Volume 1 - CH 13

Volume 1, Chapter 13: Mobile Devices and Quirky Glasses

Go home

→ Go to the student council office

Some time had passed.

After studying in the library with Hareyama and meeting Shigure on the floor where first years were, I arrived at the school entrance, now completely deserted.

I took my shoes out the box and thought to myself about what I would like for dinner.

"Ugh..."

I heard something strange.  Although I heard it only once, I knew it was something made by a living creature.

I stopped putting on my shoes and looked around, but I didn't see anyone.

"What was it? Some kind of frog...?"

"I'm not a frog! How rude."

Suddenly appearing from the shadows of the shoe cabinets wasn't a frog, but a female student in plain clothes.

She seemed rather miffed about something, and I recognized that pretty face.

"If it isn't Azumi. Why were you hiding?"

"...No reason. I just didn't want to see anyone."

I wondered what she meant, but when I took a closer look at her appearance again, I understood.

As was the case with casual attire, her semi-long hair, which used to be left straight, was tied and swept to the side.

In addition, Azumi was also wearing glasses. Those look like prescription glasses, so I guess she had bad eyesight?

"Nice hairstyle. I like it."

"Hmph. I'm not happy at all to be told that by you."

She didn't seem to like my compliment. Or rather, she didn't seem to think anything about it all, since she it didn't look like she was embarrassed nor in a bad mood because of it.

It was like being told something unimportant by someone you didn't care about, so it was just brushed off. Still pretty harsh, though.

"You had bad eyesight, Azumi?"

"S-shut up! I can't be bothered to put on my contacts!"

I guess she didn't want to be seen wearing glasses.

The clothes she currently had on were pretty light, like what you'd wear when going to the convenience store...but when worn by someone like Azumi, it became much presentable.

But her glasses were, how should I put this, a bit out of fashion. There were definitely glasses that were more stylish than this, but what she currently wore was definitely tackier than even what I wore back then.

"That's why I came at this time...so why are you still here?"

"I had a lot of things going on, and I was about to head home."

"Then hurry up now...wait a minute."

Azumi was restless, but when she seemed to have decided on something, she uttered some unexpected words.

"... Hey, if you're free, wanna come with me for a bit? I want to ask you about something."

"Where to?"

Perhaps resigned to the situation, Azumi approached with a different expression on her face.

Her eyes had turned serious. Was it something important?

"I forgot my homework in the classroom and it's due tomorrow. I’ll tell you what I want to ask while we head there."

"Due the next day and you forget it...are you an idiot?"

"Don't call me an idiot! Just come on and hurry up."

Wondering what all this was about, I changed my shoes again and went back inside the school building with Azumi.

On the way to the classroom, she wanted to ask me something, so when I urged her to, Azumi stared at my face and began to talk.

"Jimichi, do you know a lot about beauty?"

"Beauty...? What do you mean?"

"I thought about it the other day, and you seemed quite concerned about your appearance, aren't you?"

"Ah well, I certainly did get into it recently."

It seemed that she was paying attention to me. Made me proud of my hard work ――

"―― Your skin, it's disgusting."

"Disgusting?! Why are you badmouthing me all of a sudden?!"

How ridiculous. Even though I was taking good care of my skin, being told like that was uncomfortable.

The girl who insulted me casually didn't seem to be bothered by what she said too much, and I wondered if she didn't mean that.

"I'm not trying to be mean. It's just that for a guy in high school, it's unsettling that you have such good skin."

"Then think about how to say it first! You surprised me!"

"Yes, yes, sorry. So, what do you think? Are you familiar with lotions and cleansers and all that stuff?"

"...I just use what I'm given."

I did my own research, but in the end, I didn't really understand what I was staring at. Everywhere I looked, all I found was "This product is good!" and "That product is great!".

Which was why I focused more on the price when I made my decisions... Fortunately, I had a beautiful older sister to give me advice.

"Who gave it to you, your mother?"

"No, my older sister...rather, someone who's something like that."

"Hmm ~. But you're the one using it, so you should know a lot, right?"

"...Well, I did my part in looking it up."

After I said that much, Azumi set her sights on the coming days, and thought about something.

A few seconds had passed. Azumi turned to me and said as if she had decided on the matter from the very beginning.

"I want to know what products you'd recommend. Let's go shopping together."

"What's this? You're asking me out on a date?"

"I-it's not a date! Who would want to go out with you?!"

This was the first time I saw Azumi's face turned red. Her eyes were still as sharp as ever, but her blushing cheeks made her not intimidating at all.

I see, Azumi was the type of person who hides their embarrassment by denying what they were told...in other words, that.

"A tsundere."

"Where did I act 'dere'?! In the first place, I'm not even a tsundere!"

"I'm a guy, though? If you want to choose me, that's fine with me."

"You might be more familiar with those than my friends."             

"Might not necessarily be the case. Well, I'll just ask my sister."

――――

――

―

After accompanying Azumi to retrieve her forgotten homework, I asked if she would like to go home together, and of course, she obviously refused.

Azumi said she was going to stop by the supermarket, and when I told her I was going to the same place, she refused even more than before.

That was all well and good, but then she told me she didn't want us to be seen shopping together, so she told me to come at a different time.

Her eyes were dead serious, so I decided to just shut up and comply. A while later, I headed back to the entrance.

I changed my shoes again, and thought about the same thing earlier regarding what I wanted to have for dinner while I tied my shoelaces.

"―― Oh my, good to see you in a place like this. Do you have a minute?"

I heard a beautiful voice behind me, but it didn't matter to me. I tied my shoelaces with all my might, thinking that if I didn't get there soon, I might miss the half-price stickers.

"W-wait! I was talking to you, wasn’t I?"

I heard the voice again. Only this time, I was forced to turn around because a hand had been placed on my shoulder.

And there she was, the beautiful, smartly dressed student council president. Her voice was too pretty that once you hear it, you'd never forget it.

Perhaps because I ignored her, Yukinaga-senpai pouted in displeasure.

"Why are you ignoring me?"

"Because the half-price sticker..."

"Half-price sticker...? I don't know anything about that, but can I have a moment?"

"No, like I said, the half-price sticker..."

I explained to her about what it meant. Since I lived alone, I wanted to at least keep the food costs low.

However, she didn't seem like she intended let me go even after hearing what I said.

"Isn't it usually done at a time where there are fewer customers?"

"Well, probably? Because they might want to get rid of unsold stuff."

"Then, it's still too early."

"What do you mean?"

"You still have at least an hour before they put those stickers up. Now if you understand, come over here."

"No, no, no, no! The supermarket I often go to puts them up at this time of day!"

"Then go to another supermarket."

In the end, she grabbed me by the arm and forcibly took me away. I thought about whether she was ever this pushy, but I didn't shake off her arm.

Because Senpai then said something that stunned me.

"If it's no good, I can just make you a lunch box."

Not fair. If you said such a thing, I'd go with you wherever you wanted.

This senpai, who made such a captivating remark, was tasked to do an errand, which was to select a new computer.

In an empty third year classroom, she showed me several options and asked which one I preferred.

"I want you to choose which one of these kids is more resistant to diseases."

"Huh?"

I was being asked to choose an electronic device, right? I was about to ask, but this got me interested, so I kept my mouth shut and I silently picked one that had good specs.

"I like this one. She probably won't lose to some little virus."

"I see. It certainly does look fit and healthy."

"Pfft."

"...Why are you laughing?"

That was close. I quickly tried rearranging my expression to not get found out, but Yukinaga-senpai looked suspecting so she might have caught on.

This was something you could have easily find out if you researched about it. However, this situation was amusingm so I'd like it to stay that way if possible.

"By the way, Jimichi-kun. Are you good with mobile devices?"

"No, only the basics."

"It's fine even if it's just the basics. I'm thinking of going out to buy a mobile device another time."

"Mobile devices are also called smartphones, you know."

And, I retorted involuntarily.

"I-I knew that... Anyway, could you help me select one?"

Senpai lost her cool expression for a moment, but quickly recovered.

"If Senpai is fine choosing me, then I'd be happy to go out with you."

"That's a weird of wording it, isn't it? Then, I'll choose you, okay?"

After a short conversation, I promised to go out with Yukinaga-senpai if our schedules allowed it, and we parted ways.

Apparently, the student council still had some business to attend to, so she headed back while I went towards the school entrance again.