Chapter 87 – Amagi Ryuto’s Move (Part 2)

Time rewinds to yesterday afternoon. After Hiyori stepped out of the room, only Ryuto and Seto’s mother, Seto Hokawa, were left inside.

The air felt heavy. Ryuto was the first to speak.

“Auntie, can I ask you two questions?”

“Huh? Sure.”

She looked a bit puzzled, but Seto Hokawa still agreed.

“But before that, can you promise me one thing?”

“...What is it?”

“You have to tell me the truth. No holding back.”

“...That’s not a problem.”

After a brief pause, Ryuto spoke again.

“Then, first question: how do you think Seto Saori sees you?”

“This...”

Seto Hokawa hesitated, but still opened her mouth, probably remembering what she’d just promised.

“Maybe that kid does feel a bit troubled by me...”

The answer was vague, but Ryuto had gotten what he wanted. He didn’t press further.

“Then, second question. What do you think about this whole theft incident at school?”

“Huh? What do you mean? Didn’t the school say...”

Seto Hokawa’s face was full of shock. Maybe she realized something, because the rest of her words never came out.

Ryuto just said calmly:

“Auntie, this might sound rude but... if even her own parents don’t believe her, who do you expect her to trust?”

“...”

He was right. She’d never questioned it. Just because the school said it was her kid, she’d taken it as a matter of course, without the slightest doubt.

Silence wrapped around the room again, while Ryuto remained strangely composed.

“Saori will probably come again tomorrow. I hope you can talk to her properly. That girl’s really bad at expressing herself.”

With that, Ryuto bowed, then opened the door and left.

**************************************************

“To be honest, needing a kid to knock some sense into me as an adult is pretty embarrassing. Thinking about it now, that whole clarification about the theft incident probably has a lot to do with him too.”

Seto Hokawa sighed with a helpless look.

“That kid... always doing unnecessary things.”

“Now that I think about it, what was his name again? Inoue? Or Eguchi?”

“It’s Amagi Ryuto.”

Saori answered with a helpless sigh.

“Oh, right, Amagi Ryuto. Huh? Saori, you remember it pretty clearly. Don’t tell me you two are friends?”

“Ugh... we’re not friends!”

Saori denied it in a fluster.

“Then, could it be...?”

“Of course it’s not that kind of relationship either!”

She cut her off before her mother could finish.

“I haven’t even said anything yet. Why are you so worked up? That’s rare for you... Anyway, if there’s nothing between you, why would that kid go this far?”

“Who knows. Arashikaze Senpai did ask him to give her an answer, but normally people would just brush it off, right? Who would go this far? It’s probably, um... definitely because that guy’s a complete idiot.”

Somehow, Saori’s muttering turned into her yelling in agitation.

“Hmm... an idiot, huh? That’s one way to put it. But I don’t dislike that kind of idiot. Actually, it’s the opposite— I kind of, no, I really like that kind of idiot. That girl next to him is a threat, but... our Saori’s not bad either. So, Saori, you’ve gotta work hard from now on!”

Faced with her mother’s cheer, Saori panicked and shouted back.

“Work hard at what?! Don’t say weird things!”