350 Lap Pillow!? (1/2)
Kanna saw this and noticed Natsuya's true feelings. She now understood that her previous conjecture about Natsuya and Akatsuki had been incorrect.
”So there was a reason after all.” Izawa smiled faintly. ”Shiroya-san is highly protective of his master, so it was an impulsive action.”
”Even if I didn't interfere, Natsuya probably would have knocked him away, so it doesn't count for much in terms of protection,” Seiji said. ”I just acted on my impulse and beat him up.”
”You shouldn't say that, Shiroya-san,” Kanna said with a smile. ”Even if Yoruhana-san has the ability to protect herself, she still needs a boy to protect her. After all, girls like that kind of thing.”
”That's not what I meant. I'm not saying that Natsuya doesn't need protection, I meant that I didn't help Natsuya all that much. I just did what I wanted to do, and that's all there is to it.”
”No, you were a great help to me,” Natsuya said in a gentle voice. ”You appeared at just the right time. I'm truly grateful, and your presence made me feel quite reassured.”
Seiji didn't know how to react to the president's forthrightness and was a little embarrassed.
”Wow, so sweet.” Kanna felt like they were showing off their lovey-doveyness.
Izawa also noticed the atmosphere and blinked in realization.
After a momentary silence, Kanna spoke up. ”Ryuuno, let's go back to the dining hall and grab some more food!”
Kanna decisively made the decision to stop being an unwanted fifth wheel.
”Eh? Milady, you're hungry again already?”
”Yeah, I didn't eat enough earlier, and now I'm starving again. Let's go! Let's go already!”
Kanna dragged the dense Izawa away without even saying goodbye. The ambiguous look she shot at Seiji and Natsuya said it all: 'We won't get in your way, so have fun being lovebirds!'
Seiji and Natsuya watched them leave before looking back towards each other.
Natusya took a long, good look at his face. Seiji was unable to bear it and averted his gaze, which made Natsuya smile.
”Can you accompany me outside for a walk?” she asked gently.
”Of course,” he said.
And so, the two of them left their seats and went out for a walk. They arrived at the garden where the Spirit-branded Retainers had been waiting at earlier.
”This is a beautiful garden.”
”The other Spirit-branded Retainers and I were waiting here at the beginning.”
”What did you do here?”
”Not much. I just sat down in that pagoda, chatted with Izawa-san, and borrowed a light novel from him to read.”
”What type of light novel?”
Natusya was rendered speechless.
”It wasn't something that Izawa himself wanted to read; it was a book that Fujihara-san set for homework. She even forced him to write a five-hundred-word book report on it afterwards.” Seiji sighed and continued, ”Izawa-san has it difficult, serving a master like her.”
”Haha, indeed.” Natsuya recalled Kanna's endless preaching about boys' love and couldn't help but smile. ”Is it an interesting novel?”
”It's pretty interesting. Although some of the scenes are a bit exaggerated, overall it's still pretty good. If I had to write a book report about it, it would be quite easy.”
”Oh, then I'll buy a copy and read it as well.”
”Er, I don't recommend that one to you. Some of the jokes in it may be difficult for you to understand,” Seiji said in a roundabout fashion.
This genre of the novel was specifically aimed at a male audience. In other words, it had lots of ecchi gentlemanly content! This was definitely not a good novel to recommend to a female reader, especially one who was only a beginner at light novels.
”Natsuya, you don't read light novels often, right?”
”That's correct.”