My Beautiful Childhood Friend Is Working in a Maid Cafe For Some Reason - Chapter 88

Tadokoro said: “I’m being stalked.” For a moment, I couldn’t grasp what she meant.

“Tadokoro…”

“Yes…”

“Dreams are meant to be spoken when you’re asleep, you know?”

I couldn’t believe someone would stalk Tadokoro. If you asked me if I thought she wasn’t cute, I’d say she’s not bad. But that’s only because Yukina is always close by, and I think Yukina is the best. I don’t know how the world sees Tadokoro.

Maybe, just maybe, Tadokoro is actually a cute girl and I just haven’t realized it. She has a good figure, and if she’s often alone, it’s possible that some guy has taken an interest in her.

When I think about it like that, maybe it’s not such a far-fetched idea…

“Senpai, that’s cruel…I’m telling the truth…”

“Still…”

In fiction, stalking is a common theme. In reality, even though I’m not aware of it, stalking might be more prevalent than I think. After all, there’s someone close by who has done similar things.

“Stalking is the worst!”

Hey, Yukina, that’s a huge boomerang you just threw! You look cute when you’re mad, but that’s hitting you squarely.

“Yukina-senpai…You understand, right?”

“Hey, don’t cling to me. It’s hot.”

“Ugh, you’re so mean even though you’re kind…”

“Sigh…So, what exactly happened with this stalker?”

I asked to pull Tadokoro away from Yukina, even though I was a little jealous of how close they were. But Tadokoro continued clinging to Yukina while she started explaining.

“Senpai, do you really believe me?”

It seemed she was still holding a grudge for doubting her. She glared at me, so I raised both hands in surrender.

“My bad…”

“Yuu-kun, that’s impressive. Apologizing so sincerely, you’re a good boy.”

“Yukina-senpai, this isn’t the time for that, so please be quiet.”

The conversation was going off track, so I cleared my throat to bring it back.

“So, what exactly did this stalker do?”

“They didn’t do anything…It’s just that they’re always following me…It’s scary!”

“Well, stalkers do follow people…Do you have any idea who it could be?”

“No. I hardly talk to any guys.”

“Could it be a girl?”

“No way. I couldn’t see who it was, but they were wearing pants. Plus, do girls even stalk other girls?”

“It’s not impossible.”

There are girls who fall in love with other girls too.

“When did this start?”

“Remember when the three of us were having lunch in the cafeteria, and someone took our picture? It got posted online, and it’s been happening since then.”

“That was…more than a month ago, wasn’t it? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

“Because you and Akiba-senpai always say I’m annoying and loud…I thought you hated me, so I couldn’t say anything…I was being followed even during club activities…”

That must explain her strange behavior after our club meetings twice. Now it all made sense.

“Yuu-kun?”

Yukina glared at me, sending a chill down my spine. It seemed like she and Akiba were blaming me. Sure, saying those things was wrong, but Tadokoro is partly responsible too…Though I couldn’t bring myself to say that. No way could I say that to a fragile girl.

“I’m sorry…Even though Akiba and I said those things, it doesn’t mean we hate you.”

Just like I did with Yukina, I patted Tadokoro’s head to comfort her. I could feel Yukina’s sharp gaze from the side, but I hoped she would let it slide.

“Senpai…Have you become a womanizer lately? Please don’t do that so casually.”

See? This is what happens even when I try to be considerate. Annoying, right?

But she didn’t seem entirely upset, and the way her cheeks flushed slightly was oddly charming. Maybe this junior of mine is cuter than I thought.

As I was thinking that, Yukina pinched my wrist.

“That’s enough. How long are you going to keep petting her?”

“…Sorry.”

I knew she was jealous, so I obediently apologized and withdrew my hand from Tadokoro’s head.

“So, what are you planning to do?”

“I don’t know…”

“How about telling your parents?”

“They both work, so I don’t want to worry them.”

“Then I guess telling a teacher isn’t an option either.”

“Yeah, they’d definitely contact my parents.”

“Hmm…”

I couldn’t come up with a good solution. At this point, there was only one option: getting advice from a specialist.

“Alright. I’ll handle it, so just go home for now.”

“Can you really handle it?”

“You know Yuu-kun can get things done when he wants to.”

“Well…yeah, I guess.”

“If anything happens, contact me right away. I’ll come over.”

“Okay.”

Although Tadokoro said she was only being stalked on school days, I still worried, so I walked her partway home.

“Tadokoro said she got home safely.”

While I was walking her, I asked Yukina to wait. Of course, to get advice from her.

“That’s good.”

Yukina seemed relieved when I told her that Tadokoro had made it home safely. Since Yukina receives plenty of confessions herself, even though she doesn’t deal with stalkers, she might understand how Tadokoro feels.

“So, Yukina, what do you think we should do about this stalker?”

“As I thought, you didn’t have any plan, huh?”

“I can’t help it, can I? I’m that dense guy who didn’t even notice your actions.”

“That’s not something to brag about. Because of that, you didn’t realize my feelings for so long.”

“Sorry…”

“But right now, we need to deal with the stalker more than us.”

“Yeah. Do you have any ideas?”

“I do.”

As expected, Yukina, who has experience in this field, had a plan. I placed my hope in her.

“It’s simple. You just need to stalk the stalker. That way, you’ll quickly figure out who it is.”

I wasn’t quite sure what Yukina meant.

“So…in simple terms, you want me to become a stalker too?”

“That’s right. I want you to only look at me, Yuu-kun, but this time, I’ll make an exception. Just this once.”

“Uh…seriously?”

Honestly, I didn’t want to become a stalker. But since Yukina, the specialist, said that becoming one could save Tadokoro, I had to trust her.

“Okay…I’ll become a stalker.”

“You’re so cool, Yuu-kun.”

Though I felt that Yukina was heading down a bad path lately, I made up my mind to become a stalker.