Hayashi Megumi can’t buy a motorcycle.

It’s been a while, everyone.

I’m Minnesota Dozaemon.

It’s been so long since the last update that you’re probably thinking, “Oh, this story? It’s finally getting updated after ages.”

Same here.

For a while, no words passed between us.

I felt a pang of embarrassment at the thickness of my own hide for suddenly flipping my stance…

That girl, Nene, had her eyes sparkling a little at the prospect of things turning around…

“Haaah…”

Yamamoto let out a deep sigh.

I mean, I’ve known Yamamoto for a while now, so I could pretty much guess why he sighed so heavily—and why he didn’t want to. It wasn’t hard to figure out.

“I’m not buying it, okay?”

Yamamoto said.

He probably had a lot he wanted to say… but he swallowed it all and spoke only to shut me down.

“Why not?”

“You were against it too, weren’t you?”

“That’s… don’t sweat the small stuff. Be a man, will you?”

“Man or woman, that’s got nothing to do with it. I’m just pointing out your double standards.”

Pure logic.

Just straight-up, no-nonsense logic, typical of Yamamoto, who can’t read the room to save his life.

…What’s that supposed to mean?

You don’t have to hit me with a logic punch like that.

All I’m doing is suggesting—out of concern for Yamamoto (or so I tell myself, when really it’s for me)—that he should buy a motorcycle…

That said, knowing Yamamoto from all our time together, I could tell he was being stubborn about this.

Even if I stomped my feet like a kid whining, “Just buy it!” he’d never get a motorcycle.

If that’s the case, my next move was to stir up his desire to buy one, even just a little.

Here goes nothing!

I’m gonna make Yamamoto see how great motorcycles are…!

“They’ve got fuel-efficient bikes these days, you know? Might actually be pretty easy on the wallet.”

“You said that already.”

“Sure, slipping sounds dangerous, but if you drive safely, it’s probably fine.”

“You said that too.”

“A-and custom parts come in all price ranges, so you can probably manage without needing a loan!”

“I said, you already told me that!”

Damn it!

My entire motorcycle knowledge comes from what Nene told me and Yamamoto five minutes ago!

“Besides, if you’re already talking about avoiding loans, that’s a no-go!”

Yeah, I thought the same thing!

This is bad…

This is really bad…

At this rate, Yamamoto’s gonna lose any interest in buying a bike! (Not that he had any to begin with.)

What do I do? What do I do?

I started panicking.

I can’t make Yamamoto see the appeal of motorcycles like this.

But I don’t have enough knowledge to convince him.

I can’t do it.

Not like this… I can’t persuade Yamamoto.

What should I do…?

Then, at the edge of my vision—

I caught sight of Nene, staring at me wide-eyed, surprised by my sudden change of heart.

“H-Hey, you help me convince Yamamoto too!”

I turned to Nene, a girl I’m not even friends with, for help.

“Huh!?”

“Please! We need your motorcycle knowledge right now…!”

“B-But…”

Nene looked down.

“I already tried convincing Yamamoto earlier, and it didn’t work…”

“It’s fine! He’s surprisingly weak to pressure.”

“Hey.”

“But… he’ll probably just end up saying trains are better or something.”

“Liking trains is just the nonsense of a guy who can only stick to fixed rails.”

“You’re saying stuff that’d get you flamed on SNS.”

Yamamoto shot back with a dumbfounded look.

Okay, I’ll admit, that was a pretty harsh way to put it.

But right now, I was too desperate to care about appearances or shame.

“…Hayashi-san, are you seriously trying to get Yamamoto-kun to buy a motorcycle?”

Out of nowhere, Nene fixed me with a serious gaze.

It was the kind of look that didn’t tolerate lies.

Even though I’d been intimidating Nene earlier… her gaze made me feel a little overwhelmed.

Right now, I was trying to get Yamamoto to buy a motorcycle for some pretty selfish reasons.

Nene’s gaze felt like it was condemning those feelings.

But I’d already decided there was no turning back.

“Yeah, I am.”

Because I want to ride on the back of Yamamoto’s motorcycle…!

“…I see.”

“Yup. I’m serious.”

“…I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do it.”

“…What?”

“I just… I don’t think I can convince Yamamoto-kun.”

“…No way…”

I was stunned, watching Nene look down in frustration… but yeah, she was right.

If Nene couldn’t convince Yamamoto earlier, there’s no way she could now.

“But—”

…Nene lifted her face.

“But… Hayashi-san, you could…!”

“Huh…?”

“Hayashi-san, why don’t you buy a motorcycle?”

“…What?”

“You want to convince Yamamoto-kun, right?”

Her sudden suggestion left me speechless.

“Then learn about motorcycles yourself!”

“…!”

Nene’s words sent a jolt through me.

“Hayashi-san, buy a motorcycle! And then make Yamamoto-kun buy one too!”

I slowly clenched my fist.

“Yeah!”

“You don’t have the money for that.”

My grand plan crashed and burned.

Lately, I’ve been itching to write something, but I haven’t been able to start.

Thinking about it, writing stories has become a part of my life, so I might’ve been spending my time in a sort of void… or so you’d think, but not really.

My recent trend is dieting.

In about half a year, I managed to lose a whopping 25 kilos.

I love you, chicken breast!