A Room That Feels Spacious

The start of summer vacation didn't mean that Minato's daily life would change. He was thankful that he didn't have to go to school, but in the end, how he spent his time during the holidays was the same.

He took his time as usual, but a little after noon, Airi started to get ready to go out.

"You're going out? That's unusual."

"Yes. I'm going shopping with Shiori-san."

He guessed it was about the outing with Momose that she had told him about on the last day of school. He hoped that she would enjoy herself to the fullest.

The problem was getting picked up on. Both Momose and Airi were undoubtedly beautiful girls, so they would be approached quite a bit.

Of course, Airi herself knew this, but she should still be careful.

"Yeah, go have fun. Just be careful. Two beautiful girls shopping together, so you're bound to get picked on, so take precautions."

"…Eh?"

When Airi heard Minato's words, she froze as if she was stunned.

He didn't think he said anything particularly strange, but maybe she didn't want to be treated like a beautiful girl.

Airi's appearance had always attracted the attention of the people around her. She probably just wanted to get away from it all when she was at home.

"Sorry. Calling you a beautiful girl was not very pleasant."

"N-No, it's not that. So that's how Minato-san saw me."

When he apologized for saying something he shouldn't have, Airi's face turned red and she turned over. He didn't expect such an embarrassed reaction from her.

It's true that he almost never complimented Airi's looks to her face.

He knew she wouldn't feel anything when Minato complimented her, and she didn't seem to like that kind of compliment in the first place, so he tried not to say it.

The blue eyes that stared at Minato were moist, and he thought it was because she didn't like his compliments, but he didn't find any disgust in those eyes.

"I'm surprised that Minato-san has never mentioned my looks. Wasn't it only when you complimented me on my clothes? And that was more about whether the clothes looked good on me or not."

"I knew a lot of people would compliment Airi on her looks, and I figured she'd be sick of it, so I tried not to say anything."

"Well, I guess you're right. I see you've been paying attention to me, thank you."

"I don't think it's anything to be thankful for."

There was no reason for her to be grateful, as the compliment was meant to be thoughtful and not to hurt the relationship.

Minato smiled bitterly and shook his head as if to tell her not to worry about it.

"So, in Minato-san's eyes, I'm a beautiful girl, right?"

Suddenly changing the subject, Airi looked at Minato with a slight upward glance while her cheeks turned red.

He wondered why her mouth was twitching.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to say that? Doesn't it make you sick?"

"It's fine."

"…I think you're a beautiful girl."

"Could you be more specific?"

"E-Eh… Why? Isn't this enough? I mean, Airi doesn't like to be complimented on her appearance, right?"

"Let's put that aside for a moment. I genuinely want to hear Minato-san's thoughts on this."

It was supposed to be just a warning, but why was he complimenting Airi on her appearance when she didn't want to be complimented?

Not wanting to offend her, Minato tried to keep his words bland.

"You're a beautiful girl."

"Not that kind of thing. But more like am I cute? Or am I pretty?"

"…Pretty."

"I see. Then what kind of clothes do you think would look good on me?"

She was probably going shopping for clothes with Momose today.

Minato picked out her clothes before, but this time, he hoped that Airi would choose her own clothes according to her own taste.

"I'm sure Airi would look good in any outfit."

"That's no good. Then, what kind of clothes would you like? There's cute, beautiful, boyish, and many others. Which one would you like?"

Airi seemed to be strangely knowledgeable about fashion even though she hardly owned any clothes.

For a moment, the face of his energetic childhood friend came to mind, but then he shook his head and expelled it from his brain.

However, she was still a girl when she was interested in clothes.

"If you're interested in clothes, you can buy lots of them, okay?"

"Please don't change the subject."

Airi raised her eyebrows and glared at him.

He tried to divert the conversation, but he was still caught.

"…Is there really no way out of this?"

"Of course not, I won't let you get away from this. So now, please answer me."

"I get it. Last time it was the beautiful kind.. So now, maybe the cute kind."

"Okay, then I'll choose in that direction this time."

"Yeah."

Minato breathed a sigh of relief as the awkward conversation finally ended.

Airi's face tore up with happiness as if she was satisfied with what she heard. The fact that she listened to Minato's preferences and matched them was probably a sign that she liked him.

And maybe, she liked him as a member of the opposite sex in some way, Minato wondered, but hastily put a lid on his thoughts.

The time was almost up, and Airi finished her preparations and headed for the door.

"Well then, I'm off."

"Have a good day, and watch out for pick-ups."

"Yes, yes, I know."

He sent Airi off and returned to the living room. The room felt strangely quiet when he was alone because of all the talking they had done.

It wasn't that they usually talked about this and that. In fact, they often did different things in silence.

It didn't feel awkward, so things could be done comfortably. However, the silence in the room now was making him feel strangely lonely.

What a big room.

He thought that six and a half tatami mats was enough for a single person to live in. In fact, when Airi came to stay, he felt that the room was too small.

However, after living together for more than four months, it had become the norm for the two of them to stay close to each other.

Whenever Minato was at home, Airi was almost always there, which made it even worse.

I do like my alone time quite a bit, though.

Minato had always been able to live alone without any problems. In fact, he thought it would be difficult for him to be alone with her because of the distance and care.

However, living with Airi, he never got tired of caring, and he never felt like being by himself.

Perhaps it could be said that they found a good balance between caring for each other and spending time on their own.

He thought to himself that he had changed, but he didn't mind it at all, even, he found it enjoyable.

Well, let's just enjoy the game slowly.

As usual, he played RPG. For some reason, he felt strange that there was no one beside him, even though the game was only for a single player.

"Welcome back."

"I'm home."

In the evening, Airi came home, and she had a bag in one hand.

"You look tired."

"It was hard. Shiori-san took me to many places."

The reason Airi was so groggy was because she had been taken around. She didn't look disgusted, so she must have had a good time in spite of her complaints.

However, having only one bag seemed too few.

"Momose must have been happy that the two of you could go out together. Strange that you have so little luggage."

"It's just my clothes."

"By the looks of it, you're wearing a new one? You could have bought a lot more."

"It's not just one outfit."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Well, it's certainly one piece of clothing, but it's not the only one. Other than that, it's still a secret."

"It concerns me when you cut me off there."

When she suddenly cut him off, he couldn't help but want to ask.

Considering the size of the bag, he didn't think there'd be another outfit.

"It's a secret. Please look forward to it."

Minato smiled wryly at Airi's teasing smile, knowing that he would be in trouble again.

The loneliness he had felt when he was alone was gone before he knew it.