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 37

Chapter 37

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“…-i… Onii…! Wake uuuup already~. It’s morning~”

Caught between drowsy haze and wakefulness, a familiar voice echoed in Sorato’s head like it was inside a tunnel. In his pitch-black field of vision, a sharp flash of light burst, and piercing sunlight streamed in. When he opened his eyes slightly, he saw his younger sister by his pillow. Her hair twisted and wavy from bedhead.

“Mmnh… Your hair’s a total mess.”

“I know… I’ve gotta fix it, but first, you need to hurry up and get up and make breakfast… I’m hungry.”

“Sausage? Ham?”

“Sausage…”

Still rubbing her sleepy eyes, Kanau swayed drowsily from side to side. Just after waking up, she looked even more childish than usual. With her usual bratty edge dulled, his sister looked obedient and cute, like a small child.

Sorato was definitely not a siscon…… Probably. Reluctantly pushing himself out of bed, air that wasn’t exactly cold but still chilly brushed against his toes, and the light pouring in through the window felt even more dazzling. He quickly peeled off his pajamas and slipped his arms into a well-worn dress shirt.

Grabbing only his phone from beside the pillow, he headed to the bathroom. Kanau, already dressed in her light-brown uniform, was combing her unruly hair. She glanced at Sorato’s face through the mirror and muttered, almost to herself.

“You really should’ve cut your hair sooner, Onii. I hated that messy otaku look you had before. This is way better.”

“I was just too lazy to bother, but yeah… Shorter really is better.”

“See? I’ve been telling you that forever. Anyway, your field trip is to an amusement park, right?  When is it again?”

“Huh? …Come to think of it, when is it?”

“Wow… You seriously don’t care at all, do you?”

It was only after his sister said that that Sorato realized he hadn’t actually kept track of the field trip schedule. He pulled his phone from his pocket and opened his chat with Kohaku. His fingers swiped rapidly, and he sent a message.

Sorato: “Morning, Kohaku. When is the field trip again?”

Kohaku: “Mornin’. This Friday.”

Sorato: “That’s in three days. I thought it was like next week.”

Kohaku: “I’m gonna set my hair three days after that so Natsuki-san can see it.”

Sorato: “Nice. Since you’re together anyway, you should really make a move.”

Kohaku: “I was shocked when I asked Saki and found out she was teamed up with Natsuki-san.”

Sorato: “Huh? Wasn’t that the plan? I figured you invited Hiiragi-san because you were aiming for Natsuki-san.”

Kohaku: “Nah, that wasn’t really on my plan. I just happened to invite Saki, and Natsuki-san was there too. It was a total lucky break.”

Sorato: “Don’t compare people to free rice cakes falling from the sky… Anyway, I’m gonna get ready.”

Kohaku: “You cut your hair, right? Might as well style it too.”

Sorato: “No way. I don’t want people thinking I’m some introvert trying too hard.”

Kohaku: “Nobody’s gonna think that. You’ve got good raw material. If you don’t use it, you’ll never get a girlfriend.”

Sorato: “I don’t really want a girlfriend. You’re the one who needs to try harder.”

Kohaku: “Yeah, yeah… I’ll do my best. Catch you later.”

“It’s Friday. This week.”

“Oh, that soon? Then you’ll be home late on Friday?”

Taking his eyes off the phone, Sorato looked at Kaede beside him. She had finished fixing her hair, tying her light-brown hair into a ponytail, and was now applying light makeup.

“Yeah. From what I heard, we’ll be back pretty late, so you can just eat out.”

“Roger. …Alright then, I’m heading out first~”

“Yeah. See you.”

He saw Kanau off at the front door while brushing his teeth, then casually swept his now-short bangs back with his hand.

“……”

“You really should’ve cut your hair sooner, Onii. I hated that messy otaku look you had before. This is way better.”

For Sorato, it had been a slightly bold move. The intimidating atmosphere of a pricey-looking shop was a pretty high hurdle, not to mention,  all the communication he’d had to get through to get his hair cut.  Somehow, he felt that praise for that effort was wrapped up in Kanau’s unusually honest words.

Alright… Kitchen’s good, living room’s good, grabbed bread for breakfast too…

“I’m heading out.”

After locking up the house, Sorato slipped on his shoes and muttered that to the empty home as he stepped outside while carrying a faint sense of excitement that felt different from usual.

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Rattle rattle~

“Oh, morning, Sorato. You look refreshed.”

“Whoa! You seriously chopped it all off! I didn’t even recognize you at first!”

“Huh!? Sorato-kun? Really!?”

“Suzuya-kun, you really did cut your hair.”

“You look much cleaner now.”

When Sorato entered the classroom, the members of his field trip group—who had apparently already arrived and were chatting—looked at him with surprised expressions and called out to him. He hadn’t styled it or anything, but compared to his former heavy, gloomy look, his smooth, short hair seemed to give off a much fresher impression.

“Morning. The wind feels super chilly, so it’s kind of weird.”

“I think losing that gloomy vibe is a good thing.”

“Your face is the refreshing type anyway. Long hair just didn’t suit you.”

“…You think so?”

“Totally! First time I’ve noticed, but Sorato-kun’s got a summer-orange kind of face!”

“Saki… Is that actually a compliment?”

Not expecting to be praised right after arriving at school—and especially by the girls—Sorato wore a soft, embarrassed smile. The expression that had once been hidden behind a pitch-black curtain was now visible to everyone.

Because the girls, who held considerable influence in the class, were interacting with Sorato, most of his classmates naturally turned their attention toward him. Accepting the curious stares that felt slightly uncomfortable, Sorato took his textbooks and tablet out of his bag. Just then, Kaon spoke up, as if remembering something.

“Oh, right, Suzuya-kun. We were just deciding on Ferris wheel pairs earlier.”

“Ferris wheel pairs? You mean riding in pairs of two?”

Being grouped together had naturally deepened everyone’s familiarity. Though Kaon and Sorato were outwardly hiding their temporary relationship, the pretext of “planning for the field trip” gave her an excuse to further engage with him. As for Sorato, after spending two intense days together, dealing with Kaon no longer made him nervous… As long as he ignored everyone else’s stares. By now, he was able to talk at least a little with everyone, including Saki and Kaede.

At that point, Kohaku added an explanation, following Kaon’s lead.

“Yeah, yeah. Apparently the Ferris wheel fits four people, but that makes the numbers awkward, right? So we figured we’d just ride in pairs of two. It’s more fair that way.”

It seemed that before Sorato arrived, they had been discussing how to split up for the rides. The field trip group consisted of three girls and three boys—six people total. Since the Ferris wheel seated four, they decided pairing up in two made more sense.

“I see. So the pairs are already decided?”

“Yeah, basically. Kaede and me, Hiiragi-san and Kohaku, and Natsuki-san with Sorato.”

“…Huh?”

Hearing the pairings made Sorato feel like his body had frozen.

Why am I with Natsuki-san!? Well, there are three guys, so pairing evenly isn’t possible, and that outcome is natural… But even so—

“Wait, then couldn’t we just split into three guys and three girls—”

“Sorato.”

Confused by the strange pairing, Sorato tried to object, but Tenma cut him off just before he could finish speaking. When Sorato looked at him with a questioning expression, Tenma seemed to be glancing repeatedly in a certain direction. Following his gaze, Sorato saw… Saki Hiiragi. She was also looking down shyly, and seeing that, Sorato began to understand the situation.

“(Could it be that Hiiragi-san likes Kohaku?)”

“(Yeah.)”

Responding with a glance of his own, Sorato realized his guess was correct. Saki had wanted to pair up with Kohaku. Riding the Ferris wheel alone together likely meant exactly what he thought, so he chose not to dig deeper.

But Kohaku is interested in Natsuki-san… Wow, this is complicated…

Sorato let out a mental sigh, taking a step back from the tangled web of emotions unique to student romance. He would never have guessed that Saki, who usually traded barbs with Kohaku on equal footing, could harbor feelings for him.

Do your best, Hiiragi-san.

With the group silently united in supporting her budding romance, their field trip was about to begin.

—Three days later…

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