After school.
“What should I do, Haku-chan?!”
“What is it? Why so sudden? Stop clinging to me!”
As we were walking home, Sara suddenly rushed over and threw herself at me.
“But~!”
“‘But’ nothing!”
“Uuu…”
I somehow managed to push back the clinging Sara and calm her down. Is she a dog?
“Did something happen?”
“Yeah…”
The day should have ended without anything particular happening.
“Um… a boy from Class 1 talked to me…”
Sara’s appearance is striking. Even if rumors of her rejecting people have spread, there will always be some who decide to take a gamble.
“I was… way too cold to him…”
Sara is profoundly depressed.
“What did you say?”
“Um… he asked, ‘Do you want to go grab some tea together?’ and…”
A total pick-up attempt.
A boy from Class 1 with that kind of behavior… it was probably Tosaki.
“I was so surprised… I just replied, ‘Huh?’!”
Sara’s eyes are welling up. It’s hard to imagine from the current Sara, but that must have been an incredibly cold reaction.
“And what about Tosaki?”
“You know him?”
“Kind of.”
“He said, ‘S-Sorry… I was in the wrong!’ and then he ran away.”
Strong. To repel a pick-up artist like Tosaki with a single word… I almost wish I’d seen it.
“Wait, Haku-chan, do you know his name?”
“No, not at all.”
I just know who he is as a character since I occasionally interact with Akagami and the others. Tosaki feels like a supporting character with a slightly loud personality. I don’t dislike him as a bit of spice for the story.
“I wanted to give a kinder reaction…”
Sara looks crestfallen. Thanks to the results of her special training, she’s become a bit softer when dealing with her classmates.
However, students outside her class are complete strangers. It can’t be helped that her reactions are harsher.
“A cold reaction was the right answer this time.”
“…Really?”
“Eh…?”
“If you’d reacted kindly, you would have ended up grabbing tea with him, you know?”
“Grabbing tea with a friend… ehehe, that sounds fun.”
Sara gives a goofy smile. I’m worried she’ll get caught up with some bad guy.
“He had no intention of becoming your friend.”
Sara is struck by a bolt of shock.
“That was just a pick-up line.”
“…A pick-up line? For me?”
Sara looks bewildered.
“Why?”
“What do you mean, ‘why’…?”
Because you’re cute, obviously.
Apparently, Sara has no awareness that her appearance is attractive.
Well, given her current circumstances, it’s only natural for her self-esteem to be low.
…Maybe it’s more interesting if she stays this way.
Making her realize she’s ‘cute’ would be interesting, but her remaining oblivious is also interesting.
I can make her realize it at any time, so for now, I’ll go with the latter.
“??? Haku-chan?”
“You’re too close.”
While I was lost in thought, Sara was peering into my face with a dissatisfied expression.
When I flicked her forehead to push her back, Sara let out a pathetic little sound.
“Just because you aren’t popular with the people around you… doesn’t mean someone isn’t watching, you know?”
As I said this with an exasperated sigh, Sara hurriedly looked around. For a split second, she entered Witch Mode, but her expression immediately melted back into a soft look.
“H-Haku-chan! Don’t scare me like that!”
As expected, when she becomes conscious that others might be nearby, she slips into Witch Mode. I wonder why I’m the only exception.
“Anyway, let’s go home.”
“Ah, wait for me! Haku-chan!”
With Sara following me like a puppy, we continued our walk home.
