Chapter – 09
Mini Trip âĄ
A weekday afternoon.
I walked along the sparsely populated coastline with Kotori.
“Seriously, this turned out so strange. Skipping school and coming to the sea with Fuyunose-kun of all people.”
“Yeah. Not just skipping school and coming to the sea, but the most surprising part is that it’s just the two of us.”
“Right, that’s the one and only thing I’d like to correct.”
“Don’t try to correct it.”
Still, I never imagined a day like this would come.
Maybe Kotori and I have some strange kind of connection.
After all, the whole thing started because I happened to pass by and got roped into being her boyfriendâsuch an incredible series of coincidences. Call it cheesy, but some might call this fate.
…Well, our compatibility is so bad it almost cancels all that out.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t contacted the school. Skipping without notice is a hassle later on, so even now I shouldâ”
“I already did.”
“Eh, when?”
“Yeah. Higashikawa-san contacted me a little while ago, so I asked her to tell the teacher that I couldn’t make it to school.”
“Really? So they know about me too?”
“No, apparently just me.”
“Why?!”
Higashikawa’s in the same class as me, so why is she reporting Kotori’s absence from a different class? And besides, given how long she’s known me, she should’ve contacted me first.
…Wait, since when were she and Kotori exchanging messages? On that point, I was happy since I was the matchmaker.
“Then I’ll call them later.”
“Do that.”
Afterward, when I called the school, the teacher said, “Huh? I already heard from Higashikawa.” When I spun around, Kotori let out a *hmph!*, turned up her nose, and looked away.
Ah, right. I forgot.
She’s pathologically tsundere.
But seriously, you could at least be honest about that much. If it’s embarrassing, I won’t expect any thanks.
—
â â â
We kept wandering around like that, but Kotori started getting tsun again, saying things like, “It’s already past noon and you’re not going to eat? What kind of special training is this? Is that your fetish?” So we decided to go into a seafood bowl restaurant we spotted.
The beach-house-style interior was quite atmosphericâtruly a seaside establishment. We were shown to a tatami seat by the window with a view of the ocean, sat across from each other, and quickly placed our orders.
“What a nice view.”
“…O-oh.”
“What’s with that look, like you’re seeing something strange? Are you trying to make me angry?”
“No, no. Kotori genuinely complimenting something is, in my book, like snow falling in summer.”
“I see. So that’s how you see me. But know this: I do say when something is good. I don’t lie.”
“That’s already a lie, though?”
“Of course, there are exceptions.”
“When there are nothing but exceptions, can you really call them exceptions?”
“Shut up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
While we were bantering, our seafood bowls arrived. The colorful assortment of seafood made me let out an involuntary “Ooh.”
Kotori was the sameâshe let out a similar sound before quickly catching herself and clearing her throat. The way she tries to cover it up is so tsundere.
“Let’s eat.”
“Let’s eat.”
The delicious food kept going into our empty stomachs. This was tasty. And eating it here really added to the experience.
Kotori, who’s a total foodie, let out little “Mmm!” sounds with each bite, her eyes sparkling. If she showed this side of herself more, I think even other girls would like her.
“Here, on the house.”
With a clunk, the old lady placed two bottles of ramune soda on the table.
“It’s ’cause this pretty young lady was eating with such a happy face, y’know.”
“Oh, thank you very much.”
“Don’t mention it!”
Kotori blushed and bowed repeatedly to the grinning old lady. This was another rare sight that warmed my heart, and then the old lady’s gaze turned to me.
“Hey, young man, don’t you let go of a cute girlfriend like this, hear?”
“Ahaha, of course not.”
“Don’t get cocky.”
“Ow~”
Kotori kicked my leg. Watching us, the old lady let out a hearty “Gahahaha!” and headed back to the kitchen.
Kotori pouted and kept eating.
“I’m going to sink you in the sea before we go home.”
“Scary~”
Old lady, she’s not a cute girlfriendâshe’s a scary girlfriend.
—
â â â
After leaving the restaurant, Kotori apparently had somewhere she wanted to go, so I followed her lead. We moved away from the sea and into the town center.
After about three minutes of walking, the area suddenly became more crowded, and we emerged onto a shopping street lined with shops.
“Are you going to eat more?”
“Yes. I’m still hungry.”
“You’re like a baseball club member after practice.”
“That’s not something you say to a girl her age, lifelong virgin.”
“That’s not something a girl her age says, Kotori-san.”
Banter aside, this street was a place for so-called “eating while walking,” and most of the shops were takeout food establishments.
“Come on, let’s go. Follow me.”
As if she were going to systematically visit every single shop, Kotori kept spotting stores and going in. Both her hands were full of food, and I was even carrying some of her share.
A boyfriend carrying his girlfriend’s bags is a staple of romantic comedies, but at this rate, I couldn’t tell if this was a rom-com or a food battle manga. What genre is this supposed to be?
“Hey, you’re walking too slow. As it is, your vacant expression drains the life out of everything, but if your actions are sloppy too, what then? People are strongly influenced by those around them, you know?”
“Then stay away from me.”
“That’s impossible. We are, after all, technically lovers. Besides, Fuyunose-kun is head over heels for me, right?”
“That’s so baseless I’m starting to worry whether my words are even reaching you properly.”
“Sometimes your Japanese gets a little weird.”
“So they really weren’t reaching you.”
“Well, let me say this first: sorry. I’m not interested in romance right now. Actually, more than thatânow, in the past, and for all eternity, I’m not interested in Fuyunose-kun.”
“Please, have some sympathy for my feelings being pummeled like this.”
“That’s harder than any modern literature exam question. It’s a flawed question.”
“Shut up.”
As for me, these conversations with Kotori drain me considerably, but she just smiles with the ease of a warrior enjoying battle. Why does she seem to have as much fun putting me down as she does eating sweets?
Am *I* the sweet? No, that’s not it.
“Come on, hurry up. We’ve still got so many places to cover.”
“…Haah, as you wish.”
With a devilish little “Fufu,” Kotori walked ahead, and I followed her with heavy steps.
