The sweetly creeping threads are slightly entangled.
“…So, this is the place.”
Relying on a single memo, I found myself in front of a stylish cafe that I would never normally visit. The exterior, and even the interior, had a cute design, the kind of place that would be fun to visit as a couple.
“Guess I’ll head in.”
I steeled myself and opened the door.
A cute waitress, dressed in frills that were perfect for this kind of place, greeted me with a cheerful “Welcome!” It seemed quite crowded, mostly with female customers.
“Just one?”
“Well… I’m actually meeting someone.”
Coming here alone would be way too difficult.
As I just said, I wasn’t here on my own accord. I was relying on the memo with the location, which meant someone had prepared it.
“Ah, Hayato-kun, over here!”
“…Ah, it was that beautiful lady. Please, enjoy your time!”
The waitress nodded in understanding when she saw the girl waving at me from the back.
Urged on by the waitress, I walked towards the source of the voice. Sitting at the table were two girls… but you already know who they are, right?
“Sorry for the wait.”
“It’s totally fine~”
“I’m just happy you came.”
Yes, it was Arisa and Aina.
After the confession drama with Aina, we talked about going to a cafe together since we were already out. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I agreed, but right as I was about to head home, my teacher asked me for a favor.
“I see… Oh, right. If you don’t mind, could you check the shoe lockers on your way home?”
Aina had said this after I explained the situation, and I wondered what she meant, but as she said, I found a memo indicating this cafe in my shoe locker. Along with neat handwriting, there was an easy-to-understand drawing and a message saying they’d be happy if I came.
“I couldn’t very well refuse after seeing something like that.”
“Ahaha, I thought Hayato-kun would come because you’re so kind♪”
“…Honestly, Aina. But, thank you so much, Hayato-kun.”
I was free anyway, so it wasn’t anything to thank me for.
The two of them were sitting facing each other, with a seat open next to each of them. I wondered which seat to take, but Arisa seemed to notice something and stood up, moving to sit next to Aina.
“Here you go, Hayato-kun.”
“Oh… thanks.”
Maybe Arisa was being considerate. It would be sad if she secretly thought, “I’d rather die than sit next to you,” but judging from Arisa’s expression, that didn’t seem to be the case, which was a relief.
I sat down facing the two of them and ordered a coffee for the time being.
“I’m really happy you came just from that message. Did you get lost?”
“It was easy to understand, so I didn’t get lost. Well, I probably wouldn’t come here normally, so I was a little nervous about going inside.”
“I see. We come here often, though.”
“Yeah. The atmosphere and all, plus there are a lot of female customers here.”
…I see, so that’s part of it.
Looking around again, there were only a handful of male customers. As Arisa said, there seemed to be fewer male customers.
As I was looking around, my coffee arrived, so I took a sip. To be honest, I was a little nervous being in this kind of place with the two of them. The moderate bitterness of the coffee stimulated me and eased my tension.
“Ehehe♪”
“Fufu♪”
…What’s with those meaningful smiles?
Both of them hadn’t touched their drinks or cakes and were staring at me, making it hard to react. I ended up focusing on drinking my coffee, but then Aina said something.
“Now that we’re talking like this, let’s exchange contact information.”
“…Are you sure?”
When I asked, Aina nodded with a smile, and Arisa quickly took out her phone and shook her head vigorously. By the way, Aina, who had suggested it, was a little taken aback by Arisa’s gesture, which was a bit refreshing.
I took out my phone and exchanged contact information with the two of them… but Arisa, unlike Aina, was staring intently at my newly added contact information, not moving an inch. Her eyes seemed a little dark, and she was muttering something under her breath.
“…With this… I’m… his…”
“My sister gets a little weird sometimes, so don’t worry about it.”
I’m worried, though!?
Arisa continued to stare at her phone screen for a while, but then she snapped out of it as if she had just realized something and put it away in her pocket. Her cheeks were a little flushed as if she was embarrassed, and I couldn’t sense any of the eeriness from before.
Aina giggled at me, who was concerned about Arisa, and suddenly changed the subject.
“Have you thought about what you want to do in the future, Hayato-kun?”
“…The future, huh? Not really, not yet.”
I was caught off guard by the sudden normal topic, but when asked about the future, I told them what I thought. Next year I’ll be a third-year, so I’ll have to think about getting a job or going to college, and other things. My maternal grandparents told me not to worry about money if I go to college, but still… you know.
“What about you, Aina?”
“I want to have kids first.”
Oh… that’s very simple and, well, girly… I guess? It seems like there are a lot of problems with the declining birth rate these days, so it’s a good thing to be positive about having children. But that means Aina needs someone to win her over… I wonder what kind of person it will be.
“I thought you might laugh at me.”
“I won’t laugh. I’m sure you’ll have a happy family, Aina. The kids you have will be cute too.”
“Really? You really think so?”
“? Yeah.”
“I see… fufu, I see, I’m so happy♪”
What was that? I felt something strange from Aina for a moment… but she has her usual smile, so nothing’s wrong, right? Even so, I always think she has such a cute smile. Like Arisa, her smile is incredibly powerful.
I asked Arisa the same question next.
“I want to be helpful. I want to stay by that person’s side forever, watching over them. I want to belong only to that person.”
I want to be helpful, a very simple idea.
To belong only to that person… so she wants to be their everything, I guess.
“What do you think, Hayato-kun? Do you think it’s creepy?”
“No? I think it’s fine. Or rather, isn’t it admirable to be able to say so directly that you want to be helpful to someone?”
I don’t know Arisa that well, or Aina either, for that matter. There are so many things I don’t know about them. Still, they are both beautiful, have excellent grades, and are known to be trusted by the teachers.
“I’m relieved. Thank you, Hayato-kun.”
I told you, it’s nothing to thank me for.
Well, the question of what we want to do was about going to college, but their answers came so quickly that I just went along with it.
“Excuse me. I’m going to go pick some flowers.”
“Okay~”
Arisa got up from her seat and headed to the restroom.
I had to warn Aina, who was grinning as she watched her go.
“Aina, don’t look at someone going to the restroom like that.”
“Eh? …Oh, I see what you mean. Sorry, sorry, you’re right, Hayato-kun.”
…Her reaction was a little different than I expected.
After that, until Arisa returned, I was alone with Aina. Aina, who was playing with the ice in her empty cup with a straw, muttered something.
“…Hey, Hayato-kun, this is out of the blue, but…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Why did you save us back then?”
“…………”
Back then, that could only mean the incident.
I couldn’t answer the question right away. Why did I save them? When I thought about it, it didn’t seem like there was a particular reason. It was really just a coincidence that I was there, and it was a miracle that no one was hurt and everyone was safe.
“…Well, I guess…”
“…………”
I looked at Aina, who was staring at me, and replied.
“Honestly, I thought I had stumbled upon an unpleasant situation. But I didn’t intend to run away. Before I knew it, I was moving with that pumpkin on my head.”
“…I see.”
Yes, before I knew it, I was moving.
And I was able to save you. That’s why I think, I’m really glad you’re safe.
“I’m really glad you’re safe.”
I told you this back then too, but these are my heartfelt words.
“…Ugh… I can’t take this.”
“Aina?”
“…No good… it’s coming… I’m going to start wanting something like this.”
“Aina-san?”
“…It’s okay. Ehehe, thanks, Hayato-kun.”
“O-okay…”
After that, until Arisa returned, Aina kept touching the area below her stomach. I thought maybe Aina wanted to go to the restroom too, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
[Afterword]
These days, I’m working hard to properly write a romantic comedy.
By the way, does everyone like Oyakodon?
I absolutely love it and order it all the time.