CH 17

Ch. 17 – See, I told you so, didn’t I?

As Hayato was harvesting the plants without an umbrella, he got quite wet.

[You’re a pretty handsome man, aren’t you now, Kirishima?]

[Shut up, Mori.]

[So, what do you have in there?]

[Vegetables. It’s for food for tonight.]

[Where the hell did you get that?]

[Uh, don’t you usually get them?]

[Of course not!]

Hayato sat down in his seat, exchanging some words with his classmate, Mori. Though it wasn’t raining too hard, his uniform was still wet enough to be seen through, and some water droplets fell from his hair onto the desk. It was a little uncomfortable, but he was sure it’d dry up soon enough.

[Are you alright, Kirishima-kun?]

[Eh, ah…]

Haruki called out to Hayato in a concerned tone.

Haruki is regarded as the kindest and most friendly person, not just in this class but also in the whole school. Since she was sitting next to me, it was only natural for Nikaido Haruki… To talk to him.

However, he could see in her eyes that Haruki was grinning as if she was a child who had found a toy. Hayato is not the kind of person who’d overlook this, and he soon realized that Haruki was about to do something to him.

[Don’t you have an umbrella? You can use this one if you want.]

[N-No thanks, I’m fine. I’m sure my clothes will dry up in no time.]

[Nope, that won’t do! You’ll catch a cold.]

[Ah, w-wait, Haru- Nikaido!]

Just as Hayato had expected, Haruki took out her handkerchief and began to wipe Hayato’s face.

Haruki is a beautiful girl who possesses some kind of idol-like popularity. She had called out to Hayato with concern and wiped his face with her handkerchief.

Suddenly, the sounds of people leaving their seats could be heard from all over the classroom. some of the boys even ran out of the classroom and charged straight into the rain to get wet.

(T-This girl…!)

Haruki was smiling as if she had accomplished something. Hayato was completely aware of it.

Jealousy, astonishment, and agitation… and a mixture of emotions filled the gazes of the students in the classroom.

This was unbearable for Hayato. And so, he quickly took the handkerchief from Haruki.

[Ah, thank you! I’ll return it after I wash it!]

[You can just give it back to me as is.]

[Tch! N-No way, I can’t possibly do that, right?!]

[I see… Well then, please let me know your contact information so that you can return it smoothly.]

[W-Wait, wha—! You—]

It was quite a forced turn of events. There are many things that Hayato has considered to be manipulated by her, such as the fact that we are seated next to each other, or the fact that the situation at handled to contact exchanging even though Haruki knew that Hayato doesn’t have a smartphone.

Before anybody noticed, Nikaido Haruki had made an opportunity out of this slight incident and got the transfer student’s contact info out of him.

Envy and jealousy mixed with stares stung Hayato’s skin, but Hayato was the only one who can see the grin on Haruki’s face.

[I’m sorry, I don’t have a smartphone. It’s… Hey!]

[Yeah, I see… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you like that out of the blue.]

[Ah, You’re mistaken! I really don’t have a smartphone.]

It sounded like an excuse for Hayato’s classmates.

The only whispers around him were, [Are you really that selfish that you don’t want to exchange contact information with Nikaido…] and [Poor Nikaido-san…]

No matter how much Hayato claimed that he didn’t have it, they looked at him like it was only a form of self-defense and flared up their emotions, even more, especially the boys.

[Kirishima, let’s have a talk.]

[You’ve only been at the new school for a short time and we don’t seem to know much about each other.]

[All you have to do is answer a few simple questions.]

[Wait, hold up, I’m…. Mori! You betrayed me!]

[Haha.]

Hayato was taken away by his classmates and they had a long talk together.

Haruki gazed at Hayato with a slightly refreshed look on her face, the tip of her little tongue sticking out.

◇◇◇

That day after school, I was immediately taken to Haruki’s house.

[See, as I said, Hayato is the one at fault since he’s the one who doesn’t have a smartphone.]

[Yeah, I understand. I’ve been in a lot of trouble, and Haruki is so popular… Take this!]

[Hmmm, I’m the one at fault? I’m trying to help you, AH, my HP!]

[You were going too far… Recovery… Uh, I don’t have any MP….]

[Ah!]

By the way, the game Haruki and Hayato were playing was a new action RPG. I don’t think it’d be a good idea to do an RPG with two people, but Haruki seems to be determined to proceed only when she was with Hayato.

It was a remake version of a game that was released before Hayato and Haruki was born. Right now, Haruki was controlling a beast fighter and Hayato was controlling a mercenary swordsman. Basically, they were fighting mercilessly where the healing skills are left to the other CPU/NPC.

Anyway, as a result of brute-forcing their way forward like that, they were annihilated. They laughed at each other, wondering if they had been too forceful.

[By the way, Hayato. What’s up with those vegetables?]

[I got them. Mitake-san gave them to me. Should I give some to you?]

[Uhm, No thanks, I’m fine. I don’t want to eat it by myself.]

[Hm? Is that so?]

It was as if something was bothering Hayato. However, Haruki immediately returned to the topic as if nothing had happened.

[Speaking of which, why don’t you have a smartphone? Is that a policy at your house?]

[I don’t think so. Himeko and I are very familiar with it… By the way, Himeko wanted to meet you. You should come to my house sometime.]

[Eh, Hime-chan? I’ll go! Anyway, why don’t you have a smartphone?]

[Ugh, well, you know…]

[Jiii…] (TN: じぃ～～ is an SFX for staring intensely.)

[Uhm, well, it’s just, you know…]

[Haa?!]

Haruki’s curt voice echoed through her room.

Hayato looks away with a vexed look on his face.

[It’s so convenient, you know! Aren’t there a lot of people using it in the countryside?!]

[Ah, yeah. Quite a few people were using an app to manage their fields or uploading videos of them plowing… Anyway, Haruki, can you please promise me not to laugh?]

[With pleasure. What is it, Hayato-kun? Please tell me]

[You see, there are so many different types of smartphones… that it’s hard for me to decide on which to choose.]

[Pfft… Ahahahahaha!]

[Don’t laugh, I’m pretty serious about this! Damn, you owe me about five times now!]

[I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I see, so your problem is that you were too confused to buy it.]

[Is there any problem?]

The fact that Hayato had no time to decide which model fits is true as well.

[Hmm, I see. Well then, why don’t you come with me this weekend and pick one out?]

[Are you sure?]

[Yeah, I promise.]

[Thanks!]

Playing games and making weekend plans. It was the same as it used to be.