Chapter 21 – Witnessing My Ex-Girlfriend on a Date

The flavors Matsumaru-sensei ordered were matcha and vanilla.

I’m surprised to find that, somewhere along the line, I’d started hoping for some kind of bizarre combination.

Vanilla is a safe bet, and matcha is a classic, popular ice cream flavor.

Returning from the counter, Matsumaru-sensei sat down next to me without a moment’s hesitation. And just like that, the terrifying tableau was complete: Nee-san in front of me, Matsumaru-sensei beside me.

If I had to look on the bright side, they both had good looks, at least.

Anything other than their looks… was a different story. Both of them were… unique.

“Akira-kun, that strawberry ice cream looks so lonely in its cup. Would you mind if I had some?”

“I would mind.”

“Are you thinking it would be an indirect kiss? Oh, how cute.”

Sorry, but that didn’t even cross my mind for a millisecond.

I just didn’t want her bogarting my ice cream.

Besides, the double scoop Matsumaru-sensei ordered was two regular-sized scoops. That’s way too much, if you ask me.

“Aki-kun, if you can’t finish your ice cream, your big sis will eat it for you.”

“I’m just eating it slowly.”

That’s right. I’m the type of person who is particular about my food.

Savoring the flavor of each and every bite.

I place just a tiny amount in my mouth, chew it deliberately, and use my entire tongue to experience the dish.

When people in Sasebo think of a gourmand, they think of Akira Yamabuki. At least, that’s how anyone who knows me would see it.

“That’s right. You and your big sis have already kissed directly, haven’t you? An indirect kiss just isn’t stimulating enough, so you’re holding back.”

“Oh my, incest?”

Don’t say things like that in front of ice cream.

“It’s just a matter of time.”

“Now that’s a statement I can’t let slide as a teacher.”

Nee-san is an idiot.

After all, the person sitting here is my homeroom teacher.

But Matsumaru-sensei seemed to think Nee-san was just joking. She didn’t look like she was taking it seriously at all; she was just laughing, amused.

It seems she still doesn’t understand what kind of person my sister is.

Sooner or later, Nee-san is going to assault me.

Which means I probably need to take countermeasures ahead of time. Like casting a protective ward on my bedroom against her. The only problem is that I can’t use magic.

Right, no problem.

If I can just hold out until I’m 30, I’ll probably become a wizard.

At last, Matsumaru-sensei finished her ice cream, and the time for my liberation arrived.

Still, she really put that away.

Normally, if you eat that fast, you get brain freeze, but she devoured the whole thing in about thirty seconds.

Zing!

“You really like ice cream, don’t you?”

“I like it about as much as I like you, Akira-kun.”

“That’s not nearly enough. I love Aki-kun more than anything else in the world.”

Don’t compete over something like that.

“What an interesting thing to say. In that case, I love ice cream more than anything else in the world.”

“Doesn’t that just make it a tie with Aki-kun? I win.”

“There’s no winning or losing in love. You’ve never had a boyfriend, have you? You’re clearly a virgin.”

“I’ll be graduating from that with Aki-kun soon, so don’t you worry!”

We will not be graduating.

Please don’t drag me into this.

“I’ll teach you the right way to do things.”

“I think it’s about time I headed home. Thank you for today. Goodbye.”

After making sure to put my cup in the trash can, I fled the ice cream shop.

For the record, I’m a cup-over-cone kind of guy.

Although lately, I’ve been thinking about the environment and wondering if I should switch factions to the cone side. It’d be nice if my choice could help save the planet.

Nee-san must have gotten held up by Sensei; she didn’t chase after her beloved little brother.

It’s a classic Sasebo thing, but Gobangai is the standard hangout spot for middle and high school students, so if you go on a weekend, you’re guaranteed to run into someone you know.

Today’s incident with Matsumaru-sensei was one example, but the other day I ran into a friend from middle school while I was wearing a tracksuit.

She’s a pretty cute girl, so I remember being a little embarrassed.

And, fundamentally, this place is a date spot.

My last date with Chifuyu was here, and so was our first date, and our second.

In other words, all of our dates were at Gobangai.

To be precise, they included Gobangai… but such minor details don’t matter right now.

“You look cute today too, Chifuyu.”

“You think? Thanks.”

Gobangai, a place where you’ll always run into someone.

Even though I’d already run into Matsumaru-sensei today, now it was time for my ex-girlfriend to make an appearance.

She was walking along, looking chummy with that refreshing, handsome-type guy. The scene was almost identical to the one I’d happened to witness back when we were dating.

However, there was one major difference from last time.

—The two of them were holding hands.

And not just holding hands—it was the lover’s hold.

The way of holding hands that requires the advanced technique of intertwining your fingers.

Wasn’t this absolute proof that Chifuyu and Mr. Refreshing were dating? This was all the confirmation I needed.

They got on the escalator side-by-side, still holding hands.

Making sure I wasn’t noticed, I waited until they were out of sight before following them. Taking the escalator to the next floor up would lead to a small arcade.

I’ll just burn the image of them playing a cutesy crane game into my memory.

As a fellow member of the go-home club, and as her ex-boyfriend, it’s not so bad to watch over Chifuyu’s new love.

I was aware of how pathetic and sneaky I was being, but it couldn’t be helped.

I hid behind a photo booth in the back and watched them.

Mr. Refreshing seemed to be glancing back nervously, but he didn’t appear to have noticed me.

Chifuyu was dressed more sportily than she ever was on our dates, wearing a combination I’d never seen before: a breathable-looking white shirt and black shorts.

In contrast, Mr. Refreshing wore a pair of slim-fit jeans that ended at his ankles and a black, short-sleeved T-shirt with “I am a human” printed on it.

His slender arms, sticking out from the sleeves, showed no signs of a tan.

They had a translucent quality, like a girl’s skin. A pretty boy like him probably takes good care of his skin.

“Shigure, you were getting hit on by high school girls again today, weren’t you?”

“Honestly, being this popular is a real pain.”

So his name is Shigure. Sounds like a handsome guy’s name.

Mr. Refreshing, a.k.a. Shigure-kun, started to take out his wallet in front of a crane game where you could win a stuffed character from U-Melody.

Is he planning to win one for Chifuyu?

Then again, I never knew Chifuyu was a U-Melo fan.

“Shoot. I don’t have any change, so I’m gonna go get some. Wait here a sec.”

Shigure-kun flashed Chifuyu a smile, his voice androgynous and refreshing.

Even watching from a distance, his radiance was almost enough to make me dizzy.

“You’re Chifuyu’s ex-boyfriend, right? What are you doing here?”

—Huh?

I had assumed Shigure-kun had gone to the change machine and had let my guard down.

Suddenly, a refreshing voice called out to me from behind.

“Uh, I wasn’t really…”

What was the right thing to say to Chifuyu’s current boyfriend?

For once, I could feel sweat trickling down my face out of sheer panic.