My Mental Choices Are Completely Interfering with My School Romantic Comedy - Volume 1 Chapter 2.2: The True Story of Yukihira Furano

Volume 1 Chapter 2.2: The True Story of Yukihira Furano

Suuuuupii

The young girl was holding a blanket like a body pillow, sleeping soundly, a look of complete comfort on her face.

Despite knocking several times, there was no response, so I reluctantly entered the room. Even when I got this close, there was no sign of her waking up.

Mufufu… fu… Munya

I woke up an hour ago, did the laundry, and even prepared breakfast, yet this girl, who’s living with me, is still blissfully sleeping away. Why is she allowed to sleep like this?

…How did this happen?

Muttering to myself, I think back on the events of last night that led to this unknown creature named Chocolat to be living under my roof.

***

“God…?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

God? What is this girl talking about all of a sudden? Normally, I’d laugh it off, but Chocolat’s eyes were pure, almost too earnest, and there was no hint of a joke.

“Ah, Kanade-san, I see that you don’t believe me.”

“Ah, ah, even if you suddenly say something like ‘God’… huh?”

At that moment, as if to match my words, my phone buzzed with a new message. Taking it out, I looked at the sender—it said “God.”

God? I don’t remember registering that name. And at this timing… I felt a strange, unsettling sensation, so I opened the message titled “Curse Breaking Mission.”

《Make Yukihira Furano laugh from the bottom of her heart. Deadline: May 8th (Wed).》

What is this? Yukihira? Why is her name coming up here? Even as a prank, the message makes no sense. What’s going on?

As my mind spun with confusion, my phone rang with an incoming call.

“Ah, it’s probably from God!”

Chocolat said brightly, and when I looked at the display, it showed the same “God.”

Can a phone even display a name for a contact that hasn’t been saved? Is it possible… that the one on the other end is something beyond human comprehension?

“…Hello?”

I hesitated and placed the phone to my ear.

《Hallo there, it’s God~ 》

The voice that came back was surprisingly light.

《Oh, oh, Kanade-kun, lemme guess, you don’t believe me?》

“Who are you?”

This is… God? I must have been an idiot to have almost believed it. My mood dropped, and I responded with a bit of irritation.

《Eh? I’m saying I’m God you know, God. You could say I’m like, one of those ‘new world gods,’ aigh?》

What’s with this guy… he’s so nonchalant.

“So, what exactly does this ‘God’ want with me?”

I wasn’t thinking of him as a god anymore, but I played along, trying to figure out what was going on.

《Eh, you’re jumping right into it? Haha, you’re so impatient.》

This guy… he’s not a god, just some cocky dude.

“Are you really God?”

《Huh? You don’t believe me? Well, Kanade-kun, let me tell you, my godliness is, like, on a whole new level—New World God level!》

I couldn’t understand a word of this.

“Then show me proof.”

《Proof?》

“Yeah, as a god, you should be able to ride clouds or make thunder strike from your staff, right?”

Of course, I didn’t actually believe that, but I was curious to see how he’d respond.

《Ugh, that’s so old-fashioned! Kanade-kun, your imagination’s so poor!》

…This is irritating. This guy is really getting on my nerves.

《But, you know, I can still do some pretty amazing stuff.》

“Then show me proof of that!”

《Okay, okay, here’s something for you.》

“Huh?”

The moment his words ended, an overwhelming sense of discomfort hit me.

What… is this?

It felt like I was no longer myself, like I was in a place I didn’t belong.

But I couldn’t figure out what was happening.

《Hehe, try touching your chest.》

It was as though this guy had read my mind.

“My chest? Why would I… huh?”

What is this? It felt like nothing I’d ever experienced before, soft and… strange.

I touched it again… fyon.

One more time… taputapu.

Again… bounce.

《I turned your body into that of a girl~》

What? What is this guy even saying? A girl? What nonsense is he…

But the sensation… was undeniable.

My hand reflexively moved toward my groin.

“……Nothing.”

No, no, no! It’s gone! That thing that’s supposed to be there, the symbol of manhood… it’s gone!

My face lost all color in an instant. Throwing the phone aside, I rushed to the bathroom mirror.

What reflected back at me was unmistakably me. My eyes, nose, and mouth—each feature was undoubtedly mine, ones I’d been familiar with for years. No doubt about it.

However, the face staring back at me was, helplessly, that of a girl. I was a girl. A girl, yet still me.

My hairstyle had lost its original shape, now transformed into a shiny, semi-long hairdo. W-Wait… This can’t be happening… Hesitantly, I moved my gaze downward.

It was my chest. No, this bump was more like boobs. I didn’t fully understand, but they had to be about a D-cup, right?

What was happening to me made absolutely no sense. I didn’t even know what I was supposed to be doing. Without thinking, I unbuttoned my shirt, which was now straining from the pressure.

Plonk. Hanging from my upper body were two things that… well… were just… boobs.

“Heh… heh…”

I let out a weak laugh before taking a big, deep breath.

“Gyahhhhhhhh!”

In the next moment, I bolted into the living room while screaming my lungs out.

“I-I-I’m a woman! I’m a woman!!”

In a complete state of confusion, I screamed at the first thing I saw: Chocolat.

“Please calm down, Kanade-chan.”

“Who the hell is Kanade-chan… huh?”

My own remark made me pause. It only just hit me, but my voice had also changed—it was now sweet and syrupy, like a character out of an anime.

I grabbed the cell phone that had rolled onto the floor.

“What, what’s going on here?!”

《What’s wrong, why are you so frantic?》

“It’s gone! The thing that’s supposed to be there, the thing that’s supposed to be between my legs, it’s gone!”

《What do you mean? What’s gone?》

“I’m talking about my…my di—”

Before I could finish the word, my face suddenly became extremely hot. What the hell was going on?

《What do you mean by that? Your di?》

“I’m talking about… my… ahh!”

No, no, I can’t! This is so embarrassing! There’s no way I can say it anymore. Wait… Does this mean even my thoughts are being influenced by girl feelings now?

“Kanade-chan, are you… in distress?”

“Stop calling me Kanade-chan!”

《Ahaha, Kanade-chan is so cute~》

“Shut up! And turn me back into a man, now!”

《Ehh, really? Isn’t this a once-in-a-lifetime experience?》

“There’s no way! There’s no way I’d ever experience something like this, even if I were reborn a hundred times!”

《Come on, don’t you know the saying? ‘Would you stop being a boy, or would you rather stop being human?’ Something like that.》

“Nobody ever said that! And why is being a man like some dangerous drug?!”

I couldn’t hold back my frustration any longer and voiced it.

“Just hurry up and turn me back into a man!”

【Choose: ① Live your life as a girl forever ② Shout the name of your favorite historical figure while doing a handstand】

“Jon Manjirou!”

“Kanade-chan, what are you doing?”

“I’m the one who wants to know!”

I screamed at Chocolat while in a handstand.

After confirming that the choice options were gone, I quickly stopped the handstand and grabbed the phone that had been thrown on the floor.

“Just hurry up and turn me back into a man!”

《Ehh, really? Isn’t that a waste?》

“Shut up and change me back!”

《Boo, fine, fine…》

After the dissatisfied voice, the strange feeling rapidly disappeared. I checked my body—there were no boobs, and that thing was back.

“Haah…”

I sighed in relief and collapsed to the floor.

《How do you feel now? Starting to believe a little?》

Damn it… After seeing all of this, I couldn’t deny that he wasn’t fully human anymore. But is this ridiculous guy actually a god?

The voice on the phone seemed to interpret my silence as agreement.

《Okay. Now that we’re a bit closer, let’s get to the main topic.》

Closer? If you’re serious, then your brain must be rotting.

《So, about that curse of yours…》

“A curse… huh?”

That’s the same phrase Chocolat used earlier.

“Right, right. In your case, well… uh… here it is. Sometimes, do you get a feeling where you have to choose one thing or another in your head?”

“Yeah, that’s Absolute Choice, right?”

《Absolute Choice? Oh wow, Kanade-kun, you’re giving it such a cringe-worthy name. That’s so middle-school~!》

“Ugh…”

I hadn’t really thought about it before, but yeah, it’s a little embarrassing.

《Well, whatever, calling it that doesn’t matter. So, about how to break the curse…》

The conversation suddenly turned serious. I held my breath, waiting for the words from the cool god.

《Well, to be blunt, it looks like you just have to complete the missions given to you.》

“Missions… wait, is that what those strange texts I got on my phone were about?”

I remembered something about making Yukihira laugh or something equally nonsensical.

《Oh, really? See? I have perfect timing, don’t I?》

The way this cocky god said that made me uneasy.

“Hold on. Everything’s been kind of vague up until now, but don’t tell me—you’re not the one who understands everything, are you?”

《Yeah, well rather than not knowing everything, I barely know anything.》

The cocky god said that so casually.

“Barely knowing anything… doesn’t that make you, like, not a god?”

《Well, I am a god, but… I just started managing your world group, you know? My predecessor retired without leaving a proper handover, so now I’m stuck with all this.》

“The predecessor…? What do you mean? Are there a lot of gods or something?”

《Not just a lot—there are so many you could sweep them up and throw them away. You know, like they say, yaoyorozu no kami (eight million gods).》

“Sweep them up and throw them away”? …The way he put it completely stripped away any sense of divinity.

Well, if this charagami (flirty god) is at the absolute bottom tier of an endless hierarchy of gods, I guess I can accept that. If he were the one and only supreme god, that would be way too depressing.

《Anyway, curses are a system unique to your world cluster, so I actually have no clue how they work.》

If that’s true, then this charagami is completely useless in this matter.

“Is there any way to ask the predecessor about this curse?”

《Ah, no way, no way. I told you, they retired.》

Retired, huh. What kind of situation would force even a god to step down?

《They’re on maternity leave.》

“…Huh?”

《Maternity leave, you know? She got pregnant.》

“P-Pregnant? A god?”

《Kanade-kun, you seem to have the wrong idea, but gods eat, they sleep when they’re tired, and, well, they do the deed just like anyone else.》

That last part… there had to be a better way to phrase it.

“But if it’s just maternity leave, that’s not really ‘retiring,’ right? It’s not like she got seriously injured or something, so shouldn’t you at least be able to contact her?”

《Nope, no can do. She was really shaken up, so she put up a barrier and locked herself away.》

“Shaken up? Shouldn’t pregnancy be a happy occasion?”

《Well, apparently, it was the result of an affair. And when the wife of the guy she was seeing found out, she barged in and slapped her, yelling, ‘You home-wrecking cat thief!’》

“That’s just a freaking daytime soap opera!”

What the hell are these gods even doing?

《She apparently told everyone who opposed her, ‘I won’t let anyone get in the way of giving birth to this child!’ or something like that. But on the flip side, doesn’t that mean she’ll come out once she gives birth?》

“By the way… how long is a god’s pregnancy period?”

《Hmm, in your world’s time, about… ten thousand years.》

“I’d die a hundred times over!”

I didn’t expect human logic to apply here, but this wasn’t just exceeding nine months—it was completely off the charts.

《Anyway, I’m at her office right now, and wow, she was a total slob. Her documents are scattered everywhere. I’m trying to gather just the ones related to curses, but man, this is a pain. Also, this place stinks.》

…Are gods really allowed to be this half-assed?

《By the way, Kanade-kun, you seriously have no grasp of the situation, huh? It’s written right here: Regarding the curse on Kanade Amakusa of the 49th World, irregularities have been observed that even we cannot fully comprehend. Its removal is expected to be highly difficult. Therefore, as a support agent, I shall dispatch the most exceptional of my servants. …They’re right next to you, aren’t they? Just ask them for details.》

Support agent, huh? Given the circumstances, that must mean Chocolat… but did I mishear? I swear he just said the most exceptional.

《Well, I’m busy, so if I find anything else, I’ll call you again. Bye-bii~》

“H-Hey…!”

Before I could stop him, the charagami tried to cut the conversation short—

《Oh, wait a sec. Found something important. Says here that if you fail even once, the curse will stay on you forever.》

“…Huh? What’s that supposed to—”

《Welp, later~》

“Wait! Don’t just—!”

Click.

The call was cut off without warning.

I immediately tried to redial the number labeled ‘GOD’ in my call history, but the only response was a cold, mechanical voice:

《The number you have dialed is either in a world outside of signal range or powered off.》

“The hell is that supposed to mean!?”

Frustrated, I slammed my phone against the floor.

“Ohh, is the phone call over?”

Chocolat, who had been watching TV on the sofa, called out in a carefree voice, her cheeks stuffed full of cookies.

…Why the hell is she so relaxed? Is this her damn home?

“Hey, Chocolat-kun, come here for a sec.”

“Yes~? What is it?”

Swallowing her cookies in one go, she happily trotted over.

“I need to confirm some things. First off—have you gotten all your memories back?”

“Ah, yes! I remember almost everything!”

Her beaming smile made me sigh in relief. No matter how much of an airhead she was, she was the only lead I had left. That said…

“Almost?”

“For some reason, I can’t remember my own name.”

…Her name, huh? If that’s the only thing she forgot, then it doesn’t really matter. Whether she’s Chocolat, Parfait, or even Konnyaku, it wouldn’t affect my Absolute Choice one bit.

“Alright, then tell me everything you know.”

“Unfortunately, that is impossible.”

“…What?”

“I have no information to share with you, Kanade-san.”

“But you just said you remembered everything except your name—”

“Yes! I remembered that I never knew anything to begin with!”

“…Huh?”

“Uhm you see, it turns out I originally had memory loss. But I forgot that I had memory loss… and then I remembered it a little while ago!”

So basically, she went from double memory loss to regular memory loss…? What the hell is that nonsense…

“Fufufu! In other words, I’m surprised at just how little I actually know!”

“Yeah… I’m more surprised that you can say that with a smug look.”

…What the hell do I do now? I already feel like I’ve hit a dead end.

…No, it’s too soon to give up. Chocolat is still technically a resident of that world (or whatever it is), so if I keep questioning her, maybe something useful will come up.

“Alright, just tell me what you do know. Start from the beginning—how did you end up coming to me?”

“Oh, yes! So there I was, spending my days drowning in sweets and games, having neither memories nor a job, when suddenly, an official decree arrived! It told me to assist someone named Kanade Amakusa in lifting his curse!”

“I see… and then?”

“That’s it!”

“…What?”

“The decree said: ‘The subject is an exceptionally gifted individual, and the curse placed upon him is a trivial matter. Therefore, you are to do nothing—just stick by his side.’”

…Why do I feel like there’s a huge misunderstanding here?

“Uh, but… I don’t know anything about this curse.”

“I don’t know anything either!”

Me and Chocolat. Both of us had matching question marks floating over our heads.

“Kanade-san, may I ask a question?”

After a brief pause, Chocolat eagerly raised her hand.

“Just to confirm—Kanade Amakusa is actually an alias, right? Your real name is A. Magusa Ganadur, isn’t it?”

“WHO THE HELL IS THAT!?”

“This world alternates between Surface Time and Reverse Time every day. When Reverse Time comes, Magic Beasts that seek humanity’s destruction launch a full-scale attack, right?”

“Where the hell is this edgy setting coming from!?”

“When Kanade-san is cornered, the consciousness of an ancient warrior awakens inside him, summoning my ultimate battle robot, Eldraon—”

“Yeah, no, I’m done. Just… I’m done.”

“Is that so? By the way, Kanade-san, shouldn’t you be going to sleep soon?”

“Hah? What the hell are you saying all of a sudden? It’s way too early for that.”

“Huh? But in this world, when the Cause-and-Effect Transmutation Body, Kanade-san, falls asleep… it turns into Reverse Time, right?”

“It doesn’t! Tomorrow just comes like normal!”

…What the hell is going on here?

Between that call with that flashy god and the contradictions in what Chocolat was saying, when I piece everything together…

Could it be that the god sent her to the wrong world?

Assuming that parallel worlds exist… That A-Magusa something-or-other (who usually goes by the name Kanade Amakusa, apparently) ended up with the most outstanding servant who was originally supposed to support me. Meanwhile, I, who have been burdened with this troublesome curse, ended up with this Chocolat instead. That’s the gist of it, right?

When I voiced this theory to Chocolat, she gave a little “Ohh, I see!” and clapped her hands.

“The servant who gets dispatched automatically has general knowledge and language skills of that world installed into their mind. But since this world’s worldview is so drastically different from what was written in the mission briefing, I did think something was a little off.”

…In other words.

“…So, in other words—this weird creature in front of me is absolutely useless when it comes to resolving the Absolute Choice dilemma.”

With a bright, beaming smile, I placed a hand on Chocolat’s shoulder.

“Go home.”

“How?”

“Hah?”

“According to the mission briefing, I’m pretty sure it said that I can’t return until the curse on my assigned target has been lifted.”

“…Why?”

“I dunno!”

“Why don’t you know?”

“I dunno that either!”

“Then what do you know?”

“Kanade-san’s cookies are delicious!”

“Are you screwing with me?!”

“Come on now, Kanade-san. Let’s calm down and have a nice, delicious meal first.”

…Sure, thinking straight on an empty stomach is hard, but why is this thing the one saying that?

“How about some salmon meunière? I took a look in the fridge, and I can whip up a salad to go with it too!”

I wasn’t too keen on letting some stranger handle my kitchen, but in my current state of confusion, I had no motivation to cook.

“…Fine. I’ll leave it to you.”

“Hm?”

Chocolat tilted her head in confusion.

“I can’t cook, though?”

“Hah? But you just said—salmon meunière, salad…”

“? I just thought it would be nice to eat.”

“I’m the one making it?!”

I’ve made my decision.

Whether she can go back to her world or not is irrelevant. I have no reason to keep such a useless creature in my home.

“Hey, Chocolat. Get the hell out of—”

【Choose: ① Give up and let Chocolat stay. ② Give up and leave the house yourself.】

WHY?!

…And so, after a night of utterly indescribable events, I found myself in my current situation.

I barely got any sleep with all these thoughts racing through my head, but—

“Zzz…”

…There she was.

Her sleeping face was so peaceful that I hesitated to wake her.

But if I didn’t, we’d be late for school.

“Hey, wake up.”

I gave her a light shake, but she showed no signs of stirring.

Just as I was about to shake her a little harder—

“Aah… Kanade-san~”

Chocolat suddenly shuddered and let out an oddly sultry voice.

“Kanade-san is… Kanade-san is in big trouble…”

…Huh?

“What is it?”

“Oh no… Kanade-san’s every hole is being invaded by tentacles…”

“Holes”? “Tentacles”?! No way…

“Kanade-san’s… his precious purity is… Ahh—!”

…This thing… she’s rotten to the core.

“Ohhh… Kanade-san, even your agonized face is wonderful… Yes, more, keep going!”

I’ve seen enough.

Without hesitation, I clamped my hand over her nose and mouth, cutting off her airflow.

“…Nn? …Fmm? …Myufuh?!”

Letting out strange noises, Chocolat finally began to wake up.

Still half-asleep, her unfocused gaze wandered for a moment—until she met my eyes.

“Aah! Kanade-san! Good morning!”

Her face instantly lit up with a radiant smile.

“A-Ah… yeah… morning.”

As I found myself face to face with that pure, unguarded smile, my body instinctively turned away.

Even without a trace of makeup, her face was so perfectly sculpted that it almost felt unreal.

On top of that, the pajamas I had lent her had slipped off slightly, revealing a considerable amount of bare skin. And yet, she showed no sign of concern, remaining completely defenseless.

“Kanade-san, what’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing.”

Even though I fully understood in my head that Chocolat wasn’t human, my emotions refused to comply. As long as she took the form of a girl around my age, I couldn’t help but react.

Flustered, I reflexively averted my gaze downward.

“Ah, could it be…”

Noticing my reaction, Chocolat spoke, her tone tinged with slight guilt.

“You saw how I drooled all over the carpet in my sleep, didn’t you?”

“What kind of sleeping posture do you have?!”

…To think, for even a moment, that I saw her as a member of the opposite sex. I was a fool.

***

“Oooh! Amazing!”

Chocolat let out an exaggerated exclamation upon seeing the breakfast spread on the table.

Yesterday, I had been too exhausted to cook, settling for cup ramen. But relying on pre-packaged meals too often meant poor nutrition and rising costs—hardly a sustainable option.

As a result, my cooking skills had naturally improved over time.

Chocolat, her eyes sparkling, moved her chopsticks eagerly, reacting with:

“Hooo…”

And:

“Haaa…”

Every bite was accompanied by an overly dramatic reaction.

The meal itself wasn’t anything extravagant, but watching her ears twitch and her tail sway as she enjoyed it so wholeheartedly made the effort feel worthwhile.

That said, whether I could tolerate having her freeloading in my home was another matter entirely.

“You sure eat a lot for a freeloader.”

“Ehehe.”

…Huh? Why is she happy?

Did she just take that as a compliment? What kind of brain structure does she have?

Noticing my skeptical glare, Chocolat responded with a knowing smirk, waggling a single raised finger.

“Kanade-san, Kanade-san! I’m not the kind of freeloader who just mooches off someone without a second thought!”

Oh? Good. That’s the kind of awareness I wanted to see.

It’s not like I’m asking her for money or anything—I just wanted to see a little gratitude, a bit of guilt.

“You can leave home security to me!”

“You’re not planning to do anything at all, are you?!”

…Ugh, hopeless.

But considering my limited options, I couldn’t just throw her out.

“Fufufu… That was just a joke, Kanade-san.”

For some reason, she sounded oddly confident as she reached into her chest—into that unnecessarily well-endowed cleavage of hers.

And from between those ample curves, she pulled out—

“A… wad of cash?”

A thick stack of Yukichi bills. Probably in the hundreds.

“I was transferred a necessary expense. If it’s not enough, they said they can send more at any time. For now, I’ll entrust this to you, Kanade-san.”

…Is this for real?

I wasn’t expecting literal cash to appear. And what did she mean by “transferred”? Well, no point worrying about that now.

There’s way too much here, but I’ll just deduct what’s needed and return the rest later.

Of course, since it came from Chocolat, it screamed shady, but at a glance, the money didn’t seem fake…

“They said it’s already been ‘laundered’ or something.”

“That makes it even worse!”

Reflexively, I smacked the bundle of cash onto the floor.

“…Just hold onto this for now.”

“Are you sure? Let me know anytime if you need it.”

Chocolat casually tucked the now slightly dirtied bills back into her cleavage.

…I’ll have to give this whole situation some serious thought later.

“For now, I’m heading to school.”

With a deep sigh, I rose from my seat.

“Okay! Take care!”

Watching her usual beaming smile, a sudden thought crossed my mind.

“Hey, Chocolat. Why do you seem so… happy?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if it were me… If I was suddenly thrown into another world and ordered to assist some stranger, I don’t think I could be so carefree about it.”

Sure, you could chalk it up to personality, but even then, her attitude seemed unnaturally upbeat.

“Well, you see, we servants of the gods are designed to find joy in supporting humans. If we became hostile or indifferent toward our assigned humans, it would interfere with our duties. That’s why we’re also adjusted to naturally feel positive emotions toward them.”

There was something unsettling about the way she spoke, as if she saw herself as nothing more than an object.

But I had no understanding of the customs in her world, so I chose not to press further.

“Huh… So that’s how it works.”

“Yes! That’s why, Kanade-san, I absolutely love you!”

“Wha—?!”

The sheer directness of her words caught me completely off guard.

“What’s wrong?”

No, I understood.

Her affection was more like a dog’s unconditional love for its owner, completely devoid of any romantic undertones.

And yet—

If an unbelievably cute girl, in the shape of a perfect human, said “I love you” with that innocent smile… No logic in the world could stop a man’s heart from skipping a beat.

“I-It’s nothing.”

Doing my best to hide my flushing face, I lowered my head, my voice barely above a mutter.

…Damn it. I had just learned my lesson in the bedroom earlier, and yet here I was again, making the same mistake.

“If you say so! Well then, you can leave the house in my capable hands!”

Those words suddenly snapped me back into reality.

…Right.

I had casually mentioned heading to school, but that meant leaving this house in her care.

A servant who had been sent here by mistake. A klutz through and through.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay…? Do you even know how to do the dishes?”

“Of course! I’ll scrub them so clean you could lick them!”

“No, no, they’re already safe to lick… Why are you making it sound like a toilet?!”

…Yeah. I wasn’t feeling very confident about this.

I should probably run a few scenarios in my head to prepare for whatever disaster she might cause.

“Chocolat, before I leave, let’s run a little test.”

“Yes! Bring it on!”

…Might as well start with something simple.

“What if it suddenly starts raining?”

“I won’t feel like going outside.”

“I wasn’t asking about your feelings! Just bring in the laundry already!”

Right off the bat, this was getting ridiculous.

“What if a newspaper salesperson comes?”

“I’ll take the free detergent and slam the door shut.”

“That’s just cruel!”

Next one.

“What if you get a phone call from a scammer pretending to be a relative?”

“I’ll ask the gods to send me counterfeit bills and wire the money.”

“That would just make the whole situation worse!”

…Moving on.

“What if Nakajima comes to invite you out?”

“I’ll go play baseball!”

“No, you won’t! Besides, he only ever invites Isono!”

“I think that was just a weird setup on your part, Kanade-san.”

“Ugh… Yeah, you might be right.”

I had gotten carried away with the jokes.

“As long as you understand.”

That smug look on her face was really annoying. I wanted to throw a comeback at her, but I was running out of time.

“Tch… Alright, I’m heading out.”

“Take care~!”

With her overly energetic farewell echoing behind me, I left the house, weighed down by an inexplicable sense of unease.