Chapter 42: Forest School ⑤

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Translator: Soafp

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Fortunately, Ito's teeth weren't broken, and the school trip ended without incident.

There was one moment where a boy from another group took a dramatic fall, but he didn't even get a scratch.

On the bus back to school—

Nodoka, sitting next to me, asked,

“Summer vacation's coming up soon, right? What are you gonna do?”

“Homework.”

“That doesn't count as a summer plan!?”

“Well, other than that… maybe play games longer than usual? Binge anime and manga?”

“That's literally no different from normal!!”

Well, my hobbies are about as indoors as they get.

“What about you? Got any special plans?”

“Huh? Ah, um…”

Nodoka hesitated.

To be fair, she's also naturally more of an indoor type.

She tries to act like a gyaru and go out more, but it's not something that changes overnight.

Fidgeting with her fingers, she spoke,

“Since I finally made some friends… this summer, I kind of want to… do normal friend things…”

“Oh, what, you mean spend summer with me and Airi?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah, I guess… Senpai too…”

The moment Airi's name came up, Nodoka looked a bit surprised.

I assumed her “friends” included Airi too, but maybe there was still some distance.

Maybe because she's a senior, not a classmate.

“But what do friends even do together?”

“The beach?”

“From mountains to the beach, huh.”

“I-it's fine! It's summery!”

Well, it's a classic.

“And shaved ice, grilled squid, yakisoba, beach BBQ…”

“So that's your real goal.”

I couldn't help but laugh.

I mean, I get it—the food at the beach hits different.

Come to think of it, I hadn't gone swimming in the sea in a while.

Back when I was dating Yuzuki, entrance exams got in the way.

“In that case, I'll need to buy a swimsuit. The one from when I was a kid definitely won't fit anymore.”

“Ah, I need to buy one too.”

“Nodoka, you're going with a sexy bikini.”

“Why are you deciding my swimsuit!?”

“Because I want to see it.”

“You said that way too confidently!!”

Still, if Airi comes along too, I'll get to see her in a swimsuit as well.

She already has a model-like figure… and based on those measurements she mentioned before, it'd be pretty—

“The beach sounds great. Let's definitely go.”

“You were thinking about something else just now, weren't you!?”

“N-not your bikini or anything!”

“Why are you suddenly acting like a tsundere!? And that's just creepy!!”

I was just being honest, and somehow I got labeled as a tsundere.

So this is what Nodoka deals with all the time.

As I chuckled quietly, she suddenly blushed and asked in a small voice,

“D-do you really want to see it? Me in a bikini…?”

“Well, I'm not forcing you or anything. I just think it'd suit you. You've got a good figure.”

“R-really? Huh… then… wanna go buy one together sometime?”

“Sure. I need one too anyway.”

At this rate, it felt like I'd be dragged all over the place this summer checking off Nodoka's “things to do” list.

While I'm at it, I should probably buy some summer clothes too.

Though honestly, I should've done that earlier—by now, the good stuff is already sold out.

“Ah, I should ask Airi too. If she wants to go together.”

After her situation with her father was resolved, I paid her right away.

She no longer had any reason to pay off his debt, so that money was entirely hers now.

She should finally be able to stop living so frugally and start spending on herself.

But Nodoka puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

“You're talking to me right now, and you keep bringing up Senpai.”

“It's not like that…”

Just like I did to her the other day, Nodoka grabbed my cheeks with both hands and squished them.

“At least when you're with me, don't think about other girls!”

“Oh? So imagining you in a bikini is okay?”

“Ah—well…”

She averted her gaze slightly and continued,

“Other girls are off-limits… but if it's me, it's fine. I'm the only one who can accept even that. If it were anyone else, you'd've been reported by now.”

Nodoka felt a little different today—just slightly off from her usual tsundere self.

---

After getting off the bus and saying goodbye to Nodoka, I was heading home alone when—

“W-wait!”

A familiar voice called out from behind.

“Ren, I need to talk to you.”

“Talk?”

It was Yuzuki.

She nodded.

“I want you to tell me in detail.”

“About what?”

“…About the future where I cheat with Nagasawa-senpai.”

Why now—

Ah, I see.

After what happened with Ito, she must now be convinced about my ability.

“Well, I don't mind. But I only know the outcome, okay? I don't know the process.”

“That's fine. I just want to know what you saw.”

“It'll be faster to show you the records than explain. Got time now?”

“Yeah, I'm free…”

“Then let's go to my place.”

Her eyes widened.

“I-is it okay… for me to go to your house?”

“That's where the records are. Just so you know, it's not anything weird.”

“Y-yeah… I know.”

But there was a faint smile on her lips.

With mixed feelings, I started walking again.

Even when we were dating, we didn't walk home together this often because of club activities.

(Airi's probably asleep in her room around this time.)

After school on weekdays, Airi had a habit of going straight to sleep.

Then she'd wake up right before the U.S. stock market opened and handle the tasks I assigned her.

Sometimes she seemed even more passionate about trading than I was.

We walked in silence and soon arrived at my house.

When we entered, my mom widened her eyes upon seeing Yuzuki.

“Um… it's been a while, Yuzuki-chan.”

“Ah, yes. Sorry for the intrusion.”

“Of course… come in…”

She looked a bit confused, but after glancing at me, she let us in.

In situations like this, her intuition really helps.

We went upstairs and I opened my room door.

There shouldn't have been anyone inside—

yet there was a girl in her school uniform, lying face-down on my bed.

“Eh…? That's Sugawara-senpai, right…?”

“Yeah. Sometimes when I'm late or Airi finishes early, she comes back first and ends up sleeping here like this.”

“W-what do you mean? Why is she sleeping at your house…? And why are you calling her ‘Airi'…?”

“Her house burned down, so she's staying with us for now. And she insisted I call her that.”

Yuzuki stood there in shock.

I knew this could easily be misunderstood, but I wasn't lying.

And I'd already told her multiple times during the trip—we're not dating.

I walked over and lightly tapped Airi's shoulder.

“I told you to sleep in your own room, not here. Wake up.”

She rubbed her eyes and sat up, glancing at both of us.

“Since your ex is here today, won't you wake me up by groping my chest?”

“C-chest!?”

“When did I ever—”

“And you didn't even give me my usual good morning kiss.”

“Eh? Ehh??”

“Don't make stuff up…”

Was she saying this on purpose because Yuzuki was here?

Seeing Yuzuki's confusion, Airi gave a faint smile.

“Honestly, Ren-kun is too kind to his slave. You could treat me a little rougher.”

“S-slave!?”

“Not yet…”

“You said ‘not yet,' right? I'm not giving up.”

She got off the bed and stood up.

Then, as if to show off, she hugged me tightly.

Like a pet marking its scent, she rubbed her cheek against my chest.

“I'll make dinner today.”

“You sure? Won't you be tired when you work later?”

“I'm fine. I slept enough. And more importantly…”

She turned toward Yuzuki.

“I have to take care of our guest.”

“Ugh…!”

Yuzuki clenched her fists tightly.

Airi seemed unusually provocative today.

She released me and headed toward the door.

“I'll start preparing dinner. You two take your time talking.”

“Y-yeah. Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”

With a smile, she left the room.

An awkward silence fell over the space with just Yuzuki and me.

The time we once spent here together felt like a distant past.

“…You're really not dating, right?”

“We're not. Airi's just… dealing with a lot. She gets lonely. She's clearly said herself she doesn't like me that way.”

“Really…?”

Yuzuki didn't look fully convinced.

Well, I wasn't going to force her to be.

As long as she didn't spread weird rumors, that was enough.

I took a few notebooks out of my desk drawer.

“Here. These are the records of what I saw in the future.”

“O-okay…”

Yuzuki took them.

She gulped and began flipping through the pages one by one.

As she read, her mouth slowly fell open.

“Eh…? I-I do something like this…?”

I nodded.

“Yeah. That's what you would have done to me in the future.”