Ranobe Mo Ore Mo Sukina Gyaru - Volume 1 Chapter 6.3

Gal and LINE 3

Tsumakawa and I, holding our umbrellas, started walking on the rain-drenched sidewalk together.

And she, who was walking beside me, suddenly let out a deliberately exaggerated voice.

“You know, I really like messaging Yoda… But I guess I need to tone it down a bit… Ah, well, I really hate it, though… But, I guess I shouldn’t tell Yoda that I don’t want to… I’m an adult, after all…”

“Uh, ‘adult’? Tsumakawa-san? Your real thoughts that you were supposed to stop saying are slipping out quite a bit.”

“Even about LINE replies, honestly, if he doesn’t reply within a minute, I get a bit annoyed, but I won’t say that because I’d be seen as a clingy girl!”

“You’ve pretty much already said everything…”

To my exasperated remark, Tsumakawa responded with a slightly delighted expression.

It seemed like my request to lower the frequency of Line messages had been heard somehow.

I was relieved that this issue was resolved before the stress made me bald… While I was thinking about this, our school came into view.

Upon entering the school, Tsumakawa would be with her own group, so finding opportunities to talk one-on-one like this would be difficult, I thought.

Unable to resist my curiosity since earlier, I unintentionally voiced my thoughts.

“Speaking of which… I saw you on the train earlier, Tsumakawa-san…”

“Huh? Really? Then why didn’t you talk to me?… You’re so cold in those situations, Nezumayo. Trying to be cool, huh?”

“Hey, can you stop shoulder-squeezing me? Anyway, that’s not important right now… I wanted to ask you about when you gave your seat to the old lady on the train.”

“Hmm? Yeah, what about it?”

“..Why did you do something like that?”

While I was the one who asked the question, I found myself wondering why I was asking Tsumakawa-san about this.

Honestly, I could’ve just seen Tsumakawa-san give up her seat and thought, ‘Tsumakawa-san is such a good person,’ feeling the goodness of her character, and that would have been enough.

——Isn’t it okay to leave it at that? Why did I start thinking like this…?

As I pondered these questions, Tsumakawa-san continued to wear a puzzled expression as if wondering why she was being asked this.

Despite that, after seeing my serious expression, she made a thoughtful gesture and said,

“Why?… I mean, there’s really no reason.”

“Y-Yeah, right! Sorry for asking something weird.”

“Well, if I had to say… I did it because I simply wanted to, I guess…”

“——”

“Hmm, the old lady had trouble standing, and I just didn’t want to sit while she was standing. But sorry, I don’t know what Yoda wants me to say, so I may be saying something ambiguous. Actually, I never even thought about anything… “

“R-Right… I guess it was a poorly phrased question on my part just now. ——Thank you.”

“Hehe, why are you thanking me? That’s funny.”

Perhaps the reason I thanked her was that Tsumakawa provided one of the answers I wanted to hear.

…Lately, I’ve been haunted by a kind-hearted gal who’s into otaku stuff, and I’ve been spending more time thinking about gals.

What are gals, anyway? The flashy style, frivolous behavior, and sun-loving attitude – is that all it takes to be a gal?

In the end, being a gal is just a category, and there probably isn’t a clear definition…

That’s what I’ve thought up until now.

But with Tsumakawa’s words just now and her actions on the train, I realized one thing: being a gal probably means being a girl who’s good at turning her emotions into actions.

Without overthinking or burdening herself with unnecessary thoughts, she could give up her seat to the old lady just because she wanted to.

Confess because she wants to, get closer to someone because she wants to be friends.

She doesn’t fake these feelings, she doesn’t suppress them, and she acts on her emotions with ease.

It’s not about having a carefree mindset; instead, it’s about having a nimble and agile way of living life, like having quick actions.

Thinking this way, the classification of extrovert and introvert might also be impolite for Tsumakawa…

After all, she’s not swayed by others and just does what she wants. She simply likes to make friends and loves light novels.

It was a mistake to try to classify and understand her under one label or the other when she was simply pursuing her interests within arm’s reach.

Giving up her seat for an elderly person isn’t the act of a saint, and texting late at night isn’t the deed of a troublemaker either——

——She’s just…a girl who’s honest with herself.

…I see. So, giving up her seat to the old lady, at its core, it’s driven by a sense of ‘justice’, isn’t it?

She wasn’t trying to do the right thing; she did it because she wanted to.

It’s like, when someone does the right thing for the sake of simply wanting to do it, that feels like the most genuinely righteous reason.

” ….. “

It felt like the fog in my mind had lifted just a bit.

I used to dislike gals because I didn’t understand them, and I didn’t expect much from the real world because girls always let me down.

However, thanks to understanding her a little bit, I realized that there’s something pure about a gal not restraining or hesitating due to her feelings.

Now that I understand her better, I can look squarely at Miona Tsumakawa’s face, the face of a gal who was free from reservations.

——And upon closer inspection, found Tsumakawa-san to be very pretty.

“What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

“N-No… It’s nothing…”

“If it’s nothing, then why is your face turning so red?”

“Wait, seriously, I said it was nothing, please don’t touch my face! Stop the unnecessary body contact without reason!”

“Hehe, saying not to touch to a gal is just a waste of words, okay? This virgin boy still doesn’t get it, huh? ~Teasing, teasing.”

“What’s wrong with this gal!”

While Tsumakawa-san pinched my cheek, I shouted like that.

…Of course, a small realization like this won’t completely change my values, and a paradigm shift won’t suddenly make me fall in love with real-world girls, but——

Facing her constant presence, I sighed.

Continuing to maintain the cool and aloof attitude like a protagonist from a light novel might not be feasible anymore…I couldn’t help but think so——

***

By the way, there’s a little twist: On the night of that day, when I returned home, I received a message from Tsumakawa on LINE.

『As promised, I’ll try not to message you so often from now on!』

…Isn’t it strange to announce not sending messages too often via a message? Doesn’t that declaration contradict itself?

I was about to point that out when I received an additional message from her asking,『Still no reply?』

Receiving another message right away, I found myself muttering, ‘…Is her promise really a promise?’.