I’m a Loner, Gloomy Guy Who Accidentally Witnessed the Moment the Top Girl in the Class Got Dumped. I Didn’t Know What to Say to Comfort Her, So I Just Gave Her a Cola and Somehow We Started Having Lunch Together~ - 19-20

Chapter 19: Pressed Together

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I sat on the edge of my bed in my room, reading manga, with Amamiya-san right beside me. As promised yesterday, she had come over to hang out at my place. The distance between Amamiya-san and me was incredibly small. There was practically no gap at all. It would not have been an exaggeration to say we were pressed together. As for how things ended up like this… It had started about ten minutes earlier.

Amamiya-san and I had entered my room together after she arrived at the house.

“Can I read some manga?”

“Go ahead.”

When I handed her a volume pulled from the bookshelf, Amamiya-san sat down on the edge of the bed. Then—pat, pat. She tapped the spot right next to her with her hand.

“Murase-kun, you sit too.”

“Yeah.”

Sitting side by side like this was something we always did during lunch breaks, even if the location was different. It was nothing new. If this had been when we first started interacting, it might have been different, but by now I did not get that nervous anymore. Believe it or not, I had grown too.

I sat down as instructed, leaving a small gap between us. Up to that point, everything was fine. The problem came after that. The moment I sat down, Amamiya-san lifted her hips. Then she slid sideways, closing the distance all at once. The space between us vanished, and we ended up pressed right against each other. That was how things came to be.

“…Isn’t this way too close?”

No matter how much I had grown, this was still too much. My body started trembling from the tension. But Amamiya-san said nothing. Whether she was too absorbed in the manga to hear me or simply did not care, she made no move to shift away and just kept turning the pages.

If this was how it was going to be, then I had to move myself…!

I wriggled my hips slightly, trying to put some distance between us. But Amamiya-san immediately closed the gap again, without a moment’s pause. It seemed she absolutely wanted to stay pressed against me. The distance was so close that Amamiya-san’s scent was delivered straight to my nose.

A pleasant floral fragrance wafted over. I started feeling like I was doing something forbidden. Pink fantasies spread through my mind, and my cheeks began to burn.

Th-this is bad…!

If this continued, my reason would collapse, and I would turn into a beast ruled by desire. I had to do something before that happened…! At that moment…

Ding-dong!

As if my wish had been answered, the doorbell rang, announcing a visitor.

“I’ll go see who it is!”

I jumped to my feet and hurried toward the front door. Normally I would leave this to Mai, but this time I had to be the one to answer. Before my reason collapsed and I turned into a beast, I desperately wanted to escape that close-contact situation.

Thank you, thank you.

Silently offering my gratitude to the benefactor who had shown up at such perfect timing, I opened the door with a smile.

“…Huh?”

That smile immediately froze. My supposed benefactor was someone completely unexpected.

“H-Hina?”

Why, and how..?

Those kinds of words flooded my mind.

“What are you spacing out for?”

“No, it’s just… I didn’t think you’d come. So… What are you here for?”

“It doesn’t matter, does it? I’m coming into your room.”

Hina brushed aside the hair falling over her shoulder irritably and started taking off her shoes. Just like last time, she had no intention of listening to my answer before coming in.

“…Sorry. Today might not be a good day.”

Normally, I would probably have backed off quietly, but today was different. Amamiya-san was in my room right now. If Hina joined us, another fight was as obvious as the sun rising from the east. I wanted to enjoy a fun day for once. No way did I want things to turn tense and uncomfortable. Sending her home was clearly the right call. But…

“…I knew it. It’s Yuuki-san after all.”

Amamiya-san had come over. She was standing on the stairs while looking down at Hina. Her eyes were icy cold.

“I heard a familiar-sounding voice, so I came to check… And just as I thought.”

“Huh!? Why are you here again!?”

Hina’s face twisted into displeasure. An abnormal level of hostility poured from her entire body.

“I’m coming in!”

“No, I’m saying today is a bit—”

But Hina did not stop. Ignoring my words, she stepped into the house and started climbing the stairs. Naturally, that led to her running straight into Amamiya-san, and a shouting match broke out. The two of them argued fiercely as they climbed the stairs, disappearing onto the second floor.

I don’t want to go back…

My room had probably turned into a battlefield by now. Who in their right mind would want to return to a place like that? But if I did not go back, that would cause its own set of problems. Reluctantly, I had no choice but to head up the stairs.

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Chapter 20: To Break the Tension

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“I’m going to go hang out alone with Masaki now. You’re in the way, so hurry up and go home.”

“You’re the one who came later, yet you sure say whatever you want. I was here first, you know. First come, first served!”

The moment I opened the door to my room, those voices flew straight into my ears. Just as I had expected, Amamiya-san and Hina were locked in a fierce argument. The air in the room was stretched tight with tension. The cause went without saying. It was Amamiya-san and Hina, glaring at each other with open hostility.

Compared to yesterday morning, the level of hostility was even worse, making the atmosphere so heavy it felt hard to breathe. Spending the entire day in this air was something I definitely couldn’t endure. At this rate, I was going to suffocate to death. I had certainly been hoping for some kind of change before Hina showed up, but this wasn’t what I meant.

One more time! Give me something, anything, to change this situation!

Just as I made that wish, the door clicked open. Mai entered the room.

“Excuse me. I brought some drinks.”

Yes! Perfect timing! If Mai was here, maybe the two of them would hold back a little and the fighting would calm down. As expected of my little sister. She really did the best possible job.

…Or so I thought. There were only three cups in Mai’s hands. Exactly the right number for the people present. Which meant she had no intention of staying this time.

This brat plans to just drop off the drinks and run!

She must have judged that staying in a space filled with such hostility would be awkward. I could tell from how her expression was slightly stiffer than usual. As expected of my little sister. Excellent judgment.

But not so fast!

“Well then, please enjoy yourselves.”

The moment Mai set the cups down on the table, she hurriedly tried to leave. But I wasn’t going to let her. I moved behind Mai and firmly grabbed both of her shoulders. I completely restrained her movement.

“Onii-chan, um, what are you—?”

As Mai turned around in confusion, I gave her a meaningful smile. A golden opportunity to change the situation had come. There was no way I was going to let it slip by.

“Since Mai’s here too, how about we all play a game together?”

“Absolutely not.”

My suggestion was rejected by Hina in less than a second.

“I refuse to play with Amamiya-san.”

“I don’t mind at all. I’m not like some coward somewhere who’s scared of losing.”

With her arms crossed, Amamiya-san puffed out her chest and let out a snort. She glanced at Hina with a smug expression. It was obviously a provocation.

“……Hey. Are you saying that about me, by any chance?”

“Who knows. But it sounds like you have some self-awareness at least.”

Snap.

A blue vein popped out on Hina’s forehead. That taunt was painfully obvious, but it worked perfectly on Hina, who had zero resistance to being provoked.

“Fine then, let’s do this! I’ll make you regret ever challenging me to a match!”

The air was still hostile. But somehow, I managed to change the situation.

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