My Fiancée is a Cool-Headed, Peerless Angel - Chapter 45
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Chapter 45: The Secret of the Angel of Affection and Elegance
TL: lime
ED: Spynine01
“This is the library. We have manga, magazines, and CDs that you can borrow here. It’s also the perfect place to study at before a test. You can study in a calm space and improve your grades! Why don’t you come and visit this place? Maybe it will become your next favorite place――.”
“――Yes. Okay.”
As expected of Shijo. She read the lines out loud in a very natural way, as if she were used to it already.
Shiori was too much for me, so I had her swapped with Shijo, and the difference is between heaven and earth.
I don’t need to look back, but when I look at the camera shooting the video, I can’t help but think, “Did I get it right?”.
W-Whoa!
Shijo’s face was so close that our cheeks rubbed against each other, and I reflexively moved away from her.
At my reaction, she said, “Ah…”.
“I-I’m sorry. I-It’s just a usual habit…”
A usual habit? I wondered what she meant by that.
“H-How is it? Is it good?”
As I was thinking about it, Shijo looked into the video camera with some distance between us.
“A-Ah…”
I cleared my throat and tilted the video camera to a better angle for her to look at.
“What do you think, Isshiki-kun?”
“Yes. You said your lines well, and since this is a school guide, I think it’s fine.”
“That’s right!”
Shijo sounded a little excited at my answer.
“It’s a school guide, so wouldn’t it be nice if I could say my lines normally?”
“Well, I’m not a professional in that regard.”
“That’s right! ――But Touma-kun, he’s so annoying.”
“Ah. He’s the kind of guy who’ll go to great lengths to make it perfect.”
“He’s really such a… spartan. ――He’ll say things like, ”Inflection is important in this line,” or “You’re out of tune. Once more.”――. Is this karaoke or what! ――That’s what I thought.”
When Shijo was talking about Touma, she had a somewhat happy look on her face.
♢
“Good work.”
After the library, I went to the cafeteria and had the same line said to me, and since I had settled down, I took a short break on a bench set up near the vending machines in the courtyard.
It was cold again today, so I thought I’d get Shijo a hot drink, and so I gave her a warm latte. “Thank you,” she said innocently.
I sat down next to Shijo and opened the coffee I had bought.
I’m not a big fan of coffee, but since I was in front of a girl, I was a bit excited and bought it. I’m actually a big fan of chilled Coke, even in the middle of winter――well it’s cold again today, so it should be fine to have a coffee.
“What about the rest of the shoot?”
I asked as I drank my least favorite drink, trying to give off the vibe that I always drink it.
Shijo replied, sipping her café latte as if she really enjoyed it.
“We’re done for today.”
“Today…?”
I had a bad feeling about this, and when I asked her about it, Shijo answered with a wry smile.
“The rest… it’s related to the club activities…”
“Ugh… Club activities… I think you had quite a bit of it left.”
“It’s not all of them. Just a few of the major ones and a few of the less important ones.”
“So you’re saying I should give you a hand for a few more days…?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Seriously…”
I thought it would only be for one day, so my shoulders slumped down in disappointment. By the way, they didn’t say it was just for today, so I’m sure it’s just that I misunderstood them.
“It’s fine. Your fiancée is with you in this.”
“You may be mistaken about something, but we’re not exactly lovers, okay?”
“It’s kind of the same thing, isn’t it?”
“It’s completely different. In the first place, even if I got married, my parents decided that on their own――”
“But you two seem to be getting along pretty well, aren’t you?”
“Well, we’ve been living together for so――”
I was surprised and cleared my throat, “Ahem!” and corrected my words.
“I-If you put it that way, you and Touma seem to be getting along pretty well too, don’t you think?”
I’m going to come here and change the subject to something that Nakano-san and I talked about earlier.
It may be a cunning move, but that’s where I inherited my father’s cunning ways. I’ll put it to good use.
“You seemed to be happy or even enjoying yourself when you were talking about Touma earlier, weren’t you?”
Come on! Be shy and act, “T-This is the end of this topic! Let’s go back to the club room!” by saying a pattern like that! And also end this conversation already!
――However, contrary to my expectations, Shijo seemed to see right through me――and as if she had a lot of time on her hands――. She looked at me with such an expression and,
“That’s right.”
Shijo crossed her hands and stretched them forward, as if she was trying to catch her breath.
“Because I like Touma-kun.”
“――Eh…”
――Bang.
I dropped the canned coffee that I was holding, causing brown liquid to overflow onto the ground.
I was so surprised by the sudden statement that I lost the strength in my hands for a moment.
“Ah. What a waste.”
The kind Shijo picked the cup up, shook it lightly, and when she was sure there was nothing inside, she asked, “I’m going to throw it away, okay?” and then threw it in the trash without hearing my response.
“Eh? Are you guys dating then?”
I asked, looking at the trash can, and she denied it with a laugh.
“It would be like a dream if we could go out with each other.”
She came back to the bench.
“Unrequited love?”
“Yeah…”
Shijo gave an embarrassed little nod.
“In other words, he doesn’t realize it.”
“I don’t know… I think I’ve been trying to appeal to him quite a bit. Touma-kun joined the film studies club, so I also joined――”
“What!? Is that so!?”
“That’s right. I wasn’t really interested in movies, but… well, thanks to the club, I’m interested in it now.”
Shijo is pretty rugged, huh…
“――And then there’s… calling Touma-kun by his first name, or putting my face close to his during a shoot――”
When she remembered it, “Ah” she told me, explaining.
“The habit I just mentioned earlier――it’s something I always do when I’m filming with Touma-kun.”
“Putting your face close to him?”
“Ah yes. Ahaha… It might be a little too flirtatious.”
“W-Well… a little.”
I answered with a wry smile.
“――But… Touma-kun, he doesn’t notice my feelings at all…”
“Hmm. He’s not a quirky, insensitive character, so he should be aware of what’s going on…”
“Maybe――”
Shijo started to say something, then quickly waved her hands in the air and shook her head, “Ah, it’s nothing.”
“――But, is it okay? Saying something like this to me?”
“Yes… Isshiki-kun――I knew the secret of Isshiki-kun and Nanasegawa-san anyways, so now we’re even.”
“We’re even?”
I think that would be more embarrassing that way though――.
“――And so I thought I’d ask Isshiki, who is a close friend of Touma-kun, to help me out with this.”
“Ah… That’s your real intention, right?”
“Ahaha. Did you figure it out?”
She smiled adorably, and I sighed.
“――Well, that’s fine. I’ve never even been in a relationship, let alone confess to someone. I don’t think such a guy would be useful here?”
“It’s okay. I’ll use you to my advantage.”
“It’s so weird to hear someone with such a pretty face say something so black-hearted.”
“Ah, but it’s not that bad. Really.”
She desperately tried to make excuses for herself, but as expected of the angel of affection and elegance, she seemed unable to be such a bad person.
I burst out laughing when I saw her like that.
“AHAHA! W-Well use me to your advantage then.”
When I stood up and said, “I’m going back,” she called me, “Isshiki-kun”.
“You have to keep this a secret. I haven’t told anyone about this.”
“I know. Shijo has been keeping quiet about us too. I’ll never tell anyone.”
I made a stern face and said in a clear voice.
“――Ah… Do you think I should tell Nanasegawa-san?”
“Hey, hey. Give me back my cool, promising vibe just now.”
“Eh. But… I know Isshiki-kun’s secret and Nanasegawa-san’s secret, right? It might be unfair if I don’t tell Nanasegawa-san as well.”
“――I’ll leave it to you. It’s about Shijo’s choice after all.”
“I understand.――Yes! I’ll say it! I’ll tell Nanasegawa-san too!”
Say it then.
Well, Shiori is tight-lipped――tight-lipped…? She’s the type of person who would dig her own grave if I think about what happened the other day――. W-Well, if she doesn’t say it intentionally, it’ll be fine, so I won’t stop her if she wants to tell her that.
So when I tried to end the conversation, I somehow managed to learn a ridiculous secret of the Angel of Affection and Elegance.