About the Green Plum Falling from the Sky

Friday morning.

"Good morning, Kouhai-kun."

Asumi greeted as usual.

"Good morning."

Ren, who was drinking water, set down glass and responded.

"What do you want to eat today...? What's this? When did you get the painting at your house?"

Before Asumi could finish speaking, she noticed the striking painting hanging on the originally empty wall.

It was the kind she could see with just a glance.

"I just hung it up yesterday afternoon." Ren answered honestly.

Yesterday afternoon he finished painting, and after chatting briefly with Yotsuba about another topic, he found a place to hang the painting.

"Hm?"

Asumi approached the painting, trying to see it clearly.

"...Kouhai-kun, may I ask, who is the protagonist of this painting?"

After examining the painting for a moment, Asumi turned to him and stared into his eyes, which gleamed just like those in the painting.

"It's me." Ren replied.

"An unexpected answer."

After getting the definite answer, Asumi's voice tone became very soft.

"Can you tell me how old Kouhai-kun is in that painting?"

"11 years old." Ren quickly replied.

"Were you very cute when you were little? Your style is completely different from now!"

Asumi directed her gaze at the painting again and couldn't help but inhale sharply.

Ren is handsome now, but Ren in the painting is cute.

"Um."

Ren admitted that he was very cute when he was little, and besides, the word cute could be used to describe children.

"By the way, Kouhai-kun, have you ever seen a beautiful Onee-san holding a lollipop or something else when you were little and saying, 'Come home with me and I'll give you this'?" Asumi asked with great concern.

"No."

Ren shook his head.

He had been imprisoned since he was 6 years old, and basically lived there for the next 10 years without any experience in that field.

"Such a blessing." Asumi said happily.

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

Seeing her reaction, Ren asked puzzled.

"It's not easy to explain. Anyway, something bad will happen."

Asumi didn't expect that 16-year-old Ren didn't know about such things, but because of his identity, she couldn't explain it clearly.

"I see."

Although he didn't understand what would happen in the event Asumi was talking about, Ren wasn't worried about dangerous things at all.

He's a powerful esper.

"Kouhai-kun, can you be like yourself five years ago when you were 11?"

After a moment, Asumi asked.

"Is there something wrong?"

Changing his age or anything else wasn't difficult for Ren.

But normal people shouldn't be able to change their age so easily.

"Not that there's anything wrong with it. I just wanted to bully you back then. I always thought it would be fun to make you cry."

Asumi spoke harsh words seriously.

"Forgive me for declining."

Ren couldn't possibly agree to something like that.

"It's useless even if you agree, besides, you've grown so big now." Asumi lamented, then turned to look at the painting, "I have to admit, when you were little, you were really cute."

"Eh? What's this? Nakano Yotsuba? Kamikawa Ren?"

As Asumi admired the painting, she suddenly found two names written in pencil in the bottom right corner of the painting.

"Did you both paint this painting together? Or is there something wrong?"

"We both painted it together." Ren admitted.

"Is this a gift from Yotsuba?"

Asumi suddenly remembered something.

"Yes."

"Wait a minute, how did Yotsuba know what you looked like five years ago? Have you two known each other for a long time?" Asumi realized this very serious issue.

"Well, we met five years ago, but since then we haven't met again. We didn't recognize each other until now. This painting is from when we went out together five years ago."

Ren didn't hide anything, he told her everything.

"What kind of plot is this? A green plum falling from the sky?"

Asumi looked very distressed.

"What green plum falling from the sky?" Ren asked hesitantly.

"It's a childhood friend sent from the sky. It's a very popular attribute lately, and also very powerful. It should be called an unbeatable setup." Asumi introduced.

"I don't really understand, but senpai, you really understand these things."

This was another word Ren didn't understand.

"Of course, my workplace is a maid cafe, so I still need to know a little about otaku preferences."

"Maid cafe is a great place." Ren commented.

"No, actually it's not good at all." Asumi argued against his statement, "It's just a cafe with added maid elements."

"Oh."

Ren expressed his understanding.

"Really, a green plum falling from the sky is such a troublesome attribute."

Asumi was still puzzled by this issue.

"Why is this attribute so troublesome?" Ren was slightly curious.

"Since you said that, allow me to ask you some questions."

Asumi planned to use this opportunity to confirm some things she had been thinking about.

"Yes." Ren agreed.

"The first question is, after meeting Yotsuba again after five years and getting to know her, are you happy?"

"Yes."

Of course, Ren was very happy to meet Yotsuba again, who had played with him in Kyoto five years ago.

"This is a green plum falling from the sky." After sighing like this, Asumi continued to ask, "So, do you have a good impression of Yotsuba?"

"Yes."

Ren's answer remained unchanged.

"As expected, such attributes are too excessive." Asumi complained futilely.

"...Actually, I also have a good impression of you, senpai."

Looking at Asumi, who felt a little strange from now on, Ren added.

"Eh? What did you just say?"

Asumi was shocked, wondering if she had misheard.