"Oh, did she fall asleep?"
"Yeah, she’s out."
We’d been spoiling Ai-chan for two and a half hours. Since Sajocchi arrived late, he’d only been at it for about half that time. Eventually, Ai-chan, who had settled onto Aichi’s lap and started dozing off, dropped the half-eaten cookie she was holding in her right hand with a soft thud. ...Wait, I’ll take that—whoa, she’s fast! Aichi’s recovery was too fast!
"S-She kept cycling between eating and frolicking... so it’s no wonder. Even I’d get sleepy at that rhythm."
"Hehe, that’s true."
"She looks so happy..."
Airi-chan was curled up on Aichi’s lap. She didn’t quite fit perfectly, of course, but she’d fallen asleep in that same fetal position you often see babies in on TV or in photos. Holding her so expertly with such a gentle gaze, Aichi was truly like a Holy Mother... I could practically feel her maternal aura. Honestly, I think she already has the skills to become a mother right this second.
"Look, Sajocchi. Don't you think this is a magnificent sight?"
"Hm...? Oh..."
"...Sajocchi?"
I asked Sajocchi for his thoughts, figuring this was a sight to die for, but his response was half-hearted. I thought he was captivated by the picture-perfect scene of Aichi and Ai-chan, but it turned out he was just staring blankly at the table in front of him.
"Wataru... are you tired, maybe?"
"Ai-chan’s assault was pretty intense, after all."
Airi-chan’s aggressiveness toward Sajocchi had been something else. She just kept lunging at him like, "Play with me, play with me!" The thing was, it didn’t feel like she wanted to be coddled. Pouncing on him had just become the norm. Of course he’d be exhausted.
"Ah, no, it’s not that I’m tired. It’s more like... I just got sleepy too?"
"You don't have to push yourself. Um... I'm sorry Airi kept hitting you and stuff."
"It was basically like a massage, so don't worry about it. It felt great."
"Don't say it in such a weird way..."
"You suddenly sound like a pervert, Sajocchi."
Saying it feels good to be hit is a bit much, isn't it? It might change the way I look at Sajocchi when he’s interacting with Ai-chan later. He was in a room full of girls, so I wished he’d choose his words more carefully.
"But you did good, Sajocchi. You really made Ai-chan the star of the show."
"Eh? Isn't that just how it goes?"
"Well, yeah, I guess..."
Sajocchi’s matter-of-fact tone made me a little sad. I’d intended to imply that I thought he’d be more conscious of Aichi, but he didn’t seem to take it that way at all.
Wait, had Sajocchi barely engaged in any casual conversation? Now that I think about it, I felt like I’d spent most of my time drinking iced tea and chatting with Aichi like a couple of housewives watching their kids play.
Wait... was that on purpose? I had fun talking with Aichi, and he’d brought plenty of snacks. Aichi had been a bit worried about her weight, too.
"Sajocchi, why don't you relax a bit more? To be honest, aren't you being way too considerate?"
"Eh..."
"What? What are you talking about? I was just playing with Airi-chan."
"Nah, I'm starting to feel kind of bad."
Because if that was true, it meant he wasn’t just conscious of Aichi, but in a different sense, he was being conscious of all of us—Aichi, me, and Ai-chan. Sajocchi usually says nothing but stupid stuff, so the fact that he’d entered the house of the girl he liked and hadn't made a "mistake" yet felt oddly out of place.
Usually, wouldn't your mind go blank and you'd say something totally off-base? I wondered why that was... maybe because it wasn't just about Aichi? It felt like he was performing being "normal" so hard that he wasn't actually being "normal" anymore. Well, some parts of him were still a bit gross, though.
Maybe I shouldn't have said anything... Even if I noticed, would it have been better to keep quiet? If I was right, then I wasn’t a very good woman, was I?
"...Well, whatever. If you feel so bad, maybe you could cancel that 'punishment' from the other day—"
"That's one thing, this is another."
"You demon..."
"It's punishment for scaring Aichi, after all."
"I-I didn't really..."
"No way. We have to make sure Sajocchi gets his punishment."
He needed to devote himself only for Aichi's sake there. Or rather, shouldn't it have been a "reward" for Sajocchi? If it was for Aichi, it shouldn't even be a chore. Aichi should just work him like a dog without holding back. Oh, I get it—maybe she was keeping it on hold to tease him? No, surely not.
But Sajocchi seemed... "good" today, somehow. Even if he was happy to be the target of Ai-chan’s little pummels, I thought having it done constantly would honestly be a bit much... Yet he’d kept playing with her. Personally, I felt like he deserved a bit more praise for that. His stock with Aichi should definitely go up.
"Sajocchi, you're not actually sleepy; you're just mentally drained from holding back all sorts of things, right? Things have settled down and we've got snacks, so take a break."
"Eh... Is that so? I didn't notice at all..."
"No, no, that's not—"
"Yes, it is, isn't it?"
Ugh, don't glare at me, Sajocchi. It’s your own fault for being so easy to read. Honestly, though, it was the first time I’d seen that look on his face.
Even if he was nervous around Aichi, he couldn't let her realize it... If he was suppressing that while trying to satisfy Ai-chan and me on top of that, of course he’d be mentally exhausted.
It was exactly the kind of thing Sajocchi would do. He’d been doing some pretty suave things lately. Besides, there was no way he could pull the wool over the eyes of someone like me, who’d been watching the awkward vibes between him and Aichi.
Even if I wasn't 100% right, I was probably close. I mean, it was weird seeing Sajocchi, who was always running at full throttle, running out of gas like this.
"...Try putting yourself in the shoes of the only guy invited to a girls' get-together."
Sajocchi hung his head as if breathing out his fatigue with a sigh, his body going limp. It was like his facade had slipped off; that somewhat cool expression he’d been wearing vanished.
"Aah!? Isn't that a total luxury, getting to hang out at a cute high school girl's house?"
If that was the real reason, that’s a point deduction, Sajocchi! It’s hard on girls to meet up with guys after club activities, too! Ah, but he had that "I messed up" look on his face... I liked that about him, but... could he talk a bit more honestly? If it were the usual Sajocchi, that definitely wouldn't be the reason, right?
"I-I didn't mean to..."
"Ah, no, well... don't worry about it; that's not the root cause. I was already feeling a bit out of it before Ashida even invited me."
"Wait, really?"
That was unexpected. I thought just keeping up his guard around all of us was a lot, but there was more? How surprising. I hadn’t considered that possibility.
"And here I thought Sajocchi didn't have any worries."
"I don't want to hear that from you, Ashida."
Hmph, how rude. I have worries too, you know? Well, it’s not like I had many I could talk to guys about... Ah, but not being able to study was a real worry. Especially Modern Japanese? I could read the feelings of Aichi and Sajocchi just fine, so why did I even need to study that!
While I was thinking that, Sajocchi also put on a miffed face.
"I told you, I've got a worry or two myself."
"Like what?"
"What happened?"
"Eh."
To my surprise, Aichi reacted too. Being questioned by both of us at once, Sajocchi was at a loss for words, looking taken aback. He was totally losing his composure. Hilarious.
"N-No? It's not really something worth telling you two, I guess?"
"Is it... something you can't tell us?"
"No, well..."
His eyes darted around restlessly. Was there some kind of secret behind it all? Just as I was thinking that, Aichi pressed him even further. Nice, Aichi, keep it up! Attack him with that "I'm interested in you" vibe!
...Hm? Wait.
Ah. No, wait a sec. This vague way he was dodging... could it be the kind of thing you can't tell girls?
"...I think you'd be totally repulsed if I told you..."
I knew it! This was a "guy thing"! Something we shouldn't ask about! I didn't think it was the kind of thing he could talk to us about. Stop, Aichi! Don't grill him! I didn't want to hear it either!
"Well, if you don't want to say it that badly—"
"W-We might be able to give you some advice, you know?"
Wait, Aichi!? That’s impossible! I don't have that kind of knowledge, or rather... No! Wait... I wonder!? I mean, even if he consulted us, what were we supposed to say back!? Was it even okay to talk about that kind of stuff seriously with a guy!?
"...No, this is my problem after all—"
"T-Tell us!"
"!!?"
T-This was bad! Aichi was getting all fired up like this was her big chance! Her eyes said she wasn't backing down! Because she was being so dead serious, Sajocchi was starting to look like, "Well, if you're going to listen that seriously..." No, no, sorry, but you should handle that yourself—
"I-If you're going to go that far..."
Sajocchiiii!!?
Calm down! Look over here! Academic ability aside, I’m confident I have more common sense than these two! Was that really something you should tell girls!? Wouldn't it be the kind of thing where I'd have to look at Sajocchi through a certain lens from now on!? I didn’t want that!
"So, I wanted to ask for advice—"
I'm going to despise you, okay!? Are you sure about this!? It’s not just me and Aichi here, Ai-chan’s here too!! Anyway, I'm not listening! I'm covering my ears, so Aichi, I'm leaving the rest to you! I don't care what happens!
...
...W-What kind of worry—
"I made a girl do a dogeza at my part-time job..."
""What are you doing!!?""
Ai-chan woke up.
"Fueh...!?"