CH 48

[What did you do for the New Year’s holiday?]

After my first part-time job at the beginning of the year, Hiiragi-san spoke to me in an unusually good mood. I didn’t often have this kind of leisurely talk with her, so I was a little confused, but I still responded to her question. 　

[…I was home all the time basically. I didn’t go out for anything in particular. Oh, but I did go to the shrine for Hatsumode]

It was not as if I was doing anything wrong, but if I said that I was at someone else’s house, people might look at me strangely, so I decided to hide it. Even though it’s someone else’s, it’s still a home, so I didn’t exactly lie.

[Is that so… Um… Was it with the girl you mentioned before?] 

[Y-Yeah, well…]

My eyes wandered for a moment as I was thinking, and then she looked straight at me. Our eyes met and I can see that her eyes seem to shine with interest.

I felt a bit uncomfortable with her unusually aggressive questioning, but since Hiiragi-san was also a girl, she might’ve been expecting something romantic to happen. Anyone talking about a man and a woman would expect some kind of romance, so I guess Hiiragi-san also expected it.

Since Hiiragi-san was so interested, I decided to talk about it.　

[She was getting attached to me, or rather, she began to trust me very much, is what we talked about before, right?]

[Yes, I’m pretty sure you’re close to her, right?]

[Yes, I’m very happy about that, but there’s one problem. I’m not sure if she trusts me too much, because her sense of distance is too close. I can’t tell you how many times I got nervous during Hatsumode]

I let out a small sigh as I remembered the day of our Hatsumode trip. A lot happened that day, but one of the most notable events was when we held hands.　

I didn’t mind, and as a guy, I was happy, but she should be more aware of how attractive she was. I wasn’t trying to think of her as someone of the opposite gender, but when she approaches me so aggressively, there’s no way I could do that.　

[What?! Y-You were nervous?]

For some reason, Hiiragi-san raised her voice in surprise when I told her about it. Her eyes opened wide and her cheeks blushed slightly. I nodded my head, wondering why she was so flustered.　

[Y-Yes, I was… Are you that surprised?]

[N-No, I didn’t have that kind of image of you at all]

She had a point. I dressed up appropriately for my part-time job, and I also spoke somewhat softly when I worked.

I had to change my way of speaking because my usual blunt speech is not good for my work. And if I change the way I talk, it’ll be harder for anyone to recognize me if they ever come here.

Of course this is not my true nature, so when I’m at my part-time job, it feels close to putting up a facade.

In my normal life, I’d get tired quickly so I definitely wouldn’t do it. If it’s the work me, then it’s supposed to be an atmosphere that’s easy to talk in, so I think of it as practice for being around girls.

[I try to be as unconscious of her as possible. But if she gets close to me, I’ll still be conscious and nervous]

[I-Is that so…]

Hiiragi-san replied with her shoulders narrowed, but for some reason, she was blushing a little and her mouth relaxed. She seemed to still have something on her mind and glanced at me, then hesitantly asked me again.　

[That… What made you so nervous?]

[Well, that’s…]

[It’s fine right? It’s not like she’s going to find out]

I was too embarrassed to tell her more, but she seemed to really want to know, and clearly said so. She said it in a very passionate tone, and her words put me on edge.　

[Hmm, well, that’s right. Her clothes were more feminine than I thought, and when she teased me, I was a little nervous. But the one event that made me nervous the most was… When we were holding hands. I couldn’t keep my composure that time]

Even remembering it now, made my face hot. The feeling of her soft, slightly cold hand. The moment when she squeezed mine with hers as well. I felt as if she wanted me, and my heart felt as if it was being gripped. At that time, I was really conscious of her as the opposite gender, and I couldn’t stop my face from turning red.　

[I-I see. You’ve been nervous for a lot of things, haven’t you]

Perhaps she found it amusing that I was pure and not like she imagined because Hiiragi-san’s cheeks turned red and her mouth made a sly smile.　

_________________________________________________________________________

AN:

Thank you for reading this(*・ω・)*_ _)

I finally got to post a story about the part-time job. I’m sorry for making you wait. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.✧*。٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*。

Translator’s note:

Hey guys, sorry it’s been a while. I couldn’t work the last 3 weeks because my family kept taking me outside. And I feel kind of burned out by it. Anyways, I’ll be posting 5 more chapters after this one, look forward to it. Oh and also, about the new WN series, if you’re not in discord, the raws of it were apparently nuked, so until it gets either a new one or fixed, it will be put on hold or potentially dropped.