Chapter 6: With such bait, I, the nerd, am lured and caught in a bear trap. — Part 1
Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.
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.
T/N: Sorry for the long, long, long wait for this chapter! I have no excuses for this one, so forgive this lowly translator, o mighty reader! (lol)
Updates will be more frequent if all goes well.
“—I get the gist of it.”
Inside the convenience store, the small dine-in area gets crowded when two people sit side by side. On the counter table, her cup of ice cream and my hot coffee are placed side by side. Through the large glass window in front of us, the town has become completely dark, and a full moon is floating in the night sky.
Inside that same convenience store, we sat shoulder to shoulder and crowded that dining area barely made for two. Her cup of ice cream and my steaming coffee both sat atop the table as if mirroring us two. A gasp of mist fogged the large window in front of us, but it didn’t do much to cover the hanging moon above.
“Don’t tell anyone, okay?”
That cute girl flashed me a peace sign while laying on the counter. Seeing the angelical Godrays spawning from her imaginary wings, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized to see such a beautiful figure before me.
Sure, on the one hand, I should’ve been a bit more used to her by now. On the other, more impactful hand, she is a stunner and she is standing a hair’s breadth away from me. In fact, she grazed my body every now and then, which was a bit too powerful for someone not used to it. One time, she came onto me like,
“Hey, your smartphone! That’s the new model, ain’t it, creepy nerd? Lemme borrow, lemme at it!”
“H-Hey, I get it. Please, just step back!”
And soon later it went like,
“Wow, your wallpaper. Her rack’s huuuge! That’s one of those ‘moe’ things, isn’t it?”
“Heya! Stop, give it back!”
No matter how benevolent one is, it’s irrefutable I’m less than a novice when it comes to all things romantic (or remotely like it). In fact, I wonder how many times I’ve awkwardly coughed just today to conceal this inner tsunami going on inside me. Ugh, it’s so embarrassingly obvious how flustered I am.
For her, these acts of physical proximity probably hold no significant meaning, and I’m totally aware of that. Still, for someone so deprived of these casual experiences, these stimulations are quite too much for my little heart to bear.
“Damn. I ended up downing two ice-creams. If I wake up chubbier tomorrow, that’ll be mighty hilarious!”
If one day, by some weird stroke of fate, I decided to replicate what she’s done on a day as cold as this, I’ll end up with a crying stomach. No doubt in my mind.
As scary as it is, the way she just yoinks a spoonful and lifts it up to her lips, humming along merrily, is just too adorable for words to explain. Her beautifully-made eyes gazed at me, and a lovely scent mixed with her half-eaten vanilla sweet. While her words were often not awfully pleasant to hear, her voice was utterly gorgeous. Also, her timidly curled hair suited her to the tee-est tee, and…
“You want some?” She lifted a bit and pointed her spoon to me.
“N-Not… really.”
“Oh my, I’ve been rejected! Sob, sob.”
Even her cutesy corner smile was adorable. Still, could you stop? I begged in my mind. As soon as she’d extended her used spoon at me—at someone introverted and unfitting like me, I became even more repulsive.
And so, these exchanges continued for about an hour. Throughout that time, she remained by my side while launching continuous assaults of beauty. In the end, I had been left an exhausted husk. Hey, I beg of you, could you please lower your beauty level for a minute?
Still, that really happened. From her mischievous offer, we’d spent an entire hour just chatting there. At that time, not only was I confused, but she was too. This mismatched duo kept being tossed and toyed by these unfamiliar emotions we—or at least I could barely understand. And then, when she just cutely sneezed—
“A-Anyway, it’s cold. Let’s go inside,” I pointed to the convenience store, where warmth could probably be found.
“Hey, wait… Yikes, my nose is running.”
“Ah, don’t do that! I’ve got some tissues here.”
I desperately tried to stop her from using her sleeves to clean up the mess, but,
“Oh~! Look, my sleeves are getting all shiny!” She attempted to force her way through while I acted against it.
Sure, I know “cuteness is justice” is a thing and all that, but attempting to wipe dripping snot with your own sleeve is quite yucky, isn’t it? With that in mind, I told her to wait and that I had tissues on me. Aw, look. Now even the store clerk noticed us from inside the store!
A boy and a girl started causing a ruckus just outside. Moreover, the girl covered her face with her hands while the ugly guy next to her rummaged through his own bag. From the silent perspective of an onlooker, it would definitely be bewildering to wonder “What the heck are they even doing?”
Plus, I think the clerk herself must’ve thought something happened. I mean, If someone were to see this scene without much context, they would most likely worry and try to know what’s going on with the girl. However, explaining this ridiculously odd happening would pose a challenge, to say the least.
Before this silliness could continue further, I managed to pull out a half-empty pack of tissues. Alright. With this, everything should be resolved… Or so I thought, but,
“Ah—choo!”
Her second shot came perfectly timed. Contrary to earlier, however, it was a spectacular follow-up. I couldn’t see her face clearly since she covered it with her hands, but it seemed like she’d reached critical condition. Snot-wise, I mean.
“…me,” she muttered quietly, hands still covering her face.
“Hm?”
Well, you see, maybe I was partly responsible for just asking her what she meant at that moment. But, you see, I couldn’t hear her well. Besides, if she had something to say, it would be quite worrisome given the circumstances, so I couldn’t take any chances. So, forgive me for not knowing what she meant.
“Gib me!”
Her next speech came out painted in crimson anger, as her voice clearly indicated. I could even see peeks of red coming from her skin… I wonder though, how much did come out? Her voice was quite nasal and closed, after all.
“Sorry!”
Slow as I was, I didn’t factor in how she couldn’t just get the tissue on her own since she had to cover her own snot-ridden face. Quickly, I opened the pack to give some to her, all while feeling knives-for-glares boring my skin. So, I just turned my back and held it out without looking directly at the Gorgon.
After a couple of ungodly noises, she tapped me on the shoulder with a closed fist, so as to not dirty me.
“Aw, embarrassing. If my friends had seen this, I would’ve fallen stiff and dead on the floor!”
I never did, and never would understand why she handed me the empty wrapper of the pocket tissues, though she acted like nothing even happened in the first place. Moving on, with the lovely chime of a store, our entrance was announced and the clerk received us with the customary greeting.
My mind went back to what she just said… Yeah, it’s totally understandable.
While watching her back as she passed through the automatic doors, I couldn’t help but wonder why it wasn’t a problem for me to see her in that sorry state. But then again, we weren’t even friends, just classmates at best. It was more like a princess and her convenient squire, I bet.
Considering that, although I invited her into the convenience store in the flow of the conversation, I wondered if it would be okay to leave her there and go home. A slightly wicked thought sprouted within me, and who could blame me? Anyone who has any complaints about this choice, please come forward. I’ll gladly switch with you, seriously.
As I crushed the empty packet in a grip, I felt the corners of my mouth crook evilly. It seemed like the devil on my shoulder was having a blast, his chorus a resounding, “Abandon her!”. Well, first of all, I had no reason to listen, nor any obligation to attend to her request, obviously.
From the very beginning, I had no intention of agreeing to her whims. Once I did, I knew I’d be dragged into a chaotic mess I wouldn’t escape from. That’s a hard pass for me, I’ll be honest. I’m the type of nerd that cherishes peace and freedom. I don’t have the skill to deal with other people’s mess.
Thus now that this party has reached its climax, it was my time to play the escape card.
“Welp, take care now—huh?”
As I was about to wave bye-bye and leave, separated by the storefront glass, she beckoned me from inside. I could see her face, and although she seemed to wear a kind smile, I could hear her moving lips.
“Come here, quick.”
“O-Okay.”
Look, what kind of fate would await me if I chose to escape now? Plus, it was the first time someone ever beckoned me to anything, so don’t put the blame on me. Though I have to say, the smile of a beautiful girl instills a different kind of fear into one’s soul. It was a pressure unusual to me, and it quickly cut off all my exits almost as if physically. And as if that wasn’t enough, the store clerk had her eyes stuck on me with great interest, a sign she probably misunderstood this whole spiel.
“Sigh…” I’d never sighed so heavily before, and it was quite something, I tell ya.
Getting the fact I had no escape, I reluctantly resigned myself to whatever was to come.
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