The Case of Liking the Most Beautiful Girl in the School Even After Being Told Not to Like Her - Chapter 11 - Say What You Think

Chapter 11 – Say What You Think

My foot hit the basket and made a noise. I can no longer fool her.

“Y-Yes, I’m here…”

Prepared to be yelled at, I told Mina-san that I was nearby. Then, I heard Mina-san’s voice from the other side of the door.

“Then can you get some clothes from my room? I forgot to bring a change of clothes…”

“Go and get it yourself.”

“I-It’s because I’m not wearing clothes right now…”

“Then use the clothes you just took off and get them—”

“I can’t, they’re wet!”

I hadn’t even finished and Mina-san shouted at me from the other side of the door.

Well, I wouldn’t want to wear wet clothes. They’re wet and uncomfortable, and it’s supposed to be hard to put on.

“All right. So where are the clothes?”

“Bring the one on the shelf right next to you when you enter the room. Ah, just for this time, you can go into the room normally without any rules or anything.”

“On the shelf… Okay, wait a minute.”

I left and went upstairs. Since she gave me permission, I don’t have to knock, do I? I opened the door slowly and went inside.

“Excuse me…”

I haven’t been in Mina-san’s room since the day she moved in. I’ve been in here before, but I still don’t feel comfortable going into a girl’s room. No, no, no, this is not the time to look at other people’s rooms.

“On the shelf… Ah, this one.”

As she had said, there were clothes folded and placed on the shelf on the right as soon as I entered. I took them and left Mina-san’s room. I then went downstairs to the bathroom where Mina-san was.

“Mina-san, here you—hmm?”

I was about to stand at the door to tell Mina-san that I had brought her clothes when I heard the shower on the other side of the door…

No, no, no, this is weird!

She asked for her clothes, and I brought them, but she’s in the bath!

Well, I don’t blame her for not waiting around with nothing on because she’d catch a cold…

“Mina-san, I’ll leave your clothes by the door.”

I said loud enough to be heard, to tell Mina-san about the clothes across the two doors.

Well, now that I’ve told her, I’ll stay in the living room until Mina-san comes out. I left her clothes at the door and walked away.

＊＊＊

“Oh, Yuuto-kun. Thanks for the help.”

Mina-san came out of the bathroom and sat down next to me.

“Ah, yeah…”

I closed the book I was reading and left to deal with the laundry I had taken in, so I tried to get up from the chair when Mina-san let out an exclamation…

“The laundry in the basket, you took them in, didn’t you? If you’re looking for that one, I’ve got the washing machine running.”

“I see, thank you.”

“Yeah…”

She’s so close… Anyway, why did she sit so close to me?

There are empty seats available in front of or diagonally across the room.

As I glanced sideways at Mina-san, she played with her phone and spoke to me.

“Hey, Yuuto-kun, do you…have a girl you like?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“That’s because I want to know what kind of girl my brother likes. You want to know too, don’t you? About what kind of person I like.”

No, I don’t want to know at all.

If I tell Mina-san the name of even one person I like here, it’s likely that something troublesome will happen.

“I don’t have anyone I like.”

“Heh~”

I gave her an uninteresting answer, so Mina-san stared at the screen of her smartphone, looking bored. Then, she glanced at me repeatedly. I think she’s…

“Is there anyone you like, Mina-san?”

“Me? I don’t have one. If I’m going to go out with someone, it should be someone who can study and play sports. Also, someone kind.”

Mina, smiling as she spoke, looked satisfied. What the hell is this…?

“I don’t think there’s such a perfect man out there. For me, I’d prefer someone who’s solid but still has a few flaws… For example, like Mina-san—”

Mina’s face turned red when she heard my words.

“Are you okay? Mina-san?”

“I-I’m ok~ay…”

She said she was fine, but she’s all red in the face. And she couldn’t even speak properly.

“By the way, Mina-san. You haven’t done it since I saw you?”

“Do what?”

Mina-san, who had calmed down, was fanning herself on the face with both hands.

“Going to the back of the school building to relieve stress.”

“Ah, that… I haven’t done that since you saw me. I’m having trouble finding a place to let it out right now. I don’t want to accidentally be seen, and if I keep accumulating my thoughts all the time, one day I’m going to unconsciously cause something irreversible.”

U-Unconsciously… How much do you have to put up with on a daily basis?

“Then why don’t you stop acting like a good girl?”

“I can’t do that. I want people to see me in a good light, and this is for my own protection, so I won’t stop being an honor student.”

I know what it’s like to want to be seen well. As I grew older, I became more and more conscious of how I looked and how I interacted with people.

But that doesn’t mean I won’t hide everything about who I really am and play nice.

I think that if you want people to like you, you have to let them know about your bad points too.

“Mina-san, you’re still trying to act like a good girl in front of me, aren’t you? I already know that Mina-san is two sides of the same coin… In that case, why don’t you just be yourself when you’re with me? If you have anything to say, please speak up.”

“Be myself…?”

“I’ll add a rule… It’s to say what you think. I really don’t want to hear you bad mouthing others, but I’ll always listen to complaints.”

“O-Okay…”

I want her to relax at least when she’s at home. I like Mina-san better when she’s being herself.