ch241-ch260 · 255-ch255

Chapter 255: After the Rain

"No...... good?"

Mizuki looks up at me from below, eyes angled upward.

Yes, my Goddess!

What kind of idiot turns down a go-out-with-me from a beauty like this?

No, there isn't one!

But at that moment, a face surfaces in my mind......

......Huh?

That's Hiramatsu-san.

Why?

'Now listen up, Haruki, and listen well. In a fight, never assume the opponent has bared a real opening. If such a thing ever seems to happen, it is a lure—a trap. When it does, look closely at their stance. Once you attack, you need to know where the next blow will come from—and their stance will tell you on its own.'

Baring an opening?

Baring her feelings!

I see. This is a lure. A trap.

So what is Mizuki aiming for?

Look closely at her stance, then.

Hmm, whether it's because my reply is slow, she's tilting her head with a little ko-ten.

A very cute stance indeed.

......

I see. Mizuki's aim is probably getting Aikawa to quit being an adventurer.

She'll rope me in as her ally, then strike from there.

"It's not that it's a no—if this is about using me to make Aikawa quit being an adventurer, I can't do that. I promised Aikawa. No matter what you say to me, Mizuki, I'm not throwing Aikawa under the bus. Aikawa quits being an adventurer only when she herself decides she wants to quit. So if Aikawa's the goal, try somewhere else."

That was close.

If I hadn't studied Hiramatsu-ryu, I'd have walked right into it.

"Eh? Ah...... um. Right. There's Natsuki too...... huh? Wait, you're the president of my fan club, aren't you, Kasugano-kun? You looove me, don't you??"

Whoa whoa.

Apparently it's well known that I used to like Mizuki......

And still she asks? "You'll refuse anyway?"

What do I do, what do I do......

"Either way, impossible is impossible. If that's all you wanted, I'm heading back."

Alright, retreat—

"Wait!"

"What?"

She calls me back.

"Setting Natsuki aside, I want YOU to quit being an adventurer too, Kasugano-kun. You understand what I mean, right?"

Mizuki's older sister died in the dungeon.

When someone dies in a dungeon, the body almost never comes back.

Mizuki's sister never came back either......

She told me herself—after months of not even knowing whether she was really dead, they held a funeral with an empty coffin.

And her parents went strange after that—I heard bits and pieces of that too, and back then I couldn't find a single good thing to say. I just listened......

A girl who's been through that kind of pain surely doesn't want my family to taste the same.

This girl called Mizuki Saori is very, very kind......

"I can't quit right now. So...... I'm sorry."

I can't help Aikawa either.

We've got the 'everyone to Floor 30' operation going, after all.

"Ehh? So the fan club president doesn't actually like me? Are you the president of a FASHION fan club? Uuu, how embarrassing...... What abysmal self-consciousness...... And to think I was worried about hurting Eko's feelings......"

A fashion fan club president sounds like someone who'd dress well, but I'm in my plain summer uniform, as you can see.

And I'm not the president of a fan club in the first place.

I've never even heard of a "Goddess Adoration Society"......

Mizuki covers her face with both hands and slumps her shoulders.

Even that pose is a picture, huh.

"Um...... should we head back?"

Still, I can't just leave it like this, so I prompt her to return to the classroom.

"Hey....... Is being an adventurer really that much fun?"

Mizuki lifts her face and asks.

How should I put it?

Getting stranded on Floor 30 and chewed out, fighting a Berserker—plenty of dangerous things have happened.

But I've met all kinds of people......

"Fun, huh...... Well, I guess it IS enjoyable?"

"Fufu. So THAT'S the face you make when you laugh, Kasugano-kun. First time I've seen it. ......I see. So it's fun. Then I'll head back first, okay?"

Whatever it was that amused her—Mizuki laughs too, at the fact that I laughed.

That beautiful smile makes my heart skip.

Ah, so she smiles like that......

I see Mizuki off as she trots away, but my heartbeat hasn't stopped.

︙

︙

"WOooooo, President——! I believed in youuu——!"

"Now THAT'S our Adoration Society president!"

"I'm joining the president's banner, personally."

I bought some bread, settled my heart a little, and returned to the classroom to find total chaos.

Who's the president?

Eh? Me?

As for why the class is in an uproar: Mizuki's first words on coming back were, apparently, "He turned me down."

Why would you announce that?

Revenge for failing to recruit me?

"Not bad, Haruki."

Minami comes over and holds out a fist, and I bump it with mine.

For an instant I thought someone's eyes gleamed, but it must be my imagination.

No wait—is that person crying?

"Kasugano-kun, I'm moved. Pure love. This is PURE love~"

Back in my seat, Souma-san is indeed crying.

Business as usual, then.

"Haru-kun...... Thank you......"

Huh? Is this one crying too?

Aikawa's eyes are red as well.

"I promised, didn't I. Wait—did you doubt me?"

Aikawa shakes her head, hard.

Suspicious, very suspicious.

"Sorry, Haruki. ......Not that I doubted you or anything."

Soushi, looking guilty.

"Don't worry, it wasn't for your sake."

"What a tsundere, ah......"

Souma-san's words cut off mid-sentence, her gaze fixed behind me.

I turn around......

"Natsuki. Got a minute?"

It's Mizuki......

This time it seems she has business with Aikawa.

I have no right to stop her if she wants to speak directly.

That's Soushi's job, though.

"......What?"

Aikawa, who always starts her fake sleep, actually answered today.

But her voice is small.

"Don't be so cold. I won't tell you to quit being an adventurer anymore, so let's make up? Okay?"

"Really? Why? But...... I've been ignoring you all this time, Saori......"

"Being an adventurer is fun, right? Tell me about the dungeon sometime. Come on, eat over here with us?"

For whatever change of heart, Mizuki takes Aikawa's hand and pulls her over to her own group.

'Natsuki-chi brought a bento? Eh, and Natsukawa made it?'

'No wayyy, that's hilarious. It's got pandas on it.'

'Oh, and this one? Eh, you're giving me one? Tha——it's SO GOOD! What IS this!'

The four of them enjoying happy bento time.

Good, good.

The whole class wears expressions of relief.

"After the rain, the ground sets firm, huh. And from now on, those two eat lunch together every day. Gufufu."

It's sunny out, though?

"Souma-san, won't you join them?"

"Someone like me couldn't possibly intrude on those two. I'll watch from my corner of the classroom. Don't mind me, you two go on being close. Gufufufu."

I DO mind!