I Chose the Plain Girl Instead of the Class’s Top Three Beauties, and Somehow She Became the Heroine - 18

Chapter 18: Shared Hobby

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《Sora Mukei’s POV》

During lunch break, Akira poked his head in with his bento box in one hand.

“Sorry, Sora, I’m on library committee duty today. I don’t have time to eat!”

“Yeah yeah. Go on.”

“Osu!”

Akira ran off, and the classroom noise drifted away behind me. 

So it’s just me today… 

I thought, and grabbed two pieces of bread and some milk before heading to the courtyard. Under the camphor tree, there was a stone bench half in the sun and half in the shade. Just as I tore open the bag, small footsteps stopped.

“…U-Um, Mukei-kun.”

I looked up to see Hiroko Anno-san. She held a tote with her bento pressed to her chest, her back straighter than usual.

“Anno-san. Eating here again today?”

“T-Today… Yes. I like it here!”

I brushed off the end of the bench with a handkerchief and tapped it lightly.

“Here you go.”

“…Thank you.”

She sat down carefully. The black hairpin above her ear glinted. Her bangs were neatly parted, her ribbon was centered, and her lenses were spotless. And her lips had a faint tint to it.

“Your posture looks beautiful again today.”

“Eh?”

“You used to hunch over when reading, but since yesterday, your posture has been really nice.”

“…M-My sister told me… Yesterday.”

“Your sister?”

“Yeah. She teaches me lots of things.”

“She sounds like a good sister.”

When I noticed the soft pink on her lips, I added another comment.

“And you changed your lip color too, right? Yesterday, I thought it might be different, but I couldn’t find a chance to talk to you.”

“! Y-You can tell?”

“Yeah. It used to be colorless, right? Today there’s just a bit of color.”

“…D-Does it look weird?”

“It doesn’t. It looks fresh.”

Anno-san gripped the tote handles tightly with both hands and looked down. Even the tips of her ears were red.

I hope I didn’t say something unnecessary…

The sound of her bento opening and the rustle of bread wrapping seemed to interlap When my straw poked into the milk with a soft “pss,” she let out a tiny laugh.

“You really like milk, don’t you?”

“Hm? I guess. I’m a milk-with-bread person. And it tastes good drinking milk outside.”

Talking normally with Anno-san felt strangely enjoyable. Her bento had white rice, tamagoyaki, and lightly pickled cucumber. The side dishes were colorful and well-balanced.

“…I made today’s tamagoyaki a little better than usual!”

“Really? It does look delicious.”

“…Do you want some?”

“Eh? Is it okay?”

“Y-Yes.”

Once again, Anno-san offered it to me with an “a~n.” It was embarrassing, but also nice. It was sweet, and the dashi was more balanced than before.

“It’s delicious. The flavor’s a little more put together than last time.”

“M-More put together… I’m glad!”

From her tote, I noticed the spine of a paperback peeking out, with a tiny bookmark sticking from the pages.

“What are you reading now?”

“U-Um… this. A short story collection. I read one story at a time on the train…”

She handed me the book shyly. The short story collection, leaning toward poetry, had tiny sticky tabs on the page edges.

“Short stories are nice. You can finish one in a single train ride. I finished a light novel yesterday.”

“L-Light novels…You read them?”

“Quite a lot. I read mysteries too, but on tired days, lighter ones help.”

“…Yes! I like light novels too.”

“You read them too, Anno-san?”

I felt genuinely happy about the unexpected shared interest. She gently straightened the corner of the paperback with her thumb—an unforced, graceful motion.

“These days there are a lot aimed at girls too!”

“Yeah, there are. I read both kinds, but they’re easy to get into.”

I couldn’t help but feel happy at having something in common.

“The school library actually has a decent selection.”

“The library?”

Suddenly, Akira’s face came to mind.

“Yeah…The school keeps some. It’s quiet, so I go sometimes.”

“Oh, really? Hmm, I’d like to get your recommendations. I’ll bring something for you too.”

“…Then… Should we exchange recommendations?”

Anno-san smiled happily.

“It’s nice when you can talk about your impressions of the novel you read.”

“Yeah… It’s nice.”

She smiled softly, and her hairpin gleamed thinly.

“—Um.”

Gathering her courage, she spoke again.

“Today… In the classroom… I was happy I got to say good morning and so… I’m also.. I’m trying a little… From my posture… The lip tint… Things like that.”

She told me she was trying her best in her own way.

“When you told me I looked pretty… Uum… it made me really happy. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I also think I like your vibe, Anno-san.”

“L-Like!?”

For Anno-san, it was a loud reaction.

“Yeah. And I’m glad you like light novels too. I’d like to talk more with you.”

I had only said what I was thinking, so I didn’t understand why she was so surprised.

“…I see. Yeah. But Mukei-kun is kind, so…”

“Am I kind? I’m not sure myself.”

I didn’t deny it. I just took a bite of bread and continued.

“You know… Mukei-kun helps people, right?”

“Help people?”

“…Yeah. Like yesterday, with Miura-san.”

“Oh, yesterday.”

So Anno-san had seen Miura-san’s groping incident. But yesterday too?

“Um…Thank you.”

“Hm? What for?”

She adjusted her bangs like she’d just remembered, nudging her hairpin by a millimeter.

“No… It’s nothing.”

“Really? Ah, right. That hairpin suits you, Anno-san.”

“! Y-You’re praising me too much today…”

“But it’s true.”

She stopped the hand that was about to hide her face, and didn’t hide behind her hair. Even just that made her look different from a few days ago.

“Thank you… I’m happy.”

Her words reached me clearly and then, a distant chime rang.

“Should we go back?”

“…Yeah.”

As she stood, she slowly stretched her back. Graceful, the midday light poured over her, and she looked beautiful.

“Anno-san.”

“What?”

“Will you be here again tomorrow?”

“…Y-Yeah. Probably.”

“Then I’ll come too. I’ll think of one book to recommend.”

“I-I’ll think of two…”

She looked down and smiled. Somehow, I thought exchanges like this were pretty nice.

“…See you.”

“Yeah. Talking about books was fun. Let’s do it again.”

“…Yeah. Thank you, Mukei-kun.”

The courtyard bench became our secret time together.

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