Chapter 13: At the convenience store I stopped by on my way home

‘Wow… I made two mistakes.’

I walked down the hallway about two steps away from Aya.

Mistaking the men’s restroom, and the sudden otaku confession of silver hair and blue eyes…

This is completely out. It’s over… it’s over…

‘At this rate, Aya will think I’m a weird kid. No, maybe she already thinks so…’

If Aya had a little knowledge of this side (light novels or web novels), she would have immediately noticed my mistake just now.

I like silver hair and blue eyes, but I thought that was only limited to 2D.

So, when that 2D appeared in reality, it was okay when I was conscious, but when I got flustered, I couldn’t even distinguish reality and said it.

‘Ugh…’

Fortunately, is it a relief that Aya is a pure and innocent young lady who doesn’t know about this side?

So, she shouldn’t know. Please… she must not know.

I glanced at Aya’s face.

Her blue eyes were calm.

Aya was wearing a soft and calm smile as always. Fortunately, it seems that the slip of the tongue from a while ago was not taken seriously, right?

‘That’s right, Aya must not know. No, she must not know.’

So I desperately hypnotized myself and arrived at the classroom.

Aya, who arrived first, turned around and looked at me, then quietly opened her mouth.

“Rina.”

“Yes…?”

I flinched and answered reflexively.

Now I was too embarrassed to look Aya in the face.

From the bathroom to the classroom, I just walked awkwardly with my gaze lowered.

“Do you like me, Rina?”

I opened my eyes wide and almost stopped walking.

‘What?! I like you, but, no, that’s not it…’

I confirmed that my inner thoughts didn’t come out and was relieved for a moment.

And, I felt my face getting hotter and hotter.

Wait, what kind of development is this!

That’s right.

It’s just a normal question.

Calmly, I need to answer calmly.

I swallowed and opened my mouth with difficulty.

“Uh, um… as a friend!”

As soon as those words came out, Aya smiled brightly and nodded slightly.

“Yeah, friend! I like you too.”

‘Huh?!’

Wh, what? Was this a confession?

No! If it was a confession, I didn’t even notice it?

It must be that my brain is half-broken due to the two incidents a while ago.

In the novel, Aya was always tsundere towards the protagonist, and then gradually developed into dere.

So. The confession, which is the turning point, was absolutely, absolutely not this light feeling.

No, in the novel, the male protagonist confessed first, and Aya, who accepted it, was embarrassed but answered seriously.

So, anyway, Aya likes men.

Aya is a ‘normal’ character.

I desperately repeated in my heart, ‘This doesn’t mean that.’

But, Aya’s tone was so natural, and it made me keep pondering the hidden meaning in Aya’s words.

“…Rina? Shouldn’t you really go to the nurse’s office?”

“Ah, no! I’m fine!”

I was flustered and quickly walked into the classroom.

Finally, the long, long last class ended.

I couldn’t concentrate on writing because my head wasn’t working properly due to what happened during the previous break.

It was a big problem that the last class was Korean (Japanese).

I had learned things like science (science) and mathematics, but Japanese was a completely different problem.

‘Ugh… Takamari’s level is really too high.’

What do you mean I’m 3rd in the school…

Even if I from my past life came and took the test, I wouldn’t be able to get 3rd place.

It’s just that Kurosawa Rina’s specs themselves are higher than mine.

Anyway, I’ll review at home… More than that, I need to organize what happened today first.

I was definitely determined to ‘live quietly as a mob’ in the morning.

But somehow, I found out that I, in this world without a protagonist, am not a ‘mob’.

And… in addition… the mistake I made earlier.

As time passed, the embarrassment gradually faded, but the shame at that time still remained in my mind.

Fortunately, Aya seemed to have passed over this incident as a simple happening.

So I was organizing my thoughts with my school supplies in my bag.

Suddenly, Mizuki came close to my side and pouted.

“Ugh~ Ayarin~ Rina~ Aren’t you two too close? Let me join in too!”

Mizuki puffed up her cheeks with both hands and looked like she was sulking.

It was fortunate that it was a playful expression, but for a moment, I thought it was a serious statement.

I was flustered and waved my hands.

“Huh? No, absolutely not…!”

Aya smiled slightly at Mizuki’s appearance and said.

“I didn’t know Rina would think that.”

And she looked at me with her characteristic smile.

At that moment, I felt my face turn red again, so I quickly turned the topic to other words to hide my embarrassment.

“St, stop joking! It’s time to go home, right?”

Mizuki suddenly sparkled her eyes and clapped her hands.

“Ah! That’s right, since we’re going, shall we stop by the convenience store? I suddenly have a huge craving for something sweet!”

I thought for a moment.

Normally, I would have said, ‘I’ll just go home’, but now that there was no need to be a ‘mob’, I thought it would be okay to get along naturally.

“Um… yeah, I also need to buy something simple.”

“Great! Then let’s go~”

Mizuki excitedly took the lead and walked, and Aya quietly walked by my side, matching my pace.

‘This trivial daily life. Ah, this is a youth romantic comedy. There’s no love, though.’

I smiled without realizing it.

After packing my schoolbag, I followed the two and left the school.

There was a convenience store not far from the school.

I think it also appeared in the novel. It wasn’t a major stage.

I entered the entrance and looked around.

‘So there was a place like this….’

A feeling quite different from the luxurious Takamari Academy.

Considering that it was near Takamari, the convenience store had a commoner’s feel to it.

It’s a strange feeling to see the children of the upper class, wearing luxurious Takamari Academy uniforms, quite often coming and going to a place like this.

Thinking of the fact that Aya in the novel had a subtle longing for the commoner’s life, and Mizuki also enjoyed that point, I thought that the two would have come here quite often.

Mizuki went straight to the chocolate corner as if she was used to it, looked around the display stand, picked up a small box of chocolates, and smiled.

“This is really delicious! Do you want to try one, Rina?”

“Uh, yes…!”

I nodded without thinking and was about to pick up the chocolate, but I glanced at Aya.

Aya quietly thought in front of the shelf, then picked up peach iced tea.

“Aya, iced tea again?”

“Yeah, isn’t it delicious? I like it because it’s sweet.”

Well, Aya in the novel seemed to like tea.

It wasn’t the expensive black tea she ate at home, but she liked things like Afternoon Tea or iced tea sold at convenience stores.

Thanks to this simple taste, she often met the protagonist.

But… I came along, but what should I buy?

Drinks? Or snacks?

I was lost in thought, and suddenly, I found an item with a familiar name in the refrigerated section:     少中一少一牛乳 (Jyajigyunyu-Pudding)

In Korea, it was translated and imported as Jersey milk pudding… but in Japanese, the ᅥ (eo) pronunciation becomes ᅣ (ya) , so it became famous in Korea because of its unique pronunciation.

I heard that it was surprisingly delicious, so I was curious because I had never actually eaten it.

“Rina, do you like pudding?”

At Aya’s soft voice, I was startled and turned my head.

Aya was looking at my fingertips with a curious look.

“Ah, yes… I was curious because it’s made with Jersey milk…”

“Then let’s eat it together.”

Aya took the pudding from my hand and picked up another one.

If you knew why I picked it up, you wouldn’t recommend it…

“It’s more delicious when you eat it together like this.”

“…Th, thank you.”

I smiled slightly, holding the pudding in my hand without thinking.

It must be good anyway because Aya said to eat it together, right?

Mizuki looked at us with a playful expression nearby, then suddenly nudged my arm and laughed.

“Rina, are you going to have a convenience store date~?”

“Mi, Mizuki!”

I was flustered and blushed.

Without realizing it, I called Mizuki’s name directly, but Mizuki liked it.

But, at that moment…

The convenience store door opened with a ‘ding-dong’ sound, and someone came in.

“…Hiiragi-senpai?”

Aya was the first to notice and said, and the gazes of the three of us were directed at the senior at once.

I was surprised that that person was here.

‘No, wait a minute. I meet Hiiragi-senpai in a place like this?’

Hiiragi in the novel didn’t come to places like convenience stores.

He was a nobleman of the academy, and he was the type to drink espresso at a high-class cafe rather than a convenience store.

But now, he was standing in a convenience store, wandering in front of the refrigerator, looking for something.

‘What? Did he follow Aya?’

My mind was momentarily complicated.

Hiiragi liked Aya in the original work, but he wasn’t so aggressive as to follow her to a convenience store.

I carefully looked at Aya.

But Aya was looking at the pudding with an expression that didn’t care at all, checking the expiration date.

‘Maybe… am I the only one who cares?’

But soon, Hiiragi-senpai’s gaze turned towards us.

At that moment, my heart dropped.

Seeing his gaze stay on Aya, I muttered to myself.

‘Yeah… he must have come to find Aya.’

But…

“Kurosawa-san, I’m glad to see you here.”

“…Yes?! Me, me?”

I looked at the senior with an absurd expression.

‘No, why me…?’

It was a completely different development than expected.

Seeing Hiiragi-senpai approaching naturally as if he had come on purpose, I instinctively squeezed the end of the pudding I was holding.

‘What, he didn’t come to see Aya…?’

Is it student council work?

Is it really like this…?

“If you have time tomorrow, would it be okay to talk for a while at lunch?”

Huh?

Huh?

Huhhhhh?

I stared blankly at Hiiragi-senpai.

Isn’t this, isn’t this the event in the novel?

Hiiragi confesses to Aya, and the protagonist stops it…

Huh?

Huh?

I slowly raised my head and looked straight into Hiiragi-senpai’s eyes.

And, I saw the gaze of a man that was familiar to me, who was a man until recently.

That gaze…

A longing, love-struck eye.

“Senior, Rina will cry if you do that.”

A soft but firm voice was heard.

I was startled and turned to the side.

Aya took a step forward in front of me and blocked Hiiragi-senpai’s gaze.

Aya’s blue eyes were soft as usual, but there was a sense of vigilance.

“…Ah, sorry.”

Hiiragi-senpai flinched for a moment and took a step back.

In that short moment, the strange tension that had been lingering until just now seemed to have disappeared.

The senior nodded lightly and took a step back, smiling calmly as always.

Hiiragi-senpai is not the type to hold onto regrets for a long time in the novel.

He was a character who had many reviews like, ‘At first, he was unlikable, but when he became a supporting character, he was reliable.’

So…

I can pass this situation as nothing.

But.

But,

I remember that look just now.

The senior seemed like he hadn’t given up his regrets yet.

I stared blankly at the pudding I was holding, recalling the bewilderment I felt a while ago.

‘Um… So, Hiiragi-senpai to me?’

I’m sorry, but… I’m not into men.

“Rina, let’s go.”

Aya grabbed my hand and pulled slightly as if nothing had happened.

Mizuki smiled leisurely, shaking the chocolate.

“Hehe, Rina is popular~”

“Stop it, Mizuki!”

I exclaimed impulsively, but Mizuki left the convenience store with a playful laugh.

And I glanced back at the figure of Hiiragi-senpai remaining.

‘…I hope this is the end of it.’

But, somehow, I felt like that gaze would continue to follow me.