TL: learning2tl
TLC: Kagefij
ED: Fractal/Relicaa
Hinami and I arrived first at the designated meeting place, Mame no Ki, in front of Omiya Station.
Or rather, such were the instructions.
「Nghhh, seems like it’s finally starting……」
「What are you babbling about now? Please get ready.」
「You know that it’s a two on two boy-girl shopping trip, right? Moreover, all the other participants are high-ranking riajuu. It’s ridiculous to expect me not to be nervous in this situation.」
「Who was the one that decided to raise the difficulty level of what was supposed to be a simple meal?」
「Nghh……」
I couldn’t say anything after having this pointed out to me. Hinami let out a small, triumphant laugh.
Looking around, I saw people of all ages waiting. The majority of them were fairly young, and no matter who I looked at, it felt like they would be sporting an expression full of life that differed so greatly from my own. They’re probably all used to being with friends or having a girlfriend. Waiting here like this doesn’t make them nervous in the slightest… Apparently even the Saitama prefecture has plenty of fashion-conscious, riajuu-like people, huh…….
「For now, you’ll need to avoid being so nervous that you won’t be able to take on your assigned task.」
Hinami said that as if she were reading my mind perfectly.
Even for this occasion, I have been given a task to do thanks to Hinami, and I am to complete it as we shop. This is going to be tough.
「You two are pretty early!」
Mizusawa arrived while I was lost in thought.
I was the only one who saw Hinami’s facial muscles instantly shift into place.
「Huhhh? What’s this? Takahiro, late?」
「Come on, you know there’s still a while to go!」
「Ehhh, is that right?」
Hinami began to engage some highly playful banter with Takahiro. Both sides made quips at each other, but since the atmosphere was so relaxed, it was rather cheerful. It was such that, for some reason, I felt at ease looking at them.
On closer examination, Takahiro was wearing a hoodie with a logo on a plain white background, some darkish jeans, and red shoes. The silhouette of his brown hair, facial expression, slender stature, redness of his shoes, and so on and so forth all exuded strength, or perhaps a riajuu-like feeling. It made me think, “ah, I can’t win.”
As for Hinami, the one who had started the light hearted conversation, her attire was also stylish. Or rather, (and I suspect that by now one could call it Hinami’s inherent aura) she brings a celebrity feel with her day in and day out.
The hems of her slightly wide, dark green uh… trousers? were rolled up slightly to her ankles. Below that, she had on white sandals. On her upper portion, she wore a fluffy white… uh, T-shirt? Well, I’m not sure what that is, but she was wearing some kind of fluffy something. My own vocabulary of clothing-related terms isn’t sufficient.
As for me, I was simply wearing the mannequin outfit I had bought the other day. Ah, my vocabulary was sufficient.
「To start, even if I was late, you have no right to speak, Aoi! You were late before too, you know!」
「Ehhh? Did that happen? I forgot!」
「But I remember?」
They both laughed in unison. It may have only been a casual conversation, but, to me, an unthinkable piece of information slipped through it. Hinami Aoi, late, you say? In what parallel world does such a thing happen?
「S-Sorry I’m laaate!!」
Izumi showed up while I was lost in my thoughts and completely logged out from the conversation. Looking at the clock, it was about two minutes past the promised meeting time. She’s running rather spectacularly.
「Yuzu, wait! You’ll fall! Be careful!」
Seemingly enjoying herself, Hinami laughed as she said this.
Looking at Izumi’s feet, she wore, uh, I think they’re called heels, right? Black ones with soles up pretty high up. She also had on short pants made of slightly torn jean fabric, with youth and charm seeming to emanate from her slender, long legs. Because of the rather short length of her pants, with a moderate amount of muscle and a visibly smooth texture, the abundant particulars of her thighs were generously laid bare.
On her upper half, she wore something black with an opening that stretched roughly to her shoulders. On closer inspection, her attire underneath was slightly transparent. And underneath the transparent attire a white something could be seen with that exposed just as much. She also seemed to be wearing a necklace of some sort. Her clothes gave her a surprisingly adult look similar to what you’d expect from a sexy, adult gal. Despite how childish her personality really is.
Still, what’s happening here is kind of similar to that, right? By running like this, she’ll probably be forgiven even though she’s late. Or, rather, her clumsiness created a kind of adorable impression, like she hadn’t really meant any harm by being late… Wait a second.
I just realized something. This probably means that……
「Okayy, you’re late. That means Häagen-Dazs, your treat!」
「Ehh!? ……F-Fine, I got it!」
「No, don’t get it, don’t get it! Right then, let’s go～」
Even Mizusawa was looking at Izumi with the eyes of someone seeing something adorable. An existence that ought to be loved and be protected such that the current atmosphere was one of ‘We can’t just leave her alone!’. Uh, so in other words.
The fact that Hinami had been late was all a deliberate act to aim for an atmosphere like this.
Is this for real? Still, that’s definitely what happened. Since I’m someone who has seen exactly what her other side is like, you can take my word for it. There’s no way she would turn up late due to some blunder, and if I were to assume it had been on purpose, then it would make complete sense.
「Shall we get going?」
Even as I trembled in fear at just how terrifying Hinami Aoi was, the shopping trip began earnestly in such a fashion. Oh? That reminds me, I haven’t spoken a single word since Mizusawa and Izumi arrived, have I?
The first place on our agenda was the Lumine[1] within the vicinity of our meeting location at Omiya’s Mame no Ki.
This was decided simply through Mizusawa’s suggestion that went something like,「Tomozaki and Izumi are buying presents, right? ‘Kay then, how about we go to the Lumine for now?」 As such, I didn’t exactly know why Lumine was the choice. I think it’s because they sell a lot of things.
Upon entering the Lumine right next to the station – which was apparently actually called Lumine 2, but I don’t know why it’s called that – we ended up going inside a stylish clothing store called Beams[2] that was directly in front of us. Exactly why we chose Beams, I have no idea. I think it’s because they sell a lot of things. I’m pretty clueless about these kinds of subjects.
「Hmmmm……」
Upon entering Beams, Izumi began to carefully examine each of the bags, wallets, accessories, and so that were on sale. What an incredibly serious gaze. She’s being incredibly vocal with her hmms.
Hinami let out a small cry as she walked at a steady pace while looking out for items in Izumi’s vicinity.
「Ah- this one is cuuute!」
「It really is! So cute! ……But would Shuuji like something like this?」
While picking up a pale, tawny change purse, Izumi looked at Hinami with an uneasy expression.
Hinami tilted her head.
「Nnn, I wonder?」
「Hmm. Hiro. What do you think?」
Looks like Izumi calls Takahiro by the nickname Hiro.
「Nn～. Doesn’t seem like he’d like that kind of thing.」
「Yeah, thought so～」
Despondent, Izumi returned it to the shelf. She really seemed dejected from the bottom of her heart. Then, making an about-turn, she began to once again evaluate the other things that were on sale with a facial expression that was as serious as serious gets.
I’m not sure how to put it, but she was conveying the feeling that she was seriously thinking about Nakamura as she made her choices. Her eyebrows were incredibly tense, but for some reason, her expression seemed somewhat helpless. The only thing I could feel was her intense concentration. What is this creature?
Now then, what should I do? Just observing them like this won’t get me anywhere, and, more importantly, would make Hinami mad at me later. So I have to get started on doing something. I cautiously drew closer to Izumi.
When I did this, Izumi turned to face me. With a serious gaze, she looked me in the eye. What?
Then, she opened her mouth.
「I dunno……」
「Wh-What’s up with that?」
That is what she chose to say with such a serious expression? I felt letdown thinking about this.
「What do you recommend……?」
「Eh. H-hmm.」
So Izumi would equitably ask even me for my opinion. It’s wonderful how she doesn’t discriminate. The only catch here is the fact that I can’t say anything that might be of any use.
However, I’ll try to give it some proper thought of my own just in case. To start with, I have absolutely no idea what Nakamura’s casual clothing would be like, and I know next to nothing about his hobbies, preferences, and character. What I do know is that he likes AtaFami at the moment, and that there’s a side of him that really hates losing. That’s about it.
Therefore, I conclude that unless I start from a position of knowing about Nakamura, I can’t say anything. Right. That didn’t help. I have no choice but to do my usual thing and just say exactly what I’m thinking.
「Umm, let’s see…… If you don’t know what to get him, I think that randomly looking around a store like this isn’t really going to help. That’s why, understand Nakamura, and reflect, maybe? Y-You have to do all that and think about what to get him before looking around. That’s what I think……」
My voice was slowly trailing off due to my lack of confidence, but, even so, Izumi was going ‘Hm, hm’, giving me her full attention as she listened. Once she was done hearing me out, she exclaimed ‘You’re right!’ with all of her might in agreement. Hey, this girl won’t get scammed into buying a vase or something, right?[3] Will she be fine?
「Thanks! I’ll try asking around!」
Saying this, Izumi began to look around restlessly. She’s probably looking for Hinami or Mizusawa. Be that as it may, riajuus seem to have unusually steady torsos, don’t they? Even her movements as she scanned the area possessed an enigmatic sense of stability. Izumi seemed to have caught sight of them in the distance as she let out an “ah.”
However, she clapped at me twice for some reason, saying「Hey」as she did so. When I responded, she stood on the tips of her toes and brought her face closer to my ear. Eh, what is it? Um, your face is too close. How many times does this make it?
「Look, over there.」
Looking in the direction of where Izumi pointed, I saw the figures of Mizusawa and Hinami putting hats on each other as they shared a private laugh. ……Um, what’s this?
「They seem pretty close, is that what you’re saying?」
For some reason, Izumi looked at me with an extremely mischievous face.
「Um, you see……actually, ah, this is a secret, okay?」
「Y-yeah.」
Izumi brought her mouth close to my ear as I bent over to listen. She then spoke in a whisper.
「There’s this rumour that the two of them are going out.」
「Haa!?」
I inadvertently let out a shout. Izumi looked at me, saying「You idiot!」in a hushed voice.
The results of my aiueo back-channeling practice coming to fruition, I was able to produce a big reaction. How wonderful. As a result, employees and even Hinami and Mizusawa were looking at us. How very embarrassing.
Izumi waved a hand from side to side to signal that it was nothing. However, the two of them started approaching us with half-smiles after giving us quizzical looks.
「Umm, we’ll continue the rest of this conversation later!」
「Y-yeah……」
After speaking to me in a hushed voice, Izumi went over to meet them, saying 「It’s nothing, really～!」as she did so. As for what I was doing… I stood stock still with her words from earlier being repeated in my mind for some reason.
『There’s this rumour that the two of them are going out.』
W-Well, so that’s how it is. If you thought about it carefully, it made sense. The perfect heroine Hinami Aoi. In fact, it would be unnatural for her to not have a boyfriend. In fact, it would be extremely odd for someone without a boyfriend to so self-importantly say『Your target is to get a girlfriend』, so it should have been obvious.
Still, what is this feeling? This feeling, it’s a bit like anger…… or perhaps a hazy feeling from that bit about it being a 『rumour』. Izumi’s on good terms with Hinami, so she should be able to ask her directly, shouldn’t she? Like, why doesn’t she? This is the kind of hazy feeling I had.
Well, it’s not like I’m directly involved or anything, and it’s none of my business, but there’s something not quite right…… I didn’t like how I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. Look, if someone told you『Actually, I have a secret to tell you……ah, actually, never mind!』, wouldn’t you feel bothered and irritated by that? That was the kind of irritation I felt. It wasn’t really anything to do with Hinami being involved in the matter.
「Tomozaki-kuuun! We’re going, you know?」
「Ah, r-right!!」
Hinami had called out to me. I ended up giving yet another overblown reply.
On doing so, Hinami closed the distance a little and called out to me in a voice silent enough that only I could hear it.
「Hey, you’re acting strange. What did you talk about with Yuzu earlier?」
With my back straightening out due to those whispered words, I replied.
「I-I-It’s n-n-nothing.」
My body was trembling uncontrollably as I downplayed the matter.
「……Well, that’s fine then.」
The slightest sound of the gnawing of teeth indicated that as expected, even Hinami was surprised.
「Y-yeah.」
「More importantly, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that you’re trying to do the task I assigned you, is there?」
「Ah, yeah. I’m doing it, I really am. Yup yup.」
「I see. ……Well then.」
Perhaps judging that discussing the matter any further would be futile, or perhaps thinking that staying any longer would come off as unnatural to the others, Hinami left it at that, walking off towards Mizusawa’s side. Then, they cheerfully started talking again. What pleasant smiles the both of them have.
Wait, no, no. I’m not here to observe the love affairs of other people. I have to do the task I’ve been given. I’m here to accumulate experience points.
I got my feelings back in order. Then, I recalled the events of yesterday’s meeting in order to reaffirm what I needed to do here.
Translator Notes:
[1] Lumine Co., Ltd operates a number of shopping centers that you tend to find attached to railway stations in Japan (you could say they’re in the same building).
[2] From Wikipedia: Beams is a Japanese clothing brand, established in 1976 in Harajuku district of Tokyo, whose chief executive officer is Yo Shitara. Besides stores in many places in Japan, they have branch offices in New York, Milan, London, and Paris.
[3] That sort of scam where a gullible person with a poor sense of judgement gets scammed into buying something effectively useless. Apparently well known in Japan. (つぼを売る)
TL: learning2tl
TLC: Kagefij
ED: Fractal/Relicaa
Hinami and I arrived first at the designated meeting place, Mame no Ki, in front of Omiya Station.
Or rather, such were the instructions.
「Nghhh, seems like it’s finally starting……」
「What are you babbling about now? Please get ready.」
「You know that it’s a two on two boy-girl shopping trip, right? Moreover, all the other participants are high-ranking riajuu. It’s ridiculous to expect me not to be nervous in this situation.」
「Who was the one that decided to raise the difficulty level of what was supposed to be a simple meal?」
「Nghh……」
I couldn’t say anything after having this pointed out to me. Hinami let out a small, triumphant laugh.
Looking around, I saw people of all ages waiting. The majority of them were fairly young, and no matter who I looked at, it felt like they would be sporting an expression full of life that differed so greatly from my own. They’re probably all used to being with friends or having a girlfriend. Waiting here like this doesn’t make them nervous in the slightest… Apparently even the Saitama prefecture has plenty of fashion-conscious, riajuu-like people, huh…….
「For now, you’ll need to avoid being so nervous that you won’t be able to take on your assigned task.」
Hinami said that as if she were reading my mind perfectly.
Even for this occasion, I have been given a task to do thanks to Hinami, and I am to complete it as we shop. This is going to be tough.
「You two are pretty early!」
Mizusawa arrived while I was lost in thought.
I was the only one who saw Hinami’s facial muscles instantly shift into place.
「Huhhh? What’s this? Takahiro, late?」
「Come on, you know there’s still a while to go!」
「Ehhh, is that right?」
Hinami began to engage some highly playful banter with Takahiro. Both sides made quips at each other, but since the atmosphere was so relaxed, it was rather cheerful. It was such that, for some reason, I felt at ease looking at them.
On closer examination, Takahiro was wearing a hoodie with a logo on a plain white background, some darkish jeans, and red shoes. The silhouette of his brown hair, facial expression, slender stature, redness of his shoes, and so on and so forth all exuded strength, or perhaps a riajuu-like feeling. It made me think, “ah, I can’t win.”
As for Hinami, the one who had started the light hearted conversation, her attire was also stylish. Or rather, (and I suspect that by now one could call it Hinami’s inherent aura) she brings a celebrity feel with her day in and day out.
The hems of her slightly wide, dark green uh… trousers? were rolled up slightly to her ankles. Below that, she had on white sandals. On her upper portion, she wore a fluffy white… uh, T-shirt? Well, I’m not sure what that is, but she was wearing some kind of fluffy something. My own vocabulary of clothing-related terms isn’t sufficient.
As for me, I was simply wearing the mannequin outfit I had bought the other day. Ah, my vocabulary was sufficient.
「To start, even if I was late, you have no right to speak, Aoi! You were late before too, you know!」
「Ehhh? Did that happen? I forgot!」
「But I remember?」
They both laughed in unison. It may have only been a casual conversation, but, to me, an unthinkable piece of information slipped through it. Hinami Aoi, late, you say? In what parallel world does such a thing happen?
「S-Sorry I’m laaate!!」
Izumi showed up while I was lost in my thoughts and completely logged out from the conversation. Looking at the clock, it was about two minutes past the promised meeting time. She’s running rather spectacularly.
「Yuzu, wait! You’ll fall! Be careful!」
Seemingly enjoying herself, Hinami laughed as she said this.
Looking at Izumi’s feet, she wore, uh, I think they’re called heels, right? Black ones with soles up pretty high up. She also had on short pants made of slightly torn jean fabric, with youth and charm seeming to emanate from her slender, long legs. Because of the rather short length of her pants, with a moderate amount of muscle and a visibly smooth texture, the abundant particulars of her thighs were generously laid bare.
On her upper half, she wore something black with an opening that stretched roughly to her shoulders. On closer inspection, her attire underneath was slightly transparent. And underneath the transparent attire a white something could be seen with that exposed just as much. She also seemed to be wearing a necklace of some sort. Her clothes gave her a surprisingly adult look similar to what you’d expect from a sexy, adult gal. Despite how childish her personality really is.
Still, what’s happening here is kind of similar to that, right? By running like this, she’ll probably be forgiven even though she’s late. Or, rather, her clumsiness created a kind of adorable impression, like she hadn’t really meant any harm by being late… Wait a second.
I just realized something. This probably means that……
「Okayy, you’re late. That means Häagen-Dazs, your treat!」
「Ehh!? ……F-Fine, I got it!」
「No, don’t get it, don’t get it! Right then, let’s go～」
Even Mizusawa was looking at Izumi with the eyes of someone seeing something adorable. An existence that ought to be loved and be protected such that the current atmosphere was one of ‘We can’t just leave her alone!’. Uh, so in other words.
The fact that Hinami had been late was all a deliberate act to aim for an atmosphere like this.
Is this for real? Still, that’s definitely what happened. Since I’m someone who has seen exactly what her other side is like, you can take my word for it. There’s no way she would turn up late due to some blunder, and if I were to assume it had been on purpose, then it would make complete sense.
「Shall we get going?」
Even as I trembled in fear at just how terrifying Hinami Aoi was, the shopping trip began earnestly in such a fashion. Oh? That reminds me, I haven’t spoken a single word since Mizusawa and Izumi arrived, have I?
The first place on our agenda was the Lumine[1] within the vicinity of our meeting location at Omiya’s Mame no Ki.
This was decided simply through Mizusawa’s suggestion that went something like,「Tomozaki and Izumi are buying presents, right? ‘Kay then, how about we go to the Lumine for now?」 As such, I didn’t exactly know why Lumine was the choice. I think it’s because they sell a lot of things.
Upon entering the Lumine right next to the station – which was apparently actually called Lumine 2, but I don’t know why it’s called that – we ended up going inside a stylish clothing store called Beams[2] that was directly in front of us. Exactly why we chose Beams, I have no idea. I think it’s because they sell a lot of things. I’m pretty clueless about these kinds of subjects.
「Hmmmm……」
Upon entering Beams, Izumi began to carefully examine each of the bags, wallets, accessories, and so that were on sale. What an incredibly serious gaze. She’s being incredibly vocal with her hmms.
Hinami let out a small cry as she walked at a steady pace while looking out for items in Izumi’s vicinity.
「Ah- this one is cuuute!」
「It really is! So cute! ……But would Shuuji like something like this?」
While picking up a pale, tawny change purse, Izumi looked at Hinami with an uneasy expression.
Hinami tilted her head.
「Nnn, I wonder?」
「Hmm. Hiro. What do you think?」
Looks like Izumi calls Takahiro by the nickname Hiro.
「Nn～. Doesn’t seem like he’d like that kind of thing.」
「Yeah, thought so～」
Despondent, Izumi returned it to the shelf. She really seemed dejected from the bottom of her heart. Then, making an about-turn, she began to once again evaluate the other things that were on sale with a facial expression that was as serious as serious gets.
I’m not sure how to put it, but she was conveying the feeling that she was seriously thinking about Nakamura as she made her choices. Her eyebrows were incredibly tense, but for some reason, her expression seemed somewhat helpless. The only thing I could feel was her intense concentration. What is this creature?
Now then, what should I do? Just observing them like this won’t get me anywhere, and, more importantly, would make Hinami mad at me later. So I have to get started on doing something. I cautiously drew closer to Izumi.
When I did this, Izumi turned to face me. With a serious gaze, she looked me in the eye. What?
Then, she opened her mouth.
「I dunno……」
「Wh-What’s up with that?」
That is what she chose to say with such a serious expression? I felt letdown thinking about this.
「What do you recommend……?」
「Eh. H-hmm.」
So Izumi would equitably ask even me for my opinion. It’s wonderful how she doesn’t discriminate. The only catch here is the fact that I can’t say anything that might be of any use.
However, I’ll try to give it some proper thought of my own just in case. To start with, I have absolutely no idea what Nakamura’s casual clothing would be like, and I know next to nothing about his hobbies, preferences, and character. What I do know is that he likes AtaFami at the moment, and that there’s a side of him that really hates losing. That’s about it.
Therefore, I conclude that unless I start from a position of knowing about Nakamura, I can’t say anything. Right. That didn’t help. I have no choice but to do my usual thing and just say exactly what I’m thinking.
「Umm, let’s see…… If you don’t know what to get him, I think that randomly looking around a store like this isn’t really going to help. That’s why, understand Nakamura, and reflect, maybe? Y-You have to do all that and think about what to get him before looking around. That’s what I think……」
My voice was slowly trailing off due to my lack of confidence, but, even so, Izumi was going ‘Hm, hm’, giving me her full attention as she listened. Once she was done hearing me out, she exclaimed ‘You’re right!’ with all of her might in agreement. Hey, this girl won’t get scammed into buying a vase or something, right?[3] Will she be fine?
「Thanks! I’ll try asking around!」
Saying this, Izumi began to look around restlessly. She’s probably looking for Hinami or Mizusawa. Be that as it may, riajuus seem to have unusually steady torsos, don’t they? Even her movements as she scanned the area possessed an enigmatic sense of stability. Izumi seemed to have caught sight of them in the distance as she let out an “ah.”
However, she clapped at me twice for some reason, saying「Hey」as she did so. When I responded, she stood on the tips of her toes and brought her face closer to my ear. Eh, what is it? Um, your face is too close. How many times does this make it?
「Look, over there.」
Looking in the direction of where Izumi pointed, I saw the figures of Mizusawa and Hinami putting hats on each other as they shared a private laugh. ……Um, what’s this?
「They seem pretty close, is that what you’re saying?」
For some reason, Izumi looked at me with an extremely mischievous face.
「Um, you see……actually, ah, this is a secret, okay?」
「Y-yeah.」
Izumi brought her mouth close to my ear as I bent over to listen. She then spoke in a whisper.
「There’s this rumour that the two of them are going out.」
「Haa!?」
I inadvertently let out a shout. Izumi looked at me, saying「You idiot!」in a hushed voice.
The results of my aiueo back-channeling practice coming to fruition, I was able to produce a big reaction. How wonderful. As a result, employees and even Hinami and Mizusawa were looking at us. How very embarrassing.
Izumi waved a hand from side to side to signal that it was nothing. However, the two of them started approaching us with half-smiles after giving us quizzical looks.
「Umm, we’ll continue the rest of this conversation later!」
「Y-yeah……」
After speaking to me in a hushed voice, Izumi went over to meet them, saying 「It’s nothing, really～!」as she did so. As for what I was doing… I stood stock still with her words from earlier being repeated in my mind for some reason.
『There’s this rumour that the two of them are going out.』
W-Well, so that’s how it is. If you thought about it carefully, it made sense. The perfect heroine Hinami Aoi. In fact, it would be unnatural for her to not have a boyfriend. In fact, it would be extremely odd for someone without a boyfriend to so self-importantly say『Your target is to get a girlfriend』, so it should have been obvious.
Still, what is this feeling? This feeling, it’s a bit like anger…… or perhaps a hazy feeling from that bit about it being a 『rumour』. Izumi’s on good terms with Hinami, so she should be able to ask her directly, shouldn’t she? Like, why doesn’t she? This is the kind of hazy feeling I had.
Well, it’s not like I’m directly involved or anything, and it’s none of my business, but there’s something not quite right…… I didn’t like how I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. Look, if someone told you『Actually, I have a secret to tell you……ah, actually, never mind!』, wouldn’t you feel bothered and irritated by that? That was the kind of irritation I felt. It wasn’t really anything to do with Hinami being involved in the matter.
「Tomozaki-kuuun! We’re going, you know?」
「Ah, r-right!!」
Hinami had called out to me. I ended up giving yet another overblown reply.
On doing so, Hinami closed the distance a little and called out to me in a voice silent enough that only I could hear it.
「Hey, you’re acting strange. What did you talk about with Yuzu earlier?」
With my back straightening out due to those whispered words, I replied.
「I-I-It’s n-n-nothing.」
My body was trembling uncontrollably as I downplayed the matter.
「……Well, that’s fine then.」
The slightest sound of the gnawing of teeth indicated that as expected, even Hinami was surprised.
「Y-yeah.」
「More importantly, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that you’re trying to do the task I assigned you, is there?」
「Ah, yeah. I’m doing it, I really am. Yup yup.」
「I see. ……Well then.」
Perhaps judging that discussing the matter any further would be futile, or perhaps thinking that staying any longer would come off as unnatural to the others, Hinami left it at that, walking off towards Mizusawa’s side. Then, they cheerfully started talking again. What pleasant smiles the both of them have.
Wait, no, no. I’m not here to observe the love affairs of other people. I have to do the task I’ve been given. I’m here to accumulate experience points.
I got my feelings back in order. Then, I recalled the events of yesterday’s meeting in order to reaffirm what I needed to do here.
Translator Notes:
[1] Lumine Co., Ltd operates a number of shopping centers that you tend to find attached to railway stations in Japan (you could say they’re in the same building).
[2] From Wikipedia: Beams is a Japanese clothing brand, established in 1976 in Harajuku district of Tokyo, whose chief executive officer is Yo Shitara. Besides stores in many places in Japan, they have branch offices in New York, Milan, London, and Paris.
[3] That sort of scam where a gullible person with a poor sense of judgement gets scammed into buying something effectively useless. Apparently well known in Japan. (つぼを売る)
