Chapter 38: Huh?

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

TL: I want to thank you all for those reviews for this novel. If this novel somehow makes it in the top 30 (it is currently at 69) I will upload 2 chapters every day for 1 week straight.

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“…What should I do?”

I took a sip of spring water and did a few dance steps while thinking.

‘How can I get closer to Hatsune-san?’

First, I want to talk to her. But there’s a big distance between us in the classroom.

My seat is by the window in the back, and Hatsune-san’s is near the front by the hallway. We’re on opposite sides… (infuriating).

Going up to talk to her during a short break is pretty hard. Besides, it’s also hard to escape from the demon lord sitting next to me.

On top of that, I’m the type that draws unwanted attention.

If I suddenly moved to the front of the class, I’d get stares… and that's scary.

So, what about lunchtime?

Hatsune-san is usually having a good time chatting with Kisaragi-san.

Jumping into that group… seems impossible. Not to mention, I'd feel bad for both Kisaragi-san and Hatsune-san.

After school? Hatsune-san has club activities.

She's in the basketball club, I think.

How did I find out again… Oh yeah, I saw her running around the school building on my way home.

…

Both the Indian and Kansai dialect sides of me are at a loss for words.

This is seriously—

“Impossible, huh!”

Ah, I nailed the dance steps, but no steps for the plan (what?).

Maybe outside of school? On a weekend? Am I supposed to invite her out? That's impossible, I don't even have her contact info (coward).

…I need to think while taking a walk. Might as well head to the supermarket. I'll make chicken curry tonight—

---

“Buy me candyyyy!”

“Hey, put that back! Kanon!”

And just like that, I ran into them.

It was her—Hatsune-san's best friend.

I noticed them in the snack aisle, hearing Kanon-chan's voice throwing a tantrum. Kids’ voices carry, don’t they?

Obviously, they hadn’t noticed me yet.

…Kisaragi-san is Hatsune-san's best friend.

This might be a good opportunity to ask about her.

“…”

But would talking to her now be too much? She's in the middle of shopping, and wouldn't it come off as stalker-ish? (Too late to worry about that now?)

Hmm, but—

“—Ah!!”

“Ah.”

“…Ah.”

Three ‘Ah’s in a row.

Before I knew it, two pairs of eyes were fixed on my rainbow-colored hair.

Once again, I seem to have been saved by this colorful beacon.

---

“I’m sorry about Kanon… again.”

“Rainbow!!!”

“N-no, it’s fine.”

After finishing up at the store and heading out, I found myself carrying Kanon-chan on my back, walking them to their house once more.

I never expected this would happen two days in a row.

…By the way, I can’t look Kisaragi-san in the eye because she’s way too beautiful, so I'm staring straight ahead (shy introvert).

The fact that Kanon-chan is messing with my hair is actually a relief at the moment.

“…zzz.”

Ah, she fell asleep.

Well, the gentle rocking probably made her sleepy. It's like when you're on a train.

“Kanon's really taken a liking to you…”

“It's fine. I don't mind at all.”

For most guys in my class, this would be like a dream come true.

I mean, it does feel nice to be liked by kids. My back just hurts a bit, though (old man vibes).

“…By the way.”

Now that Kanon-chan was asleep, I decided to bring it up.

I hesitated for a moment, but… I figured I had to ask now.

“You and Hatsune-san are really close, right?”

“? Yeah.”

…Where do I go from here?

Do I go subtle and indirect?

Or do I go all in?

“…I, uh, want to get closer to Hatsune-san.”

“!”

“So, I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about her…”

I went with the straightforward option.

I didn't want to be sneaky about it, and besides, it's about her friend.

And let's face it, I'm not the type who can handle subtlety. I'd probably screw it up.

“Eh…”

The silence made me think I'd made a mistake.

“Is… is it a bad idea?”

“Oh, no, sorry! I was just surprised.”

“Huh?”

“Yesterday, Momo said the exact same thing.”

“!?’

Her unexpected words left my thoughts in disarray.

Yesterday… does that mean before I ran into them at the park?

I felt a mix of confusion and a strange sense of happiness—

“Fufu, you can ask me anything.”

“W-whoa… (dizzy). Okay then, what are Hatsune-san’s hobbies?”

I almost lost consciousness from her sudden smile, but I managed to hold on.

“She likes manga, anime, movies—basically all kinds of creative stuff. Though, she’s not really into novels.”

“I see.”

“And she’s really good at basketball.”

“I see…”

I asked questions without thinking too deeply about them. Yeah, that’s good. At least it's not an area I know nothing about.

I have some basketball knowledge from manga, so I should be fine.

“Does she have a boyfriend…?”

“I’ve never heard of her having one.”

Phew, good (relieved).

I had to check, just in case. After all, if she had a boyfriend, he wouldn’t like her having male friends.

“Uh… what about things she dislikes or struggles with?”

“She doesn't like classical literature or math.”

“…I-I see.”

That was unexpected. I guess she doesn’t have many dislikes or things she’s bad at. Let’s take it as a positive.

Okay, next, what else do I want to ask—?

“—Hey, Toumachi-kun.”

“! Y-yes?”

“Momo is actually surprisingly lonely. You wouldn't think so, would you?”

“Eh?”

“One time, we went shopping together and got separated… when I found her, she was on the verge of tears.”

Her voice had lifted slightly, and she looked amused as she recalled the story.

I nodded along, listening to her with interest.

It hit me then: Kisaragi-san and Hatsune-san are really close.

And I couldn’t help but feel a little bit… jealous.

“You two really seem like best friends, huh?”

“Fufu, do you think so?”

“Yeah. Oh—looks like we’re here.”

Talking with her made time fly. This house… I was just here yesterday.

“Kanon! Wake up!”

“…zzz.”

But this time, things were different. Yesterday, she woke up right away when we got here.

…What now?

“Ah, I’m sorry. Let me take Kanon.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure, go ahead.”

“…zzzz… hmmph.”

“Jeez, come on…”

I crouched down, and Kisaragi-san reached over to take Kanon off my back.

But—she wouldn't let go.

Like a little koala, Kanon-chan had her arms tightly wrapped around my neck.

And she was squeezing. Tight. My neck was getting crushed (suffocating).

Squeeeeze, squeeeeze…

It's very painful (dying).

“Guhhh (a noise filthier than a frog's croak).”

“! I-I’m so sorry!”

Kisaragi-san stopped struggling, concerned.

It's okay, it's okay. I'm not dead yet.

Still alive. Though I thought I'd gone to heaven for a moment, given how close she was (creepy).

“cough S-so, what should we do?”

“This is tricky… would you mind coming inside for a bit?”

“Huh?”

Huh?