Chapter 33: Cinderella Princess

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Translator: Soafp

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Mio was glaring at Sora with a hostile look. …However, the person in question was far too distracted to notice.

Ginji's smile was so cool!!

Yes, after that exchange with Ginji earlier, Sora's brain had basically overheated. She was struggling just to calm her racing heart, completely unaware of Mio's intense gaze.

Becoming conscious of her feelings for Ginji as the opposite sex had thrown Sora into emotional turmoil she'd never experienced before—nearly panicking. What's worse, Ginji's smile this time had gone from something that might make her squirm a little… to something she couldn't even look at directly anymore.

“……”

Naturally, Mio's feelings were overlooked. However, Ginji alone was silently connecting the dots between Mio's stare and the curious timing of the new transfer student's arrival. Meanwhile, Sora was sneakily glancing at Ginji, lost in thought—causing her to squirm even more.

It was a triangle of glances: Mio → Sora → Ginji → Mio.

Still, Mio quickly composed herself, gave a polite bow to end her introduction, and wrapped it up.

“Alright, Hazuki, you're in the front row. Please switch seats.”

Mio ended up seated next to Shiki. That fact alone raised Ginji's guard.

Lunchtime.

As expected of a transfer student, Mio was surrounded by curious classmates. She glanced toward Sora's desk—but Sora was already gone.

“Ginji! Let's go eat!”

Sora clung to Ginji's desk in a bit of a frenzy. Unfortunately, Ginji interpreted her behavior as possibly being related to Mio, and grew suspicious.

The two of them remained as out of sync as ever.

“…Yeah. I'm starving.”

For now, they decided to have lunch together. They headed for the cafeteria, but it was unusually crowded—probably due to a popular daily special.

“All the seats are taken. Happens every now and then.”

“Th-then, let's eat somewhere else… Like the old manga club room?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Let's go.”

The two entered a corner room on the third floor of the club building. It smelled a bit dusty and damp.

Ginji, familiar with the place, opened a window to let in some air. They spread out their lunches on a desk.

“Today's menu is spring rolls.”

Ginji's lunchbox consisted only of spring rolls.

“…Why just spring rolls?”

“Well, I usually have like three side dishes, but once I finished making the spring rolls, I just kinda burned out and called it a day.”

“That's not healthy. Here, have some of my potato salad.”

“Feels kinda wrong to take food from that tiny lunchbox of yours. Let's trade instead.”

“Okay. The spring roll's huge…”

While struggling to fit the oversized spring roll into her mouth, Sora glanced around the room.

Being here reminded her of that day—when her drawing had been torn, and a group of boys had cornered her. And how Ginji had saved her. Her chest warmed at the memory, and she started fanning herself to cool down.

“This potato salad's great. It's got a bit of a kick.”

“I added a little mustard… More importantly, Ginji, can I ask you something?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Why do you help me, Ginji?”

“I told you before, didn't I? I want people who try hard to be rewarded.”

He answered casually, chewing on another spring roll.

“But I want to know the real reason you go this far for me.”

Sora wanted to take one step closer to Ginji's heart. Asking about someone else like this was scary for her—but her desire to understand him was stronger.

Under Sora's serious gaze, Ginji scratched his cheek awkwardly and stuffed the remaining rice into his mouth in one go.

“Phew… Thanks for the meal. Honestly, it's nothing that deep.”

“Okay.”

Ginji stood up and pulled a book from the shelf.

“Ever read one of these?”

“A novel?”

“Something like that. It's a light novel. I'm kind of a nerd—I like this stuff.”

The book had an illustrated cover. Looking closer, the other books on the shelf had similar titles.

“Come to think of it, I saw books like this at your house too.”

“You've got a good memory. These are stories where people who work hard get rewarded. That kind of genre. I really got into them back in middle school. You reminded me of the protagonists in those stories when I first saw you. Someone who keeps trying but never seems to catch a break. I just felt like I had to step in.”

“…I see.”

“Disappointed? Maybe I'm just playing out some kind of fantasy—projecting you onto a character.”

“I was hoping for a more dramatic backstory.”

Sora smiled, teasing him.

“Well, too bad. Reality's never that grand.”

“I don't know about that. Truth is often stranger than fiction. For me, you really are a ‘miracle,' Ginji.”

“…That so? Then we've got to make this count. Time to plan our next move—Phase Two!”

“Yeah. But first… are those books yours?”

“Nah, my friends from the manga club left them here for me. Just borrowed stuff.”

“Hmm… Maybe I'll read one too.”

“There's some that got turned into anime. I'll grab you one—hang on.”

“No, it's okay. I think I can reach it.”

As the two of them stood in front of the shelf, Sora accidentally bumped into it, sending a cloud of dust falling down onto her.

“Ughh… Why did it have to fall right on me…”

“Ha! You've got the worst luck. …Hey, come to think of it, stories about hard-working people getting rewarded—that's a theme in old classics too, right?”

Ginji said as he brushed dust off Sora's head.

“Like what?”

Heart pounding from the closeness and the feel of his large hands, Sora looked up at him.

Their eyes met, and Ginji grinned brightly.

“Well, of course… Cinderella, the ash-covered princess.”

“…Gyuh.”

“You okay!? What's wrong!?”

Sora had short-circuited—for many reasons.