CH 16

Chaper 16:”As a male friend”

“Hey hey, Misumai Youshin and barato-kun( TLN : using -Kun now.) You two are always getting along so well. I envy you. Oh, can I join you for lunch too?”

“No, thank you. I want you to leave us alone as a couple.”

As Baron-san’s words suggested, it was a peaceful day, but someone who was not peaceful in a sense arrived during lunch.

It was Shibe-senpai. Despite his lost yesterday, he appeared before us.

“…If it’s okay to sit next to me, there’s an empty seat, Senpai.”

Senpai, who was bluntly rejected by Nanami-san, looked dejected like a scolded dog.

…I felt a little sorry for him, so I pointed to the seat next to me. He happily sat down next to me.

“Misumai-kun…”

“No, you know… You can think that it’s just the two of us here.”

“Misumai-kun… After being touched by your kindness, your words are a bit shocking…”

Senpai was holding a lunchbox that seemed to be twice the size of mine. When I glimpsed inside… There were fried chicken, hamburger, yakiniku, tonkatsu… A lunchbox filled with a meat parade and plenty of shredded cabbage… The amount of rice was also unusually large.

By the way, today’s lunchbox had shrimp fry as the main dish. The shrimp fry was quite large, like the ones served in restaurants.

Since I wasn’t asked for my lunch request yesterday, I was looking forward to what would come, but this exceeded my expectations.

The moment of excitement when opening the lunchbox made me feel like a child again.

“At my house, shrimp fry is a staple for celebrations. This lunch is to celebrate yesterday’s victory.”

I see, maybe that’s why I wasn’t asked for my request yesterday…

Senpai, who lost in the challenge, is sitting next to me, but for now, let’s not mind it…

“By the way, Misumai-kun… Actually, today… I have something to discuss with you.”

“Huh? Can we talk after we finish lunch?”

“Oh, that’s fine… By the way, I wanted to ask, can we exchange my omelette and your tonkatsu…?”

( TLN : Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. )

“I’m sorry, but I have to decline.”

An immediate response.

Naturally, there’s no way I would exchange the lunchbox that Nanami-san made for me with someone else…

Senpai seems a bit down, as expected, it was a long shot…

“…Senpai, what did you come here for?”

Seemingly combining her displeasure towards Senpai and her delight in my rejection, Nanami-san approached Senpai and initiated a conversation herself.

“Ah, barato-kun… Sorry to intrude on your private time. As I mentioned earlier, I have some business with Misumai-kun, who happens to be your boyfriend.”

Since yesterday’s match, Senpai has changed the way he addresses Nanami from “Nanami-kun” to “barato-kun.”

It must be a way for him to establish a clear boundary after losing the match and accepting that he has given up on her.

I would have preferred if he had shown such resolve a bit earlier, though.

“What do you want from me? The match was already settled… There’s no need for you to talk to me now, right?”

“Please don’t say such lonely things… Well, to put it bluntly, I want Misumai-kun to become friends with me. So I thought we could exchange contact information.”

…How did the conversation turn into this?

“With the handicap aside, I respected you for defeating me, the captain of the basketball club. You proved yourself to be a worthy man for her… That’s why I wanted to become friends with you.”

He sees it as a proper result of the match, even though he resorted to dirty tricks. It seems that’s how Senpai perceives it.

Hmm… This person is simple-minded, for better or worse. It pricks at my conscience, just a little.

“Moreover, if we become friends, maybe I can get closer to barato-kun as well.”

…I wish he would stop pricking at my conscience.

Actually, the fact that he said that to me confirms it. This person is definitely a bit of an idiot.

“…Shibe/shibetsu-senpai, to put it bluntly, He is a person who is solely focused on basketball… In every other aspect, He is a disappointment… But that’s what arouses the maternal instincts in girls and makes him popular.”

Suddenly, Nanami-san’s voice reached my ears in a whisper.

The breath accompanying her words sent shivers down my spine in a way that was different from surprise.

What is this?! What’s this pleasant, tingling sensation?!

I almost dropped my lunchbox, but I managed to hold myself together. That was close…

Being near her voice is more powerful than talking on the phone… When her breath brushes against my ear, it creates an indescribable tingling sensation… It could become addictive.

Once again, I’ve made a new discovery today.

While I was alone, deeply moved by this experience, Nanami-san seemed oblivious to what had happened.

“…Nanami-san, were your maternal instincts not aroused?”

Since I didn’t have the courage to bring my face closer to Nanami-san’s ear, I asked her in a hushed voice. Nanami approached me once again… and whispered in my ear.

“…Not at all… When he confessed, he was just staring at my chest… My maternal instincts were not aroused at all.”

A harsh opinion indeed.

“So, Misumai-kun, what do you think? Will you become friends with me?”

“Well… if you’re okay with me, I’d be happy to. However, I won’t give up Nanami-san to you, no matter what.”

“I understand that already. I made the challenge yesterday out of lingering feelings, but I’ve decided to search for my next love.”

Searching for the next love… Does that mean he doesn’t have any feelings for Nanami-san now?

However, it could also mean that he’s trying to move on and establishing a friendship with me is a way for him to mark that new beginning.

In that aspect, it’s very manly and sportsman-like. It’s a side of him that I don’t possess.

I exchanged contact information with Senpai… I suddenly remembered that my profile picture is still a game character, but Nanami-san seems fine with it, so I’ll leave it as it is.

Senpai’s profile picture was of a basketball.

“Well then, I’ve achieved my goal, so I’ll take my leave… Oh, by the way, Misumai-kun… Have you ever considered joining the basketball club?”

“No, thank you. If I join a club, it will reduce the time I spend with Nanami-san, right?”

This line feels like something from a certain work. It is my true feeling, but I’m not fond of the athletic club atmosphere to begin with. Joining a club would be out of the question…

It feels a bit awkward to use Nanami-san as an excuse, but when I quickly glance at her face, she smiles happily, so it should be fine.

“I see. I envy you. If there’s anything, feel free to contact me anytime. I might not be able to respond immediately due to club activities, but I welcome invitations to hang out.”

“Thank you very much. I’ll keep that in mind. Nice to meet you.”

Senpai said that with a refreshing smile and left.

Several female students followed him from the rooftop, so… it seems that Senpai’s new love may be found sooner than expected.

After seeing him off, we resumed our lunch.

“We finally have some time alone, huh? Maybe it’s better for Youshin to be with Senpai, but…”

Even though we’re alone… Well, there are still people around the rooftop, but Nanami-san seems slightly displeased.

Well, I guess it’s not that amusing for her to see the person she rejected getting along with her boyfriend…

But, well, I can’t really hate Senpai. Maybe it’s because we had a match like in a boys’ manga, and that created a sense of camaraderie…

“Sorry, Nanami-san. Did I make you worried?”

“…It’s not that I’m anxious or anything, but it’s not fun when you only pay attention to Senpai,” said Nanami-san as she pouted and turned her face away. What a cute thing to say.

But somehow… just somehow, I felt a tinge of unease in the way she looked at me.

Maybe it’s just my imagination, but if I were to say the line I thought of yesterday, it would be now.

…Am I really going to say it? Even though I came up with it myself… Honestly, it’s a bit… no, it’s quite embarrassing… But… if I’m going to say it, now is the only chance.

“Nanami-san, don’t worry. Even if someone like Senpai, who’s always trying to snatch you away from me like a prize, appears again… I will never… no matter what I have to do, I won’t let you go.”

…Wow, even I think that line is too cheesy…

Uh-oh, my spine is starting to feel cold. No… I have to stay calm… At least until I hear her response. Stay calm, me… Hang in there…

“Youshin…”

I heard Nanami’s voice. She murmured just my name… and then…

“Pff… Hahaha! What was that line? It’s so cool! You’re way cooler than Senpai, but… it’s so obvious that you’re forcing yourself, your face is all red!”

I touch my cheeks as I’m told. Apparently, without realizing it, my entire face had turned bright red. Being pointed out only makes it even redder.

…And there she is, laughing. Laughing at me…

“Oh come on, that’s only natural. Any girl would be happy when her boyfriend says such cool things? But… it’s so obvious that you’re trying too hard, your face is beet red!”

Ugh… I’ve been hit with a counterattack again… In this situation, I clearly have no chance… I don’t feel like I can win.

We ate our lunch side by side, and my face is burning red while Nanami’s ears have turned bright red.

Maybe I picked the wrong timing to say it… I thought to myself, but suddenly, she poked my side.

“…I guess I packed a little too much for my lunch. Will you eat it for me?”

She said it somewhat awkwardly, and then she offered me a piece of tamagoyaki from her lunchbox. ( TLN: tamagoyaki – rolled omlette)

Tamagoyaki… It’s my favorite thing in her lunchbox.

She went out of her way to pick it out… and handed it to me with her chopsticks.

“…Ahh, you’re not supposed to feed me because you ate too much from your lunchbox”

“Well, what can I do? I’m already full… it would be a waste to leave it, right?”

…Well, if she’s already full, then there’s no helping it.

I chew on the tamagoyaki she offered me.

Just with this, it feels like all the embarrassment I went through was worth it… I’m happy.

After we finish lunch, I handed her my empty lunchbox, and she snuggles up against me.

She linked her arm with mine and leaned her weight on me. It feels comfortable… but the gazes from the people around us make me a little embarrassed.

“Nanami-san… What are you doing?”

“Isn’t this a reward for saying something so cool? Let’s chat like this until lunch break is over, okay?”

“…Is it okay,what about your friends?”

“They were really excited to have their homemade lunchboxes eaten by their boyfriends for the first time in a while, so they’re probably going out of the school again.”

“Those two boyfriends are also quite mysterious… Well, whatever. So, should we continue our conversation?”

“Yes!”

As I looked at my girlfriend’s beaming smile while we were tightly pressed together… I thought it was worth the embarrassment to say that line to her. Or at least, that’s what I thought…

Days later… I ended up becoming a bit of a topic of conversation as the guy who shamelessly said embarrassing lines on the rooftop with a straight face… It’s a completely different story how I ended up regretting it, just a tiny bit…

Interlude : Nanami-san at that moment

“Hey! Why are you so close to me like this?!”

“I don’t even know why… But I just felt like being close to you, so I guess it can’t be helped, right?”

Should I… maybe link our arms? But then our chests might touch and it would be embarrassing…

…Youshin, you’re warm.

TL notes : Check out my other series ‘You ‘Can’t Be a God Writer,Right?’.

Genres: high school romance,harem