Lonely Me and the Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 80

“Oh! Takanashi-kun is stunned! Is it possible that he drew a difficult subject?”

This subject should have been easy for others, but for me, it’s a very challenging task…

Especially since Yuji is not here.

Also, Sara-senpai and Natsumi-senpai are not of the same gender.

“Kazunari! Is it difficult!?”

Yokogawa?

What about… that guy?

Like the 200m dash, Yokogawa came to the nearby cheering area.

From his expression, I could tell he truly cared about me.

Besides…

I didn’t ask him for support, but he sent me cues and cheered me on.

Even now, he’s worried about me and calling out like this.

Indeed, there’s a lot to think about concerning Natsumi-senpai.

But at the very least, he didn’t hide it and told it to me honestly.

Since then, he’s gotten involved with me even if I didn’t say anything.

Maybe it’s because we both struggled concerning friendships that I understand how he feels…

Most of all, it doesn’t feel bad.

Also, he’s the first person to ask me to be his friend…

Thus, I approached Yokogawa.

“Kazunari? Is there anything I can do for you…?”

“Come with me!”

I grabbed Yokogawa’s arm and started running.

According to the rules, when you bring a subject, you have to be in contact with them.

“Roger~!”

Without asking me anything, he started to run.

It was concerning that a few girls were looking at us weirdly for some reason, but we made it to the finish line without incident.

We didn’t take first place, but third place was high enough.

The attendant checked my subject and read it aloud at the finish line using a microphone.

“A close friend of the same gender!”

It was embarrassing to hear it aloud.

Yokogawa looked surprised.

Well, it’s only natural.

I felt awkward, so I decided to call out to him first.

“Well, thank you… Hayato.”

Upon hearing my words, Hayato grinned.

“No problem, Kazunari!”

Then Hayato energetically crossed his shoulders with mine and, when the attendant saw it, gave the OK signal.

And that’s how I made my first male friend at this school.

“””Kyah! !”””

Loud noises erupted from the girls. But they don’t seem to be screaming in disgust.

——————————————

He linked arms with Takanashi-kun…

Except for the boys in the student council, I don’t remember most of the boys’ faces.

Many men approached me even though I didn’t know them, so there’s no reason to remember each and every one of them.

But I do remember him.

I’ve seen him talking to Mr. Takanashi a lot recently.

To be honest, I thought that Takanashi-san’s close friend would be a little more on the serious side…

No! Don’t think like this, Sara! This is for Takanashi-san to decide.

The important thing is that Takanashi-san has made friends.

Takanashi-san has not been blessed with good classmates, and plus, I have never seen him with a male friend at school.

That’s why I’m very happy for him.

Congratulations… Takanashi-san.

——————————————

It was lunch break, and I was on my way to the flower garden.

I had considered inviting Hayato, but Sara-senpai might not like the idea. Plus, I didn’t like the idea of him using me to get close to Natsumi-senpai. And I decided I won’t be doing that in the future.

So I came here alone…

There is a lady in front of me.

She is probably in her 20s and is quite beautiful.

At first, she looked at the flower garden, but then she turned her head towards me, perhaps sensing my presence or the sound of my footsteps.

When our eyes met, she smiled and bowed her head.

She was probably here to support a relative, but to see her at the flower garden…

I didn’t know what to say to her, so I got all flustered.

“Fufu… what seems to be the problem?”

She might have thought my appearance was amusing and decided to talk to me.

“N-No problem! I was just surprised because this is a place where not many people come!”

There was a sense of being reserved or perhaps a hint of mischievousness in how she spoke to me. That made me unintentionally nervous and thus, made me answer quickly.

“That’s true… This place has always been like this.”

That phrase implies that she has known this place for a long time.

Was she an alumnus, by any chance?

“I’m glad I came today. I’ve never seen her having such a good time. I still can’t believe she left the live coverage area without permission. I would never have thought she’d break a rule like that.”

Her? Live coverage?

Those two alone limit the number of people I can think of, and the only serious person I can think of who wouldn’t think of breaking the rules is Sara-senpai…

So this person should be Sara-senpai’s older sister. But Sara-senpai doesn’t have one.

“Excuse me. You’re Sara-senpai’s older sister… right? I wasn’t told that she has an older sister.”

“Ara~ ara~, what a good child. I’m sorry that my little sister didn’t explain it well. Takanashi-san, thank you for always taking care of Sara.”

Sara-senpai’s older sister greeted me politely.

“Ah! Excuse me! I am Kazunari Takanashi. No worries! I’m always indebted to Sara-senpai…”

“No, the pleasure is all ours. Since Sara met Takanashi-san, she has really brightened up. She said going to school every day is fun.”

With a smile, she approached me very closely.

Then, she wrapped her hands around mine.

“I can’t thank you enough, Takanashi-san. No words can ever express my gratitude. Please take care of Sara for the rest of her life.”

She smiled and pulled my hands close to her chest as she said this.

I froze involuntarily, probably because of being embarrassed or shy. Still, the older sister looked at me and gave me a mischievous look.

Am I perhaps… being teased?

But even if I am, there is nothing I could do about it…

“Takanashi-san, I’m sorry to keep you… waiting.”

Sara-senpai saw…

Instead, seeing this situation, she put on “that smile” for the first time in a long while.

“What are you doing… For starters, please let go of his hands, Mom!”

Mom?

… Mom!?