The Story Of How I, A Gloomy Guy, Ended Up Surrounded By the Top-Tier Beautiful Girls In Class After A Seat Change

Chapter 173: Tanaka Gets Licked by a Dog (Physically)

Our shopping at Cocosco continued, and since Tanaka and I had barely any experience with BBQs, we left most of the ingredient selection to Yuria…

“Well, this should be enough, right?”

When I glanced at the cart, I saw that at some point, an insane amount of meat and seafood had been piled inside.

What the hell is this amount…? Cocosco’s ingredient packs already come in ridiculous sizes, and now they were stacked up like crazy in the cart.

“Hey, Yuria. I know there are a lot of us, but isn’t this a bit much?”

“Huh? But if we have leftovers, we can just make curry with them and eat it tomorrow or something. Curry tastes better when it sits overnight, and it lasts a while, right?”

“I-I see… That does make sense. A curry with all this fancy meat and seafood, huh? I’m looking forward to tomorrow now.”

“Tomorrow? Oh, are you going to hang out with Ichinose-san again tomorrow, Ryota-kun?”

Tanaka asked, and I realized I had said something unnecessary.

Damn it… Now that I think about it, I haven’t told Tanaka about the sleepover yet.

(But if I tell her I’m staying over at Yuria’s place, that’s just going to make things even more annoying…)

“Uh, umm, well, that’s…”

“Oh, no, no. What I meant was that I’d be making curry for tomorrow, so don’t worry about it. I wasn’t saying I was going to give it to Ryota or anything. Right, Ryota?”

“Eh? Oh, uh, yeah!”

Thanks to Yuria’s quick thinking, Tanaka didn’t find out about the sleepover.

I let out a small sigh of relief.

“Hmm… Is that really true?”

“W-What is it, Tanaka?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that the way you two were talking sounded exactly like a couple who just started living together.”

“HUH!? Me and Ryota? W-Wait, Tanaka, what are you even saying!?”

“So I thought, ‘Maybe they’re having a sleepover tonight and hanging out again tomorrow?’ But, well, there’s no way Ryota-kun, who’s on the lifelong virgin route, would be staying over at Ichinose-san’s place, right?”

Despite the playful tone, Tanaka’s deduction was 100% accurate.

A chill ran down my spine, and I stood frozen on the spot.

Her reasoning was oddly specific… and completely correct.

It gave me the same kind of shivers as if someone had licked the back of my neck and said, “This tastes like a liar’s sweat.”

“Something wrong, Ryota-kun?”

“N-Nothing at all!”

She genuinely didn’t seem to realize I was actually staying over, but just from our conversation, she managed to come up with that conclusion…

Y-Yeah, Tanaka’s instincts are seriously dangerous…

After finishing our shopping at Cocosco, we carried our bulging grocery bags and headed to Yuria’s house.

“Whoa… Ichinose-san, your house is huge! If I were to say it in a ‘Ryota-kun’ way, it’s as big as the size of someone’s thighs!”

“Don’t say it in a ‘Ryota’ way. That’s seriously gross.”

“Huh!? What the hell, Yuria!? You’re making it sound like I’m gross—”

“”Because you are (obviously).””

Tch… T-These two… They really just said it straight to my face.

And yet, they don’t even realize how happy it makes me to be insulted… How foolish.

“Anyway, your house is big, but your garden is beautiful too.”

As Tanaka looked around the yard, Yuria’s dog suddenly came running towards her, snorting loudly.

“Wait! Ryota-kun, Ichinose-san! There’s a huge dog running straight at me! W-Wait, sto—PFFA! S-Stop! Don’t lick my face!”

Tanaka was completely tackled to the ground on the lawn.

To think even a dog would end up licking her (physically).

“Hey, Tanaka, stop messing around and help with the BBQ prep.”

“How in the world does this look like I’m messing around?! Help me, please!”

For some reason, Tanaka had become strangely popular with the dog.

—

Chapter 174: The Thick Thighs BBQ Suddenly Became Serious

While Tanaka was playing with the dog, Yuria and I started preparing for the BBQ in the yard.

“H-Hey! Why are you two ignoring me in this situation?! Y-You’re abandoning me—Gyaaah!!”

Yuria and I quietly continued our preparations, taking out a large BBQ grill from the shed, along with outdoor chairs and a table.

We still had to light the fire, and BBQs actually had a lot of little tasks to do.

“Stop ignoring me and help—! W-Wait, puppy, n-not there, please! Ahh♡”

But even those tedious tasks went by in a flash while I was looking at Yuria’s thighs as we worked together.

“Ryota, I thought you were being unusually quiet while preparing, but… you’re staring at my thighs again, aren’t you? You never get tired of it.”

“…Time flies like an arrow, thick thighs are always thick.”

“Ugh, I seriously have no idea what you’re saying, but at least I know one thing for sure—you’re still as creepy as ever.”

Yuria sighed in exasperation and continued setting up the grill. Meanwhile, I waited for the fire to catch, glancing down at her thighs.

“Well, but isn’t it a good thing that you don’t get tired of me? I mean, we’re going to… be together for a long time, right?”

“A-Long time? Yeah, I guess. If we stay in the same academic course, we’ll be in the same class next year too.”

“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant…”

Yuria frowned and denied it.

“Well… never mind. Either way, it’s the same thing for us. Anyway, Ryota, as long as you’re next to me next year… that’s all that matters.”

“Next to you? Oh, you mean our seats? Yeah, our attendance numbers are close, so there’s a chance we’ll be seated near each other again next year.”

“You seriously—Aaaah! Ugh! Do you want your face grilled on this BBQ?!”

Yuria, now completely pissed off, clicked the tongs in her hand aggressively.

“W-Why are you so mad, Yuria?! Is it because I was looking at your thighs?!”

“Forget about my thighs for now!”

“Wait, so thighs are fine later?!”

And so, I continued watching her thighs while waiting for the meat to cook.

“Alright, the meat is gradually getting done, so let’s get the other stuff ready too. Hey, Tanaka! Stop playing and take care of the meat!”

“I am NOT playing! Just help me already!”

Tanaka, who had been stuck under the dog the whole time, was finally rescued by Yuria.

“I will never forgive that stupid huge mutt.”

A 16-year-old (and a hardcore fujoshi) growling at a dog.

Seriously, this is why Tanaka is…

“Okay, Tanaka and Ryota, you guys handle the meat. I’ll go cut the vegetables in the kitchen.”

“Oh, thanks, Yuria.”

“Yeah. If the fire goes out, let me know.”

Saying that, Yuria headed inside the house.

“Hey, Ryota-kun, what’s with that disappointed face? You look like you can’t work properly unless you’re staring at thighs.”

“You… How do you know that? Are you a genius?”

“I’ve never felt so unhappy about being called a genius in my life.”

Tanaka frowned in frustration as she tended to the meat.

“But you know… it’s been a while since it was just the two of us talking like this. Lately, the three beautiful girls have always been around, and we haven’t spent summer break together since middle school.”

“Yeah… now that you mention it, it really has been a while.”

Thinking back, it had been two years since I last spent summer break with Tanaka like this.

“Last year felt like a blank year. It was the first time since we became friends that we ended up in different classes, and it was kind of weird.”

“Yeah, it was.”

We had never talked about it before, but there was definitely some distance that formed between us.

“Honestly… I was a little scared to talk to you. In middle school, since we were always in the same class, it was easy to keep track of what was going on with each other. But once we were in different classes and only saw each other occasionally… I started worrying that one day, you’d turn into someone I didn’t know anymore.”

“T-Tanaka…”

“But that was just me overthinking. The current Ryota-kun is still the same hopeless pervert, otaku, and creep as ever!”

“You bastard! You’re totally making fun of me!”

“Oh, absolutely!”

“You—!”

“But… that’s exactly the Ryota Izumiya I care about. So, this is fine, isn’t it, Ryota-kun?”

Tanaka flipped over the grilled meat and smiled as she spoke.

The me right now… is still the person Tanaka cherishes.

“I-I’m also… glad you haven’t changed, Tanaka. You’re my one and only best friend.”

Maybe because Tanaka had said something so unlike her, I ended up being honest with my feelings too.

But the truth is, I really was relieved that she hadn’t changed.

“Ryota-kun…! G-Geez! Don’t say gross stuff with that face!”