Chapter 18

“Ah, sorry, sorry! I thought you guys were talking about something lewd, so I just couldn’t help coming over!”

You just couldn’t help coming over for that.

Well, to be fair, if someone else were talking about Yuzu senpai, I’d probably wander over too.

“W-Wa-Wa-Wa… W-W-We weren’t talking about anything like that at all, though!? R-Right, Kakeru!?”

…With that, the handsome guy next to me started freaking out.

As you could tell just by looking at him, Ayato, a genius prodigy devoted entirely to baseball, had a major weak spot: he froze up completely in front of girls.

Naturally, Ayato—a tall, handsome honor student who excelled at sports—was popular. Even though he was popular, because of his personality, he always used his athletic gifts to run away at full speed.

That’s why, even now, the tall, handsome guy was curled up and hiding behind my back.

Seriously, what are you doing?

“Kakeru…? Wait, are you… Kido Kakeru-kun!?”

“Eh, yeah.”

As for the girl right in front of me, in a word, she was flashy, and for some reason, she seemed to know who I was.

Long golden hair. Her bangs were asymmetrical, hiding only her left eye.

It was a different kind of asymmetry from Yuzu senpai’s single braid.

Her uniform featured a short skirt and short-sleeved shirt with high exposure, emphasizing her great proportions while showing off her fair skin, belly button, and thighs to the absolute max.

“Whoa! So you’re Kakeru-kun…!”

She was staring. Staring super hard.

She was giving me a thorough look, like an appraiser checking out goods.

This kind of aggressive type was definitely Ayato’s kryptonite.

“K-Kakeru…! D-D-Does this girl happen to be an acquaintance of yours!?”

See? The handsome guy was trembling behind my back.

“No, she’s not… right?”

“Yup! First time meeting! But I’ve heard all about you!”

“Eh, from who?”

“Nfufu! It’s a secret! You’re a total celebrity in my world, you know!”

Apparently, I’d somehow become famous without my knowledge.

“And Amagi Ayato-kun, of course I know you too! You’re a super celebrity after all!”

“Y-Yessir! I-I-I’m deeply honored!!”

Ayato really was a super celebrity.

“Ahaha, we’re the same age, so you can just talk normally!”

“Y-Yessir!”

Could you please stop shouting from behind my back?

“And you are?”

“Me? Let’s see… I’m the mysterious beautiful girl from Class 1-A of the general education course at Shinme High School. How’s that?”

She was the type to call herself a beautiful girl.

She certainly was cute, but Yuzu senpai was cuter.

“T-T-That means we are… the mysterious handsome boys from Class 1-B of the sports course at Shinme High School…?”

You’re the only handsome boy here, man.

“If possible, I’d like you to tell me your name at least. You know, it’s inconvenient when I want to call out to you.”

“That’s true too! Hmm… well then, Lemon! Just call me Lemon! It’s written in kanji so it’s super annoying to write!”

Lemon, Lemon, Lemon.

Writing her name on tests must be a pain.

With Yuzu¹ senpai and now her, were citrus names trending or something?

“So, so! What were you two talking about just now?! It’s just two guys, so was it totally lewd!?”

“Nope, we were talking about the person I like.”

“K-Kakeru…! You’re still keeping that conversation going right in front of this girl!?”

I still hadn’t managed to convey even a fraction of how cute Yuzu senpai was, after all.

“Eh, Kakeru-kun has someone he likes!?”

Lemon-chan was super hooked.

I guess girls really do love romance gossip.

I didn’t mind, though, since it made me happy to have more people who appreciated Yuzu senpai’s greatness.

“Who is it, who is it!? Tell me her name!”

“W-Wait, Kakeru! You shouldn’t just give out personal info to a girl you just met!?”

“Yeah. Her name’s Yuzu senpai, and she’s an upperclassman in the literature club, but—”

“This guy is hopeless, when he gets obsessed he literally stops listening to people!”

Well, it was one thing if she heard it directly from the person in question, but I didn’t think it was anything to be embarrassed about.

Anyway, Ayato, aren’t you going to come out from behind my back anytime soon?

“Hee… hmm… whoa! I see, I see! That’s awesome!!”

“Yeah, Yuzu senpai is amazing!”

Lemon-chan flashed a really great smile.