Chapter 11
Detective, Sanchan
Lunch break.
Becoming a little worried, before I went to the world history preparation room, I took a peek at Sana’s cla.s.sroom. Just as I had thought, Sana had her bentou spread out on her desk as she ate alone. The cla.s.smates around her probably thought that she was just that kind of person, and did not show any intention of inviting them into their circles.
However, I can’t call her to come eat with Hiiragi-chan and I. What should I do? While continuing to think about it, I enter the world history preparation room. Hiiragi-chan ended up spreading out a picnic sheet.
“As I thought, Sana was alone.”
“You want to do something for her, right?”
She set down her bentou next to her and flattened out her skirt, her lap slightly peeking out at the end. Then, she pats her knee.
“Eh. To the side!? Here? A lap pillow?”
“That’s right. I laid out a sheet for this reason.”
“We can’t eat normally?”
“Can’t. Seiji-kun. You were hit really hard with the ball, right? To be honest, I didn’t even want to let you go to cla.s.s.”
I ended up doing as Hiiragi-chan told me to do and lay down on her lap. It felt like she was a mother bird feeding her child. Today was also touaage. It’s really good. I was just a little tired of it though.
“Seiji-kun, you probably want to eat with Sanchan. Don’t you?”
“Me or more importantly, I was wondering if there was anyone else who would eat with her…”
“Such a dependable older brother, Sei-kun.”
Kusukusu, she gave me a teasing laugh. I was saying not to call me Sei-kun.
“However, I also want to eat with Seiji-kun… what should we do?”
Eating lunch with the three of us…
Probably impossible. I can’t bring her here after all, and Sana herself is surprisingly sharp. She’ll probably find out about our relationship instantly. Hiiragi-chan
is pretty naïve after all. It seems like she would let it out immediately.
“How about if you don’t act like my girlfriend, but act as a teacher and eat with us together…?”
“Even if you say it’s a world history study session, I’m not in charge of first year world history but…”
“If it becomes like that, the amount of time the two of can eat lunch together will probably decrease as well.”
Hiiragi-chan gave it a little bit of thought, then looked at me while holding my head against her thigh.
“It’ll be a little bit sad, but if we leave Sanchan as she is now, it’s even sadder… I also have a little sister, so I want to do something for her.”
Saying that, she smiled. As I thought, Hiiragi-chan is the best.
“It would be good though if Sana could spend time with people other than her family.”
In this way, middle school, or the social environment of school was quite cruel. The number of friends that you have equals the amount of power you have. It determines the strength of your voice within the cla.s.s and whether you have any influence.
“Ah, speaking of which. I was told by other teachers that, since you aren’t the homeroom teacher for any cla.s.s, you’re probably free, right?”
There there, I said as I gave Hiiragi-chan a few pats on the head.
“That’s why… starting next year, I’ll become the advisor for the home economics club.”
“What will you be doing?”
“It seems like I’ll have to show myself at club activities three times a week, and I’ll also have to decide on what the budget will be used on. Since I’ve never been an advisor before, I don’t know very many details but… because of it, I’ll also need to do work at school on Sat.u.r.days.”
I knew of the existence of the home economics club, but what and where
where they do their club activities, I had no clue. According to Hiiragi-chan, it seems like they don’t have any more third years and there was only one girl in the second year.
The original advisor for the club was going on maternity leave, so starting from May, Hiiragi-chan would become the subst.i.tute advisor for them it seems.
“Haruksan, good luck.”
“Yeah. Thank you. If you’re cheering me on, give me a kiss.”
“Eh… I just said earlier that we wouldn’t do that at school…”
“Then, I’ll do it.”
She once again held my cheeks and stopped me from moving. Then she gave me a kiss. It seems like she just wanted an excuse to kiss.
“Ah. Then isn’t it fine like this? If Haruksan is going to become and advisor…”
“? What are you talking about?”
“If I enter the club with Sana, I will be able to have chances to meet with you, the advisor of the club, right? This way, the two of us will be able to be together publicly, and we will also be able to have Sana be with us. This way, Sana might not need to stay alone during lunch.”
“Seiji-kun, genius!”
My suggestion pa.s.sed unanimously. I quickly sent a mail to Sana.
“Who are the girls that are currently there?”
“Mmm. A child name Ii-san. She’s in cla.s.s 2C, if I remember correctly.”
Ii-san? I might know if I see her face, but I didn’t recognize her from just the name. If it’s from cla.s.s C then I don’t really have much of a point of contact after all, neither were we in the same cla.s.s during our first year.
“Today is one of the days when the club meets so do you want to take a look? I think I’ll be going to give Ii-san a greeting after all.”
As such, it was now after school.
In order to go observe the club together, I went to
went to Sana’s cla.s.sroom to see her.
“It’s not like Sana wants enter a plain club like home economics though.”
“Be quiet, you loner. If you go home, you’ll just be holed up playing games right?”
“It’s not games.”
Fuun, she turned her face away from me and flipped the smooth shiny hair that was resting on her shoulders.
“Today is manga.”
“Regardless of which, you’ll be holed up alone, right? You might be able to make friends, right?”
“I don’t want Nii-san to worry about me. You don’t have any friends yourself anyways, right?”
Gufu.
B-but, I can’t pull back right here. I must send away my sisters lonely high school life. You can do it, me. I need to move Sana’s attention away from me.
“I-I do have them. I have some friends. About a hundred.”
“Yeah, that’s a lie. Sana has even three times more.”
“Yeah yeah, I’m already getting full on your lies, though.”
“When it comes to the internet, Sana has at least 300 friends waiting for me.”
“Like those are friends!”
“Anyways! I won’t enter some random club for no reason. I don’t even know who is there.”
“That’s why I was saying we should go observe, right?”
“Since I won’t enter, there’s no meaning in observing.”
The loud voice of a normally cool character was probably pretty unusual to her cla.s.smates, so they all ended up looking at us. Sana ended up being embarra.s.sed and lowered her voice.
“For Sana, everything is fine as long as I have games, manga, anime and Sei-kun…”
Stop saying the same thing over and over again, Sana.
“L-let’s go home, Nii-san.”
It wasn’t my intention to draw so much intention either. Pulled along by Sana, I ended up leaving the cla.s.sroom. The Sana ten years later ended up working at a game company. Since she had this sort of personality, she had ended up choosing the work of making games.
Even though if she went out a bit more, shebit more, she could have been scouted to be some celebrity. The 26-year-old Sana that I know, hid the fact that during high school, she was an otaku. Because of that, she had people that she could call friends, but no one she could say was a close friend.
I don’t intend to say that being a shut in is bad. After all, all the games she plays, the manga she reads, and the anime that she watches as a shut-in was connected to her future. It’s just that I really want to give Sana the chance to make a few friends.
“Alright, I got it, I won’t force you. I’m sorry.”
“As long as you understand.”
Why are you talking so condescendingly.
“I’m going to go see the home economics club. Bye.”
“Nii-san, why are you so interested in the home economics club?”
Of course, I couldn’t tell her that it was because my angel Hiiragi-chan was the advisor.
“It’s because I thought it was a club that you could also enter. It seems like there’s only one other person in it right now, so I thought that maybe you could become their friend.”
“Fuun… making Sana observe a club that Sana has no interest in. Isn’t that a little forceful?”
“Well, yeah…”
Sana narrowed her eyes as she looked at me. Somehow, her eyes seemed to be questioning me.
“Ah, I got it… maybe Nii-san actually wants to enter the club?”
“If you ask if I want to enter, then yes?”
“… Then, Sana will also enter.”
“Ha? What’s with that? Well, it’s fine I guess.”
“The things that Nii-san is thinking about, Sana can see right through it after all.”
“W-what are you talking about…?”
S-s-see right through. See right through what!?
You’re the criminal!! She stuck out her finger with such a spirit.
“You’re interested in someone that’s in the home economics club, right!? Sana can see right through your heart.”
W-wha… she found out…