Chapter 8. This year for sure! (2)
"Ugh, Lua-ya, I'm so tired......."
As Soi groaned, my chest vibrated.
It's not that my heart was moved because her voice was just so pitiful, or anything like that.
It was literally, physical... well, I'm not sure if I should call it physical, but anyway, since Soi said it while pressed against my chest, it must have been vibrating because of the sound waves or something.
Even though the training ground had cool air conditioning and was quite dry, within 30 minutes, we were so drenched in sweat that you could wring it out of our clothes.
Though we washed all that sweat off in the shower anyway.
We returned to the room with shaky limbs and flopped onto the bed, and Soi naturally lay on top of me.
Her face was pressed against my chest, as if she were covering my body with a blanket.
"Soi-ya, you're heavy......."
"How can you say such a mean thing......."
Soi sniffled against my chest, feigning sadness.
"Aren't you tired, Lua?"
"I'm tired......."
"Should we say we want to stop?"
"Hmm."
Honestly, I was a little tempted.
Yujin-ajumma is a really good person. If we said we didn't want to do it, she definitely wouldn't force us.
But still, she must have said it with us in mind.
No, to be precise, was it said for my sake?
"No."
When I answered, Soi didn't say anything for a while, just stayed limp on top of me, then,
"Yeah."
She answered in a slightly more energetic voice and nodded.
By the way.
Chaeyi too, and Soi too.
Is it normal to lie like this? We're both girls, but is it not weird to bury one's face in someone's chest like this?
......Hmm, maybe this is a world where common sense is a bit different.
I mean, it's a world with superpowers and Heroes, isn't it? Plus, the novel I read was, strictly speaking, a harem story written in light novel grammar.
In those kinds of harem stories, girls hugging each other isn't really seen as something strange.......
"......."
But, if we go to The Academy, will Soi and Chaeyi eventually fall for the male lead?
And later, do they, um, do those kinds of things too?
At least up until now, Soi, Chaeyi, and I haven't had boyfriends or done anything like that.
Though I wouldn't have any reason to, anyway.
......For some reason, I feel bad.
I obviously have no right to feel bad about Soi getting a boyfriend, but for some reason, I just do.
"Soi-ya."
"Yeah?"
"......No, it's nothing."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Um, just....... it's nothing."
We're middle schoolers, right?
There are some kids who even date in elementary school, but personally, middle school was when I started accepting that concept as a fairly common phenomenon. That's about the age when I started hearing stories around me about people dating or getting girlfriends.
Of course, I didn't have many friends, but it was inevitable that I'd hear what other kids were talking about.
So, isn't it possible that Soi or Chaeyi might have a boy they see as a man?
That sounds a bit weird, but 'man' and 'boy' have different meanings to begin with, after all.
"Why? What's wrong?"
As I kept changing the subject, Soi jerked her head up. Soi's chin pressed into my chest, which hurt a little.
Her expression is quite firm.
I think I know the reason. It must be because of the school atmosphere lately. Does she think I was about to talk about a worry but hesitated and shut my mouth?
In this situation, continuing to dodge the question seemed like it would only make Soi worry more, so I sighed softly and said,
"Just. I was wondering if you had anyone you liked, Soi."
"Someone I like......?"
Soi's brows furrowed slightly. She seemed blank for a moment, as if she didn't understand what I said, then she pushed herself up with her hands on the bed and sprang up.
"Lua-ya!"
"H-h-het, yeah?"
She shot up with such sudden intensity that I was a bit startled.
Soi, who had pushed herself up near my armpits and was almost straddling me, looked straight at me.
"Did you get a crush on someone?"
"H-eh?"
And the question that came back was somewhat out of the blue, so I was flustered again.
"No?"
Come to think of it, my question was a bit out of the blue too. I was just thinking about The Academy, which reminded me of the original story, and in the original, Soi, Chaeyi, and Seo Lua all end up becoming heroines.
For reference, the reason all three become heroines is because the male lead, whom they bullied, forgives them.
Here, of course, I have no intention of bullying the male lead, and I don't think I'll fall for him either.
Given that there was no specific description of him being handsome in the original work, it's unlikely that Soi and Chaeyi would fall for him at first sight.
But still, I was just afraid that some kind of world's force or something would make them end up as heroines anyway.
"Really? You don't? Not even someone you're interested in?"
"I don't......."
Only after I said that did Soi sigh deeply and sit up.
I sat up as well, and,
"Yeah. It's still too early for Lua to date."
Soi said something that was somehow annoying.
"We're the same age."
"Uh-uh, tsk."
At my words, Soi raised a finger and placed it on my lips.
"That's not important."
"Then does that mean you, Soi, could date?"
I asked, feeling somewhat offended, and Soi also shut her mouth.
Her face turned faintly red.
"No, more importantly. Why did you bring that up?"
Soi asked, as if she didn't want to answer my question.
"......Just, it crossed my mind."
Feeling awkward for no reason, I grabbed my doll from the corner of the bed and hugged it.
Resting my chin on the doll's head made for a stable position. It was fluffy, too.
"......Hmm."
Soi tilted her head, then,
"I don't have any thoughts of dating or anything yet."
She said, shaking her head.
"I see."
My heart felt relieved for no reason.
So she doesn't have any thoughts of dating yet.
......Even I think it's a bit much.
I think it's okay to dislike it when a character in a novel or manga has an ex-boyfriend. After all, that's up to the author. Isn't it all 'the author's choice' to force in an ex-boyfriend, add settings about them doing this and that, and then force the character to talk about it?
Telling a story with no real meaning and calling it realistic. In a harem light novel where superpowered people fight villains, no less.
But, now that there's a girl right next to me in reality, meddling in whether she gets a boyfriend or not feels a bit, well, like that.
And yet, thinking that I really wish she wouldn't... it's something.
"Whyyy~?"
Soi grinned at me as I fidgeted while hugging the doll.
Then she crawled across the bed toward me.
"Does our Lua not want this unni to get a boyfriend? Hmm~?"
"No......."
"Why, are you worried that if unni gets a boyfriend, she won't be able to take care of our Lua?"
"No, it's not that."
Is that what it is?
I guess she wouldn't be able to keep paying attention to me even if she got a boyfriend.
When you're dating, you have to focus on your partner.
.......
Come to think of it, that guy makes me mad.
Is he just not going to stop the heroines who come to him because he's a harem protagonist?
In the end, he dates all of them.
No, since it's a harem story, it's natural for it to have that conclusion.
But when I'm with someone who might or might not become a part of that, it feels terrible.
As if I'd let him have our Soi and Chaeyi.
Yeah. That must have been the feeling I was experiencing.
Let's go with that.
"Don't worry!"
Soi smiled and took my hand.
Then she came closer and rested her face on my doll.
Naturally, no matter how big the doll is, in that position, her face is incredibly close.
I pulled back slightly.
"I won't let Lua end up alone because of something like that. Never."
"......Uh, yeah."
As I said that while averting my gaze, Soi giggled.
I like that playful smile.
Because just looking at that smile makes all the worries in this world feel pointless.
In a way, it's just a non-serious, playful smile.
But perhaps that's exactly why I can live comfortably in this house.
Soi didn't let go of my hand for a while, so in the end, I had to stay tightly held in that state, not knowing if it was uncomfortable or comfortable.
*
"......Then is Lua doing it too?"
The next day, lunch time.
After finishing our meal, we spent some time outside, and when I told her about what happened yesterday, Chaeyi asked that.
"Yeah, well, I guess so?"
Soi answered for me.
It's hot, but it's not bad if you're in the shade. Though I'll probably hate sitting in the shade like this in a little while.
It's not in the classroom, and since Soi and Chaeyi openly played games on their smartphones in places like this anyway, I also confidently turned on my smartphone game when it was just the three of us nearby.
......Actually, you could say I've given up.
I have the lobby screen up where a character that looks just like me is acting cute in a swimsuit, so what's the point of pretending I'm not playing a game while sitting between them now?
"Hmm."
Chaeyi seemed lost in thought for a moment.
The sunlight was hot, so honestly, even in the shade, it was a bit warm. Plus, with two people sticking close to me on both sides, it was even hotter.
So, unable to focus, I looked at the game screen, then stared blankly up at the sky.
......For some reason, I noticed two people hovering around us.
Glancing at the smartphones in our hands, hesitating while keeping their distance.
The otaku duo I tried to talk to last time, but failed because they got scared on their own.
Ah, I think I know what that behavior is.
It's the form of someone who has found a person with similar interests and formed an internal sense of intimacy, but doesn't know how to approach them, so they just hover around.
Unfortunately, because I was that kind of person in my past life too.
......But, they were so scared last time, so why now?