I Was Unreasonably Dumped By My Girlfriend And Had My Heart Broken. When I Rescued A Beautiful Girl Who Was My Former Classmate And Idol In My Class From A Group Of Yarisa, My Gray College Life Started To Shine - Chapter 37
Episode 37: The Two In The Taxi On The Way Back
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After our visit, we left Aoba’s house.
We got in a taxi (or rather, we were given a ride) and headed back to school.
This is the second time in a taxi today, having taken one on the way here.
But, I still can’t get used to it, and I feel restless for some reason.
Such a commoner feeling, of course, wouldn’t be understood by the young lady.
“What’s wrong?”
Imazato-san, sitting in the seat next to me, tilted her head.
Did entering a girl’s room cause your heart to palpitate?
“No, absolutely not.”
I firmly denied it, so as not to be misunderstood.
She sighed and furrowed her brow.
“Is that so, that’s a shame.”
“…Why?”
“It’s because I wanted boys to be like that.”
I truly couldn’t understand her. While it might make sense in her mind, I couldn’t grasp her reasoning.
And even if such a conversation arose, I wouldn’t know how to respond.
I fell silent and looked out the window. After a while, I felt a light tap on my elbow, so I turned to Imazato-san.
She was looking out the opposite window and took out a piece of paper from her wallet, then handed it to me.
It was like the gesture of giving a bribe.
Maybe it’s money… I thought, but what she handed me were two taxi tickets.
“What’s this?”
“Would you mind going to check on her again later?”
“Go back to Aoba’s house again?”
“Yes, we need to see if the medicine has worked, don’t we?”
“Um…”
I looked puzzled as I simply stared at the taxi tickets.
“I have lessons to attend, so I can’t go. If you have other plans, it’s fine.”
I didn’t have any plans in particular. But I hadn’t considered going again. I intended to check her condition through messages.
“Imazato-san, you’re kind.”
I turned to her, still looking out the window and said. It was almost excessive. I wondered if there was a reason for it, and somehow suspected…
“…We humans tend to push ourselves too hard in our daily lives.”
“Huh, what? Is this a big deal?”
The reason was on a species-wide scale, Homo sapiens.
“You too, Nogami-san.”
“…Me? Well, I’m certainly a Homo sapiens.”
“Yes, you are. Therefore, I gave this to you so you could move around easily.”
I sort of understood yet didn’t. It was honestly vague, but anyway…
It was undoubtedly her way of caring.
However, accepting it was akin to receiving money.
If I were a cute girl, I’d say, “Is it okay?” in a sweet voice. But in fact, Imazato-san was the cute one.
I couldn’t accept this, not for my male pride.
“It’s okay, I’ll go by train if I go.”
“…I see. You’re different.”
“Not really. Besides, Aoba’s house and mine aren’t that far apart.”
“I see. Then, let’s forget about this.”
Imazato-san gracefully withdrew the tickets and put them back in her wallet. But this time, a gift card came out.
It was almost like money. And its face value was five digits.
“I don’t need that either, by the way.”
“I thought it would be nice for you to give her something she’d appreciate from you. It might boost her spirits to recover.”
“Why from me? Why not from you?”
“It would make her happier coming from you.”
I wondered what her basis was.
As I began to think that way, I felt a bit startled.
“Anyway, I can’t accept this. If I give something, I’ll buy it myself.”
“…I see. Then, let’s put this away too.”
She said so, and this time, she put the wallet back into her bag. I had been wary of being given cash earlier, but what actually happened was silence.
The driver didn’t say a word.
Only the sound of the taxi’s left turn signal blinks inside the car.
“…Ah, what was the hobby you mentioned earlier? Piano or something?”
I threw out a neutral question to keep the conversation going.
“It’s this.”
In response, she presented a gesture quiz.
She repeatedly brought her right index finger and thumb together and extended it forward.
There was only one thing that came to mind from that gesture.
“…Darts?”
It wasn’t something you’d typically learn, but it could be possible for a young lady.
She then peeled off a sugar packet, as she had done once in the cafeteria.
“No, today is flower arrangement.”
That gesture turned out to be the action of inserting flowers.
Certainly, that seemed more like a young lady.
“Someday, why don’t you try it too? It’s quite interesting.”
“…Is it something I can understand?”
“Yes, anyone can start easily. It costs about 5,000 yen per lesson.”
“That’s not easy at all. It’s quite heavy, actually, taking away a quarter of my living expenses.”
“Tea ceremony costs 10,000 yen.”
She seemed pleased with the conversation about hobbies.
After that, the conversation flowed smoothly, and the taxi eventually arrived at the university.