Kaiwa mo shinai tsurekko no imouto ga, naganen issho ni baka yatte-kita Netoge no friend datta

Chapter 8: An Usual Event

Translated by: White Fanatic

Edited by: SevenTails

(Part 1)

“… Thanks for the food.”

“Shiyori? You haven’t even eaten half of your meal.”

She got up from her seat, said, “I’m sorry, I don’t have an appetite…” and left the dining room. That day, Shiyori had hardly touched her dinner.

Even though she already had a poor appetite, this made me worry. Yaeko also looked at Shiyori leaving the dining room worriedly. I wondered if the cause for her red cheeks was still bothering her.

“Subaru, did something happen to Shiyori?”

“… That’s…”

As a mother, it is natural to be concerned. However, she was reluctant to say anything. As for the redness in her cheeks, Shiyori herself said that it was nothing. It was circumstantial evidence, and we can only speculate about the real situation.

“…”

“…”

The silence continued between Yaeko and me. Perhaps it was a question to me. She must have guessed from how I had stopped talking. While that may be a problem, I can’t say anything about it just yet.

——And if something happens, I’ll be sure to protect her. That’s why I shook my head while thinking everything would be alright.

“… That’s so.”

Yaeko-san muttered quietly and narrowed her eyes. Apparently, she trusts me enough not to ask anything further for now. Her smile was somewhat similar to Shiyori’s.

――♪

As soon as I returned to my room, my phone started ringing.

“Nn… Geh!”

On the call screen, the words ‘Nanjo Rin’ were written.

When I took a closer look, I saw that I had already missed incoming calls every few minutes and an uncanny number of text messages.

“Sorry! I just now noticed—”

『 Just what is the meaning of this? 』

Interrupting my excuses, I heard a voice that seemed to echo from the depths of h**l. For a moment, I questioned whether it was really Nanjo or not. It was such a low voice that it made me doubt it. If I were to let anyone listen to this voice alone, no one would be able to recognize it as Nanjo Rin ever. It was a voice filled with that much animosity.

“At the… nearest station, I saw Yoshida Shiyori. And then, I noticed that her right cheek had turned red.”

『 You sure it wasn’t a mistake or some misunderstanding? 』

“A~h, I am definitely not seeing things. Nanjo, do you have any idea who did it?”

『 I have no idea, actually. I honestly have too many girls on my list who might do it… But I can guess what the reason is. 』

“Reason?”

『Simply put, ‘The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. 』

I see. It was as I thought.

Up until now, Shiyori had been modest and a low-profile figure, but starting recently, she suddenly transformed overnight into a person of the moment. Especially recently, as Nanjo Rin stuck really closely to Shiyori these days, it may have caused the situation to worsen. It is not hard to think the probable reason is her change in the caste system among the girls, which had pulled her into this situation.

—Girls who can’t digest her change are to be expected, huh? But…

“However, I don’t think someone would get slapped on the face unless it had already become a big issue in itself…”

『 Now that you say that, that’s true… But was there really something that led them to go that far, or was it something in the spur of the moment? Depending on which, we may have to take a different approach as well… 』

“…”

『 … 』

To a question without even a probable answer, we were left mute. We could hear each other’s breaths through our phones as we pondered what to do. It was a silence born out of our failure to do anything.

『 For now, let’s leave this problem behind. Even if we think about it now, we won’t get an answer. It makes me a bit irritated, but… 』

“Yes, you’re right…”

『 How about you… 』

“… Nanjo?”

『 No, never mind. I’ll look into it from my side as well. Let me know if you find out anything. 』

“Sorry, it helps a lot.”

『 It’s not like I’m doing this for you, you know. 』

“Haha~ That’s also true.”

Anyway, we still didn’t have enough information right now. We can’t plan it out yet, even if we want to do something. And since Nanjo Rin will be keeping a close eye on her from now on, there shouldn’t be anything in the school unless it’s a really rare occurrence.

Well then, I’ll do what I can do as well.

Okay, let’s play a game.

『 Can anyone even say that with such timing? 』

“Was that perhaps a weird flow?”

『 … Haaaah, never mind. 』

This time, I could hear a loud sigh from the other end. I’m worried about Shiyori’s case right now, but the daily routine was also important. I’m sure she had already logged in and was waiting for us now. After finishing our call, I noticed I got a message from Shiyori on my phone.

《 By today, I absolutely want to get the material for the turtle. And even Cinq-san can go to that area now as well. 》

That’s right. Let’s play games so much right now that we forget every bad thing that happened at school.