The Reason Why The Cool Beauty Who Repeatedly Ignores Messages Replies Only To Me. ~The Lonely Beauty Wants To Know The Lonely Me〜 - Chapter 40

Episode 40: Tamari’s Return and a Mysterious Proposal?

It’s been a week since the Saeki home party.

Midway through summer vacation, lying on my bed in my room with the air conditioner blasting, reading a book, I received a phone call.

“Kotoku… let’s play MiniMon again today.”

“Sigh…”

“Don’t sound so reluctant… if you say something like that again, I’ll beat you up.”

“Sigh… (second time)”

A week had passed since the home party, yet every night at 7 PM without fail, Mishiro would call me.

At first, I thought she’d get bored soon enough, but day after day, she never did…

“You know, if you want to play games with someone, make friends who actually like games or something.”

“There’s Kotoku.”

“Besides me.”

“…I don’t like it. I’m not interested in friends.”

“Don’t try to imitate your sister. You just have trouble communicating.”

“I don’t want Kotoku to tell me that.”

“I just don’t need friends.”

“…Liar. You’re flirting with mysister.”

Does she really think Saeki and I have that kind of relationship?

“Saeki… is not my friend.”

“…Sex friend?”

“That’s not it! What’s that girl from the girls’ school saying?”
“…Kotoku’s pervert.”

“It’s you, you!”

As usual, I can’t keep up with her pace…

“Kotoku, do you hate being friends with me?”

“Don’t ask… something like that.”
You can’t just say I don’t like you to someone’s face, no matter who the person is.
“Hehe… Kotoku is a tsundere after all.”

“It’s not like that at all.”

And so, tonight I found myself helping Mishiro with her game again.

✳︎✳︎

After being dragged into Mishiro’s game late into the night and lazing around in bed until noon the next day, my phone suddenly rang.

Thinking it was either Saeki or Mishiro, half-asleep, I answered, “Saeki? Or Mishiro?”

“Kotoku-kun?”

It was Tamari’s voice…

“I understand Saeki-chan, but who’s Mishiro?”

Oh no.

“Hey, did you make another girl somewhere? Even though you’re my Kotoku-kun.”

“Hey, don’t suddenly turn yandere. That’s not like you.”

“Ah, did you find out? Geez, Kotoku-kun, you’re quite something, making friends with another new girl again.”

“That’s not it. ‘Mishiro’ is Saeki’s sister, kind of a gaming buddy…”

“A buddy…?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing. I’m glad you made a new friend. Anyway, I’m going to drop off souvenirs from Hawaii today. Make sure your bed is tidy.”

“What do you mean by ‘bed’?”

“D-Don’t say that in front of a girl!”

“Stop implying weird things.”

The call ended abruptly.

I can’t keep up with Tamari’s jokes.

I got up from the bed, straightened my bed hair in front of the sink, brushed my teeth, and played with my smartphone while sucking on the butter roll that was on the dining table.

My summer vacation revolves around takoyaki, games, and extreme introversion.

Well, I don’t mind not doing extroverted things.

“A normal daily life, peaceful days. That’s what’s important.”

As I waited downstairs in the living room for Tamari, the intercom rang.

“Coming, coming.”

As soon as I unlocked the front door, a lightly tanned loli childhood friend entered.

“I’m back, Kotoku-kun!”

Tamari wore a white short-sleeved top and navy blue overalls, clearly enjoying her summer vacation.

“So, about the souvenir…?”

I looked around, but Tamari didn’t have anything in her hands.

“As for the souvenir, it’s me!”

“Go home.”

“Geez, you’re actually happy, aren’t you?”

“I’m definitely not.”

“Uh-oh, your beloved Tamari-tan is back! For now, just lick my armpits… that’s what you usually do.”

“Stop fabricating creepy memories that never happened. I’m not the lolicon you think I am.”

“You’re totally a lolicon.”

“Absolutely not.”

While saying “You should be honest,” Tamari took out foreign-made chocolates from the large pocket in the middle of her overalls.

“Here, these are chocolates from Hawaii.”

“…I-It’s unexpectedly normal.”

“What? Maybe something like ‘rubber’ was better?”

“…Lately, you’re making a lot of dirty jokes.”

“Huh? I didn’t say what kind of rubber it was, did I?”

Annoying…
“Well, maybe I’m a little jealous because Kotoku-kun seems friendly with other girls.”
“Sigh… You’re not really jealous, though.”

“You think so? But, Kotoku, I’m genuinely happy you’ve made new friends.”

Instead of her usual calculating smile, Tamari offered a genuinely innocent smile.

“…Ah, would you like to come up? You came all the way to give me a souvenir, so why not have some tea?”

“Come up…? Oh, did my smile just make you excited?”

“That’s not it.”

Tamari said, “Excuse me,” and entered the house, plopping down lazily on the living room sofa.

“Shi-su,” what is that? (T/N: She said おじゃましーす ojama shi-su, which is a playful way of saying ‘excuse me’)

“Oh, Kotoku, I have a proposal.”

“A proposal…?”

I had a bad feeling about this.

[Afterword]

Already Episode 40… I’m having so much fun writing this piece.

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