So You’re Telling Me I’m in My Popular Phase!? - Chapter 41 & 42 & 43 & 44 7 45
Chapter 41: The Unexpected Invitation!?
“Well, it’s about Toyomi.”
“Ah, right. You mean Machida-san?”
Does she have something she wants to tell me?
Come to think of it, Machida-san and Itabashi-san are childhood friends, huh?
Just like me and Izumi.
“Yeah. Hey, why are you using polite speech?”
“Uh, I don’t know, just kinda…”
“You don’t have to, you know.”
“Thanks.”
Good. Since she’s Machida-san’s childhood friend, I thought she might be like Machida-san and tell me to use formal speech or something.
“It’s not like you needed to thank me or anything!”
Man, she’s such an obvious tsundere. Was that on purpose?
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
“Ohh, straight into casual speech.”
Wait, was that bad?
“S-sorry!”
“No, I just meant suddenly switching your tone might be hard at first.”
Phew, that’s a relief.
“Well, it’s more like, since we’re classmates and I don’t really know how to talk to you normally, I ended up using polite speech.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“Hahaha…”
What is this—so awkward!
“Anyway, getting back to the main topic.”
“Ah, right.”
Oh yeah, she was originally going to talk about Machida-san. Totally forgot.
“The truth is…”
“You lot! Break’s over!”
“Ah—”
“Ah…”
“Yes, sir!!”
Umeda-sensei!!
Why do you always barge in right at the most interesting part!?
“Ahh, guess that’s that. I’ll tell you on the way home. After club’s over and you’re changed, meet me at the school gate.”
“Oh, got it.”
“’Kay, later!”
“Yeah.”
Alright! Time to get back to practice—
Wait. Hold up.
Did she just say we’re going to walk home together!?
No way, no way!
I’ve never gone home with a girl besides Izumi before!
Nooooo!
“What’s wrong—you’re sweating like crazy, Ichikami.”
The captain came over. In a way, thank god.
“I’m fine, really.”
“I see. You were talking with Sakura earlier—something going on?”
“N-nothing, really.”
“Alright then. Let’s continue training.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ughh, I’m so nervous I can’t focus at all!
I mean, come on—Itabashi-san’s Machida-san’s childhood friend!
If I accidentally say something dumb, she’ll report me instantly!
Scary!!
Haah… good luck, future me.
Present me is officially escaping from reality.
After that, I practiced harder than ever before.
But no matter how intensely I played, time kept moving forward.
Whoa! It’s already this late!?
Time, please—slow down!!
Of course, time didn’t slow down. Club activities ended.
“Ichikami, let’s walk home together!”
“Sorry, can’t. I’ve got plans.”
“With Izumi-san? Man, I’m jealous!”
Not exactly, but it’s too annoying to try explaining, so I’ll just ignore him.
“Later then, Ichikami! Good luck out there!”
“Y-yeah.”
I went to the school gate and waited for Itabashi-san.
About ten minutes passed.
Girls really do take forever to change.
Finally, Itabashi-san arrived.
“Sorry. So, can I tell you what I wanted to say? Is it okay if we talk while walking?”
“Yeah.”
As I thought. I’d been frozen in place, not taking a single step, hoping maybe we wouldn’t walk home together—but too bad.
Guess I’ll just go with her after all.
Chapter 42: The Unexpected Email Exchange!?
“So, what was it you wanted to say about Machida-san?”
Even after walking with Itabashi-san for a while, she still hadn’t gotten to the point.
Is it something that’s hard to talk about?
“Ah, yeah. I heard you had a sleepover with Toyomi recently.”
“Hm? Ah, yeah, I did.”
What about it?
“These days, Toyomi asks you to stay after class pretty often, right? And lately you talk about more than just student council stuff, right?”
“Yeah, we do.”
Okay… where’s this going?
“I’m jealous.”
Itabashi-san muttered something quietly, but I couldn’t catch it.
“What did you say?”
“I said I’m jealous!”
Whoa—!
Don’t suddenly shout like that!
But wait, jealous about what?
“W‑what do you mean?”
“We used to always walk home together, and I was supposed to join the tennis club together with Toyomi. But then Toyomi got chosen as grade student council president, got super busy, never came to practice once, and ended up quitting. And on top of that, I didn’t expect Ryu‑chan to be around too!”
“Eh?”
Didn’t catch that last part… but, uh, before that—
“Anyway, that’s not okay!”
Why the Kansai accent!?
Well, whatever—
“So, what exactly do you want me to do?”
I still didn’t get why she called me out.
Did she just want to vent?
“Since we haven’t hung out after school since starting high school, I don’t know how to invite Toyomi to hang out again. How should I do it?”
“Hmm… good question.”
How to invite Machida-san out, huh… that’s tricky.
“But honestly… I’d rather hang out with Ryu‑chan instead.”
“Huh? What was that?”
“N‑nothing!”
Weird—her voice suddenly got a lot quieter. What was that about?
Now I’m curious.
“Have you tried asking her before?”
“Yeah. But she said she couldn’t, since she was busy with the sleepover…”
“I’m so sorry!”
Wait, does that make this partly my fault!?
“It’s fine, but… you didn’t, like, climb the stairs to adulthood with her or anything, right?”
Huh?
“Wh‑what!? Of course not! Izumi, my sister, and Tomoya were there too!”
What is she even saying!? That’s terrifying!
“What if they weren’t there?”
“As if I would!”
What kind of question is that!?
“Ah—Saku—uh, my house is this way, so I guess this is goodbye for today.”
Oh, thank god. I’m safe.
But… didn’t she start to say something just now?
Eh, whatever.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow then.”
I started walking away—
“Ah, wait a sec!”
“Hm?”
“We’re not done talking yet, so let’s exchange email addresses!”
Eh!? For real!?
I’ve never had a girl’s contact info besides Izumi’s!
“There it is!”
“What?”
“N‑nothing. Sure, let’s exchange.”
Now there are three girls in my phone besides my mom.
“Thanks. See you tomorrow!”
“Yeah, later.”
Itabashi-san turned a corner and left.
Once she was out of sight, I opened my contact list.
“Wait—why do I have Machida-san’s number too?”
The only ones other than Mom are Izumi, Itabashi-san… and Machida-san.
Probably from the sleepover, huh?
Seriously, what the heck!?
“Haah…”
I started trudging home.
“Hey, you’re cute. Just got out from school? Want to grab a drink?”
“What? Are you… hitting on me?”
I heard a man’s and a woman’s voice ahead.
“After what happened with Izumi, I’d better go check it out.”
I ran toward the sound of the voices.
Chapter 43: The Unexpected Strongest!?
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing there!”
I am attempting to save a girl who is getting hit on—for the second time in my life—but… Are these guys college students? Their build is like 1.5 times the size of mine.
Sc-scary…
“Huh? What is it, big guy? Tryin’ to get in our way?”
You’re the big guy here!
Actually, every pickup scene I see is terrifying, but is this normal?
“Ehh!? Why is Ryu-chan here?”
Hmm? Who is it? And what’s with “Ryu-chan”?
“Wait, why is Itabashi-san here!”
When I looked behind the men, Itabashi-san was there.
Seriously… Hey, you guys are gonna get killed by a person named Machida-san.
“Eh? What’s this? You know each other?”
Uwah! This is turning into the same development as with Izumi.
“What? You guys were here?”
“Wa—”
Why is she provoking them?
“What did you say!”
Hieeeeeeeee!
“Hey! Look out!”
Itabashi-san was about to get punched by the delinquent.
“Slower than a tennis ball, huh.”
Whoosh
Eh?
“Eh? EHH!”
She is brilliantly dodging the attacks of the two delinquents.
“Damn, this bitch. She keeps dodging…”
“True, this alone isn’t very interesting. Ichikami-kun!”
“Y-Yes!”
I was captivated by Itabashi-san’s movements when she suddenly called out to me.
“Call the police—”
P-Police?
“U-Understood.”
“Wait, hey! Ken. Go catch that guy!”
“On it!”
Hieee! He’s coming this waaaay!
“Don’t look away.”
“Gugh.”
Wooow. Itabashi-san just went and kicked the one called Ken right in the crotch. That looks painful……
“Hurry!”
“Ah, y-yeah. Got it.”
I hurriedly take out my phone.
“Tch. Ken, follow me later!”
“Wait, Senpai… w-wait.”
The one called Senpai left his junior behind and ran away.
“Seriously, pretty lame for a guy. Ah, thanks, Ichikami-kun.”
She looked down at the fallen man, then looked at me and spoke.
“Ah, I didn’t really do anything though…”
“Well, it made for a good threat, so you saved me.”
“I-I see.”
Crap, I’m not happy about that at all.
“Well then, I’m going home. Bye-bye.”
“O-Oh.”
Itabashi-san was about to leave the area.
Ah!
“Itabashi-san!”
I forgot to ask about the part that caught my attention at the very beginning.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
Itabashi-san turned back toward me and tilted her head.
“When you first called me, you said ‘Ryu-chan’, right? What was that about?”
“Eh?”
Itabashi-san started making a really panicked face.
“Umm, that is…”
It probably wasn’t a slip of the tongue, so what is it?
“We’ll be talking for quite a bit, so is it okay if we go to that coffee shop there?”
There was a coffee shop where Itabashi-san pointed.
I can’t really back out after asking this much. Can’t be helped.
“Yeah. Fine by me.”
“Then…”
We went inside the coffee shop.
Chapter 44: The Unexpected “Love Tea”!?
“Welcome!”
Guided to a seat by an energetic female employee, we sat down.
“Here is the menu! My recommendation is this ‘Love Tea’ right heeeeere!”
Having a bad feeling about this, I took a look and it said “Couples Only”…
“N-No, that’s wrong. We’re just friends!”
“Is that so? And here I thought you finally brought a boyfriend.”
“You’re wrong!”
“Is that so~. Well then, excuse me~.”
Itabashi-san told her she was wrong, but the waitress returned to the back of the shop without looking convinced at all.
“Ah! I haven’t ordered yet…”
“It’s fine. Normally you call them after you’ve decided anyway.”
Hmm, is that so. She knows a lot.
Come to think of it, she seemed to be acquainted with that waitress earlier, too.
“Do you come to this shop often?”
“Well, yeah. The coffee here is delicious.”
I see. I can’t drink coffee, though.
“Anyway, about what we were talking about earlier…”
It’s a hard topic to bring up, but if I don’t, the conversation won’t move forward.
“W-Well. Let’s order drinks first, shall we?”
“Y-Yeah, let’s.”
Maybe Itabashi-san finds it hard to talk about too, because she dodged the subject.
Even though I finally worked up the courage to ask.
I decided to order the black tea I’d picked out from the start.
More importantly, how should I proceed with this conversation today?
Even though I was the one who brought it up, I don’t really know what I’ll do with the information I’ll get.
“Decided on a drink?”
“Hm? Ah, yeah.”
“Excuse me~.”
When Itabashi-san called for a staff member, the same female employee from before came over.
“Yeees?”
“Umm, I’ll have the usual.”
“The ‘One Sigh, Warm-and-Fuzzy Coffee’, is it?”
“Yes.”
Amazing. To think she can order with just “The usual.”
Even so, what is with that name?
“For you, Oniisan, will ‘Love Tea’ be okay?”
“Why would it be! I’ll have the ‘Dreamy Mood Tea’.”
The name of this one is crazy too, but someone nearby is drinking it and it looks really delicious.
“Boo. Understood~.”
The waitress went back looking displeased.
“Sorry, she’s a bit of an odd employee.”
“Well, it’s fine.”
She’s way too odd though!
“So, about that earlier topic…”
“Ah.”
Finally, we reached the main subject.
“Umm. Hey Ryu-chan, wanna play together today too?”
Suddenly, Itabashi-san changed her voice and spoke to me.
“Eh?”
“Ya still don’t get it? Can’t be helped, I guess, but… I really want ya to remember~.”
Kansai dialect?
And she wants me to remember? What does that mean?
“Still don’t get it?”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
Itabashi-san spoke looking a bit depressed.
“Well, guess it can’t be helped. Since it was a long time ago.”
A long time ago? Have I met Itabashi-san in the past?
“H-Hey. Itabashi-san, what are you talking about?”
“Hmm. Guess I gotta say it now, huh.”
She’s saying “akan” so it really is Kansai dialect.
“Yeah, please.”
“Alright. Actually—”
“Thank you for waiting! Here are the ‘One Sigh, Warm-and-Fuzzy Coffee’ and ‘Dreamy Mood Tea’. Also, a ‘Love Tea’ discount coupon!”
“……”
Terrible timing!
Also, just how much does she want us to drink that ‘Love Tea’?
“What, what? Was my timing bad? I’m sor~ry♪ Well then, take your time.”
Just like that, she went back to the back.
I am absolutely going to punch her!
Chapter 45: Unexpectedly, It Was You!?
“……”
“……”
About ten minutes have passed since the female employee left, but neither of us can start talking.
“……”
“……”
Looks like I have no choice but to take the initiative here.
“Umm…”
“Umm…”
We overlapped perfectly!
“S-Sorry.”
“S-Sorry.”
“Ah, no, I don’t really…”
“Ah, no, I don’t really…”
Why are our statements so identical!
Can’t be helped. I’ll have Itabashi-san speak first.
“T-Then, Itabashi-san, you go first.”
“T-Then, Ryu-chan, you go first.”
Yes! It happened again! I knew it would, though!
Also, she casually switched to calling me “Ryu-chan” again.
“Sorry, can I go first?”
Finally, without our words overlapping, Itabashi-san spoke up.
“A-Ah.”
“Umm, actually, I was in the same kindergarten as you, Ryu-chan.”
Eh? Ehh!?
“R-Really?”
“Yeah, you don’t remember? ‘Kagayaki Kindergarten’.”
That is definitely the kindergarten Izumi and I went to.
“But, about you… sorry, I can’t remember.”
“It’s fine, really.”
She says that, but her face looks very gloomy.
“Umm, are you free after this today?”
“Hm? I don’t really have any plans, but…”
Why ask something like that?
“Want to come to my house?”
“Come again?”
Eh? Hah? What does that mean? What’s the meaning of this?
“Umm, won’t you come to Sakura’s house?” (T/N: She spoke in third person.)
“Haaaaah?”
The flow of conversation was so sudden I ended up shouting.
Looking around, the other customers are surprised and looking at us.
“S-Sorry.”
As I bowed my head and tried to sit down, that waitress from before was there watching us.
What are you doing! Do your job, do your job.
“S-Sorry. Umm, Sakura’s mom is there, and we have photos from kindergarten, so…”
I see, she wants to show me proof.
Hmm, what should I do? Should I go? Hmm, guess I have no choice… huh.
“Alright, I’ll go.”
“Really!?”
“Yeah.”
I nod honestly.
“Then, let’s go right away.”
Itabashi-san tries to stand up from her seat.
“No, before that, can I ask something quickly?”
“Hm?”
Itabashi-san tilted her head and sat back down.
“Do you not know about Izumi, who was in the same kindergarten as me?”
If she was in the same kindergarten and knows me, she should know Izumi too.
“Sorry, I was only in kindergarten when I was four, so I don’t know the kids from different classes…”
Hmm? Was I in a different class from Izumi? It was too long ago, I can’t remember.
“I see, understood. Shall we leave the shop then?”
“Yeah, let’s.”
We headed to the register.
“I’ll pay for this.”
“No, no, I’m the guy, I’ll pay.”
“But I’m the one who invited you.”
“That doesn’t matter right now.”
We are fighting over who pays at the register.
Did you think we should just pay for what we ordered ourselves? However, my—no, our pride won’t allow that!
“It’s fine. I will pay for this.”
We finished paying and came out of the shop.
“To think that employee would pay for us…”
“To think that employee would pay for us…”
That female employee said, “I had fun today, so this is my thanks,” and paid the bill.
Actually, I intended to punch her, but she turned out to be a very good person in the end.
“Well, shall we go?”
“Yeah!”
I aim for Itabashi-san’s house with her leading the way.
Kasha!
“Hm?”
“Hm?”
Hearing a sound like a photo being taken, we turned around to see the female employee holding a phone in one hand, laughing.
Let me correct myself. That person is the worst!
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