CH 13

Mob Highschool Student goes shopping

When we arrived at the mall, we silently headed to the elevator.

The first floor of the mall mainly focuses on foodstuff. Clothes, glasses, and watches are on the second floor while the game corner and music stores are on the fifth floor.

There is a bookstore on the sixth floor but from the seventh floor on are shops like Animate and Gamer Girls.

I usually buy all my light novels at animate but today Eihashi-san is with me so I think I will buy the novel at the bookstore on the sixth floor.

……if there are any store limited items then I might buy it at Animate but the bonus I can get there with the new volume I am buying this time is only the transparent cover so there’s no problem for me to buy it here.

The question is, where is Eihashi-san’s destination today……..

“I am going to the bookstore on the sixth floor but what about you, Eihashi-san?”

“Umm, can I tag along with you?”

“….I don’t mind but won’t you feel uncomfortable looking at some of the novel’s covers…….?”

“I’ve read a light novel my friend recommended to me before so I think I will be alright.”

If she says that then there’s no point to forcefully refuse her. With that being the case, we head up to the sixth floor and proceed to the bookstore in the back.

Since this is the first time I’ve used this store, I don’t know where their light novel corner is so I decided to take a look around.

……However, the light novel Eihashi-san’s friend recommended to her was probably not the light novel I used to in the first place. It was probably the novel adaptation of an animated movie like the Wolf Daughters. (TLN: Spoof name of Wolf Children [Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki])

Then wouldn’t it be bad to take her with me just like this?……If I accidentally show her some of those sensual books she might label me as a pervert too.

Eihashi-san is not the type to spread rumors but it would be bad for me to have that kind of image in her mind.

……no, on the contrary, if she gets embarrassed from seeing that kind of book then I might be able to use it as the reason to make her give up when she tries to invite me to walk home with her again right?

When I walked around with such a thought in mind, I saw a magazine featuring Kamishiro Kousei on the shelf. 

So it got restocked huh, well, this is a big bookstore after all.

“……Kamishiro Kousei special features…..so it got restocked already huh…..”

“…..Is…..Is that so? I don’t really know since I don’t read many magazines.”

OHHH That was dangerous! I almost gave her a nod. Mob does not read magazines, Mob does not read magazines, Mob does not read magazines! Alright….she is not sus,…….she looked totally suspicious!? No, she is alternately looking between the magazine’s cover and me!? If I don’t hurry and leave this place it will be dangerous!

“Th, then I will go look for my novel okay! If you are interested in that magazine then why don’t you buy it at the counter over there!? Wait, was it the thing you were looking for?!”

“Eh, Uh, wait! …….he’s gone…….Alright, let’s buy this. I am a fan so I have to buy this. Yes, I am a fan after all.”

Feeling the sense of crisis, I hurriedly searched for the light novel corner and looked for the new volume of the novel I planned to buy today. Since they just recently got an anime adaptation, I searched the shelf that stood out one by one.

“Hmmm….Seishun Ushi……ah, there it is!” 

(TLN: Rascal doesn’t dream of Bunny Girl Senpai [Seishun Buta Yarou] Buta = Pig, Ushi = Cow)

“Is that the new issue you are looking for?”

“UWA, you surprised me! When did……you!?”

I was so focused on looking for the book and didn’t realize that Eihashi-san had already approached me.

However, when I ask [When did you—-] I did not only mean when she got so close to me but to the Kamishiro Kousei Special Feature Magazine in her hand as well.

Then, realizing that a person from my class, not to mention the most beautiful girl in my grade, bought it, it made me a little embarrassed.

“I bought it just now. ……that book……the friend who recommended a light novel to me before said that its story was very touching.”

According to how she says it, it seems that the friend who recommended light novels to Eihashi-san is someone who regularly reads light novels.

Although Eihashi-san’s face is slightly red from the slightly sensual illustration on the cover, she didn’t reject the light novel and being open-minded about it.

Maybe it is because of that, that I suddenly begin to give her a heated explanation about this series.

“Exactly! This Seishun Ushi Yarou is a story about a lazy guy who finally wants to do something good for someone else you see!”

“That sounds interesting………but the price is around 700 yen isn’t it……”

Eihashi-san seemed to be interested in the synopsis of the story I gave her but she began to hesitate when she saw the price.

Seeing her like that, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to increase the fans of my favorite work so I ended up saying something unnecessary to her.

“I have all the volumes at my house so I can lend them to yo—-…..No! My grandmother left me a message in my will that I should never lend the Seishun Ushi to anyone.”

I almost self-destruct.

With this shopping trip, her doubt regarding me should have cleared up and I should be able to return back to my mundane daily life with nothing to do with her but I almost made a point of contact with her at school myself……

Thanks to my quick wit, I was able to deceive her somehow, right…..?

“Can you lend them to me?”

Yup, she just casually broke through that. Well, of course, she wouldn’t be fooled with that. Rather, it was strange for me to think that I could fool her like that.

“No, my grandmother’s will said…….”

“…..can you lend them to me?”

“……by all means.”

“Thank you very much!”

I made a bad move when I mentioned the will but since I already told her once that I can lend them to her, I can’t straightly tell her that I won’t lend them to her so the only option left in my head was to obediently do so.

……..even so, the suspicion she has that I am Kamishiro Kousei should have died down already.

The image of Kamishiro Kousei that everyone looks up to doesn’t include a guy reading a light novel. The image of me reading some difficult [Deep] book was already established after all.

That image should be strong inside Eihashi-san who got interested in Kamishiro Kousei after she was cooly saved by him yesterday.

That’s why from now on, Eihashi-san and I might settle down in a relationship where I am a guy who lends her light novels. We may talk with each other more than before but at least she shouldn’t think that I am Kamishiro Kousei anymore.

After I bought the book that I was planning to buy today, we went down to the first floor using the escalator while talking with each other about the book that I will lend to her tomorrow. Once we reached the exit, I decided to part ways with Eihashi-san in front of the mall.

Unlike yesterday, it’s not too dark now so there is no need for me to walk her home.

“Then, I will look forward to the book tomorrow, Kamishiro-san.”

“Yea……!? ………my name is Hiura though?”

“Fufu, sorry, I made a mistake. I will look forward to the book tomorrow, Hiura-san.”

…..Eh? Her suspicion about me should be cleared already right…..?

Even so, I absolutely can not lower my guard. Since I basically don’t talk to anyone beside Masato at school, I was more often called Kousei rather than Seiya so I might reflexively respond if she called me by that name.

“…..Oh, for the first time, only the first volume is fine right?”

“Yes. The exam is near so borrowing a lot here wouldn’t be good after all. Moreover, if it’s interesting, I am looking forward to borrowing the next volume from you as well.”

“….Got it. Then see you tomorrow.”

“……Hiura-san are you actually Kamishiro Kousei-san?”

Hmm….now it seems that she is not fully convinced that I am not Kousei for some reason. Still, the answer to that question has already been decided.

“No. You have the wrong person.”