âI wonât tell you.â
I came home after practice for the sports festival and was being bombarded with questions by Rin.
Iâm not sure what sheâs so obsessed withâŠ
Itâs been like this ever since I got home.
I was sitting cross-legged reading a book when she put her hand on my knee and stared at my face.
Even if I try not to look at Rin, I can still see her in my field of visionâŠ
When I try to read my book, ⊠she interrupts me by pulling on my arm.
I gave up, put the book on the table and sighed.
âRin, why are you bothering meâŠâ
âThat thing during the day, thereâs nothing you can do about it, okay?â
âNo, there is no such thing. If there is a flaw, it needs to be fixed. I donât know what those shortcomings will lead to in the future, so I want to cut off any worries. Iâm prepared for anything ⊠itâs my motto to take all possible precautions.â
âOh, so thatâs what you mean⊠Rin has a perfectionist nature, you know. If thatâs the case, I should probably tell you.â
âItâs not that Iâm a perfectionist, but I get an itch if I donât get to the bottom of something thatâs bothering me.â
âAn Itch⊠But Rin. Itâs hard to tell.â
âWell, does that mean you donât like to talk about it?â
âI donât mind it. Itâs just that itâs very close to a sensory thing~.â
âMhm⊠are you perhaps trying to smoke me out?â
âNo, no, thatâs not it.â
Rin seemed to be skeptical, but Iâm not trying to be particularly cruel.
Well, itâs true that I want to keep it a secret because itâs the first time Iâve had one over RinâŠ
But if I think about it for Rinâs sake, I think I should tell her.
Since Rin saved me, Iâve always wanted to help her in any way I can.
But even if I tried to convey something sensible, it would be too abstract and the explanation would be too baffling.
In front of Kenichi, I said confidently, but in reality, there is no clear basis for understanding Rinâs falsehood.
âLike this!â or âSomehow!â and speculation follows.
Thereâs no such thing as âRinâs pout went up a millimeter, so itâs a lie.â
I donât know what to doâŠ
As I twisted my head around to think of how to tell her, Rin chuckled and laughed in a funny way.
âI understood. Well, letâs check and see, shall we?â
âYes. To me, it doesnât look like Towa-kun is telling a lie. I can guess that it is a sensory thing that you are wondering how to tell me and that I can tell.â
âYouâre still an esper as usualâŠâ
âSo how about I tell you an actual lie and you can tell it apart, Towa-kun?â
Rin then brought a deck of playing cards, checked one of them, and wrote something on a notepad.
Then, she carefully separated the eight playing cards, counting that one, and laid them out in front of me.
âTowa-kun. There is only one card in these eight playing cards that I drew. Show it to me one by one and guess the lie.â
âI see. You mean youâre going to confirm it with⊠cards?â
âThatâs right. Can you spot it from my poker face?â
âOh âŠ, Iâm on it.â
I showed Rin the cards one by one.
Repeating this process for eight cards, I kept a watchful eye on her.
I thought I had enough time to do this because I was able to recognize her at lunchtime, and I took it lightlyâŠ
I canât recognize it at allâŠ
The gestures, the tone of voice, the movement of the eyesâŠ
I canât see any change in any of them.
Even the blink of the eyes has the same interval.
The more I lost confidence in my ability to âunderstandâ at that time, the more perfect Rinâs demeanor was.
âAce of hearts, right?â
âNope. Itâs the King of Diamonds, as I drew on this piece of paper here.â
Rin chuckled and I slumped my shoulders.
On second thought, Iâve never been able to beat Rin at cards.
I feel disappointed, even though I thought I had finally figured it out.
I mean, Rin said she made notes on paper, but did she copy the card?
âFufufu~. I guess I win now. It proves that my performance still hadnât been discarded yet.â
âHaaah⊠itâs my complete defeat.â
âYou neednât be discouraged, you know? Iâve been taking acting lessons from my mom for over a decade.â
âWell, I shouldnât be able to tell the difference⊠The years are too many.â
âBy the way, my mother not only has a poker face, but she also mixes in some deceptive acting, such as impatience and crying,⊠I have yet to win against her.â
âI wouldnât even be a match for her if I were you.â
âWell, let me put the cards away and get dinner ready.â
I sighed, hung my head on the table, and looked sideways at Rin as she walked to the kitchen.
Rin was walking normally, but I felt something strange about it â I hurriedly called her to a halt.
â⊠Rin. Could it be that your leg is injured?â
âItâs nothing to worry about, okay?â
She tilted her head slightly with a curious look on her face.
It seems that ⊠she has that kind of attitude.
âI donât care if youâre thin or not. Let me see your leg for now.â
âUm, does that mean ⊠you want me to take off my clothesâŠ?â
I looked at Rin, who had her hands on her clothes, and I winced.
Then, with gestures, I denied it.
âNo, no, no! Just the legs! I mean, just roll up your shorts. Oh, is this request also bad âŠ?â
âIf you say it so suddenly, Iâd be embarrassed tooâŠâ
âIâm telling you, itâs not that! Donât interpret it in a weird, expansive way!!â
ââŠIs it wrong? HuhâŠâ
âJust start with âŠâ
Rin tried to cover it up, but I urged her on and she reluctantly rolled up her shorts.
Then I saw that she had scraped her knee.
I brought some disinfectant and a bandage and did the simplest thing I knew how to do.
Thank goodness, Iâm sure I can handle an injury of this magnitudeâŠ
It doesnât sound like she slipped on artificial turf and her skin got scorched and left scars.
I thought, since itâs Rin, sheâd be putting up with something worseâŠ
I gently patted my chest and let out a breath of relief.
ââŠHow did you know?â
âSee, I told you. I know how you act.â
âBut just now, you missed the card by a long shotâŠ
âYouâre right, I did.â
Itâs a strange scene, both of us tilting our heads at each other.
But it canât be helped.
I canât explain this clearly either.
Because I understand this kind of Rin for some reason.
Rinâs cheeks flushed red with happiness when she saw that her leg had been treated.
âThank you very much. Towa-kun.â
âNo problem. Iâm a relief worker.â
âYouâre already doing your job, arenât you?â
âItâs a bit early.â
âBut then again, only ⊠Towa-kun. Only Towa-kun canâŠâ
âFufu. Itâs nothing.â
Perhaps embarrassed, Rin stuck out her tongue a little and then headed for the kitchen to prepare the food.