Only the princess of the school notices me, who almost does not exist - EP7. The princess comes to clean

The next Saturday.

As you would expect, after that time, nothing happened.

I, Ebato Ren, didn’t interact with Shirakawa Sayo, and by the way, I was still invisible to everyone.

Speaking of which, you may wonder, how did I write the last test while being unnoticeable? Well, to take a test, you only need to say these words: sorry, here and please. (tl: “sorry” for getting attention, “here” so that others would know where to give the papers, and “please” when sending papers to the front, so that the front person would take the papers.)

The one who sat in front of me only recognized that a student was sitting behind them. Therefore, I wasn’t recognized, but the question and answer sheets were distributed anyways. Even though things were that way, I had still gotten a perfect attendance score.

I was idling at home when the intercom went off.

Let’s see what it is. I lazily opened the door to a standing Sayo.

“…A-, oh yeah, there was that promise…”

In compensation for the cockroach extermination, she had promised to come clean when she had time on Saturday.

Sayo nodded.

“Yes. May I come in?”

“Yes, please come in.”

And that’s how I invited her to my apartment. I wasn’t surprised anymore by Sayo noticing me.

“Let me ask, do you need these magazines and newspapers laying on the ground?”

“They are completely useless.”

Books and games were usually put in their respective places, and the clothes were washed up because if I didn’t have any, I would be in trouble. The only things on the floor were magazines and newspapers. You may wonder, in this day and age, why I needed a newspaper. Well, in an emergency, they may come in handy.

“… Then, is it okay to throw everything away?”

Sayo questioned with a surprised expression on her face.

“Well, yes, it’s okay. It’s just a hassle to throw everything away… and that’s why I leave it like that. I just don’t know how to clean it.”

“… Is that so. For the time being, let’s use this tape here to collect all of the magazines and newspapers first.”

“Okay.”

As planned, I prepared the tape and the bags to throw away the scattered things. So, together, Sayo and I gathered newspapers and magazines.

“I want to set a few newspapers aside, but what should I do?”

“Some of them are still folded and in good condition, so do you have a box?”

“I do.”

It’s normal to have a box or a basket for storage purposes. As expected of me, I’m always ready.

“Then you should put them in the box.”

“Yes.”

I took out the box and put some of the folded newspapers in it.

“For now, let’s put the gathered trash at the entrance.”

After saying that, Sayo went to the entrance.

And after a while, she rushed back.

“… he-?”

“Hmm? WOW!?!?”

Sayo suddenly tripped and fell right on top of me. I was on the floor, and Sayo was on top of me.

“Oww…”

“S-s-s-sorry! Are you okay!?”

Sayo stood up with a bright red face.

Why are you mumbling like the last time, hey? 

I stood up and rubbed the back of my head.

“Aa, it’s fine… I’m sorry too.”

“No…”

As I got back to work, I was still amazed by Sayo’s bright red face. So that I wouldn’t be misunderstood, I tried not to think about that incident.

“… Ebato-san truly doesn’t have any interest in me,” Sayo said while pouting.

… What the heck?

“Why are you saying this so suddenly?”

“It’s nothing!”

She turned away and ignored me.

What was that? Well, I guess it didn’t matter, so we continued cleaning.

———–

“We are done.”

“Only after we clean the dust.”

“Oops.”

Well, I couldn’t disagree with her; I knew how to clean, but I just didn’t know in what order to do it.

“Should I start from the ceiling?”

I had heard that it was easier to start from above and go down.

Sayo shook her head.

“There were only magazines and newspapers on the floor, but the room seemed to be well ventilated. So, since there isn’t much dust on the ceiling, we should sweep the light bulbs and other objects from top and bottom, and in the end vacuum it all.”

“Hmmmm.”

I had to remember this.

“By the way, speaking about dust, is it okay for you to dirty your clothes?”

I didn’t mind myself, but Sayo was wearing a long T-shirt and jeans.

“Yeah, I’m wearing something that I’m not going to use anymore.”

“Understood. Then it’s fine.”

With a curt reply, we both started cleaning the dust.

——

“Now it’s beautiful…”

“You can’t neglect things like this. Consistency is important.”

“Well, I’ll throw away the magazines. And then the vacuuming will be easy.”

Honestly, it would be troublesome if I had to clean the mess from before again. It had taken about 3 hours.

Then, Sayo looked at me with wide eyes.

“It’s surprising. I thought that you would find cleaning bothersome.”

“I won’t deny that it’s bothersome, but it would be annoying to clean the room again when it’s that messy.”

“Is that so?”

Thus, Sayo looked at me with interest in her eyes.

What is it? I feel uncomfortable.

“… Well, thank you for today. This is nothing in comparison to what I did for you, so is there anything else you want me to do?”

“No, it’s fine. Sorry for intruding.”

Well, if that was the case.

… Recently, I had been in contact with Sayo a lot, but I knew that I shouldn’t get involved with her anymore. I was sure of that.