Chapter 14 – The Love-Fallen Angel Is…

“Show me your phone.”

“Ehh. A maiden’s privacy is always top secret, you know~?”

“If you don’t show me, I’ll start dating Akira.”

“Muu. You’re so mean, senpai. Even though I think about you this much.”

Think about you, not care about you. Classic narrative trick.

“Show. Me. Your. Phone.”

“At least let me ask what you’re going to do?”

“I want to check the chat history with that brain-broken guy who ran away earlier.”

“It’s not that interesting, you know?”

“I at least want to grasp where the responsibility lies.”

“Well, fine I guess.”

Sudou Karma reluctantly handed over her phone. She still hadn’t deleted the account. The history was easy to see.

‘Senpai. So you started dating the Moonshadow Goddess. It’s complicated…’

‘Ahh. Tokoyami-senpai beat me to it~’

‘If senpai didn’t have a girlfriend I might have a chance’

‘Tokoyami-senpai is surprisingly extreme, isn’t she?’

‘If, just if I… no, this would be unfair, right? (sweat)’

And so on. Way more vomit-inducing comments than I expected were being sent toward that guy’s account. Any guy who sees this wouldn’t be able to avoid thinking the love-fallen angel was into him. I honestly want to see inside the head of this girl who sends such blatantly leading comments and thinks she won’t get blamed. No, she probably understands that’s why she chose me as her bodyguard.

“…………”

Back on the rooftop. While I was looking at Sudou Karma’s phone with a cold stare, she broke into a cold sweat and started making excuses.

“I just thought it might be nice, you know~? But it turned out not so much.”

“Leading a guy on this blatantly and then dumping him is straight-up sadistic.”

“Isn’t the guy who misunderstood the one at fault here?”

“Right now, I can’t find any words to defend you.”

Of course I knew the background behind it all.

“But I do think you’re nice, senpai. That’s true, okay?”

Of course that’s a lie, or rather, another narrative trick.

“Then if I said I like you, would you go out with me?”

“Can I think about it for a bit~?”

“Yeah, take all the time you need. You’ll just follow up anyway.”

When I said that, Sudou Karma looked at me like I was something from a sewage treatment plant. I didn’t mistake what that look meant.

“Then, senpai, let’s go on a date today too, okay?”

“Is Akira coming too?”

“Ehh. Personally~ I’d prefer it to be just the two of us~”

“If we do that, Akira will get in a bad mood.”

“So mean. Is Akira-senpai’s mood more important to you than mine, senpai~?”

“Absolutely.”

When I answered so plainly, Sudou Karma showed clear hatred toward me for a moment. But it was only for a second.

“But~ I’d really like it to be just me and Paisen, you know?”

She acted like she was a girl I was interested in and started flirting with me.

“Being alone with Paisen would make you happy, right?”

“Not really.”

“I’m the love-fallen angel, you know~? Shouldn’t you feel honored~?”

“Not really.”

“You’re so boring~. Paisen, are you serious about the Moonshadow Goddess?”

“No, in the first place I don’t feel anything for her.”

“Isn’t indifference the opposite of love?”

“The opposite of like is dislike. The opposite of plus is minus. Not zero.”

“Can you say the same in binary~?”

“Of course.”

Binary has negatives too.

“Then it’s decided. Just the two of us on a date. Promise, okay? Pai. Sen.”

“What am I supposed to tell Akira?”

The club entry novel was going smoothly so a day of dating wasn’t a problem. Still, I’m the scumbag at school who’s simultaneously dealing with both the Moonshadow Goddess and the love-fallen angel. How did a transfer student end up in this situation?

“Alright, I’ll be waiting at the shoe locker. If you’re late, you have to treat me one yen for every second, okay?”

Five minutes late would be three hundred yen. Sounds fair.

“No.”

Then I went back to class, attended lessons, and when I was getting ready to leave, Akira naturally appeared from the special advancement class on the same floor. Sabakutani Eri was standing next to me in a tailcoat today, cackling.

“I won’t allow a date with Sudou-san.”

“I wasn’t asking for your permission.”

“If it’s a date, I’ll go with you instead. That’s fine, right?”

“Today is with Sudou Karma.”

“If that’s how it is, I guess I have to kill her…”

Don’t say scary things.

“I’ll take you out next time.”

“I don’t like that you think that would convince me.”

“Then it’s rejected.”

“I don’t want that.”

Which is it? After going back and forth like that, I somehow got Akira to accept the date with Sudou Karma. At least as far as Akira was concerned. Then I linked arms with Sabakutani Eri in a lovey-dovey state and went to meet up with Sudou Karma.

“It’s perfect weather for a date, Paisen.”

“Are we really doing this?”

“Wanna go to a ramen shop? Tonkotsu date.”

“I’m fine with that. Is tonkotsu okay with you, Sudou?”

“I like tonkotsu~”

“What about Eri?”

“I love it. I’m totally down.”

Then that’s what we’ll do.

“Um, Paisen.”

Sudou Karma, walking beside me, spoke up.

“For some reason watching you right now is really irritating… I wonder why?”

It’s because she’s unconsciously ignoring Eri. Eri’s shadow camouflage isn’t making her literally transparent, it just prevents conscious recognition. Meaning on some deep subconscious level, she’s still sensing me being lovey-dovey with Eri.

“Let’s go eat some tonkotsu ramen then.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m looking forward to it too.”

Honestly, the albino beauty Eri with her white hair and red eyes is cuter than the love-fallen angel. Her breasts are bigger too. The feeling of her tits pressing against my arm is wonderful. Sudou Karma has loli big breasts too, but this girl hates me anyway.

“By the way, why do I feel so restless? It’s weird~”

Well, if she’s actually subconsciously sensing me flirting with Eri, of course she’d be dissatisfied as a date partner. Since her surface consciousness can’t recognize it, Sudou Karma can’t fundamentally acknowledge my lovey-dovey time with Eri.

“By the way, what’s your preference for noodle firmness?”

“Of course, the shop’s best.”

I sometimes think about it. When a ramen shop asks “How firm do you want the noodles?” isn’t “shop’s best” always the correct answer?