Chapter 26 - Thinking about Gift to the Goddess (リア神へのプレゼントを考える)

Wakamiya politely bowed to me before leaving my apartment.

I quietly sighed as I sent her off.

Remembering the date of the birth that she pointed in her student handbook just now, I held my head, not knowing what to do.

“...Is it right after the test? This is not good…”

If I knew this would happen, I wanted to know her birthday earlier. But then, I avoided the worst probability. Her birthday hadn’t passed yet. Let’s be happy with that.

I had broken through the first barrier of ‘knowing her date of birth’.

What’s next is… knowing what she wants.

For the time being, I received some advice from Kenichi about what I should buy.

To summarize it——

Receiving accessories from someone who’s not particularly close to them will only make a girl scared.

They would suspect if the boy had hidden motives. Plus, girls wouldn’t normally wear things they received from an unfamiliar person.

With that, accessories were NG.

I guess you can give it to someone who has a close relationship with you, like your lovers...

Also, I wouldn’t know how to deal with her reactions if I gave her bouquets, so it was also NG.

The receiver of the bouquet had to treat the flowers properly and put it in the vase, which was a lot of work… So I crossed this idea as well.

By the way, Kenichi recommended giving her small items like hand cream or body scrub.

But what kind of brand should I choose? I didn’t know anything about that kind of product...

“I guess I have no choice but to ask for the popular guy’s advice…”

I picked up my smartphone and called Kenichi.

At times like this, someone with one-digit number of contacts like me could quickly find the person I wanted to call.

It was pretty sad to admit, though...

I didn’t have to search for his name. It was displayed when I opened the app...

“Kenichi, do you have time now?”

“Hey~! I’m happy to receive a phone call from Towa~ Since you’re calling me now, that means you couldn’t ask when her birthday is, right? Or maybe you want to ask the dependable me for advice? Wahhh!!! I’m happy to help you, my friend!”

His high-tension voice echoed in my head. So noisy.

“...I’ll hang up.”

“Ah! Wai—”

I pressed the end call button and sighed.

Now then, let’s look for information on the internet. After all, everything was accessible in this internet society.

Bzzz, bzzz. I glanced at my insistently buzzing smartphone.

He would call me again and again if I ignored it, delaying my investigation.

It couldn’t be helped… I’ll humor him.

“Don’t hang up!”

“You’re more annoying than I thought.”

“That’s cruel! You’re the one who called me first…”

“I didn’t expect you to be that energetic this late at night…”

“It’s fine, isn’t it? Anyway, you called me because you need something from me, right?? Towa, there’s no way you will call me to have a chat.”

As usual, the social guy was sharp. I inwardly clicked my tongue at how he managed to guess my intention.

“Kenichi, Wakamiya’s birthday is right after the test…”

“Oh? Oh, oh, oh? So you asked her!”

I was extremely irritated at how Kenichi became excited, but I endured it. Perhaps blue veins popped out on my forehead now.

“...I asked her. Can’t I?”

“No, no~ You definitely can! Well, Towa is a coward, so I was sure you wouldn’t be able to ask her and cry to me~”

“I’m very sorry to hear you call me a coward. I’ll do it when I have to…”

I managed to know her birthday thanks to the unexpected windfall, though...

But I didn’t have to tell Kenichi about that especially.

“Hmm, I see. I thought you knew it by accident. For example, maybe you saw it in her student handbook.”

“...No way. I knew it because I’m an eloquent speaker…”

At times, Kenichi said something that made me wonder if he was an esper. Perhaps he was watching us?

“Haha! Either way, you finished the first step! So you want to ask me about recommendations on brands for the gift?”

“...Haa. Yeah. That’s it.”

I smiled bitterly over the phone. Kenichi kept guessing right that I felt like laughing now.

“I’m also not that familiar with those kinds of brands. By the way, Towa. Based on our conversation during the day, what are you planning to give to her?”

“Hmm… Mentholatum hand cream.”

“You’re giving her a health care product!?”

“I shouldn’t? I feel like that’s a safer choice…”

“Are you serious…”

I tilted my head to Kenichi’s amazed voice.

“I see. I have to buy the bigger package so she can use it longer, right?”

“Wait, wait! You’re supposed to give a scented hand cream since this is a gift to a girl!!”

“Ahh, I see.”

I took notes on the paper at hand. So I have to give something stylish, huh.

“Oh no… I didn’t expect you to be this extreme.”

“No need to praise me.”

“I’m not praising you!!”

I heard a sigh from the phone. But he didn’t need to be that amazed. It couldn’t be helped since I didn’t know anything about this. Until now, I had no opportunities to give presents…

“We need to deal with this problem urgently.”

“Huh?”

“Yes! After all, it’s girls who can see things from a girl’s perspective! So let’s exchange.”

“Eh, exchange…?”

“...Hello, Tokiwagi-san? This is Fuji.”

A cold voice came out from the phone.

“Um… Why are you in Kenichi’s house…?”

“...I’m his girlfriend.”

“But it’s already late at night, right…?”

“...I’m his girlfriend.”

“Ah, yes…”

Seems like she wouldn’t answer me. I decided not to question this anymore for now.

“...I’ve been listening to your conversation since a while ago. I understood that you’re very bad at this, so write down what I’m going to say from word to word.”

“Ok.”

“...Answer me with ‘Yes’.”

“Yes…”

She’s scary. I had cold sweat on my forehead.

Fuji-san was a cool beauty, but I wouldn’t last talking to her for five minutes. As I thought, Kenichi was amazing.

After this, Fuji-san’s lecture lasted for thirty minutes.