In the principal's office, he is left alone with Kiyoshi, who is sad because Hime has been cold to him.
I'm sorry to bother you when you're heartbroken, but I'm grateful for this situation where Hime isn't here.
There's one thing she needs to confirm.
"Hijiri-san... you told Hime about what happened yesterday, right?"
"Huh? What about yesterday?"
"That's what I'm talking about. You see... the only person I think of as special is Hime."
"Ah, yeah. Did I tell you?"
To my question, Hijiri simply nodded.
He didn't seem to mean any harm, or rather, he probably didn't think at all that what he said was wrong.
Of course, I have no intention of questioning him. I don't want to complain or grumble, I just want to confirm.
It seems my prediction was correct after all.
"That's right... Hmm, what should we do?"
"...Maybe it was a bad idea?"
Seeing my troubled behavior, Hijiri seemed to sense something.
It seemed like something bad was going on.
"Last night, we were talking about Yohei... Hime-chan was worried about Yohei being a lolicon, so I told her it was okay. 'Yohei only loves Hime-chan!'"
"...I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding."
This makes Hime feel awkward.
The way you say it makes it seem like I have romantic feelings for her.
I think Hime is cute, and in terms of likes and dislikes, it's true that I have an overwhelming liking for her. However, it's not love, so I didn't want to give that wrong impression.
She is still an eight-year-old girl.
There's no way I could remain calm when a member of the opposite sex who is nearly ten years older than me looks at me like that.
"S-sorry? Yo-hee, did you hate it?"
"I'm fine, but Hime seems a little strange."
"...Eh, really? I thought Hime-chan seemed less energetic than usual today, is that the reason?!"
At this point, it seems that Hijiri finally grasped the situation.
He seemed to have noticed that something was wrong with Hime, but didn't seem to know the reason.
"That's true... when I'm dealing with a boy who says he likes me, I might not know what to say."
By putting herself in his shoes, she seemed to empathize with the awkwardness between me and Hime.
"That's why I don't know how to interact with her... What do you think I should do, Hijiri?"
I'm ashamed to say that I'm not very used to being around the opposite sex.
I think Hijiri probably knows more about relationships between men and women than I do. She's pretty, so I'm sure she's had a lot of experience with men confessing their feelings to her... I was hoping she might be able to come up with a better solution than I could.
"Hmmm. I see, I see... I get it!"
In response to my request, Hijiri clenched his fist and stood up.
I feel like I'm full of motivation.
"Yo-hee, I'm sorry for causing you trouble. Leave this to me! I'll sort it out properly."
Then he said it forcefully.
Judging from his attitude alone, he seems very reliable, but... after seeing what Hijiri has done up until now, I still have some concerns.
(I-I wonder if it's okay...?)
Is it okay to leave it to this person?
No, but she probably knows more about relationships between men and women, and about Hime, than I do.
In that case, it might be better to just obey without saying anything.
"Y-You're welcome."
Telling myself that, I entrusted everything to Hijiri.
That's how worried he was about his relationship with Hime.
I hope it all works out.