My Sex Friend Is My Childhood Friend? - 24-25

Chapter 24: Mahiru’s Request

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Would someone normally ask a guy they rejected to pretend to be their boyfriend?

For a moment, my heart stirred, but Mahiru looked like she was struggling herself. I cleared my throat, suppressing the cowardly urge to push her away, and decided to look her in the eyes and hear her out first.

“Can you tell me what’s the situation first?”

Mahiru placed her right hand on her left arm, stared at my jaw, and spoke hesitantly.

“…Okay. First, I’m sorry. I know it’s cruel to ask you this, Nagi-kun. But I didn’t want to ask another boy to play this role, even if it’s just acting. I mean, I don’t have many friends in the first place…”

What? Not many friends? That was surprising. The Mahiru I know seems like she could make a hundred friends just walking down the street. Mahiru was being honest, not dodging or sugarcoating, even about something tough. I felt I had to listen seriously.

According to her, a guy was persistently hitting on her. She told him she had a boyfriend, but he didn’t believe her, and since he was a senpai at her university, she was struggling to deal with him.

In that case, having a fake boyfriend would probably be the quickest and safest solution to this. Since this was a senpai, that meant they went to the same university. This was the university Maya bragged about getting into back in middle school.

Honestly, right now, I felt an overwhelming sense of inferiority toward both Mahiru and this guy. Taking a small breath, I asked an embarrassing question, almost like a rite of passage.

“Hey, I didn’t go to university. Don’t you think I’m lame?”

Mahiru answered immediately.

“No way. You were so good at studying, Nagi-kun. Way better than me. I’ve never thought that you were lame for not going to university, and I really respect you for working hard in the real world at my age.”

Thank you, Mahiru. I knew she’d give me a positive answer, but I needed to hear it from her. In this way, I wouldn’t act pathetic when it came time to perform my role.

“Got it. I respect you too, Mahiru. Alright, I’ll pretend to be your boyfriend.”

Mahiru threw her arms around me.

I’m 90% sure this guy must be her ex-boyfriend. In that case…  I’ll show him how insanely hot I am!!

Anyway, I’d need to consult Scum Senpai at work tomorrow. Ah, right. I had to mentally prepare myself too. I needed to know the date. 

I asked Mahiru.

“So, when are you introducing me to your friends?”

“There’s a campus festival in two weeks. I thought that’d be a good time. It’s natural for outsiders to visit during the festival.”

I nodded. Mahiru pulled away from me.

“Thank you, Nagi-kun. So, as a thank-you, is there anything you want me to do?”

I grinned. This lustful feeling… How fresh. This was something I hadn’t felt since I had my ED.

“Well, how’s this? Keep being ‘smooth’ Mahiru for a while. I’m kinda hooked on the sensation of rubbing my cheek against you.”

Mahiru turned bright red at that.

“Idiot! Pervert! You naughty boy! …But… Could I try that massage thing again?”

Don’t look at me with such a determined expression…

“No, I’m good without that. That thing (Holy Sword Denma) already completed his mission and got sealed back in the holy land (box).”

Memories of Denma flashed back in my mind. It had been really rough on me. To put it simply, Denma’s power awakened the succubus within Mahiru, nearly caused my ED to relapse, and made Mahiru wet herself.

Just thinking about that was enough to make me shiver. Mahiru had gone through the most embarrassing experience, and yet, she was still resilient. 

“Ah, right. Since I’ve sealed Denma in the box, feel free to use it when you’re bored or whatever.”

“I’m not using it!! …Probably.”

Half a year later, for some reason, Denma used up its life expectancy and ended up in the recycling bin.

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Chapter 25: Senpai, You’re Such a Smooth Talker

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The next day, I decided to talk about this with Senpai right after I got to work. 

“Senpai, I’m going to meet that girl’s ex…”

I briefly explained the situation. Then, for some reason, Senpai looked genuinely pissed.

“Ah, yeah. Guys like that, they’re out there for sure. Totally uninterested while they’re dating, but once it ends, they start chasing her around. Honestly, those types are the worst.”

Wow, it sounds really bad hearing that from Senpai.  If even the king of trash like Senpai is ripping into the guy this much, then he must be scum of the scum.

I’d realized recently that Senpai seemed to have a personal code when it came to how he played around. He once went into great detail about it, but I hadn’t really understood it.

Well, I guess it’s what you’d call a player’s philosophy or something.

Incidentally, Senpai’s motto was “Never turn down who comes, never chase who leaves,” so he said he never got caught up in this kind of trouble. That was why he didn’t get emotionally attached to women—he was a woman-lover who disliked women.

In that way, he probably wouldn’t even make a move on someone else’s girl…. As long as she didn’t come onto him first. That was why I trusted him. I even thought about introducing him to Mahiru someday.

That day, we were out doing property inspections, so I went with Senpai to do some maintenance. Our company owned properties, so we occasionally had to go clean them. While we were mopping the hardwood floors together, Senpai spoke up.

“So, what kind of guy is he?”

I had no idea. The only thing I knew was that he was smart.

“I don’t really know… I’ve never seen his face or anything.”

Senpai stopped. He gripped the mop handle with both hands and narrowed his eyes. He then looked up at the ceiling like some benevolent ruler praying for peace.

“Ah, university students, huh… Sounds nice. I want to meet a university girl too. I want to do it with one. Hey, take me with you, will ya?”

Seriously? What kind of shallow-ass king are you?

“Yeah, no no no…”

There was no way I could take a guy who says stuff like “I wanna do it” out loud to the university my important person attended. I was about to politely refuse, but then stopped.

Actually… Maybe it isn’t such a bad idea…. Despite all of his nonsense, this guy is surprisingly reliable….

Senpai might be a dumbass, but he wasn’t stupid—he had good instincts. Apparently, he was a candidate for branch manager of a new office area despite his age.  He also already knew Mahiru was my friends-with-benefits situation, so he probably wouldn’t slip up and say anything dumb.

…Yeah. It could work.

“Senpai, are you really serious about coming along?”

“I’m serious! After hearing your story, I got the urge to kiss a university girl too!”

Is this guy actually okay? Like, in the head?

He sounded like some old dude from Shinbashi. It was hard to believe he was still in his twenties. Ah, I really couldn’t stop myself from worrying.

General Sagi once said:『Strengths and weaknesses are two sides of the same coin!』

…What the hell? Some mysterious voice echoed in my head. Was that Senpai’s influence as the would-be benevolent king? Anyway, I called Mahiru right away.

“Mahiru, where are you right now? Eh, you’re already at my place? What about your part-time job?”

Senpai was grinning as he watched me. He was whistling some awful, off-key tune.

“Uh, yeah, I’m with Senpai right now. The one I told you about before. He says he wants to come to your campus festival. Is that okay?”

Mahiru said she wanted to meet my Senpai. Senpai started making a gimme motion for the phone. Well, we were going to introduce them sooner or later anyway. I handed Senpai my phone. Senpai took the phone and immediately raised his voice like some love evangelist.

“Mahiru-chan? I’ve heard so much about you from Nagi~ You know, Nagi has been saying he likes you so much, he can’t even sleep at night!”

Hey!! Don’t say weird crap like that!!

Was this guy mistaking her for some hostess at a cabaret club!? I reached to take the phone back, but Senpai just shoved me away with his foot and kept talking.

“Right, right. So yeah, I know it’s a bit sudden, but do you mind if I join in too? I mean, I’m worried about him. He’s like a little brother to me, you know? Oh, did you know? At work, people call us the Scum Brothers. That’s right. Nagi and I, we go way back…”

Seriously, this guy!!

Had I made an irreversible mistake in inviting him…? But Senpai wasn’t stopping. With his signature machine-gun talk, he steamrolled his way to the close.

“Yup, thank you!! Eh? A name tag? My last name’s Kuzuryuu, the ‘Nine-Headed Dragon.’ Got a pen ready? Use the easier kanji for ‘ryuu.’ Alright, alright, see you on the day! Bye now!”

He just… Decided everything on his own and hung up. Also, what the hell was with him suddenly switching to polite speech just for the last part? Senpai handed me back my phone.

“Nagi, did you hear that? In times like this, you can’t give people time to think. If they show interest, collect the down payment first. Get the loan approved before the parents get involved. That’s the basics. Parents are always the cautious type. Real estate and love are the same. If you want to make a good buy, you need momentum. Oh, and by the way, this counts as on-the-job training. You won’t be able to hear this stuff forever, so better steal my skills while you still can!”

Apparently, that thing also served as a lecture.

“Wait, Senpai… Are you getting fired?”

“No way they’d fire such a competent employee. I’m saving up to go independent. Eventually, I’ll be way up in the clouds, far above you lowly folks.”

Honestly, with this guy, it might actually happen. That’s what scared me.

Then Mahiru messaged me right away:

『I’ve been hearing about Kuzu-san from Nagi-kun!! I’m so happy I could finally talk to Kuzu-san! Also, also… Nagi-kun, do you really like me so much you can’t sleep? I’m so happy!!』

Even without seeing her face, I could tell she was practically bouncing with joy. And she casually called Senpai “Kuzu,” she was totally roasting him. Classic Mahiru.

Come to think of it, I’d never actually told her how I felt before. Last time, I got rejected before I could even say it.

After we finished cleaning the house, we went straight home from there since the place was out in the suburbs. When I got home, Mahiru was waiting for me. As soon as she saw me, she dashed over like a puppy that had spotted its owner.

“Welcome home!! Do you want dinner? A bath? Or me?”

“I’ll take anything that’s not ‘you,’ please.”

Mahiru puffed her cheeks like a balloon. but she didn’t back down today. Maybe Senpai’s bad influence was rubbing off already?

“Hey, hey. Say it again. With that mouth you just used.”

Mahiru grabbed the sleeve button area of my suit and started tugging insistently. Well, I didn’t have to worry about getting rejected this time. Might as well tell her.

“I… I like you.”

I figured she’d jump for joy or start hopping around or something. But this time, Mahiru quietly pressed her hands to her face, and as the warmth from her cheeks spread to her palms, she began to rub her eyes—

—and then she started crying.

Not knowing what to do, I scratched my head. Then Mahiru stood on her tiptoes and wrapped both arms around my collar. As she exhaled, the warmth of her breath soaked gently into the nape of my neck, and it felt like her emotions were flowing directly into me.

With a smile full of happiness, she said to me.

“I love you too.”

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