Episode 23: This Morning’s Goddess

Beep beep… beep beep…

I feel like… I slept well, but I’m still tired… Well, a lot really did happen yesterday.

Time to get up and get ready.

………

Come to think of it, Senpai sent me a RAIN message for the first time last night.

It was just confirming if I could come to the flower beds during lunch again starting today, but it made me happy because it meant it was okay for me to go.

We’d exchanged RAIN info before, but I never had a chance to use it, and I didn’t have the courage to send just a random message.

But the fact that Senpai sent one means that, at the very least, we’ve become close enough to message each other casually.

…It still hasn’t sunk in that I’m like that with the Goddess herself.

I glanced around on the way to school, but I guess Senpai isn’t here.

Since she mentioned seeing me and Mio-chan every now and then, I thought maybe I’d run into her…

I got to school, changed into my indoor shoes, and headed for the classroom.

I really don’t want to go in…

Even with things settled with Senpai, it doesn’t mean this class has improved.

My reasons for concern haven’t exactly vanished.

Rattle rattle rattle…

When I walked into the classroom, the guys who were usually making a ruckus seemed a bit quiet.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t heard their shouting even out in the hallway today… I just now realized it.

…Wait, these guys were connected to those idiots from yesterday.

Maybe something happened regarding that… not that I care.

While I was thinking about that, I felt like the hallway was actually getting noisier.

No, it’s not just my imagination… isn’t the hallway buzzing…?

Rattle rattle rattle

「Excuse me.」

!?

Senpai is here?!

She looks like she’s in a bad mood all of a sudden…

I watched her, thinking it might be because of those guys, but apparently not, because our eyes met.

The moment they did, she gave a happy smile.

Seeing that smile from the Senpai who never smiles… the destructive power is insane…

And then she walked straight over to me.

「Good morning, Takanashi-san.」

「G-Good morning, Senpai. What’s up? Did something happen?」

「No, I didn’t get to see you this morning, so I thought I’d come by to say hello before homeroom…」

「I-I see, sorry you had to come all this way.」

Ugh, everyone is staring at us… they’re even watching from the hallway…

I could see some guys who looked like they were being taken down by that smile.

The destructive power is too high… Senpai has probably almost never made a face like that at school before…

I mean, I’m starting to get taken down by it too.

「Fufu… is something the matter?」

Senpai, probably not noticing, tilted her head to the side.

Cute…

「N-No, it’s nothing! I was just happy that you came to see me, Senpai.」

「I’m sorry for barging in so suddenly. I didn’t really have any specific business, but… since I’m here, I wanted to see your face and talk… oh, and not that it’s an afterthought, but like I asked on RAIN yesterday, for lunch break…」

「Yes! That’s fine! We can talk about that later!」

I cut her off with enough force to keep her from saying another word.

This isn’t the place to talk about that, and I want to keep it a personal secret… in a lot of ways.

「…Whoa, did she just say RAIN?」

「…What is that? Why is he with the Goddess?」

「…The fan club isn’t going to stay quiet about this.」

「…I’ve never seen her smile like that. What the hell is going on?」

Ah, this is going to turn into something bad if this keeps up…

Wait, what fan club?

「Satsukawa-senpai! Good mornin’! Since you’re here, come over and talk with us…」

「Yeah, we’re lucky to see you this morning! The other guys are here too… over this way…」

Those idiots got carried away and spoke to Senpai.

The moment they did, the Senpai who was just smiling at me went right back to her usual expression…

Actually, she’s giving them a massive glare…

「…Can you not see that I am talking to Takanashi-san right now? Can you really not understand that you are being rude, even though you are high school students? It’s unpleasant.」

「No… well…」

「We were just…」

「I don’t see any reason why I should be spoken to so familiarly by complete strangers.」

This… I might have to stop her or it’ll get bad.

Those guys are exactly the type she hates most.

But did she used to be this harsh before…?

「Senpai, let’s stop. We’re going to run out of time. Just ignore them.」

「…I apologize. I just got carried away since I was interrupted while talking to Takanashi-san…」

「No, I’m happy you said that.」

「Takanashi-san…」

Senpai smiled at me properly again.

Considering the situation until the other day, it feels like a dream.

…Seeing Senpai smile must have made those guys think they had a chance…

「I’m sorry, Takanashi-san. As I thought, the obstacles around here are a nuisance, so I’ll see you again later.」

「Y-Yes. See you later then.」

She said “obstacles”… clearly…

「Well then, excuse me.」

With a smile and those words, Senpai left.

「「「「「………….」」」」」

The reason no one is talking to me is probably because they have no intention of getting involved with me, but I was saved this time.

I should probably have a talk with Senpai about what to do from now on…