Chapter 4

「I-I’m not falling for that trick again.」

「You say that, but your face is red, isn’t it?」

「That’s simply because of my lack of experience.」

「Lack of experience means you have a little.」

「……」

When I fall silent, Kiryuuin chuckles as if she understands everything.

It seems my silence has been taken as an affirmation.

Ahh… Damn it. This is so embarrassing. If I could rewind time even a little, I could have given a perfect answer.

I envy the save & load function in games.

It’s too late to say anything back now. The fact is, I don’t have the experience with women to deny her understanding.

「My bad. …So, are you serious about d-dating?」

I’m pathetic. I stumbled over the word “dating”.

Kiryuuin seems to have noticed the reason for my stumble and immediately answers with a laugh.

「I’m serious. If we go along with this here, we won’t have to deal with troublesome omiais in the future, right?」

「…Well, I guess so.」

I see, so that’s what it is.

I need to scold the part of my brain that thinks Kiryuuin might have taken a liking to me or that it’s convenient for her.

As I nod in understanding of Kiryuuin’s calculated proposal, she chuckled again.

「Were you thinking that I might have taken a liking to you?」

「Wha?! Not at all.」

I shake my head frantically. However, that exaggerated reaction is like affirming Kiryuuin’s words, and in fact, Kiryuuin bursts out laughing at my reaction.

Damn… I’ve been playing into Kiryuuin’s hands this whole time.

If this were a real battle, how many times would I have been defeated?

Even so, I have no means of counterattack.

「You don’t have to deny it so much. It’s true that I’ve taken quite a liking to you, you know?」

「…Is that so?」

Perhaps because I asked with intensity in my eyes, Kiryuuin is smiling.

「Don’t be so wary. I wouldn’t make this kind of proposal to someone I hate, you know? I thought Doumyouji would understand what I’m saying to some extent, and I thought it would be good for me, so I made this suggestion.」

「…I-I see.」

「You seem happy.」

Kiryuuin said teasingly again. I felt embarrassed to be pointed out, but I still nodded while scratching my head.

「W-Well… I mean… It doesn’t feel bad to be complimented, so… I’m glad you don’t hate me.」

「…H-How simple.」

Kiryuuin scoffs and looks away from me. Then she clears her throat once.

Looking closely, her cheeks seem a little red.

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Even though it’s April, it’s quite cold today, and the heater was on in the room. Maybe it’s hotter than I thought because of that.

…Next time, if she thinks I’m embarrassed again, I might be able to use the air conditioner as an excuse.

「So, what do you think? If we both find someone we truly like, we’ll end this relationship and act as we always do at school. …I don’t think there will be any major problems for either of us with this, what do you say?」

Kiryuuin asks again, holding out her hand to me.

I stare at her hand for a moment and think.

…Kiryuuin’s proposal is appealing. If I go along with this, I can avoid my parents’ meddling.

Besides, as Kiryuuin said, we’re not actually getting married.

There’s no problem with using it as a shield.

My parents forced this omiai on me today, so they have no right to complain if I get back at them a little.

…Yeah. Let’s accept her proposal.

After clearing my throat once, I took Kiryuuin’s hand.

…I’ve only held hands with a girl a few times, so it’s quite embarrassing, but I press my lips together to hide it.

When I look at Kiryuuin’s face, she smiles faintly. Does she realize I’m flustered? N-No, that can’t be true.

Ah, but if I’m too conscious of it, my hands might get really sweaty.

…As I’m trying not to be conscious of it, Kiryuuin moves her hand as if stroking the back of mine, and I flinch.

「As expected, the son of a dojo owner has a well-built body, huh?」

「…Well, I exercise every day.」

「I see. I also take good care of my body. I wonder if it’s because you’re a man? You’re so different from me.」

Kiryuuin continued to touch my hand as if enjoying the feel of it for a while. …After a while, I couldn’t hold back anymore, and my hands were sweating quite a bit, but Kiryuuin didn’t say anything, and our hands naturally separated.

「Well then, nice to meet you again, Yuuto.」

Kiryuuin calls my name with a smile. When I almost choked on this surprise attack, she looked at me again with a grin.

「What’s wrong, Yuuto?」

「Being suddenly called by my first name… I’m not used to it.」

「What are you saying, Yuuto? Don’t worry about such things, Yuuto.」

「Don’t repeatedly call my name so deliberately… 」

…That said, it’s not as shocking as the first time.

As I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down, Kiryuuin smiled.

「Look, Yuuto, you should call me by my first name too. We’re engaged, after all.」

…Kiryuuin’s name was Sophia, right?

Indeed, if we’re going to continue this engagement, albeit a fake one, it would be more natural to call each other by our first names.

To think it would come the day when I call a girl my age by her first name.