While I was finishing breakfast, the trio of beauties plus Tanaka suddenly swarmed my living room.
It was only 8:20 AM.
According to Rui, the meeting time was supposed to be 9:00, but these girls were clearly too restless to wait.
"I’m taking Ryouta’s sausage!"
"Ah—"
Before I could react, Airi snatched the side dish right off my plate.
"Mmm... so yummy!"
(S-She just took my sausage in one bite...)
Watching Airi mouth the sausage sent a flurry of wicked delusions rushing through my head.
"Airi, stop it. That’s bad manners," Yuria scolded.
"Do you want one too, Yuria? There’s one more left."
"No, I’m good. If I eat it, Ryouta won't have any breakfast left, right?" Yuria looked at my plate with an exasperated expression. "Anyway, did you make this, Rui? And what’s with the apron?"
"Cute, isn't it? Ryouta-kun's mother has Sepak Takraw today, so I made breakfast for the Izumiya family."
"Seriously? Rui, just how close have you gotten with his family?"
"Eh? We’re friends, so I think it’s only natural."
Under normal circumstances, you don't just show up and cook breakfast at a friend's house.
"Forget about that! Hurry up and eat, Ryouta! Let’s get to the pool!" Airi urged.
"Alright, alright, I get it."
Rushed by Airi, I shoveled down the rest of my meal. I started to head off to get ready, but—
"Wait a moment, Ryouta-kun."
"Hmm?"
"I’ve already packed your swimsuit and bath towel in this bag. Here you go."
Rui pulled a bag out from nowhere and handed it to me. Apparently, she had prepared everything in advance.
(Rui is so attentive it’s almost scary... But wait, I’m a total loner. I shouldn't even own a swimsuit other than the one I use for school gym class...)
Suspicious, I peeked inside the bag and found a pair of stylish, patterned trunks that looked like trendy lounge pants.
"I figured you wouldn't own a proper swimsuit, so I bought one for you. I’ll just deduct the cost from the money for 'that stuff' from earlier, okay?"
This girl... she was many times more "capable" than I had imagined.
This was bad. At this rate, I was going to become completely dependent on Rui.
"Hehe..."
Rui gave me a triumphant little smile, looking quite pleased with herself.
Once we were all set, we headed out.
As we left the house, Rui naturally started locking the door behind us. I decided that questioning it was a waste of time and just started walking.
"So, where exactly are we going today?"
"The massive leisure pool in the next town!" Airi chirped.
"Wait, what? That place is expensive. Wouldn't the local city pool be fine?"
"Ryouta, are you serious?" Yuria asked. "A pool without water slides is just boring."
"Exactly! Airi wants to go down the water slide with Ryouta!"
"Me... with Airi... on a water slide?"
The chance to have those massive breasts legally pressed against my back... What an incredible stroke of luck. No, it was a godsend.
I basked in the pure joy of imagining her chest hitting my back, a sensation I had only just experienced two days ago.
"Alright, the leisure pool it is. Water slides are the only way to go."
The moment the words left my mouth, Yuria and Rui both pinched my arms with everything they had.
"Ryouta, your ulterior motives are showing," Yuria muttered.
"Ryouta-kun, you'll be riding with me, understood? With flat-chested me."
Guh... these girls... they had a total read on my thoughts.
Besides, when a loner like me goes to a place crawling with extroverts like a major water park, the only things to do are stare at Rui’s midriff, Airi’s massive breasts, or Yuria’s thick thighs anyway.
In the end, we proceeded toward the station to catch a train to the next town.
(That aside...)
The trio of beauties walked ahead of me, discussing the best way to get to the park. I took the opportunity to look back.
"Hey, Tanaka. You’ve been acting like a ghost this whole time. You okay?"
"Wh-What do you mean, a ghost?! I’m right here! Following in everyone's shadow!"
"Why have you been so quiet? It’s not like you."
"I-I mean... for a female loner like me, if I haven't talked to someone in over a week, I start to feel awkward around them. It's a natural instinct."
Her loner traits were off the charts. Even I wasn't that bad. Still, I knew Tanaka would struggle with this, so I figured I should offer her a little support.
"You’re actually dressed up a bit today, aren't you? You never wore things like that white one-piece dress back in junior high."
"Sh-Shut up! Even for a loner like me, the era of wearing tracksuits as casual wear is over!"
It was true... back in junior high, whenever Tanaka came over to my house, she was always wearing a tracksuit that made her look like a delinquent teacher from an old drama. Since she actually looked a bit like that character, the resemblance was uncanny.
I shouldn't laugh, though. Until junior high, I basically lived in tracksuits too, so I never really minded.
"I realized... that wearing tracksuits everywhere was lame, so I made an effort. Sure, I don't have the fashion sense of those three walking in front of us, and my body doesn't have any... standout features, but..."
Tanaka glanced at the others and placed a hand over her flat chest. She was unusually nervous today. I suppose from a girl's perspective, being compared to those three would be enough to make anyone feel insecure.
"Don't let it get to you, Tanaka. You’re the one always saying there’s definitely a market for lolicons and the glasses-girl fetishists."
"I-I never said that! I don't think about things like that! And what even is a 'glasses-girl fetishist' anyway?!"
As expected, Tanaka snapped at my half-joke.
"There we go. That’s the Tanaka I know."
"...Sh-Shut up! Anyway, as long as Ryouta-kun praises me... that's enough for me."
"Me? Oh. Yeah, I guess so."
"Eh...?"
"When you’re as much of a loner as I am, you develop a discerning eye for beautiful girls. If I’m praising you, you'll have other guys hooked in no time."
"...Sigh."
For some reason, Tanaka let out a heavy sigh.
"Wh-What was that for?!"
"Right, right. Whatever you say, Virgin Ryouta-kun."
"Like you have any room to talk! You’ve never even been in a relationship!"
"I wonder about that. Unlike you, Ryouta-kun, I’ve actually been in love before."
"What...? I thought you were just into BL! Hey, wait, tell me everything!"