Ranobe Mo Ore Mo Sukina Gyaru - Volume 1 Chapter 6.2

Gal and LINE 2

Thus, after an announcement, the train started moving towards the nearest station to our school. It took less than eight minutes.

The train arrived at my High School’s nearest station, and students wearing the same uniform as me were ejected from the train car.

Exiting through the ticket gate, I stopped where the roof ended. There, under my navy umbrella, I started walking again.

A little ahead, I spotted Tsumakawa’s figure.

I naturally quickened my pace to catch up with her and spoke to her in a casual tone.

“Hello.”

“Oh? Well, well, it’s Yoda! It’s rare for you to greet me!”

“Yeah… There’s just something I wanted to talk to you about, Tsumakawa-san…”

“Huh, something to talk about? What?”

As Tsumakawa-san asked me that, a flashback of the scene from earlier where she gave up her seat to the elderly lady flashed in my mind.

However, for some reason, the words I wanted to say didn’t come out smoothly.

I ended up talking about something completely different from what I really wanted to say.

“Um, can you maybe lower the frequency of our LINE messages? Please?”

“Huh? Don’t say it with such a serious face. It’s like you’re finding our Line conversations tiring.”

“Yes, they’re tiring.”

“You’re being honest, huh? You should’ve sugar-coated it so it doesn’t hurt my feelings!”

Saying this, Tsumakawa exaggeratedly puffed out her cheeks… But that’s just how Tsumakawa-san is.

She simply won’t hold back unless I speak to her firmly!

While I was making this commotion in my mind, she continued talking with a cheerful smile as we walked side by side.

“Seriously, aren’t LINE messages so much fun!? We used to exchange messages a lot on Twitter through Nezumayo and Minacho, and I thought it wouldn’t be much different… But maybe I was being a bit fake back when I was Minacho. Talking to Yoda as Miona is seriously enjoyable!”

“I-I see…”

“Anyway, Yoda is pretty much Nezumayo too! And sometimes Yoda goes deeper than Nezumayo when talking, and I’m like, ‘Yoda, you’re doing great!’ Yoda is unexpectedly more Nezumayo than Nezumayo, isn’t he?”

“Um, could you please stop making brain-melting statements?”

Tsumakawa treated me and Nezumayo as two different personalities, which made the conversation very complicated.

What’s with the mysterious term ‘Nezumayo’?

While I was struggling with this concept of ‘myself-ness’, she continued merrily.

“Because of that, let’s exchange lots of LINE messages from now on too! Hamtaro!”

“Who’s Hamtaro?—I did ask you to lower the frequency of Line messages, so how did we end up with this conclusion?! Also, don’t message me at 2 in the morning!”

“Is it really not okay to send messages to Yoda around midnight or around 5 AM?”

“5 in the morning is practically dawn… and for people with normal sensibilities, sending messages at 5 in the morning is annoying, okay? I mean, think about it, can you understand what I mean, Miss Gal?”

“Well, of course I understand that, and I wouldn’t bother my ordinary friends with that… but for Yoda, isn’t it fine for me to message you at any time, no matter when?”

“Why is that?”

I, born and raised in Saitama, let out a heartfelt ‘Why is that?’ from me, a person born and raised in Saitama.

I was genuinely surprised!

Since I was born, I’ve never lived in a prefecture other than Saitama, and yet you’re making me say ‘Why is that?’ – that’s really something!

(TN: なんでやねん. ‘Why is that?’ He’s using a Kansai dialect.)

Ignoring my surprise, Tsumakawa, who seemed to be in high spirits, continued talking while twirling a gaudy umbrella with shades of pink.

“Of course, it’s common sense that you shouldn’t inconvenience your friends. However, when it comes to close friends or family… I believe it’s okay to lean on them. After all, they’re like your own kin. With family, you don’t really need to maintain the same considerations as with friends, right? So, in other words, since Yoda is practically family to me, isn’t it alright to message you anytime?”

“W-Well… Um, Tsumakawa-san? For now, I still consider myself not yet a friend with Tsumakawa-san…”

“Sure, sure. You’re still putting up a front, huh? Geez.”

“I feel like I’m being treated really casually here!”

“Haha… Well, I guess I may be going overboard with saying that Yoda is family, but to me, Yoda is someone I can lean on. You’ve probably noticed that, right? I mean, seriously, would anyone send these kinds of messages to just any guy?”

” ….. “

“So, you get it? From now on, I can message you as much as I want, right?”

Saying this, Tsumakawa-san looked at me with a teasing smile.

Then, suddenly, she grasped my hand from the side that held the umbrella and squeezed it tightly.

The sweet scent of citrus tickled my nose.

Her hand was really warm, and I could feel my cold hand warming up against hers.

This softness, this warmth—my heart was pounding so much that it made me dizzy. And while a captivating gal held my hand, I responded.

“I don’t want to. Please lower the frequency of Line messages.”

“This otaku is more cheeky than I thought…”

“Ah, you finally spoke your mind! You’re finally showing your wicked nature, you gal!”

“Oh, come on, I say things like this all the time… But really, the normal thing to do now would be to accept my suggestion, okay? How much are you resisting the real world? Aren’t you taking being an otaku too far?”

“Ehehe…”

“That’s not a compliment, so don’t get all embarrassed…”

“By the way, the character that influenced me is ‘Hachiman Hikigaya’ from ‘My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected!’ I’m going to be like the main character of a novel!!”

“Sure, sure, got it… So, I’ll start calling you ‘Zaimokuza’ from now on.”

“Huh!? Zaimokuza? I can’t be the main character of a novel then.”

As I was desperately trying to respond, Tsumakawa let go of the hand she was holding, chuckling softly.

That was close. Good job, my self-control! That’s the way of the twisted otaku!

She was exceptionally good at getting what she wanted while holding my hands at the same time. This girl is a temptress…

As I wiped my forehead while thinking that, she suddenly told me.

“Hey, instead of just standing around forever, let’s go to school already.”

I completely agreed with her on this, so Tsumakawa and I, holding our umbrellas, started walking on the rain-drenched sidewalk together.