I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

"It feels like... a pet."

"cough cough..."

This sudden statement really... I don't know what to say. I was expecting her to say something, but it turned out to be something like this. If a casual passerby heard it, it would definitely lead to unpleasant associations... Even for me, it still formed a brief and indescribable picture in my mind.

But this doesn't prove that I'm a potential masochist. I'm just a guy with good associations.

"Eh? Why are you suddenly like this... Is it a cold or something?"

"No, don't worry about it, I was just choked by the wind blowing in my face."

Ah, I really can't think of any other excuse. It would be too embarrassing to say I choked on my own saliva, even though that's the most plausible reason.

"Is that so... But there seemed to be no wind just now."

"..."

This is your fault. As someone who has lived in the filthy adult world and the worthless campus for more than a decade, you can't even do something as simple as giving someone a break... If you use lame excuses to cover up trivial matters, the best option is of course to ignore it.

"Don't worry about me, just keep talking about you."

In that case, I'll use a slightly lighter and easier-to-catch straight ball to cover up the topic.

"Um...about me?"

"Uh-huh."

Phew, it worked. Just need to distract her.

"Ah... This is a little hard to say."

To think she'd get that kind of response... But she was clearly still talking about herself. No, even though she was the one speaking the entire time, she was always talking about the current topic, and she really didn't mention much about her family or her life.

What really caught my attention was the "they" she mentioned. She'd mentioned before that she had no desire to talk to her classmates, so the topic of boyfriends and girlfriends certainly wasn't something she'd heard from school. If that were the case, it must have been something she'd heard from her family... which seemed highly likely.

After all, my parents at home...are also incredibly gossipy. Ah, just thinking about it now makes me feel quite troubled...If possible, let's be a little more serious where seriousness is necessary.

But if it's her parents, why is she so used to refer to them as "they"? When people refer to their own parents, don't they usually say "my parents," "my dad," "my mom," or something like that? So, judging by this, perhaps she has siblings or something.

"If that's the case, then forget it."

Anyway, there is no need to know now, and being too radical is definitely not a good choice.

"But...if we can make an exchange, I can consider it."

"...Um?"

I had clearly given the impression of being clueless before, but the conditions now presented were truly unexpected. It was like suddenly pulling off a brilliant play against a traditionally weak opponent... Or maybe it was just a fluke.

"Of course I can, but what do you want in exchange?"

Although I already have an idea in my mind, what if her idea is completely different from mine? After all, I don’t know her very well.

So my initial guess is that she should be asking me to find something interesting and tell me something if she is happy or satisfied in some way.

"...What else can I exchange? Of course, I tell you what you want to know, and then..."

Correspondingly... what are the conditions? I couldn't help but feel nervous, partly because of anticipation, and partly because I wanted to verify my own guess.

"You have to tell me what I want to know about you."

Just a slight appearance

“Bang—!”

It was like a powerful blow struck right next to my ear. The sound of the bat and baseball colliding violently now inexplicably and distinctly appeared in my ears.

"It's a straight ball, wow, it happened—a powerful shot that was fully charged! It's a home run!"

A baffling explanation.

"Wow!" "Nice fight!"

Weird discussion.

Several inexplicable scenes flashed through his mind. The only thing he could understand was that his brain was a mess. If it were a combat move, this move was a complete punch to the face. Completely stunned by this blow, he stood there in a daze, staring into her slightly puzzled eyes, lost in thought.

It was a straight pitch. I had been trying my best to avoid direct pitches, but this guy, who had no common sense about how to interact directly with others, got there first.

What should I say? I understand every word she says, but what she's trying to say... feels completely incomprehensible. Besides, there's nothing about me that strikes anyone as odd, so this isn't really an equal exchange.

"Why, don't you want to do this? But it's not fair for me to be the only one talking about myself. Besides, I don't know much about you... It shouldn't be too much to ask for just an exchange, right? Hey."

Seeing that I didn't react for a while, she started talking more. It even escalated to the point where she poked my arm with her hand. If I didn't react, I guess she would poke my face soon...

"Ugh..."

He sighed slightly and then took out his cell phone.

"Oh, so you were just daydreaming."

"..." This isn't a daze, it's just that I'm a little confused about how to deal with you.

"Let me be clear up front that my experience is quite common."

"Oh, that's normal..."

What? What's with that look of obvious distrust?

"Well, whether it's normal or not, I just want to know. Besides, normal is pretty good for me."

What does this sentence mean?

"So, don't use that excuse to refuse." She thought for a moment and added, "Look, if I were to say that, I could just say I'm an ordinary person with nothing much to say, and then refuse to answer any of your questions. But wouldn't that be boring? It would make me feel like a sulking child."

“....” It seems to make sense.

Since she insists so much, I'll just go along with her for now.

"Alright, but I won't answer questions that are too extreme."

"Yeah, yeah, that's all right. Besides, I'll only ask about the most common things," she said with a smile. "Then, I'll start with you."

"..." It's too hasty to start now.

"Even if I wanted to talk to you, a cold street like this isn't a place where we can have a peaceful discussion, right?"

"Oh, that's true."

"...Um."

Although it was indeed a straight ball that caught people off guard, it was not impossible to deal with it.

"But why are you typing so much when you're clearly cold... Why not just tell them to go somewhere where they can talk in peace and talk for a while?"

“…”

I was now beginning to worry about how far I could go in talking to her.

Chapter 22: Only a Slight Appearance

"Do you want to buy ingredients for cooking?"

I knew she would ask this kind of question.

Of course, you have to respond with a shake of your head.

"Then why do you come to a place like this... Although it's a little different, I and... I usually go to places like this only when I'm with my family buying groceries."

You really do have some free time. I usually stay home and don't want to go shopping. What do you think I'm doing out here?

"It looks like there's something you want to buy, right?"

"Hmm..." This question was so broad that I had to nod in confirmation.

"But...won't it have any impact? Holding this doll is already a bit troublesome."

"..."

So she knew it was going to be a hassle to hold onto. If she knew it was going to be a hassle, why did she act so eager to get it in the first place? I've finally come to terms with this not-so-pretty stuffed animal, so please don't make me regret it.

"It's just a few things."

To get some peace and quiet, I decided to just give her a quick word. Besides, it was almost ten o'clock, and there were a lot of people coming and going. If possible, I didn't want to have a conversation this way.

"That's it..."

"...Um."

So she finally followed me quietly for a while, and then took the elevator with me to a store.

"...Huh? Why are you here? Didn't you have breakfast? Seriously, you should have said something like this earlier..."

"..."

“Of course I have.”

In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, let me say this first.

"Then why stop here..."

"We've already agreed on this right here, of course it's my treat."

"Of course you can...but why do you say of course?"

What she cares about is still as incomprehensible as ever.

"Ah, do you think my family is in trouble?"

"..."

Of course not...

What's going on with this guy? Even though he's saying something like his pride is hurt, there's no emotion in his tone... Well, I'm glad he's not taking it too seriously. But you should just calm down a bit and stop asking such casual questions. What's the harm in shutting up and thinking about the answer?

“I didn’t think so, why do I feel that way?”

"Ah... because... I can't quite explain it."

What's going on with this guy?

"But I just feel like if you have to pay for everything... it feels a bit weird. Yeah, I just think it's better not to do this... or something."

Please don't laugh after you say anything... Really, I don't have the motivation to complain anymore.

"Are you trying to apologize?"

"Hmm...Is that what it means?"

It's a lie, absolutely a lie. With that forced expression, I began to doubt whether she even understood the meaning of the word.

"It's okay, that's fine for me."

"For you...that is, in your opinion, it's acceptable. So if you express it according to your opinion, then others will also be able to accept it?"

“…”

It happens again. It's like this almost every time. Even though the areas of concern are subtle, the words used leave me at a loss for how to respond.

But her expression...

"...Then can I also think...that this is not okay? Then what? Will you listen to me?"

She seemed genuinely angry, but clearly not at me. If anything, she was probably just disgusted by this kind of behavior.

"..."

Hey, what's going on? It's just a fairly trivial matter, so why does she seem a little angry now? No, it's not anger, it's more like a wave of emotion I've never felt before. So, this person who usually looks so calm just can't find the right outlet...

"Tsk..." What a troublesome guy. If I ask someone to treat me to a meal, they'll almost always accept without hesitation. But those who completely disregard respect, or don't care how much advantage they can get from others, and do the exact opposite...

Wait, was I like this before?

Well, forget it. I'll explain it here.

“It doesn’t mean you have to do what I say.”

"So...it's better not to use that method."

"This isn't a strong request, I just want to show our friendship based on our friendship."

"What...does friendship have to be expressed this way? I don't quite understand it, but I don't want it."

Ugh, she actually turned her head away. This kind of obvious anger is really rare... Never mind, seeing how firm she is in her stance, I'd better not insist any further.