Rinâs pouting mouth puffs up.
The sound of Rin making a meal.
But I donât knowâŠ, it seems strangely rough today.
I thought she looked the same as usual on the way home.
I think I saw Hannya behind me when I went home.
Iâve been in contact with Rin before and this has never happenedâŠ
I honestly donât know what to do.
I decided to consult with Google-sensei⊠no, Kenichi-sensei for a solution to this case.
I sent the message, âIâve upset a girl and Iâm about to get into a fight, please tell me how to solve it.â
Kenichi replied a few seconds later.
âIf it were normal, you should apologize sincerely. If a woman and a man fight, itâs not a good thing. Men may think they are fighting one-on-one, but women are in a clique. So, basically, if you talk back or make excuses, you are at a disadvantage in many cases. In light of the above, if you offend someone, apologize and listen to what they have to say. First of all, it is important to let them vent their feelings.â
How could he have typed that in such a short period of time!?
âIf itâs a problem with Wakamiya, Iâm sure itâs nothing major, and thereâs no need to take it too seriously.â
⊠If Kenichi says so, itâs possible Iâm mistaken, right?
Thereâs something wrong with her facial expression.
Her smile is scary or somethingâŠ
âTowa-kun? What are you doing staring at your phone?â
âJust, uh⊠Kenichi and I.â
Her crystal-clear voice is still coldâŠ
I hope Kenichi is right and itâs a misunderstanding, but Iâd hate it if it wasnâtâŠ
âRin, youâre mad, possibly?â
âYes, yes I am ⊠At myself âŠâ
âI know, sorry ⊠Eh?â
Did she say âmyselfâ?
I donât know what that is supposed to meanâŠ
As Iâm tilting my head, Rin started to lay out the dishes in front of me.
When she had finished arranging all the dishes, she sat down beside me with a beautiful posture.
âArenât you mad at me?â
âThere is no reason for me to be angry with you, is there? I can understand that you are not at fault, if I understand the situation.â
âHuh? Is that soâŠâŠ?â
âYes, I know that. I know that Ainoya-san is very distant, and there was also Yokomura-san who played the stopper role. I can guess that there was something requested of Towa-kun, and the conversation went in the opposite direction, and things got very lively.â
âHahaha⊠as usual, youâre right on the mark.â
How can she understand so much in that one moment?
But Iâm glad to see that level of understanding.
âNo, but werenât you cooking in a very angry way just nowâŠ? I heard a lot of âthumpingâ noises.â
âIs that it? Todayâs dinner is âsauteed beefâ, so it needs to be pounded. But I think I gave you the wrong idea because of the timing. Iâm sorryâŠâ
âI understand, so thereâs no need to apologize. Then why were you mad at yourself??â
Suddenly she became quiet and lowered her eyes.
Then she looked up at me.
âUm, ⊠could you please listen without laughing?â
âIâm not laughing.â
âWell, actually⊠I was jealousâŠâ
Her voice dropped to a low whisper.
It was a rare case for Rin to turn red all the way up to her ears, and she couldnât have been more flushed.
Rin is extremely patient, so the fact that she couldnât control her emotions made her frustrated, which in turn contributed to her embarrassment.
When something unfamiliar happens, itâs confusing, isnât it?
âBoth Ainoya-san and Yokomura-san are famous for being cute girls,⊠and I was a little frustrated. I saw Shouwa-kun, who had never even conversed with these two before, talking with them,⊠and it made me a little irritated,⊠but it also made me feel a little nervous,⊠I was so embarrassed that I just got a little tenseâŠâ
I gently patted Rinâs head, who was turning bright red like a ripe tomato.
Watching Rinâs blush gradually recede, I called out to her.
âIâm sorry for being so nervous too. I donât mind at all, and Iâm ⊠a little happy.â
âEhehe~. So maybe it wasnât so bad to be jealous?â
âIt was somewhat bad for the heart, though.â
âFufu. Iâm sorry about that. I should be happy and congratulate you, donât you think?â
âI think thatâs an overreaction. I just wasnât able to do what everyone else was doing as a matter of course⊠It was a minus, and now itâs a zero, which means weâre just getting started.â
Rin smiled gently at me as I laughed at myself.
She looked at me with those eyes ⊠that were full of compassion, as if she was wrapping me in her arms.
âA journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. It is a joy to see the growth and change in Towa-kun as you start to talk to the class. ButâŠâ
Rin puffed her cheeks out and put her hand on my knee.
Her eyes, big enough to suck me in, looked straight at me.
âI miss having Towa-kun all to myself⊠I know this is selfish of me, butâŠâ
âWellâŠ, itâs okay to be selfish, isnât it? I think itâs acceptable to be selfish as long as Rin says it.â
âWell, Iâll take your word for it⊠Iâll be selfish just this once.â
Then she laid down on my lap and coddled me like a cat.
No âŠ, this is a very foul thing to do.
I chuckled and put my hand on Rinâs head.