achine lets out a reciting voice.

“Which year did Japan sign the International treaty that forbids killing of sea otters and fur seals? Please state your answer in Western calendar terms.”

Who knows about such a thing!!?

“Erm. It’s signed in 1911.”

“WHY DO YOU KNOW OF SUCH A THING!?”

Himeji-san entered the number, and the screen shows a large ‘correct!’ word on it. Now she leads me by 1 point.

I start to worry about Himeji-san’s vast knowledge as I prepare for the next question. This time, it’s a question from the sports genre I chose from. What kind of question will appear next?

“Second question, sports.”

The machine let out a reciting tone again,

“In football, what is the only position that can use hands.”

Isn’t the difficulty way too different from the one before!

“Eh..I remember, it’s the catcher, right?”

But the knowledge level of the one who answered fell off quite a lot as well. If that’s the case, I might have a chance.

“It’s the goalkeeper, Himeji-san.”

I answered as I entered ‘goalkeeper’. Now my score increased, and both of us have the same score. Looks like this game won’t deduct scores when we make a mistake.

“Muu..I won’t lose, Akihisa-kun.”

“Same here, Himeji-san.”

We can only get points from the genres we’re good at as we continue this battle.

And then, we take on the last question with the same score. During the short time the machine reads the question, Himeji-san suddenly asks,

“Akihisa-kun.”

“Un?”

“It feels like we’re on a date when we come out to play like this. I’m so happy.”

“What!”

“You’re shaken up~”

Using this chance, Himeji-san answered the question, and the answer’s correct. The outcome now is that I lost.

“It’s my win then, Akihisa-kun.”

“Uu..you actually made me hesitate with such words.”

“Fufu, you’re the one at fault here.”

I was careless. I didn’t think that Himeji-san would use such a method.

“And there’s something I’m unhappy about, Akihisa-kun.”

“Eh? What are you unhappy about?”

She’s still unhappy even though she won. What does that mean?

“You actually hesitated because of those words I said. That means you never realized anything before I said this, did you, Akihisa-kun?”

“Eh?”

“I was already so tense since just now. That’s so unfair.”

Himeji-san pouts as she puffs her cheeks.

What does this mean? Just when I’m feeling bothered—

(—!!)

My sixth sense detected a certain person’s presence.

I didn’t see it, but I understand it..the atmosphere that’s coming here, the instinct that helped me overcome several crisis, all these tell me something—

(It’s the presence of an enemy..!)

Most likely, it’s someone from F class. It may be Yuuji or Sugawa-kun or even Fukumura-kun. Anyway, there’s no need to imagine what kind of outcome there’ll be if Himeji-san and I get discovered here.

“What’s wrong, Akihisa-kun?”

“Over here, Himeji-san.”

“Eh? Ah, yes.”

Anyway, let’s hide for me. I hold Himeji-san’s hand and move away from the presence. There’s some sort of a game machine in front of my eyes, and we hide behind it. Now nobody can see our faces from the outside.

“Ah..this game..”

Himeji-san muttered. I peer outside to check whether the owner of that presence discovered us.

(That’s weird..that presence isn’t closing in on us. It’s even moving away..)

If it’s discovered by me, I guess the chances of the enemy discovering us are very high too. But the enemy isn’t coming after us. What’s going on? Am I being too alert here?

“Ah, never mind. We’re safe for now.”

I relax and turn to face Himeji-san again. Himeji-san is staring at the game with a serious expression. Un? What now?

“Erm..21st December, type A..”

Himeji-san had already put in a coin as she started to enter data on the screen.

“Alright, it’s your turn then, Akihisa-kun.”

“???”

I’m not too sure of what’s going on here, but I proceed to stand in front of the screen. The screen shows a line that reads ‘please enter your birthday and blood type. Eh? This is..ah, I see. It’s a fortune telling machine.

“Then, mine’s 18th October, blood type is..erm.”

Pon pon. I enter my birthday and blood type. Speaking of which, this might be my first time playing a fortune telling game.

“Then, both parties are to touch the crystal ball in the middle.”

I follow the instruction and put my hand on the crystal ball in the middle.

“..”

Right beside me, Himeji-san showed a tense expression as she placed her hand on the crystal ball. Eh, Himeji-san, I know that you will do your best for everything, but there’s no need to be so serious, right?

“Fortune results are being printed. Please wait.”

There’s a printing sound coming from near the receipt slow, and a piece of paper with words that feels like a ticket drops out. Himeji-san picks it up and reads it in a focused manner.

“Himeji-san, is there something nice written on it?”

“..”

Himeji-san continues to read the slip to such an extent that she’s not listening to me. Uu, but I can’t see anything from here.

Can’t be helped then. I can only remain where I am. After a while, Himeji-san has finished reading, and suddenly lifts her face.

“???”

She’s showing such a happy smile that I had never seen before.

“I guess something good’s written on it given your response, right?”

“Yes, it’s really good.”

She said with a dazzling smile on her face.

“I’m happy about what’s written on the paper, but what makes me most happy is that you came to play this game with me, Akihisa-kun.”

I came here to play with her..oh yeah. I did bring her inside this machine. In that case, I’ll have to apologize to her.

“Sorry for that just now, Himeji-san.”

“Eh? About what?”

“I dragged you here just now. Isn’t your arm hurting?”

“Fufu. You made me happier when you did that.”

?? Made her happy?

“Looks like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Akihisa-kun.”

“Eh, no..”

“You’re really slow-witted, Akihisa-kun.”

Uu..I really can’t argue with that. I just lost that quiz game after all.

“Oh yeah, Akihisa-kun, can I keep this paper?”

“Un. I’m fine with that.”

“Thank you. I’ll really treasure it.”

After saying that, Himeji-san folds that piece of paper properly and keeps it in her purse.

Though I don’t mind her doing that..

“Then, it’s about time to go buy our stuff. Akira-san will worry if we return late.”

“Ah, wait, Himeji-san.”

I don’t mind her doing this..but let alone the results of the fortune telling, she never told me what kind of fortune telling we were doing just now..

☆

“You’re going to buy games, Akihisa-kun?”

“Un, that’s what I planned.”

“Really..don’t spend too much, you know? Akira-san will get angry, right?”

“Okay~”

Even though Himeji-san said so, she basically let me off by turning a blind eye to this. She’s really kind.

“Oh yeah, what kind of shop are you going to, Himeji-san?”

“Eh! Me, me? I..I’m just shopping around.”

“???”

Himeji-san panicked as she answered my question. Huh, is there something secretive she wants to buy?

“Himeji-san, are you buying..”

“I, it’s nothing! I have nothing to buy! I’m just going to walk around!”

Himeji-san’s actions are really not natural. What does she want to hide?

Speaking of which, I’m sneaking out to buy games here, so I do understand the feeling of sneaking out to buy stuff. And if it’s Himeji-san, she definitely won’t buy something weird, so I guess I don’t have to worry.

“Really? Then, how about I look for you after I’m done with my shopping, Himeji-san?”

“O, okay. Anyway, Akihisa-kun, can you please call me after you’re done shopping? I’ll be glad if you can do so.”

“Nn. Okay.”

After checking that both of us are holding our phones, I break off from Himeji-san as I head to the shop selling games.

“Then. Game, game time!”

I start to look around as I walk towards the game shop.

At this moment, I discover a guy standing in front of me.

A hairstyle that’s like a lion’s mane.

A face that’s full of wildness.

A presence that looks really stupid.

I can’t be mistaken here. That’s—

“Yu, Yuuji!?”

I’m definitely not mistaken here. That’s my arch-nemesis, Sakamoto Yuuji.

“Why that heck is he here..?”

I can’t help but mutter.

It’s not weird for that guy to appear here. It’s a holiday today, so there’s nothing strange about meeting the people around us even in this shopping center. The problem is—

“Why at such a moment..”

The problem is that I just met a guy who might think that I’m dating Himeji-san here. Then, was the enemy’s presence I detected coming out from that guy?

If the fact that Himeji-san and I are living together is exposed, there’s no need to talk about what kind of consequences there will be. That guy’s a member of F class too, an enemy of justice who will work hard to prevent the happiness of others even if it means working overnight.

Since I met that guy in such a situation now—

“..I can only kill him now.”

Take the initiative. Kill enemies on sight. I must kill the enemy before I get killed.

Since I’ve decided what I want to do, there’s no time to hesitate. I hide my presence and move from one shadow to another, sneaking behind that kid’s back. As for the target..very good. He never discovered me. Now I can kill him!

As I unleash my momentum, I proceed to let out a killing blow.

“GO TO HELL, YUUJI!”

“Oops, my shoelaces..”

Swoosh

Yuuji suddenly bent down. The kick I unleashed with all my strength went right above that guy.

“..”

“..”

I remain in my kicking position while Yuuji remains bent down as we continue to stare at each other for several seconds.

“..Oi, you..”

“You kept your life there, Yuuji! But don’t think there’s a next time now!”

“Ah! Hey! Hold it!”

The ambush failed, so I decided to leave the battlefield immediately. I will be at a disadvantage no matter what when I take on this guy. In this situation, I should retreat and regroup.

I run away from the battlefield as I think.

That Yuuji was shocked by my sudden attack, but he probably won’t chase after me. If he saw me with Himeji-san, it’ll be another thing altogether, but if he didn’t, there’s no need for him to chase after me in front of everyone. I’ll wait for tomorrow to take my revenge. That’ll be better.

That should be the case—

“Akihisa, you bastard! Hold it right there!”

“WHY!?”

For some reason, Yuuji’s chasing after me.

What’s this now? Why must he deliberately chase after me?

☆

~Yuuji’s side~

Damn it! Why do I just have to meet Akihisa of all people at such a moment here!? Is the fact that Shouko and I are going out exposed now? Is this why I was attacked? So that stupid presence I detected came out from this guy?

“And why must I be the one attacked here..”

I’m going with Shouko like this, but that’s because Shouko wrecked my phone when she went to check if I was cheating on her. I just came here to repair my phone. Even if Akihisa or the other idiots see me, there’s no reason for them to attack me.

Even so, but—

“..Those guys definitely won’t think of such things..!”

Going out with a girl on a holiday—they will attack me for that reason alone, and I have no way to argue back or defend myself.

In that case..

“—Better kill him.”

I must take the initiative before he finds allies. This will be the most appropriate.

☆

“AKIHIIIISSSAAAAA!!!!”

The voice can be heard from behind. Tch! I can’t shake him off!

“This will be bad if this keeps up..”

The plan to regroup myself and ambush him when he’s careless is slowly becoming a failure. Damn it. I have to find a way to shake him off here!

We continue to run, but the distance between us is shortening. We’re running at the same speed now, but the enemy has the definite advantage of making cuts, so it’s a matter of time before he catches up to me.

In that case—

“I’ll bet on this!”

I turn around a corner and immediately dart into a shop to escape from that guy.

“That damned bastard! Where did he go!”

It seems that that idiot Yuuji immediately lost me, so he’s looking at the entrance of the shop. Alright, success!

I adjust my panting as I hide my presence. If I’m careless by the slightest bit, I’ll be discovered by that guy. I have to find a way to hide inside the shop.”

“Oh yeah. What does this shop sell?”

I try not to make my posture too weird as I slowly investigate my surroundings.

White.

Waterblue.

Pink.

Beige,

And all sorts of colors are around me.

Fm fm. I see. This is—

(--A female underwear shop.)

The shop displays all sorts of bra and underwear.

Now then,

(HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO HIDE IN HERE!)

I’VE NEVER FACED SUCH A CRISIS IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. A MALE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT RUNNING INTO AN UNDERWEAR SHOP WILL DEFINITELY STAND OUT NO MATTER HOW I HIDE IN SUCH A SITUATION! THERE’S STILL A REASON IF I’M WITH A GIRL, BUT I’M ALONE HERE! I CAN’T EXPLAIN MYSELF HERE!

From inside the shop, I peer out at Yuuji. That guy’s about to turn his head here as well! That’s was close!

I immediately pull my neck back and hide behind the mannequin in underwear.

At this moment, the shop attendant probably finds me very suspicious as she stares at me with a shocked expression.

Ku..! In that case, I can only force it!

I endure the shop attendant’s stare as I raise the underwear on the hanger. I then try to convince myself while trying to look naturally.

(I’m a perverted underwear maniac here. Mix in here! Stay inside this women underwear shop with a matter-of fact expression! Mix into the surroundings!)

I give a serious look as I watch the underwear. Don’t blush! Lose yourself! I have to be an underwear expert of sorts and proudly choose one!

I continue to convince myself. However, this is all futile as the shop attendant seems determined as she asks me,

“Erm, dear customer..?’

The shop attendant onee-san asked with a suspicious and nervous tone.

Ugh..that won’t work too..with such lousy acting, I can’t pretend to be an underwear lover..?

As I get corrupted by despair, my knees weaken.

But at this moment, a teacher’s words rang in my heart.

A deep, gruff, forceful voice replayed in my mind.

“NO MATTER WHAT, IF YOU WANT TO DO IT, MAKE SURE YOU FINISH THE JOB!”

“—!!”

At this moment, my wilting strength is recovered.

That’s right. It’s still too early to give up. We learned something important from Ironman during the baseball summoned beast tournament!

I exert my strength back into the limp legs and straight my back.

“De, dear customer?”

The shop attendant let out a worried voice, but I ignored her as I proceed with the next action.

I slowly take a piece of underwear from the display, pry it out and put it on my head. At this moment, I say something cool to the shop attendant onee-san.

“Fm..it’s a little okay to wear it..”

“CUSTOMMMEEERRRRS!!!”

Hold on a minute! Why is that shop attendant yelling out so loudly!? What if Yuuji hears it from outside?

“Be quiet!”

“THE, THERE’S A PER—MGH”

It’s a critical situation now, so I use my hand to cover the shop attendant’s mouth. Damn it, don’t I look like some underwear weirdo even at this point?

I cautiously look outside the shop. Luckily, Yuuji’s looking for me at the other shops and has no intention of coming in.

“..(Limp).”

The shop attendant with her mouth covered by me falls limp. I proceed to look forward, and find that she fainted from lack of oxygen. Eh? This doesn’t seem good!

After checking that she’s still breathing, I again wonder about how to get away from this predicament of despair.

Yuuji’s still watching outside the shop savagely. The only way to actually deal with him is..

After thinking for a while, I made a conclusion. There’s only that way to deal with that guy most effectively.

Let’s call Kirishima-san then.

Once I call Kirishima-san and tell her that ‘I saw Yuuji with another girl on the second level of the shopping center’, that guy’s life will be extinguished in less than 2 seconds. This plan will not only ensure my own life, it can keep my secret of living with Himeji-san safe. That’s perfect.

“In that case..”

I take out my phone and search out Kirishima-san’s phone number from the phone book.

I press the button and wait for the ring.

And then, the sound of a phone speaker lets out a sound.

Prrrrr.

For some reason, it seems that a phone rang in the changing room nearby. Huh?

“..Hello?”

Kirishima-san’s voice enters my ear. However, this voice isn’t just coming from the phone, but also from the changing room right behind me as well. Do, don’t tell me..

“Erm, Kirishima-san?”

“..Un. What is it, Yoshii?”

Kirishima-san’s voice can be heard clearly from the changing room behind me. Don’t tell me she’s in this shop too!?

I subconsciously check what this shop is about. This is a female underwear shop, and Kirishima-san’s voice is coming out from the changing room. In other words..

“So, sorry! Nothing at all!”

I inadvertently panicked the moment I thought about Kirishima-san changing in the changing room. It can’t be helped anyway! How can I calm down when a girl of my age is changing while I’m around!?

Such an unexpected situation happened, and I panicked. The voice that was let out seem to be louder than before, so Kirishima-san in the changing room seemed to have heard my voice.

“???..Yoshii, are you on the second level of the shopping center?”

“Heh? Ah, erm!”

“..Let’s talk face to face then. I really can’t talk well.”

“..Yes?”

Swoosh. A sound came from behind. It should be the sound of Kirishima-san pulling aside the curtain. Then, Kirishima-san won’t come out in underwear only, will she?

My self-restraint that’s telling me not to look triumphed over my urge to look, so I immediately escape from the scene.

Basically, I choose to run into another changing room nearby.

“..??? Yoshii?”

Kirishima-san’s voice came from the other side of the curtain. That was really close. I was nearly viewed as a pervert there.

“Fuu..that’s great..”

I use my hand to wipe away my sweat, and slowly lift my head.

And I’m looking at Himeji-san with her bare skin, rooted to the spot.

“Erm..erm..Akihisa-kun?”

Himeji-san used the clothes she took off to cover her body as she asked me with a timid voice.

“Un? What is it, Himeji-san?”

In contrast to her response, I’m not panicking at all as I’m coolly thinking of how to respond. If I panic in such a moment, she’ll feel worried, so I have to calm down.

“Erm..what are you doing here?”

Then, I’ll just answer confidently so that she won’t feel worried.

“Haha. Is it really weird for me to be here?”

“Ah, no, that..”

No, to be honest, it’s really weird for me to be here.

“I’m looking for a cap here, trying to look around for something nice~”

I said as I pointed at the underwear on my hear.

Don’t worry. Himeji-san is all confused now. Once I simply insist that it’s a hat, I’ll definitely be able to pull through!

“Eh? Ha..t..?”

Himeji-san’s mind is severely slowing down, but there’s still something about my words she find weird. Argh, I’ll just bluff through with momentum!

“That’s right. It’s a hat. Doesn’t it suit me?”

“No, not at all. It suits you!”

I can’t help but feel really complicated.

But leaving aside my personal feelings, let’s talk about something else. This topic is too dangerous.

“What about you, Himeji-san? What are you doing here?”

“Eh, erm..the hook on my bra was spoilt this morning, so I came here to buy it..”

Spoilt this morning..don’t tell me it was during the ping-pong game? I see, so that’s why she said that she had something to buy.

“W, well, it’s not like that! I’m wearing one different from usual! This..that..I want to say, since there’s a chance, I wanted to take a little risk. I just met Shouko-chan just now, and she recommended this kind of underwear to me for a decisive victory. I don’t normally go for this style..”

Himeji-san started to defend herself blankly. However, I’ll be bothered if she describes the details of a girl choosing underwear to me.

“Ahaha, calm down, Himeji-san. I can’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“Erm, well, that..sorry..”

Himeji-san lowered her head, blushing.

Anyway, Kirishima-san probably returned back to the changing room.

“It’s about time for me to go.”

“Okay. See you later.”

I put my hand on the changing room’s curtain and get ready to slip out.

But before that—

“Oh yeah, Himeji-san.”

“Un?”

“For you.”

I let Himeji-san hold onto something that’s been in my hand.

“Ye, yes. This..”

Himeji-san slowly opened her hand the moment she received it to see what it is.

That’s the underwear I put on my head.

“WHAT WERE YOU DOING, AKIHISA-KUN!”

“DAMN IT! I’M BACK TO NORMAL!”

I continue to endure the surge of nosebleed as I dash out of the underwear shop in an embarrassed manner.

☆

“Really..how unbelievable!”

“So, sorry..”

As we walk back home from the shopping center, I continued to hear out Himeji-san’s lecture.

historical

“Why must you always start such..erm, somewhat vulgar trouble, Akihisa-kun?”

“No, I wasn’t being perverted there. It’s more like it was out of unfortunate circumstances.”

“Don’t find an excuse now!”

“Yes, sorry.”

I immediately straightened my back once I was lectured by her.

On a side note, Yuuji endured Kirishima-san’s hug (to put it lightly) for quite a while and fell limp onto the floor before being dragged away. I guess his chances of living are at most around 50%.

“Do you understand, Akihisa-kun? Bad things will happen when you run into a changing room like that—and a female underwear shop at that!”

“Yes..”

“What do you intend to do if it’s other females instead of me?”

Himeji-san puffed her cheeks. Eh, that’s true. She’s right here..

“And I wasn’t mentally prepared yet..but that might be better than letting you look at other girls in a pervy manner..”

Himeji-san muttered. I can’t actually tell what she’s talking about, but she does look really angry. What should I do now? I must definitely find a way to apologize..it’s not easy to erase away the sight of her in lingerie, so I should at least compensate. Is there something I can do..

“Something I can definitely do..something I can definitely do..”

In this case, there’s only cooking. Himeji-san’s living at my house now. I’ll just make something she likes and apologize to her earnestly.

“Himeji-san.”

“What is it?”

I look over at her eyes sincerely,

“Wh, what is it, Akihisa-kun? Why is your expression so serious?”

“This might not be considered an apology, but, if you don’t mind, please let me—”

“Eh? O, okay!”

“—Please let me make something you like to eat, Himeji-san!”

“....Yes?”

I said with utmost sincerity.

I did something bad, so I’ll show off my culinary skills and make a good meal. Hopefully, this will ease up on my guilt.

“So..well..Himeji-san, can you name some things you like to eat?”

“..”

“Even if it’s a little difficult, I’ll try my best to do it!”

“..(Unhappy)”

“Himeji-san?”

“I don’t know!”

Himeji-san scowled and looked away.

Eh? Did I say something wrong?

I ponder for a short while. Eh..ah, of course! I’m actually trying to bribe a girl of young girl with food. There has to be a limit to how slow I am! Of course I would make her angry the way I do this!

“So, sorry! I really don’t mean anything else. It’s simply because I only know how to cook, so..”

“I thought you would say something like taking responsibility..”

“What?”

“Nothing!”

Himeji-san’s angrier now. What can I do now? It seems that I made her even angrier. In this case, I can only use my ultimate move, kneeling down with my head down in the middle of the road to expression my sincerity!

“I’m really sorry! At least allow me to use my own way to—”

“..Pae..lla.”

“—finish things here..eh?”

I stop myself from kneeling down and lift my face. What did Himeji-san just say?

“Paella.”

I heard it clearly this time.

Paella? Why is she saying that all of a sudden?

“You can make paella for dinner..it was really nice the last time.”

Himeji-san said with an unhappy look still on her face. Ah, the paella is referring to what I asked her what she wanted to have, right? In other words..

“You’re willing to forgive me, Himeji-san?”

“No second time after this. I won’t forgive you if you do something like that again, Akihisa-kun.”

“Affirmative! I’ll remember it with all my heart!”

“Again..really, Akihisa-kun, it’s because -->>

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