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~ - 52

Chapter 52: My Little Sister’s Friend

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After finishing lunch, I flopped onto my back on the living room sofa at home. I was lying there while fiddling with my smartphone.

“Ahh… What a bliss.”

I muttered it slowly, savoring the feeling. In a room chilled by blasting air conditioning, I sprawled out without restraint. This was truly the ultimate way to spend summer vacation. To an outgoing type who seemed to be enjoying their youth to the fullest, it might look more like, “The best way to spend summer vacation? Obviously the pool or the beach! Staying home is such a waste!” or something like that.

But honestly, who cares? Everyone spends summer vacation their own way!

I was nodding to myself in agreement when—thump—a sudden weight landed on my stomach. Mai had plopped herself down on top of me.

“…Using your own brother as a chair takes some real nerve.”

“It’s fiiine~. This is Mai’s special seat!”

“Is it? That’s the first I’ve heard of it…”

“More importantly, Onii-chan! Lying down right after eating is so sloppy!”

“You don’t get it. There’s a perfectly valid reason for this.”

I snorted dismissively at Mai as she scolded me.

“Going out yesterday used up a ton of my stamina. I’ve gotta recover from that today.”

Yesterday, the first day of summer vacation, Amamiya-san, Takashiro-san, and I had gone to see a movie together. What I gained from that experience was something priceless. It really was an amazing movie.

However…

The price I paid for going out in that sweltering heat was having my stamina completely drained. Today, I needed to recover what I’d lost. Rest today because I worked hard yesterday. Life’s all about balance.

“But I went out yesterday too, you know.”

“Don’t lump us together. There’s a gap between our stamina levels as wide as heaven and earth. And of course, I’m the one on the lower end.”

“I’m worried about your future, Onii-chan.”

“…Don’t say that in such a serious tone.”

Mai, who had suddenly started sounding like a worried mother, stared straight at me. Her eyes, opened wide with concern, clearly reflected genuine worry. I’d meant it mostly as a joke, yet she’d fired back with something completely unexpected. That surprise attack dealt a serious blow to my pride as an older brother.

Ding-dong!

As if mocking my wounded heart, the doorbell rang to announce a visitor.

“She’s here!”

Mai hopped off my stomach and dashed energetically toward the front door. Now that I thought about it, hadn’t she mentioned something about a friend coming over today…? The moment I remembered that, my eyes flew open. I couldn’t just lie here! I had to escape this room. fast!

When Mai hung out with friends, she used the living room instead of her bedroom. At this rate, I’d definitely run into whoever had come over. Unlike me, an introvert, Mai had an incredibly wide social circle. There was a very real possibility that the friend visiting was some ultra-extroverted type. If someone like that saw me like this, it’d be a total disaster.

“Ew, what’s with this gross shut-in? Creepy.”

I was sure they’d laugh at me just like that. And if that happened, Mai’s reputation would take a hit too. It was one thing if I got mocked, but causing trouble for Mai was unacceptable.

As her brother, I couldn’t drag my little sister down. Which meant there was only one option: act. I had to disappear from here before her friend entered the living room.

“I’m gonna do this!”

Turning into a demon of decisive action, I hurriedly tried to sit up and head back to my room. But then, an emergency occurred.

“Gah!? Nghuuuuuh!!”

A sharp, searing pain shot through my calf. As I tried to get off the sofa, my right leg cramped.

“Why now of all times!? Are you kidding me, damn it!!”

No matter how forcefully I screamed my resentment, the pain refused to ease. I tumbled off the sofa and writhed across the floor, clutching my right knee with both hands.

“I have to get out of here fast! If that’s how it’s gonna be…!”

I tried to force myself to stand, but time ran out. The living room door opened.

Ah… You’ve gotta be kidding me. Sorry, Mai. Please forgive your useless older brother…!

I felt like I was about to cry, when…

“…Huh?”

The person who entered the living room with Mai was a beautiful girl with long silver hair and blue eyes. Seeing her, I let out a dumbfounded sound.

“So the ‘friend’ was… Runa-chan. Thank goodness…”

I released a deep sigh of relief. Not only was it someone I knew, it was someone who would absolutely never make fun of me.

She was Runa Yuzuki-chan. Mai’s classmate, and the two of them were best friends. Runa-chan had already come over to this house many times before. Because of that, we were close enough to joke around with each other.

But it had taken quite a while to get to that point. I wasn’t one to talk, but Runa-chan was extremely shy. At first, she’d been scared of me and wouldn’t say a single word. Still, little by little, she started talking, and over time we built the relationship we had now. Runa-chan was completely free of bad-mouthing others. She was a genuinely kind girl.

She wouldn’t laugh at me, and of course, Mai’s reputation wouldn’t suffer either. If it was Runa-chan, there’d been no need to panic.

Well… A little too late for that now though.

“Hello, Onii-san. Thank you for having me.”

“Yes. Welcome.”

She really was polite. What a good kid! As Runa-chan bowed her head, a smile naturally spread across my face.

“So… What are you doing, Onii-chan?”

Mai stared coldly at me as I lay on the floor clutching my right knee. Oh crap, I was still like that. The pain was already gone, but I’d completely forgotten to stand up.

“…Uh, I was stretching. Even if it’s summer vacation, it’s not good to laze around all the time.”

“You’re very mindful of your health, Onii-san. That’s wonderful…!”

“Ah, thank you, Runa-chan.”

I laughed awkwardly and stood up. I felt Mai’s gaze sharpen, but I pretended not to notice and let it slide.

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