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 ~ - 6-7

Chapter 6: That Girl Isn’t Normal

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The moment the bell signaling the end of school day rang, I bolted out of the classroom as fast as I could.

Why, you ask? Isn’t it obvious? To avoid being killed by Sarashina.

The murderous intent she was giving off earlier… It was exactly what you’d expect from a professional assassin. Had I stayed in the classroom a second longer, I might have ended up getting stabbed to death by her. In this kind of situation, running was the best course of action. 

Kisara Sarashina… I didn’t know much about her. Of course, I knew she was wildly popular among the guys at school. I could see the reason why after actually seeing her in close proximity myself. She was ridiculously adorable. Not just her looks, but the subtle maturity in her eyes and smile, combined with her girlish and naturally charming gestures… It was impossible not to keep watching her. She could catch anyone’s attention easily. 

When walking through the streets, Sarashina exuded an overwhelming aura, so much so that anyone passing by would take their time to look at her again. But, after talking to her today, I realized one thing. 

She’s not normal. That girl is the true epitome of a delusional princess. I mean, come on. She acts like every guy in the world is in love with her. From her commanding tone to the nuances in her words, it’s easy to tell she thinks everyone is head over heels for her. Of course, given how incredibly cute she is, it’s not strange for her to be confident in herself. At the very least, I realized one more thing too… She’s way out of my league.

That said, I had hurt her pride by seeing her underwear and saying that I didn’t like her. With her pride tarnished by me, Sarashina had set her eyes on me. Sure, maybe I had crossed the line by calling her ‘full of herself, but the fact still remained. I didn’t actually like her. I couldn’t do anything about that. 

While pondering about my situation, I casually flipped a page of my light novel. Reading light novels on my way home has become part of my daily routine. I had spent about three months in the hospital back in my first year of high school. The boredom from cooped up in the hospital during that time led me to anime and light novels. That moment was probably the turning point of my life. I was so into the anime world that I wouldn’t be able to say anything in return if anyone were to call me an anime otaku. While ‘yankee’ appearance combined with ‘anime otaku’ wasn’t a rare combination in the anime world, but unfortunately, this was the real world. In a sense, I didn’t have any right to say anything bad about this ‘delusional princess.”

Anyway, this “Seishun Tako Yarou” series always made me cry without fail. No matter how many times I read it, I would find myself immersed in the story. If I were to get targeted… I’d prefer a kind senior like the one in this series. Haaah… I wondered if someday a beautiful girl in a bunny outfit would appear in front of me…

“Kyaaa!!”

While I was lost in my useless thoughts, I heard a woman’s scream coming from somewhere. Jumping to my feet, I quickly looked around, but I couldn’t pinpoint the source of the scream. Sure, I was daydreaming about a beautiful girl in a bunny girl outfit suddenly appearing out of nowhere, but… 

Isn’t this turn of events a bit too fast, even for a God? I mean, it’s not like I’m expecting a beautiful girl in a bunny girl outfit to be waiting at the source of this scream… But! I can’t just ignore a scream like that!

It seemed the sound came from behind me. I quickly spun around and ran towards the direction the voice came from.

Hmm? Come to think of it… That scream… It sounds kind of familiar…

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Chapter 7: I Will Make an Exception and Go Out With You Today

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“H-Hey! What’s with you? Go away! Shoo, shoo!”

(Grrr)

“Hiii!!”

When I arrived at the scene after hearing the scream, I found Kisara Sarashina backed up against a building wall while being cornered by a stray dog. Her face was filled with fear and she was on the verge of tears. 

Ah, I thought I had heard that scream before and sure enough, it was Kisara Sarashina. Good grief. What a hopeless princess she was. Sighing deeply, I walked up to the barking and covered its eyes with my hand. The dog quieted down almost immediately. 

“Michihito-kun… Why?”

Sarashina stared at me with wide eyes, glancing back and forth between me and the dog.

“The answer is simple. When a dog is barking like that, it means he’s feeling excited. So if you block his eyes to prevent him from seeing the cause of his excitement, he will calm down like this.”

I said while picking up the dog and petting it like Mutsugoro-san.

Aww~ What a cute little doggie~ I see, I see. You were scared because a scary lady suddenly appeared out of nowhere, huh~

(Kuun~ Kuuun~)

It seemed Sarashina was so frightened by the dog that she ended up collapsing onto the ground. Her mouth gaping open and closed repeatedly. 

“But still, I didn’t take Sarashina to be the type to be scared of dogs.”

I turned my gaze away from Sarashina and looked at the dog. The dog was small enough to fit in my arm. 

“Not to mention, this is a mameshiba, a super tiny dog. This breed is super popular with high school girls, you know?”

“Sh-Shut up… It’s not my fault that I’m scared of dogs. I can’t help it, okay?”

Despite her eyes filled with unshed tears, Sarashina still tried her best to act tough. That, in itself, was a little surprising to me. The Sarashina I knew was always full of confidence. She was always so relaxed, like everything would go as she wanted even without trying. But now… She was trying to hide her fear with all of her might. 

The heck. She’s actually pretty cute. 

She really didn’t need to try so hard to act tough like this.

“Besides, when I asked you ‘why’ earlier, I wasn’t asking why the dog got quiet. I was asking, why did you help me? Considering what happened earlier between us… I mean… Our situation is… Isn’t that amicable, right…?”

Still not fully recovered, Sarashina cast her gaze downward a bit as she asked me that question. 

“I mean, I didn’t save you or anything grand like that. This dog is just a mameshiba dog.”

“Just answer me. I don’t want to owe you anything.”

Hmm… When she asked me a direct question like that… Well, it wasn’t an easy question to answer. Indeed. When I heard the scream, I vaguely recognized it was Sarashina’s voice. Most probably, Sarashina had been following me to do whatever she had in mind only to get ambushed by a dog instead. Honestly speaking, Sarashina and I were at odds. I had no obligation to help her and yet… Why did I help her? Well, if I had to give her a reason then…

“Hearing a girl screaming and not coming to help is not normal. No decent people would do that.”

“Huh?”

“Even if the one screaming is the Delusional Princess in the middle of a fierce battle.”

This was probably an answer she hadn’t expected since Sarashina ended up letting a sound that could be interpreted as either the sound of surprise or confusion. I glanced at her face, wondering if I had said something a little too cheesy, but her expression didn’t let me gauge her feelings about it. A brief silence ensued between us and suddenly, Sarashina looked at me as if she had returned to her senses. 

“Humph! Stop acting like a prince on a white horse just because you managed to tame a small anime.”

“Haaa…”

I sighed. 

This girl… She really can’t be honest with herself, huh? Well, not like I care about what she says. I don’t need her to thank me either. If I have the options to “help” or “not help,” I’ll always choose to “help.” That’s all there is to it.

“I’m satisfied just knowing your weakness today. From tomorrow on, I’ll bring a dog with me to school.”

I said to Sarashina sarcastically. 

“Humph. Of course a beast wouldn’t understand my beauty.”

(Grrr)

“Hiii!”

“Hey, that’s not good. Don’t scare this lady too much. You might make her wet herself next time.”

(Kuun~ Kuun~)

“Who’s gonna wet themselves?!”

(Grrrrr)

“Hiii!”

While the dog was exchanging banter with Sarashina, I noticed something shining around the dog’s neck. It was a silver plate. 

Hmm… This is the dog’s nameplate, huh?

The nameplate read: Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima City, Nishi Ward, 〇〇〇-〇〇-〇〇. It seemed the owner had engraved their address on the dog’s collar plate in case the dog ran away. Nishi Ward, huh… It seemed the owner’s house wasn’t that far away, but I didn’t know where it was exactly. Ah, right. I could use the map app on my phone… Wait. My phone ran out of battery? At a time like this??

“Hey, Sarashina…”

“What is it?”

“Do you have a map app on your phone?”

“A map app? I do, but…?”

Sarashina tilted her head to the side, looking puzzled as if she couldn’t figure out the purpose of my question.

“Do you think you can pull up your map app for a bit for me?”

“…Why do I need to take orders from you?’

Sarashina got up from where she had been sitting on the ground. She dusted off the sand from her skirt with a few firm pats, and—despite her dissatisfaction—took out her phone and opened the map app. Her movements emphasized her long, slender legs, but I decided to keep that observation to myself.

“Here. Is this good enough?”

“Yeah, thanks! Wait, why are you standing so far away?”

“Because if I get closer, who knows what that beast might do.”

(Grrrrr)

“Then sorry, but can I ask you to help me take this dog back to its owner? It looks like this dog ran away from that house.”

I said while showing Sarashina the dog’s nameplate. 

“Huh? Why should I have to do that? Just do it yourself.”

“I’d love to do it myself, but unfortunately, my phone’s out of battery and I don’t know the way to this dog’s owner’s house. If you’re willing to lend me your phone, that works too.”

“Wha-?! What are you talking about?! There’s no way I’m lending my phone to a beast like you! Who knows what you’d do with it!”

“Relax, I don’t have a thing for licking phones.”

“Even so, lending my phone is just…”

“Then you’ll have to come along. The owner is going to be worried sick if we don’t return Mametaro today. Mametaro will feel sad too, right, Mametaro?”

“Mametaro…? Don’t give someone else’s dog a name without permission.”

(Kuun~ Kuuun~)

Sarasina and Mametaro locked eyes. It was one of those classic situations where a dog’s round, innocent gaze stirred your heart. 

Nice work, Mametaro. You’re really talented at winning people’s hearts. 

“…”

“…”

“Ugh, fine! Having a debt to someone like you would be annoying anyway! I will make an exception and go out to the dog’s house with you today! But keep that beast away from me, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Sarasina let out an exaggerated dissatisfied “Humph!” through her nose.

“By the way, Sarasina, why were you walking around this area all alone?”

“Wha-… Why not? I’m allowed to walk wherever I want!”

“Let me guess… You couldn’t stand the thought of me seeing your underwear, so you decided to follow me, right?”

“Yo-You’re wrong! Who’s the delusional one now?!”

“Ooh~ So you were bothered by that?”

“Shut up.”

“By the way, I think blue really suits a high schooler. Good choice, Sarashina.”

Sarashina’s face turned bright red in an instant.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-whaaaat?! That’s it! You’re dead!!”

(Grrrrrr)

“Hiii!”

Needless to say, I had to witness the same pattern of exchange between Sarashina and the dog again. 

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