CH 18

Chapter 18 – Flirty Guy and Eccentric Person

It’s lunchtime, and Moroboshi is sipping his kitsune udon in the noisy cafeteria. Today is a rare day when Tsubaki is not monitoring me, so I’m feeling relaxed. She’s like a monster, but still, she’s just a student and has her own business to attend to. She can’t be bothered with me all the time.

Anyway, Moroboshi eats only noodles? But I can’t say much about him, since I eat only the “B” set meal every day.

That being said, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask Moroboshi.

“You mentioned ‘Four Famous Students of the University’ before, but other than Tsubaki and Asai-sensei, who are the others?”

“Hmm?”

Moroboshi quietly put down his chopsticks and turned to me with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“What? So you’re really into weird girls?”

“No, I didn’t ask because of that. That said, are all four women?”

“You really don’t know, huh? One of them is a junior in my circle, so I’m sure she’ll come if I call her.”

“No, there’s no need to go that far…”

Before I could stop him, Moroboshi had taken out his phone and started making a call. It’s not all bad to act on the spur of the moment, but sometimes I can’t keep up with the abruptness of it all.

“Ah, Rii-chan? Where are you now? Is that so? If you come to the cafeteria, you’ll get a free meal.”

Moroboshi quickly finished his conversation and put his phone away in his bag. I don’t know if he’s too skillful or too hasty…

That said, who’s Rii-chan? A foreign student?

“She’s coming.”

“It’s too sudden… And I don’t have anything to talk about when we meet in the first place.”

“Well, don’t say that. She’s a pretty girl, in a way.”

“What do you mean, in a way?”

“Well, you’ll get it when you see her.”

About five minutes later.

“Good evening, Boshi-san.”

“Ah, Rii-chan. You’re finally here.”

The girl sitting next to Moroboshi doesn’t look very much like a college student. She looks like a high school student, or even more like a middle school student. Not only is she short, but her round face and large eyes give her an even younger impression. Her short bob hairstyle suits her rather well, though.

“I heard this lolicon big brother is going to buy you a meal.”

“Don’t make a disturbing first impression on people I meet for the first time.”

“I’m anxious to owe a lolicon a favor, but if you insist…”

“You’re rude!”

“Ah, I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself yet.”

“No, that’s not the problem.”

“My name is Rie Tatsutagawa. I’m a first-year student at the Faculty of Science. I’m always taken care of by this playboy Boshi-san.”

What’s with this girl… Moroboshi is right, she seems to have quite the peculiar personality. I feel like I can’t have a conversation with her without doing a tsukkomi every time. It’s hard to deal with her in a different way from Tsubaki and Asai-sensei.

“Ah… I’m Takenaga. Nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Naga-san, was it? For the time being, let’s have lunch.”

“That’s right, Takenaga~. Go ahead and treat her.”

“I mean, aren’t you supposed to be the one treating her? You’re her senpai, after all.”

“I don’t treat people unless I’m trying to hit on them.”

Moroboshi waved his hand and hurried me and Rii-chan along. Well, there’s no point in arguing with him. Rii-chan was called out suddenly, and I should at least make amends for that.

“Um, what do you want to eat, Rii-chan?”

“Kaiseki cuisine?” (T/N: A traditional multi-course Japanese meal.)

“There isn’t anything that fancy in the cafeteria…”

“It can’t be helped, chateaubriand will do.”

“Oh, God, this girl can’t hold a conversation.”

Up to this point, Rii-chan has been speaking with a straight face, so I can’t read how serious she’s been at all. Now after all this, I’m starting to regret having asked Moroboshi about the “Four Famous Students of the University”.

“I’m just kidding. The B set meal is fine.”

“Why do you have such a big attitude when you’re the one being treated?”

“In my circle, I’m feared as ‘the little giant’, you know?”

“Heh…”

“Well, that was a lie.”

“A lie, huh?”

Help me, Moroboshi. This girl’s too difficult for me to deal with.

After a few moments of silence. I can’t pause at this point, so I have to have a conversation with her, whatever it is.

“By the way, you’re a junior in Moroboshi’s circle, aren’t you? Then do you play some kind of instrument too, Rii-chan?”

“Yes, a bit of the percussion.”

“The perc…?” (T/N: She said it in english, so MC didn’t understand…)

“I mean the so-called percussion instruments. I hit anything I can hit, from wooden drumsticks to gongs.”

“You seem to have a slight Asian bias, don’t you?”

“Well, all I actually hit is the timpani, though…”

“Why do you keep telling meaningless lies?”

“It’s in my nature.”

“It’s in your nature, huh…? I see…”

What is this really about? I wonder if this Rii-chan girl is intentionally making fun of me. Perhaps Moroboshi put her up to this? That’s not unlikely.

While I was mulling it over, I noticed that Rii-chan was staring up at me.

“Unlike Boshi-san, you’re a serious person, aren’t you, Naga-san?”

“Naga-san? Ah, you meant me… Moroboshi’s just too unserious.”

“Then why are you befriending an unserious person?”

“Why you ask…? Because we’re friends.”

“Why did you two become friends?”

She’s being awfully stubborn, this girl… Could it be that she’s a fan of Moroboshi? He has a shady look, but he’s quite popular.

“I wonder why… With him, I’m never bored. Although there are a lot of things that piss me off.”

“I see… Naga-san is a ghetto eater.” (T/N: It means he isn’t picky/likes low quality products/takes what he can get.)

“You… He’s still your senpai, you know?”

“I’m also a good friend of Boshi-san. Besides, I respect him. Ah, the B set meal has arrived. Please carry it for me.”

She makes me treat her and even makes me carry her things? She has a small body yet has a big attitude.

But “ghetto eater”, huh…? That’s a bad word to describe it, but I can’t deny it too much. I used to think I was surrounded by a bunch of weirdos, but that’s really not true. If deep down I’m looking for those “weirdos”, it’s inevitable that they’ll come.

In the first place, it’s even possible that I’m a weirdo myself.

“Don’t worry, Naga-san himself is a normal guy. He is a normal person.”

As if she could see right through me, Rii-chan whispered those words to me. I was so surprised that I almost hit the tray with the meal set on it against Rii-chan’s head, but she deftly avoided it.

“I see… I’m normal, huh?”

“If I had to say, I would say that you’re more accepting than most people. Boshi-san and I can’t bend our own style, but it’s quite a sight to see us follow you.”

I still can’t read her expression, but from her words, it seems that Rii-chan is complimenting me. No, maybe she didn’t mean to praise me, but just said what she was thinking.

I don’t think it’s that big of a deal to be accepting. Perhaps it’s just that I’m “lazy”.

When I returned to the seat where Moroboshi was sitting, he was typing on his phone. Most likely, he’s contacting a woman yet again. I’m amazed at his efforts.

“Ah, Rii-chan, you and Takenaga getting along?”

“Perfectly. We now call each other Brother.” (T/N: Brother here is said in english…)

“No, you’re a Sister…”

“Hahaha! You guys really are getting along! That’s hilarious.”

“Please continue to treat me well.”

“Don’t take advantage of this Brother.”

But I’m glad it’s a day without Tsubaki. I don’t know what kind of trouble I would get into if I talked to a girl like this…

“Ah, Takenaga, your phone is ringing.”

I had it on silent mode so I didn’t notice it, but when I searched my bag, my phone was indeed vibrating. A phone call? Who could it be?

“Hello?”

“Senpai, just who is that loli? I’m on my way, so please don’t run away.”

…At any rate, I decided to cut off the call and run away from the place. I thought I heard Moroboshi yelling from behind me, but there was no time to turn around.

At this rate, Moroboshi will be interrogated by Tsubaki instead of me. Forgive me, my friend. I don’t want to die yet.