RMSGE ` 09

Chapter – 09

Picking Up Kaoru and an Encounter with Kirara

Two days after Kaoru asked me to come pick her up, I was heading to the cram school she’d told me about.

“This is the place, right?”

It was a fairly large cram school.

I checked the time on my phone—it was 7:20 PM—so I decided to wait a little longer.

Still, what does Yamazaki even think of Kaoru?

How could he possibly prioritize gaming with friends over her? It doesn’t make any sense.

I like games too, but they don’t even compare to Kaoru…

Besides, the distance from the cram school to Kaoru’s house isn’t that far. Even if I left my house to pick her up, it wouldn’t take more than an hour at most.

“Well! It’s not like Yamazaki and I are friends—we’ve never even spoken—so I won’t worry about him.”

Instead, I should be happy that Kaoru relied on me.

At the very least, it’s proof that she trusts me.

If I’m being greedy, I’d like to get along with her at school too, but that’s probably difficult.

If people saw me getting along with her, it’s obvious her reputation would take a hit.

In the worst-case scenario, Kaoru might even try to protect me, and if that happened, she could end up isolated herself—which is certainly not something I want.

Come to think of it, what did Kaoru tell her parents?

Did she honestly tell them that a male classmate who isn’t Yamazaki would come pick her up?

If I were a parent, I’d be worried about that too… Well, I’ll ask her about it later.

– After waiting for about ten minutes, Kaoru came out and ran over to me with a smile.

“Ah! Kaito-kun!”

“Cram school over?”

“Yeah. Thanks for coming.”

“Don’t worry about it… Well, let’s head back.”

“Yeah!”

And so we started walking.

“By the way, what did you tell your parents?”

“I explained it just as it is. That Kaito-kun would come pick me up.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Okay about what?”

“Well, I have a lot of bad rumors about me… And more than that, to your parents, I’m just a complete stranger, right?”

“Hmm? I wonder. I did explain that Kaito-kun is a really kind person, though. Dad was a little worried, but Mom said something like, ‘If you trust him that much, then I’ll believe in him too.’ And Dad kind of went along with that. I also told them you’re the one who saved me from those guys who were hitting on me.”

Well, Kaoru does seem like the type who properly communicates with her parents on a daily basis, so she probably has their trust. I don’t fully understand, but if her parents are okay with it, then there shouldn’t be a problem. Of course, I intend to protect Kaoru properly.

“I see… Well, if that’s the case, it should be fine.”

“By the way, when they asked about my relationship with Kaito-kun, I said you’re the person I trust the most. Is that okay?”

“The person you trust the most, huh… It hasn’t been that long since we first talked, you know… Hearing that makes me really happy.”

But if you’re explaining it to your parents, wouldn’t something like “just a friend” have been fine too?

That phrasing makes it sound like your parents might get the wrong idea…

“The person you trust the most?”

“Yeah.”

“What about Yamazaki?”

“Trust-wise, it’s Kaito-kun…”

Kaoru averted her gaze as she said that.

“Trust-wise,” huh… So she still likes Yamazaki, after all…

But well, things are definitely progressing, so I guess it’s fine.

“I see. That makes me happy.”

“R-really… If anything happens, Kaito-kun, you can tell me too… You’re always the one helping me, so I want to do something for you too…”

Kaoru said that without looking at me.

“No, I feel like I’m the one being helped just by having you around, Kaoru…”

“Huh?”

“I mean, you trust me even though I have all these bad rumors about me, and you’re willing to be with me… To me, that’s incredibly reassuring.”

This is the truth.

I’ve been used to being alone since my past life… But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s lonely.

In this world, without Kaoru, I really would be all alone. Having her around versus not having her is like the difference between heaven and earth.

“I-is that so… If someone like me is okay, then I’ll stay with you from now on…”

“Stay with me,” huh… Come to think of it, the last time I heard those words was back when I was a child.

I don’t know if Kaoru said that as a friend or something more, but right now, I honestly just felt happy hearing those words from her.

“Thank you, Kaoru.”

“Y-yeah… Thank you too.”

Just as we were having that conversation, someone called out to us from the side.

“Eh? Kaoru-chan and… Kaito-kun!?”

“Ah… Hiroshi-san…”

Kirara looked really surprised, while Kaoru… didn’t seem particularly fazed.

“Why are you two together!? Are you two a thing!?”

“Ah, no, no. It’s not like we’re dating or anything.”

“Eh? Then why are you together at this hour???”

How should I explain this… Is it okay to tell her the truth?

While I was thinking that, Kaoru calmly spoke up.

“Well, actually… I asked Kaito-kun to come pick me up from cram school.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Why Kaito-kun!? I’d have thought Kaoru-chan would ask Makoto instead?”

Kirara asked us both, looking puzzled.

“I did ask Makoto too… but he said it’s difficult because he already has plans to play games with his friends…”

“O-oh, I see… But even so, are you and Kaito-kun that close? I didn’t think you had any connection at all.”

“Actually, the other day on my way back from cram school, I got hit on and couldn’t turn them down, but Kaito-kun saved me. Then after that, Makoto turned me down, so I asked Kaito-kun, and he said he’d do it.”

As she spoke, Kaoru had a somewhat happy look on her face.

“I see… As I thought, Kaito-kun really doesn’t seem like the rumors say…”

“That’s right. Kaito-kun is kind.”

“Really. If Kaoru-chan says so, it must be true… Rumors really are unreliable, huh~”

“Well, the rumors do have some truth to them… It’s just that I’m different now. Of course, I don’t expect people to believe that easily.”

“Hmm. Well, I don’t really care much about rumors anyway~”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yeah. Because Kaito-kun told me to judge people with my own eyes. After hearing that, I thought, you know, blindly believing rumors isn’t good.”

To be honest, I didn’t say that with that much thought behind it, but she was actually considering it that deeply.

Well, that’s Kirara for you, I suppose.

As I was thinking that, Kirara continued.

“You two are heading to Kaoru-chan’s house, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Which direction is that?”

When Kirara asked, Kaoru pointed in the direction of her house.

“My house is in the same direction, so can I walk home with you guys?”

“I’m fine with it if Kaoru is…”

“I’m okay with it. There’s no reason to say no.”

Kaoru said that without showing any sign of reluctance, which was a bit unexpected.

Given the whole Yamazaki situation, I thought Kaoru would have at least some feelings about Kirara.

I expected Kaoru wouldn’t refuse, but I thought she might show some sign of discomfort. If she had, I was planning to say it’s better for just the two of them to walk together, but that doesn’t seem necessary.

After that, the three of us walked together.

“By the way, Hiroshi-san, why are you out at this hour?”

It was nearly 8 PM, and Kirara isn’t in any club activities, so being out at this time could easily make people suspect she’s out late at night.

Well, of course that’s not the case—she’s probably just coming back from her part-time job.

I don’t think Kirara has permission to work part-time, so she probably won’t mention it.

“U-um… I was just out shopping.”

“I see. So you were shopping.”

“Y-yeah, that’s right!”

Kirara said that clearly flustered, but Kaoru didn’t seem to suspect anything.

No, it’s more likely she just didn’t want to pry since Kirara obviously didn’t want to say.

And Kaoru’s smiling—when did these two become so close…

Kaoru still calls her “Hiroshi-san,” but compared to a few days ago in the classroom, she definitely seems more relaxed around her.

Come to think of it, I have seen them together at school quite often lately.

“By the way, how close are you two? I’ve never even seen you talk at school.”

Kirara asked both of us.

“I wonder. But at the very least, I trust him quite a lot.”

“I feel the same… Well, for me, it’s also because Kaoru is the only person I can properly talk to.”

“I see… But why don’t you talk at school?”

“Ah, about that. That was my idea. I told Kaoru that if people saw us talking, they’d give her weird looks, so we shouldn’t talk at school.”

“Ah, I see. People would probably get confused.”

“I didn’t really mind, though…”

After that, we continued walking while chatting.
Judging by Kaoru’s demeanor, she didn’t seem to have any negative feelings toward Kirara at all.