CH 29

Chp 29

The Most Beautiful girl and Playing Cards.

One day, a few days after I started going to Saito’s house, I rang the doorbell of her house as usual.　

It was hard to get used to, but after a few times, I was able to ring it without getting nervous.

[Yes, please, come in]

The front door opened, and Saito emerged from inside.

Today, she’s wearing a white loose hoodie and black skinny pants.　

She seemed to like loose clothing based on her recent outfits.

The outfit itself seemed normal, but something felt off today.

Her hair was tied up in a ponytail. 

She always puts it down at school, and I’ve never seen her hair like this, so I felt a bit nervous.  

[What’s wrong?]

When I froze, feeling thrilled by the unusual sight, she tilted her head curiously.

It seems that a new appearance of a beautiful girl was attractive in itself.

The way she was puzzled also looked more alluring than usual.

[…No, it’s nothing. Sorry to bother you]

She turned around and I followed her inside.　

As I followed her, I was slightly distracted by her swaying hair.　

I walked into the living room and put my backpack on the desk.

As I was going through my backpack to get the book I borrowed as usual, a deck of cards fell out.

[Ah]

The cards fell to the ground and spread out on the floor.　

[Is everything okay?]

She quickly bent down and helped me pick up the cards.　

I hurriedly reached for one of the cards to pick it up, and she happened to have the same idea.

I could feel the touch of her thin, moist, soft hands on my palm. (TN: dude stop being creepy.)

It was just a bit cooler than mine, maybe because of the difference in body temperature.　

[Ah, my bad]

I hurriedly let go of her hand and put some distance between us, and she raised her body to wrap her previously grabbed hand.　

[No, no. I’m sorry too]

She glanced at me for a moment and then quickly turned her head to the side.　

When I saw her cheeks were slightly red, I regretted what I did.

She doesn’t like to be touched. It might be uncomfortable for her to be held like that. 

[I’m really sorry]

[Don’t be so apologetic. It’s fine]

[You don’t mind?]

[No, I don’t mind. I was just surprised…]

[Then, it’s fine]

Apparently, she wasn’t uncomfortable by the fact I had touched her.　

Feeling relieved that she didn’t hate me, I picked up the rest of the cards.

She bent down to help, picked them up alongside me, and handed them to me.　

[Here you go. But what’s with the cards?]

[Yesterday, when I was reading the book, there was a part where he did a magic trick with cards, and it was really cool. I wanted to try it, so I bought some cards… I couldn’t do it though]

Since I failed yesterday, I couldn’t put up a show, so I spoke honestly.

[I heard magic isn’t easy to do]

[Well, yeah… Want to play?]

[Yes?]

She looked at the cards with interest, so I suggested that she play a game with me.　

She blinked her eyes at the sudden suggestion.　

After I said that, I realized I came here to read, not play.　

The only reason I’m allowed in this room is for the books. She would want to read a book too, and there was no point doing anything else.

Thinking it’d be rejected, I began to wonder if I should withdraw my proposal. 

[…Then, I’d like to try it]

She replied more enthusiastically than I expected.　

There was a slight twinkle in her eyes and happiness in her voice, showing that she looked forward to it.

When I looked at her because of the unexpected response, she said,

[I’ve never played much…]

[O-Oh]

There was no reason not to do it, so I quickly took the cards out of the card box.

[Ah, I only know Old Maid] (TN: in case you don’t know, Old Maid is a type of card game. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_maid_(card_game))

[Okay, let’s start with Old Maid]

I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like for the two of us to play Old Maid, but she seemed to be enjoying the wait, so I quickly dealt the cards.

I could tell from her expression that she was excited to play.　

It’s kind of embarrassing.　

Well, it has been a while since I played a card game, so I was looking forward to it a bit, and I’m not playing alone.　

I chuckled as I watched her staring at the cards with a slight smile on her face.　

When we started the game, naturally, every time a card other than the Joker pulled, a pair would be discarded. In the end, only two cards remained in her hand and one card remained in mine.

[Now, which one is it?]

I spoke with a slight challenging tone, teasingly and happily.　

I held one in each hand and made it look easy to take.　

I don’t know if it would work since she is usually expressionless, but I decided to ask how she was doing, which is a common method in Old Maid.

First, I reached out to the card in her right hand and looked at her expression　

The moment I put my finger on it, her mouth relaxed and I could tell she was happy.　

It could be a feint, so now I finger the card to her left hand.　

This time, I could see her eyebrows slump down and she looked depressed. 　

When I put my fingers on her right hand, her face lit up, and when I put it to the left, her shoulders slumped.　

(What the hell? That’s cute)

I always thought her smile was attractive, but the way her expression changed was strangely cute.　

She usually had no expressions and rarely showed them, so it made it even cuter.　

Nowadays, even elementary kids have better poker faces.　

Her obvious attitude was so amusing that I couldn’t help but laugh.　

[What is it?]

She didn’t seem to notice that her expressions had changed and looked at me curiously.

My eyes met with her puzzled eyes.

[No, it’s nothing]

I wanted to see this expression of hers a bit longer.　

I drew the card on her left hand, foolishly hoping to see her changing expression again.　

[I’ve lost… I’m not going to lose again. I won’t lose this time]

As soon as the card was drawn, she felt depressed and frustrated.　

The way she clenched her mouth in frustration was fresh and cute.　

She puffed out her cheeks and stared at me, but it wasn’t scary, it was more like a little animal and I wanted to pet her. Of course, I couldn’t do that.　

Showing her competitive nature, she rushed me to play it again, so I started again.　

Needless to say, we played three more times after that, and I won all of them.