Well then.
I'm having a lot of fun talking with Hoshimiya-san, but... I'm starting to think that maybe it's time for me to go home.
Hoshimiya-san seemed to be in the middle of reading, and I think she couldn't concentrate with me next to her. Her sister, Hoshimiya Hijiri-san, was probably finishing up her student council work soon... And more than anything, I felt a bit awkward about monopolizing Hoshimiya-san's time.
I'm sure Hoshimiya-san has many more meaningful things to do than spend her time dealing with me.
That's why, when the conversation reached a good lull, I brought up the idea of going home.
"Oh, it's getting late so I think I should go home soon. Thank you for today, it was fun chatting with you."
Saying that, he stood up from his seat.
I wonder if Hoshimiya-san will say "Okay. Goodbye"...? We were having a good conversation, so I was hoping he'd at least say goodbye.
"--Eh? Are you going home?!"
Her reaction was, how should I put it... better than I expected.
"I'm sad that you had to go home so suddenly... Was I a bother? I'm sorry, I was having so much fun that I bombarded you with so many questions."
I never thought he would be so reluctant to leave!
Hoshimiya-san looked very sad. She was looking down, but also upturned her eyes at me. What's more, her small hands were clutching my clothes as if to say that she didn't want me to go... With her like that, there was no way I could go home.
"No, no! That's not what I meant!"
"Is that true? Does Yohei hate me?"
"Of course. There's no way I'd ever hate you."
That's impossible.
I think it's impossible for even the biggest loser to hate someone who recognizes me, relies on me, and even misses me so much when I come home.
I guess he likes me a lot more than I imagined.
If that's the case, then my perception was wrong. I thought Hoshimiya-san's perception of me was more dry and flat, so I was probably being overly careful not to get too involved.
"Even though it was our first time chatting, I acted too familiar with you... so I was really worried that you might find me annoying."
"I never thought for a second that it was a hassle! Um, well--"
To be honest, I was really panicked.
I felt like I had betrayed Hoshimiya's kindness, and I felt a strong sense of guilt.
So, wanting to somehow make up for it... I ended up saying exactly what was on my mind.
"--There's no way Hoshimiya-san would be a pain. After all, she's so cute I want her to be my little sister!"
...After saying that, I came to my senses.
What am I saying?
I was shocked when he said to a young girl he had just spoken to for the first time, "I want to make you my little sister."
The person who was told this would be confused too. "It's troubling to hear you say that," Hoshimiya-san said -- but it seems I was wrong after all.
Apparently I'm underestimating it.
"...Hyaaah. Suddenly, saying you want to make her your little sister is like a proposal! Eh, um, I see... I understand. I know this is clumsy, but I look forward to working with you."
My own evaluation too.
Also, I underestimated Hoshimiya's feelings for me.
So I'm always surprised.
Hoshimiya-san was jumping for joy, and I was stunned by her appearance.
(There's no way I could know how much I'm liked!)
Because it's me, there's no way I can understand Hoshimiya-san's feelings.
To an ordinary person like me, I'm just an ordinary person not worth loving. And there's absolutely nothing about me that would make a genius like Hoshimiya-san like me.
"Hehe~♪ I never forget something I've heard once, you know? Yay, Yohei is my big brother...!"
But she's a genius beyond my imagination.
It seemed that for some reason I could never have imagined, she liked me and even had a positive attitude towards me.