I’m an Introvert, but After Taking Care of the School’s Most Beautiful Girl Who Lives in an Apartment When She Was Sick, She Became Attached to Me and Started Inviting Me Over to Her Place! - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

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“Alright then, we’ll start by deciding groups first. Boys, gather toward the front of the classroom. Girls, to the back. As I said earlier, make groups of four or more.”

As the classroom buzzed with noise, the teacher’s instructions spread through the room, and the students who had been scattered around their seats cleanly split apart. Twenty boys. Eighteen girls. They divided between the front and back of the classroom, and the group selection began in earnest.

This group selection would basically determine the members they would spend time with at the amusement park, so the choice had to be made carefully. Still, the students who were visibly close with one another quickly formed groups on their own in no time at all. Meanwhile, Sorato and the others, who should have already had a fairly solid lineup, faced each other with slightly serious expressions.

“…Hey, you two. The teacher said four people, right?”

“Yeah… If we didn’t mishear him.”

“One more… We’re short, huh.”

That was right. Sorato, Tenma, and Kohaku. What they had was only “three” people, while the other groups were forming with five or six members. Tenma and Kohaku looked at Sorato with slightly clouded expressions.

“Huh? What? Why are you two looking at me?”

Sorato was confused by the sudden attention. The expressions on the two who turned toward him looked worried somehow, which only made Sorato’s sense of unease grow. When Sorato gave them a suspicious look, the two finally spoke up, hesitantly.

“Well, we do have someone in mind to invite…?”

“Yeah… I’ve got someone too, but I was wondering if you’d be okay with it, Sorato…”

“Ah… I see what you mean.”

The reason they had been glancing at Sorato was that, while they had candidates in mind to complete the group, they were worried about whether Sorato would be able to interact smoothly with them. Sensing the situation, Sorato relaxed, his cheeks loosening in relief since he had expected something worse.

“If that’s all, then it’s fine. It’s not like I hate communicating with people. You don’t need to worry.”

“That doesn’t sound like something someone who flat-out rejected Natsuki-san’s invitation would say.”

“Hey, don’t try to act cool.”

“…Should I just mark you absent on the day of the trip?”

After telling them they didn’t need to worry about him, he got back outrageously rude replies. He had already been troubled enough as it was, so he snapped back at them for dredging it up again.

“…So, who exactly are you thinking of inviting? Are you two talking about the same person?”

“Not exactly a person… More like merging with another whole group.”

“Ah, that’s what you mean. That would definitely be faster.”

“If Sorato’s okay with it, then it’s basically settled.”

The two nodded to each other. It seemed they were planning to absorb another entire group. Their network of friendships extended across various classes, wide enough to make Sorato wonder daily how they managed to get close to so many people despite being in different clubs.

Huh? But haven’t the boys already finished forming their groups?

Glancing around, Sorato noticed something off. The boys had already neatly split into groups of five, five, and seven, and there didn’t seem to be any group they could merge with. Too many people would probably just lead to disagreements anyway.

“Which group are those guys planning to invite—”

As he quietly watched their backs heading off, he lost his words midway. The people they chose were—

“Kaede~? Got a minute?”

“Saki~! Have you decided over there yet?!”

Of all things, it was a girls’ group.

I mean, I said it was fine, but girls?! I totally thought it’d be a boys’ group?!

Caught off guard by the unexpected choice, Sorato’s eyes widened. He had assumed they would be approaching a boys’ group, but instead, they were calling out to the girls. Tenma went to speak with his childhood friend Kaede, while Kohaku approached a girl called Saki.

“Oh, Tenma. What’s up?”

“Well, actually, we only managed to gather three people. Would you like to group up with us? Merge our groups, I mean.”

“Saki, Saki! Don’t tell me you guys are only three too?!”

“Huh? Yeah, we’re still just three for now.”

“Wow… They’re really flexing their communication skills to the max… No way I could do that.”

Left behind, Sorato muttered to himself as he watched the two of them each make their move on the girls. Unlike Sorato, they didn’t let their eyes dart around. They looked straight at their conversation partners. Confidence overflowed from every word they spoke. There was no way he could compete with that.

Huh…?

That was when he realized something. Tenma’s childhood friend Kaede and the Saki Kohaku was talking to—Saki Hiiragi—were in the same group. And judging from their conversation, it seemed they were also still only three people.

Then the last one might be…

At this point, becoming part of a girls’ group was something he could accept. That wasn’t the real problem. Kaede and Saki—and besides those two, there was one more person who gave Sorato the strongest sense of danger.

“So, that’s the situation… Would that be okay… Kaon?”

“Is that alright with you, Kaon-chan?”

The two girls turned their gaze toward the last member of their group. Silvery white hair, and pale aqua blue eyes. She alone radiated an outstanding presence.

“Of course! Of course! Nice to meet you, Natani-kun, Kudou-kun!”

Kaede Mizotani, Saki Hiiragi, and Kaon Natsuki. Those were the members of their group.

“(Nice to meet you~)”

“No way…”

Why, of all people, did it have to be her? If he hadn’t had that interaction yesterday, would he have thought nothing of this strangely lucky—or unlucky—draw today? That kind of escapist thought crossed his mind, but there was no escaping her smile.

The more he tried to avoid her, the more it felt like his connection with her was somehow deepening. That was how Sorato couldn’t help but feel.

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