Chapter 44

Thanks to Satoru’s bold action, Reika was in an extremely good mood and blazed through the rest of the work at lightning speed.

Even though it was well-known that she was always efficient, the fact that she could still push her pace even further was nothing short of astounding.

“…With that, we’re done with everything that needed to be done today.”

“There was nothing for me to do. I was just kind of here…”

“Fufu, that’s not true, you know? The reason I got so motivated was because of that kiss you gave me.”

“You don’t have to say it so clearly. Like, seriously—can’t you at least act a little shy about it or something?”

“I could do that if you wanted, but wouldn’t you just say, ‘Don’t pretend to be shy now’ or something like that?”

“Yeah, I probably would.”

“Right?”

After hearing that, Satoru realized just how much of a pain he must seem like.

“Man… I’m starting to sound like one of those annoyingly nitpicky guys who always has to throw in a quip no matter what.”

“Fufu, you’re a spoiled little boy, after all. Maybe it’s not that far off.”

“Not sure what that has to do with being spoiled, but… that stings. I mean, being trouble is one thing, but a difficult  guy? That’s just hopeless.”

“If you want to fix it, I could try being less indulgent with you?”

“Nope. Absolutely impossible. Wait… are you getting into this whole ‘pull away from me and see how I react’ act lately?”

“Because it works like a charm. If I want you to be honest, this is currently the most effective method.”

“Maybe I should just cry or something…”

“Oh my, are you trying to copy me when I get sulky?”

“That was the idea, but… I feel like it wouldn’t work at all…”

“If you actually cried, I’d be nice to you, sure. But… I might feel the urge to report it to Chisa-chan, though.”

“…Even just imagining that is terrifying. That’ll be something she’d tease me about until the day I die.”

Even though he trusted his sister more than anyone, when it’s about Reika, she became a whole different kind of problem.

Not only that—she was like a beast constantly sniffing out new material to tease her brother with.

If it ever got out that “during high school, he cried in front of his beloved girlfriend,” it was obvious that she’d never let him live it down.

As if dealing with Reika alone wasn’t already a losing battle in terms of one-on-one mind games, throwing in his sister as her ultimate backup left Satoru with zero chance of winning.

He had no choice but to resign himself to that fact.

※※※

“Hey, isn’t Ruri in, like, a really bad mood today?”

“Ah… yeah, seems like it……”

After club activities ended, a fellow member whispered to Seiya and glanced toward Ruri with a wry smile.

As the team manager, she was doing her usual tasks—but it was obvious she was talking a lot less than usual.

Not only that, she barely smiled, and whenever she wasn’t talking to someone or focused on something, she gave off this aura that made you think, “Is she upset?”

It was rare—extremely rare—for Ruri to show that kind of mood.

Which is why even the other club members were picking up on the unusual vibe today.

Clearly, her attempt to approach Satoru hadn’t gone well.

And more than that, the fact that she had been directly thwarted by Reika Hatsune—a girl who was practically her complete opposite—was eating at her.

“What happened? Some new guy problems or something?”

“Hmm… not really sure myself. But just from the looks of things, I’d say it’s best not to poke the bear.”

“Damn. I was thinking of maybe chatting her up and seeing if something might happen, but… guess I should pass?”

“Yeah, definitely don’t. If you try that now, she’ll legit beat the crap out of you.”

Ruri was always a girl people were chasing.

She was beautiful, had an incredible figure, a bright personality—basically, she checked every box as an ideal, popular girl.

On top of that, she had a history of dating lots of guys, so there were plenty of hopefuls who thought they could charm their way in.

A lot of them probably believed they’d be able to move fast in a relationship with her, too.

Normally, Ruri wouldn’t show displeasure toward any guy, no matter who it was, so she seemed approachable. Guys looking to make a move saw her as an easy conversation starter.

But right now—just this once—Seiya could see that anyone who tried to approach her was risking their life.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was in the worst mood she’d ever been in.

“If you’re saying it, Seiya, then it’s gotta be serious. Guess I’ll give up for now.”

“She’s not gonna stay mad forever. Just try again some other time when she’s back to normal.”

…Then again, the fact that this guy was already calling it a “chance” kind of meant Ruri would never go for him anyway.

Once the club was done for the day, Seiya began walking home alone.

Usually, he’d head back together with Ruri at least partway, but given how she was acting today, he figured it was best not to bother.

Actually—it was more accurate to say she was so intimidating that he literally couldn’t bring himself to speak up.

“Hey, why didn’t you say anything when we were leaving?”

“Whoa!?”

He turned around in shock—Ruri had apparently run to catch up and was standing behind him, breathing heavily.

“W-What the hell!? You… I mean, come on, you were totally giving off murderous vibes! I’ve never seen you in such a bad mood!”

“…Can you blame me? It turned out to be the worst possible outcome.”

“You really can’t get over Hatsune-san cutting in like that, huh?”

“Of course not! Try putting yourself in my shoes for a second. You’re talking to someone you like, and suddenly someone you hate butts in. How would you feel?”

“That’d suck. And to top it off, that someone’s popular too…”

“Right? Like, what’s her deal? She didn’t seem interested in guys at all, and now suddenly she’s acting like he’s hers or something? I can’t stand it.”

“I get how you feel. But maybe you should try switching gears a bit. Otherwise, Satoru’s gonna pick up on it too, you know?”

“You don’t have to tell me that. I am switching gears. From now on, I’m going all out on the offensive.”

The way Ruri declared that without a hint of hesitation made Seiya realize—once again—just how serious she really was.