Translator: Lilo
Editor: Ryuubii

Chapter 3: Daily Attacks In the Library

Act 1(2)

And finally, it was lunch break.

“It can’t be helped. I should go.”

I spoke while trying not to be heard by those around.

And it was at that time.

“Makabe, you’re going to the cafeteria today, right? Let’s go together.”

It was Naoi Kyouhei.

I was a bit taken aback, as I didn’t expect him to approach me.

“My bad. I have a prior arrangement with someone today.”

“A-alright.”

When I answered, he looked slightly surprised.

“Say, Makabe―”

“What the heck? I thought if Makabe was coming along, I could talk to Takinami-san and the others again.”

Another guy spoke, interrupting Naoi, who was about to say something.

“Don’t joke around. You guys are already on talking terms. Even if I’m not there, I bet they would talk to you guys.”

“I guess so. This is also thanks to you, Makabe.”

The guy laughed as he said this.

Moreover, even without the incident the other day, this group would have found a small opportunity to talk to them. They were great at communicating after all.

“Come on. Let’s go, Kyouhei-kun.”

Another guy rushed out from the classroom entrance looking exasperated. It was also the one who was glaring at me the other day. The cause of his irritation was probably not Naoi, who was reluctant to go to the cafeteria, but most likely me.

“Y-yeah, I guess so.”

Naoi turned around once to check on his friends.

“Makabe, maybe next time.”

Then he met up with his friends who were waiting for him. They walked to the cafeteria with their usual group in tow.

I went to their destination too.

It would be somewhat awkward to follow right behind them, so I walked at a distance from Naoi and the others. Eventually, they arrived at the cafeteria and stood by the entrance.

At a quick glance, it appears that Takinami-senpai was not present.

Well, if she came first and started eating, that would be considered rude as the person who invited.

“I’m sorry, Makabe-kun. Did you wait?”

Just as I was thinking, a voice came.

I turned around and saw Takinami Ruika standing there.

“Don’t worry. I just got here myself as well.”

As I answered, I quickly looked around her surroundings.

It seemed that she was alone. I wondered if she would come as a group, contrary to the words in the chat, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

Like the other day, the air in the cafeteria changed with the appearance of Takinami Ruika.

Since Takinami-senpai apparently ate lunch at the school cafeteria, her appearance here must be a daily occurrence. Even so, the reason why she attracted so much attention must be because some of the students do not usually have contact with her and admire her from afar.

And today, there was quite a stir. The reason being Takinami-senpai, who first spoke to me as soon as she entered the cafeteria. They would wonder, ‘Who’s that guy’ or ‘Why him?’, something along those lines. Well, I had imagined this would have been the case…

“By the way, that message earlier. Was that really you, Takinami-senpai?”

She looked surprised when I asked her, pretending not to notice the atmosphere.

“Oh, how sharp. Yes, it wasn’t me. How did you know?”

“Intuition, I guess.”

I just thought that the message sent to me was somehow unlike Takinami-senpai.

“That was done by Takajou-san.”

“Takajou? Ah, that senior who had a strange sex appeal.”

I recalled the girl I once met in this very place, a woman that has a very tempting voice and atmosphere.

“Makabe-kun, do you like that kind of girl?… I could probably do it as well. Shall we try it next time?”

“No, thank you.”

I humbly refused Takinami-senpai, refraining from saying such a thing.

As one would expect from Takinami Ruikai, who has embodied the expectations of those around her. However, if she were to spread that kind of atmosphere, there would be no way of stopping her…

“What a shame.”

She giggled, perhaps amused by my panic.

“Shall we?”

At Takinami-senpai’s urging, we got in line.

“You see, Takajou-san took my phone out of my bag during class and sent it without my permission.”

“…What were you even doing?”

I’m so stunned that I can’t even comment.

Looking back, the fact that a message was sent in the middle of class was one of the reasons why I felt it was unlike her, since she was an honor student and all.

“What about the phone lock?”

“I don’t have one because it’s too much of a hassle. There’s nothing bad to be seen after all. Let’s see… I’ll set it up if we go on a date and take a selfie together.”

“People will misunderstand if they heard you.”

In fact, a female student who was standing in line right behind her heard it and was startled. Besides there was no misunderstanding, Takinami-senpai was serious to begin with. Probably.

“If it was sent without your permission, couldn’t you have just corrected it?”

“I thought It was fine since it gave me a chance to eat together with you. It was no inconvenience. Even so… I’m surprised you figured out that it wasn’t me just from that short message. That makes me happy.”

Takinami-senpai had an innocent smile on her face.

Eventually, we got our food, put it on the tray, and took it to an empty table.

Again, the surroundings were in a stir. It was probably because Takinami-senpai and I were seated at the same table. ‘Why are you with him?’ or  ‘What kind of relationship do they have?’ I kept hearing such voices. I let out a small sigh.

“Hold it in for now.”

“Sure, sure.”

Takinami-senpai, who saw this, lowered her tone and spoke, and I responded in a dismissive manner.

She was saying that “No matter what those around might say, once you agree, you must take responsibility and stay with me until the end.”

“Oh, Takinami-san.”

Suddenly a voice descended.

This voice sounded familiar. I looked up, and standing there was, as I had expected, Takajou-senpai.

“Are you dining together with this fellow over here?”

“Yes. Makabe-kun, a member of the library committee. I’m always grateful for his help, but I thought it would be nice to meet him outside the library once in a while. I wanted to thank him for all the help he’s given me.”

“So the thanks is ‘a lunch together with me’, is that right?”

Takajou-senpai spoke mischievously.

“Geez, it’s not like that.”

Takinami-senpai replied with an embarrassed laugh.

“Then, enjoy your time… And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Librarian. I’m Takajou Miyabi. I’ll drop by the library next time.”

“Please. I’ll be waiting.”

When I responded amicably, Takajou-senpai smiled with her oddly erotic sexual appeal as usual and walked away – but then she put her hand on the table and pulled her face toward me.

“Makabe-kun, I’ll play with you some other time, okay?”

“You say that, but you’re just gonna use me as a hook, right?”

I won’t be fooled twice.

“Oh, cat out of the bag?”

Takajou-senpai stuck out her tongue.

She just wanted to catch a big fish like Takinami Ruika.

“But if you want, I can play with you in a place where Takinami-san isn’t around. Or would you want my social media account? Of course, it has my hobbies in it.”

“Takajou-san.”

Takinami-senpai’s voice came flying in.

“I immediately caught one again. Well, then… enjoy your time.”

Takajou-senpai left the table once and for all.

I turned towards Takinami-senpai.

“What was that just now?”

And I then asked in a low voice.

There were a lot of strange things going on. Since Takajou-senpai should know me, there was no need for her to go out of her way to introduce herself to me. Besides, she was the reason why this meeting was set up in the first place.

“It’s what you call creating an alibi. An alibi to let other people know why we are together right now.”

“Oh, got it.”

The point was that I’m a member of the library committee and Takinami-senpai wanted to talk with me outside the library, so she had Takajou-senpai tell that to other people. In fact, a lot of surrounding students who were listening had an ‘Oh, so that’s it?’ expression.

In retrospect, it appears that this was what she meant earlier when she said ‘hold it in for now.’

“Since she did that without my permission, I took the liberty of having her help me.”

Takinami-senpai smiled mischievously.

“At any rate, since we usually only talk over the counter or while going home, this feels refreshing, don’t you think?”

Takinami-senpai uttered those words as if to regain her composure. 

If you ask me, that is true. Moreover, she usually comes in a little before closing time, when the number of people has decreased, so we never had a long talk like this with each other.

“We’ll have to thank Takajou-san for that.”

“Speaking of her, she’s currently waving at us.”

Behind Takinami-senpai’s back, Takajou-senpai met my eyes and gave a small wave in front of her chest so that no one could see. In addition, she also struck a peace sign.

“Geez, I’ll make sure to tell her off later.”

Takinami-senpai looked dismayed and annoyed.

“Are you on good terms with Takajou-senpai?”

“Yes… Curious? Well, she certainly got the appeal.”

She replied with a nasty smile.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I can introduce you if you’d like. But… I don’t want to lose, so I might mimic her.”

“…Aren’t you already doing it?”

Who was it that sat on the counter the other day?

“I don’t remember it very well.”

Fufu, Takinami-senpai laughed, giving a very nice smile. How terrible. But it must look like she was having a blast watching from the sidelines.

However, this conversation that took place while both parties knew each other’s true face was somewhat amusing, even if it was a bit bland. 

It may sound like I’m repeating myself, but I don’t dislike Takinami Ruika, who has a two-faced personality.

“By the way, you know, the social media account that Takajou-senpai mentioned the other day…”

“Ahー….”

When I asked, Takinami-senpai suddenly looked sour.

“It’s such a headache, but it’s true. Only a few people know about it, including me.” [T/N 👀]

“……”

I was lost for words.

The account of Takajou-senpai’s hobby, in other words, an account that posts naughty selfies, was apparently real.

“Won’t she get found out?”

“She said she’s hiding her face, so there’s no problem about that. She also orders uniforms from overseas so she won’t get found out by the school.”

Perhaps Takinami-senpai not only knows about it, but has seen it. Her voice contained a certain note of admiration.

It seems like it costs a lot of money, and I am certainly impressed. I wonder what on earth she was doing with her calm appearance and ladylike Japanese name. No, in a way, wasn’t it a fit for her oddly erotic sexual appeal? On the contrary, it made me curious.

Perhaps sensing my mind, Takinami-senpai looked quite annoyed.

“Don’t get any ideas. I’ll do that much for you.”

“You too, don’t get yourself all worked up.”

Without a moment’s pause, I retorted in a straightforward manner. There was a previous offense, so it wouldn’t end lightly if she took me seriously.

Then, as we were eating and talking, forcing the delicate atmosphere back to normal, some students came up to us. Some were friends of Takinami-senpai and others were acquaintances of mine as a member of the library committee. And each time, Takinami-senpai would give the same explanation that she had just given to those around her.

Naturally, some of them were Naoi and others who had arrived here earlier than me. Naoi gave me a fresh, handsome smile and said, “If that’s the case, you should have told me so,” and the others treated me like a traitor.

Takajou-senpai also stopped by again on her way back and said, “Enjoy your time,” with an elegant smile that suggested her well-bred upbringing.

Then, as the lunch break was coming to an end.

“Ah….”

I couldn’t help but let out a sound when I saw it.

It was Hasumi-senpai. She came into the cafeteria with a few of her friends and turned to the vending machine corner by the entrance.

Takinami-senpai tilted her head at my suspicious behavior.

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing…”

But it was wrong of me to be so vague in my reply. She twisted her hips and turned herself toward the direction I looked at. And then she noticed it.

“Hasumi-san?”

“Yeah, well…”

“Hmm…”

Takinami-senpai nodded, as if she was convinced of something.

“She doesn’t have the sex appeal of Takajou-san, but she has a great style. Sounds like your type.”

“Can you not turn me into one of those people?”

When I replied with a sullen smile, she giggled.

“I know. If you were that kind of guy, this would have been a lot quicker.”

“……”

In other words, if I can be seduced by enticement, I would have been taken down by now.

I somehow followed Hasumi-senpai with my eyes.

She bought a drink from a vending machine, took it out of the machine, and picked it up – she then turned around and noticed me.

She was startled for a moment, but quickly decided to dismiss it as if nothing had happened.

‘She doesn’t change, huh…’

I chuckled inside my mind.

And then, somewhere close by, an electronic sound was heard.

It was Takinami who responded. She took out her own smartphone and fiddled with it.

“Geez…”

Eventually, she let out a sound, looking dismayed.

“What’s wrong?”

“It was from Takajou-san. She said ‘Stop chatting around and come back.’ You’re not my mom, you know?”

Even as she puffed her cheeks out, Takinami-senpai typed a short message.

“But it’s true I have to leave early since we have to move classrooms. It’s already this time, so we should go back.”

“I think so too.”

We got up from our chairs at the same time.

Thus, a lunch break that was different from usual ended.