Vol 3 Chapter 4 (2/2)
H else you called me here for, huh?”
“Yep I guess you could call having lunch together soht?”
“Yeah” Well, that’s not bad either
I still thought that my impression earlier was too mundane — Ryuushi+-san would definitely be ticked off by it She’s always been flexible I don’t really knohat that word h
“Now I get why Hanazawa-san wanted to marry into your family”
“Cough!”
Maekawa-san spat out the udon in her mouth; with force that could shoot stuff out of her nose, she struggled “Uh… You, doing alright?”
Thelook
For Maekawa-san to be shaken over soht, I think I just witnessed a rare event
…But did I even say anything that shocking?
After we’re both satiated with the noodles, Maekawa-san made a proposal:
“Wanna play soh”
“Oh, you play video games too, Maekawa-san?”
“A lot, too, before I got this tall At the ti”
She just left it as is “Well, anyway, let’s go” Maekawa-san got up and shut off the AC in the living roo to do withOnto the second floor, we officially enter the domain of Maekawa-san’s room
“…Hmm”
I didn’t expect it to be a girly roo to surprise me in there
In the room ooden furniture of the saures placed on the shelves; on her desk rested her bag and books, and not a single item related to cosplay was seen
A plain rooy of Maekawa-san It wasn't until I saw the sweetfish costuh in relief
“The closet in there is the door to your wildest dream Want to take a look?”
“No thanks”
I had a feeling she’d ressive than a store clerk
“Um… Around here… There it is”
Dusty and its colour yellowed, the ga console Maekawa-san pulled out was indeed ancient Itit on TV long ago
She laid a few cartridges, their finishi+ng also faded, onto the carpet
In the end, we agreed to play the racing ga reen dinosaur Neither of us picked the huonists[4]
Sitting from a distance ae stared at the TV
When it’s Maekawa-san, I becoirl”
Was it due to seeing her cosplay all the time?
We selected the track and began racing
“…You seeive up, transfer student”
I failed and started last; Maekawa-san graciously took the spot of first
“Eh? What do you mean?”
I don’t really kno to play, having only tried a little at my friend’s place I chased the back of seventh place Did she ame?
“Well, you’re the type that usually gives up beforehand, so I thought that that must be the case”
Since I’ot a banana peel
How fortunate
“You think? There are things I wouldn’t give up too, though”
Like Youth-points and such As well as first place, for this game I hit sixth place
“For instance, you’ve already given up on ever hitting Hanazawa’s pitches”
“Oh~ that Yeah Well, isn’t it tooan amateur to hit those throws?”
A football landed on the ground inon the ground
“It's gonna be difficult to go to the festival if we lose… You’ve heard, right? Whoever wins the last gaets to host the event”
“Yeah, I heard from Ryuushi+-san”
“Don’t you want to go with her or Touwa?”
“Ah… Well, Erio aside, yeah, it certainly would be nice What about you, Maekawa-san?”
“I have to help out at the booth And if we lose next week, I guess I atch the firework from my yard”
Oh, it’s next week? But, we’re going to lose anyway, right? Since they have an actual player there
“I digress, but you s”
Maekawa-san successfully led the race Her words and rank don’t lanced at her screen, reh corners What’s the button again?
“I’ht Not much you can do when you’re already 1799 cm tall”
“Dontcha think you’ve been awfully persistent with that number?” And you sound a little rude too
“But I did accept the fact that I’m tall”
Maekawa-san gri her controller like an actual car That would probably result in the vehicle ra into the wall in real life
In the virtual world, she kept first despite having a less-than-smooth path
“To give up is to approve of your opponent, so I don’t think it’s all bad”
“That’s not a bad way to make friends”
My rank rose to fifth We reached a tunnel
“Only, recently”
“Recently?”
“I should be giving up, but it's getting harder”
“Hm?”
I tried to remember the shortcut, only to fail miserably and ended up in last place; Maekawa-san, too, tried to challenge the same route and dropped down to seventh
“I', 'how could this be?!', y'know, transfer student?”
“Ah Like losing your lead because you were too stubborn”
“I guess I'm in no place to poke fun of anyone”
“Yeah You’ll end up last if I catch up”
So ended the first lap With two o, I climbed to fifth while Maekawa-san forth
“Are you having fun, transfer student?”
“Yeah, I am”
I’d already gotten used to the track; my hands, too, adapted to the control
“Good Then, I won’t give up either”
“It's still the first lap though: you don’t have to be so pessimistic”
I saw that bitter grin again from the corner of my eyes
“Yeah, I guess… My point is, soive up”
“Oh… I’h”
It’d a zero if she was giving me a test
“The right answer is never so easily understood Like a modern japanese exam”
“Huh…”
I glossed over, ‘giving up’ on trying to understand… Oh, I see Her assessment for my personality seemed accurate
But I think I also wanted to ignore that because I didn’t want to disturb the atames
We finished second lap — I took over Maekawa-san’s avatar
“So, I’m still transfer student, huh”
“Hm?”
“Oh, uh, my name, that is I think we’re near the expiration date for that name”
I successfully reached second on the last lap; Maekawa-san shi+fted between fourth and fifth
The AC moaned on the side
“I’ve called you that since we e now?”
“Why’s that?”
“No reason I have pride too, you know”
For a long while, the room filled with only clicks of the controllers
The voices of huside the sames, in the form of ‘yay!’ or ‘tch’
Despite it being silent, it was an appeasing atmosphere
After about an hour, as I got bored playing nor backward on the tracks, Maekawa-san suddenly opened her mouth:
“Oh yeah I got a little question”
“Hm?”
“As a sniffer, do you like Touwa or Ryuushi+’s smell better?”
“Gahh!”
As she prefaced, this irrelevant question jabbed deeply between my ribs
Obviously, this was an indirect abuse from Meme-san
Was this an act of vengeance for earlier, Maekawa-san?
The green dinosaur easily surpassed the idle mushroom
When it was about evening, I decided to leave the Maekawa household
“You wanna to have dinner here too?”
“No, no That’s too … Probably”
The kitchen’s been too hot lately, so she’s been looking for excuses to stay away from there
Meme-san see That’s on the sa away from cram school
She ht never lose that spirit even when she hit Ta able to see like a child makes her an excellent teacher
“Alright Then, do say hi to Meme-san and Touwa for me”
“You should do the saht?”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about introducing you to my dad”
“Please, anything but that” My face will end up catching a ball
“Ahaha, it’s just a joke And, uh~”
Ahehed What folloas rare for Maekawa-san — she looked down, almost bashful
“Can I, invite you again sometimes? …Kiwa-kun”
“Only if you don’t call me that What about Ryuushi+-san or Erio?”
“Ah~ Nah… I only got two controllers, you see”
“…? Huess, but… Hmm~?”
“Don’t think too lad that soood”
“Oh~ I see”
She went on about this controller thing, but I somehow accepted her explanation This was the first ti while since I complimented that she could be a model I’ll treasure this moment
“Then, bye”
“Hm I will see you tomorrow”
Let’s ain tomorrohen you’re in your fish form
I bid farewell to Maekawa-san, aved her hand, and stepped onto the pedals
Since the tio pick Erio up too
The sky held onto the light still, casting a golden hue across town No longer stinging, the sun had this softness, as thougha compromise
“Haah”
Feeling overly fulfilled, I gradually let out the excess
Even with no comprehension of what happened, I felt satisfied
I could call it an uneventful day: I think it wasn’t spent any differently than just cosying up in my room
Nothing in particular happened when I went to Maekawa-san’s house
But the way I spent the ti
In a day where nothing happened, where nothing was added — it is aular days
Since tio, human interaction has always been the manifestation of mystery
I rung the bell twice lessly — I was that excited
Yet, it was a suspiciously normal day in a town like this
I once again realized that If she doesn’t do weird cosplays, she’d be a tall and sensible beauty
“In any case” It was a great day No one could say otherwise
“Dung dung dung~ dung, Youth-points UP, 3 points!”
Jump up↑ A table with futon surrounded, and a heat source of sos warm
Juon Quest reference Nifuraht
Jua called うちの妻ってどうでしょう by 福滿しげゆき Maekawa-san's outfit here is apparently the wife's outfit on one of the tankoban's cover The sound effect would appear to be just a thing she does
Jump up↑ Mario Kart