A Case in Which My House Is a Gathering Place for Girls

“Hey, hey, hey! Sasazuki Mika was here just now, wasn’t she!? You were talking to Sasazuki Mika, the Nessie of Amahashiritsu Academy!?”

“Nessie is next up after an invisible person. Sasazuki has many nicknames.”

It feels like they’re treating her like some rare animal, but considering her ability to hide her presence, it’s not surprising that people would call her that.

“I don’t care about nicknames! What’s important is that you also got to know Sasazuki just like with Asakura!?”

“There’s nothing to explain… I just happened to have a conversation with her, and we got along. That’s all there is to it.”

“You happen to talk to Sasazuki!? That’s already strange! You wouldn’t normally even be able to recognize her presence and let alone approach her!”

“I can only say that I owe it to my grandfather in the countryside. I think you’ll learn Wada if you spend about a month in the mountains.”

Wada shrugs his shoulders with a groan at my suggestion. What a waste. If he experiences integration with nature, he’d easily be able to pick up on Sasazuki’s presence.

“I was born in the city and raised in the city, but I don’t think I can live in such a harsh place. I would definitely be dead in the open in less than three days!”

“Really? You won’t know until you try… Hmm? What’s that?”

The smartphone in my chest pocket vibrates. When I check it, I see a message from Kanna.

“You seem to be spending your lunch break quite happily.”

There are no emoticons, no stamps, and simple short sentences, but the emotions contained in these, I can tell exactly what kind of emotion is behind it.

“…She’s mad. Really mad.”

“What’s the matter, Itsuki?”

Wada asks with a puzzled expression as I go silent while staring at my phone screen. Now, what should I say in response?

Read-through is out of the question. If I do that, when I get home, I will be overwhelmed by the silent pressure of her smile. I mean, why is Kanna angry in the first place?

“We all promised, didn’t we? We should not talk too much when we are in school. But somehow… I’m absolutely furious right now!”

“Shouldn’t you be talking to Asakura or Sasazuki about that!?”

How did Kanna know I was talking to the two of them when she was not in the classroom, even though she sent back a message about her anger more than I had imagined? It’s not like she’s putting a wiretap on my body.

“A wise Jinpei-kun would have probably thought, ‘Does Kanna see everything?’“

“…Why is that?”

“That’s because I can be psychosensitive. By linking my consciousness to Jinpei-kun’s consciousness, I can grasp what you’re doing.”

What is she saying all of a sudden? I’ve seen it twice and three times, but I don’t understand what she’s saying. The only thing I understand is that Kanna is probably smirking while typing this message.

“I mean, to put it simply… I have a wiretap in Jinpei-kun’s blazer’s inner pocket.”

“You’re lying, aren’t you!? Even though we’re childhood friends, there are things you shouldn’t do!?”

I immediately took off my blazer and searched my inner pocket, but found nothing like it. Is it possible that she developed a high-performance, ultra-small wiretapping device?

“That was a joke. I just got a report from Sasazuki-san a moment ago. She said to keep an eye on you since you were talking to Asakura-san.”

“…You’re kidding, aren’t you? I can trust you on that, can I?”

The reason I can’t trust her very much is that Kanna could seriously do it, let alone psychosensitivity.

“Don’t you believe me? I’m going to cry. I’m going to sink this school with tears. Is that okay?”

“…I’m sorry for doubting you.”

I’m glad we exchanged messages. If this was a face-to-face conversation, I would have been slapped with my cheeks swollen.

“To sum up, it was easy to predict that the one trying to capture the mummy would become a mummy themselves.”

“…I see. As expected, Kanna. You have a keen intuition.”

“Even though I’m desperately holding myself back, this is just too unfair. I demand Jinpei-kun’s compensation!”

“What do you want me to do?”

I can already picture Kanna pounding on her desk in frustration as she types this message. I do feel like it’s a bit unreasonable that I have to make up for this, but if I were to write that out, her mood would worsen even further. I have no choice but to endure and accept it.

“As expected of Jinpei-kun, it’s helpful that you’re quick to understand. Then, please let me stay at Jinpei-kun’s place during Golden Week. That’s all I’ve asked for.”

“…Haa!!???”

I blurted that out before I could even type a response. Wada is sitting in front of me as he asks me, “What’s wrong?” but there was no time to explain. What the hell is my childhood friend suddenly saying?

It is extremely unhealthy for a girl of her age to stay at a man’s house where he lives alone. What’s more, even though we’re childhood friends, we don’t go out with each other. Well, considering that three different girls regularly stay over until late at night, maybe it’s a little late to be worrying about that.

“If we were to go out to play together, wouldn’t it be a bad idea to stay overnight? Wouldn’t your parents get angry, too?”

“Hehe, It’s not out of the question. Both my father and mother have given their approval saying, ‘There’s nothing to worry about if it’s Itsuki-kun.’ n fact, they also told me, ‘Make sure a hawk doesn’t swoop in and snatch you away.’“

“…You’re kidding, aren’t you?”

“It’s up to Jinpei-kun to believe it or not. I’ll tell you more details about the sleepover later.”

Right after that message, she sent a sticker of an otter waving goodbye. So, the rest of the conversation will happen once I get home. I let out a deep sigh and decided to focus on finishing the rest of my lunch.

“Itsuki… it seems that we need to have a physical discussion with you to continue to be friends with you. Get ready to clench your teeth!”

Wada’s face was twisted in so much fury that he looked like he was about to burst into tears of pure hatred.

“…Why is it coming to this?”

“Why? Do you even need to ask! It’s because you’re flirting with Hanazono Kanna on your smartphone!”

“That’s great. How did you know it was Kanna?”

“After Asakura and Sasazuki, anyone can guess! Rather, if it wasn’t Hanazono Kanna, I would’ve dragged you straight to court with no questions asked!”

Wada trembles with rage as his fists shake violently. I have no idea when he might snap and pounce on me. I really wish he’d calm down, but explaining the details of my conversation with Kanna would just be a pain, so I hesitate to respond.

“Ah… the world is really unfair to me. How long do I have to wait for the blue spring to come to me?”

Wada shrugged his shoulders and lamented, and I decided to send him some advice, throwing the last deep-fried tofu into his mouth.

“At least if you just sit around waiting, it’ll never come.”

“Shut uuup! Yes!! Damn bastard, just shut up already…!!!”

Wada’s soul’s roar of anger reverberates throughout the classroom.

That night. When I told this story to Kanna, who came to visit my house as a matter of course, she sighed and said this.

“Jinpei-kun is truly heartless and cruel. This was overkill.”

When I told the same story to Asakura and Sasazuki who came late, they gave me a similar reaction. I don’t understand.