The case where I was gradually getting buried in the heavy love of my childhood friend who had miraculously recovered from their illness was perfect! - Chapter 16 : Don't make her your enemy!

“…Phew, it was quite an eventful day, but it ended without any major issues,” I muttered to myself in my room as the day came to a close.

It was the first day back at school for Rion, and while my impression was mostly about her smiling a lot, the incident that had happened after school was etched firmly in my memory.

If it weren’t for Ito getting involved, we could have just gone home without any bad feelings…

“Anyway, it’s good that nothing major happened,” I continued.

More than that, I realized that Rion was even more liked by the people around her than I had initially thought. I had always been aware of it, but it seemed that the friendship that Asumi and others had for Rion was stronger than I had anticipated.

“Huh?”

As I reflected on the day, my smartphone notified me of an incoming call, and the name on the screen was Rion.

“Hello, what’s up?”

“Hello, good evening, Nagi-kun.”

Her voice came through the phone, and the familiar sound of it provided me comfort even though she wasn’t by my side. It made me chuckle at my own simplicity. After that, I asked her what I was curious about.

“How was your first day at the school?”

“It was tough.”

Just as I had expected, her voice sounded exhausted, which made me laugh.

“Don’t laugh, please. It really was tough for me.”

“I understand that. What made you so tired?”

What made her actually tired was because of the elated welcome she received from Takuma-san and Kurumi-san when she returned home, despite there being no reason for them to be worried. They were worried because they loved Rion like their own daughter. So, before parting ways, I told Rion this:

“Don’t say it’s a hassle. Accept their concern with a smile.”

At the time, Rion nodded naturally on the other side of the phone, but I had expected that she would be tired like this.

“It might continue like this for a few days, you know?”

“I don’t mind being worried about it, but… this might go on for a while, mou~.”

Well, that’s just part of Rion’s fate!

If Rion saw my face right now, she’d probably give me a slap for sure. I’m really glad she’s not here.

But it didn’t take long for her to catch on.

“Do I look displeased to you right now?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“It’s confirmed, then.”

I… Am I really that bad at deceiving people?

Or maybe it’s just that Rion is exceptional at hitting me with surprise comments, even over the phone.

“Well, it’s fine. I’m in a really good mood today.”

“I see. That’s good.”

“You were probably thinking about what happened after school, right?”

“…..!”

Seriously… how does Rion manage to understand me so well? There’s no point in trying to deceive her, especially when she’s like this, so I decided to be honest.

“There is no point in pretending now. Yeah, that’s right. Without that incident, today would have been a great day for you, Rion.”

It had been a while since she went to school, chatted with friends, and seemed to enjoy her classes. Her friends and even the teachers celebrated her return. She was genuinely happy all day. And that guy had to come along and spoil it all.

In the end, despite various events, he hadn’t changed at all since that time.

“You’re too kind. All the blame lies with him, so you don’t need to worry like this.”

“I know… I know, but today was a special day for my precious childhood friend. So, if Rion could finish the day with a smile, that’s all that matters to me.”

“…It’s really frustrating being away from you right now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? If I were with you, would you comfort me?”

“Of course. I’d console you without ever laughing at your troubled face.”

I’m really sorry, Rion. When she said that, I couldn’t help but imagine her laughing at my expense.

“Well, fine. If that’s what you want, then don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you. Since I called you before going to bed, I wanted to talk about something fun.”

“Something funny, huh…”

It wasn’t entirely perfect, but thanks to Rion, I managed to put my worries behind me. Knowing it was Rion on the other end of the line, I couldn’t stop talking, and she responded to each topic I brought up with equal enthusiasm. This moment before bed, talking with my childhood friend and a beautiful girl on top of that, was the best.

“Oh, though I mentioned this before we parted….”

“Hmm, what is it?”

“That beret… Thank you so much.”

“…Haha, you’re saying that again.”

“No matter how many times I say it, I still think it’s not enough. I thought Nagi-kun had terrible taste, but this surprised me even more.”

“Well, maybe choosing something you think is right on intuition for a gift is a good idea.”

About that beret, it really was an instinctual choice… Well, Rion liking it so much and many people saying that Rion wearing the beret was really cute saved me.

…I wonder, do I actually have good taste?

“Actually, do you ever think that I might have good taste?”

“…Hey, Rion, let’s have a serious talk for a moment. Can you read my mind?”

“There is no way that I can read your mind, right? I can just tell that you’re thinking about something simple.”

Isn’t that the same as reading minds…?

Well, I guess that’s it! It’s probably because we’ve been childhood friends for so long that our thoughts and feelings are so transparent to each other! But is that because I’m just straightforward… Or… Am I just too simple?

“Let’s leave the talk about taste for now.”

“Yeah, let’s talk face to face again next time.”

“Don’t let me go.”

“I won’t let you go, no matter what.”

What was that tone just now? When she said, “I won’t let you go,” I felt a shiver down my spine, as if I couldn’t escape for real… Or is it my imagination?

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, really.”

“Is that so…? Hey, Nagi-kun?”

“Hmm?”

“I want to ask you something again.”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you always protect me, Nagi-kun?”

After muttering in my heart that she’s asking such an obvious question, I confidently said this:

“Because we’re childhood friends, right? And…”

“And?”

“…Oh, well, yeah. I think of you like a little sister, too.”

“A little sister…?”

Whoops… Was this the first time I said that to Rion? I can almost hear her voice from the other end of the phone saying, “Were you really thinking of me as your little sister,” but her sigh proved otherwise.

“Sigh… Well, it’s okay for now. But thank you, Nagi-kun.”

“Yeah.”

And so, we laughed and prepared to sleep, getting ready for tomorrow.

“Rion, be extra careful starting from tomorrow.”

“Yeah, is it because of him and those around him?”

“Yeah.”

As long as she understands this.

Ito had a pretty tough time, but he knows that Rion is one of the people who caused the planning of his demise… The others who were exposed in the process are in a similar situation.

“It’s okay. I see Ito as my only enemy — the one who considers not only me but even you as an enemy.”

“That’s…”

Rion seems to have something in mind. I couldn’t find out her true intentions that day, but I found out why she said that so quickly the next day.

Two boys who were close to Ito, the one who caused the fight, and the two girls involved in the conflict… They had reconciled by the next day.

“That Ito guy… Isn’t it terrible to get involved with someone else’s girlfriend?”

“It’s too late now. According to what I heard…”

Was this a form of retribution for what he had done, or did it mean that Ito’s former friends had distanced themselves from him? The girls were seen getting along with Asumi-san and the others.

Everything had changed in just one day… What happened?

“My only enemy is Ito-kun.”

Rion’s words… Did they imply this scene?

Well, I think even the teachers would have had a hard time with these underage issues.

…But maybe I’m overthinking things when it comes to the fact that they were able to return so quickly the next day. Is there some kind of plan behind it… I wonder?

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TL : Zenon#4120