Chapter 21: Strike while the iron’s hot.
Translated and Edited by: luccayn.
Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one’s older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.
“So, what do you really want, Tsukino?”
Leaning against the wall, I confronted her with a strong gaze. This woman had a hold on my emotional vulnerabilities after all. I brought her along with the intention of keeping her quiet, but I wonder how that’ll turn out.
“Well, I just wanted to talk.”
Did she really not notice?
Her response was unclear. While I’m generally sensitive to subtle emotional cues, I couldn’t quite decipher the expression in Tsukino’s eyes as she looked at me, seemingly filled with joy, making it difficult to see through to her true feelings.
Troublesome, in more ways than one.
“What do you mean, talk?”
“Shinji, you’ve been ignoring me. During summer break, you wouldn’t even read my messages on LINE. I’m lonely.”
“Lonely? But you’ve already got Hareta after you, haven’t you? Do you understand the situation?”
“I know! But I just wanted to talk to you, Shinji! It’s not my fault, right!?”
Is she deflecting?
And where did the classy, idol-like, prim and proper character from our class disappear to all of a sudden? At least with this weird new personality of hers, she doesn’t seem fit to be the main heroine in a romantic comedy.
“How can you be so bold? Don’t you remember what you did to Hareta?”
“And Shinji, do you remember what you did to me?”
Tit for tat. A very simple yet quite powerful rhetorical technique.
Tsukino had an awkward expression on her face, as if she had tried to study some way to retaliate. Surely, she must have studied books on rhetoric. I’ve seen her flipping through pages this morning.
However, Tsukino’s response was just a deflection without addressing the question directly. If it were me, I could easily drag out an excuse from the other person, but can she do that…?
“Anyway, what did you want to talk about?”
“Why do you always assume there’s a topic to discuss? Can’t we just have small talk?”
“Don’t push it. Well then, I’m out.”
“Wait, wait! No, wait! Sorry! I lied! I really do have something I want to talk about!”
Tsukino grabbed onto my arm as I tried to leave.
It’s a cunning reaction, but what really gets me is that I can never bring myself to dislike someone who’s genuinely earnest like this. It’s not about being clever, it’s about being genuinely desperate, and that’s the hardest to refuse.
“Fine, fine, I’ll listen. Just let go of me.”
“Yay! So, there’s this new tea house downtown. I thought it would be nice to go together!”
I couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh.
Hesitating, I wondered if she had been this foolish all along, but I couldn’t believe that she would blurt out her desires without any thought. Thinking that she might have just mixed up the order of her words due to being unaccustomed to negotiations, I decided to stay here a little longer.
Once again, it felt like I was being tormented by my own strategy.
“Hey, that act of yours isn’t funny, you know?”
“I’m not acting. Also, your language is too harsh.”
I thought this kind of hot-headed heroine was supposed to be handled by Aoyama.
“Besides, your tone and choice of words towards Saori are completely different from how you treat me, you know?”
I subtly noticed that she was calling Saori-chan by her first name. Not that it mattered much.
“Why are we even talking about Saori?”
“Well, you’re all gentle and stuff with her, like ‘it’s this way’ or ‘that’s how it is.’ But with me, you’re quick to call me an idiot or a fool.”
“What’s wrong with calling someone who acts like an idiot or a fool, an idiot or a fool?”
“Because I’m neither! Why are you so mean?”
It wasn’t the nauseatingly fake pouty expression that women put on when they’re being toyed with by men, but rather a genuinely disgruntled look, indicating that she wasn’t pleased with what I had said. Tsukino grabbed onto my shirt.
Seeing her like that, I finally understood.
“You stopped lying, didn’t you?”
“…Ugh.”
Tsukino blushed unexpectedly at my words, her eyes wandering.
If her actions were truthful, and considering she’s listening to my aversion towards being labeled a harem hero to Hareta, then Tsukino must be diligently and purposefully trying to improve herself in her own way.
At times like this, a good man would stay silent and pretend not to notice. Paradoxically, I found satisfaction in the fact that I wasn’t a good man, as it proved that there was no disconnect between my self-assessment and reality.
“J-Just, answer my question,” she tried going back to that tea house.
“What do you wanna hear?”
“I, um…”
“See? There’s no clear answer. Same for me.”
“You’re tricky. I bet there is one, deep down.”
Perhaps it was too obvious how I pointed out the power difference, because Tsukino gripped my shirt tightly enough to leave wrinkles.
It’s quite satisfying, as a not handsome guy who lives alone in a humble house, to see Tsukino, who is both beautiful and comes from a good family, feeling frustrated. Just a bit.
“Well, whatever. You probably have something you want to talk about, right?”
“Oh my. You really do understand, don’t you?”
“I do indeed. Completely.”
With that, I understood that today was the anticipated D-day.
However, considering the recent tense atmosphere in the class, I couldn’t ignore it any longer. It was getting too tense and complicated, and it was time to address it.
Strike while the iron is hot. If there’s any way to resolve the situation, it’s now.
Well, I’ve already had my fill of knocking her down, so maybe I’ll just listen to Tsukino’s story as a gesture of thanks, and it won’t backfire.
…Besides, it’s probably Hareta who needs help, not Tsukino.
It’s not like it goes against my policy, after all.
Thank you for reading! Feel free to comment your opinions below!
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Leo
May 2, 2024 at 10:22 pmYay! An update!!
Declis
May 3, 2024 at 7:32 pmThanks for the TL, glad to see it continuing!