Koido’s message, I heard the voices of the two calling out to me from in front of the escalator.

Thinking that continuing the exchange with Koido would just be a repeat of what happened earlier, I sent a short message saying 『Later』and put away my smartphone.

Then, I hurried over to join the two of them.