“Meow!”

“O-oh…”

As soon as I entered the room, I blinked.
It was because the sight of a small animal was glaring at me threateningly from inside the futon bun of the bed.
Of course, the small animal was just a metaphor.
It was my childhood friend Kisaragi Yuika, who has been a recluse for many years.

“Whoa, whoa. Easy. It’s okay, we are friends. Are you that scared?”
“Meow! Meow!”

I tried to talk to her in a friendly, indigenous way, but it was no use.
Yuika just poked her face out of the futon bun and repeatedly threatened me. Her hair was standing up like a kitten’s. Wow, I wonder how she does it. My childhood friend is full of wonders.

“Why are you so on guard today? Did they break through the wall? Are the Titans going to come pouring in in droves?”
“Rather, why is Souta able to come in with such a calm face? Shouldn’t you come in with a more mysterious face, like you’re out of gas and about to be eaten by the Titans?”
“Okay, let’s put aside for the moment the analogy of an anime that I’m looking forward to the next part. I have a feeling it’s going to get more and more confusing.”
“Wait! I’m the one who’s following the original story! I don’t want you to misunderstand me on that! This month’s development was also amazing!”

“Wait! You wait! How can a recluse like Yuika read a monthly magazine!? I’m sure you didn’t spend all your money again.”
“Yes, here comes the shocking revelation! Everyone’s reclusive beauty, Yuika, has a younger brother who goes to school! Though, I haven’t talked to him in a year and a half!”
“Ah!”

As her childhood friend, of course I knew about it. Yuika has a younger brother.
Unlike her sister, he was well-behaved. And like her sister, he’s very fond of me.

“… So you’re rifling through the comics in his room without permission while he is at school. Don’t do that. I’m sure there are one or two things he doesn’t want his sister to see.”
“At any rate, I found ‘To Love Ru,’ ‘Darkness,’ and ‘Super HxEros.’”

“Don’t do that!”
“I’ve read them all. I also memorized the pages with weird creases.”
“You really don’t want to stop, do you?”

Next time I see him, I’ll tell him to hide it at all costs. I have a feeling that Yuika will find it sooner or later because she has unlimited time to search, but that doesn’t mean I can overlook her actions. A gentleman’s alliance between men should be respected above all else.

“This conversation is going in the wrong direction. After all, why are you in such a state of alert?”
“So why is Souta so nonchalant?”

While diving further and further into the bun, she said with a downcast look on her face. She blushed slightly.

“… You tried to push me down yesterday.”
“Ah…”

I see what you mean.
… Yeah, sorry about that. I tried to make it sound like I understood, but the truth is that I was rather aware of it from the beginning.
Yuika’s wall Maria is closed. In other words, the giant was me!
Ah….
Ah….
Ah….
… Yes, the echo is over. The escape from reality is over.

“Let’s see…”

I walked over to the bed with my school bag in my hand.
The springs creaked as I sat down, and the futon bun kept a little distance from me. It was only a few centimeters away. I tapped the futon gently.

“Sure, I did something like that yesterday. But, don’t get me wrong, Yuika. I’m just…”

I say admonishingly.

“I just wanted to push you over the edge.”
“Eh!? A statement that does not excuse anything! It’s on the contrary!?”
“Of course, I was hoping for more than that.”
“A statement that goes even further!? Why don’t you do something about it? I can’t find a way to deal with this!”
“No problem. I’ve got it all under control.”

I rummage through my bag and pull out something.
Yuika closed her mouth and hummed.
I showed her the prepaid card that my reclusive childhood friend had requested.
It wasn’t ten times the amount, but the amount printed on it was double the usual amount.

“What do you think, Princess?”
“… No objection.”

As her hand reached out from the bun, I handed her the card.
For what it’s worth, this card exchange is always a good drop-off point for us.

“You should be grateful for my generosity. Since you’re Souta, I’m giving you special treatment.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Next time you try to push me over again, it’ll be ten times worse.”
“What’s next after that?”
“Hundred times.”
“Wow.”

I counted the number of days it would take to pay for it with my part-time job.

“On the other hand, what happens if Yuika tries to push me down?”
“That is…”

She scraped the scratch part of the card with her finger while she said.

“That’s not going to happen. I’ve always been patient with you.”
“For real?”
“For real.”

“Because,” Yuika continued.

“If I push you down, Souta will be happy to oblige.”
“No, no, I still have my reasons.”
“I’ll lend you my laptop so you can Google the word ‘persuasion’ a hundred times.”
“I’m sorry, I’m in the middle of losing my persuasion powers.”
“That’s what you need to know.”

Then she told me to go get her laptop.
I thought she was really going to Google it, but she wanted to type in a billing code for a browser game.
I brought the laptop from the bedside and offered it in front of the bun.
I hear the sound of flipping and typing.

“Well, I can understand Souta’s feeling to push me down.”
“You understand me, God of buns?”

“Who is incarnate of wagashi? If such a beautiful girl came into my hand, the main character of Island of the Cherry Trees Wouldn’t Die would be surprised!”
[TLN: Wagashi = traditional Japanese confections that are often served with green tea, especially the types made of mochi, etc.]

I didn’t quite understand the analogy.
After a while, the sound of a fleet game echoed from the browser.
Staring casually at the screen, Yuika said in a vague tone.

“You want to do naughty things, don’t you?”
“I’d love to.”

I stared at the screen as well and nodded.

But I won’t.
We’re just childhood friends.

We both thought the same thing and sighed at the same time.

“… Anyway, do you want donuts?”
“Oh, you have donuts? They’re pretty rare.”
“I bought them in front of the station. It’s my backup ammo in case the prepaid card doesn’t put you in a good mood.”
“You’d better hurry up with that! I can’t keep my hands busy during this exercise, so feed me! Ah~”
“Hey, hey, Aah!”

I pulled out a box of donuts from my schoolbag and fed them to the incarnation of wagashi that started the game.
… Hmm, on second thought, ten times the price of a donut might be cheaper than a prepaid card. The next time I pushed over the edge, I’ll try to negotiate for ten times the donuts.

So, I was still making plans for the next time.