Why Is the Prettiest Girl in School Trying to Talk to a Loner Like Me during Lunch Break?

Chapter 41: Cold Constitution

(On the day of our date, I was late to our meeting spot)

“Crap crap crap crap! Damn it, I’m already ten minutes past our meeting time… I hope Asakura-san isn’t angry… Agh, preparing clothes for the date yesterday took way longer than I expected! Damn it! I should have asked for Asakura-san’s contact info!”

(Our meeting spot was supposed to be the west exit of the nearest station. Asakura-san should be— There she is!)

“…………” sniffle

(Andou-kun isn’t coming… Ehehe, silly me♪ I was so excited about my date with Andou-kun that I arrived at the meeting spot two hours early♪ Haah—Maybe I arrived a bit too early? That’s what I thought, but actually, waiting for Andou-kun was surprisingly fun. Even though it wasn’t meeting time yet, every time someone came out of the station I’d think ‘Maybe that’s Andou-kun!’ and search through the crowds. While waiting, I’d imagine our date and grin to myself. Ufufu, oh yes, about thirty minutes before our meeting time I thought ‘Andou-kun could arrive any moment now!’ Even though we agreed on the west exit, I went to check the east exit just in case. Even then, thinking about when Andou-kun would arrive made me happy. But… after the meeting time passed, with each minute that went by, the thought ‘Maybe Andou-kun won’t come’ crossed my mind and I gradually became anxious… I really am an idiot♪ Maybe Andou-kun doesn’t want to go on a date with me, but here I am getting excited all by myself—)

“Sorry! Asakura-san! I’m late! Y-you were waiting, right…?”

“Andou-kyun! I-I wasn’t waiting at all! I just got here too!”

(Th-thank goodness~~ So Asakura-san was also running a bit late. Haah—I’m really glad I didn’t make Asakura-san wait for ‘ten minutes’…)

(That’s a lie! I actually waited SOOOOOOOOOOOOO long! I was thinking about slapping him when Andou-kun showed up, but… the moment I saw Andou-kun’s face, all of that flew out the window and before I knew it I was saying ‘I wasn’t waiting’!)

“I’m really sorry. I got a bit flustered preparing my clothes…”

“R-right! Actually, I lost track of time choosing my outfit too and just got here! So there’s no need for you to apologize so much, Andou-kun!”

(That’s a lie! I actually spent an hour choosing my outfit last night so I had plenty of time this morning! Enough to arrive two hours early! Honestly, showing up late like this, I definitely won’t forgive—)

“Yeah… Today’s outfit really suits you, Asakura-san. You look great. It’s like… you could be a heroine from a Fantasia label light novel.”

(—Well, maybe I could forgive you)

“R-really? Thank you… You have pretty good fashion sense yourself, Andou-kun. Y-you look just like a protagonist from a Media Works label novel.”

“Ahaha, I’m glad you complimented me, Asakura-san. Actually, my sister picked this out for me for today.”

“Eh, for today?!”

(A-Andou-kun… bought clothes for today’s date! Which means he was that conscious about our date!)

(Good thing I had my sister pick out my clothes— ‘Listen, Onii-chan? Just because you like black doesn’t mean you can dress all in black—that just makes you a stagehand! When coordinating with black, deliberately use a white shirt, and instead of pure black pants, go with navy or another color. Look, there’s a good mannequin over there, so why not buy the same outfit? Whaaat?! You’re too embarrassed to talk to the staff?!’ —My sister really saved me back there)

“But Asakura-san, you really weren’t waiting at all? When I found you, you were looking down and standing still…”

(Asakura-san seems like a pretty punctual person, so I can’t imagine her being late to a meeting… Rather, knowing Asakura-san, she probably arrived a bit early. Though I doubt she’d come thirty minutes early or anything. Hmm… knowing Asakura-san, it wouldn’t be strange if she was waiting at the meeting spot about ten minutes early)

(Ugh… Andou-kun is surprisingly sharp. I guess there’s no helping it. I don’t really want to blame Andou-kun, but I can tell him a bit of the truth)

“A-actually… I did arrive a little early.”

“I knew it! Ugh, and I was late on top of that. I’m really sorry! How long were you actually waiting…?”

“Um… five minutes before our meeting time.”

(I knew it—so including my lateness, I made Asakura-san wait for fifteen whole minutes! What a huge idiot I am!)

“Asakura-san, is there anything I can do to make up for being late?”

“Something you can do? Th-then…”

(I actually waited two hours, so a little selfishness should be okay, right?)

“W-well…”

“Yeah?”

“Andou-kun! I-I want you to—hold my hand…”

“Huh?!”

“N-no, stupid! It’s not like that! What I mean is, my hands got cold while waiting for Andou-kun! So until my hands warm up, Andou-kun needs to take ‘responsibility’! Warm my hands with your hands! Got it?”

“B-but Asakura-san. It’s May right now… actually almost June, so it’s not that cold—”

“I have poor circulation! Just hurry up and give me your hand!”

“Y-yes ma’am!”

(A-Andou-kun’s hand…)

(A-Asakura-san’s hand…)

squeeze

“…………” thump thump

(It’s warm…) (Andou and Asakura)

“…………” thump thump

“……Hm?”

(Wait, why is Asakura-san’s hand warm too…?)

[Bonus Story] “The Beginning”

“By the way, Andou-kun.”

“What is it, Asakura-san?”

“What got you into reading light novels?”

“What got me into it… Rather than a specific trigger, the first light novel I bought was called ‘A Certain Blazing-Eyed Zero’s Haruhi’s Familiar.’ Do you know it?”

“Of course I know it! That one had an anime too, and it’s said to have sparked the light novel boom!”

“Right, right. Actually, watching that anime was what got me started. I thought ‘I wonder if the source material is a manga?’ and that’s how I learned light novels existed. From there, I found it so interesting that I got hooked on light novels all at once.”

“I see. That’s surprisingly normal. I’m a bit surprised. But I understand—there were a lot of masterpieces from that era of light novels.”

“What about you, Asakura-san? Do you have a story about ‘what got you into reading light novels’?”

“M-me? D-do you… want to know what got me into light novels, Andou-kun?”

“Yeah. I mean, you don’t seem like the type to read manga or watch anime, Asakura-san, so I’m curious what triggered it.”

“Hau!”

(Andou-kun is curious about me! Ugh… honestly, it’s embarrassing to talk about… but if Andou-kun says he wants to ‘know every single thing about me,’ I suppose I could tell him!)

“Jeez, I’m only telling this to… you, Andou-kun, okay?”

(Because I love you, that’s why I’m telling you. D-don’t get the wrong idea!)

(Hmm… what does she mean? …Ah, I get it! Those words meant— ‘You’re the only one who knows I like light novels, Andou-kun, so I’ll tell you! I-it’s not like… you’re special or anything, so don’t get the wrong idea!’ —That’s what she means!)

“Yeah, I promise! I won’t tell anyone!”

“Really…?”

(Ugh, I don’t think he quite got it…)

“But what got me into light novels is pretty normal. Do you know a light novel called ‘Hermes’ Travels,’ Andou-kun?”

“Of course. It’s a long-running series about the protagonist Hermes traveling to different countries with their partner, a tow truck, right?”

“That’s right. ‘Hermes’ Travels’ was the first light novel I read. When I was in first year of middle school, I found it in the school library and borrowed it to kill time. That was what got me started. After reading it, I learned about light novels and wanted to read more of them.”

“I see, the school library, huh~ ‘Hermes’ Travels’ doesn’t have a moe-style cover like current light novels, and the content often makes you think, so it makes sense it would be in a school library for educational purposes. So did you start buying light novels after that, Asakura-san?”

“No, I was too embarrassed for about a year. I couldn’t even go near the light novel section at bookstores.”

“Eh, so you couldn’t read light novels for a whole year after reading ‘Hermes’…? School libraries don’t have that many light novels, right?”

“That’s true. My middle school only had ‘Hermes’ besides regular books. But even if I couldn’t buy them at bookstores, I could still read TONS of ‘light novels’!”

“Eh, how?”

“Come on… Have you forgotten what kind of ‘light novels’ I usually read, Andou-kun? What is this smartphone for?”

“Ah! Kakuyomu!”

“No! It’s Narou! —Wait… Andou-kun, you got that wrong on purpose, didn’t you?! What is this?! This flow makes it look like I’m badmouthing Kakuyomu! Th-that’s not true! Sure, I usually browse Narou… but that doesn’t mean I don’t think Kakuyomu is wonderful too!”

“I see, so that’s what got you started using Narou, Asakura-san.”

“That’s right. After all, I was a middle schooler back then, too embarrassed to buy light novels. Even if I wanted to buy them, my allowance in middle school was pretty small… So when I searched for a way to read light novels for free, I discovered Narou. From then on, I desperately devoured the Narou rankings from the top every day… And since I started with the cumulative rankings, they were so interesting… so interesting! Each time I read one, I fell deeper and deeper into the appeal of light novels. Fufu, so maybe what got me hooked on light novels was actually ‘Narou’♪”

(And what led me to meet Andou-kun too—)

“I see… So it wasn’t ‘Kakuyomu.'”

“Andou-kun?! That’s playing dirty!”

Translation Notes:

- “A Certain Blazing-Eyed Zero’s Haruhi’s Familiar” – Combines “A Certain Magical Index”, “Shakugan no Shana” (Blazing-Eyed), “Zero no Tsukaima” (Familiar of Zero), and “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya”