When I Brought The Lost Little Girl To Her House, The One Who Came Out Of The Front Door Was The Most Beautiful Girl In The Grade. - Chapter 14

Just changing my hairstyle, surprisingly, nobody seems to notice. I’ve run into some classmates and friends I often talk to, but there’s no sign of them recognizing me.

Sigh… When I sighed, I was suddenly pulled by my arm.

“Let’s try that one next!”

“Are you still going to eat more?”

Oops… I thought I shouldn’t say something like that to a girl, but it was too late. Shirakawa puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

“Telling a girl something like that ranks third in the list of things you shouldn’t say, you know?”

“Uh, sorry…”

“Then treat me to yakisoba!”

She said it with a laugh, but I had no other choice but to treat her to yakisoba.

“As an apology for earlier and for now.”

“Well, earlier… Ah, that woman just bothered me on her own…”

“Really? Were you excited when she pressed her chest against you?”

“I-I wasn’t!”

Though she mentioned that she had pressed her chest against me, I didn’t feel excited or anything.

In the end, I bought two yakisoba dishes. Shirakawa also got a crepe.

“Now let’s eat!”

“Yeah, here you go.”

I handed her the yakisoba from the bag.

“Thank you. Then, here’s mine.”

“Huh?”

“What? Don’t tell me you don’t want the crepe?”

“No, I don’t dislike it, but…”

“Great! Here you go.”

Saying that, she handed me the crepe. When I hesitated to accept it, Shirakawa gave me a mischievous smile.

“Would ‘Ahn~’ have been better?”

“N-No, it’s not like that…”

“Ahaha! Your face is turning red~”

Anyone would blush if they were told that! I screamed that in my mind.

After we finished eating the yakisoba and crepe, Shirakawa took me to a hidden spot to watch the fireworks.

“We’re here!”

Saying that, she brought me to a place that felt nostalgic.

It was a place we used to come for a summer festival when we were in elementary school… Wait, why does Shirakawa know about this place?

I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a student with the last name Shirakawa back then.

“Tama-ya!”

With a lively shout from Shirakawa, the fireworks shot up with a “pew” sound. Then, with a “boom,” they bloomed in beautiful colors against the dark sky.

Shirakawa’s figure, watching the fireworks, suited the scene perfectly.

“It’s nostalgic, watching fireworks like this.”

“Is it because you haven’t seen fireworks in a while?”

“Well, that’s true, but there’s one more reason, I think.”

Once again, with another “boom,” the surroundings were illuminated.

“Shirakawa, we’re… similar.”

Unfortunately, the timing was off, and my words overlapped with the sound of the fireworks.

“Hmm? Sorry, what did you say?”

“Oh, well, um…”

I completely missed the right moment to say it. But I can ask her about this anytime, so…

“Hey, tell me!”

“Well, it’s just that… you look good in yukata.”

“Hmm~? I don’t think that’s what you were going to say, but… thank you!”

She puffed her cheeks with a “mou” expression, but I felt like her cheeks blushed slightly, maybe because she was happy to be praised.

The final fireworks went off. It was the largest, most beautiful one, and this summer festival became a memorable one for us.

***

“After all… there’s no one with the surname Shirayuki…”

After seeing Shirayuki off to her house, I started rummaging through my room’s photo album.

Sure enough, there was no surname Shirayuki.

Could it have been my imagination…? No, but… I should have asked back then.

Now, unable to shake off the feeling of unease, I found myself unable to sleep.

“Huh?… Tada Ayano… Ayano?”

Even though there was no one with the same surname, there was only one person with the same name.

However, I had thought there could be no way that it was her. Ayano Tada had coarse, frizzy hair.

A glance was enough to identify Shiroyuki’s hair. Smooth, silky hair… but, if it were true, if Ayano Tada was actually Ayano Shiroyuki, it would also make sense that she knew about that hidden spot.

As I pondered these thoughts, the chirping of birds was already audible through the window, chirping away.