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 46

Chapter 46

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“Come to think of it, didn’t we come here once when we were around elementary school age?”

“Yes. It should have been when we were in fifth grade.”

“You remember that well. All I remember is riding those kiddie go-karts with you… I think?”

“Whether you remember or not, you got lost here, didn’t you? Auntie and I were so worried.”

“Ahh… Now that you mention it, that did happen, huh? Though the truth is, I was just looking at stuffed animals at a nearby stall.”

Having settled into watching over Kohaku and Saki, the two straightened their posture and, seated side by side, began reminiscing about their memories of this amusement park they had once visited before. The moment that had remained most vividly in their shared memories was when Tenma had been lured away by merchandise at one of the stalls and wandered off.

Without a word, when Kaede—who had been holding his hand—noticed the sudden emptiness in her palm, the small Tenma had already disappeared into the crowd.

“At the time, Auntie was frantic. You’ve always been hard to read… Even I couldn’t really tell what you were thinking.”

“Haha. Sorry for all the trouble. You’ve always looked after me like that, Kaede, and it’s been a huge help.”

“Maybe it’s because there were just too many situations where I had no choice but to do so… I naturally ended up taking care of you.”

Ever since he was young, Tenma had always seemed somewhat absent-minded, and he spoke far less than he did now. To anyone around him, it was difficult to tell what he was thinking. One moment he’d been walking right beside you, and the next, you’d think he had vanished somewhere, only for him to casually return to your side as if nothing had happened. Because of that strange air Tenma carried, Kaede—the one and only childhood friend who had stayed by his side all these years—had no choice but to take care of him.

“…More importantly, how is it? My friends… Do you think you can manage to fit in with them?”

“Yes. I haven’t spent nearly as much time with them as you have, so I can’t say for sure, but they both seem like good people.”

“I’m glad to hear that even you, Kaede, can get along with them. After all, you’re someone who isn’t very comfortable around the opposite sex. I was especially worried about whether you’d be able to mesh with Sorato.”

“…Huh? Suzuya-kun?”

“Yes, yes. Sorato’s the type who isn’t very good with the opposite sex either, just like you.”

Hearing that unexpected fact from Tenma, Kaede simultaneously pictured Sorato’s face and Kaon’s. There was something only Kaede knew, that Sorato and Kaon had recently grown much closer due to a certain incident.

Kaede herself had been the one who created that opportunity, but she had honestly been surprised to see Kaon—who normally never took the initiative with boys—become that proactive. She felt she had a rough grasp of what had happened, but perhaps scattered within those events were the reasons Kaon had become so assertive.

“By the way, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“…Well, does Natani-kun like Kaon?”

For just that moment, Kaede’s expression tightened slightly in awkwardness. The topic she brought up was unexpectedly about Tenma’s friend, Kohaku. Both Kaede and, faintly, Saki had sensed it. The magnitude of his feelings toward Kaon was far greater than what he showed toward anyone else on the surface.

“Oh? That’s rare. Kaede taking an interest in someone else’s romance.”

“It’s not that I’m interested, exactly… I’d just never seen anyone be that proactive with Kaon before, so I was honestly surprised.”

“Well, he’s simple and stupid enough that even you—who’s clueless about that sort of thing—noticed. He doesn’t know any other way. For better or worse, he’s straightforward, and a good guy.”

“That’s impressive. A lot of people say Kaon is cute, but he has the drive to act on it and he clearly understands where Kaon draws the line of what makes her uncomfortable.”

“If the other person weren’t Natsuki-san but an ordinary woman, she probably would’ve fallen for Kohaku right away. He’s handsome, after all.”

“I wonder how Kaon feels about him. Seeing that she doesn’t look unhappy being grouped with him like this, the impression she has about him can’t be bad. She’s the type who clearly says no when she dislikes something.”

The gondola reached its peak and soon began its gentle descent. As the distant scenery gradually drew closer, what unfolded between them was—if one had to put it into words—a sharing of information, learning sides of their group members that others didn’t know. Neither Kaede nor Tenma felt bad about hearing their friends praised. And for some reason, every time their friends were complimented, they felt just a little proud themselves.

“Ah, right. I actually had a question for you too. It’s about Natsuki-san.”

“Kaon? Why that girl—”

“Natsuki-san, and her partner on this Ferris wheel… Sorato. What kind of relationship do they have, exactly?”

“…!”

That sharp gaze—though lacking any intent to accuse—tightened the screws on Kaede’s completely relaxed posture in an instant. There was one more thing Kaede remembered about Tenma.

He had always had sharp instincts, and even as a child, he occasionally made remarks or observations that didn’t seem fitting for someone his age. Yet he never really put that talent to use, and it had lain dormant in recent years. Kaede hadn’t expected to see it surface again here.

“I don’t know much about Suzuya-kun, so I can’t say anything myself. Kaon aside, that is.”

“Hmmm? It just seemed to me that when Sorato talked with Natsuki-san, he had a slightly different air about him compared to when he talked with you or Hiiragi-san.”

“I told you already. I don’t know anything. And if those two have built some kind of relationship without us knowing, and haven’t said anything about it, then that’s their wish to avoid unnecessary speculation.”

“…That’s true. Sorry. I was overthinking it.”

“If you’re that curious, then you should look into it yourself.”

She felt she had somehow cobbled together the most reasonable explanation she could, but whether it had truly reached him was something Kaede had no way of knowing. She also didn’t know why Tenma had chosen this moment—when they were alone—to ask, nor what meaning he sought even if he did receive an answer. The only thing she understood clearly was that the childhood friend sitting beside her wore a slightly complicated, clouded expression on his face.

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