Chapter 140: Friend of a friend

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

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Saturday, the progress on cleaning is about 70%.

The new bottle ship that arrived sits untouched as I can only stare at the instruction manual (clean your room already).

The sun sets.

“…”

I slept, brewed some coffee (70 points), and got on the train.

Before I knew it, the time to meet Shiori-san was quickly approaching.

It still doesn't feel real, and I begin to wonder if staying at Kisaragi-san's house on Saturday was just a dream.

…That tiny Hatsune-san was so cute…

[Approaching ▼□ Station――――]

“!?”

There's no time to reminisce about yesterday.

I get off at the promised station and start looking for my commuter pass in my pocket.

…Huh?

“What?”

No way. Now?

“She’s… not here…”

Among the crowd of people passing by, I'm the only one standing still.

The commuter pass that should have been there… is gone.

And so is the pass case I put it in.

…Maybe when I took out my phone?

…If that's the case, it must be on the train…

[――Train is about to depart――]

And when I look back, the train is pulling away.

…It's over…

“――Excuse me.”

“!?”

“You dropped this, didn't you?”

“Huh?”

In front of me stood a girl about my age.

In her hand was my pass case with the Z-grade shark movie merchandise I bought (commuter pass holder).

It's designed to look like a person wearing a shark costume, about to swallow something whole (¥1500).

It's cheaper than a movie ticket, what a deal (not the time for that).

“That's a unique pass case.”

“Yes… (feeling embarrassed)”

She's a friend of a friend.

Her name, if I recall correctly, is Rikka Tachibana.

What an embarrassing way to meet…

“Shall we go?”

“…Yes.”

“You speak formally, Toumachi-kun.”

“A-Ah… yes.”

“It doesn't really matter to me either way.”

This is awkward.

If we were closer, she could probably tease me more easily.

[——”You can’t get girls, but you sure can drop your pass ☆”——]

…Well, no one's actually going to say something like that.

The Demon King is a much kinder person (worship).

“Do you know me?”

“Uh, you're Rikka Tachibana, right?”

“You're using my full name. Just Rikka is fine.”

“C-Calling you by your first name right away is (feeling like a loser).”

“…Huh? Well, either way is fine.”

“I-I'll stick with Tachibana-san…”

Don't underestimate my inability to deal with women (who do I think I am?).

“…”

“…”

So, what do I do now?

This conversation is going nowhere fast (panic).

There are still 5 minutes and 42 seconds left until the scheduled meeting time.

It's 10 a.m., but right now each second feels like ten.

Let's start the calculations—(5×60+42)×10=3420, 3420÷60≒60… meaning, I have approximately 60 minutes.

Hey, that's practically an hour! (idiot).

What am I supposed to do? (second time).

“Ah (divine inspiration).”

“?”

---

195: Name: (‘∀`) 

First day of university today. 

Waiting for a conversation professor.

196: Name: (‘∀`) 

Stop with the fake Chinese. 

Just wing it when it comes to conversations.

197: Name: (‘∀`) 

I feel like I'm drowning here, so please save me…

198: Name: (‘∀`) 

Just talk about hobbies or something. 

Most people have at least one hobby.

199: Name: (‘∀`) 

My hobby is creating garbage threads on anonymous message boards and enjoying the residents’ harsh reactions. 

I dedicate at least an hour to this every day.

How about that?

200: Name: (‘∀`) 

Now that’s a noble hobby (lol). 

Feel free to leave (lol).

201: Name: (‘∀`) 

That might actually be a hit.

---

In times like these, talking about hobbies is always a safe bet. 

And luckily, I've already heard from Shiori-san that she likes books.

…I've won (at what?).

“Tachibana-san, you like books, right?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“What kind of books do you read?”

“Mostly mysteries.”

“I-I see… that's interesting…”

“Mhm.”

“Interesting… (awkward pause)”

“?”

” “

Wait, hold on a second.

Isn’t this a dangerous topic?

If she's a big fan of mysteries and I've just recently started reading them, won't she find my attempts to talk about it annoying? (brain working at full speed).

Quick, change the topic!

“Did you get a haircut? (nonsensical)”

“No, I didn't.”

“Right… okay.”

“…We've barely met before, haven't we?”

“Y-Yeah, I guess we haven't…”

It's over.

“Hey.”

“Y-Yes? (voice cracking)”

“You don't have to force yourself to talk. I'm used to silence.”

“Oh, thank you… (useless).”

“Yeah. I'm like that with Shiori too.”

I can't really imagine Shiori-san being super talkative either. 

Actually, thinking about it makes me feel a bit jealous (ugly jealousy). 

Maybe that's why they became close. Since she's not the talkative type, they connected through their shared love of books.

“By the way, you and Shiori-san are in different classes, but you still became friends?”

“Yeah, I figured we'd get along since Shiori is always reading. Thought we'd have something in common.”

“Haha, that makes sense.”

“Yeah. I first noticed her in the library, though.”

“Well, Shiori-san is part of the library committee.”

“No, it wasn't that. How could I not notice the girl who's constantly exchanging letters with someone with rainbow-colored hair?”

“…Oh.”

Now that she mentions it, I wasn't thinking about how it looked from the outside. 

Well, with hair like mine, there's no point in worrying about it (laughs). 

…But, does that mean…

Did I help Shiori-san make a new friend? 

Maybe I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.

“That's when I started paying attention to Shiori, even though we were in different classes.”

“I-I see.”

“Yup. Ah, here she comes.”

“—Everyone, sorry to keep you waiting!”

And just like that, I heard her voice.

I feel relieved, seeing her smile.

And wow, there's a massive mountain in the background…!

---

“Shiori, you didn't forget your library card or anything?”

“I'm fine!”

“Good to hear.”

“(They kind of seem like sisters…)”

When thinking about where high schoolers would go to hang out, karaoke, bowling, or the arcade come to mind. 

I've never been to any of those with friends (how sad). 

Does karaoke count, though…?

But this time, the three of us aren't going to any of those places.

“…This is my first time going to the library with friends.”

“It's actually pretty nice here. They've got a restaurant, a gym, and even a pool.”

“W-Wait, are we going to swim?!”

“I said we were going to read today, didn't I?”

“Oh… thank goodness (pathetic).”

My heart wouldn't be able to handle that. 

And besides, I didn't even bring anything to swim in.

“It's Shiori-san's first time here too, right?”

“…Ah, um, y-yes.”

“?”

“Y-Yes, it's my first time.”

“O-Oh… okay.”

What was that reaction just now? 

Wait, she hasn't been here before, right?

Am I losing my memory?

“So, how about we meet in front of the restaurant around 1 p.m.?”

“Got it.”

“Okay! See you both later!”

And with that, we're off to do nothing but read for a while.

We're model students!