When he opened the door of the department, there were actually a few letters on the ground, and Naruse bent down to pick them up and looked at them, frowning.

Compared with the past, these letters are not even too lazy to disguise, there is no half-commissioned thing, only a straightforward courtship.

Naruse flipped through as he walked to where he used to sit, and then stuffed it all into the drawer.

"Is it a love letter again?" Starfish asked.

"Hmm. I haven't shown my face much in the past two days, and I don't know where these people came from. ”

"What a shame."

Naruse glanced at her, and the starfish's face quickly turned red.

"I'm talking about those...... A stranger who doesn't know you at all. ”

"Can you confess casually when you are familiar with the relationship, that will be even more embarrassing, and you don't have to do it if you don't have friends."

Starfish was silent for a moment.

"It depends on who ......"

Naruse didn't answer, leaned back, and looked out the window.

After sitting for a moment, he flipped through the journal he had bought from the Department of Marine Biology.

"I went to the Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, so I think there are a lot of things I can write about."

Starfish sat down, "Is that place famous?" ”

"Well, the venue is huge, it contains a lot of marine life, and there is even a whale shark in the main aquarium 'Kuroshio Sea'."

She looked at him, "Have you been?" ”

"No, I've never been to Okinawa, but I've known about it for a long time." Naruse said, pausing, and added, "When we go to Okinawa next summer, let's stop by and have a look over there." ”

"Oh, yes."

Starfish immediately agreed, only to quickly think that it would be almost a year later, and the excitement in his heart cooled a little.

He continued to look through the journal compiled by the members of the Marine Biology Department from the records of the dormitory, and his expression was engaged, as if he had forgotten the key factor that had decided to come here.

But the starfish still remembers it well.

"Spring Sea."

"Hmm."

"You follow the light......"

"I'll talk about it when I'm done."

“……”

Keeping her head turned, she stared at him in silence until he put down the book helplessly and let out a long breath slowly.

"What does the starfish want to ask?"

"When I watched the movie in the morning, I saw it all." Starfish said, deliberately not saying what they were seeing.

However, the person in front of her is especially experienced in guarding against this kind of thing.

Is this scaring children?

Naruse judged from this that she didn't see it completely clearly at that time.

He also has the confidence to deny it.

In any case, it is not yet possible to let her know too much.

- She's too reckless, and at the same time can't hide the slightest bit of her thoughts, telling her that there's no substantial difference from confessing directly to Naoko.

Naruse took a breath, "What did the starfish see?" ”

Starfish looked at him, "You understand. ”

"I don't understand."

“……”

She looked at him for a while, and she didn't hide it, "It's the matter of your bare face when you watch a movie." ”

"Huh?" There was just the right amount of surprise on his face, "How did I not know there was such a thing?" ”

"Ah......h

Starfish immediately doubted themselves.

Sure enough, she was wrong?

"But you were very close at that time......"

"I don't know when you're talking about." Naruse continued to deny it, using oblivion to show that he didn't care.

"That's it...... You see me see you at that time. "She's a little messed up.

"What?"

"That's it...... No...... Didn't you see me at that time? The more the starfish spoke, the more anxious she became, "You also looked at me for a while." ”

Naruse still shook his head, "I don't remember when you said it, what time it was." ”

“……”

She frowned, stared at him for a moment, still couldn't see anything, only lowered her gaze.

"Forget it......"

Fooled over......

As soon as Naruse breathed a sigh of relief, the starfish spoke again: "Then what is the relationship between you and the light now?" ”

"What kind of relationship can it be, a friendship relationship, a classmate relationship, or almost a neighbor relationship."

"Is that all?" She asked.

He looked at her, "Otherwise. ”

“…… Isn't there a more intimate relationship? ”

Naruse rolled his eyes, "If it's a private matter, can I tell you casually like this." ”

“……”

Starfish bit her lip and was silent for a moment.

"All you have to do is tell me if you have it or not."

"Then can I lie?"

“……”

The starfish stopped talking again.

Naruse already regretted a little that he had just agreed to let her come to the ministry to sit for a while, and he put down the thin journal and stood up.

"I'm almost rested, let's go, I want to go somewhere else."

She got up silently and just looked at him.

He walked out of the department, and she was still standing inside.

Naruse turned around, she looked at him inside the door, and she didn't mean to come out for a long time.

"Do you want to stay here alone, then I'll leave you the key and remember to close the door when you leave......"

"—are you all hiding from me?"

“……”

Naruse took a breath, "I'm hiding something from you." ”

Starfish's eyes were slightly red, and they quickly became moist, "What are you secretly dating." ”

He glanced at the other end of the hallway, and in the lonely place, there was still no one else in sight.

He returned to the door and barricaded it.

"If it's really what Starfish said, I'm in a private relationship with them, do you think I can tell you now?"

Her lips moved, "But Kazuha promised me......"

"What did she promise you?"

"She'......"

She said she didn't care about her anymore.

Starfish opened her mouth, suddenly remembering that she had been "abandoned" by her.

She couldn't speak, she squatted down, hugged her knees, and tears flowed down her face.

“……”

Naruse's eyes closed, and there was a vague feeling that the world was spinning.

Calm down, he reminded himself that no matter how real the tears were, they could be traps she unconsciously laid down, and once she stepped on them, it would be over.

Calm down.

Back in the department, he closed the door with his backhand and crouched down in front of her.

Eyes met, he didn't speak, and she continued to cry.

"I don't think I've bullied you in a long time."

“……”

Starfish suddenly stopped sobbing.

"When you cry like this, when you are seen by others, they must think that I am bullying you. If I didn't really bully you, wouldn't I have been wronged in vain? ”

She looked at him and sniffled.

"What do you think?"

“…… Whatever you want. ”

Naruse lifted a finger and poked it in the center of her brow.

She was originally squatting casually, and she couldn't say that she was stable, and she didn't resist his "bullying" at all, and she fell down with a poke.

“……”

Lying on the floor, blonde hair scattered on the floor, looking at the ceiling, she whimpered again.

Naruse sat down cross-legged, instinctively glancing at the bottom of her skirt, and then looking out the window.

Still have to be calm.

Then, let her calm down as well.

"Because starfish are stupid, I don't want to tell you anything."

Her crying stopped.

And after waiting for a long time, not hearing his next sentence, she got up again, wiped the tears from her face, and sat in front of him and looked at him.

Naruse continued: "If it's just a stupid person, forget it, you're still impulsive and disobedient, so I can't tell you any secrets. ”

She immediately leaned over, her hands on the ground, and looked up at him.

"I will be obedient, I will listen to whatever you say."

“……”

She was defenseless, full of anticipation, and even acquiesced to everything in her words, Naruse quickly looked away, for fear that she would do something to her in the next moment.

He looked away, "I don't believe it. ”

"It's true!" She came up again, and it was closer, and he had to turn his head to look to the other side.

"I want you to believe your word ......"

Starfish nodded, looking at him with two eyes.

"Then you don't have to ask anything now."

“……”

While she was stunned for a moment, Naruse stood up and distanced himself from her.

"When the time is right, I'll tell the starfish everything."

She looked up at him, "When is the right time?" ”

"Wait until I feel like I can handle ......" Naruse paused, "No, when I think the starfish has matured." ”

She was silent for a few seconds, "Tomorrow?" ”

“……”

I didn't listen to him at all.

It's not like you don't understand, right?

Naruse squatted down and looked at her again, "It's not tomorrow, it's not the day after tomorrow, the more honest you are, the sooner I'll tell you." ”

Starfish looked at him for a moment and nodded slowly.

"I see."

Naruse breathed a sigh of relief, which should be able to stop for a while.

It's not tomorrow, it's not the day after tomorrow, it's the day after tomorrow, the weekend after the end of the cultural festival, Starfish thought to herself.

(End of chapter)