Episode 31: The Man Who's Having The Worst Time

(Note: I read as I translate like you guys, no ahead information for me, so avoid spoiling in the comments thanks!)

 

"Hey, Kaito..."

"...What is it?"

When Saijo-san whispered to me, I whispered back.

We were currently eating lunch on a bench in the courtyard during our lunch break.

But we're not the only ones eating lunch here right now.

"Umm... Hey, why is Momoi's little sister puffing out her cheeks while she eats? Is it because I'm here?"

"No, she's been like that since this morning, so I don't think you have anything to do with it..."

Yes— Saijo, Sakura-chan, and I are all eating lunch together.

Usually, Sakura-chan and I always ate our lunches here by ourselves, but today Saijo came along with us.

Still, this isn't the first time it happened.

Saijo has been eating with us for several days now.

Well, as usual, Sakura-chan is wary of Saijo, but as for me, I'm pleased because Sakura-chan sticks to me and won't leave me.

—It's a lie. Rather, her clinging to me is troublesome.

The reason being that, is her breasts are touching me.

It's really bad for my heart.

But, for some reason, she was already in a bad mood when I woke up this morning.

She hasn't complained about anything, but her cheeks are constantly puffed up.

... Just between you and me, I've been tempted to poke them for a while now.

"For now, do something about it... She doesn't even take me seriously when I talk to her."

"Well, that's easy for you to say... This girl has landmines that I don't even understand time-to-time, and it's dangerous especially if she's already in a bad mood like this so I don't want to talk to her either..."

Yes, Sakura-chan is usually a good girl-- She's basically cute like an angel, but sometimes when I step on a landmine, she becomes very scary.

She doesn't look like a demon, but her smiling face feels like it has sound effects making her look scary.

"...Onii-chan's a liar..."

"Eh?"

As we were whispering, Sakura-chan mumbled something.

"Even though he told me that we would play... He didn't invite me at all..."

"...Ah."

I see, that time when I made Sakura-chan angry, I promised to play with her!

T-This is bad.

It seems that Sakura-chan hates it the most when people break their promises.

Also, I heard that her anger is proportional to how much she was anticipating it, and I'm sure she's looking forward to it so much because I promised to play with her next time...

Th-think properly...

If I don't make a good excuse here, it will become an outrageous crisis...

"This is the third time already. Also, Sakura hates liars."

... I'm screwed.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan! How about this Sunday!?"

I said that on the spur of the moment.

W-well, if it's only for a day, I guess I can do something about it.

No wait, I don't have any decent clothes, so I'll buy some on the day before that...

In other words, two days are wasted.

Although it's completed to some extent, I guess I'll have to pull up an all-nighter.

"...The next time you break your promise, I won't talk to Onii-chan anymore..."

"I'll keep that in mind..."

I said that to Sakura-chan, who puffed out her cheeks and pouted her lips, as I broke out in a cold sweat.

"Then, I forgive you."

Sakura-chan smiled as she said that.

...Buddha's face is three times... Next time, this smile will be as amazing... (TLN: For those who did not understand this, it means that Buddha's face is merciful and three times better than the current smile Sakura-chan has but the MC stated he wants Sakura's smile to be as amazing as the Buddha's)

*tugs---

Hmm?

As I was shivering alone at Sakura-chan's smile, she tugged at the sleeves of my clothes and looked at me.

For some reason, I saw Saijo with an expectant smile on her face...

"So Sakura-chan, where do you want to go?"

I pretend I didn't see anything and called out to Sakura-chan.

"Wait a minute!"

I unwillingly looked at Saijo who let out a screaming voice.

"What is it...?"

"Isn't this strange? You haven't changed from the way you treated me before!"

"But, you didn't tell me to change though?"

I tilted my head at Saijo's words, wondering what she was talking about.

"That's just cruel, you fraud! I would like to object!"

Saijo says it again in a theatrical way and leans forward.

She's close...

I mean, what fraud?

No, yeah, I know I sounded confusing, but all I said was that I wouldn't mind her being around me if she wanted to, and I didn't say anything about being nice to her.

"Don't be stupid, let's just eat."

When I said that, Saijo smirked.

Ah... It looks like she came up with something troubling that I don't want...

"Hey Momoi's little sister, Kaito told me I could stay with him as long as I wanted to, but he's treating me like this. What do you think of this?"

After saying that, Saijo approached Sakura-chan with a sad expression on her face.

Huh?

What's she doing telling Sakura-chan about this?

Gyuuuuuuuu! (TLN: It means squeezing, should I leave it like that or change it to squeeze? Respond in the comment please thanks!)

... Ah, I don't want this anymore...

"S-Sakura-chan, you're hurting Onii-chan...?"

I said so and called out fearfully to Sakura-chan, who is hugging me on my right arm.

To be honest, Sakura-chan's strength is weak that it doesn't hurt at all, but there's something very soft against my arm, making me feel very guilty.

"Fufu, Onii-chan, didn't I tell you and Onee-chan to not say anything that sounds suggestive, but it looks like you haven't reflected on it one bit."

Then Sakura-chan looked up at me with a smile.

Of course, with a menacing atmosphere around her.

"Sakura-chan, there's a reason for this..."

"---Onii-chan's a playboy."

When I spoke up, Sakura-chan immediately cut me off.

... What should I do? Because of this damn blonde gal, my image is plummeting in Sakura-chan's mind...

I took my gaze off for the moment and looked at Saijo.

"So what's the deal?"

I looked at the blonde-haired gal who is dying to complain.

"Ah, you're still acting like that? Hey, Momoi's little sister..."

"Okaaaaaaaay--- Let's hear what she has to say!"

I changed my attitude to one listening of Saijo, as she was about to say something unnecessary to Sakura-chan.

Sakura-chan looked at us with a suspicious expression.

"I want to play with Kaito too!"

Saijo leaned forward again as she said that.

"... Well, that's just too bad. If it wasn't for you, I might have been able to play with you, but I earned the title of a womanizer in Sakura-chan's mind. That's why I can't play with you in order not to ruin my reputation further."

I grinned back at her, trying to get back at her for what she had just done.

"You definitely don't mean that, do you? That smile pisses me off!"

I give a triumphant smile to Saijo as she shouts this.

"Onii-chan's the worst..."

Sakura-chan muttered.

...I messed up...

That's right, that's what people think of you when you act like this...

"Sakura-chan, this is just a joke between the two of us, it's not serious, okay?"

"So you'll play with me, right?"

Saijo who heard my words told me so.

So... Which one is the correct choice?

If I refuse Saijo here, Sakura-chan will call me a jerk, but if I agree to play with her, I'm going to be labeled as a womanizer... Yep, I'm completely screwed!

Both of these options are out!

There's no right answer!

In the end---

"Fine, I agree. However, I'm fully booked this month, so you'll have to wait until next month..."

--I replied.

He decided it was better to be called a womanizer than being the worst.

Incidentally, the tightness of Sakura-chan's clinging became stronger, but I decided not to pay attention to it anymore.

It's because I felt that it would be a lose-lose situation if I paid attention to it...

"Hurray! Well then, the Tanatabata day on July 7th should be good!"

Tanabata huh...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I didn't have anything planned.

"Yeah, okay, all good."

"Woah-- thank you!"

I nodded back at Saijo and she smiled happily as she thanked me.

"Oh-- That day is..."

"Is?"

After I answered Saijo, Sakura-chan somehow looked up at me and muttered.

Sakura-chan shifted her gaze towards Saijo.

I followed suit, and also looked at Saijo.

Saijo looked very happy as she ate her lunch.

"No, it's nothing."

Then, Sakura-chan shook her head.

Did something happen?

But well, she said it's nothing, so I assume it's okay.

After that, I was sandwiched between Saijo, who looked happy eating her lunch, and Sakura-chan, who was eating her lunch with a reluctant look on her face.

Part 2

"Hey, umm, do you have a minute?"

As I was working on a program in my room, Momoi, who was reading a novel beside me, approached me.

"You know, we promised to hang out before, right?"

"Yeah, we did."

I nodded at Momoi's words.

When I remembered that I had a promise to play with Sakura-chan during my lunch break today, I also remembered Momoi.

So I knew that we would probably be talking about it soon.

Well, I didn't expect her to be talking about it today though...

"Do you think we could have Tanabata day as the playdate?"

Momoi asked me with a very sweet smile that seemed to be filled with anticipation.

Tanabata huh...

I already made a promise to Saijo.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I have a prior arrangement."

"Eh...?"

When I said that, the smile disappeared from Momoi's face.

"Could it be... with Saijo-san...?"

I thought about whether or not to be honest, but soon nodded my head in agreement, figuring it would be better than being found out later.

"Is that so..."

Momoi muttered, then stood up and walked to the door.

... I did a bad thing, didn't I...?

Well, but, Saijo requested first, I can't say no now...

"Can't we do it, in another day?"

I asked Momoi, who walked dejectedly towards the door.

If Momoi says we can do it in another day, I'm going to clear my schedule.

But Momoi answered my question with--

"I don't want to play anymore!"

--And she refused, yelling at me with tears streaming down her face.

"Eh?"

I couldn't hide my surprise at Momoi's attitude and expression.

... Eh, why is she crying so hard...?

Sure, Tanabata is popular with couples, so much that it's called the Christmas of summer, but it's not something you will need to go that far with...?

I don't know why...

Or was there something unrelated to Tanabata?

... Come to think of it, I think I once heard that July 7th is a day for something other than Tanabata when I was arguing with Momoi...

What day did she say it was again...?

"---!"

Oh shit, July 7th is Momoi's birthday!

That's why she was so angry!

I hurriedly left the room and went in front of Momoi's room.

"Sorry, Momoi! I'll turn down Saijo's request, so let's play on July 7th!"

I called out to Momoi from the doorway in a loud voice so that she could hear me.

"I don't care! I don't care! That's enough! Why don't you go play with Saijo-san on your own!"

"Sorry... I forgot that it was Momoi's birthday..."

"--! You're the worst! I hate you so much! I don't even want to see your face! Get out of here!"

"Momoi..."

...I'm so stupid...

Why did I honestly say I forgot her birthday?

It's no wonder Momoi is so upset about this...

I've hurt her even more...

I continued to apologize, but Momoi didn't accept it.

Part 3

"Good morning..."

"Ah-- Good morning, Onii-chan... What's wrong?"

Sakura-chan, who saw my face, looked at me with concern.

"Ah, no, it's just that I've been working until late and haven't been getting enough sleep..."

I quickly lied to Sakura-chan about it.

...No, I'm not lying about the lack of sleep...

In the end, I couldn't stop thinking about Momoi.

"I see... Take care not to get sick, okay? Onee-chan sent me a message today saying she was taking a day off due to cold today."

... That girl, she's going to skip school...

If I'm not mistaken, doesn't she have a perfect attendance award?

At least, she hasn't missed a single day of school since she started to live with me.

"I'm sorry, I'll go take a look at her."

"Wait!"

As I was about to go to Momoi's room, Sakura-chan pulled on my arm.

I looked towards Sakura-chan.

But then Sakura-chan shook her head.

"I think you should leave her alone for now..."

The way she put it, Sakura-chan looked as if she knew...

"Did you overhear us?"

"Yes... That's why, leave her alone for now."

Sakura-chan then laughed with a troubled look on her face.

... If this child says so, I have no choice but to do so...

For the time being, let's apologize to Saijo and ask her to shift the schedule...

Part 4

"Ahh... You've really done it..."

As soon as I arrived at school, I approached Saijo and told her in a secluded place that Tanabata was Momoi's birthday and that I wanted to move the date of our playdate.

"I know it's selfish of me, but can you do me a favor?"

At that time, when it was decided that the day would be on Tanabata, Saijo looked very happy.

Which is why, it hurts my heart to ask like this.

But right now, I have to prioritize Momoi...

Saijo scratched her cheek as if troubled, and looked me in the eye.

"Yeah, it's okay. You can't help it if that's the reason... I see, Momoi was the same..."

I couldn't hear what she said in the second half, but Saijo was OK with it.

"Thank you. Also, when would you like to play?"

I thanked Saijo and confirmed the date of my next appointment.

As expected, if this happens, I should be the one to ask for the schedule...

"Well then, the week after Tanebata is fine."

Saijo smiled as she said that.

Don't you care much that it's not Tanabata anymore?

I thought about it and looked at Saijo's face. Her gaze shifted from me and didn't notice that I was looking at her in which for a moment she had a dark expression on her face.

... I'm really sorry Saijo...

At the very least, I should let her have fun as much as she wants when I play with her next time.

"Hey, Kaito..."

"What's up?"

"You know-- I'm just giving the time to Momoi for now, but I won't give up on you Kaito, no matter how much you love Momoi!"

Saijo said with a smile and walked towards the classroom.

I can't comprehend what she's misunderstanding.

Ah--- Rather, she doesn't know we're family now.

Momoi probably wanted to play with her sibling since it was her birthday.

And yet, she was angry because I forgot her birthday and replaced it with a different appointment.

Maybe, Sakura-chan is calling out on Momoi.

Even so, it's not good I couldn't sleep at all today despite being sleep-deprived lately...

The program is already somewhat complete, but I'm afraid I'll make some uncharacteristic mistakes due to lack of sleep...

Let's sleep in the infirmary room today...

After that, the question is how I'll make up with Momoi, right?

It's not good to rely on Saijo anymore, and Sakura-chan told me to leave her alone...

I haven't been able to get in touch with her in a while, so I'm going to try contacting her and asking her about it...

That young woman, she'll probably listen to me seriously.

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