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Next day, I headed to the train station to meet up with Ruka.
Being in the middle of the rainy season, the morning sky doesn’t look too chipper.

I block the light drizzle with a plastic umbrella.
With it pointing up and leaning on my shoulder, I make my way to the station.

「Is your hand tired? Want me to hold it for you?」
「No, it’s fine, I’m alright.」
「Really? Just tell me if you’re exhausted, okay?」

She smiles next to me.
Close enough that our shoulders touch, Miyu is there.

Miyu is there.
Miyu was there.
Yes, Miyu has been here.

Yesterday, as I was pierced by Miyu’s sharp glare, I immediately went, 「Ah, yes, right, I’ll turn down Ruka right now,」 but Miyu-sama insisted,「Since you promised, just go.」 And then she declared, 「It sounds fun, so maybe I’ll come along.」

*Mn? Isn’t the last part weird?* I thought to myself, but I couldn’t go against her.
Miyu-sama’s words take precedence over everything.

「Is it going to be rainy the whole day?」

Miyu looked up to the sky; her steps were light, and her face had a bright smile.
I fully expected her to be a bit pissed off accompanying me; it’s honestly eerie.

「… Miyu, aren’t you in good spirits today?」
「Why? Is there something to be upset about? When I’m out playing with a friend?」
「R-right you areー」

… Didn’t she sound a bit irritated just now?
Still, based on her phrasing, it’s possible that’s not counting Ruka as a friend at all. I can definitely see this as her squeezing a date into my promise with Ruka.

As added evidence, Miyu is wearing her best clothes.
A semi-formal collared and sleeved shirt paired with a long-ish skirt. Instead of going for ero-cute, she’s completely prim and proper.

On the other hand, I’m in my usual attire of light parka with short pants and sneakers. Ease of movement first.

「Oh, there’s dirt on you.」

Miyu dusted off my shoulder.
Then, after staring for a while, she suddenly pressed her nose against my shoulder.

「*Sniff, sniff*」
「… *Umm*, hello?」

We’re in the middle of the street.
We’re right next to a road cars frequently use. Just walking by the sidewalk. With people normally passing by us. Sometimes overtaking from behind.

「*Fufu,* it’s Misaki’s scent.」
「W-what?」
「Well, I was just checking if you took a proper bath.」

Do I have a strong body odor? I can’t tell.
Even if I do, it should be a Super Beauty smell. Even it should be super. Wait, maybe that’s not a good thing?

Still, Miyu is awfully close today.
Us sharing an umbrella might be part of it, but she’s still really close. After all, our shoulders are almost touching.

「*Fwah*～～」

Miyu suddenly entwined her arms with mine and then pushed her cheek against me.
No, no, no, what the hell are you doing all of a sudden?
Miyu-sama has gone mad.

「*U-umm*～… Didn’t you tell me that we shouldn’t be all chummy in public?」
「We’re not at school, so it’s fine.」

Wouldn’t it be the same if someone from school sees us?
Or so I thought, but according to Miyu-sama logic, it’s OK.
Seemingly upset by my question, she let go of my arm and looked into my eyes.

「After all, you’re going to be all *chummy* anyway, aren’t you?」
「Pardon?」
「With Ruka.」

She’s really holding a grudge about it.
Miyu seems to have a misunderstanding; Ruka and I didn’t have any scandalous motives.
Yesterday, we were just munching on fries,

「It says it’s going to rain tomorrowー」
「Rightー」
「Misaki, if you’re free tomorrow, let’s go out and play.」
「*Nm*, but didn’t you just say it’d be raining?」
「Want to read manga at my place? We can game, too.」
「Oh, that sounds goodー」

And that’s how it happened. There shouldn’t be anything problematic with that exchange. And I’ve explained this to Miyu already. But she’s apparently not convinced.

「After all, suddenly inviting you to her home, isn’t that questionable?」
「No, no, we’re the same sex, though? Don’t forget that.In the first place, Ruka isn’t really like that anyway.」
「What do you mean by ‘*like that*’?」

She bluntly asks what I hesitate to say.

「Well, I mean, it’s not like I’m also not allowed to play with friends, isn’t it?」

Why must my actions be restricted like that?
In the first place, what *are* we right now?
Childhood friends? Best friends? Lovers? Master and servant?

In the end, our relationship is still left vague.
I love Miyu. Miyu loves bullying me.
We’ve already confessed our feelings to each other.

… *Nn*? There’s an extra word, ‘*bullying,*’ that’s complicating things.
Based on this, master-and-servant has a strong lead.
If that’s the case, then Miyu is in the right and I’m completely in the wrong. Which was why I was going to turn Ruka’s invitation down, but…

「Then playing is fine, I’ll concede that. But if something ‘*like that*’ really happens, what then?」

Miyu looks straight at me with her adorable black eyes.
She means, if Ruka ever looks at me the same way boys do?
*Nah*, that’s impossible. If you want to go there, *I* am the one looking at Ruka the same way boys do… *Oops*, I’m kidding; I’m completely devoted to Miyutan.

「W-when that happens, I’ll totally completely refuse, you know? With a firm attitude.」
「Are you really able to do that, Misaki? If she comes at you forcefully, I can’t see you resisting.」
「*Hahaha*, there’s no way that’ll happen～……」

A former guy like me? Being forcefully assaulted by a girl?
What a funny joke.

… However, there has actually been a precedent.
When she kabedon’d me as a prank, I was panicked. My head was all blank and I froze. Frankly, wouldn’t anyone panic in that situation?
But well, that won’t work on me again. And I’m not triggering a flag or anything.

Eventually, the station came into sight.
Since a lot of train transfers happen here, this place is relatively prosperous.
There’s a large department store looming next to it, and both the station above and underground have a shopping mall inside.

Because of the rain outside, those places are probably more congested than usual.
However, that’s not our destination today.

Our meeting place is by the stairs going up next to the station entrance.
I could spot several people fiddling with their phones with their back to the wall. Seems like everyone’s meeting people there. There are also groups just loitering and chatting.

Under the safety of the eaves, I closed the umbrella.
At that moment, one beauty entered my field of vision.

*Woah*, she’s cute.
Being a Super Beauty, I have the ability to sense other beauties. I can immediately identify a beauty even when in the middle of a crowd.

「*Eh*, seriously～? You’re kidding～」
「Damn～ I really can’t see it.」

The girl leaning on the stairway is being courted by two guys.
She had a familiar-looking side pony with a ribbon flashier than usual. Above the knee skirt, camisole, and cardigan.

「Hey, isn’t that…」

Miyu tugged at my sleeve.
The beauty pinged by my sensor was Ruka.
She’s going through the cliché RomCom event of being hit on by some gaudy-looking guys.
This isn’t the time to be leisurely observing, gotta help her quick.