Conversation With Iori

"Oh, yes there is one more thing I want to say…."

"What?" asked Yoshimura for sure because as soon as Iori was about to say something with an uneasy face.

"Hmm, is that something bad?" asked Yoshimura who looked at Iori who was sitting nearby while looking down at this restlessly, to make sure.

However, for some reason Iori felt heavy when he was about to say it.

"Say it!" Yoshimura was already curious, he had a bad thought. Could this be related to the girl he had saved from the oppression?

Oppression will never end if there are no parties to mediate and take decisive action to resolve it.

"Sorry," Iori's words uttered in a sorry tone made Yoshimura worried.

"So what?" asked Yoshimura with his innocent expression.

"Sorry, when you tried to beat them up, I didn't have time to help you." Said Iori who seemed to regret it. He is a person who always likes to help his friends. However, he felt unable to help him during yesterday's incident. He felt it was beyond his capabilities.

"Ah~ yeah, it's fine, really." Yoshimura said understanding it. Yoshimura's heart was churning when he didn't believe Iori's words. It could be that Iori there intended to sympathize even though he ignored it but, it could be that what Iori said was actually honest.

Yoshimura was just acting normal.

He didn't want to attract the attention of others.

And if there is a problem in front of his eyes, as long as he can help him, he will help. Yoshimura was that type of person.

Yoshimura had been neglected by his surroundings....

So, despite his wise attitude, he who was often shunned by people at school because of his social status became a severe social inequality.

However, since Yoshimura was here, he noticed a slight difference. The people here care more than the people in Tokyo.

Yoshimura felt a little grateful to have set foot in Osaka.

"Ah~ if Fukube wasn't sick, I would definitely take him to visit you too." Iori said casually.

"Well~ who will know?" Yoshimura said casually. He never thought that something like this would happen .

"Oh yes, do you know that girl who has been bullied?" Yoshimura asked to confirm where the girl was, and he wanted to know her name too. The girl deliberately shouted for help but it seemed that no one at the school was willing to help her.

"Yes, I know, and he is none other than a student in our own class." Iori answered seriously.

"Eh!?" Of course, Yoshimura, who had just heard it, was also surprised.

"Is it true? But, I never saw her in class!?" asked Yoshimura to confirm again.

"Ah~ he rarely goes to class because he's often bullied. However, he is actually the smartest kid in this class. He has been absent since the 2nd week. The week before he was still cheerful… Then, about a week later since you came to this school, he never came back." Obviously Iori.

Even though he was in class, Yoshimura who was a transfer student never wanted to know who was absent or who was the bad guy in the class.

"Hmm… strange, huh. Does that mean that the one who bullied him was probably a kid in our class?" asked Yoshimura to confirm.

"Could be, I thought you already memorized the people in our class."

"Ah~ I'm still here for a few days, all I know is the people who are near me."

"Oh, I see, it seems you are bad at memorizing."

"Y-yes, that's how it is." Yoshimura answered him with a doubtful expression.

Because this conversation was deemed unnecessary, finally Iori got up from his seat and he was about to leave this room, he wanted to say something to end this conversation.

"Okay, I'll say goodbye first, soon it will be almost dark." Iori said.

The view of the twilight sky earlier had begun to fade and now only the violet sky was about to become a night sky full of stars.

"O-oh, alright." Yoshimura answered somewhat hesitantly but, just as Iori was about to open the door, Yoshimura called out to him again.

"Wait Iori!" Yoshimura exclaimed while extending his right hand to Iori.

Iori also turned to look at him even though his hand was already holding the doorknob.

"What?" Iori responded.

"Ah~ um…, thanks for visiting me." Yoshimura said pleasantly.

"Yes you're welcome." Iori responded while putting on a gentle smile.

"Oh, yeah, it's getting dark, make sure you don't think like that! Watch out for demons!" Iori said like this meant to tease him.

"Ah~ there's no way, duh, what era is this?"

"Eh, don't underestimate the times, there must be tablets."

"Yeah, you're the one who's the devil." Yoshimura instead responded jokingly as well. He finds it fun to make friends and can chat all the time.

"Ah, wait Iori-"

"Are you sure you're scared, aren't you? Sorry I want to go home!" Iori exclaimed with an expression of objection as his about to go home was prevented by the words 'wait!'

"Ah, sorry, I just wanted to ask… what is the name of that bullied girl?" asked Yoshimura seriously as he looked at Iori.

"Oh apparently." Iori wore an even expression as he looked at Yoshimura, that meant he was in a serious mode.

"That girl's name is..."

________

To be Continued.