The Charm of the Popular Beautiful Succubus in Class Doesn't Work on Me ~ For Some Reason, This Beauty Keeps Trying to Hold My Hand ~ - 18

Chapter 18: Normal, but at the Same Time, Not Normal

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“Seriously, thank you for cutting my hair for me. You really help me a ton.”

For some reason, Sarashina had called me to the home economics room. I was nervous, not sure what she was planning, but it turned out she only wanted to cut my hair. I was a bit hesitant about having a classmate cut my hair, but my allowance money was a bit tight this month and since I didn’t have enough money to go to a salon anyway, I reluctantly agreed to her offer. 

I mean, even Sarashina wouldn’t suddenly slice my artery with those sharp scissors… Right?

While I was waiting for her to get ready, Sarashina had wrapped her usual beige cardigan around her waist since the warm weather had continued persistently. The sight of her in a school shirt at this time of year felt strange fresh to my eyes and I couldn’t help but be drawn to the more noticeable part of her body, but I managed to hold back and turned my gaze to face her directly. I hadn’t been overly conscious of her beauty lately, but when I looked at her again, I was once again reminded of how beautiful she was. She was really outrageously cute. Her long and slender legs accentuated her femininity and her adorably perfect almond-shaped eyes further enhanced her innocent charm. She was truly a perfectly crafted “beautiful girl” deserving to be called the school idol. 

“You know, I’ve always been curious about your hairstyle, Michihito-kun.”

Sarashina said with a gentle smile on her face. 

“Come on, sit down.”

She said as she guided me to the chair that would serve as her haircutting station. 

“Is it really that weird? My hairstyle, I mean.”

I twirled my bangs around while staring at her intently. 

“No, it’s not weird, but… It kind of feels old fashioned? You know, like the typical old-school yankee style?”

“I’m not a yankee.”

“Or maybe I just simply don’t like the yankee styles, but well, I think you’d look better with a more modern hairstyle.”

Look better… That means my hairstyle doesn’t look good… Sure, I’m not particularly good with fashion or anything like that, but hearing that from someone as fashionable as Sarashina actually stings a little. 

“Haaa…”

I sighed as Sarashina wrapped a plastic cover around me.

“Hey, come on. It’s unlike you to feel down over something like that. I’m telling you, I’ll give you a cool hairstyle, so just be quiet and look straight ahead.”

Before she even finished saying all that, she squished both my cheeks and forced my face to face forward.

“Alright, I will start cutting~”

With that warning, the scissor began to snip my hair, almost like she was composing a melody. 

Chik chik chik chik. Shu shu shu shu.

“I’m going to cut your hair a bit short, but is it okay if I cut it according to my style?”

“Do whatever you want.”

“Alright~ I will do whatever I want~”

Her light voice echoed through the quiet home economics room, making me feel somewhat ticklish at this weird situation. Yeah. It suddenly hit me that this situation was pretty crazy. Getting my hair cut by the class idol in the home economics room after school… This situation was really something else indeed.

Once I became aware of how unusual this situation was, I couldn’t help but be distracted by the sound of her breathing, especially when she was standing right behind me. Her graceful fingers brushed against my scalp. It was a bit ticklish, yet her touch felt incredibly delicate. The more I tried to focus, the more embarrassed I felt. I found myself casting my gaze slightly downward, but right after I did so…

“Please face forward~”

She said as she grabbed my face and tilted my head up. The closeness of our situation right now reminded me of when we were playing rock-paper-scissors bulldog…

What is this? A scene straight out of a light novel? Sure, my relationship with Sarashina hasn’t been bad recently. At first, I genuinely didn’t want anything to do with her, but I had changed my mind. Those feelings had long since disappeared. That said, I’m not sure if it’s normal for friends to cut each other’s hair like this. Even now, I still can’t figure out the right distance to maintain with Sarashina. And honestly, I’m still bothered by what Akanashi said the other day.

“Your life is going to become all messy. Stay away from Sarashina.”

I still didn’t fully understand the meaning of her warning. 

“Michihito-kun, what are you thinking right now?”

I was jolted back to my senses at Sarashina’s voice. It wasn’t the seductive tone she sometimes used to charm men. She sounded genuinely curious. It was nothing but an innocent question that she asked out of pure curiosity. After all, normally, she would tease me with something like,”You must be thinking about something naughty, aren’t you?” but today, she didn’t tease me like that. 

I felt a bit uneasy at the change. 

“I was just thinking that you’re really good at cutting my hair. Have you cut someone’s hair before?”

“Well, I can pretty much do anything~”

I could hear her proud huff coming from behind me. 

“You know, it would be more attractive if you don’t say something like that yourself.”

“Fufufu~ Well, this is just who I am. Anyway, I actually learned how to cut hair while I was studying fashion.”

“I see. Indeed. Your hair is so smooth, Sarashina. It must take a lot of time for you to style your hair.”

“Well, I do put some effort into my hair, just like anyone else. Michihito-kun, do you dye your hair? The red is so beautiful~”

“No, this is my natural color. It’s definitely not because I’m secretly admiring a certain pirate captain or anything.”

“Ooh~ I thought it looked cool though. Like a certain pirate captain~”

“Alright. Let’s go buy a straw hat right now.”

She chuckled softly and I thought she was still laughing, but her laughter gradually faded into a quiet, lonely sound.

Huh? Did I say something strange?

“I knew it. You really are different, Michihito-kun.”

“I’m different?”

“Yeah.”

“No, no. I think I’m just like everybody else though?”

I didn’t quite understand what she meant, but I thought I was just another normal high school boy. I was ordinary, right in the middle of the norm. There wasn’t anything particularly unusual about me. 

If anything, I’d say Sarashina is the one who’s special, someone who’s out of the ordinary.

I thought to myself when Sarashina stopped moving her scissors all of a sudden, after she had been moving them rhythmically, as if she was lost in thought. 

“Michihito-kun, you… You’re normal, but at the same time, you’re not normal.”

She said before continuing. 

“Because unlike the other boys, you don’t fall for me.”

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