Living Normally In An Abnormal World

Chapter 57: Snow, Men, and Women: Part 1

The season is winter.

When I open the window and look outside, I see the snow falling.

Most children would probably be excited and go out to play as soon as they see the snow, but I was more interested in the snow that had accumulated on the ground.

(I can’t ride my bike to school.)

For me, who is forbidden from going out on foot, this was a matter of life and death. When I was in first grade, I often went out on foot to satisfy my desire to walk, but it was considered dangerous, so I was given a bike. It was an obvious decision.

I could ask Mana to get me to school, but considering this snow, we don’t have any other choice but to use the train.

I feel bad that I have to use a fake illness again.

When I contacted my homeroom teacher, she already expected it and said, “You can’t come to school because of the snow, right?”

And so, at around 9 a.m., Mana is at work, Yuuna is at school, and I’m the only one at home. I have a few hours of free time before Yuuna comes home.

　〇〇〇〇

The students and teachers at school are feeling unwell. This is because Kinoshita Yuuto isn’t at school today due to the snow.

Moreover, if the snow doesn’t melt after it stops, he won’t be able to come to school for several days. It’s certain that they won’t be able to see him for a few days, not just today.

For most people, this was unbearable.

Among them, the one who suffered the most because of his absence was

(What should I do now?)

Yanagi, his official stalker.

Her hobby as a stalker is to observe his actions and write a newspaper about them.

However, since he isn’t at school, she can’t stalk him, and she can’t write the newspaper.

The only thing she can do is

[YuuYuu, I’m bored. Please come to school soon.]

[Even if you tell me that, Yanagi, I can’t do anything about it.]

She was chatting with him personally on L〇NE during break time.

[If you don’t come soon, I’ll go crazy.]

[You’re already crazy.]

[I don’t want to hear that from an abnormal person.]

[Huh?]

When it’s just the two of them, he becomes a bit rude. Even though he gave her permission, she intentionally writes things that irritate him. After doing this repeatedly, he started responding like this.

By the way, Maria also wanted to be treated like this, so she tried to tease him, but he took it seriously, and an incident occurred where she ended up hurting his feelings instead.

[Can I go play today?]

[It’s fine. And you’re bringing everyone, right?]

[Yes.]

(Still, to be able to reply so fast…)

She saw that he replied within seconds of reading the message, and she began to wonder if he really saw her as a woman. However, she didn’t want to be too conscious of him and reduce the time they spent together, and since she could go to his house, she thought it was all right in the end.

…

Meanwhile, Samejima Asuka was

[I’m thinking of putting nameko, tofu, and wakame in today’s miso soup. What do you think?]

[I think it’s a good idea. And I like all of them.]

[Is that so? Then, let’s do that today.]

She was being consulted by Yuuto about their dinner.

At first, she was nervous about having dinner together with him and his family, but now that they’ve done it over 100 times, it has become a daily source of healing for her.

She is in the most delicious position without realizing it. Unlike her classmates at school, she can definitely spend time with him and even eat his home-cooked meals.

If she were to be bullied, this would definitely be one of the decisive reasons.

By the way,

He doesn’t know that she’s secretly smitten with him. So, he has the image of her as a quiet and cool person.

In girls’ gatherings, she talks about him with the same level of enthusiasm as Kimura Rina.

When she asked him if it was a bother for him to have dinner with her every day,

‘No, it’s not a bother. It’s better to have more people at the dinner table. Besides, I already think of you as like a fami… Well, anyway, it’s not a bother, so please come every day!’

He almost let it slip that he thought of her as family. She’s not so hard of hearing that she didn’t notice that. But even after hearing that, she was able to

‘Thank you.’

respond with a straight face, so it’s obvious.

Since they started having dinner together, she stopped talking to him at school. She avoids talking to him to prevent others from finding out how close they have become.

(I wonder when dinner time will come~♪)

As the atmosphere around her became visibly dark, she became cheerful on her own, which made her classmates suspicious.

　〇〇〇〇

(Hmm, what should I do to crush Yūto-kun today?)

Kimura Rina was thinking about something dangerous. However, there was no problem because she was just thinking about which game to play today.

Recently, she has even started participating in game tournaments and boasting to him after winning.

It’s impossible for him, who is just an enjoyer, to beat her. For years, she has only given him losses.

It was because his reactions when he loses are simply entertaining, and he provokes her with various anime references, which makes it enjoyable in its own way.

But the main reason is because,

“Rina and I don’t have a relationship where we need to entertain each other. I want to enjoy playing games with Rina at her best.”

And his words took away her mercy.

‘W-Wait… Can you just go a little easy on me?’

He said with a trembling voice.

‘Nope~’

She smiled and replied to his trembling voice, and it’s a good memory for her.

However, even as he continued to lose, he gradually improved, and what used to be a perfect game for her has now become a game where he can at least shave off 30% of her HP bar before losing.

(Hmm, should I play Sm〇sh today?)

She is a Dr. Maria user.

By the way, since it’s a stock-based game, he has never been able to defeat her Dr. Maria.

[Yuuto-kun, let’s play Sm〇sh today?]

[Okay, I’ll crush you.]

By the way, he is a Little M〇c user.

If he prevents her from recovering, she gets really angry.

And then, Tachibana Maria was

(Today, I don’t have any lessons, so I’m going to play at Yuuto-sama’s house.)

She was thinking about today’s plans without any worries.

She had already heard the rumor that he was engaged with her, and even though she tried to deny it, no one believed her, so she had given up halfway. Also, at the party, she hugged him in public, so it had become an irreversible fact.

However, thanks to this rumor, she no longer had to deal with men who came to her for matchmaking.

By the way, he heard the rumor from Sakata Luna at Tachibana Maria’s request. She was embarrassed to bring up the rumor herself, so she asked Sakata Luna to hear his reaction. But when she heard it, he didn’t seem to mind the rumor and didn’t show any signs of disgust.

She had been worried that she might be rejected, but after hearing that, she became optimistic, thinking that she was a woman who was at least somewhat worthy of him.

However, she wanted him to be a little more flustered or blush. Moreover, he didn’t bring up the rumor afterward. She wanted him to bring it up on his own, but his response made her think that he really didn’t care about it.

So, she decided that she would have to bring up the rumor herself next time.

If she left it as it is, she might be forced to get engaged due to social pressure, and it would be awkward. For her, it was completely, absolutely, no problem, and she even felt like she had accomplished something. But since his opinion was the most important, she couldn’t ignore it.

(How should I ask him about it…?)

Her own worries increased.

　〇〇〇〇

“Ah, Nii-cha is tweeting, how unusual.”

“Yeah, that’s rare.”

After lunch, it was lunchtime. I was talking to Yuuna, who was sitting next to me.

While he was on home security duty, he tweeted

[When I’m the only one at home, I suddenly lose the motivation to cook. So, I’ll have cup noodles… It seems like I’ve been eating cup noodles a lot lately.]

along with a photo of the seafood noodles he was about to eat.

[Eat more nutritious food.]

[I understand your feelings, but take care of your health.]

[Yeah, I know… ]

[Take better care of yourself.]

It was just a casual tweet, but he was a rare male, everyone’s idol, and the person inside the famous Grauzer.

The fact that he, who has these three elements, was eating such an unhealthy meal surprised everyone.

There were more replies expressing concern for his health than likes.

Some even replied with a tweet that exceeded the character limit on Tw〇tter.

[Ever since I came to know about you, Kinoshita Yuuto-kun, my life has changed. My daily life has become more vibrant. You always do your best, you don’t take people’s kindness for granted, you’re kind to everyone without discrimination, and you’re not only cool but also cute. But sometimes, you’re a bit clumsy, which makes you even more charming. That’s who you are, Yuuto-kun. I can’t bear the thought of you collapsing because of your unhealthy diet.]

The girls were so worried that they even exceeded the character limit on Tw〇tter.

“Won’t this cause a scandal?”

“Well, I think it’s a good kind of scandal. Onii-san is selfless,, and he doesn’t take care of himself. I think this will be a good lesson for him.”

“Well, Mama will definitely scold him.”

“……Our time to be spoiled will decrease.”

“Well that’s completely unrelated to me though!!”

“Mukyahhh!”

After that, the two decided to play over at Sanae’s house.

Then, everyone gathered at Kinoshita Yuto’s house.

And what they witnessed when they gathered at his house was,

“Yuu-kun, are you really reflecting on your actions?”

Kinoshita Yuto was made to sit in seiza, and Kinoshita Mana was scolding him.

“Ah, welcome. Just wait a moment.”

Noticing them, Mana greeted them and returned to her scolding.

Since this matter was completely his own fault, the girls turned on the TV and started playing games while waiting.

They couldn’t just watch the scolding right next to them, so they pretended to play games while eavesdropping.

“I’m sad. I found out that Yuu-kun was lying to me.”

“Huh?”

“You said you were considering nutrition when you called, right? What about that seafood cup noodle? Were you thinking that it didn’t count because you drank green juice?”

“Well, that was…”

“So, starting tomorrow, I’ll make a proper side dish for you to eat, okay?”

“!”

“Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Then, you can get up now. Are you okay? Does it hurt?”

“I’m fine because I was sitting on a cushion. My legs just went numb.”

“Oh… I’ll support you.”

“Thank you.”

Mana placed her hand on Yuuto’s back to support him so he wouldn’t fall.

Seeing the two of them like this,

(What’s with this exchange like an old married couple?)