Hasumi contacted me to apologize for what happened today.
She was about to head to my house, but I persuaded her otherwise and headed to her house instead.
Going out at night would’ve been dangerous for her, after all.
When I arrived in front of the Hasumi bookstore, I found Hasumi waiting for me outside her house.
“Ritsuki… F-First things first, why don’t you come to my room?”
“Hey, hey, you shouldn’t invite a boy over to your room at night. Your father would kill me.”
“T-True… Next time, I’ll call you over when my parents aren’t home.”
The airheaded Hasumi replied with that response.
No, that’s not what you should be worried about.
Well, I guess I don’t even deserve any sort of vigilance in her eyes.
After we had our usual exchange, tears welled up in Hasumi’s eyes.
Then, she bowed deeply to me.
“―I-I’m sorry! I felt embarrassed, and I was scared of being scorned by others once again, so I couldn’t say anything… I’ll make sure to clear up Shiorin and the others’ misunderstanding properly next time…! After all, I was the one who brought those books of my own accord!”
I handed Hasumi a handkerchief as tears streamed down her face.
“No, it’s fine, Hasumi. You had good intentions, and you tried to hand me the books stealthily, did you not? And yet, it was my fault that those books fell in front of Asamiya-san and her friends. There is no need for you to lose face, Hasumi. Besides, this was all my fault to begin with.”