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 51

Chapter 51

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“And then, you know, at that moment Saki—”

Bzz! Bzz!

“Hm?”

It was lunchtime. Kohaku, who had been wrapped in an end-of-the-world kind of gloom until that morning, finally seemed to have pulled himself together. And as usual, the three of them—Sorato, Tenma, and Kohaku—were eating lunch together.

As the conversation naturally grew lively with memories of the amusement park, Sorato’s pocket vibrated. He fished his smartphone out of his pocket, and on the lock screen a banner appeared reading, 『1 new message.』

Who’s it from… Wait, Natsuki-san?

He tapped the banner and unlocked the phone with Face ID. The first thing that appeared was the chat screen with Kaon. A message she had sent one minute earlier was displayed there.

Kaon: “Suzuya-kun, would you come over to my place today? I was thinking I’d like to see you, just the two of us, since it’s been a while.”

“Ghk!? Hff—!? Cough! Hack! Cough!”

“What’s wrong, Sorato? Did something go down the wrong way?”

“Jeez, slow down and eat properly, will ya? The rice isn’t gonna run away just because you don’t shovel it in.”

“I know… ghk…”

Why is she sending this now…!? I thought she wasn’t going to have anything to do with me anymore…?

Seeing the message, he reflexively swallowed the rice in his mouth without chewing and started coughing violently. Ever since the school trip, she had hardly sent him any messages or tried to contact him at all, so after her brief words of thanks following the roller coaster, he had assumed that would be the end of it. He thought that she would no longer have anything to do with him.

After all, Sorato believed that Kaon had approached him only to express her gratitude at the amusement park and to tell him that she thought of him “like an older brother.” In other words, he had convinced himself that she simply wanted to say thank you.

F-for now, I guess I’ll just reply… I’ll be back early after school anyway.

Sorato: “Understood. I’m planning to head home a bit earlier today, so I just wanted you to be aware of that.”

Kaon: “Roger that! I’ll be waiting♪”

That reply was fast. She read it immediately, too.

The speed of her response—almost as if she had known what he would say before he even replied—made him mutter internally. Of course, there was no way he could say anything about it to the other two, so he stayed quiet, but there was one question that wouldn’t leave his mind.

Why does she want to see me…? Wouldn’t Kaede-san or Hiiragi-san be better…? No, she said she thinks of me like a brother, so does that mean I have to go with that mindset too…?

This was Sorato’s ever-recurring “Why me?” theory. When invitations like this came from Tenma or Kohaku, he replied immediately without giving it much thought. But when the other party was the most beautiful girl in the school—someone worlds apart from him—the situation was completely different.

Why had she chosen him? Was there some reason it had to be him? He desperately searched for explanations to convince himself, bordering on escapism. Thump, thump—his heart rate climbed.

Huh? Was my heart pounding this hard the last time I went?

The violent pulsing that felt like it might be audible to others, the strange sense of exhilaration, the slight chill in his fingertips, and his shallow breaths as if he were taking in oxygen in short bursts. He had visited her house twice before, yet he had never felt his core tremble like this.

“It kind of feels like… Right before the start of a hundred-meter dash…”

“Hm? Sorato, are you feeling unwell?”

“Huh? Did you catch your little sister’s cold or something? Don’t push yourself, man.”

“No, it’s not that… Well, whatever.”

““…?””

Meanwhile, the very person who had invited Sorato was—

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“Hey, hey, Kaede! I invited Sorato-kun over to my place today!”

“Oh? Just be careful not to trouble him too much, okay?”

“Ehehe, I’m looking forward to it~♪”

On the school building’s rooftop, Kaon was eating with Kaede, wearing a beaming smile. That expression, tinged with a faint anxiety and a blush, was an innocent look she would never normally show.

Kaon seems to be inviting him over just as a friend, but… Suzuya-kun is technically the opposite sex. Will he be okay…?

Behind that smile, Kaede found herself thinking about Suzuya, the one who had been invited. Because she remembered what Tenma had said—“He’s not very good with the opposite sex”—a sense of worry settled in her chest.

Their acquaintance had been brief, but he likely wasn’t the type who could easily refuse anyone’s invitation. All the more so when the inviter was Kaon. Torn between wanting to respect Kaon’s happy smile and feeling that, as a friend, she ought to say something, Kaede found herself conflicted.

There must have been something that made Kaon open her heart to Suzuya-kun this much, and today’s invitation is probably just an expression of trust as a friend…But I hope Suzuya-kun isn’t overthinking it too much…

“Kaon, don’t push Sorato-kun too hard, okay?”

“Fufu~. I know!”

Having no way to stop Kaon at this point, Kaede could only sincerely hope that Sorato—the one being invited—wouldn’t worry himself too deeply.

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I’m going to Natsuki-san’s house again…? Last time couldn’t be helped because she was sick, but this time she’s probably perfectly fine, right? And back then I was so focused on taking care of her that I didn’t have time to think, but I even went into her room and held her hand…!?

“Ugh… Ughh…”

“Sorato…? Are you really okay, man…?”

Needless to say, Kaede’s hopes were in vain, as Sorato could do nothing but clutch his head in distress.

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