Chapter 92: Summer Festival ①

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Translator: Soafp

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Kokoa-san helped me find a good apartment.

So I felt I should do something to thank her.

But I never imagined she’d invite herself to the summer festival.

“More importantly, doesn’t your foot still hurt?”

Even a mild sprain doesn’t heal immediately.

From experience, sprains often hurt more the day after than right after the injury.

“That’s true, but having a day off and staying stuck at home the whole time would be super depressing!”

She should just stay home and rest…

Maybe she’s the type who can’t sit still.

Come to think of it, she’d sneaked out of the hospital before and had even shown up at my house unannounced.

“But isn’t it hard for you to walk properly right now? Can you even go?”

“W-Well…”

Apparently she hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“Ah! Ren-sama can just carry me on his back!”

“…What?”

“You know, like in shojo manga! The scene where a girl hurts her foot at a summer festival and the boy carries her!”

“…”

Too many things to criticize came to mind at once.

Those scenes usually involve a girl who was walking around normally and then gets hurt halfway through. The boy carries her because he has no choice.

Nobody goes out from the start assuming they’ll be carried piggyback.

Between that and the time she tried dragging me into an alley and covering my mouth, Kokoa-san was clearly far too influenced by manga and dramas.

“I can’t do piggyback rides, but I can push a wheelchair.”

“You’re telling me to use a wheelchair!?”

“At least it’s much safer than a piggyback ride.”

“Ehh? I’m as light as a feather!”

“I can’t carry anything heavier than a feather.”

“How much do you hate the idea of carrying me!?”

No, it’s not that.

A short distance would be one thing, but carrying someone through a crowded festival all day would be physically impossible.

And if I tripped, it could be dangerous.

“Besides, Kokoa-san, you’ve gotten pretty famous lately, haven’t you?”

“That’s right! I am already a super ultra idol now!”

Since when had she evolved?

“If I walk around a summer festival with a super ultra idol, wouldn’t that cause a scandal?”

“Ehh? Not at all! I am not that famous yet!”

So she wasn’t a super ultra idol after all?

Which was it?

“Besides, Ren-sama, you’re being too self-conscious!”

“Huh? Why?”

“Think about it. There’s Nodo-san, Secretary-san, and Yuzu-san. That’s three girls. Then you and I join them.”

“Well, yeah.”

“So if people see a group with four girls and one guy, what would they think?”

“…It wouldn’t look strange. Just a group of friends hanging out.”

“Exactly!”

Even if someone assumed romance was involved, they’d probably think the guy was simply tagging along with his girlfriend’s group of friends.

And Kokoa-san was only a middle school student.

Even if someone recognized her, saying they came to the festival as friends would probably be enough.

“Then it’s settled!”

“H-Hey, wait—”

Before I could object any further, the call abruptly ended.

I could only stare blankly at the disconnected screen.

Nothing had been settled at all.

Airi chuckled softly.

“Even Ren-kun can’t handle Miyoko-san’s persistence.”

“…Tell me about it.”

More than anything, I was worried about her foot.

What exactly was she planning to do?

I handed the phone back to Airi.

To distract myself, I stroked Nodoka’s head as she sat on my lap.

“Nodo-chan, try acting a little more like a cat.”

“M-Mou… N-Nyaa…”

“Good, good. Do you like being petted?”

“I-I do…”

I wasn’t actually sure how a real cat would react.

I simply copied what I’d seen in videos and scratched under her chin.

Nodo narrowed her eyes in obvious contentment.

“Nyaan…”

A low, sweet sound escaped her lips.

At that exact moment, I felt a sudden urge to make her wear cat ears.

Then—

“Onee-san, Oji-san, Mom said maybe we should all order pizza for lunch—”

Anna-chan had somehow come upstairs without us noticing.

The moment she saw us, she froze in place.

Meanwhile, Airi had somehow already taken out her phone and was casually recording the scene.

Instantly, Nodoka’s face turned bright red all the way to her ears.

“N-No, this isn’t—!”

“S-Sorry…”

“Hey!!”

Without giving us any chance to explain, Anna-chan hurried back downstairs.

My own face felt burning hot as well.

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Following Mom’s suggestion, we ordered pizza for lunch and gathered around the dining table.

The table that once felt enormous now seemed almost too small.

“I heard about it, Nodoka-chan.”

“Huh?”

Mom suddenly grinned and turned to Nodoka.

“I hear Ren’s been treating you like a cat.”

Guh—!

Nodoka nearly choked from embarrassment.

So Anna-chan had told Mom everything…

Somehow, the distance between Mom and Anna-chan seemed to be shrinking steadily.

“When I was younger, your father used to say I was like a cat too.”

“…Mom? A cat?”

“Does my son have a problem with that?”

“No, none at all.”

Though I had plenty of things I wanted to say.

“My son really does take after his father. I’m a dog person, after all.”

“Oh, Ren-kun definitely inherited your genes too. He likes cats, but he likes dogs as well. Right, Ren-kun?”

“…”

Airi gave me a meaningful smile.

Mom tilted her head for a moment before apparently realizing what Airi meant.

She then looked at me with an incredibly cold stare.

“Just make sure your pets don’t bite you.”

That was the coldest look she’d ever given me.

Next, Mom turned toward Yui.

“Yuzuki-chan, you surprised me with that makeover! It suits you so well. Your old quiet look was nice too, but healthy beauty really suits girls.”

“Ah, haha… Thank you. Um… if possible, I’d rather be called Yui instead of Yuzuki…”

“Huh? Yui? Why all of a sudden? Are you making your idol debut or something?”

“N-No, it’s not like that…”

Yui kept glancing nervously at me.

I stiffened immediately.

Mom narrowed her eyes.

“My son really is a dangerous man…”

“N-No! This was my decision! It’s not Master’s fault.”

“Eh? Master, huh?”

“N-No, that’s…”

Mom’s gaze somehow became even colder.

Strange.

The pizza in front of me was piping hot, yet I felt like I had been thrown into a freezer.

Was the air conditioner set too low?

“Ah, right, Mom. I found an apartment.”

“Oh?”

I desperately tried to change the subject.

“You remember Kokoa-san? The girl who came over before? She helped me.”

“Where is it?”

I pulled out my phone and showed her photos of the apartment building and its location.

Mom seemed satisfied with the property itself and nodded approvingly.

“It’s strange having an idol help you find an apartment.”

“Actually, Mom, Kokoa-san lives there too.”

“…Ren?”

“Airi, why would you bring that up!?”

“Isn’t it better to be honest than hide it and cause misunderstandings later?”

She wasn’t wrong.

But she’d completely ruined my attempt to change the subject.

“I didn’t choose it because she lives there, okay?”

“Sometimes I wonder if my son is actually the enemy of women.”

“…Could you have a little more faith in your son?”

Then again, considering Mom knew about my current relationship situation, I couldn’t exactly blame her.

Even Nodoka joined in, giggling.

“Enemy of women!”

“Oh, right. Ren, you still need to greet Nodoka-chan’s parents and get permission to live together, don’t you?”

“Yeah. But her parents are extremely busy. Apparently it’s hard even to arrange a time for them to meet me.”

“That makes sense. Nodoka-chan’s father is a startup entrepreneur, right?”

Nodoka answered with a small nod.

“Y-Yes.”

“And your mother is an executive at some company too, wasn’t she?”

“It’s not a very large company.”

Even though she was my mother, I had to admire her communication skills.

I’d felt it was rude to pry into people’s professions.

Yet somehow she’d learned things even I didn’t know.

Mom looked at me seriously.

“Ren, your specialty is making money, isn’t it?”

“Could you at least call it investing?”

“Anyway, you should bring a small gift when meeting Nodoka-chan’s parents.”

“Knowing you, that definitely doesn’t mean an ordinary gift.”

“Of course not. Give them something only you can give. Think carefully. Nodoka-chan’s father is a startup entrepreneur, right?”

“…Ah. That’s what you mean.”

Airi nodded in understanding.

“I see.”

Meanwhile, Nodoka tilted her head.

“Huh? What? Why am I the only one who doesn’t get it?”

“A cat only needs to meow cutely. You’ll be fine.”

“Senpai, that’s so mean!”

Of course, afterward, we properly explained it to Nodoka too.