Vol 1 Chapter 4 (1/2)
Chapter 4
When she ca in the air with a ru colossal force
Roana screamed a few tie barrier, Ro to calm her down
Roht to herself:
What an inconceivable person he was Roana went into a tranquil state when she heard his voice
With that, Roana left Grando, the planet she was born and raised in
It would be long before she came to know the name of her planet (and for that matter, the concept of a planet itself)
As she rested her gaze on the black sea beyond theof the silver house,
This ht be the reason why she was born into the world
Not just to eat or to survive, but for that 'certain so in the depths of the black ocean
There was also the strange ed to calm her down
A gargantuan hope encased her heart gently, overwhel her unease
Nishi+zono Yūko
<ro=”” world=””>
Every Wednesday or Friday
shi+nonome and I would head home ere finished with our shi+ft duty at the counters There were occasions where ould head straight to the station and part ways, but for the most part ould take a detour and visit the cafe — the cafe where we talked about our 'date'
”Can we actually say we're dating with the e are now?”
That hat I said one day while swirling the near-e her book, her reaction was to lift her eyes upward slightly
” What?”
”Can an occasional visit to the cafe be considered as ?”
shi+nono even if we are at a cafe, so all I could do was to stare at her as she read and voice hts aloud once in a while That's als I did to kill time at the library counter
If you're looking for any changes outside of what I had said, I aes with shi+nonome at home However, the contents were not the least bit lovey-dovey — just stuff which I can live without
”What should we do then?”
While looking at shi+nono her question with her head tilted, I sent a cube of ice into my mouth and crushed it into pieces
”I don't really kno to answer that question of yours though”
”What are your views on how 'dating' should be like, Minami-kun?”
”I'm not too sure of the answer to that either”
There's no way I can answer so the murky question I had in my mind
”Let's see, a typical couple's probably quite unlike hoe are”
”How should a typical couple be like?”
”Urm”
Must I spell everything out — I wondered to ain, shi+nonome's not someone you'd call ordinary Ordinary people don't ask to pretend to be a couple just so to gather materials
Therefore, the hapless me was left with no other option but to speak
”For exao on a date during the weekends - things like that? I'm not too sure myself”
I listed the impressions I had in h thinking about so And then?
”Let us do just that”
She said
”Like going on a date during the weekends?”
I sought confirmation from her shi+nonome nodded
”Are you free tomorrow, Minami-kun?”
”Tomorrow?”
That was prettyplanned I spentaround my house
”I have nothing on”
”Can we meet tomorrow then?”
”S-Sure where?”
”Where would be a good place?”
She was firing a volley of questions, but I answered anyway
”Like watching a ”
I wasn't dying to watch aI could think of
”Okay”
With that, shi+nononaled the end of the conversation I heaved a gentle, hapless sigh
Honestly speaking, I'm not too sure about this myself
If it was shi+nonoested theto accompany her since I ao, I would havethat our conversation ended up that way
Is this what dating is like?
I never dated a girl before, so I wasn't too sure myself
But based on my impressions, shouldn't one be way happier and ecstatic than this? It's pretty pointless to be a 'couple' if that's not the case
Though come to think of it, shi+nonome and I ended up as a 'couple' only due to so much I can do
Love was not in the equation e ended up as a couple
It was all so that shi+nonoather materials for her novel There was no joy e became a pair
I sent another cube of ice into s like that shi+nono in silence
With all that said, how is her impression of me?
I doubt she hates me, or else ould not end up the e are
But I don't think she loves me either
I wondered to myself as I stared blankly at shi+nonome
How are s towards her then?
I am not too certain about that either
I don't dislike her I find her 'interesting' due to a chance encounter, and that feeling hasn't changed
But I am not sure if that's love
shi+nonome did mention she 'never loved anyone before'
That's not the case for h I loved Aru in love with another person
In other words, s for shi+nonome were nowhere near those I used to have for Arumi-san
While I was thinking in silence, shi+nonoave a tiny sneeze It sounded very similar to the cries of a tiny ani, which I found to be cute I laughed in reflex
shi+nonome noticed She stared at me in embarrassment
” Why did you laugh?”
”Nah, it's nothing”
I actually thought shi+nonome was actually cute, but there's no way I'd tell her ain, it's not like shi+nonome and I were a real 'couple' There's no need forat each other
shi+nono in the cafe Its ar us to head home
”It is about time we leave”
I nodded and picked up the bill
”Allow me to pay for it”
I ignored shi+nonoht towards the cashi+er shi+nonoht up to me as she wanted to foot the bill, but I turned around and said to her,
”Typically speaking, the girl should not be paying for this”
I had come to the cafe with shi+nonome several times already, and she would pay for ainst it as I didn't have much cash on me Moreover, shi+nonoested co here”
Tiht for her to be the one who pays, and I accepted it without much of a fuss
However, because of the way things are working out now, I'm struck by an inferiority complex It should be okay to treat her once in a while as well Luckily for me, I had taken soredients for dinner
”Let us go Dutch”
I declined the thousand yen bill which shi+nono insistently in my direction
”You have already paid for the earlier drinks, so allow o Dutch, shall we? This way, neither of us will feel aard”
”Ah, mmm”
Nothing was said as we made our way towards the station
And with that, we split up at the platfore from shi+nonome
”Thank you very much for the coffee and the treat”
What a for my shoulders
Is that her being polite, or did she just send it as a for the times she paid for my drink, so I replied her immediately
”Thanks for paying for my drinks as well What's the plan for tomorrow?”
”I shall leave it to Minaht with that?”
”Okay I'll text you again”
What an intriguing relationshi+p we're in — I thought to myself
As I walked home from the station nearest to us, I et some stuff When I returned home, Arumi-san was around for some reason unknown to me She was not supposed to be around today, and that hy I was planning to make dinner in the first place
Arueway, popped the question with a huge smile on her face
”What e be having for dinner, Eita?”
”Stew but why are you here today, Aru”
There was a displeased expression on Arumi-san's face when she heard that from me
”What's wrong with that? You sound like you're not happy with having me around”
”That's not what I meant”
”I had so on, but it was canceled Then I heard Eita will be ht, so here I am filled with much expectation”
”Oh, I see”
At times like this, I didn't really care what her reasons were The fact was that Arumi-san was around
”Do you need any help?”
Asked Aru behind me
”Not really”
All you need to do for stew is to cut the ingredients and toss everything into a pot It's not like I needed any help with that
”How about I acco”
”Mmm please do”
So it ended up with Aru in the kitchen I could have rejected her offer, but I had more than stew in mythings alone
When ere done cooking, Keisuke joined us for dinner Despite Keisuke's silence, Arumi-san would always talk to hi the meal Keisuke would reply with phrases like ”Mmm” and ”I see”, which reminds me very much of my father
My father's an uptight techie, whileperson who's nice to just about everyone she e days Even though I am their son, I felt their personalities were so different I couldn't spot any similarities between them
But fro which she can proclaim out loud), she is deeply in love withwith Keisuke,with my father as well
”The stew's delicious, Eita”
I snapped back to my senses with that statement and tilted my head
”Really? But don't expect me to cook it all the time”
”Oops, so you noticed”
Aruled I doubt she actually had that intention in the first place I knew very well how ht be because it was for Keisuke's sake)
”That's because I love the stew made by Arumi-san”
It caht Arumi-san looked at me idened eyes A smile then appeared on her face
”Wow, that made me happy! Really happy!”
While exclai that with an air of innocence, Arumi-san looked in Keisuke's direction several ti for Keisuke to voice his thoughts as well
But Keisuke said nothing, only glancing at me briefly
Just as I was about to clear the table ere done with the meal, Arumi-san stopped me
”It's okay, just leave the dishes to me! You should rest in your room, Eita!”
With that said, she began washi+ng the dishes while hu to a tune It seems like my words earlier had made her really pleased
Since she made the offer, I accepted it and made my way upstairs However, I stopped in my tracks when I realized just hoeird it was forlike that to Arumi-san
Why did I say things like that in all honesty?
Ignoring the period of time when I was clueless about Arumi-san's relationshi+p with Keisuke, ever since I kneould never say anything to Aruh I' to Aru to use that hen speaking to her
But a few ht It was done naturally without hesitation
Does that ?
Can ti?
I cracked hts fro for e from shi+nonome