Chapter 19

“—Hey, Onitsuka-kun, come over here for a sec.”

During the lunch break, the moment I stepped out of the men’s restroom, Hosotani-san, who was waiting in ambush, grabbed my arm and dragged me into the pantry.

Being Level 6, she had quite a bit of strength.

After checking that there was no one else around, she drew the curtains shut.

“You said you’d forgive me for the chocolate thing this morning, right?”

“I did say that.”

“Then what is the meaning of this?!”

Hosotani-san shoved her smartphone right in front of my face.

On the phone screen was a message reading: [I have something to talk about, so please come over to my house tonight at eight o’clock. The address is…]

“That’s a text I sent you.”

“I know that much. I’m asking what you’re planning.”

Hosotani-san glared at me with her eyes narrowed in anger, closing in.

Hosotani-san’s pretty face came within centimeters of mine; until yesterday, I definitely would have been flustered and nervous.

However, the me today was different from the me of yesterday.

After all, this person had genuinely tried to kill me. That was enough to instantly cool down a hundred-year crush.

“I wrote that I had something to talk about, didn’t I?”

“You could have just settled that via text, why on earth do I have to go to Onitsuka-kun’s house tonight?!”

“I mean, I don’t mind going to your place at all, Hosotani-san, but since I don’t own a car, I figured my place would be more convenient…”

“That’s not what I’m asking!”

Was this Hosotani-san’s true nature? She ranted hysterically.

“Hosotani-san, if you raise your voice like that, someone’s going to hear you.”

“I-I know.”

After taking a sip of tea to regain her composure, Hosotani-san questioned me once more.

“—Can’t we just do this over text?”

“No. It’s a fairly important conversation, so I want to talk it through slowly, just the two of us.”

“You say that, but aren’t you planning to trick me? I just can’t seem to trust you, you know.”

“I’m not going to do anything, I swear.”

Look who’s talking, when she tried to kill me herself.

“—Fine, I’ll go.”

“Thank you very much. I’ll be waiting, then… oops.”

Just as I opened the curtain and tried to step out, I almost crashed right into Saeki.

“Oh, my bad, my bad, Yamato. Oh, were you in here too, Hosotani senpai?”

“Y-Yes. I got thirsty…”

“Me too. It gets so dry in the winter, doesn’t it?”

As he spoke, Saeki stepped into the pantry as I slipped past him.

Yeah. It didn’t look like our conversation had been overheard.