The next morning, the doorbell rang at a reasonably early hour.
Hayashi, whom I’d been in the middle of a spat with until just a moment ago, headed toward the entrance. I heard the sound of the door swinging open.
"Megu!"
The visitor was Kasahara.
Yesterday, by some fluke, the fact that Hayashi makes my meals every day had been exposed. It seemed Kasahara had managed to secure a promise from Hayashi to serve her breakfast directly.
"It’s a nuisance to stand around talking at the door," I heard Hayashi’s chilly voice say.
Exactly, I thought.
The sound of the door closing followed.
"Megu, if you’re making meals, you should have told me!"
"Are you really going to interrogate me right here? Besides, didn’t we talk about this before?"
"I heard you could cook, but I didn't hear you were doing it every single day!"
"Why are you even mad?"
Still, what was this? It felt like I was eavesdropping on girl talk, which was a bit unpleasant.
"Anyway, hurry up and eat your breakfast. You’ll be late for university."
"Ahaha. Megu, you sound just like a mother."
"Shut it."
The pitter-patter of their footsteps told me the two of them were heading this way.
"Good morning, Yamamoto-kun."
"Morning."
"You’re actually awake this early. How impressive."
"Don't be stupid. Who do you think I am?"
"True. You are Yamamoto-kun, after all."
"Exactly."
"Don’t act so smug just because you wake up early for no reason," Hayashi chimed in from the kitchen.
I decided not to reply.
Kasahara looked back and forth between us, clearly caught in the middle.
"Are you guys having a fight, by any chance?"
"I don't personally consider this a fight."
"Neither do I."
"Then there's no need to be so prickly, is there?"
"Huh? You’re the one who’s always saying such arrogant things!" Hayashi snapped.
"No, you’re definitely fighting."
For some reason, Kasahara seemed a bit amused.
"What started it?"
"We’re not even having an argument, though?" I said.
"Yamamoto-kun."
"……Well, if this looks like an argument to you, then the cause is what happened yesterday."
"You’re way too soft on Akari," Hayashi’s voice sounded exasperated.
"……Ah."
Kasahara seemed to understand.
Yesterday's incident.
It was something I'd consulted with Kasahara about as well, but yesterday, I’d made a promise to Hayashi. The condition was that I had to talk to someone—anyone—at my university.
"Actually, after I talked to you, I managed to fulfill that promise."
"Eh, really? What kind of conversation was it?"
"Heh heh heh. Actually... a handkerchief caught in the wind fell at my feet, so I picked it up, called out to her, and handed it back. She even thanked me."
Kasahara stood there, mouth agape.
"What do you think, Akari?"
"Eh? Ah—well, it sounds kind of fake."
Kasahara seemed to realize something.
"So, you two are bickering over whether that promise was a lie or not?"
"Nope."
"Wrong."
"Eh, it’s not that?"
"Because Yamamoto doesn't lie, you know," Hayashi said firmly.
"Th-the trust is so deep...!"
"What I’m actually pissed about is that even though he went to the trouble of fulfilling the promise, he started saying he doesn't need a reward."
"It's only natural when I consider your financial situation," I countered.
"And on top of that, he starts saying we should organize the cleaning tools that were supposed to be the penalty game!"
"The cleaning tools are piling up, so it can't be helped!"
"Yes it can!"
"Do you two always bicker over such tedious things when you're alone?" Kasahara asked.
"Hey now, tedious!? This is an important matter."
"Exactly. I can't agree with that even if it's coming from Akari."
"Ugh, how bothersome."
Kasahara was clearly fed up.
Halting our exchange for a moment, we began eating the breakfast Hayashi had prepared.
After a while, the conversation resumed.
"I think I get the gist of it now. But you both are so incredibly stubborn that if you keep this up, you'll never reach a decision, you know?"
The catalyst for our silence was Kasahara's sudden burst of sound logic.
"Hmm."
"True."
I hadn't realized it while the blood was rushing to my head during the argument, but she was absolutely right.
The conversation between the two of us was just running in parallel lines.
In that case, should we rely on a third party's opinion?
"What do you think, Kasahara?"
"Yeah. Tell us, Akari."
"Eh...?"
Kasahara let out a long groan. "Hmmmm..."
"Kasahara...?"
"Akari...?"
"Honestly? I don't really care."
Kasahara gave a weary, wry smile.