章 1971: This isn't it

To my disappointment, everything I did was not enough to get Machida off of my back. Her persistence was astounding. Furthermore, she wasn’t lying when she said she was getting off at the same station.

As soon as we exited the train station, the girl caught up to my large strides – even if it was difficult for her – and followed me home.

And that's the current situation.

“Hi, Shimizu. Do you remember me?”

“... You, Machida-san from the next class. Why did you follow him? And husband, how come you failed to discourage her from following you?”

As I expected, Akane has always been pretty sharp when it comes to figuring out whether I've taken an interest in a girl or not. Unlike how she acted around the other girls, she immediately took an aggressive stance toward Machida who promptly hid behind me.

“You called him husband. How cute.” Machida mischievously snickered, causing Akane to glare at her with intensity.

That shut her up, at least.