Liar's Lips Fall Apart in Love - Volume 1 Chapter 3.2

The Autumn When Love Begins 2

Nanase stiffened her expression. In situations like this, she couldn’t fully become one of those sparkling girls. Maybe she’s actually the type who struggles with standing out.

“Hmm, maybe it’s the lighting. Sagara, could you try taking it from over there?”

“Eh? Oh, sure.”

Suddenly tasked, I reluctantly launched the camera on my smartphone and aimed it at Nanase. Turning towards me, Nanase blushed with embarrassment.

“Sagara-kun is taking the photo…? Um, can I go fix my makeup first?”

“No need. Just smile as you are.”

Saying so, Nanase offered a shy smile. I pressed the shutter button just like that.

“Ah, wait, wait a second! I definitely made a weird face just now!”

Nanase raised a panicked voice, but it wasn’t a weird face at all. Rather, I think it turned out quite well.

Kinami, peeking over my shoulder from behind, exclaimed, “Nice! She’s smiling so naturally! Good job, Sagara!”

I was praised, unusually. All I did was press the shutter without thinking much.

“Okay, let’s submit this one!”

“Uh, but…”

While Nanase was flustered, Kinami snatched my smartphone and quickly completed the submission. “Thanks,” he said, tossing the phone back to me. Hey, that’s dangerous.

I caught it in a hurry.

Displayed on the smartphone’s screen was the photo of an undeniable beauty smiling naturally… Yeah, I have to admit, it turned out well.

By the time the meeting ended, the sun had completely set.

“…Sigh. I ended up being entered in the beauty pageant.”

Walking beside me, Nanase’s shoulders slumped in resignation. We ended up walking home together by the flow of events, but since we lived in the same place, it couldn’t be helped.

“It’s not bad. Think of it as getting one step closer to your rose-colored life.”

“Maybe, but…”

“You didn’t want to participate?”

“I don’t know. It’s not so much that I didn’t want to… It just feels wrong somehow.”

We arrived at the bicycle parking area, but since it was an awkward place to end the conversation, we stopped there. Nanase leaned against her bike’s saddle, looking downcast.

“What should I do… This is definitely a scam, right…?”

“A scam?”

“Because, I’m not really a beauty… I’m just deceiving everyone with makeup. And now I’m entering a beauty pageant… If they find out, they’ll be mad.”

Nanase hung her head sadly. The woman standing before me now was a perfect beauty, shining and radiant. Compared to her bare face, it might not be strange to call it a scam.

However, I didn’t feel like she was deceiving anyone.

“I don’t think so.”

Nanase blinked rapidly as she turned towards me. Her eyes, reflecting the setting sun, were dyed in a mysterious color, and staring into them made me feel strangely moved.

“Why not?”

I regretted speaking up, as if I had said something ridiculous, but I started talking, spurred on by her encouraging gaze.

“The reason you’re, well, considered beautiful now… is because of the effort you’ve put in, right?”

“…”

“In that sense, you’re much more amazing than someone who’s naturally beautiful. So, I don’t think it’s something you should be blamed for… That’s what I believe.”

Nanase stared straight at me, silent and intense. As she remained quiet, I wondered if I had said something wrong, growing anxious.

Eventually, Nanase, illuminated by the sunset, smiled softly.

“…Sagara-kun, you’re so kind.”

Our eyes met, and I nearly forgot to breathe.

If I could capture this moment of Nanase in a photo, she would easily win the beauty pageant. Her smile was so charming that I found myself thinking such things.

Two weeks passed, and there was only one week left until the cultural festival.

While studying, I stopped moving my mechanical pencil and picked up my smartphone from the table. I slid my finger across the screen to open the search engine’s homepage, intending to look up the meaning of a word I didn’t understand.

Smartphones are incredibly convenient devices, but their downside is how they can diminish concentration.

Lying down on the tatami, I remembered that the beauty pageant voting period should be starting soon. Typing [Risseikan University beauty pageant] into the search bar brought up the special site for our campus’s beauty pageant at the top of the results.

Opening the page, I saw the words [WEB Voting Now Open!] dancing across the screen.

The entry list showed the faces and profiles of various women. I didn’t intend to outright deny it, but ranking women based on their looks seemed outdated to me.

Scrolling through, a familiar face quickly appeared.

From the next room, I could hear a man and woman arguing, ‘Why don’t you understand?’ ‘I get anxious if you don’t put it into words.’

Lately, Nanase has been hooked on a romance drama that airs every Thursday at 22:00. Every week at this time, I’m subjected to their trivial exchanges. Consequently, I’ve rough idea of  the plot.

They hurt each other over trivial misunderstandings and, just when they seem to have parted ways, they inevitably return to each other.

Nanase passionately claims it’s “frustratingly heart-throbbing,” but I don’t understand it at all. How can people devote so much energy to something as futile as love?

In the smartphone, Nanase is blushing and smiling sweetly. Anyone would be captivated by her beauty, but the person earnestly watching the drama next door is a plain girl in a tracksuit.

Below the photo, her name and a simple profile are listed.

Haruko Nanase, born on May 3rd, Taurus, blood type A.

Her hobbies include studying and shopping.

Her special skill is being able to name all the emperors of Japan.

Her ideal type is someone kind and serious.

Her motto is to be diligent and honest.

…Wow, that’s so Nanase.

I laughed silently, feeling it was somehow “very her.” Compared to profiles listing hobbies like dancing, hot yoga, and flower arranging, hers definitely stood out a bit.

Tapping the photo in the entry list allowed for voting.

The system was designed to prevent multiple votes. The homepage stated:

[Vote for the person you think is the most wonderful!]

While looking at the array of photos, I pondered. Choosing the most beautiful woman among them was a difficult question.

Beauty is subjective, and there’s no absolute standard.

…But if asked to choose the woman I find most wonderful─the answer isn’t that hard.

I tapped Nanase’s photo with my index finger. The moment I saw the message [Thank you for your vote!] on the screen, I threw the smartphone. It made a soft thud as it rolled across the tatami.

“…What am I doing…”

From the next room, a female singer’s ballad played, signaling the drama’s ending.

By now, on the other side of the TV, the man and woman must be embracing. ‘To me, you’re the most beautiful person in the world,’ the man would say.

I laughed through my nose at the ridiculousness.