Chapter 85: Independence ②

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Translator: Soafp

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“Eh? Into this apartment building?”

Caught off guard by Kokoa-san's unexpected suggestion, I instinctively hesitated.

To be honest, this apartment complex hadn't even been on my list of possibilities.

“Yes! This place is really spacious, right? If everyone lived together here, I don't think there'd be any problems at all!”

“Well, that's true, but…”

“And on top of that, the security is perfect. It's full of advantages, you know?”

Kokoa-san began listing the benefits of the building one by one.

Services that rivaled a luxury hotel, fully equipped shared facilities.

Not to mention the station was right in front of the building, making transportation incredibly convenient.

As for the building itself, apparently the lighting, ventilation, and soundproofing were all flawless.

“Huh, soundproofing, huh? That's important.”

…Airi responded with a strangely suggestive tone.

Sometimes, the way Airi's mind worked felt oddly like an old man's.

Nodoka tapped on her phone a few times before looking up.

“Ren, doesn't this place actually seem really good? Even if we take the train, it doesn't look like it'll take that long to get to school.”

“You think so?”

So it was well within commuting distance.

And just like Kokoa-san said, both the size and quality of the apartment were filled with advantages for us.

…Though unwillingly, I knew that all too well after being forced to clean this room countless times.

“And the advantages don't stop there! Yuzu-san would have a much easier time too, wouldn't she?”

Yuzuki, who had been quietly listening until now, suddenly flinched when her name was brought up.

But Kokoa-san continued without hesitation.

“If we live in the same building, Yuzu-san can come to my room anytime she wants!”

Recently, whenever Kokoa-san was especially busy, Yuzuki would come over to this room and help with the cleaning and tidying in her place.

Of course, every single time, I—her sponsor—properly paid her for the work like a part-time job.

Though Yuzuki herself stubbornly refused every time, so I always had to force her to accept it.

“Kokoa-san… that's not your real motive here, is it?”

“N-N-No, it's not! R-Ren-sama would want to see me often too, right? You'd get the privilege of seeing an idol every day, you know?”

“Wait, I have to see you every day?”

“Why do you make it sound like a burden!? I am genuinely hurt right now!?”

“I'm kidding. Just kidding.”

Pouting, Kokoa-san puffed out her cheeks and lightly smacked my chest with both fists.

I let her do as she pleased while resting my hand on my chin in thought.

“It might actually be worth seriously considering… But I wonder if there are any vacant rooms in this building right now…”

“I'll ask my dad! He knows the owner of the company that manages this apartment building!”

Kokoa-san's dad… Burn-san, was it?

Who exactly was he?

Aside from seeing him once in that “nightmare,” I knew almost nothing about him.

Airi let out a small laugh.

“If we move here, your commute to school will get even longer.”

“Yeah, true. Can't really be helped.”

Since I originally lived within walking distance of school, commuting by train every day would definitely become a burden.

Still, if we limited ourselves to places within walking distance from school, there were barely any decent properties left.

“No, Ren-kun. Honestly, I'd rather it become longer.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because it means I'll get to spend more time with you.”

…Ah, right.

Once the new semester started, Airi would return to the second-year classrooms.

The amount of time we could spend together at school would decrease significantly.

“To be honest, I've actually been thinking about something. What if I intentionally repeated a year so next year I could redo second year together with you—”

“Absolutely not.”

“But I want to try spending time in the same classroom as you too.”

There wasn't even any guarantee we'd end up in the same classroom in the first place…

“Airi, aren't you supposed to be the upperclassman character? You're really willing to throw that role away?”

“Ugh… You're right. I am Ren-kun's senpai heroine after all. I guess I'll just have to endure it.”

The fact that she accepted it so easily after just one line was exactly what made Airi so Airi.

---

“I-I'm doneee~!”

Nodoka tossed the mechanical pencil from her hand onto the desk before collapsing backward dramatically.

Airi had already closed her eyes on the sofa, completely exhausted from overworking her brain.

“Good work, everyone.”

We somehow managed to finish all of our summer homework before vacation ended.

As expected, the ones who struggled until the very end were Nodoka and Airi.

Even so, the sun still hadn't completely set yet.

“It's a little early, but want to go grab dinner? Tell me what you want to eat. My treat.”

Everyone worked hard, so giving them a reward seemed fair enough.

…Though for now, I decided to ignore the fact that they'd merely done what students were supposed to do in the first place.

As expected, when food was involved, Nodoka reacted faster than anyone.

“A-Anything?”

“Anything. Don't worry about the price, just say what you want.”

“T-Then sushi…? Like the fancy kind with fatty tuna that doesn't go around on conveyor belts…”

“Got it.”

A few places immediately came to mind.

Actually, they were restaurants I'd researched before because I'd considered using them for a date with Yuzuki…

Just to be safe, I called one of them, and luckily enough, they had seats available.

The moment I told everyone, Kokoa-san's eyes sparkled.

“As expected of Ren-sama! I wish I had a rich boyfriend like this too. Then I could get treated to delicious food whenever I wanted!”

“A boyfriend isn't a wallet, Miyoko-san.”

“I-I know that already!? Don't suddenly make me sound like the bad guy!”

Airi got up from the sofa, came beside me, and tightly wrapped herself around my arm.

“Still, even if money isn't everything, if you have money like Ren-kun does, you can solve most problems.”

“So it really is just bragging about having a rich boyfriend!!”

“It's not bragging about having a rich boyfriend. It's bragging about Ren-kun.”

“What's even the difference!?”

“I didn't fall in love with him because he's rich. It just so happened that the person I fell in love with was rich.”

“So what's the difference!?”

Honestly, if someone didn't know the circumstances, it wouldn't be strange for them to misunderstand and think Airi only approached me for money.

Once the new semester started, Airi probably wouldn't even try hiding our relationship anymore.

I couldn't help worrying a little about whether that would make her even more isolated in class.

But Airi, seemingly unaware of my concerns, continued speaking.

“Miyoko-san's ‘Ko-kun,' was it? I hope your first love turns out to be rich too.”

“I-It'd be even better if he was rich, sure, but I'm not chasing people just because they're rich, okay!? And I never said it was my first love!!”

“Someone on Ren-kun's level is hard to find, so good luck.”

“What's with that condescending attitude!?”

As always, Airi seemed to enjoy teasing Kokoa-san… or rather, provoking her.

Not because she disliked her, but because her reactions were entertaining.

After that, the five of us left the apartment building and headed toward the sushi restaurant together.

Then, before long, Airi and Kokoa-san started clashing over sushi etiquette instead.

“Huh? Obviously you dip the fish in soy sauce. If you dip the rice, the grains fall apart into the dish and make a mess.”

“There's a trick to it~ Besides, the most important thing is the taste, right?”

“If we're talking taste, then that's even more reason to dip the fish. Otherwise the soy sauce flavor gets way too strong and salty.”

“Ehhh? Isn't rice soaked with soy sauce delicious!?”

Just like with yakiniku before, the two of them really couldn't agree on food preferences.

But unlike the yakiniku incident, this time there wasn't even room for debate.

“At the restaurant we're going to, the sushi already has soy sauce brushed onto it.”

“Eh? R-Really?”

“As expected of a high-end restaurant. They've already prevented the barbaric act of dipping the rice in soy sauce from the start.”

“You really didn't have to put it like that!!”

When Kokoa-san protested adorably, a small smile formed on Airi's lips.

For all her complaints, it seemed Airi actually liked Kokoa-san quite a bit.

I hoped these peaceful days would continue forever.

For some reason, that thought suddenly crossed my mind.

---

After the five of us thoroughly enjoyed the high-end sushi and escorted Kokoa-san back to her apartment building, we headed home.

On the way back, a certain poster caught my attention.

“A summer festival, huh. It's already the day after tomorrow.”

“A summer festival!?”

Nodoka's eyes sparkled brightly.

“S-Summer festivals really are essential for summer dates, aren't they…?”

“Oh? Nodoka-san, I thought food came first for you.”

“To be honest, I figured you were more interested in the food stalls.”

“What do you two even think I am!?”

Well, considering what happened during the beach trip…

“I-I mean! It's not like I'm not excited for shaved ice, yakisoba, grilled squid, and all that stuff!”

“Nodoka-san's a tsundere, so I should interpret that as you being super excited, right?”

“P-Please don't say it out loud, senpai!!”

Airi and Nodoka seemed even more enthusiastic about the summer festival than I expected.

Truthfully, I was looking forward to it too.

No, more than that—

“Alright. Then let's go to the festival the day after tomorrow. You two should wear yukatas.”

“Sure, I don't mind.”

“I'd have to buy one. I wonder how much they usually cost.”

“I'm not really sure either, but even cheap ones are probably around ten thousand yen, right? Though renting one could work too.”

“Nodoka-san, you're still too naive. Ren-kun, why do you think he specifically asked us to wear yukatas?”

With a grin, Airi leaned toward Nodoka's ear and whispered:

“Because he wants to do naughty things with us while we're wearing yukatas.”

Nodoka's face instantly turned red like an apple.

…As expected, Airi had completely seen through my hidden desires.