Chapter 19

“Hey! Hey! Kakeru-kun, what is it you like about one– Yuzu senpai!?”

“All of it.”

“Instant answer!? Eh, eh, specifically!?”

Lemon-chan was pressing in super close.

The right eye peeking out from one side of her long asymmetrical bangs was shining brightly.

“First off, Yuzu senpai is cute.”

“Right, right! She’s super cute!”

“Eh, w-why are you two syncing up…?”

Yuzu senpai’s cuteness is universal.

Ayato, aren’t you going to come over here instead of hiding behind me?

“Because she’s Yuzu senpai, after all.”

“Yup yup! She’s Yuzu senpai!”

“…Somehow, it feels like Kakeru just multiplied.”

Ayato, who had been hiding, finally emerged from behind my back.

“Whoa, as expected, Ayato-kun’s really tall!”

“Y-Yeah…! Th-Thanks a lot!”

Though he still seemed unused to it.

“So, so! Is Kakeru-kun in love with Yuzu senpai just because she’s cute?”

In contrast to Ayato who stood up straight, Lemon-chan leaned in forward.

“Of course that’s part of it.”

“Right, I get it! Yup yup… but?”

Yuzu senpai is cute.

That is unquestionably a fact.

However, that’s not all there is to her.

“I like Yuzu senpai because she’s cool.”

If anything, this was the real main reason.

I only found out about Yuzu senpai’s cuteness after I joined the literature club.

“…Cool?”

“…………”

In contrast to Lemon-chan looking blank, Ayato fell silent.

Well, Ayato already knew this story.

“Um… can I ask?”

“Sure! You see, I got in here through a sports recommendation just like Ayato, but right before enrollment, I injured my leg in an accident…”

“…Eh?”

“…Kakeru.”

It’s already been three months since then.

“Given the circumstances, I was able to enroll anyway, but… I kind of got a bit self-destructive.”

Time flows by so fast.

“That was when I met her. Yuzu senpai, who was trying her absolute best all by herself to save the literature club from being abolished.”

“…Eh? Th-That kind of thing, not at all…”

Everything is thanks to meeting Yuzu senpai.

“Seeing her like that made her shine so brightly. Even when people ignored her or laughed at her, Yuzu senpai never gave up until the very end, and that looked so damn cool to me.”

Of course, there were various things that happened between me and Yuzu senpai back then, too.

“Thanks to a Yuzu senpai like that, someone at rock bottom like me… received courage.”

But that’s our precious memory, so it’s a secret.

“That’s when it started, the moment I fell in love with Yuzu senpai.”

If I hadn’t met Yuzu senpai, I might still not have recovered.

Yuzu senpai is the person I love, but she’s also my benefactor.

“…Kakeru-kun. Is your leg okay?”

“Eh? Yeah, for everyday life. Sudden movements or heavy exercise are still out, though.”

“…For example, though. Like putting something on your lap?”

Lemon-chan came up with a hyper-specific comparison right there.

“It’s mostly healed now, so I’m fine. They just told me to take it easy.”

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“Nope.”

“Really?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“You’re not lying, right?”

“O-Of course…”

She closed in with intense pressure.

“…I see.”

Just as quickly, she pulled back. She clasped her hands behind her back and turned her back to us.

“…Yeah, I see. Is that so?”

“Um, Lemon… chan?”

“Kakeru-kun!”

Lemon-chan turned back around.

“…Looking forward to working with you from now on!”

She smiled.

“Yeah. Likewise.”

“Of course, Ayato-kun too!”

“Y-Yaaaah… you got it!”

Ayato still seemed nervous as ever.

“Oh, right, right, Kakeru-kun!”

“Hm?”

“Library committee members are surprisingly free, you know.”

“Eh?”

“So, I hope you come visit!”

“Um, does that mean—”

“Aha! See ya later, then!!”

Swishing her long golden hair behind her, Lemon-chan ran off.

“….K-Kakeru, you know…”

“Ayato?”

Ayato was trembling beside me.

“…I-I talked to a girl this much for the very first time!”

“Ah, yeah. Congrats.”

“Ooooooh! Even I can do it if I tryyyyy! I’m heading to club activitieseeeeeeeffff!!”

With a roar of triumph, Ayato ran off as well.

He’s full of energy too, man.

“…Well then.”

And so, left all by myself…

“Shall I go?”

I had planned to endure it since club activities were off today, but hearing something like that…

There’s no choice but to go, right? To where Yuzu senpai is.