Chapter 89
"A confession!?"
Seeing Mai-senpai sitting on the sofa and looking at him with a trace of anxiety, Mineo let a small smile play on his lips. He walked toward the chair directly across from her and took a seat.
"If I said that I really was confessing to you right now, Senpai, would you kick me out of your house!?"
"I wouldn't go as far as kicking you out. But I would definitely grab the Anti-Wolf Spray."
"Why the Anti-Wolf Spray?"
"Because all this time, I've thought of Mineo-kun as my only friend, but... but it turns out you were thinking about..."
Before Mai-senpai could finish her sentence, her phone suddenly rang. She picked it up, glanced at the caller ID, and immediately cut the call.
Since they were sitting quite close, Mineo couldn't help but notice the name on the screen.
Manager!
That meant the person calling was Mai-senpai's mother.
After hanging up, Mai-senpai looked up at Mineo.
"Does it feel strange to see me just cut off a call from my manager like that?"
"A little confusing, but I wasn't planning on asking."
"You weren't? Why? Doesn't the internet always say that men are more curious than women? From what I know of you, Mineo-kun, you're exactly the type of person who's overly curious about everything."
"True, even if I'm curious about a lot of things, I won't overstep when it comes to a friend's private business. If you're willing to tell me, Senpai, I'm willing to listen. But if you don't want to talk, I won't pry and make things difficult for you."
Hearing Mineo's words, Mai-senpai fell silent. However, a moment later, she stood up and spoke to him.
"I'm going to change. Wait here for a bit."
A few minutes later, Mai-senpai emerged from her room wearing a black dress, black stockings, and black high heels. She grabbed her bag from the coat rack.
"Accompany me outside for a while!"
"Sure!"
Mineo could clearly sense that Mai-senpai's mood was currently at rock bottom. Because of that, he didn't say much and followed her straight out of the house.
As they walked along the street, the biting cold wind brushed against them. Mai-senpai subconsciously hugged her own arms. Seeing this, Mineo took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
Feeling his touch, Mai-senpai looked up.
"I didn't expect Mineo-kun to have such a gentle side."
"This is nothing like the impression you gave me before!"
Hearing her words, Mineo felt a prick of curiosity.
"Then, what kind of person was I in your heart before this, Senpai?"
"A scumbag! A pervert! A jerk!"
"Scumbag? Pervert? Jerk? Good grief, so that's the image I've had in your heart all this time..."
Seeing Mineo's mock-sorrowful face, Mai-senpai let out a cold laugh.
"Am I wrong? When we first met, I told you my name was Sakurajima Mai, and you immediately called me Bunny Girl Senpai! Do you have any idea what I was thinking back then?"
"I thought that if you were standing right in front of me, I would have smashed your head with a baseball bat a hundred times!"
"Mineo-kun, you should remember exactly what you've said to me."
"Calling me a crossdresser?"
"Saying I suffered from a severe case of Chuunibyou!"
"Even asking me to prove my identity by sending a photo of myself in a Bunny Girl costume!"
"Has Mineo-kun already forgotten those words?"
"Tell me, aren't you a jerk? Aren't you a pervert!?"
Hearing her tease him like that, Mineo found himself unable to argue. He spread his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Fine! If it's 'pervert' and 'jerk,' I'll admit to those. But what does that have to do with being a 'scumbag'? I've never done anything scummy toward you, Senpai. You're definitely making false accusations now."
"False accusations!?"
The cold smile on Mai-senpai's face deepened.
"Mineo-kun, I remember the sentence you say to me most often is that you have a harem of thousands! Just how old are you? You're a bit younger than me, yet you're already thinking about becoming a Harem King? Isn't that the very definition of a scumbag?"
"And today you come rushing to see me... were you planning to launch an attack while my mood was low!?"
"Mineo-kun told me before... that sooner or later, you'd make me a member of your harem!"
"Do you know what I thought then?"
"I thought about whether I should call an ambulance in advance, so that when I beat you later, I wouldn't permanently break your 'future happiness'!"
"..."
"Geez, Mai-senpai, we're friends! Do you really have to be that cruel to me?"
"Cruel? Should I be sweet and gentle to the person who's targeting me every single day? Mineo-kun, I'm not that easy to win over..."
Being stared down by Mai-senpai's eyes—which seemed to scream 'you're a scumbag, don't even try to deny it'—Mineo felt a slight shiver. This sharp-tongued, Tsundere senpai was truly something else; she wasn't easy to fool at all.
Yet, perhaps it was this strong character of hers that made him like her even more.
Under her intense gaze, Mineo said helplessly:
"Mai-senpai, say whatever you want! I admit it, I'm a scumbag and a jerk. Now, where are we going?"
"Walking together with a scumbag like this... aren't you afraid I might kidnap you?"
"I have Anti-Wolf Spray in my bag. Mineo-kun is welcome to try!"
"As for now, we're heading to an Izakaya! You don't mind accompanying me for a little drink, right...?"
"To a bar for drinks!?? Senpai, aren't you afraid I'll get you drunk and then carry you off?"
"You can certainly try!"
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