In the After School Library, A Refined Lady's Romantic Comedy Can't Be Compromised - Chapter 4 - Act 3(2)
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- In the After School Library, A Refined Lady's Romantic Comedy Can't Be Compromised
- Chapter 4 - Act 3(2)
Translator: Lilo
Editor: Ryuubii
Chapter 4: Lastly, Creating Memories.
Act 3(2)
I went to the faculty to return the key to the library, and there I bumped into Kanata-senpai.
“Oh, you’re alive? Takinami is surprisingly lenient to let you go in one piece.”
Whatever you say.
“Did you come clean, get down on your knees, and ask for forgiveness?”
“I won’t do that. Not like I got caught cheating. Besides, whose fault do you think that was? Saying something so unnecessary. Don’t talk about it like it’s someone else’s problem.”
I glared at her with half-open eyes, but it didn’t seem to work on Kanata-senpai. She was an arsonist, but now she looked like an onlooker coming to watch the fire. Well, I heard that arsonists usually come back to the crime scene, so it was probably the norm.
“Did you purposely provoke Takinami-senpai to get an interesting story out of it?”
“Unfortunately, I’m not into modern stuff.”
No, rather than an arsonist or an onlooker, she was an empress who didn’t care about the life and death of commoners. Kanata-senpai said so, seemingly uninterested.
I didn’t explain myself to Takinami-senpai. I told her that it was Kanata-senpai’s joke to begin with, and asked her to leave quickly. Needless to say, she was not happy with it.
“A joke, huh?”
When I explained, Kanata-senpai mumbled a few words and laughed.
“By the way, why are you here, Kanata-senpai? Are you not gonna go home?”
I decided to change the subject so that nothing more would be added.
“I left something in the classroom.”
Said Kanata-senpai.
So she borrowed a key from the faculty and retrieved what she had forgotten. She came back to return the borrowed key and here we were. The empress was surprisingly human.
I went home together with Kanata-senpai as the flow of things.
We went down to the entrance and changed into the school’s designated leather shoes and loafers at our respective shoe boxes. Then, after exiting the school gate, we headed for the station side by side.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve gone home together.”
“True.”
We exchanged a few short words.
“I’ve somehow neglected to mention this, but I’ve decided to leave Hasumi-senpai’s house and go to my grandparents’ place when summer vacation rolls in.”
As we walked side by side, I started to talk to Kanata-senpai.
“From the way you put it, it doesn’t sound like you’re just going to the countryside to have fun.”
“Yes, that’s right. After my mother passed away, my grandparents asked me to come to their house. I’m planning on taking on their kindness.”
It was one of the few options available to me. This was probably the most realistic decision.
“You leaving out of Hasumi’s house. Is it because it’s not healthy?”
“Yes.”
I nodded my head.
“Is that so? If that’s your decision, it’s not my place to tell you what to do.”
Kanata-senpai was really quite simple.
“Takinami is gonna be lonely.”
“How about you, Kanata-senpai?”
I asked while sulking.
“…You, what do you expect out of me?”
“Well, you know…”
On the contrary, Kanata-senpai asked me, and I felt a little embarrassed.
“For someone who plays games with Takinami, you are surprisingly childish.”
“Leave me alone.”
When I became even more sulky, Kanata-senpai gave a small shrug.
“As soon as you find something you’re crazy about, or start hanging out with women, you won’t care about what I think anymore.”
“That’s absurd.”
Most students were in awe of Mibu Kanata’s supernatural demeanor and treated her as if she didn’t exist. However, in a sense, this was the flip side of her overpowering presence, and it was impossible to say that they shouldn’t be concerned about it.
“I’m not cut out for dating girls.”
“Makabe Shizuru is not cut out for love―that’s your catch phrase, right?”
I don’t know if my emotions were spontaneous or created. I was not suited for love, as I came to create my emotions by calculation.
“I assure you, it will be resolved sooner or later. Like a midsummer shower, one day out of the blue.”
Kanata-senpai unusually used literary expressions even in idle chat.
“Will it be Takinami or Hasumi by your side then?”
“Just for the record, I’m half related to Hasumi-senpai. Well, in many ways, the key person is Takinami-senpai.”
I have a favorable feeling towards Takinami Ruika. If I can assert that these were my own feelings, I may be able to take a step forward.
§§§
Kanata-senpai and I parted ways, with me getting off the train first.
Exiting at Myodani Station―turn my back to the south side, where the Suma Patio was located, and walk to the north side, where residential areas and high-rise condominiums line the street.
“Hey.”
And there I got called out in a hushed voice.
When I turned around, it was Hasumi-senpai. Looking at her in her school uniform, it seemed that she was on her way home from school right now. Lots of people were going home late today.
“Ah, Hasumi-senpai.”
“You, weren’t you just with Mibu-san?”
It seems that Hasumi-senpai was also in the same car and noticed us. We walked side by side to the Hasumi residence.
“Yes, I was.”
“I knew it…”
Said Hasumi-senpai.
“Are you okay? Maybe you don’t know this yet, but she is not well respected in our school. In junior high school, she was really strong in fights even though she was a girl.”
I think Hasumi-senpai was genuinely concerned about me. That was probably why she wondered if I was approaching Mibu Kanata, who was shunned at school, without realizing it.
“I know that much.”
However, it still ticked me off a bit.
The stories she told were generally true. Whether it was an older man or a man, she never lost, and even now, if someone accidentally slips up and puts her in a bad mood, he would be thrown to the ground before he realizes what was happening.
“But now she’s just in the library after school.”
“No way! Really?”
She should have been there twice in the past when Kanata-senpai was there, but she probably didn’t notice because she was poking at me or teasing Takinami-senpai.
“Eh, what? That person read books? For what? Studies?”
“Dunno. I don’t really care what people do in the library.”
Of course, that was just partly true. Just as I try not to stare at the titles of the books someone borrows, I don’t care what they’re doing at their seat. You can read or study or use the library as you please. If they were doing something that disturbs others, I just give them a warning.
But I knew exactly what Kanata-senpai was coming to the library for.
“Well, from the looks of it, she’s either reading or researching something.”
That was the only reason why ordinary high school students use the library. Hasumi seemed convinced, saying, “Well, that’s true.”
“Are you worried about me, by any chance?”
“O-of course not―”
However, Hasumi-senpai’s words break off halfway through.
“W-well, I thought it was unnecessary aid, but you know…”
She reiterated falteringly, scratching her head.
In short, she was worried about me.
“Thank you. But don’t worry. Whatever she was in the past, she’s a person of literature now.”
“I-hope that’s the case.”
Hasumi-senpai said shortly, as if she had instantly lost interest.
We walked side by side to the Hasumi residence.
There was not much conversation between us―and she didn’t complain about us walking together.