Episode 110: Friends’ Observations Part 2

「Man, that was fun.」

「It’s true that it was fun, but you were a bit too high-spirited, Yuzuki-san.」

It was night, and I had called Tachibana-kun.

It was a summary of today, in a way… though really, I just wanted to enjoy the lingering excitement.

「How did those two look to you?」

「Well, I’d heard things from Kazunari, but I didn’t think they’d progressed that far.」

Even when I saw them at the shopping mall last time, they were unfolding a world of just the two of them, but there was one thing decisively different this time. That was Sara.

Back then, Sara already had feelings, but she looked at Takanashi-kun as an especially close friend. So, while they had a good atmosphere, what showed on her face was joy and fun.

But this time was different.

I noticed it and impulsively jumped in because I was so happy for her (it wasn’t that I was just annoyed by the stupid couple, okay?), but Sara’s expression was clearly filled with「bliss.」

As a maiden myself, I can tell.

The look Sara had while gazing at Takanashi-kun was, any way you looked at it, the face of a maiden in love.

In other words, I think Sara has finally come to understand the difference between a best friend and a lover in her heart, at least to some extent.

A while ago, Sara was crying from the pain of jealousy, but now she’s feeling happiness just by being with Takanashi-kun.

It feels like we can finally have a real girl-talk about love next time.

「Sara’s growth is remarkable; it’s fun to watch.」

「If you’re going to say that, then Kazunari too… the guy who used to say he didn’t care about himself as long as Satsukawa-san was fine is now doing his best to act with awareness.」

They were already like a couple to begin with, so they turned into a stupid couple in no time.

「I think Sara is fine now. She’ll eventually experience the parts she’s still missing.」

「Kazunari is fine too. It seems like the school stuff is resolved, so all that’s left is for him to seal the deal.」

All that’s left is when Takanashi-kun will confess again. I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten, but they’ve become so much like a couple that I’m scared they might just stay like this out of inertia.

「By the way… Yuzuki-san, you were really torn into, but is Satsukawa-san that scary? I’ve only seen her flirting with Kazunari, so I can’t imagine it.」

…Stop, don’t make me remember.

「Natsumi, I understand very well the feeling of wanting to be excited and have fun because we came to a resort pool like this. That is only natural. However, I should have told you from the start. Takanashi-san’s injury has not healed, so we will not let him overexert himself, nor will we let him do anything dangerous. I understood well enough that Kazunari-san himself truly wanted to have fun as well. Even so, he listened to my opinion and chose to endure it with me. I felt so sorry for Kazunari-san as he watched you all frolicking and playing from behind that, if I weren’t in a swimsuit, I would have wanted to hug and comfort him, yet without knowing our feelings, you went and… (omitted)… if his wrist had worsened because of that, all of Kazunari-san’s efforts until now would have gone to waste! Were you about to ruin all the hard work Kazunari-san did to endure and stay patient even after coming all the way to the pool with your reckless behavior? If you are going to be high-spirited, at least do it in a way that doesn’t trouble Kazunari-san… (rest omitted)」

It was brutal…

That was the first time in my life I’ve been given such a long lecture.

Or rather, Sara loves Takanashi-kun way too much…

「…Sara is only soft on Takanashi-kun. Tachibana-kun, you’re somewhat privileged as a friend of Takanashi-kun, but without that factor, she wouldn’t even deal with you properly.」

「Is that so… I can’t really imagine it.」

Well, Tachibana-kun is someone we’ll be hanging out with from now on, so he’ll probably see it eventually.

「Sigh… Sara has really pulled ahead of me.」

「I feel like Kazunari has left me behind too.」

It was beyond unexpected that the first person around me to get a boyfriend would be Sara, who used to have such a complex about hating men.

Come to think of it, what about Tachibana-kun?

「Hey… come to think of it, I’ve never asked, but do you have a girlfriend, Tachibana-kun?」

「I don’t have one right now. Between us, I dated someone for a little bit before, but we broke up right away.」

「Heh… was she not what you expected?」

「It might be rude to say this, but it wasn’t fun. I like someone I can have a casual and fun time with.」

Ah, I can understand that.

It’s gotta be fun, after all.

On the other hand, Takanashi-kun and Sara are the type who are happy just being together, so even silence isn’t a burden for them.

「What about you, Yuzuki-san… or rather, is there someone?」

「I’d like someone fun too… if I had a person like that, I would have brought them to the pool this time.」

「I see, so you’re the same, Yuzuki-san.」

…………

Wh-what’s with this silence.

「A-anyway, I think they’re fine now, but those two are a handful, so let’s keep watching over them until they officially become lovers!」

「Y-yes, no objections here!」

Those two will probably be fine, but it’s fun to watch, so I think I’ll play the meddler just a little while longer~