Ch. 71: Childhood Detective Came In Late

Yuika and I were shoved into a shelf of figures in an exaggerated way.
There were little beautiful girls scattered all over the place, sitting with me on the bottom and Yuika on top.

The feeling of her hip around my waist was soft and very comfortable, but it seemed to hint at a future in which I would be on hers, which was very frightening.

“Souta, what the heck is going on outside this room…?”
“I don’t know. I have no idea either…”

The reason why we’re in this state was because we just received a report from Iori on the other side of the wall. “I’ve got a girlfriend!”

Just before that, we had been having a rough time.
I was trying to stop her when I heard Iori’s report, but she didn’t notice it at all, so I was explaining it to her in a rage.

Honestly, I thought this was a lost cause.
I thought it could even be an encore of Iori’s graduation performance.
Then came the refreshing “Boku, kanojo ga dekatta” (I have a girlfriend) statement.
I couldn’t help but dive into the shelf.

“Hey, Souta…maybe we misunderstood something?”
“Misunderstood…?”

“Yes, for example…”

Yuika put her hand over her mouth and pondered.
Still keeping me on the ground.

“Perhaps that Aoi-chan never actually existed!”
“What, did you say…!? What do you mean by that, Kibayashi!?”
“Aoi-chan’s voice was just Iori speaking in a higher tone. In other words, he was playing two roles!”
“Hah…!? That’s stupid, what’s the point of doing that!?”
“I’m sure Souta already knows the answer to that.”

Yuika put on the face of a great detective.
Meanwhile I’m still with my butt on the ground.
But the meaning of her words was indeed a revelation.

“Rebellious phase…!”
“Good answer. Iori woke up in a state of rebellion against Souta and set up this prank.”
“Seriously? If that’s true, I’ve been duped…”
“I got caught up in it too. But that’s as far as it goes.”

Yuika stood up gallantly, reaching out her hand to me with such grace that I couldn’t believe she had been putting me on my butt. She felt like a real detective.

“The mystery has been solved by the great detective Yuika-chan. It’s the assistant’s job to secure the culprit.”
“I’m not an assistant…”.

I grabbed Yuika’s hand and stood up.

“Go talk to him about the rebellion and resolve it properly, Watson-kun.”
“Ah, yes, Holmes. I’ll have to.”

Just as I was saying this, I heard the door to the next room open.
Iori must have left the room, acting like Aoi-chan was leaving…
Yuika and I looked at each other and nodded at each other.

“I’m off.”
“Yes, see you later.”

I left the room, feeling a little excited at the newlywed-like exchange.
I closed the door carefully and ran out.

He’s not in the hallway. He seemed to have already gone down the stairs. Apparently, he was going to go to the trouble of acting his way out the front door. He was a serious criminal.

“Iori’s a jerk.”

In the end, I still don’t understand why Iori has become rebellious.
But he even invented a fake girlfriend. He must have had a lot of ideas for rebelling me.

“I’m sorry, Iori. I’m sorry I didn’t understand you…But let’s talk about it. If men can talk to each other, they can definitely understand each other. So…”

Don’t create a black history of fake girlfriends, which was more than just chuunibyou…
When I went to the front door, the door was just about to close. He seemed to have gone all the way outside.
As I hurriedly put on my shoes, his mother appeared from the living room.

“Ah my God, Kanade-chan, are you leaving already?”
“No, I’ll be right back! Iori is outside, right?”
“Iorin had just left. He’s accompanying Aoi-chan home—”
“Hey!”

I jumped out of the house without another word.
In the darkening sky, I saw a shadow on the gate post in front of me and stopped myself.

“Iori! —And, and one more!?”

I was startled at the door.
Iori was just outside the gate post, and next to her was a girl with chestnut-colored hair.

“Ah, Souta Nii-chan.”
“…G-Good evening.”

Iori noticed me, and the girl bowed with a rather stiff expression.
My voice spilled out.

“Real…”
““Real…?””

My scream echoed through the neighborhood.

 

“She’s real—!”

 

The detective’s deduction was so far off the mark making it mind-boggling.