CH 46

“Good morning. I’m sorry, did I make you wait long?”

As I was waiting for Saijo at the meeting place, she tapped me on the shoulder from behind and asked.

“No, I just got here too.”

I replied to Saijo, who peered into my face, with the usual line.

Well, the truth is, I was here thirty minutes ago, just like before…

In comparison, Saijo arrived right on time for the meeting.

Or rather―

“What a surprise…”

When I saw the way Saijo was dressed, I couldn’t help but mutter to myself.

Saijo now has long, straight hair that is usually tied up in a bun, and she is wearing a neat navy dress.

The color of the dress suits Saijo’s blonde hair as well.

…It was the first time that I thought Saijo was very cute.

“What do you think…? I was wondering if Kaito would like this kind of outfit better…?”

Saijo looked up at me with an upward gaze and twirled her hair with her fingers.

I’m thrilled with Saijo’s gesture.

“…It looks good on you.”

“Really!?”

When I praised Saijo, she asked me back with a happy look on her face.

I nodded to her response.

Then, Saijo became in a very good mood and came to stand beside me.

“Even so― If I’m not mistaken, Kaito’s ‘just got here’ refers to thirty minutes ago?”

I had already made plans with Saijo for today, and as we were heading straight to our destination, Saijo said something like that to me with a smirk on her face.

How did she know that I had been there for thirty minutes?

Don’t tell me, she…

“You’ve actually been here about the same time as I have and you’ve been observing me, haven’t you?”

“It’s not that I was observing you, but I was watching you, thinking, ‘Oh, Kaito, you’re already here!'”

“…Why didn’t you call out to me?”

“Well… I was dressed differently than usual, so I didn’t have the courage to go out… But, I couldn’t afford to be late, so I called out to you just then…”

Saijo looked embarrassed as she said this and began to spin her hair around with her fingers again.

I instinctively held my face with my right hand and turned my head away at such a gesture by Saijo.

…What the heck is up with her!

She’s so cute today!

“Still though, Kaito looks really cool today…”

When I was contemplating about Saijo’s cuteness, she said something like that in a kind of sexy voice.

Wait… that’s not good!

What’s wrong with Saijo today!?

She suddenly looks really attractive!?

I’m going to try to act casual so that she wouldn’t know that I’m nervous about her gesture.

“W-well, I’m glad to hear you say that…”

…Have you gone crazy, self!?

I’m getting embarrassed over this!

“Ehehe―Here!”

“―!”

Saijo suddenly hugged me after hearing my words.

I was overwhelmed by her behavior.

“Eh, what’s the matter? You’re not shaking me off like you usually do?”

Saijo wasn’t grinning, but she looked up at me with a shy smile on her face and said something like that.

…I’m also getting embarrassed today!

Is she not embarrassed at all when she hugs me!?

I thought to myself about Saijo just like that.

Well she’s right, I usually shake Saijo off.

If Saijo had been smirking at me or showing any sign of teasing me, I would have shaken her off without mercy.

However― Right now, Saijo is embracing me with an embarrassed expression on her face.

…On the contrary, I want to ask everyone.

‘Can you shake off a pretty girl with a look like this?’

Sh*t!

She’s not black-haired, even so Saijo’s got that neat and tidy look that I like, and the fact that she’s different from her usual self really throws off my pace.

“…Even if I tried to shake you off, you’d still remain attached to me. That would be a waste of energy on my part.”

I managed to squeeze the words out of my throat.

“Is that so… Well, I won’t hesitate then…”

After saying that, Saijo squeezed on my arm even tighter.

My heart was pounding so hard I felt like it was about to burst…

My mind was already filled with thoughts of Saijo.

Is Saijo really in love with me?

If so, wouldn’t it be better to go out with Saijo before making the mistake of falling in love with Sakihime as the opposite sex?

…No, this idea is too rude for Saijo…

But I’ll admit, I think Saijo is very cute now.

I’m starting to get conscious of Saijo as a girl…

…Is there anything I could do about it though?

Until now, I was only a loner otaku.

If such a cute girl likes you, you can’t help but fall in love with her.

…Well, it’s not as easy as it sounds.

But, I really don’t know if I can handle Saijo anymore…

Perhaps I should say, I think Sakihime is very cute these days, not to mention Sakura-chan, and even Saijo is cute…

I had a conversation with Saijo on the way to our destination, but in my head I was lamenting my inadequacies―.

“We’re finally here!”

Saijo said, stretching her right hand towards the sky.

Incidentally, she was still holding my right hand in her left.

It’s no wonder why Saijo said that.

This time, she wanted to enjoy shopping at a mall, and I wanted to go to a store in the center of Tokyo.

For that reason, we had to spend a lot of time commuting.

…Why you ask?

I’m not an idiot.

I already went out with very prominent girls like Sakura-chan and Sakihime.

And so, I’m not going out with Saijo at the same places.

There’s no doubt that a cheating man would be in trouble, which is a common development in romance novels and manga.

That’s why I came to a faraway place in the city center this time, instead of going out nearby.

I think Saijo is a good person for listening to my requests without complaining, even though we were just going shopping.

But why did Saijo only choose to go shopping when we were going out?

“Hey, I know we’ve come this far, but are you sure you’re okay only with shopping?”

I was still a little concerned about that, so I asked Saijo.

“It’s really too late for that, you know~. But, no worries, it’s fine. After all, I wanted to have a shopping date.”

Saijo laughed at my words and then smiled at me.

I see, Saijo thinks of this as a date…

At first I thought it wasn’t a date just because we were going out, but if that’s what she thinks, then it must be a date.

Which means, this will be my first date…

…I mean, as soon as I found Saijo was attractive and called it a date, I thought I was the worst…

“In addition―”

When I was disgusted with my own cash, Saijo looked up at me as she continued to speak.

“I want to buy the clothes that Kaito picked out for me because I want to match the taste of the person I like.”

Saijo said to me with a honeyed smile on her face.

“Hnnnnnnnggg~~~~~~~~~!”

Of course, with a smile and words like that on my face, I couldn’t take it anymore.

I felt like my heart was going to explode.

What the heck is wrong with these people!?

Why do they make me agonize so much?

Or rather, what’s really wrong with my life!?

I don’t know what’s going on with me anymore.

I kept thinking about this while I was picking out clothes with Saijo―.