Bonus Story
When Sanae had talked about what she wanted to do while she was still a high schooler the other day, Nalfa had been able to follow. She didn’t quite agree with wanting to get into the bath of the boy she liked, but she did agree with wanting to make memories in her teens.
“Baths aside, I understand how you feel,” Nalfa said. “It would be exciting if something happened.”
“Hmm, such as?” Kotori tilted her head and asked.
But when she thought about it, Nalfa had no real ideas. “Um...like having a blanket put over me when I’m sleeping...maybe?” she answered after thinking about it. Since she’d been in a rush, she only had a rather vague image. But it was still something that would make her happy.
“When you’re sleeping...” Kotori muttered. “The other way around would be easier. Kou-niisan sleeps a lot.” Kotori had personally encountered Koutarou sleeping quite often, so she found it hard to imagine the orderly Nalfa falling asleep in front of him. “Don’t you want to do something yourself, Nal-chan?” she asked.
“N-No way! Doing something to Koutarou-sama is way too high of a hurdle,” Nalfa replied, vigorously shaking her head. She was typically the kind of person to stare at what was important to her. It was difficult for her to appeal to them and make them turn her way.
“I see. Then it’s a matter of how to capitalize on the few opportunities there are,” Kotori concluded.
“Capitalize on...opportunities?”
“Ah, so you haven’t prepared anything either?” Kotori furrowed her brow. But she wasn’t actually angry. It was just a joke between friends, and she soon smiled again.
“Chances and preparations... I don’t get it.” Nalfa was confused.
“Well, you tend to be more passive, right, Nal-chan?”
“Um...yes, I think so.”
“Which means you can’t determine the number of times something happens. You’ll have to wait for a coincidence,” Kotori explained.
“I suppose so.” Nalfa nodded.
“Then you should toss some fuel around to fiercely burn when something happens,” Kotori suggested.
“Toss some fuel around?!” Nalfa finally understood what Kotori was saying. Kotori wanted her to intentionally make an incident bigger when it happened. “But what am I supposed to use as fuel?” Nalfa was panicked. She was happy just looking and didn’t ask for anything more, so she couldn’t imagine it properly because of her passive personality.
“What about wearing clothes that are actually see-through when you look really closely?” Kotori suggested.
“W-Wouldn’t that just make me a pervert?!” Nalfa shouted.
“Then what about wearing really cute underwear?”
“With the idea of showing them off?!”
Since Nalfa was more passive, she had few opportunities to come into contact with Koutarou. So Kotori’s idea was to use fuel like thin clothes or cute underwear to make the most of those few opportunities. But that was too much for Nalfa to easily accept.
“But you can’t touch Kou-niisan on your own, can you?” Kotori asked.
“Well...no...” Nalfa muttered.
“Then you need to be decisive. Either you add some fuel or go for it yourself, or you’ll be stuck like this forever.”
It wouldn’t have been a problem if Nalfa could talk to or touch Koutarou on her own like Kotori could. But since she couldn’t, Kotori felt that Nalfa needed to go the extra mile. As Nalfa’s best friend, she hoped for the best for her.
“Um, let’s say we leave that for later. Shouldn’t we start with something simpler first?” Nalfa knew where Kotori was coming from, since just waiting for a chance was too passive. She also understood that Kotori was worrying for her sake. She wanted to improve, but she couldn’t take such an extreme first step.
“Then let’s start by making sure to participate in seasonal events,” Kotori offered.
There were summer festivals, Halloween, Christmas, and New Year’s—plenty of events where wearing something eye-catching wouldn’t be out of place. So a first step would be taking part in those and making her appealing to him by wearing cute clothes. It would be somewhat meek, but it was much better than being reserved and doing nothing.
“That might work...” Nalfa nodded in relief. Rather than wearing flashy casual clothes, it would be fancy cosplay. It weighed far less on her to wear such apparel at seasonal events rather than at all times.
“All right, then let’s go consult with Yurika-san!” Kotori said. “There’s no better person to ask when it comes to cosplay!”
The only concerning part was that Kotori was rather motivated. She was normally so mild-mannered and calm, but when it came to Koutarou, she became strangely direct.
“We’re starting already?!” Nalfa exclaimed.
“There’s nothing to be gained from being slow! Now come on, let’s go, Nal-chan!” Kotori cheered.
Her bright smile was dazzling, but Nalfa couldn’t help but feel uneasy upon seeing it.
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