Chapter 247 Sending Me Home
“Shimizu… Shimizu…”
Yokota Noyoru was stunned, he never imagined, not even in his most unrealistic fantasies. The girl beside him suddenly took his hand, let alone the dream-like feeling of her leaning directly on his shoulder.
A faint fragrance drifted from the soft body beside him, but Yokota Noyoru’s body froze. The hand held by the girl felt awkward, and even the basic act of walking became incredibly difficult as Kazumi leaned on his shoulder and they walked towards the library entrance.
Their actions went unnoticed by the two student council members guarding the entrance. Shikoku was a relatively liberal school, and there were quite a few couples, so the boy and girl leaning on each other were just a couple being a little too affectionate in their eyes.
The male officer at the front merely glanced at Yokota Noyoru’s trembling hand as he took out his student ID to swipe it, then paid no further attention to their identities and turned to chat with the female officer beside him.
…
It felt like a whole century had passed as the surroundings gradually changed. The sudden coolness awakened Yokota Noyoru from his tumultuous inner thoughts.
Fragmented conversations echoed in the first-floor hall of the library. Students seemingly there to borrow books were speaking in hushed tones to the staff. The girl in the light gray top stood beside him, casually fiddling with her mobile phone as if everything that had just happened was just a dream.
However, the soft touch that lingered on his hand and the faint fragrance on his clothes constantly reminded Yokota Noyoru of the reality of what had just happened.
“Shimizu… you…”
The boy, somewhat flustered, raised his head, hesitantly looking at the smooth floor beside him, and stammered, perhaps out of shyness or embarrassment.
“Here, look at this.”
The girl in the gray outfit beside him seemed completely unfazed by the boy’s emotions. Seeing Yokota Noyoru snap out of his bewildered state, she handed him the mobile phone she had prepared.
“Oh, okay.”
Yokota Noyoru took the phone with a confused expression, not understanding why the girl suddenly wanted to show him something. But he obediently looked at the content on the phone.
“Previously, some students were letting outsiders into the library for money, so the student council has been cracking down recently. The methods you usually use might get you caught directly.”
“As we were chatting, we accidentally walked to the entrance, so I did that without telling you beforehand. Sorry about that. But pretending to be a couple was the best way to avoid the checks at the entrance.”
The information about the school’s student council announcement on the phone scrolled down, and the girl’s cold yet apologetic voice sounded in Yokota Noyoru’s ears.
“Ahahaha, it’s okay, it’s okay. I was just a little startled, but it’s good that we could get in.”
He came to a sudden realization and rubbed the back of his head, using the opportunity to hide his current embarrassment.
“Mhm, let’s go. I remember that books related to capabilities are supposed to be on the third floor.”
Everything the girl said was logical and consistent with her usual indifferent and rational personality. This method was indeed more effective than pretending to be friends or forgetting one’s student card. It could only be said that it was exactly the kind of response he would expect from Shimizu Kazumi.
Watching the girl’s small, receding figure, Yokota Noyoru’s gaze lost focus for a moment. This was just normal interaction between two friends, and he was accompanying the girl this time to help a friend and repay a favor to the group he was with earlier.
He clenched his rough palms unnaturally, as if trying to hold onto the last trace of softness in his hand. His scattered gaze converged, and at the center of his vision, the girl stopped at the staircase and turned around.
[But why does my heart feel so empty…]
…
Time always flies when you’re studying, especially when you’re a legendary super-genius who enjoys learning. It’s a wonderful thing.
Of course, all these statements only applied to Shimizu Kazumi, who had been diligently reading all afternoon. Closing the thick “Capability Studies (3)” in her hand, Kazumi held up her notebook, flipped through the notes she had recorded, and hummed with satisfaction before turning to look at Yokota Noyoru, who was sitting opposite her.
Kazumi couldn’t be blamed for being so detached. In her plan, maintaining the right amount of ambiguous distance was the most crucial thing—not too close to let him take a bite, but not too far to extinguish his desire to pursue.
As for controlling this distance, it could only be said that with the girl’s understanding of men, her rich experience in training her own dog, and the relatively easy difficulty of dealing with boys similar to beginner village goblins, the development so far was within Kazumi’s control.
“Yokota, it seems like it’s almost time.”
She gently called out to the boy who was sitting beside her, looking boredly at a magazine. Kazumi closed the small notebook in her hand and looked at Yokota Noyoru, who seemed engrossed in the magazine.
“Ah, Shimizu, are you finished?”
Only then did the boy belatedly put down the book in his hand, raise his head to look at the girl whose eyes were still filled with intellectual curiosity, placed the magazine on a nearby bookshelf, and stood up following Kazumi’s movements.
Yokota Noyoru had actually wanted to read a book at first. After all, his usual free time was spent either working or studying, and having a girl study with him would have been a nice experience. But inexplicably, every word the girl had said, every action she had made, kept replaying in his mind, as if even that faint, elusive fragrance was wafting around him.
This made it difficult for him to calm down, even though he had been in a good state of study. In the end, he resigned himself to picking up a gossip magazine from the entertainment bookshelf, to pass the time on this somewhat boring afternoon.
Yes, all of this was probably just his wishful thinking. Shimizu Kazumi had done nothing from beginning to end, it was all his own wishful thinking, and in the end, it left him feeling unsettled.
Looking at the girl beside him who was still holding her notebook and looking at something even while walking, Yokota Noyoru sighed softly. Perhaps it was because he had never interacted with girls before that his state of mind had changed so strangely?
Finally, he lightly rubbed his forehead, pulled his gaze away from the girl, and looked around the campus.
[Should I perhaps try to find a girlfriend…]
While contemplating something unknown in his heart, he accompanied the girl who was diligently reading her notes towards the school gate. Although everything that had happened before was his own wishful thinking, regardless, the boy with the fierce appearance always maintained a gentlemanly respect towards girls.
Although his mother’s death had brought him immense grief, the teachings his mother had imparted to him were faithfully remembered and practiced by the boy.
After escorting the girl to the school gate, Yokota Noyoru began to worry. After all, the girl had only asked him out to borrow books from the library. Now that her purpose was achieved, if he were to proactively offer to take her home, it might seem like overstepping, but not sending her home might seem impolite?
However, the current time made the decision for the somewhat conflicted boy. If it were night, Yokota Noyoru would certainly not feel at ease leaving Kazumi alone, but at 5 or 6 in the afternoon, it was quite normal for even a girl to go home alone.
With this thought, Yokota Noyoru looked up at the girl behind him, raised his hand in a wave to signal and prepare to leave. He probably needed to help Manager Masamori at the store tonight, and although the afternoon wasn’t a waste, he hadn’t done anything substantial. While the magazine was quite good, it was true.
“Shimizu, I’ll be going now. See you at the store tomorrow night.”
The boy’s call interrupted Kazumi, who was still lost in her own world. The girl looked up with a dazed nod, not even letting go of the notebook in her hand.
Seeing that Kazumi had heard him, Yokota Noyoru turned around and walked towards the shopping street. He squeezed his palm with a sense of helplessness, his surging heart still not completely calm.
The actual physical contact with a member of the opposite sex had a much greater impact on him than he had expected.
“I remember there’s an elective course called ‘Resisting Female Charm.’ Should I really take it? That’s troublesome…”
He nervously tugged at his hair. After all, for vain teenagers, choosing such a course would be more difficult than killing them. Moreover, at that time, Yokota Noyoru believed that given his own unpopularity with women, there was no point in choosing this course, which had a very low enrollment rate.
“Yokota Noyoru!”
The boy, who was shaking his head and thinking about his course selection plan, was interrupted by a call from behind him. The familiar, cold voice came from behind.
The boy turned his head back in disbelief, and what greeted his eyes was an expression that the girl had never shown before.
The girl was still dressed in her usual indifferent and aloof manner, but this time, her notebook had been put away into her pocket. Only her slender hands were twisting together nervously, as if she were formulating some words.
Her thin pink lips curved slightly upwards, a subtle movement that would be imperceptible if one didn’t pay close attention. However, combined with her furrowed brow, it accurately conveyed the girl’s completely different displeasure.
Her indifferent face looked away uncomfortably, revealing her fair and smooth little neck. But her halting words, no longer distant, reached Yokota Noyoru’s ears again.
“Aren’t… aren’t you going to walk me home?”
