/
Chapter 12 – Consultation
TL: Cheetah
ED: Ryuubii
(Kazunari’s PoV)
Even though it was a long break, I didn’t feel like doing anything.
But then again, I had promised Yuji, so

Last night I got the usual call from Yuji (who I consider to be my best friend) and ended up telling him everything that happened.
That apparently made Yuji feel concerned, so he asked me to go to the arcade center.
The first thing he said to me when I met him in front of the station was.
“You look incredibly grumpy.”
I was annoyed by Yuji’s proud and indescribable expression.
We had planned to play at an arcade, but because I wasn’t in the mood, we ended up talking at a diner.
Since Yuji and I had been keeping in touch with each other about what was going on, I saved myself the trouble of explaining unnecessary things.
Then yesterday’s conversation came up.
“Well
 if someone you’ve known for a while suddenly treats you like one of those morons, I’d say that’s a bit harsh?”
“Maybe
 I was just under the mistaken impression that she was a little more open with me than the other guys
”
“Hmm, I can’t say for sure because I don’t know the person, but did she really act like that?”
“That’s how it feels to me.”
“I see
 (Ever since junior high school, this guy has a tendency to be skeptical. Maybe he’s just getting ahead of himself and misunderstanding things.)”
Yuji seemed to be thinking about something, but quickly returned to his usual expression.
“Maybe you’ll find out next time you see her. It could just have been a misunderstanding.”
That may be true, but it was a terrifying experience when Senpai gave me “that look”.
It was as if she had implicitly told me, “After all, you’re just the same as those morons around here”.
I thought Senpai trusted me to a certain extent, but thinking that if she looked at me that way again, I couldn’t bring myself to see Senpai who I grew accustomed with.
——————————————
(Sara’s POV)
“So, what’s the problem?”
Natsumi paid me a visit and asked that blunt question.
“As I was saying
 about yesterday’s conversation.”
I repeated and explained what I had consulted with her through the phone call yesterday.
“I might be mistaken
 but I might have hurted Takanashi-san’s feelings
”
Ever since yesterday, I couldn’t stop thinking about Takanashi-san’s sad expression.
Thinking that I might be the cause of it
 it’s the first time I’ve had this feeling.
Did I
 do something wrong?
And that expression at the end
 what does that mean?
“Hmm, I wanted to get to the bottom of this
 but first of all, I want to ask you this
 who is Takanashi-san?”
Then I realized that I hadn’t told Natsumi about Takanashi-san in the first place.
Speaking of which, I only told my grandmother about Takanashi-san

“Ah!
 Sorry, Takanashi-san you see
”
Then, I explained to Natsumi what had happened in the flower garden and with my grandmother.
There were other things, but for now, this should be enough.
“Wow
 is he really a boy of this generation
 maybe he’s really old?”
“I think Takanashi-san is nothing like the young boys out there.”
“I see, I see
 So, what exactly happened yesterday?”
I explained what had happened yesterday on the staircase landing.
That I was not there from the beginning, so I could not make a decision, including who was at fault.
And in order to be fair, I gave the same treatment to both parties.
After hearing the story from the two boys first, I asked Takanashi-san if it was true.
“Does that mean you treated him like any other boy around here?”
“Yes.”
——————————————
(Natsumi POV)
So
 that’s what she did

As for me, I have seen how Sara typically acted on a daily basis.
Cold-hearted with boys and indifferent with girls
that’s the normal Sara.
I know that once you get to know her, you will be able to treat her properly and normally, just as I do.
But for example

“What if he behaved like that because he thought you were his friend?”
I don’t think that’s the only reason, but I guess I can understand a little bit how Takanashi-san felt.
However, I never thought that this girl, who was basically indifferent to others, would show such a clear interest in someone
 and a boy at that

——————————————
(Sara’s POV)
“First of all, I don’t think you’re wrong in your response. I understand that you wanted to be fair, and even if you believed him, I know it’s not right to make assumptions without evidence.”
“Yes.”
At first, I’m getting some reassurance for my actions.
“However, I don’t know if you understand what you did, but
”
Then she continued.
“Your usual attitude toward boys doesn’t hide your true feelings of dislike, and what’s worse, your attitude shows that you don’t think they’re worth dealing with.”
Certainly, I have always felt that way about boys, and since I can’t read the mood anyway, I have clearly shown it with my attitude and words.
“It’s gotten even worse in the last year or so, you know? To the point where I don’t know how you managed to not make any enemies.”
The past year

Perhaps it was around the time when the boys’ impression of me became even worse because I got fed up due to their repeated frivolous confessions.
“And although I don’t know how Takanashi-san felt about it, maybe he thought you and him were getting along to a degree, and if something happened, you’ll treat him that way. In the end, you’ll treat like any other stupid boy, and he’ll feel that he’s not trusted at all, won’t he?”
“That kind of thing
 I think Takanashi-san is different from other boys.”
“Yes, it’s true that you think so, but you don’t know he’s thinking. Also, did you ever tell him that you feel that way?”
“Regarding that
”
“Do you know Takanashi-san’s contact information?”
“Yes, we exchanged earlier.”
Natsumi looked a little surprised.
“He~e
 exchanging contact with a boy
 well, no matter, did you contact him right after or the night afterwards?”
“No, that’s
 Yesterday I didn’t know what I did wrong, so I didn’t know what to say to him.”
After I told her honestly, Natsumi’s expression became relaxed.
“Ugh, if you had followed up there, things could have been different
”
It seems that I had missed a chance to break the deadlock