Volume 1 - CH 1.3

Translated by: Seiryuu

Revised by: Chocolala

And so the fateful after school hours arrived.

I lingered in the classroom until all my classmates had left the school, then hesitated for a while as to whether or not I should go, and finally decided to give up and headed for the promised place. 

The gymnasium was filled with the sounds of students engaged in club activities and balls bouncing on the floor, a lively atmosphere that contrasted with my desire for youth without any disturbance. In the back of such a lively facility, there was the high school girl.

“… Yo.” When I called out, the woman, Nanamine seemed to notice this, and she glared at me angrily.

“You’re late! How long are you gonna make me wait?”

“Sorry, the homeroom was running late.”

“I’m in your class!” I thought I had about a one percent chance of fooling her, but sure enough, she found out.

“I got a love letter from the most beautiful girl in my…… class and I needed time to prepare myself.”

“Yes. Then I forgive you.”

“You forgive me for that reason?” The second excuse, which I gave in a very stilted voice, went through surprisingly easily. I was so deflated that I couldn’t help but notice that Nanamine seemed to be in a much better mood than she had been before.

“Well, yeah! Being confessed to by me is a major event of one’s youth! You should be proud of yourself.”

“Wow, I’m impressed. So, what do you want?” I was getting tired of wasting time talking, so I quickly got down to business. 

Nanamine nodded her head and took out a paper bag from her bag as if she thought it was about time.

“Open this,”

“…What is that?” While being cautious, I received what was offered.

An object wrapped in a tasteless brown paper bag. Just from the taste of the wrapping, I could tell that it was not something Nanamine had prepared. It was probably something she had received from the male student in the classroom this morning.

“Here, open it, open it.” Nanamine suggested, looking as excited as a child about to play a prank. I fearfully followed her instructions and took out what I found inside.

The next moment, I opened my eyes as wide as I could.

“This is……!” The retro case, the cartoon-style picture on the package, the title logo that I’ve seen so many times.

“‘Robobus-2R’……….!?” It contained the masterpiece of a retro game that I had always wanted. Flustered, I opened the case and checked the contents. What I found inside was the real Robobus software.

“Wh-why do you know about this……?”

‘Don’t tell me she is also an RPG enthusiast like me…….!’ I thought that I had found a like-minded person in an unexpected place, but what came back from Nanamine was words that betrayed my expectations.

“Mmm-hmm, I traced a friend’s connection and got it for you. What do you think, are you surprised? With my wide connections?” Nanamine was proud of herself. I took a deep breath and decided to ask her about the details.

“……Hey, what’s going on? Tell me.”

“Sure, why not?” Nanamine smiled and nodded in satisfaction as if she understood that I was at the table for discussion.

“First of all, after you rejected me yesterday, I started to look into you in earnest. I just asked my friends for some information about you, though. No, I had a hard time! Yamato-kun, you neglect your relationships too much. Thanks to you, it was really hard to find someone who knows about you.”

“That’s none of your business.” I spat from the bottom of my heart, but Nanamine didn’t seem bothered and continued talking.

“I managed to find a boy who went to the same junior high school as you, Yamato-kun and talked to him, and he told me that you were obsessed with this game.”

“……I see.” I think I could guess who they might be. I think I had a few conversations with them when I took the high school entrance test.

“After that, it was easy. I traced more connections and found someone who had this game and they got it for me. End of story.” Nanamine concluded as if she was proud of her achievement.

What can I say, I was impressed by her. She solved a problem that I couldn’t seem to solve in one night. Even in RPGs, the odds of winning go up if you have a good group of comrades rather than taking on the boss alone.

‘The fact that there are so many people you can move is a great power in itself. I guess that’s why the world considers high communicative power to be justice.’ I let out a sigh and stared at the girl who was righteous within the justice.

“What do you want me to do by dangling a carrot under my nose?” I asked again with a sullen look as I handed the Robobus game back to her.

Nanamine then opened her mouth again with a confident smile, even though she had failed once. “Of course, the demands are the same as yesterday.” 

‘So you’re asking me to go out with you to lower your Riaju level.’ I understood the logic, but I couldn’t help but to have some doubts.

“……Why did you choose me? There are a lot of guys who would easily agree. Why are you so obsessed with me that you have to go through all this trouble?” 

This is the only thing I could not figure out. There were plenty of boys who wanted to go out with Nanamine. I was not sure what to make of it. I couldn’t understand the reason why she was so dead-set on me to be her sacrifice, to go as far as doing all this hassle.

When I observed Nanamine’s face to find out her true intentions, she replied with an unusually serious expression on her face, as if she was trying to be sincere.

“There are several reasons for this. ……First and foremost, Yamato-kun is a person who doesn’t get involved with others too much. That’s why I thought it would be the least troublesome. You surely won’t drag me around to show me off to your friend, would you?” 

Nanamine continued. “If I asked someone who really likes me to do this, it would be very cruel, wouldn’t it? That’s why I want someone who seems to be the least interested in me. To be honest, when you turned me down yesterday, I thought I’ve found the perfect person.”

Oh, I see. It’s true that when you’re someone like Nanamine, it’s probably more difficult to find someone who doesn’t like you or who wouldn’t like you. If that’s the case, the number of candidates would naturally be limited.

Perhaps she thought she had convinced me with her explanation, Nanamine cleared her throat and smiled again. “So, once again. With much reluctance, I’m asking you to please go out with me.” 

Again, Nanamine confessed to me with the unnecessary words included.

……Honestly, I wanted to say no. 

It wasn’t that I was dissatisfied with her, it was just that when someone like me became the boyfriend of a girl who likely topped the Riaju ranking, I was 100% sure that I would be scrutinized by everyone.

But—but.

‘If I miss this opportunity, this game may never roll into my hands again.’

……………………………………………

‘Okay, let’s think of it as a part-time job.’

After spending plenty of time organizing my feelings, I sighed and replied to her, “…I’m also reluctant, but let’s get along.”

—Thus, a couple with 0% affection was born.

Seiryuu: I hope you like my translation! More parts will be posted soon! Liven up the comments and don’t forget to read The SS (Side Stories) Translated by chocolala, they are super cute and fun!