I'm in Love with the Gorilla Sitting Next to Me - Volume 1 Chapter 5.9

Events are the best way to deepen friendships 9

“Is there a rule to what animal people look like? You say I’m like a cat.”

“I have no idea. There’s definitely no correlation with appearance or abilities, but I wonder if there’s any pattern? Even family members appear as completely different animals.”

My mom looks like a cow, my sister like a capybara. Grandma was a dog. The breed is unknown.

At least I know seeing a gorilla is rare. Monkeys are fairly common.

“What was that girl doing here? Was she on a date like us…?”

“Ah, Gossan was at the gym.”

“…wait, what did you say her name was?”

“Huh? Gossan.”

“Even if she looks like a gorilla, it’s not very nice to call her that behind her back——”

“Ah, no no, it’s not like that. Her last name is Goura, so I call her Gossan. Well, it’s also because she looks like a gorilla, so if it slips out, it’s still safe, but yeah.”

“I see. However, I still think it’s an inappropriate nickname for a girl. It has a rather intimidating feel to it.”

“Ah… Maybe I wasn’t considerate enough there. I often don’t really think of girls as girls.”

“Perhaps that’s another curse’s side effect… Truly detestable…!”

Tora-senpai, looking angry, crunched on a throat lozenge. Then she took out a new candy from her pocket and tossed it into her mouth.

While munching on the candy, Tora-senpai moved in front of me and asked,

“Is that what it is? You didn’t want her to see you with me?”

“Huh? Not really… well…”

I was about to deny it immediately, but as I was stared down by those cat-like eyes, I decided to think it over properly.

Even if Gossan saw me with Tora-senpai, I wouldn’t dislike it, but… wait a minute…?

“…Maybe I would have minded if she didn’t recognize senpai as a guy…?”

“Hmm… You’re honest. That’s a good thing.”

“Ouch!? Then why are you kicking me in the shin!?”

“Objective and emotional responses are different. Really, what was the point of the date…”

Tora-senpai grumbled, but I was quite impressed.

Not wanting to be seen because you like someone, huh? I hadn’t thought of that.

Come to think of it, if you have a crush on a girl and want to date her, it’s not good for her to see you getting along with other people of the opposite sex. I remember in a gal game I played, if another character appeared after a date, the affection level would drop.

…So, if I’m worried about the favorability level dropping, it means I want to win her over in the game. In real life, it means I don’t want her to dislike me… or rather, I want her to like me… which means I want Gossan to like me…

“…Could it be that I actually like Gossan for real…?”

“It’s quite something that you’re only questioning this now.”

“No, because I have almost zero romantic experience. I thought I liked her, but I can’t tell the difference between like and love.”

“Remember the movie we just saw? Things got complicated because of jealousy, right? If you have feelings of wanting to monopolize the person you like, or if you can’t bring yourself to celebrate when they find a lover, then that’s love in the romantic sense.”

“Wow… Tora-senpai, you’re amazing. Like a love expert.”

“It’s not even secondhand knowledge, just what I’ve learned from fiction. I have no personal experience…”

“No no, that’s fine, isn’t it? Still, people who have lots of romantic experiences might find it useful, but I’m not sure if it helps beginners like me. I can’t really relate. Most of my knowledge about love comes from manga and games too.”

When I said that not as a consolation but honestly, Senpai lowered her face and cat ears and muttered, ‘Is that so?’

However, the look of chewing on something only lasted a few seconds before she turned back to me and asked,

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Huh? About what?”

“You’ve just realized that you really like her, haven’t you? So, what are you going to do next?”

“…Even if I do, I can’t do anything until the curse is broken, right?”

I understood what Tora-senpai meant, but even if I was aware of my feelings, I was powerless. To be precise, I didn’t want to do anything about it.

“As long as everyone appears as an animal face to me, I don’t want to do anything too couple-like. I mean, you can hang out and talk without dating, right?”

I thought it was obvious to Tora-senpai, who shares the same fatal flaw of the curse, but her unexpected response took me by surprise.

“You’re naive, junior. There are plenty of things you can do without dating, but conversely, there are things you can’t do unless you’re in a romantic relationship.”

“Well, yeah, like kissing or se——”

“No, not that kind of direct thing! If you’re not in a proper relationship, she could end up dating someone else, and you have no right to interfere.”

As Tora-senpai passionately argued with her cat ears twitching, I raised my hand slightly and said,

“But wouldn’t it be the same even if we were dating? Even married people face such situations.”

“It’s completely different. According to literature, there’s a moment when a girl feels ‘I’m so lonely, I’d accept a confession from anyone right now.’ But of course, that doesn’t happen when she has a partner… Also, if she’s in a good relationship, she wouldn’t want to ruin it, so she’d refuse confessions from others…”

“Is that so… By the way, what literature?”

“…Some mature shoujo manga.”

“I see…?”

I didn’t quite understand what mature shoujo manga meant, but it seemed we had similar sources of information.

“Besides, even setting aside whether a confession leads to a relationship, it’s better to have a higher affection level when the curse is lifted, right?”

“That makes sense. So, even if the relationship stays the same, I should make an effort to be liked… Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, if I were to approach Gossan, then what would happen with my relationship with you, Tora-senpai?”

“Two-timing is out of the question… but you and I are like a shared fate. Purely for the sake of breaking the curse, we should continue… no, we should strive even harder!”

Wow, she’s really fired up.

But yeah, that’s right. To Tora-senpai, I’m like the only comrade with the same goal, so it’s not like we can just say goodbye that easily. In fact, the fact that she doesn’t try to interfere with my love life shows her goodness.

…While I was admiring this, Tora-senpai had stopped moving and was looking at me.

“So, what’s your current relationship with that girl? Are you walking to and from school together, or talking on the phone every night until you fall asleep?”

“The way you get excited about love stories is pretty girly… Nah, it’s not like that at all. I might have mentioned it before, but I just talk to Gossan quite a bit because we sit next to each other.. uhh…”

“Huh? Something wrong?”

“…Well, now that I think about it, I don’t even have Gossan’s contact information. I thought we were friends, but…”

“That’s not good at all!”

Faced with Tora-senpai’s soulful reprimand, I had no words to respond.