Epilogue – The Time When I Met You

Next day. Early in the morning.

This case, started by the favor that Cosmos and Himawari asked me, was ended by the shocking truth that it was Sun-chan who pulled the string behind the scenes all along. In the end, the only thing that I got out of this was becoming the school’s number one enemy.

I lost everything that I had built up over the years.

Even though I did my best all this time… All my hard work had been reduced to nothing…

…Regrets always came last. I shoulda stay low like a cat. I wouldn’t have to screw myself over like this if I had done that…

“Haa…”

I let out a sigh as I passed through the school gate.

Alright, let’s get on with the first trial, my shoebox. Please let my indoor shoes be safe.

Yesterday, they smeared oil clay all over it. What would they do today?

Maybe they’ll use electricity this time? The sole of the shoes were made of rubber, but would that be enough to protect me from electrocution?

“…What?”

My footsteps came into a halt when I was ten meters away from the shoebox.

Someone was standing right in front of it.

That person stood with dignity while flipping through a pink notebook.

It was Cosmos. The girl who blocked my email just the other day.

“That’s my shoebox. Get the fuck away.”

“…”

I sent her a glare, but that didn’t affect her.

Instead, she positioned herself right in front of me with a strong and steady gait. Her expression looked like she was in a bad mood.

“W-What?”

She stared at me while pouting.

Seriously, what the hell was wrong with her? She scared me. Should I just run away?

“…Nothing.”

After saying that, she turned her back on me and walked away.

What the hell?

Whatever, let’s check on my shoes for now… Great! They didn’t do anything to it! Haha!

I guess Cosmos had been standing in front of my shoebox for a while, huh?

That was probably why no one could do anything to my shoes.

Not bad, not bad. She could be useful if she tried, hm? I wouldn’t be stingy and give her a compliment.

* * *

I changed my shoes into my normal, wonderful indoor shoes and headed to the classroom.

After the first trial, came the second trial, my seat. Please let my seat be safe.

Yesterday, my seat was filled with thumbtacks, what would it be today?

I’ve prepared some rubber to prevent electrocution, but would that be enough?

“…Huh?”

When I was five meters away from my seat, I stopped walking.

There was someone sitting there already.

With puffed cheeks, that person was clinging to my desk as if it was theirs.

It was Himawari, my former childhood friend.

“That’s my seat. Get the hell away from there.”

“…Hmph.”

She puffed her cheeks even more after hearing my words.

Despite seemingly unamused by my words, she quietly stood up.

“If you have something to say, then out with it.”

Himawari stared at me with a pouty and childish look on her face.

I didn’t know what was going on in her mind, but I couldn’t care less. She wasn’t as scary as Cosmos.

“…It’s nothing!”

After saying that, she walked away from me and went back to her seat.

I didn’t know what her deal was… Well, at least her actions benefited me.

Thanks to her sitting on my seat, people didn’t do anything to it. I sat down without any hesitation.

Phew. The seat felt a little warm, but I didn’t mind that. It was the first time in a while that I could sit down normally like this.

By the way, were Cosmos and Himawari trying to help me?

But why, though?

“Oi.”

“W-Woah? What’s wrong with you?”

A frivolous voice came from behind, scattering my thoughts away.

Surprised by the voice, I turned around to see Sun-chan standing there.

Instead of his usual cheerful look, he was staring at me with a serious look on his face. It was the expression that he wore whenever he was standing at the mound on his baseball matches.

“The game isn’t over yet. It’s still in the ninth inning with two outs. I can still turn the tides on you.”

“Yes?”

I tilted my head in confusion, but I still couldn’t understand what he was on about.

After saying that, he went back to his seat.

What did he mean by a match? A match between us? The baseball club ace and the person on the bottom of the school caste?

That wouldn’t be a match, it would be a massacre.

What the hell was wrong with everyone? I don’t get it.

* * *

Lunch.

During homeroom, the worst possible development happened.

As soon as the teacher finished talking, Sun-chan suddenly stood up and apologized to everyone.

Then he told a story about how he had a girl that he liked in the past and that feeling led him to hold a grudge against me.

So, in order to settle that grudge, he deceived me and turned me into everyone’s enemy.

And he admitted that he had to use other people in order to do that…

Yes. He told everyone the truth during the homeroom.

He promptly hid Cosmos’ and Himawari’s names during his explanation, though. They wouldn’t get into trouble because of this at least.

Finally, he got down to her knees and apologized to the class.

I hurriedly turned my gaze toward Himawari. She looked surprised, that meant this was the first time that she heard about everything.

So, thanks to Sun-chan, I was able to get out of my current situation.

Some of my classmates apologized to me and said that they regret treating me like dirt.

Of course that wouldn’t restore our relationship. There was no way that I’d be able to treat them like back when before everything happened. Well, at least I didn’t need to suffer through their harassments everyday anymore.

But, this wasn’t the kind of development that I wanted.

Instead of me, everyone would focus on their hostilities to Sun-chan.

Up until yesterday, I received all kinds of harassment from everyone.

There was a possibility that they’d harass Sun-chan next.

I’d prefer it if they were to harass me instead.

But, why would Sun-chan do this? I tried to come up with a reason and a certain someone came to my mind.

Aside from me, that person was the only one who knew about this situation. I suspected that they had done something to Sun-chan, which led him to do this. I decided to go to the library to confirm my suspicions.

* * *

“Are you the one behind all this?”

The library. I glared at the person sitting on the reception desk, Pansy. For some reason, she returned my glare. There was a rare grumpy look on her face.

“No. You’re the one who’s behind all this.”

“Huh?!”

I let out a dumb voice after hearing Pansy’s words that were delivered in an unusually sharp tone.

What did she mean by that? I didn’t do anything! …Or maybe I did?

“Let me be honest with you, this situation troubles me as well. Thanks to this, I’m unable to use the insurance that I’ve been saving.”

From the sulky tone, it seemed that it really wasn’t her doing.

Apparently things were outside of her calculation.

“Well, being the dummy you are, Joro-kun, you won’t understand what I’m talking about.”

Oi, you. Sulking was fine, but don’t use me to vent your frustration!

“Then, tell me so that I can understand.”

“…It’s all because of your true personality.”

She still hadn’t dropped her sulky expression as she continued talking. I didn’t know why, but I found her scary when she was acting like this.

“My true personality?”

“Yes. Your true personality is straightforward and you always say whatever it is that comes to your mind. You don’t care what others think of you, you just say what you want to say. And that personality of yours influenced Oga-kun somehow.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve told you this much already, just think about the answer yourself, you dummy.”

Um… Pansy-san? Why were you so angry?

I was genuinely terrified by her.

Did I do something to offend her? I swear it wasn’t my intention…

“Fine, I’ll tell you this time because my miscalculation is the reason for this outcome. Next time, don’t expect me to be this generous.”

“O-Okay…”

Phew… I didn’t know what miscalculation she was talking about, but it seemed like she would be telling me everything.

Good, good. My life was spared.

“You know about this already, but I’ll say it to make it clear to you. Oga-kun is a competitive and bright person. While he held some grudge against you and he did all those heinous things to you, deep inside, he’s still a good person.”

Like she said, I knew about this already. Despite our current strained relationship, we were best friends for years, after all.

Oh wait, now we were former best friends.

“You told him, ‘Forget about me, go apologize to the two of them,’ didn’t you? What do you think he’d do after hearing you say that?”

If it was Sun-chan… Ah…

“Do you understand now? If he just obeys you, he’ll end up losing to you. There’s no way that he could stand being pitied by someone he held a grudge with. That’s why he decided to fix your situation. He didn’t want to lose to you.”

Did you really feel the need to go that far for such a reason, Sun-chan?…

I mean, I wasn’t even trying to compete with him!

No wait, I guess it would be rude to him if I were to think about it that way. Then…

Sun-chan, it was now the ninth inning with two outs. You managed to pull out a grand slam and did a magnificent comeback.

“…Seriously, what a huge miscalculation.”

“What is it that you’re fussing about?”

Hearing my words, Pansy glared daggers at me. Her glare made me flinch.

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? I won’t tell you anything. If I were to tell you, it’ll be disadvantageous to you and I don’t want that. I could just lie to you, but I don’t want to.”

She turned away from me.

It was amusing to see her sulk this much.

“Let’s stop talking about this. You came all the way here, after all. I need to do my best.”

Pansy let out a deep breath, calming herself down. After that, her tone turned into her usual indifferent tone.

Thank God she was back to her usual self…

I was so scared that I almost pissed my pants.

“Joro-kun. I have a question for you.”

Pansy stood up from the reception desk and approached me.

“A question? What is it?”

“Do you know why Oga-kun fell for me?”

What was she up to?

I wanted to ask her what was the point of her knowing that, but I decided not to because I didn’t want her to be mad at me.

“I do. After the regional’s finals, you consoled Sun-chan after his match loss.”

Seriously… How could he fall in love with someone just like that? Judging a book by its content was good and all, but you needed to judge by its cover too. If it was me, even if she were to console me with the string of kindest words in the world, I still wouldn’t have the slightest feelings for her.

“He lied to you.”

“What?”

“I’ve never consoled him. When we met at the south entrance, I only gave him my name.”

“What?! But Sun-chan told me that you told him, ‘you made my heart flutter’ and how he was ‘strong and kind!’”

“Do you genuinely believe that I’d ever say that to someone I had just met for the first time?”

That was a sound argument.

So, did that mean Sun-chan really lied about what happened back then? Or was it Pansy who was lying to me?

If it was the former, then, why did Sun-chan fall in love with her in the first place? Love at the first sight? With a plain and lame-looking girl like her? If that was the case, he needed to get his eyes checked.

“Do you want to know the reason?”

“Not really.”

“As an apology for what happened this time, I’ll tell you.”

“No means no.”

“I refuse your refusal. I told you that I’m going to tell you my true feelings the other day, right? This is a continuation of that.”

“Continuation? I couldn’t care less about… Wait, what are you doing?!”

Pansy turned my body around before I could finish my words.

This girl just won’t listen…

“I’ll be ready in a minute, so please wait until then.”

At the same time, as she said those words, I could hear the sound of rustling clothes from behind me.

Huh? What was she doing? Could it be? She was taking off her uniform?!

Why was she doing this? Trying to seduce me?

C’mon, she needed to face reality. Look in the mirror sometimes. There was no way that she would be able to seduce me with her looks!

Did she really think that I’d found her to be attractive if she were to do this? No way in hell!

Just as I was about to turn my body around to stop her…

“While you’re waiting, you can play with my friend over there.”

“…”

With a buzzing sound, a stag beetle appeared out of nowhere.

It stood menacingly on the floor. Looking at it, I felt a sense of dread and fear.

The stag beetle was much bigger than your normal stag beetles.

It was a giraffe stag beetle. I could hear a rattling sound whenever it made its horns hit each other.

For some reason, an image of black lotus flashed through my mind when I was the stag beetle.

“Its name is Stinger-kun. Isn’t it cute?”

It was a stag beetle, why the hell did you name it stinger?

In any case, I was afraid that it’ll attack me if I were to make a sudden movement, so I decided to stay still.

“Let me show you my true self.”

Like I said, no matter what you do, you wouldn’t be able to seduce me— Huh?

Suddenly, a piece of white cloth– probably a hachimaki, fell down at my feet.

Why was this here?

“You can turn around now.”

Give me a break…

If I were to turn around and see her shirtless, I’d go blind.

I knew this was futile, but I wouldn’t go down without a fight!

“Why are you closing your eyes?”

I heard Pansy’s voice as I turned around.

“I don’t want to turn blind.”

My fight was just limited to closing my eyes tightly.

“If you don’t open it, I’ll have to ask for Stinger-kun’s help.”

My fate was sealed.

Fuck… Fine, I just had to open it, right?! I’ll open it!

With determination, I opened my eyes. Farewell my eyesight!

“…W-Wha…”

Like an idiot, I let my mouth open wide after seeing the scene in front of me.

The cheeks of the girl in front of me was dyed in a red hue, reflecting her embarrassment.

With her unbraided hair, her glasses off and her big chest bare for me to see, I could see the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my life…

“Y-You!”

“This is the real reason why Oga-kun fell for me.”

Silky long hair that dropped a little below her shoulders. A pair of beautiful eyes. Slender, yet high nose. Small, yet seductive pair of lips. And lastly… A pair of huge racks. E-cup— No, those were F for sure.

From her outstanding posture, figure and the well-endowed chest…

I could say with confidence that she was perfect as a woman.

Cosmos was a beauty, but Pansy’s beauty far surpassed hers.

If they were to stand side by side, Pansy would easily be able to outshine Cosmos.

“Long time no see… I guess that’s an appropriate greeting, right, Joro-kun?”

“A-Aa…”

Seeing my stupid and shameful reaction, Pansy let out a chuckle.

Honestly, it wasn’t because of her real appearance that made me dumbfounded.

It was the shocking fact that I actually recognized her appearance.

Back when I was waiting for Sun-chan on that hot day, my gaze was fixed to a certain girl.

A girl with an extraordinarily huge chest.

And that girl was Pansy…

“Y-You… Weren’t you at the south entrance?!”

“Didn’t I tell you? You stole my attention, so I went to the north entrance before going to the south since my house was closer from there. I met Oga-kun on my way home.”

Pansy said with a slightly frustrated expression.

“I was careless back then. When Oga-kun asked for my name, I answered him honestly, which was a mistake.”

Perhaps because of how different she was from how she usually dressed, she was confident that no one would be able to find her.

But still, if she didn’t want anyone to notice her, she should just leave the stadium quietly instead of trying to talk with anyone at all.

“It’s your fault, you know? You made me so happy that I accidentally gave him my name.”

I see. Well, I understood what Sun-chan felt.

If I were to see such a perfect woman in front of me, I’d definitely fall for her at first sight.

Pansy was that pretty after all.

But, Sun-chan was hiding this fact from me?

Then again, maybe he wasn’t sure that the Pansy he saw and the Pansy at school were the same person. After all, they didn’t look alike at all.

That thought made me laugh a little.

“‘Someone who loves me unconditionally. A quiet and gentle beauty with big chest.’”

Pansy said.

That was the idea of an ideal woman that I blurted out in my room a while ago.

“I perfectly fit that description.”

Hearing her calling herself a beauty gave me conflicted feelings.

Let me be honest, she was the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen in my life.

If anything, I was the one who was being weird for being so hesitant in this kind of situation.

…I gave up. She managed to corner me.

She played the worst possible card in the worst possible moment for me.

“Joro-kun…”

“Hya!”

Pansy came leaning closer to me as I made a pitiful sound in response.

She put her lips near my ear as she started to whisper something to me.

I was more than aware that this was the so-called sweet whisper of the devil, but I couldn’t bring myself to close my ears.

“Will you not come here anymore?”

She asked me the same question as yesterday. That was unfair.

“…I’ll stop by sometimes.”

“I won’t let you see myself in this appearance ever again if you don’t come every day~”

“…I’ll stop by every day.”

When she heard my words, she turned her gaze down.

“I’m so happy. Finally… I’ve made it this far…”

She kept her face down, but I could see her body starting to tremble.

“Oi, are you o– Ouch! What’s wrong with you?!”

Just as I was about to take a look at her face, she hit me with a book.

It was ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ by Aesop.

“You’ve done your best, Joro-kun. Even though you didn’t do it for yourself, but for others. To the kind Joro-kun, I have a reward for you.”

She said that in a calm voice, as if her previous state was a lie. This girl, I swear…

“—!”

Instantly, my thoughts were blown away by the soft sensation on my cheek.

Pansy pressed her lips against my cheek. The sensation only lasted for a second, but I could feel it clearly.

“Phew… I did my best.”

As soon as she was done, she distanced herself from me.

She must have felt really embarrassed as she was blushing furiously.

But, I couldn’t laugh at her because I was in the same state as her.

“E-Even so, m-my hatred for you won’t change!”

“I know. You told me that you don’t have that kind of feeling for me even if I were to kiss you.”

My pathetic attempt at resisting her ended up in failure. Once again, Pansy came closer to me while saying,

“After what happened this time… I want to do all sorts of things with you… Like kissing you or hugging you… I realized that I’ve come to love you more than anyone else in this world…”

She held my hand. I couldn’t bear to brush her trembling hand.

“You got me, huh?”

This was all within her calculation.

She knew that if she were to show me her true appearance, I would be forced to come to the library often.

Haah… How could I get away from this girl? Such a pain in the butt.

“Hey, will you give me rewards for all my hard work?”

“Hell no.”

“Aw, too bad.”

Pansy giggled mischievously while squeezing my hand tighter.

Despite her actions, the redness of her face and the slight tremble of her body was a clear sign that she was also embarrassed.

Then, her crystal clear eyes met mine. With a slight tremble, her lips moved.

“I’ll be in your care from now on, mister rude, mean and the worst kind of human being, Kisaragi Amatsuyu.”

“Shut up, miss gloomy, nosy and the worst kind of human being, Sanshokuin Sumireko.”

Appearance-wise, this girl was truly perfect.

However, I still couldn’t bring myself to like her personality.

But this was natural. After all, I had always been subjected to this girl’s malicious actions.

No matter how pretty she was, there was only one thing that came to mind when I was looking at her.

Are you really the only one who likes me?…

* * *

One year ago. July.

“So hoooot!”

The scorching sun made me let out my complaint loudly.

God, it was so hot!

Sure, this was summer and all, but today was too hot even for summer!

Ugh, I wanted to go home… My dear AC, I missed you so much…

“The smell of the sauce is revolting…”

The smell of the kushikatsu sauce wafting from the boxes reached my nostrils.

This smell was irresistible in the worst possible way.

I knew I bought too many of these…

“Whoops… I wonder if Sun-chan is okay?”

Trying to regain my balance while holding the kushikatsu boxes in my hand, my best friend’s face came to my mind.

Today was the day that the regional’s final was held.

Regrettably, our high school lost both the match and the chance to go to Koshien as the victor of the regionals.

My best friend, Sun-chan, was the ace of our baseball team. I wonder if he was okay?

He was acting cheerfully in front of everyone just now, but I knew he was hiding his true feelings.

After all, going to Koshien was his dream. He wished for it to happen more than anyone else.

“Well, at least this will cheer him up a little. He loves kushikatsu after all.”

That was why I was waiting for him here.

After all, we were best friends.

“…Hey.”

“Woah?! What do you— Woah, woah!!”

“Getting surprised twice like that, what a funny guy.”

I let out the first scream because I was surprised that someone suddenly called out to me from behind. But, for the second scream, I let it out because of an entirely different reason.

I knew this girl! She was the gorgeous girl I saw back at the stadium! I was distracted by her beauty to the point that I didn’t notice a foul ball flying to my direction and ended up hitting me!

The exact same beauty was trying to talk with me?!

Wait, I messed up!

If I knew that I was going to be approached by such a pretty girl, I woulda kept my guard up and wore my usual kind facade…

Dude, I messed up real badly this time. Even though there was no one around, I should never let my guard down!

Alright, from now on, none of this would happen ever again. I’ll keep my facade up even in my monologue.

Let’s do this, me!

“A-Ahem… W-What do you– I mean, do you need something from me?”

I tried to cover my mistake by clearing my throat, but I spectacularly failed as my usual tone of speech came out anyway.

“It’s fine, you don’t need to be polite with me. It isn’t like I’m being polite with you either.”

I agree with her words, but I still felt like I had to act politely to someone that I met for the first time.

Especially if that someone was a beauty like her. I wanted to leave the best impression on her.

By the way, why did she approach me?

“I-Is that so?”

“Mhm. I prefer you to speak casually with me.”

“Got it, I’ll do what you asked.”

“You switched your tone so quickly. Amazing…”

Oh, crap. Because of my nervousness I accidentally used my casual tone. Another blunder was made.

She sounded calm, but I could sense astonishment in her voice.

But wait, let’s give more thought about the situation.

A strange girl suddenly approached me. I could think of four reasons why she did this.

Reason number one, she wanted to make a shady deal with me.

Using her sex appeal, she wanted me to follow her so that she could sell some dubious products or invite me to a cult.

But, that seemed unlikely. If she really wanted to do that, she wouldn’t be targeting a high school student like me, instead she’d look for adults with deep pockets. I didn’t have money in hand, but a bunch of kushikatsu.

Therefore this one wasn’t possible.

Reason number two, she wanted to ask me for directions or she just simply wanted to know what time it currently was.

She could be lost or she was just curious what time it currently was. Since I was nearby, she figured that she could ask me about it.

But, that one also seemed unlikely. I saw this girl watching the baseball match.

Since that was the case, she should at least know how to get here, so there was no way that she got lost. As for the matter regarding time, the clock tower was nearby, she could just check it on her own.

There was no need for her to call out to me for such a reason.

Therefore this one also wasn’t possible.

Reason number three. This girl loved kushikatsu more than anything in this world.

Common sense told me that this was the most improbable reason of them all.

No matter how much she loved kushikatsu, why would she ask a stranger for some?

It was dumb of me to even think of this as a possibility.

Therefore this one also wasn’t possible.

Finally, reason number four. This girl fell for me.

Think about it, a girl calling out to a boy who was standing idly in front of the stadium. This was the so-called reverse pickup!

The possibility wasn’t zero! Plain as I may be, beauty was in the eye of the beholder!

It wasn’t impossible that I was her type!

I mean, wasn’t there a girl back in middle school who was into me?

Reason accepted!

Alright, let’s proceed with this in mind!

“So? What do you want from me?”

I asked, trying to sound as composed as possible.

“I called out to you because I’m interested in you. Am I being a bother?”

She really came for the fourth reason?! I brought up that possibility as a joke, but it turned out to be the truth?!

ALRIGHT! LET’S GO! My life wasn’t exactly filled with ups and downs, but this was my moment! I could say with confidence that this was one of the most joyful moments of my life!

“N-No, you aren’t a bother at all.”

C-Calm down, me! This girl got the hots for me! …Or was she really? No, I didn’t need to doubt it!

However! I still shouldn’t let my guard down! I would never let myself screw this chance over! I didn’t want her to say something like, ‘What a let down, you’re not the man I thought you would be.’ That would be a failure and I’d do my best to avoid that, but what kind of outcome would it be so that I could call it a success?

“What about you? Are you interested in me?”

“Yes. I am very much interested in you.”

“That’s a pleasant thing to hear.”

“Ditto. You’ve been saying things that are pleasant to my ears too.”

“If that’s the case, can I make a suggestion?”

“Hm? Sure, I’ll hear it out.”

“All the heat made me tired, let’s move to somewhere cooler… Like, perhaps a coffee shop nearby? What do you think?”

Shoo cuteeeesh!!

The way she tilted her head while locking her gaze at me was so cute!

But…

“Ah, sorry, I can’t.”

The girl blinked at my response. Perhaps, she didn’t expect that I’d reject her invitation without any hesitation like this.

“Why?”

Oh no. I could hear slight displeasure from her voice. But, well, I understood her feelings.

The person she called out to clearly said that he was also interested in her, but he effortlessly rejected her invitation like that. Normally, people wouldn’t respond like I did.

“I’m waiting for someone here…”

“Is it your girlfriend?”

“If it was my girlfriend, then I would be gay.”

“Oh my, that was shocking…”

“No, I’m completely straight! Don’t take my words at face value like that!”

“Glad to hear that then.”

How could she even come to that conclusion? Was she not right in the head?

Whatever, she was cute, so all her deeds were forgiven. Cuteness and boobs were justice. It has been like that since ancient times.

“Sorry, the guy I’m waiting for is the kind of guy who’d never let anyone know that he’s feeling down. I can’t just leave him by himself like that. That’s why I won’t move from here until he comes.”

Ah, if only she invited me on any other day… Why must it be today?

“I see… Then, what about we do it on another day?”

“Sure. I’ll need your name and contact though.”

Right. There we go. This was it, the outcome that I could call a ‘success.’

Too bad that I had to prioritize Sun-chan first, so I couldn’t tend to her as much as I wanted today.

At the very least I’ll get her name and contact information though. I’ll do my best to achieve that goal!

“I’ll tell you both, but on one condition.”

“One condition?”

“…Yes. Can I have one of these?”

The girl pointed to the kushikatsu I held on both hands.

“I want something to commemorate our first conversation. Can I have one of these?”

“Ah… Sorry, you can’t.”

“Why?”

F-Fuck! Why did I keep destroying one flag after another!

One kushikatsu for this girl’s name and contact information!

That was a great deal no matter how you tried to look at it!

…But, it wasn’t like I could just let her have one of these!

These kushikatsu were for Sun-chan! Not for me to fulfill my own desires!

“These aren’t mine. These belong to the guy I’m waiting for.”

“But, didn’t you buy them with your own money?”

“Well, yeah, but… You still can’t have them!”

“Even though you have so many of them?”

“Even though I have so many of them.”

“I see. Too bad…”

The attempt was a huge failure.

Ahh… Letting such a nice girl go for something like this… I was a big fool…

“Nevertheless, I’m still happy. I’ve learned a lot about you.”

The girl said with a happy tone.

Huh? Could it be? I actually had a chance? Will she give me her contact information?

“Let’s meet again later. And when we do, let’s have a nice and long talk. I’m looking forward to it.”

Alright, a question!

Q: If two people were to promise to meet with each other later, what would they need?

A: Each others’ contact information and names!

“Alright, then, where can I con–”

“Will you treat me nicely if I were to start talking to you?”

Ugh, she cut me mid-sentence.

I’ll forgive her though, because she was cute. That angelic smile of hers could absolve her from all sins.

“I’ll do my best to treat you as nicely as possible.”

“Promise me. If you break it, I’ll be very, very mean to you.”

“I promise. Don’t worry, I’m not the kind of person who’d break his promise.”

Alright! I managed to say that line properly! Now, gimme your name and contact information, honey!

“That sounds reassuring. Alright, see you later.”

“Huh?”

W-Wait, what?

We promised to talk to each other later, but you didn’t even give me your contact information?!

Things weren’t supposed to progress like this!

C’mon, this might work in a drama or something, but this was real life!

“H-Hey, c-can I get your contact information–”

I managed to call out to the girl, but by that time, she had already walked away from me.

Due to the kushikatsu in my hands, I couldn’t even try to chase after her.

Ah… In the end, I failed…

As I slumped my shoulders in disappointment, the girl suddenly turned around and gave me a slight smile.

So cute.

“By the way, I got lonely easily. And I’m a little needy as well.”

After saying those words, she turned her back on me again and walked away.

Haa… I didn’t need this cliched development that you often saw in dramas. Just give me a normal and realistic one, please.

In the end, I didn’t manage to get both her name and her contact information. So, I continued to wait for Sun-chan under the scorching sun.

…Anyway, when will he come?