A Case in Which My House Is a Gathering Place for Girls - Chapter 8: Don’t Drop It Again

Before stepping into the fountain, Kanna kept her smartphone in her skirt pocket. The fact that it was no longer there means…

“…Did you drop it when you slipped?”

Kanna looks at the fountain with a pale face. This was exactly what people meant when they said the hunter becomes the hunted. Moreover, that smartphone has a strap.

“I-I have to go get it! That’s the precious strap that Jinpei-kun gave me!”

“Calm down. I’ll look for it, so you just stay here and behave.”

I took off my leather shoes and socks, tucked up the hem of my trousers, and stepped into the fountain. The chill of the water instantly brought my body temperature down. I think I’d better hurry.

Perhaps they had seen a series of strange actions and had pulled back in earnest, but the onlookers began to murmur amongst themselves and slowly dispersed.

“Hey, Jinpei-kun!?”

Meanwhile, Kanna exclaims in a bewildered voice. Had she already forgotten what she herself had just done?

“It’s all right. I remember most of the places where Kanna fell. I’ll get it right away, so wait there quietly.”

“…Isn’t that one of those ominous death flags?”

“Hahaha. Don’t lump me in with you. I don’t let my guard down at the last moment unlike someone.”

“Geez! Jinpei-kun is so mean! Don’t say such cruel things!”

I reached the target location while listening to my childhood friend’s angry grumbling behind me. Fortunately, the water was crystal clear which made the phone easy to spot. With the water only reaching just below my knees, retrieving it wasn’t difficult either.

I picked up the phone with a sigh of relief. I slowly made my way back after taking great care not to repeat Kanna’s mistake.

“Here’s your smartphone. You have no choice but to send it for repair or buy a new one because it’s submerged. Didi you back it up?”

I wiped my feet while sitting on the edge, and returned the wet smartphone to her.

“…Thank you. The smartphone is broken, but it’s okay. As long as the strap is safe, that’s all that matters.”

“I see. Just make sure not to drop it again, okay?”

“Yes… I’ll be more careful.”

Kanna smiles, but her shoulders drop slightly. After scratching my head, I put on my shoes, took her hand, and started walking.

“J-Jinpei-kun!? Where are we going? I thought we were heading home!?”

Kanna suddenly gets into a light panic when I hold her hand. She was the one who had held my hand at school earlier, so I didn’t see why she was so surprised now.

“We can’t go home soaking wet, can you? Come over to my place for a bit.”

“J-J-J-Jinpei-kun!? What do you mean by that? I think there’s an order in everything!”

Kanna starts to fluster at my suggestion as her ears are bright red. Surely, she wasn’t assuming I had any improper intentions, was she?

“That’s what it means. The place I live in is close to here. It’s better to dry your uniform, take a shower, soak in a bathtub, and warm up your cold body.”

It felt a bit awkward to invite her to my place on the very day we reunited, but I couldn’t just let her go home like this. Besides, it would give us a chance to reminisce, something I’d initially planned to do at the cafe.

“Oh, I see… So that’s what you mean. Then you should have told me.”

“Well, if Kanna’s not comfortable with it, I won’t force you. It’s understandable to feel uneasy about going to a guy’s place, especially since I live alone.”

“I’m not worried about that at all. I’m sorry, Jinpei-kun. It seems I jumped to conclusions. If that’s the case, I’ll take you up on your kind offer!”

“…You’ve got quite the imagination. What were you imagining?”

“T-that’s a secret! It’s not something I can say out loud here, though it’s not something I can say right now… Wait, why are you making me say this!?”

I hadn’t said anything. Kanna just blew herself up on her own. Of course, pointing that out would probably earn me another barrage of punches, so I wisely kept my mouth shut.

“Let’s put the jokes aside. I’ve always trusted and known that Jinpei-kun would never do anything I’d dislike. So there’s nothing scary about going to your place.”

“…Thank you.”

Hearing her say that with such sincerity was unexpectedly embarrassing.

“Well, then, let’s go check on Jinpei-kun’s place, who’s started living on his own in this city!”

“What are you planning to look for in my place?”

“Of course, the naughty books. It’s my duty as your childhood friend to make sure that Jinpei-kun’s habits are not distorted!”

I have no intention of letting her do such a thing, and I have no books of that kind in the first place, so it is useless to look for them.

“…What if it’s distorted?”

“In that case, I’d take full responsibility and correct them myself—wait, why are you making me say this!?”

“I didn’t say anything…”

“Stop talking  and let’s go already!”

Let’s go! She cheerfully raised her fist. But it wasn’t hard to notice that her excitement was forced. As I worried about what to do, I walked alongside her as we headed back.