Chapter- 40

"... Really, this atmosphere is too easy! I've had enough! I'll go home first!"

　Then, Gouda-san walked off ahead of us. The others followed suit, and the only ones left were me, Rie, and Kanakana-san.

　"Oh man, I took the time to name you Rii-chan, but I guess I didn't get it."

　"...Ah! Is that what you meant when you said 'that's nice'?"

　"...Pfft, it's fine. ...Ma-you will be punished for ignoring my words!"

　Eh?! Isn't that a bit too unfair? Is it my fault?!

　"To get Rii-chan home safely!"

　"...Yes, definitely."

　"Great! Well then, if I'm with you, Ma-kun won't be punished so I'll go home. See you next week!"

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　With that said, Kanakana-san quickly ran off after the others. Now it was just me and Rie.

　"Well then, shall we go home too?"

　"...Yeah. Will you stop by my house today too?"

　"Hmm? I'm thinking about it."

　…I think maybe, surely, probably it will be successful, but if it fails, it will be awkward. If it does succeed, I will have to greet her mother and Rie's father, whom I haven't met yet.

　"I see. Umm, ah, it's tomorrow. I want to be with you, Mamoru-kun, um. Of course! As long as it's not a bother, I mean... What do you think?"

　"...Um, sorry. I can come over from around 5 o'clock, but I have something to do before then..."

　"...I, I see. Well, I guess there's nothing we can do about it. There's no other way."

　Rie was visibly depressed. I really wanted to agree with her and spend the weekend with her. But I also have a part-time job. I work from 9am to 4pm on either Saturday or Sunday, with an hour lunch break. At first, she was surprised that I was working such long hours to kill time, but now I find it rewarding. The people I work with are all nice, so I can't cause them any trouble by being selfish.

　"Is there something happening tomorrow?"

　"N-no. It's nothing. It was my first day off since I became friends with Mamoru, so... that's all!"

　"...Then, would the day after tomorrow be okay? Of course, if it's okay to come tomorrow evening."

　"...Yeah, I'll be waiting. I'd like to see you in the evening."

　"Understood. Then I'll come to see Rie again tomorrow."

　"Yeah!"

　So Rie acted as usual. But she was clearly not in good spirits. I thought something was going to happen tomorrow, right? Something about Rie that I didn't know about .

　I know there's more I don't know about Rie than I do know. But I want to know more about her. I want to become someone special to Rie.

　"...Rie."

　"? Mamoru-kun, what's wrong?"

　"Is that Rie there?"

　I love you! The moment I took a breath to say it, I heard a voice that was neither mine nor Rie's. I turned towards the voice in a panic and saw a man in his 40s wearing a suit.

　"D-Dad?!"

　Rie shouted. ...Wait, is that Rie's father?!