“Hello hello, Akito-senpai! Good afternoon!”
“Oh, you seem energetic, Noa.”
The next day, Noa came over to the house.
It seems she has already visited many times, as she appears to be using one of the guest rooms.
After leaving her luggage in the guest room and changing from her uniform into private clothes, Noa came into the living room.
The fact that she even keeps private clothes in the room means she’s completely made it her own space.
While drinking the tea Riran had brewed, Noa spoke up.
“I heard from Ane-san, Senpai. That you’ve been asking various people about the six months of memories you lost.”
“Yeah. Sorry for getting you involved in something so troublesome.”
“No, no! It’s not like we’re strangers, Senpai!”
Not strangers... well, rather than senior and junior, the feeling is closer to being friends.
Noa tilted her head while eating a cookie served with the tea. “Let’s see~”
“I reunited with Senpai around June.”
“Hmm, hmm.”
“And then, I confessed my love.”
“I see, I see... Huh?”
Confessed... eh, a confession?
“Who did?”
“I did.”
“To whom?”
“To Senpai.”
...Noa to me!?
“Eh, what? Noa, did you like me?”
“Yes. Well, I was spectacularly shot down, though~”
I was stunned.
This is too unexpected. To think someone would confess to me when the 『Red Thread of Fate』 is already visible...
“As I thought, confessing when the red thread is visible was reckless~. Tee-hee.”
“Don’t ‘tee-hee’ me.”
“Honestly, I was surprised when I heard about the confession from Akito...”
Riran let out a soft sigh.
Yeah, I’m surprised too. I never thought Noa would confess to me when the red thread is visible.
“Don’t you remember?”
“Yeah, not at all.”
“Che. Even though I even tried night crawling.”
“Night!? Wait, Akito, what does this mean!? I didn’t hear about this! I never heard about this!?”
“Abababababababa, ca-ca-ca-ca-calm dow-ow-ow-own!”
I’m the one who wants to ask! I’m the one who wants to know!?
What, I was night crawled!? By Noa!?
“Even though such a beautiful girl like me crawled into your bed in very revealing sleepwear, you just said, ‘I like Riran. So, I can’t respond to your feelings,’ Senpai.”
“Geez, Akito, you really...”
“Ouch, ouch, ouch!”
Don’t hit my back like that. Also, I don’t remember it!
“Fufu. I’ll let you off for the part where you rejected me with just this much. As for the rest, let’s see~”
And so, she told me various things about birthdays and the summer festival.
It seems Noa started calling Riran ‘Ane-san’ at the summer festival... but she wouldn’t tell me the true reason behind it.
Well, thanks to her, I’ve come to understand quite a bit about what happened until now.
“How is it? Senpai, did you remember anything?”
“No, nothing at all.”
“Don’t give me an immediate answer!?”
Even if you say that. If I don't remember, I don't remember, so it can't be helped.
“Hmph. Even though I went through the trouble of talking about my precious memories, you could at least remember a little bit. Please apologize. I demand an apology.”
“I-I’m sorry...?”
Why am I the one apologizing?
“Um... so, does Noa still like me? If you do, I feel bad but...”
“I certainly like you, but right now I’m a shipper of the two of you as a couple. Besides, after being shown how lovey-dovey you two are, I wouldn’t even dream of confessing to Senpai anymore.”
Eh... were Riran and I really that lovey-dovey...?
When I looked at Riran sitting next to me, she quickly turned away. Hey, stop that reaction. It makes it look like it’s actually true.
“That’s about as much as I know about Senpai. For the rest, I think it’s better to ask others.”
“Mm, I understand. Sorry, Noa. For asking such a thing out of the blue.”
“It’s okay! If anything else comes up, feel free to ask anytime!”
◆
After we all finished dinner and I saw Noa off at the entrance, I returned to the living room.
“I can’t believe Noa had confessed to me.”
“I knew from the first day we met, like, ‘Ah, this girl likes Akito.’ Rather, why didn’t you notice?”
“Even if you say that.”
I don’t remember what it was like when we reunited.
Even if I did remember, Noa was my sister’s best friend and a precious junior to me. I probably wouldn’t have thought about that even for a split second.
Apparently, she had liked me since middle school... wait? Am I too dense?
“I don’t suppose you’re thinking that Noa-chan is nice or anything, are you?”
“I’m not, I’m not. Because I—ah.”
“? Akito?”
“I-It’s nothing! I’m going to go take a bath.”
“Ah, wait...!”
I hurried out of the living room and headed towards the walk-in closet where my clothes were kept.
This is bad... I almost said I liked Riran so naturally just now...!
I probably said it every day before I lost my memories... but to the current me, it’s nothing short of a bombshell statement.
Haa... this is way too bad for my heart.