Chapter 412: To Like Someone Like That
Chapter 412: To Like Someone Like That
“W-what a jerk.”
Even after Himekoji slipped away, Miura still looked angry, chewing her bento with gritted teeth. Yuigahama sat facing her.
“Huh?”
Yuigahama seemed to pause upon hearing that, her chopsticks holding asparagus freezing mid-air.
“Ah, n-no, not at me! I meant at Kano!”
Spotting Yuigahama’s strange expression, Miura hastily waved her hands, explaining.
“It’s Katou…”
Seriously, why learn bad habits from Himekoji?
Yuigahama corrected her with resignation.
“I, I know that! Of course I do! Just a slip of the tongue! Anyway, Himekoji is way too awful!”
“I-is it really worth getting that mad over?”
She automatically defended Himekoji.
“Of course it is! Who takes back a gift they already gave? And then, right after taking it, just hands it off to Tobe? That jerk!”
Using Katou Megumi’s mistreatment as an excuse, Miura vented her own annoyance.
“Well… it did fall on the floor… And Tobe did keep asking for it… Not giving it after asking so much seemed rude… Besides, a bento that fell on the floor shouldn’t really be given to anyone anyway.”
“So bullying our sweet Kano is fine, huh?”
True to being the Queen, she’d instantly claimed Katou Megumi as part of her circle. That girl-power demanding way was oddly impressive.
Though, remembering her subordinates’ names correctly would definitely make that impressiveness more genuine.
“It’s Katou… Look, Katou herself didn’t seem upset. Yumiko, why are you getting so worked up defending her?”
“Huh? Me? Worked up? D-did I?”
Maybe feeling guilty, Miura Yumiko flustered for a split second, then snapped as if suddenly realizing something,
“Wait! Why are you always taking that pervert’s side?”
“Me? M-me?”
Now it was Yuigahama’s turn to feel guilty.
Belatedly realizing how strange it looked to continually side with Himekoji, she hastily tried to course-correct —
“Ah ah, well… it’s because he… he does even worse sometimes…”
“Worse?”
Miura seemed interested in those words.
“Mhm, mhm. Last time I wanted to see a movie, but Yukino-chan suddenly had something come up, so I gave the ticket to… to Himekoji. But the one who showed up in the end was Saika…”
With a bit of tweaking and editing, Yuigahama murmured, her brow furrowed.
The edits were:
Wanting to go with Himekoji became “wanted to see a movie”.
Not inviting Yukinoshita became “Yukinoshita suddenly had something come up”.
“Huh? Is that awful?”
This time, it was Miura Yumiko who couldn’t understand.
“Ah, jeez! Of course it was awful!”
After complaining, she paused for a moment.
“…But that’s just how he is…”
Yuigahama said it almost like a sigh.
In other words, the Himekoji who gave Katou Megumi a bento, the Himekoji who said he’d go to the movies with her—that Himekoji was the stranger one, right?
“Liking someone like that… must be really hard…”
Without even realizing it, the words slipped out from between Yuigahama’s lips. It was completely unconscious.
But even if the speaker meant nothing by it, the listener took it to heart.
“W-what does that mean?!”
Miura’s face flushed instantly, as if her secret had been exposed. Her voice rose uncontrollably.
“No way I’d like someone like that!”
“N-no, it’s not about you, Yumiko.”
Hearing the misunderstanding, Yuigahama hurriedly shook her head to explain.
“O-oh…”
Miura calmed down then, like a cat gradually relaxing.
However, barely a moment later, Miura seemed to catch on to something again, her hackles rising once more—
“W-wait! If it wasn’t about me… then Yui, that means you were talking about…”
“No! Nope!”
“I wasn’t talking about myself either!”
“How could I? Haha, how could I?”
Yuigahama frantically waved her hands explaining. To make her words seem more believable, she even laughed a forced, exaggerated “Haha”—a totally unnecessary move.
It was an obvious, clumsy, almost painful attempt to hide the truth.
And yet… somehow, Miura bought it…
“Hmm, true. Only a fool likes that kind of pervert. A complete idiot!”
“Ah… a fool?”
“Obviously!”
“Ah… a fool…”
Yuigahama’s shoulders visibly sagged.
……
When delivering Eriri’s bento, he had another classmate deliver the message.
Himekoji waited at the corner of the hallway.
After barely thirty seconds, shining golden twin tails came bouncing into his view.
“So that’s where you were hiding! I looked forever for you… You, if you needed something, why not just come find me in the classroom?”
“It might lead to weird rumors, plus… earlier you also…”
“That was then! Didn’t we say it was okay to be friends at school now too?”
Eriri seemed very serious about this point.
“Yeah… we did say that.”
Himekoji smiled faintly, feeling a bit pressured.
Still, he didn’t want Eriri to get tangled in any bad rumors related to a pervert.
Eriri wasn’t like him. She was beautiful, acted refined, and kept her true nature hidden at school to stay approachable. That was why she had the title “Toyosaki’s Golden-Haired Goddess”.
Though, from Himekoji’s perspective, that title sounded pretty embarrassing…
“Besides, your reputation has actually started getting better lately, right? Ever since coming back from the School Trip… you know, ‘Pervert Hero’ and all that…”
“Huh? That happened?”
“Stop playing dumb!”
“A-ah… haha.”
Himekoji gave a forced, dry chuckle.
“Wipe that grin off your face! So proud of yourself?”
“Huh?”
Playing dumb didn’t work, a dry laugh didn’t work… This lady had so many specific points she cared about…
Himekoji had no choice but to quickly suppress his laugh.
“Even a ‘Pervert Hero’ is still a pervert at heart. Hmph, I guess I’m the only one who can overlook that and still be friends.”
Hey hey, what’s with the condescending tone…
Anyway—
“Right right, it’s an honor to receive the friendship of Sawamura Spencer Eriri.”
Best to just play along for now.
“Alright then, why did you want to see me?”
“Want to have lunch together?”
Here was the main point. As Himekoji asked this, he magically pulled out two bento boxes from behind him.
“Ta-dah! I got yours too.”
“Huh? Ah… but… I made plans with classmates…”
Strangely, it was Eriri who suddenly fidgeted awkwardly.
“Is that so? Well, maybe next time, then.”
Himekoji said not without regret.
It was a shame, but there wasn’t anything he could do.
Come to think of it, the last time the two of them shared a bento… that was back in middle school, right?
Kinda nostalgic…
“Alright, alright! Since you begged so pitifully… I’ll eat with you, okay? Just this once!”
“Huh?”
Hold on, when did he beg pitifully?
“Pfft. Well then, many thanks for gracing me with your presence, Lady Eriri.”
Still, watching the girl bounce over to snatch the bento from his hand, her twin tails swaying, Himekoji naturally found himself just going along with her.
Somehow, those swaying twin tails carried a certain lively, self-satisfied sort of charm… like a little dog proudly wagging its tail.
……
……