What's Wrong With Interfering With My Childhood Friend's Love? - Chapter 16 : The God Isn’t Doing His Job?!

Chapter 16 : The God Isn’t Doing His Job?!

Looking back now, I realize there was something odd about Miumi’s behavior. 

It was from the time when I panicked and called her because she forgot to hand me the key.

Miumi had hung up the phone and then called me back.

At that moment, I didn’t think too deeply about it, but in hindsight, it was clearly a strange action.

However, if there were students from Nishikiba Girls’ High around her at that time… that would change things. Miumi might not have wanted them to hear the way she speaks at home.

The Miumi at home and the Miumi now — I honestly still don’t know which is her true self.

But if my guess is correct, it all makes sense.

As I was pondering this, my body swayed with the movement of the train. We were on our way to a leisure facility a few stations away. 

The plan was to try out a few sports there before heading to a nearby bowling alley for more fun.

The one who planned all this was Akito. Since I’ve never been the type to think up date plans, I left it all to him, given his experience.

He would also handle most of the arrangements, so as originally planned, my role was simply to support him. 

I needed to keep Suisei from interfering with Akito while creating a situation where he and Miumi could interact more easily.

As we arrived at our destination and Amagishi went to take care of the reception, I reaffirmed my resolve.

But then… if my instincts weren’t mistaken… I caught sight of Miumi subtly moving closer to me.

“Hey, hey! Can I call you Riku-kun?”

“Hm? I don’t mind, but why?”

“Everyone else seems to call you that, so I thought I’d do the same!”

Everyone else? As far as I know, Miumi’s the only one. 

But I suppose it’s easier for her to stick with a familiar way of addressing me. If it helps avoid any slip-ups, then it’s for the best.

“Ah, sure. Call me whatever’s easiest for you.”

“Then it’s decided!”

“Oh, right. In that case, could you call Akito by his first name too? He doesn’t really like being called by his last name.”

“R-Really? Ako—wait, no… Akito-kun.”

“Yeah, you know, personal preferences like that are kind of embarrassing to admit, but it’s true. It’s easier to respond when you use my first name.”

Akihito stretched his nose in slight embarrassment, but he still managed to add to my excuse smoothly, showing he was quick on his feet.

Internally, I cheered him on.

“Then I’ll do that! By the way, Riku-kun, you’re really kind, aren’t you?”

“Am I?”

“Yeah! You seem to understand Akito-kun really well, and I admire that!”

“…Well, we’ve been childhood friends for a long time.”

I get that Miumi is curious about me, but I’d really prefer if she didn’t focus all her attention on me. As long as she builds a good connection with Akito, that’s all that matters.

“Since I’m calling you Riku-kun, I’d like you to call me however you like too.”

“Then I’ll just call you Miumi. It’s a nice name.”

Akito was quick to start using her first name. I stayed silent, but I decided that I’d continue addressing her by her last name unless we were alone.

It would be easier to call her Miumi, but I didn’t want Akito to think we were too close.

Come to think of it, where is Shino? She always butts in whenever Akito talks to girls.

Just as I wondered, I saw Shino returning. Apparently, she had just gone to the restroom.

Looking over at Suisei and Chiya, they were casually browsing a pamphlet for the rental facilities. Those two were always well-behaved, which was a relief.

Meanwhile, Amagishi… and Kozuka-san, who was sticking close to her, seemed to have completed the check-in without any problems.

Once they returned, we all headed inside.

“How about some badminton first? On a smaller court.”

“Oh! Kokaze agrees too! I was just thinking I wanted to play badminton!”

“Then that works out well.”

“But it might be hard for all eight of us to play together… Oh! We should split into pairs of two!”

“That’s a good idea. Kokaze-san, you seem to be quite intelligent…”

“A-Ah… um, thank you…”

“I actually have an app that can randomly assign teams. How about we use that to split everyone fairly?”

As usual, Shino enthusiastically made suggestions, but she seemed less energetic than usual. It looked like she had developed a strong aversion to Amagishi, who tended to be overly touchy.

This must be a first for her. Even I, who usually gets teased by her, felt a bit sorry for her this time.

More than anything, I was surprised by her proposal. What she just suggested was exactly what Akito had originally planned.

I looked at Akito with a suspicious glance, wondering if he and Shino had been scheming together behind the scenes. But then I noticed Akito was looking at me the same way.

I see… judging by his reaction, Akito had nothing to do with it. To clear my own name, I shook my head.

My opinion of Shino went up a little. I’d always thought of her as just a convenient foil for Suisei, but this was a pleasant surprise. Since her thinking was in sync with Akito’s, it meant they were naturally compatible.

At any rate, things were proceeding as planned.

The only unexpected factor was that the team assignments were now up to Amagishi’s random selection app.

“Alright, I’ve entered everyone’s names. Let’s see how we’re paired up.”

“I’m excited no matter who I team up with!”

“Fufu, same here.”

That was clearly a lie. There was no way Amagishi would want to be paired with a guy. What was she even saying?

I was wondering if she was planning to secretly regroup if she had teamed up with me or Akito. I kept a close eye on her, but I didn’t catch any sign of tampering on her end.

Judging by her satisfied expression, it looked like she had successfully secured a female partner.

If she had been paired with me or Akito, would she have secretly redone the selection? Well, even if she had, I wouldn’t have stopped her.

Thanks to Amagishi, our carefully laid plans fell apart.

Originally, we intended for Akito and Miumi to be on the same team. Of course, I also planned to team up with Suisei.

However, when I looked at the final results of the random pairings that Amagishi announced…

Riku Kaidou & Miumi Aihara

Akito Akimitsu & Niko Kōzuka

Suisei Chitose & Chiya Sahara

Kaori Amagishi & Kaze Shino

When I glanced at my beloved Suisei, she seemed relieved that her partner was Chiya. 

Well, as long as it wasn’t Akito, that was fine.

Chiya, on the other hand, looked brimming with confidence.

And then there was Shino, who had probably wanted to be paired with Akito. 

Unfortunately, she ended up with Amagishi and was really flustered. That team would likely be an easy win.

The real problem was my own team. I hadn’t expected to be paired with Miumi.

Even though we live together, interacting with this different version of Miumi made me feel awkward.

“Looks like we’re partners, Riku-kun. Are you good at badminton?”

“I’d say I’m better than you, Aihara-san.”

“Are you bad at it?”

“Not really. But it’s been a while, so I might need some support. Let’s work together and do our best.”

“Yeah, let’s do our best!… Also, ‘Aihara-san,’ huh?”

Miumi’s voice dropped to a murmur, and she spoke in her usual tone from home. The sudden shift was unsettling.

Was she referring to how I addressed her?

It was hard to understand her intentions, making communication difficult.

Yet, for some reason, Miumi’s disappointment was written all over her face. I’m beginning to understand her even less every passing moment.

Even though she was the one who said it was okay to call her however I liked… My stress levels just kept rising.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

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TL : zenon_xt