CHAPTER 25_______ Ever since that day, Tsubaki and Saeki have had a lot of rendezvous and have been receiving and eating snacks together. What Saeki usually brings are from the usual snack series but from time to time he brings some chocolate snacks. But despite their unusual school life, Tsubaki and Saeki have yet to converse with each other within the school. In the first place, there's just no chance for them to do so, let alone converse with each other, Saeki can't even look directly in the eye with Tsubaki's. However on days where they'll be secretly meet up with each other, Saeki's gaze meets with Tsubaki's a lot more frequently compared to the usual days, so it's been quite easy to know when they'll meet. At first even Tsubaki, herself had problems thinking about how they should notify each other or what signal should they use but since this is quite easy for both of them, this situation they're in is quite helpful. And today as well, Tsubaki and Saeki have met up at their usual secrets pot, eating snacks together. "By the way Saeki-kun do you think this snack is delicious" "It's not like I extremely find it delicious but it's quite tasty. How about you Asahina-san?" "It's taste is quite borderline safe. It lacks depth in its taste but it's not like it tastes bad. Ah, but this one's fragrance remains in the mouth" "That, I heard that when they were planning for the production of this snack that they were quite confident with it" "So that's how it is? Saeki-kun's company seems to have quite an excellent employee" "How nice~ They have an employee who has an idea that can generate profits," Tsubaki thought to herself as she couldn't help but feel a bit envious. Compared to before, Saeki now doesn't cower in front of Tsubaki and now they can have a normal conversation with each other. "But you know Asahina-san, I never thought you are someone who is good in conversing with others" "Is that so? Well, it couldn't be helped since I kind of represent both the Asahina's and the Mizushima's. People say all sorts of things such as, 'As expected of Mizushima-sama's niece' or something like 'As expected of the young lady of the Asahina's'. It's not like I can easily throw mud at it you know?" "But to still be able to act on in it, as expected I think it's quite amazing. Even though nothing that much has been told but still that is something unthinkable for someone like me." "Thank you very much. However Saeki-kun, I think it would be better if you don't cut yourself short like that" "It's kind of hard for me to have self-confidence. Even here in our school, a guy like Mizushima-kun is considered as the standard for boys" Kyousuke has always been quite skillful in doing most things, that's why sometimes it is of no surprise if the pride of most of the boys in the same school year gets crushed. Maybe that's also the reason why most people who surround Kyousuke are people who only know how to flatter him. It is all too easy to see through, which is why Kyousuke doesn't even bother to deepen his relationship with his classmates. Especially when he thinks it will only do him more harm than good, so whether it flattery or whatnot Kyousuke doesn't care. But then there are people like Saeki, who lack confidence in themselves, that's why they can only treat Kyousuke as some sort of goal. "Well, Mizushima-kun is also like you, Asahina-san. You also give off that atmosphere or mood as if you are saying that you don't want to associate yourself with others. I wonder if its because you can, will yourself in giving off something like that." "Well I do, do it with such intentions but in Kyousuke-san's case, he's always been like that. Though I do tell him that he should deepen his bonds with his classmates more...but it's of no use" "But the other day when I dropped my eraser, he picked it up for me and then after that I realised that he's quite kind" Even though he does have a fastidious side in him, Kyousuke's very root core is that of a diligent man who is also quite a gentleman. And then an abrupt thought suddenly popped into my head, I feel like sometimes he's too hang up or maybe he's just putting up a front. Kyousuke, himself has always been quite vigilant towards others that's why just making friends alone has been hard on him already or so she thought but it was different from Leon. Also with Anna, whom Tsubaki normally converses with. What's more and I think is an important point is that even though Kyousuke is known as the successor to the Mizushima group, he was never proud or boastful about it, his behaviour has always been the same as usual. And the most important and the decisive factor as to why Tsubaki was able to get along with him is that Kyousuke has a strong-willed and gentle heart. Maybe what Kyousuke wanted is a friend whom he can be equal with and not someone who'll act as his servant. But seeing the current attitude of his classmates, it is going to be quite hard for him. "Is it really impossible if Saeki-kun and I talk with each other at the hallway?" "But if Mizushima-kun knew that I get along with Asahina-san, something might happen. Aren't you guys engaged?" "My grandfather's words were just selfishly interpreted and misunderstood by the others. We just didn't confirm nor deny it. It's just a bother to do so and besides, we're each other's cousins and at the same time comrades of each other so there's nothing to worry about" "I see. But.. ... to properly talk with Mizushima-kun, I'll make sure to build up confidence in myself otherwise it's going to be impossible." For Saeki who has low confidence, he just stated that a great amount of courage is also needed to speak with Kyousuke. But upon hearing that Tsubaki couldn't help but have the urge to slap his back hard and tell "Get a grip!" It's not like getting Kyousuke mad will get the Mizushima act, at most it's just girls and their little groupies who'll say all sorts of things. Unintentionally, her conversation with Saeki deepens more and time seems to have flown by already when Tsubaki realized that it's already the time for her to return home. She stood up and then dusted her skirt before saying, "Well then just like what we talked about before, it's all about self-improvement. And even if you call out to me at the hallways, it wouldn't pose any problems. Thank you so much for the snacks. It was delicious. Now then, Gokigen'yoh" "Osomatsusamadeshita** About the hallways, sorry. Well then, see you." Eunie here: QUICK NOTE*** if you've seen Soma then you'll know his catch phrase. There's no exact translation for it in english but it is something usually said by those who gives food/cooks the food and is like a 'your welcome' **There's itadakimasu, gochisousama(Deshita) and then there's Osomatsu. 1st one said before eating, 2nd after eating like thank you for the meal/for the treat and 3rd one is the whole your welcome. in Soma it comes a bit strongly when they translated it to English but well you get the whole point right? ^^ ​Currently, Tsubaki is hiding behind the shadows of the animal farm acting as if she's observing the animals inside the shed while in fact, she's confirming whether there are people around her or not. After checking her surroundings, Tsubaki went back inside the school building. It would be extremely bad for her if someone finds out that place. Since she finally found something like an oasis for her, it would be bad if she lost the place where she can spend some time alone and the usual venue of the shady exchanges she's been having with Saeki. That's why she has become quite obstinate and guarded when it comes to checking her surroundings. The truth is, inside the pocket of Tsubaki's uniform a lot of snacks she just received a while ago are stuffed inside it. The snacks she got from a shoddy exchange with Saeki will be used in a shadier transaction with Anna. Inside the classroom where Anna has been waiting, both of them were doing classical Japanese literature while waiting for the other students to leave the room. And the moment where everybody else has left, Tsubaki immediately presented the snacks she got to Anna. **they're speaking using samurai/edo-ish period speech-like with de gozaru and stuff. "This is this humble one's payment for this month, **O daikan-sama/ (oh), great Magistrate" "Umu** I have troubled you. Ah, isn't this a new product" "Yup. It was quite tasty you know. It's fragrance unexpectedly spreads out and remains inside your mouth. I feel like it will be something you'll like Anna" "You are right. Though this taste does nostalgic" Anna said as she started munching off the snacks she got from Tsubaki. The moment when Tsubaki was able to receive some snacks from Saeki, she immediately reported it to Anna. It's better to tell her immediately the truth than having to lie her way or having Anna find out about it later. Just imagining what would happen by then and Tsubaki can already see Anna proclaiming her 'unfaithfulness' and things will just get worse. Besides even if she tells Anna, its not like she's the kind of person who'll tattle tale it to their teachers or their parents. And so Anna has always been excitedly waiting for the transacted goods from Tsubaki. In fact, out of all the capturable characters, Anna's favourite seems to have been Saeki, which is why she's also quite eager in learning new pieces of information from Tsubaki about Saeki. As expected, she's quite weak to that personality of his, which tingles a girl's motherhood instincts. "Well even if you were able to clear a walkthrough character it's not like there'll be any love development later on," Anna muttered, after hearing today's information about Saeki. "Duh. Besides even if you look after him like he is your child, considering the age and stuff wouldn't it be weirder to see him as a love object?" "I see. So that's why when it comes to Leon, you won't take the lead" "It's not like it's a romantic kind of love but I'm sure there should be some kind of affection" Whether the feelings of like will turn into love, who knows right? Though at this moment it is definitely not like that. And at the very least he must only think of Tsubaki as Anna's friend who is an interesting girl who punched him. Well, it's not like Tsubaki takes the initiative when interacting with him so there's not much change between the relationship of the two. Then suddenly Anna remembered a certain rumour she heard some time ago. "That's right. This year there'll be the Tanabata/Star Festival** will you be attending?" (**check out T/n down below) "That's an event even available even for us in the lower grade, right? I'll go" It is one of the events practiced by their school and just like the name itself it is like a festival. Where students from grades four, five and six will be staying at one of the hotels prepared by the school for the sake of the event. They'll be writing poems on a tanzaku** and there'll be Tanabata sweets and it's also an event where one of its objectives is to have all the students deepen their bonds and friendship. It will also be up to the students whether they'll want to participate or not. Even though participating is upon the discretion of the students, every year there should at least be nine students joining the event otherwise it might get be troublesome later on. What's more, the highest grade will be preparing a play about the Star Festival so their fighting spirit for this event is quite high. That's why last week, she, her dad and Kyousuke went to their favourite boutique to buy her a dress. As for the reason why Kyousuke was with them, it seems like her Uncle would be away for a while because there was a meeting abroad that he couldn't miss and since her father and uncle were friends and they were of the same age, they went out together to buy Kyousuke his suit. Since Kyousuke's suits were an order made, they just took his measurements and then it was done in a jiffy. After that, they just bought some accessories to match it. In Tsubaki's case she thought hers will go smooth as well since her mother wasn't with them but unexpected she was thwarted by Kyousuke and thus choosing her dress got longer. "Haven't you already worn a green dress during the Mizushima party last year." "The design is completely different from it." "It is the same thing since the colour is the same." "Sigh, boys can see everything do they?" Tsubaki couldn't help but be bewildered at Kyousuke who claimed that since its the same colour then it's the same dress. Unable to see the neverending bantering between Kyousuke and Tsubaki, her father finally step up between them and said, "Since Tsubaki-chan has only attended parties within the family, Kyousuke-kun is worried for Tsubaki-chan so he wants to choose the most beautiful dress for you" "If you fail then they'll also think of the same thing as me. If you aren't the best during the party then I'll be in trouble" (Eunie: gosh this boyo! Are you a tsundere!! >u<) "I won't fail or anything. Besides the main star for the even are the sixth graders. Why should someone from the lower grade steal the spotlight from them?" It doesn't bother Tsubaki if she was hated or feared by their classmates from the same school year but to be glared and hated by the upperclassman are something she wants to avoid as much as possible. When it comes to her classmate, she has the confidence that her bluff can pass them but she's sure that it won't work when it comes to the upperclassman. It would be all good if Tsubaki can write on the tanzaku and eat delicious food. She doesn't even mind if she becomes the wallflower of the party. Even just before, Tsubaki always finds it wasteful and quite adamant whenever she has to get a new dress when she attends a party. Tsubaki thinks that it would be fine if she just wears the dress she has at home. But when she tried to bring up the matter, her Mother immediately gave her an eyeing look and so she immediately took back what she just said. Both of her parents are quite liberal in raising them but they really are rich people at their very core, which is what she seems to have realized. That's why ever since then, Tsubaki has been carefully choosing her dress. Since it is quite a lot of work to choose a dress with a different design from the ones she has. Whatsmore is that she has to be absolutely careful when choosing the colour of her dress so that it won't overlap with the one she used to wear. It's that sort of troublesome thing. Tsubaki then gave another look over the dresses hanged in the boutique and chose a dress with a different color and design from the one she wore previously and said, "... ...Then I'll be getting this" The dress Tsubaki chose is a medium-length blue one-shoulder dress. Around the cut part of the dress, there's a frill like the style so it gives off a cute style but at the same time, it doesn't look childish. She thought that with that dress, there'll be some accessories and shoes that she has at home that will match it. Suddenly she's reminded of her previous life and the dressing techniques and coordination she used to do. Really how hateful! After finally being able to decide on a dress, Tsubaki's father sighed in relief since he believes that they still need to choose her accessories and shoe. Her father did find some accessories and shoes to match the dress Tsubaki chose but when she tried to stop him from getting it and tell him that she still has some accessories and shoes that she can use and that it's not good to waste money. However considering the place, she is currently in and the fact that there also other shoppers around, all Tsubaki can do is watch her father happily picking up shoes and accessories for her. And then one of the salespeople went towards Tsubaki and presented to her a box with some necklaces inside that her father picked up for her. It seems like the final decision on whether to buy it or not, still lies in the hands of Tsubaki. "Tsubaki-chan which one do you like?" "I think the right one is better" (Kyousuke) "Then I'll go for the left one" With great force, Kyousuke went and chose the right one for Tsubaki but it seems like what he chose wasn't really to her liking. Now this time her father pointed out some shoes and asked her, "Tsubaki-chan, how about your shoes? Which one do you want?" "For me, it's the left one" (Kyousuke) "It's the right one then" The left one doesn't seem to be to her liking and so Tsubaki thought to herself, just because e his choices were denied by her, he shouldn't be looking at her like that. As Kyousuke looked at her with unbelievable eyes, accusing her of deliberately choosing a different one from his own choices. "Was it deliberate? It was, wasn't it!?" "It wasn't. It's just that my preferences and Kyousuke's are different you know?" "... ...You have quite a bad taste then." After hearing Kyousuke's words, she almost forgot that they were in a public place and almost lost her cool but then she immediately calmed herself down and decided that once they've returned home, she'll make sure to make him pay. Before they knew it, her father was already back to their side after paying for the items they just bought and it seems like they'll deliver the things they bought the following day so her father was empty-handed. "It's quite late already. Why don't we get some tea first? What would you guys like to eat?" "I want to eat a delicious tea and cake. I heard that the afternoon tea set at the hotel in Nihonbashi has quite a good reputation. Father let's go there" "When it comes to food you really don't have any restraint don't you?" Kyousuke said as she gazed apathetically at Tsubaki Normally, Tsubaki doesn't have much greed when it comes to most things but when it's about food, she's quite decisive on where or what she wants. For Tsubaki when she sees things or objects that cost xxxxxxx amount, there's this mysterious feeling of grievances and regret having something so expensive but when it comes to food since it will go inside her body and she wouldn't have to see it after, she has no restraints in demanding food...or so how she convinces herself. After having decided on where they will eat, their driver, Fuwa, first made a call to the hotel's lounge to confirm if there are still available tables and thankfully there's still an open one so Tsubaki and the others immediately headed to the hotel to enjoy their afternoon tea. Un, instead of saying there's still an available table, it's actually quite open. ********** "And that is actually what happened last week. It's really maddening!" Tsubaki said as she grumbled to Anna as if she's still mad for being told by Kyousuke that she has no (fashion) sense. "He's quite different from the Mizushima-sama in the game" "With an exception with his family, yes but his personality is just like the one at the game you know! Maybe it's because of the earlier change that happened." "It seems like it was a good thing that he was able to clear up things with his father earlier." "I think so too. But then again maybe with all the insincere and flattery from others, he seems to have become distrustful of humans or something like a human hater. "Which means it is only within the people of his family that he can be and act like himself." To some people, Kyousuke is a pitiful child who lost his mother at an early age while on the other hand, people think of him as the person who killed his own mother. That, that child is a killer and all sorts of stuff were heard by him. What's more, he heard it not only from one or two people but from quite a lot of them. And then there was also the situation where his father used to avoid him and whenever Tsubaki is reminded of how Kyousuke used to hold everything in, she feels her heart hurt for him. That's why even though they joke around like that, she hopes she can help Kyousuke open his closed heart. "You know, somehow I feel like I'm in a situation where I'm rearing a child." "Well thinking about your actual mental age, you are not really that far off so just stop thinking about it. For a bachelor that's quite a harsh topic" "I was also unmarried you know! Well since I've died already, it doesn't matter anymore." "True enough." A dry laugh is all they can do now, as comrades who's been through all sorts of things in life already. eunie here: ha. ha. ha. this is the longest one i've translated it is more than 3000 words. i seriously love this novel but gosh, this is hard. i'll continue to tl it until the end but for the sake of my dying brain cells, FINGERS and productivity.
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