CH 27

It’s Heart Pounding Isn’t It?

TL: PuffyPyjamas.

ED: Daemon.

“Let’s get started then.”

Charlotte, who seemed to be a little nervous, presented a manga to me. The reason she is so nervous is probably because our faces are relatively close to each other. While two people try to read a manga together, it is a given that their faces would be close to a certain extent.

To be honest, I am extremely nervous as well. If the face of the person you have a crush on is in the immediate vicinity, I believe it’s natural to have such a reaction. In all honesty, it’s taking my all to maintain my composure and to not let my nervousness show on my face.

“So, what manga did yo—Eh…?”

I was baffled when I saw the manga that she was holding in her hands. If I were being recommended a manga by someone, I thought that it’d be some world-famous works like the pirate manga with the main character wearing a straw-hat, or the manga revolving around ninjas with the main character having a monster sealed inside his body. At least, I expected to be recommended a manga like that. [1]

However, she recommended a manga of less popular genre to me. To be more precise, it’s a genre that doesn’t seem to align with any of the more well-known works. [2]

“Are you surprised?”

Charlotte, who appears to have realized my confusion from my expression, laughs mischievously. What on earth is she planning?

“Aoyagi-kun expected me to recommend a world-famous work, right? At the very least, wasn’t I supposed to recommend a work of a more popular genre?”

Bullseye… What Charlotte just said is precisely what I was thinking.

“Yeah, that’s correct. Why are you—”

“Recommending a manga based around drawing a manga—right?”

I nodded at Charlotte, who stole the words right out of my mouth. The cover of the manga she recommended has an illustration of a boy holding a pen while facing the manuscript at his table. It can be seen that this boy is trying to draw manga, and as the cover picture depicts, it is a story centered around drawing manga.

If I remember correctly, this work was serialized in a popular shounen magazine that was released every Monday. It was a hot topic at the time, so even I, who doesn’t read manga at all, know a little about it.

“If I were to explain in detail, the story will be spoiled, so allow me to give you a brief summary. This is a story of two boys aiming to become mangakas.” [3]

“What was your intention behind choosing this manga?”

I asked Charlotte, who had just explained the concept of the manga, the reason why she chose this manga in particular. There were several possible reasons.

However, she is the only one who knows the true answer. I wished to know Charlotte’s thoughts rather than about manga itself. Her mentality of ​​taking actions that don’t apply to common sense.

“It’s a secret~”

However, Charlotte just placed her index finger on her lips and winked adorably, dodging the question. After all, this girl is very cute and mischievous. If she does something like this, I can’t ask any further… 

“O-oh, is that so…?”

“Fufu, I’m sorry. Firstly, I would like you to go into it without any prior prejudice. Then, I will explain why I recommended this manga to Aoyagi-kun.”

It seems that she has her own plans this time around. In that case, I will obediently leave it to her.

“—Somehow, I’m a little nervous.”

When I flipped the cover, Charlotte shyly muttered. I looked at her, and her cheeks were dyed red. However, her face was bright and it seemed she was having fun.

I wondered if I could concentrate on the manga in this situation, but I started reading manga with Charlotte without any further consideration.

TN: