I Will Inspire Your Insipid Days - Volume 1 Chapter 1.8

Thus

I wave my hand modestly, pretending to be humbled.

After all, I must maintain the façade of being “a sheltered young lady who came to Tokyo alone.”

I must continue deceiving everyone with the false identity of “Hanabishi Kanon.” This realization hits me again.

Returning to my room after class, I found Tachibana-san staring intently at her vanity.

Naturally, she was fully clothed this time.

As for me, I still couldn’t shake off my bewilderment.

Yet, Tachibana-san casually spoke to me.

“I ran out of body soap. I think I’ll borrow some tonight. Can I rummage through your bag?”

Her tone was nonchalant. Any sense of modesty about being seen in an undignified state seemed completely absent. I took a deep breath and responded in my usual tone.

“Could you not seamlessly share body care products? Doesn’t it bother you?”

“Are you the type that has a problem with that?”

“I can’t believe there are people who don’t.”

“Unless it’s something you put in your mouth, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Don’t try to measure common sense with your skewed standards. Anyway, what did you usually do?”

“I ordered delivery.”

“This dorm allows for online orders…”

“The security guard at the main gate receives it, and the dorm staff collectively picks it up, it seems.”

“Considering there are also teachers living in the dorm, it makes sense…”

After exchanging a few words, I finally felt a bit more settled.

I looked around the room.

The first thing I did upon arriving here, of course, was cleaning. I might have felt enchanted by Tachibana-san, as if she were a bewitching apparition, but any such sweet sentiment or tension from sharing the same space was ruthlessly decimated by the brutal state of the interior. The only thought was, “Where can I even sleep?”

And naturally, despite having tidied up everything this morning…

“It never ends, no matter how much I tidy up…”

I could only hold my head in my hands.

Glancing at the vanity, I noticed Tachibana-san had just finished her makeup.

“Ah, perfect. Nothing beats Spring Allegro’s foundation, huh?”

Praising herself with some unintelligible words, she stood up, and I seized the opportunity to ask.

“I’ve been wondering, why do you put on such elaborate makeup when you don’t leave your room?”

“Why not? If I don’t leave my room, the only place I can do my makeup is inside, right?”

“That’s not what I… No, maybe that’s exactly it…”

I was losing grip on what was considered normal.

“Besides, I don’t do makeup for others to see.”

“Huh?”

This response was unexpected. Being cautious not to be recognized as a male by others, I couldn’t imagine saying such words. Tachibana-san continued, oblivious to my speechlessness.

“It’s fun to draw on a human face. It’s a good change of pace.”

“Doesn’t taking a bath seem pointless to you then? Of course, keeping your body clean is important, but…”

“Showering isn’t for cleanliness. It’s for resetting ideas. I can’t calm down with my head all tingling.”

I felt something shocking in her words, but decided to ignore it for now.

“I can’t relate to the ‘tingling’ sensation…”

“Can we not talk about the bath anymore?”

“Don’t just end it on your own. Or, should it end?”

Ignoring my suggestion, she continued.

“That ‘tingling’ feeling, you know, when things keep popping in and out of your head, making your hands clumsy, and you suddenly come back to yourself thinking, ‘What was I doing?’ Showers help settle that.”

“I didn’t understand the second half at all.”

“It seems impossible to draw.”

…What kind of thought process is this? I tried to sort out her statements.

Essentially, she took a shower yesterday as a break, and that’s when we encountered each other.

Stretching her back with a yawn, Tachibana-san said,

“I’ve been working all night, so I’m going to sleep. The deadline is close.”

“…Deadline?”

My question echoed back. Upon hearing my voice, she immediately started explaining.

“The deadline for illustrations. Stills for an MV. Different from the oil painting I was working on, they want something more vivid, asking for about three patterns. However, they haven’t shared what kind of music it is, so I’m not sure if what I’m making meets their expectations. We’ve done business a few times before, and the pay is quite substantial.”

“MV? Stills?”

No further explanation came. Tachibana-san, ignoring my muttering, stood up and abandoned the canvas, striding towards somewhere—apparently peering into the shower room. What kind of behavior is this? Is she just acting on instinct?

As she rolled her shoulders heading to the bed, I asked something that had been on my mind.

“Hey. When I first came into this room, you were so flustered… why were you so calm after being seen fresh out of the bath?”

She looked confused for a moment and then turned to face me.

“Why?”

“I’m the one asking.”

“I’m curious where you found a problem.”

We were at an impasse. This way of communication wasn’t working. How should I phrase it…? As I held my forehead, Tachibana-san said, “Ah, I see,” as if understanding something.

“It’s simple. Yonon is already one of us.”

What “us” referred to, I wasn’t sure, but

“So it’s okay to call me ‘Natsume’ instead of Tachibana-san, and you don’t have to be overly cautious around me. I’ll tell you about work details, share what medications I’m taking and their effects, and won’t mind being seen naked. If you’re curious, just ask, and I’ll answer anything except questions I don’t want to answer. But really, there aren’t any questions I wouldn’t answer.”

Her rapid-fire explanation seemed to imply that I didn’t need to be overly cautious or considerate around her… I sort of understood that.

Really, just sort of…

Living together with a roommate in the student dorms, maybe these small interactions are precisely the “high school life” she wanted to experience.

I realized then.

Her fixation on achieving something through odd methods.

Although not understood by others, her thought process was complete in her own mind.

My curiosity about her… maybe it’s because she reminds me of my twin sister in some ways.

tln : it made me dizzy. their convo is.