CH 32.2

Momiji’s POV.

This is quite interesting.

I was barely aware of the existence of light novels before and had no idea what lay beyond their covers. From what I’ve seen though, it’s not the sort of thing I’ll hate reading just for the sake of getting close to Yuu.

Another plus is that it takes time to read one volume, unlike manga. It wouldn’t be impossible to make Yuu’s Golden Week all about me without making it feel unnatural. All I had to do was use the novels as an excuse.

Thus, I succeeded in visiting him every day.

At first, Yuu would study and I would read a random volume. Though we were doing different things, it was still quite nice to just be in the same space with him. Still, I wanted to spend time with him in a real sense, so I hinted at the possibility of me spoiling one of the series when I finished reading past where he was, according to what he told me. Some people can tolerate spoilers and others cannot. He is definitely part of the latter group.

I figured if my predictions were correct, he’d throw away his textbooks and start reading the novels, thinking I’d end up spoiling it for him. However, if he asked me to go home… I’d think about what to do then, I thought.

Fortunately, I was right, and he started reading right away. From then on, we had a very productive time, both of us immersed in the same thing while seldom taking breaks to discuss our impressions of the volumes. Ah, it was so incredibly fun… I haven’t had that kind of fun since our middle school days, so my being more aggressive turned out to be a godsend.

With my plan in action, Golden Week already hit 100% of satisfaction for me. I couldn’t, however, just let that delicious situation end right after those few pages: as soon as I got home, I sent an email to my friend and immediately ran to the bookstore, even though it was almost dark.

I had to read as many books as possible, which would mean more time with Yuu. With a set mind, I bought books of numerous genres, among which I acquired a ton of romcoms where the main female lead was a childhood friend. If one of them was interesting, Yuu would read it, otherwise not.

He-he-he-he-he!

“Ah, that girl is famous for being unsociable in class. She doesn’t have a single friend, so I don’t think you should be worried about her, Momiji.”

A girl from Class D that went to my club replied to my text. Since that new girl from Yuu’s club was unsociable and shy—at least—there was no need for me to worry about the future!

With a spring in my step and a soul as light as a feather, I carried the heavy paper bags and skipped home.

After school and club activities were over, I continued to read a different novel every day without a single thought about homework. Reading, I found two very interesting novels: ‘Aurelius the Vengeful’ and ‘My Heroine Can’t Be Anyone Other Than My Childhood Friend’. The latter was a masterpiece and fit in with the other suggestion. I just hope it will make him realize how irreplaceable and irrevocably important a childhood friend is.

Besides, the latest issue of ‘Love Brain’ had been released, so I had all the fodder to invite him over to my house.

Despite my planning, I still believed he would refuse to come to my house. However, although with a bit of resistance, he still agreed. It was surprisingly easy too. All I had to do after that was wait for Saturday to come.

…But that’s when I saw it.

Who was that blond girl? I didn’t have a single piece of intel on her. She and Yuu were talking to each other by the school gates just after school, and although I couldn’t hear what they were saying, they appeared like lovers. That’s no good. I’m the only person in this school who’s allowed to spend time with him in off hours.

And his mischievous smile as he teased her… That was supposed to be directed at me. Me.

“Yuuhi, let’s start the meeting.”

Shut up. Shut up!

“Hey, Yuuhi, can you hear me? Don’t keep us waiting, come here at once.”

I had to head to the club’s meeting because that persistent advisor just wouldn’t stop calling me. For the next two days, until the moment he arrived at my house, I was in a state of mindlessness, as the dross inside me continued to whir and stir.

“Momiji? Momiji, can you hear me?”

“Ah, yeah. What is it, mom?”

I came back to myself upon hearing my mother’s voice.

“Yuu’s coming over for the first time in a while, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll go shopping while you’re at your club. How about having him for dinner at the house today? I’ll make his favorite curry!”

Ah, that’s right. He has a soft spot for my mom’s cooking, and I don’t think I’ve seen him turn down an invitation for her more than one hand could count. Despite being concerned about that strange blondie, I still wanted to spend as much time as possible with him. If by any chance she’s trying to seduce Yuu, I’ll have to drag him back.

“Nice, mom! Do just that!”

Okay, now all that’s left is to quickly get over with the club’s activities and wait for him to come over. About five hours later, at 1 PM, he arrived.

Happiness, frustration, anger. I had a whirlpool of emotions swirling inside and found myself asking about that woman before I even realized it. I reflected on it later and thought about how terrible the atmosphere might have been if my mother hadn’t intervened.

From what he had told me, though, she was the new class-D girl that joined his club. Unsocial? Shy? I thought of a very gloomy person, but instead saw the exact opposite of it. She was gaudy as all hell. However, I was also told they didn’t really go to school together ever and only did that as part of their club activity. Their senior joined in right after.

Nonetheless, I still felt something wasn’t right. Was that really all there was to it? I wonder if it was safe to let him participate in the Excursion club all alone as-is. While lost in such thoughts, Yuu suddenly told me to go and take a shower, which woke me up from my thinking. Was it some kind of God-given chance?

In the end, I suggested that Yuu take a shower, but he refused and ducked swiftly. As I thought about it while taking a shower, I decided it was right not to pursue the matter any further. He already said what he wanted to, so pursuing matters further would only worsen his impression of me.

What I really need is to have a talk to that Yuki, or whatever her name was…

Having decided on a future course of action, I moved on to my original plan: the light novels. I had been reserved in some ways, but after thinking back to what happened after I entered high school, I realized that I could be forceful to a certain extent if I just wanted to play with him.

Yuu ended up refusing to come over on weekdays, though I’d love it if he were to come on every weekend.