I Was Supposed to Be Giving Love Advice on the School Radio, but Before I Knew It, the Beautiful Girls at School Were Hitting on Me
“I see, so Akebi chan is separated from her older sister right now?”
“That’s right.”
I repeated it to myself, and Akebi chan nodded with a composed expression.
“But don’t get me wrong, it was Neene who left on her own. Akebi chan isn’t at fault.”
“That’s right～Akebi chan isn’t at fault～”
I replied with an ambiguous smile. But she looked somewhat dissatisfied.
“So, what about you?”
“Hm?”
“I introduced myself, so it’s only fair that you introduce yourself too, right?”
“…..”
I was speechless at her straightforward argument. This kid has a surprisingly rich vocabulary for her appearance…
“I’m Kageyama Shogo. Nice to meet you, Akebi chan.”
“Shogo, nice to meet you.”
“Yes, me too..”
This is bad. She’s so different from when I was a child that I don’t know how to respond. Still, it’s obvious to anyone that she’s lost. What should I do?
“Well, let’s go find your sister for now…”
“Yes, please do.”
Akebi chan nodded casually. Still, looking around, there was a crowd of people, and there was no way to find anyone…
“What’s wrong, Kageyama- un? Aren’t you going to Kinami san’s place?”
But just then, Kitahara, who had finished reading her book, appeared. She was still holding her tablet, but the screen was dark.
“Ah, actually…”
“Who is this? Shogo’s girlfriend?”
Akebi chan turned toward me while pointing at Kitahara, who had suddenly appeared. She casually held my finger lightly with her other hand.
“…Lolicon?”
“It’s a misunderstanding ! Don’t look at me like that ! Don’t back away !”
I insisted on my innocence as much as I could, and Kitahara stopped.
“Then, who is that girl?”
“No, it’s just that this girl seems to be lost…”
“Hey, Shogo, was it a lie when you invited me so passionately just now?”
“Akebi chan !?”
You mean that invitation? The one about helping her find her older sister !? But Kitahara twists her face even more.
“…I didn’t think you were that kind of person.”
“It’s not like that ! Don’t hide your face behind the tablet and back away slowly !”
It was a response to a genuine suspicious person. The face on the LCD screen was too pitiful.
♢
“Well, enough with the jokes.”
“You too…”
Being able to joke around with each other is wonderful, but it’s so bad for the heart that I’d rather they didn’t.
“So, Akebi chan, when did you get separated from your older sister?”
“About 15 minutes ago.”
“15 minutes…she can’t be too far away yet.”
“Neene was buying juice at the beach house, but while we were waiting in line, I noticed something that caught my attention, and by the time I looked back, she was gone.”
“I see…”
Kitahara forced a smile. As an older sister, she must be extremely worried. Poor thing.
“What should we do, Kageyama kun? Should we go look for her?”
“Yeah…should we report it to headquarters? They can come look for her.”
“No way.”
Akebi chan interrupted our discussion with a sharp tone.
“We can’t do that. It’ll cause trouble for Neene.”
“I-I see…”
Kitahara was intimidated by her serious expression. If we can’t use headquarters…
“Then we’ll just have to search on our own.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
We looked at each other. Akebi chan looked back and forth between our faces, then suddenly dropped her head.
“….”
Her earlier confidence was gone, and she suddenly shrunk back… Seeing her like that, I placed my hand on her head.
“It’s okay, we’ll definitely find your sister. Don’t worry.”
“Really?”
Akebi chan looked at me anxiously, and I nodded firmly.
“Don’t worry. Even though I look like this, I’m confident in my voice volume.”
At my words, Akebi chan’s face brightened up, and she narrowed her eyes.
“Well, your voice does seem pretty loud.”
“….Seriously?”
Glancing to the side, I saw Kitahara nod slowly with a slightly awkward expression. …Really?
♢
“Akebi chan’s older sister ! !”
“Akebi chan’s older sister ! ! Are you here !?”
After shouting for about ten minutes, a woman emerged from the crowd.
“Ah, Akebi ! !”
“Neene !”
The moment she heard that voice, Akebi chan let out a joyful cry. I let go of her hand, and she ran off.
The two, reunited after 30 minutes, embraced each other warmly.
“I’m glad she found her older sister.”
“Yeah.”
We watched the two from behind. As we smiled at them, Akebi chan’s older sister seemed to notice our presence, stood up suddenly, and adjusted the hem of her clothes before turning toward us.
Wearing dark sunglasses and a large straw hat, she looked like a celebrity, staring intently at us. Amazing—even though her face was barely visible, I could feel her beauty aura strongly.
“U-um….thank you so much for helping Akebi !”
“Oh, no, I’m glad you found her.”
Despite her appearance, her voice sounded about the same age as ours. Waving her hands flutteringly,
“I don’t know how to thank you…”
“It was just the right thing to do.”
I straightened my back. Then I got hit by an elbow from the side. The pain was 40% stronger because it hit my soft skin. Ouch.
“Hey, Shogo is confident in his voice, just like you.”
“Hey, Akebi chan…”
“Oh, confident in his voice…”
In response to Akebi chan’s comment, the older sister muttered quietly and leaned her face close to mine. I felt her eyes narrow slightly behind her sunglasses.
“Well, it’s not that I’m confident, but I’m in the broadcasting club and do school announcements and stuff…”
“I see, that’s why your voice carries so well.”
“Haha, thanks…”
Being praised directly made me feel embarrassed, so I scratched my head. Kitahara glanced at me sideways and bowed slightly.
“Well, we’ll be leaving now.”
“Wait a minute !”
But Akebi chan stopped us as we turned to leave.
“Yeah?”
“Is something wrong? Is there something else?”
When Kitahara and I turned around, Akebi chan ran over to us. She stood right between Kitahara and me.
“Hey, since we’re all here, why don’t we take a commemorative photo?”
“A commemorative photo…?”
A lost child commemorative photo or something? I tilted my head slightly, and the older sister hurried over to us.
“Hey, Akebi ! They took the time helping you, so you can’t ruin their date.”
“Da…”
“Come on, a photo is fine, right?”
Akebi chan pouted and Kitahara froze. I smiled wryly and corrected her.
“No, this isn’t a date or anything…”
“Eh !? Oh, I’m sorry ! I thought you were a couple…”
“Haha…we’re just friends, friends. Right, Kitahara?””
“Y-yes, we’re just friends…”
“Why are you suddenly speaking in broken Japanese?”
“S-shut up.”
But Kitahara suddenly seemed to realize something and looked startled.
“Well, anyway, I’m all for taking a photo…”
“R-really?”
I thought Kitahara was the type who didn’t like photos. …That’s surprising. Kitahara awkwardly operated the tablet and handed it to the older sister.
“Okay, then Shogo and Yuzuha, move a little apart.”
“I-is this okay?”
When we took a step or two back, Akebi chan stepped into the space between us. Then she took our hands with her own.
“Alright, here we go—say cheese !”
With a light click, the photo was taken without a flash. When we checked the photo, it showed Akebi chan with a big smile and two awkwardly smiling high school students…
“Kitahara…you’re really not good at photos, are you?”
What do you mean ‘not good’? You’re not much better, Kageyama kun.”
However, the youngest member, who was the only one accustomed to being photographed, smiled contentedly at the photo.
“Yeah, you’re definitely the future superstar, Toyama Akebi ! Shogo and the others are a bit awkward, but it’s okay !”
[ [A bit awkward…] ]
The girl’s words, which seemed to lack any sense of tact, cut us deeply.
Ignoring us, who were reeling from the blow, the older sister bowed politely.
“Well, thank you again for helping me find Akebi.”
“Thanks, Shogo, Yuzuha.”
“No, Akebi chan, don’t get separated again.”
“Yeah, you two enjoy your date !”
With that, Akebi chan and the others disappeared into the crowd. It seemed pointless to correct her, so we just waved goodbye.
“Alright, let’s head back.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
We nodded and turned around. Just then, our eyes met with a girl.
“Hm, Kinami?”
There, standing frozen, was Kinami, facing us. Oh no, I was supposed to go play with her… She was looking down, so I couldn’t read her expression.
“I’m sorry, I was helping a lost child…”
“…..!”
However, my explanation didn’t reach her, and Kinami ran off without even looking at us.
“What’s wrong with Kinami san…”
Even though I knew something was clearly wrong, all I could do was call out to her receding back.
I cautiously moved toward the spot where Kinami had been standing. The area where she had been standing was strangely soaked with sand.
That day, I never saw Kinami again. When I asked the president, who had been with her, about the situation, she didn’t say anything.
Maitoshi