That said, before going to Hirosue, I needed to head to Class 2-4.
I felt it wouldn't be right to just go and refuse the invitation on my own without saying anything to Sako-ssh, who had also been invited.
As I retraced my steps toward the classroom, Erina-san followed me, albeit with a bit of a pout.
I wonder if she's worried because I can't go to other classes by myself. That's exactly it, so I'm really grateful... When I thanked her, she looked at me with a suspicious expression.
“Takuto-kun, do you really think Erina invited you just because she was going to the shop...?”
“Sakosh! Your Takuto-kun is here!”
Erina-san opened the sliding door of Class 4 as if to say 'Excuse me!', sending a voice like 5G flying straight toward her blonde-haired best friend.
...No, the sliding door was already open. Erina-san’s imposing attitude just made me hallucinate that.
However.
“...?”
The only thing that came back were the blank stares of students I didn't know.
“Huh, Sakosh...? Hellooo.”
“I don't think she's here.”
I tapped the shoulder of Erina-san, who was persistently calling out for some reason.
“Ah, is that so?”
Seeing her face looking like 'But why isn't she here when Erina comes?', I thought that Erina-san really is Erina-san.
“U-Um, Erina...chan!”
“Hmm?”
A girl I didn't know came up to talk to Erina-san.
“If you're looking for Hasu-san, it looks like she went somewhere with Yuri-chan. Maybe the shop.”
“Whaaa?!”
...Hasu-san and Yuri-chan. Right, they are indeed Hasu-san and Yuri-chan.
Hearing them called by those names—a combination I almost never hear—I felt a bit amused, wondering if they were really those two members of my band.
“See, Takuto-kun! That’s why I told you we should have gone to the shop!”
“No, even if you say that...”
As I was faltering under Erina-san's pouting face...
“Takuto-kun... wait, Takuto...-kun? Takuto Konuma-kun?”
The girl who told us where they went asked me something completely nonsensical.
“Uh, yes, I'm Konuma, but what... what do you mean?”
“Ah, no. It's nothing!”
“Ehehe, sorry, sorry,” she said with a playful 'tehe-pero' before returning to her seat.
“Alright, then let's go to the shop!”
“O-Oh...?”
“Erina-san, was that girl earlier an acquaintance?”
“Acquaintance? Hmm, maybe we were in the same class last year.”
“'Maybe'...? What’s her name?”
“I don't knooow.”
“Seriously...?”
Erina-san really shows her cold side unexpectedly.
If she was in the same class as Erina-san, it means she was likely in the same class as Sakosh too. Well, it's not like that means anything in particular.
“But why does she know my name? Did she see our band's live performance?”
“I don't think so. If she'd seen the band, wouldn't she have said, 'By any chance, are you Konuma-kun from amane?' before asking your name?”
“True...”
I don't know if I'd ever get approached like a celebrity, but her reaction—only realizing who I was after hearing my name—felt unnatural.
“Well, Takuto-kun, you've been a bit of a celebrity lately. Especially in Class 4, you know?”
“Huh...?”
Perhaps frustrated by my half-hearted reply, she gave me a slap on the back.
“Ow...”
While having that exchange, we arrived at the shop.
“Huh, they're not here...”
“Yeah...”
Just the day before yesterday, I walked around the school like this with Azuma looking for Kanno-san.
Well, while we were making a round trip and a half between the shop and the classroom, they might have finished their shopping and returned.
Since we were already at the shop, I decided to buy something with Erina-san and then head back to the classroom once more.
Thinking it would be boring to take the same route, I decided to go back a different way. As we went up the stairs near the entrance of the building where the shop is...
“Oh, what's that...?”
I noticed a crowd of about four girls in front of the broadcasting room on the second floor.