Chapter 1

Toru Hasumi ②

When I woke up the next morning, I realized I didn’t have any of my usual dreams.

Apparently, I was in a deep sleep, it was something that happened to me for the first time in a very long time. I checked my watch and noticed that I woke up a little later than usual.

“Perhaps it’s because I had so much to do yesterday?”

There was no one to respond to my soliloquy, but I came to that conclusion on my own and began preparing for school.

Then, on my way to school, I stopped at the garbage dump, carrying the trash from when I was moving into my new place.

It was surprisingly heavy. It wasn’t that far away, so I probably should have taken it out more often than just once in a while.

I was walking along thinking that when a sudden voice came from behind me.

“It’s heavy, isn’t it? We’re both going in the same direction, so I’ll assist you.”

Do we share the same apartment? A young man in his twenties called out to me to help me out.

He had a gentle voice and a kind expression on his face. He appeared to be a very nice person at first glance.

After what happened yesterday, perhaps he’s also a good-natured person.

I looked into his mind with just a little more expectation than usual.

(I’m almost ready to meet my date, but if I can get up close and personal with such a lovely lady, I’m perfectly fine with being late.)

But I couldn’t help but be disgusted by his attitude of not thinking about the person he was meeting up with.

After all, I’m still not sure that I can trust men. It was a good thing that I was alert.

“No, I’m perfectly fine. I’ll do it on my own.”

“But it’s heavy, isn’t it? I’m a good neighbor so I’ll help you out.” (I’ll ask her for her contact information later.)

“I’m fine, really. Thank you very much.”

“Eh, hey!”

I cut the conversation short and dashed to the garbage disposal site.

It was a short distance, but because it was June, I was sweating a little.

“You’re pretty strong, but it’s hot, isn’t it? I’ll buy you a can of juice from the vending machine.” (Whoa, sweating makes you look even sexier. I can’t believe she’s a high schooler. Can we go to a hotel together if we don’t get caught?)

I am disgusted by the filthiness of their minds.

That’s what all men think about, to varying degrees of sorts, but they all end up in the same general mindset after all.

“I’m sorry, but I’m in a rush!”

It appears that he drew some attention when I refused him, so I began speaking louder due to him still following behind me. He then focused on the eyes of the people nearby and appeared defeated. 

“…… I see, I’m sorry if you’re in a hurry.”

“Yes, well, bye then.”

I hurried to throw up and leave without looking at the other person’s face.

I was finally able to leave. However, I was enraged on the inside because my unusually good mood had been ruined very quickly.

“…….This is how it’s always been, and I have to remember it’s always that way.”

No way, no. I can’t be angry at myself for something like this happening.

I take a deep breath and mutter something to myself that I have no intention of telling anyone whatsoever.

Giving up has always been and will always be the key to success in life.

Then I freeze my heart and begin to walk again.

◆◆◆◆◆

When I arrived at the classroom, there were many people who were attempting to talk to me, I just greeted them casually and went ahead to my seat. I made eye contact with the girls so that the boys knew that I wasn’t addressing them.

I wanted to avoid making a mistake by making them think I was being nice to them as much as possible.

I must try to avoid this possibility as much as possible.

My legs, which usually start out heavy in the morning, lightened a little when I noticed Himuro-kun sitting beside my seat.

By the looks of things yesterday, he’ll be fine, right?

I call out to him, slightly concerned that he will change his demeanor from before.

In any case, I wanted to thank him once more for yesterday.

“Good morning Himuro-kun, you look pretty tired.”

“Good morning, Hasumi-san. Like you said, I’m very tired.”

Phew. He’s surprised I didn’t just say hello. He appears to have forgotten about yesterday already. 

Furthermore, he appears to be very sleepy as he greeted me, turning his head only to greet me in a monotonous manner as if he doesn’t care about me at all.

Normally, this would not be an attitude that would make me happy, but it made me irresistibly happy seeing him like that. (TLN: huh?) (EDN: people are confusing…)

“Thank you for helping me out yesterday.”

His relaxed demeanor seemed to loosen the stiffness in my cheeks as well. 

I was surprised to notice I had a genuine smile on my face as I said that to him.

“No, don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.”

I could tell that he truly didn’t think it was a big deal because he wasn’t lying at all, and I felt a surge of heartfelt gratitude for his words.

“Still. I just really wanted to thank you.”

I wish everyone could just be like this.

Furthermore, he appears to be reflecting on the fact that he had a selfish image of me, despite the fact that he didn’t care about such things at all.

When I catch a glimpse of his genuine attitude toward people, my gloomy mood completely dispelled itself.

“Then you’re more than welcome. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you. I’ll help you out if I have time.”

“If you have time?”

I had to ask him that because it reminded me of the young man who tried to talk to me this morning, even changing his own schedule to match his needs.

I thought to myself ‘Oh shit’, but the words I had already spoken out loud would not return back to me.

What a shameless question to ask! It’s like a woman who believes that if she asks for help, she will get it no matter what.

“I meant that I’ll help you out if I’m free. Isn’t that obvious?”

But he didn’t seem to think so, apparently.

Or, apparently, he really did want to help me out, as long as it wasn’t on any game’s release date.

I should probably be angry at his stance on the subject, but it made me happy, and I can’t help but laugh at his words.

“Fufu. Right, that’s how it usually goes.”

“Yeah, of course, right?”

I am very comfortable with his ‘what are you talking about, this guy’ attitude.

And just as I was about to continue talking to him, the chime for the start of class sounded, so I ended the conversation and looked ahead.

I wanted to speak with him a bit longer. That’s too bad.

◆◆◆◆◆

The class had begun. It’s a very sleepy classics class, but I have to pay attention because it’s my responsibility as a student to do so. (TLN: Here’s what classics class is for those who don’t know)

However, after I finished transcribing the board in my book, I became curious about my seatmate and so I went to look at him.

I saw him sleeping peacefully in a very beautiful posture, not moving an inch from his position, and it made me really happy.

I‘ve never seen such a lovely sleeping posture before. That has to be a level of special ability of some kind.

He’s a really funny guy. He doesn’t appear to be a solemn individual at all.

I resist the urge to make fun of him, but I look at him and laugh from time to time, and the tender moments continue to pass by.

With less than ten minutes to go, he finally woke up.

I couldn’t stop laughing at the thought of him trying to compare the teachers to a boss in a game behind the faces of all the serious students paying attention to class, and then he seemed to have noticed me and our gazes met. 

He looked at me with a bit of interest. He would, however, become enraged if we talked during class, so I drew letters on the edge of my notebook and exchanged a few words with him using that.

≪Looks like you were sleeping comfortably.≫

≪ I’ll charge you a fee for looking at my sleeping face next time. ≫

Despite his solemn demeanor, he appears to be very approachable. A simple joke delivered in an uncomplicated manner entices me to continue with my next words.

≪ Then I’ll stop looking and tell the teacher next time instead. ≫

≪ No, you can worship me all you want. ≫

When I showed him what I had written in response, he nodded with a blank expression and a thumbs up. I’m not sure why, but it appeared to me that his face said he had lost completely.

His amused demeanor almost caused me to burst out laughing, despite the fact that we were in class, and I barely managed to keep my voice quiet.

That’s not good. If they found out, I would have been the only one who would have been told at.

≪ You’re much easier to understand than I thought, Himuro-kun ≫

I roll over, gripping the desk tightly, and after a while of stifling my laughter, I manage to regain my composure and resume the letter exchange.

≪ I’m told that often… ≫

≪ I have fun talking to you. ≫

≪ Really? Well, I don’t talk to myself much. ≫

That is why he seldom speaks to me.

And, while he isn’t dark, he isn’t the type of person who appears serious on the outside and isn’t much fun to talk to, so I wasn’t expecting him to be this way at first.

However, as I’ve conversed with him and peered into his unflinching mind, my admiration for him has grown further.

He is by far the best person I met, especially among men. It’s understandable, given that there’s almost nothing good to compare him to.

And then, just as I was about to write my next sentence, the chime went off.

However, he appeared to be willing to continue the conversation.

He turned his head toward me and spoke to me after getting up from his seat and stretching.

“Please keep it a secret from now on. I’ll give you some Tirol Chocolate, even though it’s almost melted already.”

I could tell right away that the Tirol had already lost its lovely trapezoidal shape.

The wrapping was obviously stuck to it, and opening it would be difficult.

“Won’t this be pretty hard to open?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

As he says this, I jokingly give him a cold stare.

“Okay, fine. I’ll get you some better Tirol later.”

As I do so, he tells me this, his shoulders hunched, as if in thought.

“Aren’t they really limited though?”

“The others are too expensive, so it’d be impossible to do so.”

His attitude is very refreshing and not at all unpleasant as he responds to me without a pause.

And his attitude of putting himself first, rather than my assessment of him, was a very positive trait.

“Fufu. All right, let’s work with that then.”

I’ve almost been given expensive gifts in the past, but this Tirol is far more valuable to me than such things.(TLN: God that’s so ahhhhhhh)

The bribe he demanded from me was far more attractive than anything else offered to me.

“Thank you for your consideration, well then, I’m going to the bathroom.”

He gets up from his seat and left behind his empty seat.

The breeze blowing in from the open side made me feel a bit lonely.

Author’s Afterword:

The work is distinguished by alternating the points of view between the protagonists.

As a result, many people believe that the story’s progression is slow in comparison to the number of various other stories, and that there are many overlapping parts with one another.

I believe that reading only one side of this work that interests you is also one way to read it, so I hope you can enjoy it freely according to your whims.

[EDN: What he’s essentially saying is that you can read this entire novel using the POV of only 1 protagonist and there’d be no issues. It’s a fun way to read the series if you want but the chapters will be uploaded according to how the author did it, so it’s up to you to read chronologically with both POVs or just 1 POV]

TL: Jelt

ED: Spynine01