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

Chapter 67 – Ignorance

“Haah…”

(Somehow I ended up alone with Andou-kun in the cafeteria. This makes it look like we ditched Sakura and snuck off together…)

(Momoi-san really hasn’t been herself since earlier, has she?)

“So, Momoi-san, you’ve seemed a bit down since earlier. What’s wrong?”
“Eh, well… it’s just that the movie we all watched was surprisingly good… and that kind of shocked me.”
“Eh? You’re shocked because the movie was good? What do you mean?”
“Ahaha~ I knew you’d think that, Andou-kun. Um, how should I put it… honestly, I’ve always kind of looked down on anime and manga… I think I was making fun of them somewhere in my mind.”
“Ah… so you were shocked that SAO was good… in other words, it was impactful?”
“Yes! I couldn’t figure out how to express this feeling, but that’s exactly it! As expected of you, Andou-kun~”

(Come to think of it, Momoi-san is just a normal high school girl who doesn’t even know about light novels. For people who don’t normally watch anime or read manga, anime movies have a strong image of being for kids, so the existence of anime like SAO that even general audiences can enjoy must have been quite shocking.)

“You know… I don’t really have many creative works like dramas or manga that I genuinely found interesting. So I looked down on anime even more, thinking it was for children. But today’s movie was so different from what I thought ‘anime’ was, it really surprised me! Like ‘Anime can be this interesting too!’… So I felt a bit embarrassed about myself for looking down on anime until now…”

(And what shocked me the most was that I was making fun of Andou-kun and Sakura when they said they wanted to see an anime movie… I was looking down on them and the work they liked without even knowing it… I think I’m thoroughly disgusted with my own ignorance. It’s always like this. Because I’m good at reading the atmosphere, I step back from everyone else and end up looking down on others while wearing a mask.

That’s why I can’t take off this mask for anyone… But come to think of it, Andou-kun noticed my true face…)

“So that’s why you were down?”
“Well, something like that~”
“Hmm, I don’t really get it.”
“Ahaha~ Right~”

(Of course… even Andou-kun wouldn’t understand my feelings—)

“Why are you embarrassed about making fun of anime?
I think you should be happy instead.”

“Eh? I should be happy…? You mean like ‘Yay! I’m so glad I was making fun of anime!’?”
“No, no… that’s not it. The thing is, there’s no need to be embarrassed about it. After all, Momoi-san, you didn’t know about today’s work until now, right?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Then there’s absolutely no need to be ashamed. Because ignorance isn’t embarrassing.”
“Ignorance isn’t embarrassing?”
“Right, because you didn’t know, so it can’t be helped! Rather, I think Momoi-san should be happy that she found something she thinks is interesting.
What’s important isn’t being embarrassed about ignorance but how you use what you’ve learned from now on, don’t you think?”
“Use what I’ve… learned?”
“Yeah! Look, you said you don’t have many creative works you find interesting, right? For example, you might have looked down on anime and not watched it, but today you learned that there are interesting anime too, right? Then there might be other anime that you’d find interesting too. Like if you enjoyed today’s movie, you might also like the original novel.”

(I see, that’s another way to think about it… Not being embarrassed about ignorance but how to use what you’ve learned…)

“Momoi-san, you’re probably too much of a perfectionist.”
“Heh!? A-Andou-kun? Me, a perfectionist… what do you mean?”
“Um, probably, Momoi-san can’t be satisfied unless she knows absolutely everything. Like who’s in a good mood in class today, who’s in a bad mood with whom—you’re always reading and reading and reading the atmosphere with your antennas up, right? So when there’s even a little something you don’t know, you blame yourself for not being perfect, thinking ‘Why didn’t I know that?’ Even with this movie, it’s not that you’re shocked the anime you looked down on was good, but really you’re shocked at yourself for making fun of something Sakura likes without knowing about it, right?”

(Well, honestly, as a loner, this isn’t something I should be saying to someone as super popular as Momoi-san…)

“Well, that’s just how I see you, Momoi-san.”
“No… I think you’re right.”

(I see~ Honestly, I thought I was hiding that part of my personality well, but Andou-kun sees right through it~ Hmm… then there’s no point wearing a mask in front of Andou-kun…)

“Then, Andou-kun, if these feelings are what you say they are… how should I use them?”
“Hmm, let’s see… How about starting by learning? You realized you were ignorant, so now you just need to learn about it, right? Rather than regretting and being depressed about not knowing, being happy about not knowing and trying to learn about it for your beloved best friend’s sake… that’s what I think would be like you, Momoi-san.”
“Andou-kun…”

(I see… like me, huh…)

“Ahaha~ You’re right~ Oh! Speaking of which, you mentioned earlier that today’s movie is based on a novel?”
“Yeah, it’s a light novel—an easy-to-read type of novel with simple illustrations.”
“Huh~ Oh! Could the novels Sakura often reads be those ‘light novels’?”
“Ugh!”

(Crap! What Asakura-san has miraculously kept hidden until now has been exposed to Momoi-san because of me!)

(Ah~ this reaction means I hit the mark~ I see, I see, so that’s why those two are such good friends~ But looking at Andou-kun’s reaction, it seems Sakura is hiding this hobby from me? Well, that makes sense. Even I would have looked down on such a hobby before watching today’s movie… But I’m different now. Because I already know it’s interesting!)

“Ahaha~ Andou-kun, you don’t need to be so scared. I’ll pretend I don’t know about Sakura♪”
“Uh… th-thank you.”

(And from now on, I’ll enjoy watching Sakura’s reactions as she hides her hobby~)

(Uuu… Momoi-san! Covering for my mistake and pretending not to notice… what a person with a big heart (boobs)!)

“Speaking of which~ I’ve actually been curious about something for a while~?”
“Hmm, what is it, Momoi-san?”

(Phew, I’m tired from all this talking. My coffee’s gone cold too…) sip

“Andou-kun, you like Sakura, don’t you?”

(What is this woman (boobs) saying!?)

PFFFFT! ← sound of spraying coffee

“Wah! Andou-kun, that’s gross!”
“cough cough Mo-Momo!? Momoi-san, what are you saying!?”
“Andou-kun, calm down? Your way of speaking is turning into Juliet.”
“A-ahem… Momoi-san, why would you think I feel that way—”
“Ahaha~ Anyone can tell by watching your behavior♪”
“Seriously!?”
“Which means—it’s true, isn’t it~?”
“Ah……”

(Damn it… I fell right into Momoi-san’s trap.)

“……Don’t tell anyone, okay?”
“Ahaha~♪ Don’t worry~ don’t worry~. I’ll help make your love come true, zip-zap~”
“Please stop that! No, seriously!”

(Ahaha… I see~ So Andou-kun really does like Sakura.
If, if only… if I had talked to Andou-kun before Sakura… would anything have been different…?)

“Ahaha~♪ Don’t worry~ don’t worry~. If Sakura rejects you, as an apology~ I’ll become your girlfriend instead~♪”
“Weh!?”
“Ah~! Did you take that seriously~?”
“! M-Momoi-san!”
“Kyaa, sorry~♪”

(But it’s not like me to regret facts I’ve learned. So I’ll use the fact that ‘Andou-kun likes Sakura’ and move forward.
Because that’s what’s like me, as he said.)

“Andou-kun. Speaking of which, I have a favor to ask. Is that okay~?”
“What? I’ll do anything for you, Momoi-san.”

(Geez, Andou-kun~ So if I said ‘go out with me,’ would you really do it~? Really, you dummy……)

“Ehehe~ Actually, I want to read the novel of the movie we just watched. So, will you lend it to me?”
“Yeah, of course!”

(Sakura is my precious best friend. So I’ll support them both with all my heart. But… it’s okay if I depend on Andou-kun just a little bit, right?)

Meanwhile, Asakura-san…

“A-Andou-kun… Wh-where are you~?” trembling

【Bonus Story】”Volumes”

“Here, Momoi-san. This is the SAO light novel I mentioned before.”
“Wow! Andou-kun, you really brought it for me~? Thank you~♪”
“Yeah, no problem. SAO’s first volume has quite a lot of setting information, so it might take some time to read at first. Will you be okay?”
“Is that so~ Hmm… but it’s a work Sakura likes, so I’ll do my best♪”

Three days later

“Andou-kun, thanks for this~♪”
“Oh, Momoi-san. You’ve already finished reading SAO. How was it?”
“Yeah! It was really interesting~ But when you lent it to me, you said something like ‘the first volume has a lot of setting information~’ Does this have more volumes?”
“Yes, there are. The story concludes in volume one, but volume two is a collection of short stories from volume one, and from volume three onwards, a new arc begins. Should I lend you the next volumes?”
“Hmm, I’d feel bad borrowing so many books. So I’ll buy the rest myself♪”
“Really…? Okay, I understand. But if you change your mind, just let me know and I’ll lend them anytime.”
“Yeah yeah, it’s fine~ it’s fine~♪”

(Hmm hmm, so there are about three or four more volumes? I can afford that with my allowance~♪)

(I wonder if Momoi-san will be okay… SAO currently has twenty volumes in the main series… and eleven volumes of side stories, for a total of thirty-one books…)

It goes without saying that Momoi-san came back to borrow the rest after learning the reality.