My Sex Friend Is My Childhood Friend? - 34

Chapter 34: Honoka’s Request for Advice

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One day, while I was checking my phone on the commuter train, I got a message from Honoka.

『Sorry for the sudden message. This is Honoka. I got your contact information from Mahiru.』

I couldn’t even begin to guess what it was about, so I hesitated to reply. Then another message came in.

『I’ve been messaging with Kuzuryuu-san lately, and I was wondering what kind of person he is. When I asked Mahiru, she said you’d know best…』

Kuzu…? Ah, she means Senpai. I see. A love consultation, huh? Wait. Does that mean Honoka is interested in Senpai?

I immediately confirmed with Mahiru. As expected, Mahiru sent me a reply.  

『I think she’s kind of into him.』 

The other day, Honoka had helped me. So, now was my turn to help her… Or to be precise, to play Cupid in the name of love. Still, I realized I didn’t actually know much about Senpai. I mean, what were his intentions in messaging Honoka in the first place? I seriously hoped he wasn’t just messing around with Mahiru’s best friend…

Then again, this was the guy who once said, “It’s a man’s fate to spread his genes,” so I couldn’t exactly rest easy. I decided to observe him at work. Sure enough, as usual, he was chatting up the female employees with a sleazy grin on his face. I decided to ask one of them—an employee (Female A) who was probably friendly with Senpai.

“What kind of guy is Kuzu Senpai?”

She gave me a puzzled look.

“Huh? You’re Kuzu’s Little Brother. Shouldn’t you know him better than me?”

Senpai… It seems the darkness is even darker than I thought. 

It turned out both Senpai and I were horribly unpopular with the female staff, so getting information wasn’t easy. When I pressed her, Female A reluctantly said.

“Well, I’ve never heard of anyone actually getting dumped by him, if that’s what you’re asking. I mean, yeah, he hits on everyone who makes eye contact with him and he’s super disliked in general. But isn’t he, like, an MBA holder or something? Hard to believe, right?”

Wait, what? MBA—as in, a Master’s in Business Administration? Senpai went to grad school? I realized that I needed to dig deeper. Next, I tried asking another employee (Female B) who worked on the same team as Senpai. Again, I was met with a suspicious look… (the rest of the conversation was omitted for brevity).

Apparently, Senpai was a graduate of a famous university in the U.S. He had mentioned something like that during a drinking party once—but I’d honestly thought he was just one of those people who lived in a fantasy world. I figured I had no choice but to ask him directly.

I waited until our lunch break and approached him.

“Senpai, I’d like to treat you to lunch to thank you for the other day. My treat.”

Clatter.

I opened the thick wooden door and stepped inside the restaurant. The air was filled with the scent of sizzling meat and alcohol. It was a place I frequented occasionally—affordable and delicious. The waiter led us to a small table, and we took our seats.

Looking around, I saw the interior was dominated by a long, solid-wood counter where the owner was serving dishes directly to the customers. Behind the counter, there was a large iron griddle—this was a diner specializing in meat and fried dishes. I’d never come here at night, but I imagined the evening vibe would be just as nice.

Maybe I should bring Mahiru sometime. Still, this place felt like something straight out of an isekai. Like, dwarves would be guzzling ale here, and there’d be elves and cat-eared girls lounging around.

A cat-ear cosplay wouldn’t be bad. Add thigh-highs too. I should make Mahiru try it on sometime.

As I sank into my fantasies, the food arrived. It was the shop’s signature dish—beef ribs stir-fried with yellow mustard, white wine, and soy sauce. The scent of onions and garlic was mouthwatering. As I was getting ready to dig in, Senpai spoke up.

“You really like this place, huh? So, what did you want to ask me?”

I hadn’t said a word yet. The guy was sharp.

“Well, I just thought I should get to know you better. Like, your university, and what you were doing before you joined the company…”

Senpai tilted his eyebrows downward, grinned, and jutted out his chin. Leaning in and peering at me, he said.

“Oooh, you wanna know all about me, huh?”

That smug attitude of his… So annoying. This was precisely the reason why I didn’t want to ask him about his personal life. But… I had to, for Honoka’s sake. For her, I had to pull through this agony. 

“Yeah, exactly. You’ve been messaging with Honoka-chan lately, right? Mahiru said she wanted to know what kind of person you are. But I actually don’t know much about you, Senpai.”

Senpai let out a bored sigh at that.

“Ahh, that’s what this is about. Hmph. Didn’t I tell you about myself before? Like at that drinking party. That’s the real me.”

Yeah, but if everything he said was true, that was honestly a bit terrifying. Unwilling to dig any deeper for fear of what I might learn, I changed course and asked about Honoka instead.

“So, Senpai—what do you think of Honoka-chan?”

He replied with disinterest.

“Eh, she’s just… Normal, I guess.”

Didn’t seem like he was very interested in Honoka. That was a problem. So I made a suggestion.

“Hey, how about we have a hotpot party at my place someday?”

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