In his field of vision were the figures of Sara and Rin.
The sight of the two S-class beauties chatting caught his eye.
Haruya simply focused his gaze on Sara alone and froze.
He didn’t even notice Rin’s presence in his field of vision.
(Wha- Why is Himekawa-san here of all places…)
Come to think of it, today was the weekend.
And the location was a crowded shopping mall.
There was a good chance of encountering acquaintances.
(Huh, no way… Why did she have to come here of all places?)
It wouldn’t be good if she noticed him.
On impulse, Haruya grabbed Nayu’s wrist and ran off.
“Hey, wait…”
Haruya tried to suppress his presence as they slipped into a nearby purikura photo booth.
“…Ah, Haru-san?”
Nayu, who leaked a flustered voice, placed her index finger to her lips and sweat nervously in her heart. She seemed to resign herself to Haruya’s desperate state.
While furrowing her brows, she stayed like that for a while.
“Sara-chan, why don’t you invite him for a date?”
“N-No…during this humid season, I tend to get migraines, so I try to avoid overexerting myself as much as possible.”
“Ehh, no way!? If you’re forcing yourself…um, sorry about that.”
“Ah, no, today is actually still pretty manageable, so don’t worry about it.”
“Really? That’s too bad… I invited Yuna too, but she declined due to some business. Could it be she’s on a date or something?”
“Haha, Rin-san never changes.”
And so on.
While exchanging such conversation, Sara and Rin passed by the purikura booth.
Haruya breathed a sigh of relief as their voices grew distant.
But Nayu seemed confused and disoriented.
“…Ah, um… Nayu-san… I’m sorry.”
And it was then that Haruya recognized their current position.
It was inevitable that Nayu would direct a suspicious gaze at him.
He had inadvertently pushed her against the wall and did a “wall slam” on her.
And their faces were close.
“What were you thinking, trying to take purikura like that, Haru-san?”
“Eh, no…”
It seems he was being misunderstood.
“You didn’t have to go so far as to beg like that. You could have just told me.”
“Ah, no… It’s not like I wanted to take purikura with Nayu…”
He panicked at the thought of being perceived as a pervert.
But there was no way to escape from the circumstantial evidence.
Especially the wall slam… What was he doing? It looked terrible from the outside.
He desperately tried to explain, and Nayu seemed to understand, albeit blushing slightly.
“I understand. I guess it was something like, you were about to run into someone you knew?”
She said in a slightly embarrassed voice.
(Huh? What’s with that reaction? Could it be that Nayu-san also knows Himekawa-san?)
///
scene transition
///
No, that couldn’t be possible, Haruya dismissed that possibility.
And then, without being perturbed, he continued.
“That’s it! That’s how it was. But seriously, if you knew, you shouldn’t tease me like that, it’s bad for my heart.”
“I’m sorry! It’s just that seeing how flustered you were, I couldn’t help it. But I was surprised when you suddenly approached me like that, it was like a draw, right?”
“I’m really sorry about that.”
Haruya apologized sincerely.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Satisfied with their time at the game center, Haruya and Nayu left and came to a ramen restaurant on the seventh floor of the shopping mall for lunch.
Haruya ordered the restaurant’s recommended extra-large Ajitama Miso Ramen, while Nayu ordered the spicy miso ramen in a regular portion.
Bitter things were his forte, but spicy things were not Haruya’s cup of tea, so Nayu’s choice looked like it would hurt his mouth just by looking at it.
After exchanging greetings before the meal, Haruya and Nayu started slurping their noodles.
Just as they were about to get excited about their usual topic of discussion, Nayu interrupted.
“Haru-san, this ramen is just the right amount of spicy and delicious, so if you’d like, have a bite.”
Suddenly, Nayu pushed her bowl towards him.
(Oh… There goes our usual talk about shoujo manga…)
Although interrupted, Haruya stared at the bowl Nayu had offered.
“No, it looks completely red… And, I’m not good with spicy food.”
“Just one bite, it’s not that spicy.”
It’s a product that claims to be super spicy, so how can it not be spicy? …….
But seeing Nayu’s challenging expression, I had to take at least one bite
He tried his best to take a bite, and a tingling pain attacked his mouth.
Instinctively, he grimaced and gulped down some cold water.
“It’s… s-so spicy… Nayu-san, this is way too spicy.”
Complaining, he looked at Nayu, who smiled satisfied.
In my usual black coffee, as I was savoring it… Do you get it now?
Surprisingly, she seemed to be holding a grudge.
Apologizing briefly, I handed her back the bowl of spicy ramen.
“By the way, Nayu-san, how are you feeling… after our outing?”
“Oh, yeah. Today’s outing helped me understand that Haru-san can’t handle spicy food.”
“Wait, where are you planning to take me next?”
“You don’t need to be told; you’re already considering it, aren’t you?”
(I don’t want it. I absolutely don’t want the meeting place for the offline event to be a spicy restaurant from now on!)
As I panicked inwardly, Nayu smiled elegantly.
Seeing her like that, Haruya couldn’t help but interject.
“I’m glad I got to know an unexpected side of you, Nayu-san.”
“Hmm? What side is that?”
“A childish side.”
“Childish?”
“Yeah. You were so into the game, it was a bit unexpected coming from the usual Nayu-san.”
It’s not very ladylike.
With a teasing tone, Haruya said this, but Nayu responded calmly, almost with an air of composure.
“The girl who shows a temporary facade and the girl who shows her true self. I thought Haru-san would prefer the latter… but was I wrong?”
She wasn’t wrong.
The former is actually the type that Haruya is not good at dealing with.
“I actually think your contrast is impressive.”
“That’s true, but saying it yourself shows no vulnerability.”
“Well, but it annoys me that Haru-san’s perception of me has turned into ‘childish’… Maybe I should show a bit more of a girly side…”
Twirling her hair around her finger, Nayu turned away slightly.
“A girly side, huh…”
I do think of Nayu-san as a girl, but that’s probably not what she means.
“After this, let’s go look at clothes.”
It was perfect timing as Haruya was considering adding to his wardrobe.
“Got it. After we finish looking at clothes, is it okay if I take you somewhere?”
“Yeah, understood.”
Haruya expressed what he sincerely felt to Nayu, who elegantly slurped her spicy ramen.
“It’s really refreshing to have a different vibe from our usual offline gatherings.”
“…Because you discovered that I’m childish and also a flawless woman.”
“That’s right.”
Nodding, Nayu continued matter-of-factly.
“And Haru-san, it turns out, is unexpectedly carnivorous…”
She’s probably referring to the time Haruya pinned her against the wall in a purikura booth.
“Sorry, sorry.”
“Apologies, I won’t tease you about it anymore.”
Saying this, Nayu finished her ramen in one gulp.
(I hope she doesn’t use that trump card too often, seriously…)
After enjoying the ramen, Haruya and Nayu made their way to the apparel shop on the fourth floor of the shopping mall.
Nayu suggested going to see clothes, but Haruya also has an interest in clothes, so it’s not a bad choice.
Nayu probably suggested it because she wanted to take her time looking at clothes for herself.
The men’s and women’s sections are in different places, so Haruya said to Nayu:
“Shall we meet outside the store?”
He thought it was a constructive suggestion, but he received a short sigh in response.
“Are you serious about that? Then there’s no point in us coming together…”
She lightly dismissed it.
They’re out today under the pretext of accompanying her to relieve her stress, so Haruya tries to comply with Nayu’s requests as much as possible, but he wished she wouldn’t insist on dragging him along to pick out clothes and ask for his opinion on every outfit she picked up.
Right now, Haruya is accompanying Nayu as she browses the women’s section.
Nayu is picking up a light blue short-sleeved shirt and a red long skirt and asks:
“Hey, do you think these would look cute together?”
“They would, but…”
In his mind, he imagines Nayu wearing the clothes she’s picked out, and he can only think of her looking good in them.
“I see. Then I’ll try them on, wait here…”
Nayu enters the fitting room and closes the curtain.
Standing there, Haruya feels like it’s… kinda like a date.
A man waiting outside the fitting room for a woman trying on clothes.
That scene is already reminiscent of a date.
…Though if he asked her directly, she’d probably deny it.
“How do I look… do they suit me?”
Nayu comes out wearing sunglasses, but the clothes she picked out suit her perfectly.
“They suit you.”
He answers immediately with a straight face, and Nayu pauses for a moment before muttering to herself.
“…Huh. You seem pretty composed, Haru-san.”
“Huh, something wrong?”
“No, nothing. Thank you… These are at a good price, so I think I’ll buy them.”
Even though she found clothes she liked, she seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
Nayu suggested looking at clothes because she wanted to see Haruya flustered,
feeling conscious about being called childish and wanting to restore the image of an adult woman in his mind.
However, even though he responds with “It suits you” with a relaxed attitude, Yuna is dissatisfied.
“…I’ve been thinking about wanting some boyish clothes too, so could you look at those as well?”
“Got it.”
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