Chapter 387 Tram
“Shimizu… Is there something you want to say?”
Beside the bustling underground tram station, the tall delinquents stood somewhat nervously in place, asking the small girl standing coldly beside him with a tone that completely didn’t match his appearance.
“Why do you suddenly say that?”
The sudden question also surprised the girl who was spacing out beside him. Her still cold face turned, and she asked back with some confusion.
“It’s just… after we met, Shimizu, your eyes have always been strange, so…”
When their eyes suddenly met the girl’s deep gaze, Yokota Noneyu became a little flustered. His eyes flickered unnaturally to the side, but he still stammered out his question.
“Is it that obvious?”
The girl, who was rubbing her chin with her right hand, nodded in agreement after hearing such an answer. She didn’t feel embarrassed that her small actions were exposed. Instead, she scanned the young man before her from head to toe again with her peculiar gaze.
The young man’s physique was good. His height of over 1.8 meters, coupled with the muscles he had presumably trained to become a professional hero, made him appear strong and three-dimensional. Although he couldn’t compare to her own blond companion whose physique was outrageously good, he was basically at a level that could easily overshadow his peers.
The simple white shirt and jeans he wore exuded a strong youthful aura. If one were to disregard his appearance, he would probably be the kind of life winner who lived in other people’s youth, like a first love god.
As for his face, that was the root of the young man’s long-standing misery. It was hard to imagine that a high school student about to turn eighteen would have such a face. It wasn’t that he was ugly or had flaws, but rather a hard-to-describe… fierceness.
If such a supremely masculine face were on a middle-aged man, it would undoubtedly add a unique charm of a tough guy. But if it were on a beautiful teenage boy in his prime, it would be more like a unruly delinquent who didn’t care about anything in school, or even the leader of the school’s pack of bullies.
However, what truly made Kazumi look at him more wasn’t these things. As colleagues working part-time, seeing each other every day wasn’t too unusual. Moreover, as someone with an adult’s mindset and a lack of emotional deficit due to being a spirit, she wouldn’t act impolitely because of the other person’s appearance.
After all, didn’t he still have residual value? (Smile)
The young man stood straight. His refreshing and clean hair and the faint scent of shower gel on him could be smelled from several steps away. For boys of this age, being able to take a shower and go out was probably the highest form of reception etiquette.
His hesitant demeanor and his stance of wanting to get closer but not daring to, also allowed Kazumi to clearly feel the shyness and affection tinged with a youthful aura.
In a sense, it was quite disgusting.
But for Kazumi, this was also something she could tolerate. The principle of equivalent exchange in alchemy was always applicable to the girl. If she wanted to get something, she had to pay the corresponding price. And given the potential the other party showed, she could temporarily endure such feelings.
More than her own feelings, Kazumi was actually more concerned about the psychological state he displayed and his tendency towards her, which had reached the point where their relationship could be slightly deepened.
In the jargon, the fish had taken the bait, and it was time to let out more line and play it.
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and a faint smile appeared on her cold face. The girl then continued to answer.
“Perhaps I was just a little curious.”
“Curious?”
Kazumi’s answer left Yokota Noneyu bewildered. He repeated the last two words the girl had said and asked.
“Because Senior, you’re different from me, aren’t you? Reserve heroes don’t need to rush to take exams like interns.”
The expression on the girl’s face remained unchanged. Her eyes, devoid of emotional fluctuations, looked up at Yokota Noneyu, who was half a head taller than her, with a peculiar scrutiny.
“Ah, that… because the agency had something to do, I went there, and it just so happened to be on the way. Besides, it’s your first time going there too, Shimizu, and it’s more convenient for me to take you if I’m more familiar with it.”
As if his thoughts had been exposed, Yokota Noneyu’s body stiffened noticeably, but he quickly reacted, scratching his hair sheepishly and forcefully providing an excuse with a weak voice.
“Oh, really?”
Kazumi raised her eyebrows subtly, her small face full of disbelief. She stared intently at the tall young man whose eyes were already darting around.
“It’s…” “Rumble—”
The pure white tram entered the station with a rumbling sound, also saving the young man who was cornered by the girl’s gaze and didn’t know how to answer. The waiting crowd began to surge towards the entrance of the tram, and looking at the girl who chuckled and turned to walk into the carriage with the crowd, Yokota Noneyu could only swallow the words stuck in his throat and quickly followed after her.
…
“Ah, I knew I should have taken the bus. There are so many people at this time. Sorry, Shimizu.”
In the crowded carriage, Yokota Noneyu held onto the railing above his head with one hand, his body angled to create a small space in front of him. He apologized to the girl before him with a contrite expression.
“No, it’s just that I rarely take the tram.”
As if realizing that her fleeting expression of disdain had been noticed by the other party, Kazumi quickly composed herself. She looked at the crowded people around her and shook her head, explaining.
“Huh? You don’t even take the tram often?”
“Yes, I usually only move around my home and school, so there’s no need to take the tram.”
“Then it seems you don’t go out much more than I do. I take this basic mode of transportation more often.”
“Yes.”
“…”
As their slightly awkward conversation, or rather, Yokota Noneyu’s constant search for topics and the girl’s indifferent responses, continued, the tram soon arrived at the next station. It seemed to be a transfer point, as after the crisp sound of the “stop” bell, a sudden clamor rushed at them, followed by large crowds constantly surging into the carriage.
The two hiding in the corner were naturally impacted by the crowd. Even though Yokota Noneyu wanted to use his body to block them, he had to reduce the space he had painstakingly created for fear of injuring civilians with too much force. In the end, he was even squeezed by the crowd to the front of Kazumi.
Although the distance between them wasn’t so close as to completely touch yet, it was a bit too close compared to the polite distance before. Even though it was because of the crowded carriage and the fact that the other person was facing him sideways, it still made Yokota Noneyu, who had little contact with girls, feel like he was offending her.
“Um… Shimizu, I…”
Scratching his head as he looked at the girl close at hand, the young man tried his best to back away, so as not to be squeezed against her by the crowd.
Kazumi, who realized it later, turned her head and glanced at the crowded people who were almost sticking to her, and at Yokota Noneyu, who was still trying to keep a distance from her even at this moment. She asked indifferently.
“Do you mind?”
“No, I just…” “Oh.”
Before the young man could finish his explanation, he heard a faint “oh” sound from beside his ear. A strange sensation came from his chest, and he instinctively lowered his head to look forward.
What met his eyes was the girl’s soft, jet-black hair, and her cold profile, half-leaning against him and looking at her phone as if nothing had happened.
