We Are Not Dating『Yet』!! 66 (Patreon)

Secret

Yae and I are studying in the living room after coming back from the grave visiting. We have to do it whenever we can since we're now also exam students.

＜Ding-Dong＞

"It looks like somebody is here huh. I will go and get it"

"Nn, please"

Mina-san and Shigeo-san have not come back from shopping yet. Hence, dealing with guests that come is my duty. Yae is acquainted with everybody in this village as well, but it seems she finds it troublesome.

"Who is it, oh, Miyata-san"

"Huh, Kazunari-kun! It's been a while!!"

"Yes, it has been a while"

Miyata Yuika-san was over there when I opened the door. Back in middle school, she was a friend in the same school as Yae and me. It has probably been since the summer festival 2 years ago that we met and talked like this.

"You came back!"

"Yes, since it is Obon"

"I seeー!"

"So what is the matter?"

"I have a message from my father! He says today's summer festival is cancelled because of the rainー"

Miyata-san's father is this village's village chief. Since he is simultaneously also the person-in-charge for the festival, his daughter, Miyata-san, is probably running about relaying his decision.

"Is that so. It is a pity, but it cannot be helped huh. I will inform Yae's parents afterwards as well"

"Please do! Also, if Kazunari-kun is around, then Yae-chan is also around?"

"Yes, she is around. Do you want to come in if you have the time?"

"This is my last stop after all; I'll be coming in!"

Hence, I lead Miyata-san into the living room. The sight of Yae having a stareoff with the questionnaire is there when we peek into the living room.

"Kazu-kun, who is the gues――"

"Yae-chan!"

"Yuika!? Why are you here?"

"I just came to relay Otou-san's message! More importantly, how have you been recently?"

They say three women make noisy¹, but it is plenty boisterous if you just have the brimming-with-energy Miyata-san. Maybe because she got to meet Miyata-san for the first time in a while, it looks like Yae is also slightly hyped up.

"Miyata-san, here is some barley tea"

"Thanks!"

"Yae as well, here"

"Thanks"

We take a short break from studying and have fun chatting with the three of us. The topic is things that happened recently. We talked about the fun things in high school, and Miyata-san talked about the silly things that happened in the village. As I thought, maybe it is because we are meeting for the first time in a while, our conversation go on and on.

"By the way, is there somebody the two of you are dating currently?"

"I don't"

"I do not either. I was confessed to a couple of times, but I ended up rejecting them"

I realised I misspoke after I said that. I did not tell Miyata-san that I am living under the same roof as Yae. In other words, if I get asked the reason here, I will end up being at a loss for the answer.

But perhaps Miyata-san wasn't curious to that extent, she went 「hmーm」 and casually let it slide. As I'm patting my chest down, thinking, 'phew', Miyata-san mutters a single sentence.

"Do the two of you have someone you like then?"

I was asked the very last question the current me want to be asked, and I nearly spat the barley tea I was drinking. I say to myself, 'keep your cool', and give a neutral response.

"I do not"

"Isn't high school somewhere you enjoy your adolescence more? Is Kazunari-kun enjoying your adolescence?"

"I think romance is not all there is to adolescence though"

I did not think about romance to begin with because I am living with Yae. And then, recently, I have been thinking about nothing but my feelings towards Yae. Well, I do also understand what Miyata-san is saying though.

"For me......it's a secret"

It sure is rare for Yae to evade the subject huh. She will say it clearly that she does not if she does not after all. In other words, I wonder if she actually has someone she likes. I feel my heart tightening up when I think about that. I suppose it is probably because I lived with her until now that I did not notice it.

"I see huhー!"

"What's with those eyes"

"It's nothingー!"

"What about Yuika?"

"Me? I have a boyfriend, you know"

It was someone from the same middle school when we heard the name. It was the feeling of, 'who would have thought that it would be those two' after all, so it was a surprise.

"I really want to talk a ton about how good of a boyfriend he is, but......it feels like I'll get scolded by my father if I don't go back soon!"

"Ah, it is already this time huh. We unknowingly ended up having a long talk"

"Okaa-san and Otou-san will probably come back soon as well"

It was almost noon when we looked at the clock. Time sure goes by fast when you are having fun huh.

"Hence, I'll be going back! Let's talk again next time! Ah, Yae-chan, come over here"

'"What?'

"――"

"H-, how!?"

"Bingoー! That freshened you up huhー!"

"Hey!?"

Miyata-san went off in a flash after whispering something into Yae's ear. Yae, who had something said to her one-sidedly, blushed bright red and tried holding her back, but it was meaningless.

"What exactly did she say to you?"

"I-, it's a secret!"

FOOTNOTE

¹: In Japanese , there's the saying '女三人寄れば姦しい' (Onna Sannin Yoreba Kashimashii).

It means if 3 women get together, it becomes noisy.

The word '女' means woman, and the word '姦しい' means noisy.

As you can see, the Kanji 姦 has 3 女. Hence, giving birth to the saying.

女(Onna) Woman

三人(Sannin) Three people

寄れば(Yoreba) If Get Together

姦しい(Kashimashii) Noisy