Episode 100 – all-out war

“Azusa chan, did you buy the alcohol?”
“Yes, perfectly!”

No one would have thought that such a group of people would come into a convenience store.
I didn’t think so either.

“I mean, I thought you couldn’t drink alcohol, Ikuta-san. ……?”
“What are you talking about, Suzu-san? These drinks are all for Suzu-san, right?”
“Perhaps this is the way the college drinking clubs operate. ……”

Speaking of which, I think there was a story about forcing people who can’t drink to drink in such a drinking circle in the university.
I never thought that these people would be like that.
　
“Don’t worry, Suzune chan. If you talk to me properly, I won’t make you drink.”
“What do you mean ……?”
“Interrogation you know, interrogation. It is also called torture.”
“You call it that, don’t you?”

Somebody wants to torture me now? I want to go home.
But the after-party that starts here, it’s my house. …… Maybe they made it my house so I wouldn’t have to use an excuse to go home.

“Look, Bob. It’s almost your house now, so Iet’s go.”
“You’re ready to come in huh……”
“My house is a mess.”
“I didn’t hear you say that, and you’re so open about it. ……”

I want nothing to do with this.
If I were a fan of a popular singer, I would not want to know that her house was in disarray.

As we walked along, talking nonsense like that, we eventually came to see the apartment where I live.
Well, it was only a 10-minute walk from the station, so I could easily find it.

“Ara~, you live in a nice place after all.”
“Well, it’s not exactly near the station, but I wanted to live in a place where I could be assured of security.”
“But that security is useless in front of me.”
“If you’re a thief, I’ll ask you to leave. ……”
“Let’s go!”

After a few words about the apartment, the three of them entered the apartment without any hesitation.
I held up my key card and a beep sounded, and the three of them strode into the entrance with a look of their own ahead of me.

I felt uneasy about the three who seemed to be in a better mood than when they were with Nagishiro san, but that didn’t stop me from asking them to leave, so I meekly invited them into my house.

“Pardon me!”
“Wow, you live in a surprisingly small place.”
“It’s beautiful.”

I prepare slippers for the three of them as I listen to their comments.

“Hey Suzune-chan. Do you have a futon?”
“Futon? I think there is one …… Why?”
“Of course, to stay the night.”

Shirakawa-san gave me a thumbs-up. No, even if you give me such an extraordinary smile,…….
Well, is it too late for that?

“I’m afraid to return the three of you at …… this time of night, so …… it’s special just this once, okay?”
“Yay! I love you, Suzu-san!”
“P-please don’t hug me!”

The way Chibi closes the distance between us is too mysterious.

In such a way, she is making herself more and more difficult to escape. This means I can no longer use “I’m leaving now” and “Please leave now.”
Am I actually an idiot?

“Well, well, well. Now that you’re no longer anxious, let’s get right down to business.”

At this point, Shirakawa-san, who had completely taken the initiative, tapped on the short side of the square desk. Was she asking me to sit here?

“E-excuse me. ……”
“Okay, then, it’s time for the interrogation.
“Good luck, Bob.”
“H-haaa. ……”

I think I am the first human being to be encouraged by an interrogator.

“Okay, first of all, I have a question.”

And apparently, the leader of the interrogators was Shirakawa-san.
What they would ask me from here is another story.

However, I can somehow predict that they will ask about him, so I’ll think of an appropriate response.

I had thought of…., but….

“Suzune-san. You like Nagishiro Rin-kun, don’t you?”
“–Eh?”

Shirakawa-san’s question was not a question. It was not a question, but just a confirmation.

Like? Who, me?

“Wait a minute, please.”
“Oh, this flustered state is a graphical sign!”
“No, no, no, um, um…”
“It’s funny how you look so confused, just like Rin.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Once I calm myself down. It seems that if I get upset, I only make them happy.

“First of all, why do you assume that?”
“Oh, well.”
“I know when I look at you
“I know.”

For some reason, the three of them respond in a friendly manner.
But that’s not what I’m looking for.

“So, you see! I’m asking why you think I’m, uh, fond of Nagishiro-san!”

I was a little too forceful with my words, but the girls didn’t care about that and just kept on coming back at me.

“No, that’s why.”
“If I see you…”
“I can tell.”
“Is that all you have to say?”

They nodded, “Yeah, yeah!” I don’t understand at all!

“Or rather, are you trying to hide it? What, with that?”
“No way.”
“Not like that Suzu san~”
“It’s not a matter of hiding or not hiding, it’s something before that!”

Why on earth am I supposed to like Nagishiro-san?
Why is that a premise?

“Ehh, I’ll ask you on the other hand, you don’t like Rin-kun?”
“Of course!”

I said back firmly, and the three of them looked at each other once again.

And then…

“-No, you’re trying to hide it.
“You’re not a good person, Suzu-san!”
“You are already surrounded.”

Apparently not. Also, Tatsumi-san, please don’t talk about me like I’m a murderer. More like a bank robber.

–it’s not.

“Really, I don’t…..”

I say as if sighing, and the three of them look astonished.

“Perhaps you haven’t noticed ……?”

Then, as if they had something in common that made sense to them, they asked me a question.

“Could it be, Bob, that you are unaware of your own feelings ……?”
“Maybe you are an idiot. ……?”
“This could be a serious matter. ……”

They looked at me with very serious eyes, but I didn’t know what they were talking about.
Maybe Shirakawa-san noticed the question mark on my head and asked me a question as if she was testing me.

“Then, for example”
“Yes.”
“Suppose I was making out with Rin-kun. What would you think?”
“What do I think? I don’t really think anything of it. ……”
“[Kotoha, you’re the only one for me.]”

As I was returning it nonchalantly, Shirakawa-san lowered her voice and imitated Nagishiro-san.

And that strangely accomplished performance causes a haze to form in my chest for a moment.

I wonder if that was reflected in my facial expression.

“I knew it.”

Shirakawa-san nodded her head in agreement.
In response, I was angry at her.

“What do you mean, “I knew it”?”

I was so disappointed that she looked to me with a serious gaze, without a trace of displeasure.

“Can I ask you something? Listen to me carefully.”

Then Shirakawa-san moved her lips slowly.

“You are in love with Rin-kun. You are in love with Rin-kun, as the opposite sex.”

Those words shook me to my core.

–Am I in love with Nagishiro-san?

I tried to repeat it in my mind, but it sounded like a joke.

“No way, it can’t be.”
“Then why would you be jealous of a mere friend like you were earlier?”

Shirakawa-san said that the reason for the earlier bad expression was jealousy.

“I mean, you were unconsciously jealous of me when I was at senpai’s house just now.”

And then Ikuta-san followed up with that
I couldn’t find any words to reply to that.

I was told that my own feelings of mistrust were jealousy. I felt as if she had guessed exactly what was in my heart.

And that was the unmistakable proof that I was jealous of other women.

“Me, Nagishiro-san?”

Then, for some reason, I remembered that incident the other day.
The passion I felt when I saw Nagishiro-san lying on the floor.

If it was said that it was because of love, it was certainly a convincing story.

“It can’t be just a business associate, can it?”

Then Hojo-san said to me.
Yes, even if we had been just business associates, I would not have felt such a burst of emotion.

“That’s why you should be aware of what Nagi-kun means to you,”

–Indeed. Her advice was not wrong.
Without knowing this, it would be like carrying a bomb.

I, Harushita Suzune, am in love with a man named Nagishiro Rin.

“…… And now that you know, you have two choices.”

There, Shirakawa san’s words pull me back from my recollection.

“Choices?”
“Yes, choices.”

I am intrigued by the strange word “choice.”
I am now a defenseless person with my heart laid bare. Perhaps that’s why I’m more honest than usual.

“One is to act on one’s feelings”

In other words, do I make an effort to be with him?

“I think it’s quite a difficult path. Even celebrity love is a struggle, and you even have the title of idol. You know that.”

That’s when I couldn’t help but look at Ikuta-san.
She had been mistakenly thought to be in love with someone, and to top it off, she was in the middle of a knife fight. That inexplicably showed the difficulty of idol love.

“Well, if that happens, we’re enemies to each other!”

Ikuta-san said with a smile that was too fresh.
I wondered if we are enemies in love.

“And the other thing is that you just give up and forget about him. You give up on him, and you separate yourself from him as a business partner.”

This time, Tatsumi-san flicked the can of alcohol with her toe. The sound of the clang sounded strangely resonant.
In other words, was she going to let the power of alcohol dissipate in one night? I see, it was not for any mischievous purpose that she had bought so many cans of alcohol.

“Now, it’s one of two things, what do you say?”

Shirakawa-san looked at me with kind eyes.
She was not trying to force me to choose one or the other, but rather she was showing me a choice from a neutral standpoint.

I could either give priority to my love or I could give up and give priority to my work.

To be honest, I still don’t understand what you mean when you say “love”.
I have no sexual desire for him, nor do I want to be in a relationship with him.

However, just trying to imagine him going out with someone else or having sex with someone else, for example, brings a bad feeling to my heart.
That is probably what it means to be in love.

“Fu……”

In my head, I would tell myself to put work first and stay in a normal working relationship with him.
It’s not going to work out anyway, and more importantly, there may be other nice guys besides him. So my brain tells me to think logically and stop.

“…… but you’re right.”

I went all the way back to show business to be happy. It was because I wanted color in my life once again.
As such, it would be wrong for me to put too much priority on my work. There is no reason why I should give up. Not one good reason why I should give up.

Besides, a selfish person somewhere wants me to be happy. It can’t be helped, can it?

“-Hmmm. You’re thinking cowardly to drop your rival in love here, aren’t you?”

So, I threw challenging words at all of them, Shirakawa-san, Ikuta-san, and Tatsumi-san.

And when Shirakawa-san and the other three heard this, they said.

“It doesn’t really matter to …… if one girl like this joins us.”
“Suzu-san, such a foul-mouthed woman is not senpai’s taste!”
“Bob, cheeky. I’ll trample you down.”

She fished out the corner of her mouth and started a fight with me in the same way.

“-All-out war, isn’t it?”
“It can’t be a war because we’re too different in strength.”
“I, the youngest, have too much of an advantage!”
“Rin already likes me, you know.”

I don’t remember much after that.
We just drank and dodged each other’s drinks, cursing each other in a way that was unbecoming of a woman.
We were all talking about this and that, and by the time I realized it, all four of us were laying on the desk with our heads on the floor, breathing heavily.