CH 74

Special: The Weekend After “That Day” (1st Part)

Translated by HamletJr

Edited by

(Phew, I guess this should be enough for the morning…)

Sunday.

I was alone in a studio by the station near my house, composing music with my guitar in my hand when I gulped down a bottle of water in one go, crushed it and threw it in the trash.

I could compose at home instead of in the studio, but there was one serious problem.

In my house, there was an angel born on Earth by mistake, the transcendental beauty Akane.

When I compose in the living room, Akane would always be innocently reading manga and novels on the sofa behind me.

So, naturally, I would end up writing nothing but love songs.

(If the others knew about this, they’d probably be so creeped out, they wouldn’t even let me write the BGM anymore…)

Looks like I have to suffer for my love…

Hiding away my one-sided, incredibly heavy love for my sister deep down in my heart, I put my guitar on its stand.

I’m sure Akane hates me to the core for having this kind of siscon-like nature inside me…

As I was thinking about this, my stomach suddenly made a rumbling noise as if even it were exasperated with me.

(Well then… What should I have for lunch…)

I left the studio and started thinking about my lunch.

Looking around the area, I saw a fashionable pancake store and a privately owned restaurant.

As a singer, I made a reasonable―no, a ridiculous amount of money, so I could go to any high-end restaurant in town and order their most expensive dish on the menu.

It should be fine to splurge once in a while, right?

(I’m trying to be a top-notch artist too, after all! I’ve got to start with appearances, so obviously I need to start with getting good food!)

I started triumphantly walking…

―And eventually, arrived at a hamburger joint I frequented in front of the station.

Yes, I’m pretty sure they have a new gratin croquette burger on sale, and that’s what I’m looking for.

Gratin croquettes are delicious, aren’t they?

It’s definitely not that I’m too gloomy and shady so as to not be able to enter any restaurants by myself, other than the easily accessible fast food restaurants.

Besides, no matter how expensive the ingredients are and how well a top chef cooks the food, it is nowhere near the level of Akane’s home cooking.

In my opinion, the very fact that Akane made it with her own hands is enough to warrant it a place in the Michelin Hall of Fame.

(Now that I think about it, I ate here too last week, didn’t I…)

Last week’s Sunday came to mind.

The Sunday of turmoil―

◇◇◇

Last week, I took off my glasses and styled my hair before going out to town to make sure I wouldn’t look too suspicious and end up in trouble with the police.

In other words, I didn’t go out in my usual Kitarou appearance; instead I went out with my true face exposed.

Well, maybe my face is actually more repulsive this way…

My objective that day was to quietly write lyrics by myself in a cafe in front of the station.

I’d planned on leisurely enjoying my day off all by myself, but…

First, I stopped by the Hasumi Bookstore where, even though I’d already informed Hasumi beforehand, I inadvertently got reported for sexual harassment.

Then, in front of the station, my 3 classmates Ayase, Hatsune, and Saotome who always call me “disgusting” in class called out to me and tried to extort me, saying, “Hey, why don’t you hang out with us?”

Next, when I walked down the streets in town, beautiful women called out to me, trying to scam me, and in cafes, female waitresses cruelly teased and bullied me non-stop.

After that, I ran into Shiina under the clock tower, where she forced me to roleplay as a baby.

Then, I helped Shiorin and her friends who got into some trouble at this very hamburger joint.

Finally, my bandmate Ichinose-san (Xerena) called me over and asked me to pretend to be her boyfriend so she could bail out of a mixer, before taking me out to Enoshima to hang out together.

On my way home, Rinka’s gang of girls pointed at me and bad-mouthed me, saying, “Holy crap, look at that guy.” Then, Rinka, their leader, escorted me home through the night streets…

The series of unexpected happenings throughout the day left my mind with no time for rest or respite.

When I arrived home, Akane told me something along the lines, “Do not ever walk around outside with that face of yours exposed.”

I guess an ugly person like me doesn’t even have the right to walk around outside with my face exposed…

◇◇◇

Remembering those incidents from last week, I ordered and received my tray before sitting down at a seat popular with antisocial introverts like me: a counter seat at the very edge of the table.

Last Sunday when I took off my glasses and visited this place, I was sitting at a table behind that pillar over there when Shiori and her friends happened to come right next to me…

I sipped on my straw and drank my iced apple juice as I turned my gaze to the table in question.

―And when I did, I almost reflexively spit out my drink.

“……”

“……”

“……”

There were three girls sitting there, staring at each other without saying a word.

They were wearing hats as disguises, but being a serious otaku, my eyes can’t be fooled.

(Shiorin and her friends came to this hamburger joint again?! What? Do they gather here every week?!)

Well, it is high school student-like, but they’re now incredibly famous idols, so is it really okay for such super celebrities to come to a place like this over and over again? (I’m not one to talk, though)

Why don’t they just meet in a private room or gather at one of their houses…?

I hurriedly took a bite of my hamburger and hid my face with the wrapper so that the three of them wouldn’t find out that I, Ritsuki Suda, whom they resent from the bottom of their hearts, was here.

However, for some reason, none of the three were talking at all.

It’s not like they were staring at their phones, either; Shiorin had a notebook open with scribbles drawn on it, and Akarin had a brand new notebook along with a textbook open in front of her.

(What’s with this situation…)

Finally, Shiorin cleared her throat lightly and began talking.

“…Ah, um, w-what a coincidence! I never thought the three of us would be seeing each other here!”

“I-I know, right~? Ahaha!”

Incidentally, the reason why I can hear their voices is because of the eavesdropping skill I’ve developed in the classroom.

I’ve always studied alone at my desk while listening to the conversations of those around me, so I’ve become able to hear even the smallest of voices.

I know I shouldn’t listen too much, but there’s something awkward about the atmosphere around them and it’s really weighing on my mind…

I guess I’ll just wait and see what happens from my seat so I don’t get caught.

Seeing the forced smiles on Shiorin and Akarin’s faces, Mihorin let out a sigh.

“Coincidence, you say… We met here at noon yesterday too, didn’t we? Yesterday might’ve just been a coincidence, but two days in a row is definitely strange.”

“Well, you know… I-I can make lots of progress on my song lyrics here, after all!”

“I-I can study much better here, too! Yeah, that’s why I came!”

Mihorin stared intently at the two girls who had somewhat desperate expressions before she picked up Shiorin’s notebook.

“…There’s nothing written here at all. Plus, Akari actually studying is impossible.”

“Whaaat?! A-Aren’t you going too far there?!”

“Ahaha~. Akari, opening your textbook alone isn’t enough to count as studying. Don’t go repeating a year on me, okay? I want all of us to graduate together!”

“Shiori, don’t use Akari to change the subject. Both of you have actual reasons for coming, don’t you?”

When Mihorin calmly questioned her, Shiorin curled up a little and confessed.

“Uuu… yes. I came to this restaurant because I thought I might be able to meet him again.”

“Me too! He helped us when we were here last week, so I want to properly thank him!”

“―?! Cough, cough!”

I almost choked on the hamburger I had been eating when I heard from Shiorin and the others that the reason they were here was because of me.

The “he” that the girls were referring to was me, without my glasses on.

Last week, Shiorin and the girls’ true identities were exposed, and as people started gathering around and causing a ruckus, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to pretend to be the manager of the store and allow them to run away…

They came both yesterday and today just to thank me for that despite not knowing whether they’d actually be able to meet me or not?!

Aren’t they too upright?!

With an exasperated expression, Mihorin sighed once more.

“He already ate here last week though, so I don’t think he would come to a hamburger restaurant again…” (TLN: She might be implying that he’d be eating at another restaurant instead.)

“T-True… But if that’s the case, then I’m worried that he has an unbalanced diet! I want to cook for him!”

“That sounds nice! We should visit his house and cook a meal for him as thanks!”

I couldn’t help but hold the inner corners of my eyes with my fingers and stifle my tears… Aren’t they too nice?

I mean, they’re really famous idols now so it isn’t good for them to just simply visit a person’s home…

Mihorin shook her head in response to the girls.

“Look, that would be an inconvenience to him, and besides, can you two even cook in the first place?”

“I-I can cook eggs! I’ve also helped my mother cook before, too!”

“Ah, then I’ll make boiled eggs! I’m sure I can heat it up in a microwave!”

“That would make the egg explode. Looks like Akari must never be left to cook anything.”

“R-Rather than that, why did you come then, Miho?”

At Akarin’s innocent question, Mihorin’s cheeks flushed red as she cleared her throat.

“It’s the same as you two. Even though I knew it was foolish, once the thought that I might be able to meet him again here crossed my mind, I decided to come today… and yesterday too.”

“Ahaha! You can’t tell me off when you’re just as stupid as me, Miho!”

“Uuuh… Having Akari tell me that is humiliating…”

Mihorin at first glance seems like an intelligent, cool girl, but in actuality, she’s an incredibly polite and kind girl who cares for others.

She was the first to give Hasumi a hug back when I gave the girls the mistaken impression that I had hurt Hasumi.

Because she is such a kind girl, I guess she came here again to thank me for last week.

Mihorin bashfully scratched her cheek and spoke.

“However, we should stop doing this from now on. At this rate, it’s going to start affecting our work.”

“R-Right… Besides, another incident like the one last week might happen again…”

“If only Akari hadn’t shouted so loudly and attracted attention, we wouldn’t have gotten exposed.”

“Whaaat?! I-It’s my fault?! I mean, I almost fell over that day, so me screaming out loud was inevitable, you know!”

“Either way, everyone is prohibited from waiting for him here from now on… I’ll also try to restrain myself too.”

““Okay~.””

I felt relieved after hearing Shiorin and the girls’ conversation as I quickly finished my burger set meal.

I’m so glad. I didn’t know when they might recognize me if I continued doing that, so I had no intention of meeting with Shiorin and the others in that appearance anymore.

And yet, if I had made the girls wait here forever, it would have made my heart ache…

I stood up, lifted my tray with me, and headed to the dirty tray drop-off section―

“…Hey, if you had to choose between Shion-sama and him, who would it be?”

“Ehh?! I-I can’t choose between the two~. After all, they’re both so cool and wonderful…”

“Hey, hey, didn’t we just talk about this… We’re restarting our idol work from scratch now, so we have to focus on work first and foremost.”

“Even though I’m sure you’re curious too, Miho~!”

I left behind the girls who still seemed to be talking about something as I left the restaurant and headed back to the studio.

◇◇◇

～～Boom, boom, crash ♪

When I arrived at the studio, I could hear the sound of drums being played from inside.

It looks like Shiina’s come to practice, too.

With a slightly bad premonition in my heart, I opened the door―