“Disowned?”
“Of course there’s a reason a high schooler is living alone in an apartment.”
“I see? …So that’s pretty normal too?”
Izumi pondered for a moment, then said,
“Well, it is what it is. Countless lives depend on our company. In that sense, my parents made the wisest decision by not choosing me.”
To change the subject, Izumi turned his attention to a store mannequin. Just as his prior research indicated, this year’s summer collection was prominently displayed.
“Pastel blue is supposed to be the big trend this year.”
“Ah, you’re right, I see a lot of pale bluish colors on the mannequins.”
“Just parroting what I read in magazines.”
“Heeh, so you read girls’ fashion magazines too, huh?”
“…I’m not a pervert, alright?”
Nanao chuckled at this.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m just impressed by how knowledgeable you are, Izumi.”
“It’s not that hard to pick up. That kind of stuff comes up when I chat with Amane from our class.”
“I see. Amane, huh?”
For some reason, she gave him an intense look.
“Wh-What is it…”
“Nothing, nothing.”
She seemed to have taken some offense… maybe?
Izumi pointed to a blouse displayed in the show window to deflect.
“That kind of blouse would really suit you.”
“Ah, I might like it. Can I try it on?”
“Of course. I’ll be waiting.”
Nanao happily took the blouse in her hands.
As Izumi let out a relieved sigh, Nanao suddenly brought her lips close to his ear.
“This time, I’ll cheer you up, okay?”
“Uh……”
Seeing through him, Izumi was left speechless.
Nanao waved her hand lightly and entered the fitting room. Izumi waited with an awkward feeling, idly gazing at his smartphone.
(Nanao……)
Izumi suddenly thought.
(Why does she like me so much?)
He knew her affection was likely not feigned.
Having been exposed to the adult world from a young age, he thought he had a decent judge of character.
(It’s not about my family circumstances…If she was someone related to that, my sister would have done a background check.)
The sounds of rustling clothes came from the fitting room, and eventually Nanao’s voice.
“Izumi-kun, are you there?”
“I’m here.”
More rustling, changing sounds……
“Izumi-kun, are you there?”
“I’m here.”
Then, from between the parted curtains, Nanao poked just her face out. For some reason, she had her cheek puffed out in a slightly displeased way as she said:
“Maybe you should act a bit shyer. You’re a boy, so you should be fidgeting in a girl’s clothing store.”
“My apologies, I suppose…?”
Izumi gave a wry smile at her peculiar request.
“Izumi-kun, aren’t you embarrassed in a place like this?”
“Huh?”
Looking around, he saw elegant female staff and customers glancing this way with amused smiles.
“Ah…no, not at all.”
“Eeehh?”
“You seem really surprised…”
“But you usually turn beet red!”
“I’m just waiting for you to change, that’s all.”
“Eeehh…what about the lingerie section then?”
“Hey, that’s taking it a bit far, isn’t it…?”
Across from them was indeed a lingerie shop. Clearly targeting a mainly female clientele, racy undergarments were on display out front.
As a high school boy going in alone would be excessively shameless……
“But well, if I had to, I could do it I guess…”
“Eh, really?”
Izumi laughed at Nanao’s doubtful response.
“If I go loitering in the lingerie section, the staff will just give me a weird look, end of story. So it’s really not a big deal.”
“You have an unusually strong mentality, Izumi-kun…”
“Not something to brag about, but I do have pretty strong mental fortitude. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to act like an idiot calling you a kitten all the time.”
“Ah, so that was an act?”
“If I didn’t act silly, you might get too friendly too fast.”
Izumi gave her a troubled look.
“With one exception.”
“……….”
Realizing the implication of his words, Nanao’s eyes rounded.
Scratching his head awkwardly, Izumi said:
“So you’re a bit of a handful for me, Nanao. Sometimes I don’t know what face to put on around you.”
“……….”
Nanao seemed to fully understand the meaning behind those words.
With a delighted smile, she gazed intently up at Izumi’s face.
“Fuun?”
“Eh? What’s with that look?”
“Fuu~~~n?”
“Didn’t we agree on no black persona!?”
As Izumi’s face reddened, Nanao opened the curtain.
She then demurely showed off the blouse Izumi had said would suit her – an adorably cute pastel blue design.
“How about it?”
“Looks good. It suits you.”
How trite, Izumi thought, cringing at his own bland praise. Wasn’t that the kind of reaction you’d expect from an elementary schooler?
Yet Nanao had tinged her cheeks shyly. Covering her mouth with her hand as if to hide her embarrassment, she glanced up coyly with a little smile.
“Ah, ahaha……Maybe I want to hear it one more time.”
“Ehh. Well, umm……”
An unexpected encore request.
Suddenly, Izumi felt quite embarrassed too. The surrounding stares that hadn’t bothered him before now felt annoyingly persistent.
……This was why Nanao was a bit of a handful for him. When she got involved, things that had seemed fine before didn’t feel so simple anymore.
Glancing away slightly, Izumi said:
“Y-You look very cute……”
Nanao smiled happily.
“Thank you. That really makes me glad.”
At that natural smile, Izumi felt his heart constrict.
After trying on a few more outfits, Nanao held up the first blouse and gestured towards the register.
“I’m going to buy this one, so wait here for a bit, okay?”
“Eh, you’re buying it?”
“Of course. You picked it out for me, and it seems practical to wear often.”
“Then I should…”
“It’s fine – it’s something for me to wear anyway…”
Then, Nanao seemed to have an idea, her face brightening. With a sweet smile, she drew closer to Izumi.
Izumi had a bad feeling and tried to back away, but she took his hand and pulled him in.
“Could it be you want me to wear it just for you?”
“……!?”
Izumi’s face flushed bright red.
Delighted by his reaction, instead of leaving it there as usual, Nanao went for another tease:
“Should we pick something out from over there for Izumi-kun too?”
“Eh?”
Her gaze was directed at the lingerie shop across from them.
“Wh- You idiot! Just hurry up and buy that blouse!”
“Over there?”
“No, not that! The blouse, I mean!”
Giggling softly, Nanao headed for the register.
Izumi went ahead to the store’s exit, too conscious of the stares around him. As he did, some lingerie on display in the opposite shop caught his eye.
Black and rather daring pieces. For a moment, he pictured Nanao wearing something like that and……
“……..!”
He shook his head vigorously.
(Honestly, she really does get me going sometimes!)
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Evening—–
Amane was in high spirits.
Carrying several bags from the select shop over her shoulder and a new Starbucks drink in hand, she epitomized Amane’s standard look.
(Well, I did a loooot of shopping today~♪)
After leaving the curry place, the three of them had played and hung out until this hour.
The trio had really hit it off, feeling like true sworn siblings by the end.
(I was worried at first, but I’m so glad we became friends~)
They’d just disbanded, and Amane was headed for the station.
Along the way, a group of high school girls called out to her:
“Excuse me, are you Amane-chan?”
“Wow, it really is her!”
“So cuuute! Her face is tiiiny!”
“We’re fans!”
Showered with compliments, Amane’s spirits soared even higher.
She passed through the ticket gates and reached the platform to wait for her train home. It was crowded due to the holiday, but Amane looked absolutely delighted.
She loudly slurped down the last of her Starbucks, tossing the empty cup into a trash bin.
“This new Amane might be a total stunner!”
Striking a pose toward the open air, she suddenly realized:
(–Wait, I’m an idiot!!)
Amane slumped over dejectedly.
Coming to her senses, she remembered why she was here today. Wasn’t she supposed to be monitoring Izumi’s date with Nanao?
(Wh-What am I doing~? Amane, this is just fooling around at this point!)
That’s right.
(I’m happy I got friendly with Haku-san and Haru-chan, but! From the start, all of us were losing to Nanao-chan! We were supposed to scheme together to beat her!)
Only now did she finally have a constructive thought. Too little, too late.
She sat on a bench, letting out a deep sigh as she watched people come and go aimlessly.
(……But just giving up in disappointment won’t help.)
The chance to unwind with Haku and the others left her feeling a bit more positive.
In that sense, the day wasn’t a total waste. Clenching her fist determinedly, Amane resolved herself to the heavens.
(There’s still time! It’s only been a week since Nanao transferred in. If I work hard from now on, I can still get Izumi-kun to notice me as a woman…)
Her fighting spirit blazing, she suddenly noticed:
(Huh?)
A familiar face across the opposite platform.
None other than Izumi and Nanao themselves.
What an odd coincidence. It seemed the two were also heading home after finishing their date.
The determination she’d just mustered left her feeling slightly overconfident.
(……Alright, maybe I’ll pretend it’s a chance encounter and try calling out to them!)
Amane got up and headed briskly towards the opposite platform.
–That’s when it happened.
There was some movement from Izumi and Nanao over there.
In the midst of their conversation, Nanao suddenly went up on her tiptoes.
And then–she gently pressed her lips to Izumi’s cheek.
“——————“
Amane’s thoughts ground to a halt.
It was as if her very soul had been blown clean away to parts unknown, leaving just an empty husk staring blankly their way.
Izumi’s face flushed bright red as he seemed to flail about saying something.
But his reaction…didn’t really seem one of displeasure. Rather, there was an intense lovey-dovey newlywed aura that, well…Amane hadn’t wanted to see.
(Really, if there’s still a chance……)
No answer came to the seed of doubt planted in Amane’s heart.
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