Seeing the two of them leave, Shikimori turned back to Mochizuki Yo.
"That guy was so rude," Shikimori said.
"Yeah, he was, but he did apologize. Thank you."
"You don't need to thank me. Only that blonde guy apologized," Shikimori said, still unhappy.
This girl has a strong sense of justice!
Only then did Mochizuki notice that today Shikimori had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing sportswear, looking full of energy.
She must have been running on the sports field too, but he just hadn't noticed her.
"Shikimori, are you running too?"
"Yes, I am. Sometimes I come here to exercise."
Actually, Shikimori had noticed Mochizuki while running just now, but to avoid being discovered, she had deliberately followed a distance behind Mochizuki at a slow pace.
And Mochizuki had been lost in thought the whole time, not paying much attention to his surroundings.
But when Shikimori saw Mochizuki about to be hit by the soccer ball, she quickly took action.
"Oh, no wonder Shikimori is in such good physical condition."
"Eh... hehe..."
These words made Shikimori smile awkwardly, thinking, 'Oh no! Mochizuki student must think of me as some kind of tomboy!'
Indeed, at school, she had to avoid contact with Mochizuki student and Eri Ri, otherwise her image as a cute girl would be ruined.
"Also, thanks to you for catching the thief last time. I thought you were amazing back then."
"Uh... it's nothing, it's nothing..."
Shikimori didn't want to hear about the last time again, especially at school.
Mochizuki felt that someone as good as Shikimori, even though he could have dodged it today without her help, Eri Ri still wanted to draw doujinshi of her, which was too wicked.
"Shikimori is truly so manly."
"Manly..." Shikimori was already deeply struck, murmuring to herself. Indeed, her actions were not cute at all.
"Uh... no, that's probably not a good way to describe a girl."
"Anyway, you're very cool and attractive."
"Attractive?"
"Huh? Yes! Shikimori is very attractive, you know." Mochizuki was a bit confused, thinking Shikimori hadn't heard clearly, so he repeated it.
"Really? But my actions clearly aren't cute..."
Shikimori felt that her actions were different from those of cute girls. She even almost got into a fight with a boy. Oh, she had even made a boy cry before.
"Huh? What's that? Who says you have to be cute to be attractive!"
"I think Shikimori's actions are very cool and very attractive."
"Besides, in terms of looks, Shikimori is also very cute."
Mochizuki praised her generously, and this generous praise made Shikimori's face gradually turn red.
"Re-really..."
"Mm-hmm, please believe in yourself, Shikimori is very cute."
...
Afterward, Mochizuki said goodbye to Shikimori and returned home.
Because of the Service Club activities and the time spent on the sports field,
Mochizuki returned home a bit later than Shiina Mahiru today.
"Oh, welcome home."
Shiina Mahiru turned around to welcome Mochizuki back, then was surprised to find his school uniform covered in dust.
"Huh? How did you get covered in dust?"
"I went running today."
"Why didn't this happen when you ran before?" Shiina Mahiru was a bit puzzled. Then she put down the things she was preparing for cooking and fetched a towel for Mochizuki.
Then, Shiina Mahiru thoughtfully helped Mochizuki brush the dust off his clothes.
"Cough, cough, actually, I fell," Mochizuki said sheepishly.
"Hmm... you should be careful when running. Also, there's a soccer field in the middle, and I heard soccer balls often fly out and hit people."
Mochizuki's heart skipped a beat. She guessed so accurately. But looking at it this way, soccer balls flying out wasn't a one or two time thing.
"Thanks, I can do it myself."
"It's okay."
"It's torn here, are you hurt?" Shiina Mahiru asked with concern.
Mochizuki looked where Mahiru was pointing. It turned out his shirt was slightly scuffed, but he wasn't injured, so he hadn't noticed.
"Oh, it's nothing."
"What's wrong, Shiina?" Seeing Shiina Mahiru suddenly stop what she was doing, Mochizuki asked.
"There's... there's a girl's scent." Shiina Mahiru sniffed vigorously with her small nose a few times, then looked up at Mochizuki and said slowly.
"Huh! Is there? You can smell that?" Mochizuki said in surprise. It might have gotten on him when he came into contact with Shikimori. Shiina's nose is too sensitive, she can smell that.
Hearing Mochizuki's answer, Shiina Mahiru knew her guess was correct. Mochizuki-kun had indeed been in contact with a girl.
"Hmph, of course," Shiina Mahiru said unhappily, but unfortunately, Mochizuki didn't notice the change in Shiina Mahiru's tone.
"Cough, cough..."
"Could it be another damsel in distress rescue?" Shiina Mahiru wondered. Could it be that Mochizuki met some girl and went to help her, which is why he got covered in dust?
"No, I just ran into someone I know." Meanwhile, Mochizuki thought, 'Where was the damsel in distress? If anything, it was a beauty saving the hero.' He decided to just brush it off.
"Really?" Seeing Mochizuki being perfunctory, Shiina Mahiru puffed out her cheeks and asked, half-believing, half-doubting.
"Mm-hmm!" Mochizuki nodded repeatedly.
"Hmph, Mochizuki-kun, you're a playboy!"
"How am I a playboy?"
"Because... because you keep meeting girls, and these girls are all very beautiful."
Shiina Mahiru spoke, seriously recalling previous events: the time he was approached while buying clothes, the girl he met at the dessert shop, the friend who was possibly a female writer, the Bucho who is Yukino Yukinoshita, and the scent on his clothes today... and maybe even some things she didn't know about...
After saying this, Shiina Mahiru regretted it a little. Her face was slightly flushed. Didn't saying these things mean she was jealous? And was she being too nosy? Would this make her seem not generous enough? Ugh... it's so annoying!
"Cough, cough, not at all, Shiina. I didn't even know it myself."
"Hmph, you should think about it properly!" Seeing that Mochizuki had no other reaction, Mahiru's shy expression relaxed.
"Alright," Mochizuki said with a wry smile.
"Take it off."
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/Greyhounds
If you want to see it, then why not?