"Wha-!? Ko-Kotono-chan!? This person!?"
"Ehehe, calling me a beauty... stop it."
I didn't say a word about you being a beauty, you dummy.
Changing locations, we had come to an open square on the rooftop of the shopping mall. It was intended for children, featuring a giant jungle gym and a rest area for parents to relax.
We sat facing each other in one corner of that space. For the record, Kotono was next to me, and Ryuguin was in front of Kotono. That meant Kuonji was sitting directly in front of me.
"Ehh... I definitely thought she looked mature, but isn't this too much of a change...? She looks like nothing but a college student."
"Ah-haha! Riran-tan praised me!"
"Ah, this high energy is definitely Kotono-chan's."
Kuonji gave a wry smile. Well, her personality is still that of a child.
Kotono drained her can of royal milk tea in one go, then leaned forward with a heavy huff of breath.
"My situation is fine! More than that... right, Rion-tan?"
"That's right, Koto-chan."
The two of them raised the corners of their mouths like clowns. Did these two really become best friends just now...? Their communication skills are way too high, man.
Now then, what should I do? While sipping my tea, I thought about how to dodge the question regarding that bombshell statement from earlier. ...Actually, Kuonji was the one who dug her own grave, so why do I have to be the one to clean up her mess?
I glanced at Kuonji sitting across from me. Kuonji also seemed to be deep in thought while drinking her canned cocoa. ...But she was obviously shaken. Her hands were trembling like crazy. This is bad.
"Riran-chan. What exactly did that line earlier mean?"
"That's right, Riran-tan. You can't talk your way out of it anymore ZE☆"
"Gu... nuuu...!"
Hey, don't glare at me with those resentful eyes. This was your fault to begin with.
However... after such a clear and perfect bombshell statement, it's probably impossible to make up any kind of excuse now.
"Both of you. Please keep what I'm about to say off the record."
"Wait, are you planning to tell them...!?"
"It can't be helped. This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't said that back there."
"Muguu... hmph."
It seemed Kuonji had given up as well. Honestly, this girl...
"It's just as you've guessed from Kuonji's statement earlier. She and I are tied together by the 'Red Thread of Fate'."
"I knew it... but I'm still surprised."
Ryuguin looked back and forth between me and Kuonji with eyes that looked like she was observing something rare. I didn't mention the color of the thread. I wasn't asked, and even if I were, I didn't intend to answer with stupid honesty. Dark Scarlet is a color that's normally considered impossible, after all.
"Hoooeh... such a miracle really exists, doesn't it?"
"Indeed. I thought it would be interest—I mean, wonderful if the two of you were tied by the 'Red Thread of Fate' even as a joke, but to think it's actually real."
Hey, Ryuguin was definitely about to say it would be "interesting." This girl actually has a bit of a mean streak, doesn't she? ...Anyway, I'll set that aside for now.
"Like I said before, keep this off the record. I don't really want it getting out."
"I-I'm asking you too... please. This is, well..."
Kuonji agreed, her face turning bright red. Our relationship as 'natural enemies' is already famous at Ginkgo High School. If people from our school found out we were tied by the red thread, things would definitely get troublesome. Mostly because of Ryuya and Neika.
"I understand."
"Yeah, yeah. We won't tell anyone!"
Phew, thank goodness—.
""Since you want us to leave you alone as a married couple, right?""
""We certainly do not!""
◆
"Well then, we'll leave it to the young couple here~"
"We'll be heading off now. See you two at school."
Leaving behind those words, the two of them left. And so, Kuonji and I were left here. Frankly, I didn't know what to talk about.
Truthfully, I could have just gone home immediately... but for some reason, that felt like a bit of a waste.
"............"
"............"
...What should I do? Looking at Kuonji, she had a face that suggested she didn't know what to do either.
...Come to think of it, this was the first time I'd been alone with Kuonji since that time on the stairs. Before, being alone meant snarling at each other or feeling awkward... but for some reason, even this silent atmosphere felt comfortable now.
I see, so this is the effect of the red thread.
Still, there was no point in just killing time here doing nothing. It wasn't just my time; I was wasting Kuonji's time too. I felt bad about that.
"Er... shall we head back?"
"Eh... you're going home...?"
Ugh... W-what's with that face like a discarded puppy...! Kuonji Riran, you're not that kind of character. Come on, snap at me like a mad dog like you usually do...!
"...If you're free, well... want to talk for a bit?"
"I-if you're going to insist..."
No, I was fine with going home. But if I said that, she'd probably make that face again, so I kept my mouth shut.
Even so... it's not like I had anything to talk about with her... Ah.
"That's right. Why were you here anyway? Shopping?"
"Ah, I heard it from Rion. That you were on a date with an unknown beauty."
"...In other words, you came flying over here because you heard I was on a date with a beauty?"
"That's ri—n-n-n-no! It's definitely not like that! No matter what kind of relationship you have with whoever... I might care a little, but I don't care!"
So you do care.
But... I see. She was that angry because I was walking with an unknown woman...
'You should just look at me for the rest of your life!'
............
Oh crap, I'm super happy. What should I do? I'm grinning.
"Sanada, what's wrong? Your face is bright red."
"D-don't worry about it. It's just retrospective embarrassment."
"Ah, I get that. Speaking of which, I had one before too—"
Kuonji was talking happily, but the content wasn't even registering in my head.
To think I could feel this happy just by being in this situation with my natural enemy, Kuonji... The 'Red Thread of Fate' really is a curse...