The Story of Making a Popular Girl Dependent on Me - Chapter 18

After the school day ended and it was after school. Setsune said she’d come to my place when she was ready in the morning, so I got ready and waited.

After waiting for a while, Setsune, who had finished greeting her friends, approached.

“Let’s go.”

With just those words, she started walking without waiting for me.

I found Setsune acting strangely amusing and had to hold back my laughter as I followed her.

Even after leaving school, we were still holding hands, but Setsune remained silent and didn’t say anything in particular.

I waited for Setsune to start talking, so I didn’t initiate conversation. After walking like that for a while, Setsune asked a question.

“Hey, Rokka. I have something I want to ask.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Pretending to have no idea, I asked. Watching my reaction, she continued.

“The girl who came to see you during lunch break. Who is she? I’ve never seen that girl around before.”

“Oh, you mean Mio. We became friends yesterday after school. She asked me to go home together, so we did. She’s actually a nice girl.”

To tease Setsune, I purposely called Hasegawa-san by her first name. I told her about going home together and how we became friends.

“Mio…? Are you already calling her by her first name?”

“Well, yeah. If we get along well, becoming friends happens quickly.”

Listening to my story, Setsune’s eyes gradually darkened, and she tightened her grip on my hand.

Because of that, Setsune’s nails dug into me a little, but I found it rather pleasant knowing it was from Setsune’s jealousy.

After that, Setsune fell silent, so we continued walking without saying anything.

“Hmm, if I say we became friends too quickly, will she back off? I should have layered my words more here. Maybe I should be more aggressive.”

Then, after arriving at the station and getting on the train, we didn’t talk at all until we reached Setsune’s station.

“See you later, Setsune.”

“…See you.”

Setsune said just that and quickly got off the train to go home. Alone on the train, I thought about how I could make Setsune stop worrying about everything.

I came up with some ideas and noted them on my phone, deciding to try them out if they seemed good.

Saturday came the next day. Today was the day I’d hang out with Hasegawa-san, so I woke up a little earlier to get ready.

After yesterday, I didn’t receive any messages from Setsune. I didn’t intend to do anything from my side, even though I didn’t know what she was thinking and feeling right now.

After getting ready to go out, I left home with a bag for going out.

When I arrived at the meeting place, Hasegawa-san was already there, waiting for me.

“Good morning, Hasegawa-san. Did I keep you waiting?”

“Good morning! Yukimura-san! You didn’t keep me waiting that long!”

She said she hadn’t waited long, but it was actually 15 minutes before our meeting time.

I wondered how long she had been waiting, but it would be rude to ask, so I didn’t.

“Well then, where should we go first? Hasegawa-san, is there any place you’d like to go?”

“I’d like to go to the bookstore. How about that?”

“A bookstore… Sounds good. I haven’t been there recently either, so it’s perfect.”

“That’s great! Let’s head there right away!”

When we arrived at the bookstore, we immediately started looking around inside. Hasegawa-san said she was looking for a specific book, so we went to see if it was available.

“Let’s see… Ah! Here it is!”

Hasegawa-san said that and went to get the book she was looking for. I was curious about what kind of book she came to buy, so I followed her to check it out.

“… A cookbook?”

“Yes! I thought I’d try studying cooking, so I thought I’d buy it for reference!”

“I see. I hope you can cook well.”

“Um, excuse me. If it’s okay, would you mind trying something I made next time?”

“Me? Sure, but why me?”

“It’s to thank you for accompanying me today… something like that.”

“I see. Well then, I’ll gladly accept. Looking forward to it.”

“Great! I’ll do my best!”

After Hasegawa-san decided on her book, we looked around the bookstore for manga and magazines, and left the bookstore after about an hour.

Then, we sat on a nearby bench to take a short break.

“What would you like to drink, Hasegawa-san? I’ll go buy it from that vending machine.”

“W-What! I can’t let you go buy it for me, Yukimura-san! I’ll get it myself!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You must be tired, Hasegawa-san, so it’s fine to rest. What would you like to drink?”

“T-Then, I’ll have a milk tea, please.”

“Got it.”

I said that and went to the nearby vending machine to buy milk tea and black tea.

Then, I returned to Hasegawa-san and handed her the milk tea.

“Here you go.”

“Ah, thank you! I was just about to pay…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

As I said that, Hasegawa-san reluctantly took a sip of the milk tea.

After confirming that, I also opened the black tea and took a sip.

“Now, what should we do next?”

“I want to go to the game center!”

“You’ve never been there before, Hasegawa-san?”

“No, I went there a little when I was young, but only a few times…”

“I see. Then, let’s go to the game center.”

“Thank you!”

With the next destination decided, I guided Hasegawa-san to a nearby game center.

Once inside the game center, various game machines made noisy sounds, which felt a bit overwhelming.

“Wow! It’s been so long since I came here as a child. It’s so lively and fun!”

Hasegawa-san said that, her eyes sparkling like a child’s.

Seeing her like that made me smile a little, and we played various games together.

From racing games to rhythm games, hockey, and medal games, Hasegawa-san enjoyed playing every game, and naturally, I had fun too.

To check how much time had passed since we entered the game center, I checked the time on my phone and saw that it was already past 5 PM.

“Hasegawa-san, it’s already 5 PM. Are you okay with the time?”

“Eh?! Is it already that late?! I was having so much fun, I forgot about the time!”

“I forgot about it too. So, what should we do?”

“Well, we might need to head back soon.”

“Got it. Then, how about doing that one last thing before we leave?”

I said that and pointed to the crane game, asking her.

After confirming her nod, we headed to the crane game corner.

“Ah! I want this one!”

As she said that, she stopped at a crane game with a large teddy bear inside.

She immediately put in some money to play, but couldn’t win on her first try.

However, she didn’t give up and tried several more times, but still couldn’t manage to win it.

“Hasegawa-san, can I give it a try?”

When I asked, Hasegawa-san silently stepped aside and let me take over.

I put in the money and started playing right away. Using the claw, I shifted the position of the plush toy closer to the hole.

I couldn’t grab it on the first try, but on my second attempt, I did the same thing, shifting it even closer to the hole.

Finally, on the third try, I managed to drop the plush toy into the hole.

“Wow! That’s amazing, Yukimura-san!”

With praise from Hasegawa-san, I picked up the dropped plush toy and handed it to her.

“Here you go.”

“Um, but this is the plush toy you won, Yukimura-san. You should take it home.”

“It’s okay. I got it for you, Hasegawa-san, as a souvenir for today. Will you accept it?”

“…Thank you. I’ll treasure it.”

“Yeah, please do.”

Saying that, Hasegawa-san hugged the plush toy as if it were a treasure.

“Well then, shall we head back soon?”

“Yes!”

After hearing Hasegawa-san’s energetic response, we left the game center and headed towards the station.

Once we reached the station, we said our goodbyes because we were taking different trains.

When I got home, I checked my phone and saw a notification.

It was a message from Hasegawa-san, thanking me for today and expressing how much fun she had. She also thanked me for inviting her.

So, I replied with thanks for today and how enjoyable it was, and expressed gratitude for inviting me as well.

Since I didn’t receive any messages from Setsune for the rest of the day, I had dinner, took a bath, and went to bed early to prepare for tomorrow.