First Day Of Ski Trip, At The Lodge: The Grand Party Of Day 2

Once I was left by myself, Kazumi-san came over to take their place.

“Isshiki-kun, did you enjoy spending yesterday and today with two high school girls?”

“Even you’re bringing that up, Kazumi-san?” I let out a heavy sigh. “It’s not as if it wasn’t fun. But it’s also an absolute fact that I’m exhausted.”

I offered my honest impression. However, Kazumi-san shot a incredibly sharp gaze straight at me.

“I’ve heard how things stand, and I think I understand your position. Even so, though…” Kazumi-san paused for a moment to catch her breath. “Shouldn’t you think a little more about Touko’s feelings?”

“But this arrangement was explicitly requested by Touko-san herself! I’d a hundred times rather be spending my time with Touko-san too!”

“I’m telling you this fully understanding that. But from where I’m standing, it looks precisely like you’re using that as a convenient excuse to play the nice guy to Touko, as well as to Honoka-chan and Meika-chan.”

“Well, it’s not like I can just pull a miserable face when I’m around them either.”

“To put it bluntly, you look like a two-timing—no, three-timing jerk who’s toying with multiple girls.”

“I don’t intend that at all!” My voice rose instinctively.

However, Kazumi-san kept her eyes locked on me with a stern expression.

“Do you honestly believe that Touko is genuinely happy about you spending your time with Honoka-chan and Meika-chan? Try putting yourself in her shoes. Even if it was something you brought upon yourself, how would you feel if a guy who openly liked Touko spent an entire day completely alone with her?”

“That would… drive me crazy.”

“Right? But Touko is the type who completely locks those feelings away inside. On top of that, she has a tendency to rigidly force herself into a certain mold. In this scenario, she’s thinking: ‘The only reason we lost participants for this training camp is because of my personal drama. Those two high school girls were explicitly invited to make up for it. Therefore, I need to hold myself back and ensure they have a wonderful time.’”

I was left completely without a word to fire back. She was entirely correct. Once Touko-san imposes a certain duty upon herself, she fiercely visualizes it and refuses to budge. Even if spending time with Meika-chan and Honoka couldn’t be helped, there must have been a much better way to handle it while keeping Touko-san’s feelings in mind. For instance, making sure I stayed within her line of sight at all times…

“You get to spend tomorrow with Touko just the two of you, right? Keep that in mind, and make sure you comfort her properly.” Kazumi-san explicitly hammered the point home.

Once Kazumi-san stepped away, I resolved to go have a proper chat with Touko-san. However, I was immediately intercepted by another third-year senior who aggressively forced a glass of sake onto me. I managed to get her to let me off the hook after swallowing two glasses, only for yet another third-year girl to swoop into my space.

“I really can’t drink anymore,” I declined politely.

“What?! You’re saying you’ll drink Suzuki-san’s liquor, but you refuse to touch mine?” she snapped, aggressively trying to pour a glass of shochu for me.

“No, really, I’m at my absolute limit.”

At that, she smirked, “Ah, I see. Since you’re dating a spectacular beauty like Touko-san, a drink from a girl like me isn’t good enough for you?”

Putting it like that left me with absolutely no choice but to yield.

“…I’ll have it.”

Resigned to my fate, I held out my glass.

Having been forced to swallow quite a significant amount of alcohol like that, I once again tried to head over to Touko-san. However, the seats where she had been sitting a moment ago were completely deserted. She was supposed to be sharing a table with Kazumi-san and the core group of second-year girls (Mina-san, Manami-san, Ayaka-san, and Yuri-san), but currently, only the first-year girls, Ayaka and Yuri, remained. The four second-years were nowhere to be found. Even scanning the entire party hall, I couldn’t spot a single trace of Touko-san.

Since Kazumi-san had been chatting with me until just a moment ago, it was only natural that she wasn’t at the table, but I wondered where everyone else had vanished to.

…Could they be hanging out in the lobby or somewhere else entirely?…

I stepped out of the party hall myself. I desperately wanted to catch a breath of cool air. However, my body was swaying far more than I anticipated, and my head felt intensely hot. I must have swallowed a highly dangerous amount of alcohol. It would be smartest to get some water into my system.

I began walking toward the vending machines. The landing right before the second-floor staircase served as a small lounge area, equipped with a vending machine and a single sofa. Mina-san and Manami-san were hanging out right there.

“Oh! Look who it is—the man of the hour, Isshiki-kun!” Mina-san called out the moment she spotted me.

“Ah, Mina-san, Manami-san. So this is where you were.”

I spoke as I punched the button on the vending machine to purchase a plastic bottle of water.

“We were right in the middle of gossiping about you, Isshiki-kun,” Manami-san smiled.

“Come sit with us.” Mina-san patted the space right next to her on the sofa.

“Ah, thanks.”

I seated myself beside Mina-san, twisting open the bottle cap to take a grateful gulp of water.

“Did they force a horrific amount of drinks onto you?” Manami-san asked.

“Probably? I don’t have much experience with drinking, honestly. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s hitting me incredibly hard,” I replied. Wait, am I actually starting to feel completely spacey right now?

“This might be our finest chance to extract his absolute true feelings,” Mina-san whispered, flashing a thoroughly mischievous grin. Manami-san nodded alongside her, wearing the exact same look.

“Hey, Isshiki-kun. Who is the one you honestly like the most?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, you seemed to be having a wonderful, lovey-dovey time with both of those high school girls today and yesterday.”

Not this topic again. Do I really look like I’m interested in those two?

“Is it Touko, her sister Honoka-chan, or perhaps Meika-chan—the cute younger sister of your best friend?”

Faced with Manami-san’s probing query, I offered my answer without a single fraction of a second’s hesitation. “That shouldn’t even require an answer. I’m dating Touko-san, after all.”

“Hmm, is that so?” Mina-san’s eyes narrowed, studying my face closely. “In that case, just how far have you and Touko actually gone?”

“How far?”

“Are we talking just hugs? Have you kissed? Or have you guys already gone all the way to a proper hookup?”

“We’ve kissed.”

The words were right on the verge of slipping out of my mouth before I frantically swallowed them down. For a brief split second, the cold shock cleared my mind completely.

According to the official story after Day X, Touko-san and I are supposed to have shared an intimate night together at a hotel. Therefore, the standard answer should obviously be “all the way”… but it is remarkably difficult for a human to spin a flawless lie about an experience they’ve never actually had. Kazumi-san knows for a fact that absolutely nothing happened between Touko-san and me. But just how much did Mina-san and Manami-san know?

As long as Touko-san hasn’t explicitly spilled the beans, I absolutely cannot let a single word slip from my lips. Besides, both of them look like textbook examples of loose-lipped gossips… if things went poorly, it might travel straight back to Kamokura’s ears. If that happened, given what an unprincipled, unhinged stalker that guy is, there’s no telling what stunt he might pull next. Regardless, why on earth were they interrogating me about this anyway?

“It’s just normal,” I replied.

“Normal”—there is absolutely no word more convenient than that. The definition of normal is completely subjective. A couple that has only ever kissed is perfectly normal, and a couple that hooks up constantly is perfectly normal too.

“What on earth is ‘normal’ supposed to mean?” Mina-san pouted, thoroughly dissatisfied.

Trying to keep her quiet, Manami-san leaned forward aggressively. “Now, now, Mina, don’t rush him. But you see, Isshiki-kun, the two of us have actually been harboring a strong suspicion that absolutely nothing has happened between you and Touko yet.”

Wow, talk about incredibly sharp. Is this that legendary thing called women’s intuition?

“What makes you think that?”

Manami-san flashed a deeply knowing smirk. “Touko still aggressively avoids those exact types of topics, you know. Normally, once a girl has actual experience, she’ll join in on those conversations to some extent.”

“I don’t think Touko-san is the type of person who would openly discuss those matters anyway, though?”

“That might be true, but it might not. Besides, when it comes to intimacy, the female side requires quite a lot of mutual knowledge exchange, you know. It isn’t nearly as simple as it is for guys.”

Is that really how it works? This was an entire universe that was completely beyond my comprehension.

“It’s entirely different from the crude locker-room talk guys indulge in,” Mina-san added, seeing my completely blank, “meaning unknown” expression. “Think of it more like a vital information exchange for the sake of self-defense.”

“But Touko has never joined in on those chats even once,” Manami-san continued. “In fact, it feels precisely like she’s actively evading the topic. There are times when she pulls quite an intensely uncomfortable face, even.”

“Exactly. That is a textbook expression of someone who is completely inexperienced. If anything, her sister Honoka-chan looks like she has a hundred times more experience.”

For some reason, hearing those words triggered a sudden flash of sharp irritation inside me.

“Honoka isn’t that kind of girl at all. Beneath her exterior, she is remarkably serious and incredibly shy at her core.”

At my sharp defense, the two exchanged a brief glance. However, Manami-san quickly forced a hurried smile back onto her face. “Well… I suppose that might be true.”

“It’s not like the two of us are seriously dissing Honoka-chan or anything,” Mina-san added, offering a rare bit of supporting damage control.

“Anyway, returning to our original point…” Manami-san firmly shifted the topic back. I have to say, her acting was entirely unconvincing. “There still seems to be a distinct wall between you and Touko. You guys just don’t possess the natural aura of an actual couple.”

Mina-san nodded in vigorous agreement. “Exactly. I mean, Isshiki-kun, you still speak to Touko using formal honorifics, for goodness’ sake. Granted, you finally managed to drop ‘Touko-senpai’ in favor of ‘Touko-san,’ but still.”

…Well, that was only because Touko-san explicitly commanded me to do so…

“That’s why we think that even if you and Touko did cross that line, it must have been a one-time thing on Christmas Eve, and nothing since,” Manami-san reasoned.

Mina-san immediately picked up where she left off. “And that’s exactly why the two of us have decided to step in and lend a helping hand.”