I’m a Telepath, but It’s Tough Because the Cool Beautiful Girl Next to Me Is Having Pink Thoughts - Chapter 12

The invitation was so sudden that I could only widen my eyes in surprise.

Only surprise and the straightforward question “Why…?” swirled in my mind.

Even if my telepathy had been working, I doubt the result would’ve been any different.

I glanced at her, then awkwardly let my gaze dart around the area.

“Um… I’m sorry for the suddenness…”

“N-no, it’s fine, but why?”

It wasn’t in my nature, but I just blurted out the question that popped into my head. I realized right after that maybe I should’ve thought a little more carefully before saying it.

Fair enough… She shrugged a little.

“I-I thought I hadn’t properly thanked you yet.”

“Thank me? …Oh.”

That incident with the molester.

She had thanked me for letting her stay over, but maybe not yet for helping her in the first place.

I couldn’t really remember. I’ve never been the type to worry about obligations, whether receiving or giving.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“No, I must! You really saved me… and after that too… It gave me so much courage!”

If it were a manga, the sound effects would be popping up around her.

She lowered her gaze, eyes flickering nervously all over the place.

“That’s why, thank you so much!”

“Y-yeah. Sure. You’re welcome?”

She bent into a bow so sharp it could’ve shocked a protractor.

I couldn’t tell if it was nerves or just her natural personality… but either way, I had to wonder how she managed to hold that posture.

“But if it’s just that, couldn’t it have been today… or even tomorrow?”

“U-um… That, too, is, um…”

She took a deep breath, as if to blow away her nerves.

She regained her usual sharp eyes and opened her mouth with full confidence.

“I would like…, to be friends with you!”

“Friends.”

I repeated the words that came to mind.

Friend? As in… that kind of friend? Not that I was imagining anything weird, but… really a friend?

I never thought those words would come from her; it caught me completely off guard.

“Yes, um… I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it, but I don’t have many friends…”

“…You always look surrounded by people.”

“That’s… well, it’s kind of like it is, but also kind of like it isn’t. I’m grateful to them, but there are some parts where we just don’t quite click.”

Oh, so that’s how it is after all.

I hadn’t read her mind much when she was with others, but it seems she really did feel that way.

“This morning too, I said it, didn’t I? Itsumi-san… I can just feel at ease with you.”

“…”

“And also… I went to all-girls schools in both elementary and middle school. Yesterday was my first time experiencing something like that… but for a long time, I’ve had a bit of a hard time around men.”

So she really was a sheltered girl.

In short, she just wasn’t used to guys.

“That’s why, um, someone like Itsumi-san is a first for me. I thought… Maybe if I’m with you, I can overcome that fear.”

“I see? You’re saying you’re trying to use me to fix your weaknesses.”

I deliberately put it in the harshest way possible.

“A-ah! No, I didn’t mean it like that at all! I don’t want to use you, I really just sincerely want to be friends with you!”

Tatsuki frantically waved her hands and tried to correct herself.

…She feels so different from the impression I’d had before. I never realized she could be this expressive. No, her actual expression was still pretty cool and composed, but even so.

“Haha, I know. I was just teasing. But if you put me up on a pedestal like that, you’ll make me nervous too.”

“T-that, I’m sorry.”

To be honest, she really was overestimating me. Or rather, it felt like she was putting too much trust in me.

If I’d been like that pervert from yesterday, what would she have done then?

I’m not, of course. But still, I don’t think my personality really makes me the right practice partner for her to get used to guys.

If she’s fine with it, then it’s alright, I guess.

“But still, couldn’t this have waited until tomorrow? You didn’t have to rush today.”

“They say to strike while the iron’s hot, right? Though… it did take me quite a while to actually say it.”

…Yeah. It’s easy to imagine she just couldn’t work up the courage until now. Seeing her like this, I can’t help but understand.

Since yesterday, my impression of her has completely changed…

“And besides, aren’t friends supposed to walk home together? I thought the timing was perfect.”

She said that as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Um… wait, really? That’s how it works?

Sure, I’ve walked to the station with Chihiro before, but… is that what makes someone a friend?

The sad part is, I don’t have enough friends to really say for sure. But still, the idea that friends walk home together makes me want to raise an eyebrow.

“So that’s what friends are?”

“Eh? I always thought so…”

Tatsuki tilted her head in confusion.

I’d always pegged her as some flawless pink thoughts, perfect human being… but maybe she isn’t as perfect as I thought.

Ah, except for her pink thoughts part. That much is beyond doubt.