We arrived at Mac. It’s my second time at Mac with Erina-san in three days.
I bought drinks for the two of us and headed up to the second floor where the seating is. Somehow, the flow of things led to me treated her. Why, though?
“Konuma-kun, is it coffee again today?”
“Yeah, well.”
“Hee~... So only your tongue is an adult.”
“Hm, only my tongue?”
“Nothing~”
I feel like there's a more unpleasant nuance mixed in than when we came here last time... Erina-san seems a bit moody.
We take our seats. It’s the same two-person table by the window as last time.
Even though it’s by the window, the view outside is just an arcade, so no sunlight filters in.
“Sorry for asking you to come when we just came here the day before yesterday.”
“No, it's fine. What’s up?”
When I ask that, Erina-san raises her hand slightly as if she has made a firm decision.
“I’ll ask you straight! Konuma-kun, do you like Sakosh?”
“...Huh?”
What is she asking all of a sudden...?
“It’s important.”
Staring straight into my eyes, Erina-san puffs out her cheeks.
“By 'like', do you mean, uh, in a romantic way...?”
“Well, obviously...”
Please don't make that 'Are you stupid?' face at me...
“No, I mean, romantic or not, I only just started talking to her again for the first time in forever the day before yesterday. I don't even know if we're friends or what...”
“That’s not what I meant...”
Erina-san lets out a voice mixed with a sigh, like an 'aaah', and slumps onto the table.
“...I thought maybe we could form an alliance.”
I hear a faint mumble.
“An alliance?”
“But then, I also wonder how that would work.”
“Huh?”
“Geez, Erina has no idea what to do anymore!”
Geez, Takuto has no idea what Erina-san is talking about anymore...
“...Konuma-kun, are your lips sealed?”
Erina-san looks up at me while still slumped over.
“Rather than my lips being sealed...”
“Rather than?”
“I don't have anyone to tell.”
That is the one thing I can say with confidence.
“...I guess that's true.”
Oh, she accepted that quite normally.
“Konuma-kun, what do you do when the happiness of the person you like is different from your own happiness?”
Wait, the happiness of the person I like and my own happiness?
What happened to revealing a secret?
“Ah, no, well...”
“When I think about the person I like becoming happy, just thinking about it makes my chest hurt so much I don't know what to do.”
She rests her cheek on her arm, slumped sideways.
“But, if you can’t wish for the happiness of the person you like, that might be 'crush' but it’s not 'love', right? Definitely.”
Definitely.
It was a bit surprising to hear such strong words come from Erina-san's mouth.
“That’s why, Erina decided to cheer Kenji on.”
With those words, even I finally realize.
“Could it be, Erina-san, you feel that way about Hazama...?”
Exhaling a breath, she taps the table lightly and lifts her head.
“Yeah, Erina likes Kenji.”
The expression on Erina-san's face as she says that is so serious that I momentarily lose my words.
“Finally, things were starting to go well between the two of us, and then a childhood friend has to show up now of all times. That's cheating, Konuma-kun.”
“Uh... but...”
I still don't quite understand.
“Hey, Konuma-kun!”
Paying no mind to my confusion, Erina-san leans forward to speak to me.
“Y-Yes...”
In response, I can't even manage a proper nod.
“Could you listen to just one really selfish request from Erina?”
“...What is it?”
Then, Erina-san told me a truly outrageous request.
“If I told you to date Erina, would you be troubled?”
“...Huh?”