Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093079507847550/episodes/16818093092643855258
After being served three bowls of Mikhail’s curry, Amamiya rubbed his swollen belly and bowed his head at the door.
“Thank you for the food, it was the best curry in the world.”
“Hahaha! The best in the world is a flattering compliment, Takaaki kun! Next time, I’ll feed you something even better than this, so come back again!”
Mikhail put his hands on his hips and laughed loudly.
He was probably happy to be praised for his cooking.
“…… Oh, you’re always welcome.”
The mother, Alisa, has maintained a thin body despite all the food she has eaten.
She is a beautiful woman.
“….”
Karina didn’t say anything.
She looks like she’s sulking, as if something is wrong with her.
“Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She’ll be fine tomorrow anyway.
With that thought in mind, Karina grabbed Amamiya’s arm as he said goodbye and was about to head home.
“Wait.”
Karina stopped Amamiya with a trembling voice, saying so.
“I’ll walk you on the way, okay?”
“Eh, but it’s almost dark. ……”
“T-There might be, uh,……, perverts who would go after Takaaki who walks alone on the night street, you know? I’m going to go with you! It’s okay right, mama?! Onii
chan!?”
“Oh, it’s safe here. No problem, go ahead.”
“…… Let the pretty girl travel. That’s what your father used to say.”
After receiving permission from the guardian, Karina instantly became in a good mood and pushed Amamiya’s back.
“That’s what I meant, so come on, let’s go, let’s go!”
The nighttime streets in residential areas are dark, but they are surprisingly bright.
The number of streetlights may be the reason why you can see your footsteps.
There were a lot of students coming back from cram school, and as Mikhail said, it was a safe place.
“I’m sorry, Takaaki kun”
Karina, who was walking next, suddenly apologized.
“Eh What?”
“I invited you to my house. I should have invited you in advance for this kind of thing. ……”
Amamiya’s face showed a look of relief.
“No, it’s totally fine. It was fun, and I learned that Karina likes games. I also learned that she’s close with her family.”
“Close…? Does it look that way to you?”
Karina was acting like she was in a bad mood the whole time, but she is a jealous person, so she was probably just sulking because her friend was taken away from her.
It’s never because she hates her family or anything like that.
Karina’s brother and mother also seemed to love her dearly, and they probably usually act like that.
“Yes, very much. She was such a sweet mother and brother.”
“I’m embarrassed that you’re being so blunt.”
“Haha, Karina is the same, right? She’s not shy about talking to me even in class.”
“Hmm! That’s because I want to talk to Takaaki-kun! I’m telling you, I won’t be shy!”
Karina said assuringly.
It’s so much like her that Amamiya can’t help but giggle.
“….You know what, I’m going to be honest with you.”
As they walk, Karina shyly fiddles with her fingers and turns her red, flaming face to Amemiya.
“Suddenly, I invited you to my house. …… I think it was …… because I got flustered. I saw Takaaki-kun being squeezed by Asumi-san, a junior, and this part of me got bothered.”
Saying so, Karina put her hand on her chest.
“Asumi-san, I don’t think she confessed to Takaaki-kun as a joke. I think she confessed because she really loved him. A maiden in love? That’s what I felt. That’s why I was scared. If Takaaki-kun dated another girl… I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay in the relationship I had before.”
Her voice was so weak that it was drowned out by the headwind.
She sounded anxious.
“I want to be partners with Takaaki kun. I don’t want to be a stranger again, even though we’ve become good friends. But ……”
Karina turned her face away and looked up at the night sky.
“Just because I’m your partner, there’s no reason for me to criticize your life. So, I think it’s fine if you do whatever you want, Takaaki-kun.”
“as I like ……?”
“Yes, Asumi-san, she’s cute, right? There’s no need to turn down her confession out of concern for me, okay? There’s no other girl as cute as her, right?”
“So?”
“If you want to go out with her, you can go out with her.”
Karina sadly told him as if she had said something she did not want to.
Hearing this, Amamiya quickly replied with a surprised look on him face.
“─ —I won’t go out with her, okay?”
There was no hesitation in his voice.
Amamiya could not hide his confusion, as if he did not expect to be asked such a question.
“Why?”
“Even if you ask me why. I can’t tell Karina yet. But I promise you this much. I would rather choose Karina than Asumi.”
“Eh!?!?!?!”
By surprise, Karina’s entire face turns bright red, and steam rises from her head like a steam locomotive.
She is so surprised by Amamiya’s statement that she is also about to make a sound.
“Ah, ah, ah, uh ……, Ta, Takaaki-kun. So, what kind …… is that?”
“It’s just as the saying goes. It means that I would rather enjoy my time with my friend than make a girlfriend (for now).”
“Ah, I see …….”
Karina’s tension dropped as if a storm had passed.
Embarrassed, sad, surprised, she’s a busy girl in more ways than one.
“But I’m happy.”
And she looked satisfied from that.
From the way things were going, he thought he had chosen the wrong words, but he seemed to be right.
Mikhail, who was following their trail, is astonished.
(Eh? They weren’t dating after all that?)
And then, having parted ways with Karina at the nearest station, Amamiya boarded the train and opened the calendar on his phone.
It’s almost summer vacation.
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