After About a Month of Living Together

"Phew, all done at last."

The midterm exams were all over and Kazuma looked tired.

Apparently, he managed to get through it. Momose and Kazuma had always gotten average scores, so they were probably relieved.

"Minato, how'd it go this time?"

"I'm feeling pretty good. I think I'll be able to get a ranking higher than before."

"That means you might be in the top five. Awesome as always."

Kazuma looked at Minato with half admiration and half dismay.

I didn't really care about the rankings, so it was hard for me to react to that kind of look.

Instead of having a study session with Kazuma and Momose, I had concentrated on my studies with Airi, and this was the result of that. I was sure that there was nothing to be proud of here.

"I don't really care about the rankings, and I'm really sorry we couldn't study together."

"No, it's not like you just cancelled on me. I'm more concerned about the reason you didn't explain it to me yet."

"Can you wait until after the… sports festival?"

"Oh, it's that time already?"

"Yeah, time passed by really quick."

When I apologized again, Kazuma brought up the matter with my stepmother, but smiled brightly, not intending to ask any further questions.

Our high school had a sports festival right after the mid-term exams at the end of May. The idea was to do it before it got too hot.

Since Kazuma was on the class committee, he would have a hard time deciding the participants for each event.

"All right, after the sports festival, then. You promise?"

"Yeah, I promise."

When Kazuma could finally hear what was going on with me, he became serious. Although I had said it wouldn't be any problem, he seemed to be still concerned about it.

Now that I had made a promise, I would have to ask Airi's permission before then. J wondered if she would allow me to tell Kazuma what was going on.

If she didn't agree then I would have to patiently persuade Airi. I thought while letting out a sigh.

"To your childhood friends?"

"Is that okay?"

"I don't mind you telling them what's going on."

I asked her as soon as I got home, and she gave me permission more willingly than I expected.

Looking at Airi's expression, it didn't look like she was holding back her dislike.

If this was the case, I might be able to explain the situation to Kazuma and Momose much earlier.

"Thanks, to be honest, I thought you'd need more convincing."

"I've seen Momose-san in class, and I don't think she's a bad person. I'm sure her boyfriend is fine too."

"So, Momose is an okay person."

"Well, that doesn't mean we'll be friends, though."

She shook her head to show that she had no intention of being friends.

It seemed that in her mind, Momose was a good person.

The reason why she still didn't want to get friends was probably because of the troubles she had in the past.

"Just to be sure, you can trust both of them, right?"

"Of course. They're not the kind of people who would seriously go around telling bad things about others."

Airi asked me with an uneasy look on her face, so I told her they were people she could trust.

We had known each other for a long time, and we knew each other's personality.

Although Kazuma and Momose were beautiful and seemingly light-hearted, I could guarantee that they wouldn't tell anyone about it.

Hearing my words, Airi smiled with a mixture of relief.

"If Kujo-senpai says so, then there's no problem."

"You trust me, don't you?

"I've been with you for over a month. I know I can trust you."

I felt my cheeks heat up as she answered with a beautiful smile, indicating that she was not worried at all.

It seemed that Airi trusted me more than I thought. I had done almost nothing at home, and I hadn't been able to thank her for anything properly.

It was about time I did something to repay her, I couldn't just keep extracting work from her.

"However…"

Airi's face suddenly clouded over.

I was just assured that there was no problem.

"What's wrong?"

"If you tell them what's going on, Momose-san will start talking to me at school, and to be honest, I don't like her type."

"Oh, that's what it is…"

Airi was the quiet type, while Momose was the energetic type.

I guessed she didn't like to be pestered, but Momose had no reservations about that.

"I'm sure Momose knows when to back off, and she won't step in to make you uncomfortable."

"You trust her, don't you?"

"We've known each other for a long time."

When I told her that I know Momose's personality better, Airi looked really sad.

I didn't think it was likely, but did she think that I didn't trust her?

"Just so you know, I trust you too. You've always been a big help. Thank you."

I was getting dinner, baths, cleaning, and even laundry done for me. Of course I trusted her.

However, we never talked about trust and confidence. It was strange to talk about such things on a regular basis.

When I thanked her, Airi's cheeks turned slightly red and her eyes wandered from place to place, clearly embarrassed. It was much better than the lonely look she had just given me.

"W-What are you saying so suddenly?"

"I just thought I'd tell you. More importantly, tell Momose if you don't like it, okay? She'll stop it."

"I understand."

I had been given permission. I would tell both of them when I get settled after the festival.