Chapter 233: Last day of the year with Sendai-san — 233
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
「Can I call you Shiori? I’ve wanted to et you for a long ti.」
She called out within a minute of eting her.
It’s too soon.
I think it’s the shortest record.
I had never been asked before by soone whose na I didn’t even know if I could call them by their na.
Suppressing the urge to run away from the reasonably crowded evening café, I look for Sendai-san, who is supposed to be working part-ti here, using only my eyes. But I can’t find her.
「Ah, was I being chummy with you? Well then, can I call you Shiori-chan? You can just call Mio.」
Though the na of the café waiter, who introduced herself as「Hazuki’s friend,」was halfway revealed before I could place my order, I wasn’t comfortable with being called Shiori-chan once she knew my first na.
Judging from the words “I’ve been wanting to et you for a long ti,” this person was the college friend of Sendai-san’s who introduced the part-ti jobs to Sendai-san.
I could say that she’s the one who took away Sendai-san’s winter vacation from .
No matter how I look at it, getting along with her seems to be a difficult task in itself.
I let out a small breath.
I shouldn’t have co all the way here, alone, on New Year’s Eve.
I can’t help but regret coming to Sendai-san’s part-ti job.
I didn’t want to get involved with the waitress who called Shiori-chan and insisted that I call her Mio, and she would abandon her duty to ask for the order and kept talking to one-sidedly with questions like,「You’re Hazuki’s friend, right?」 or「You share a room with her?」
「Mio-san, may I place an order?」
I look at the nu, not at Sendai-san’s friend who is looking at with a friendly smile.
She is a waitress at a café, so as long as I place my order, she should go away. I don’t think she would stay here even after hearing my order.
「No, not like that! I told you to call Mio.」
A bright voice descends and I glance at the troubleso waitress.
「…May I ask your family na?」
「Komatsu. Komatsu Mio, so call Mio.」
「Komatsu-san. Cheesecake, with tea, please.」
I call her by her family na, which gives a friendly atmosphere.
I should call her by her first na and force myself to order.
「Ehh. Why don’t you call Mio?」
Komatsu-san, whose hair color is lighter than Sendai-san’s, says in a bright voice.
I really shouldn’t have co.
If I could rewind ti, I would tell the of an hour ago not to leave my house.
I swallow the sigh that almost cos out and stare at Komatsu-san, whose bob cut suits her well.
It didn’t matter that she wanted to see , and I didn’t want to see her. I just ca to this café because it was boring to stay ho alone, and I thought it would be nice to go out sowhere once in a while anyway.
But I think I was an idiot to consider that.
This Komatsu Mio person doesn’t look like a bad person, she looks bright and bubbly like blue sky, but she’s not the type of person I am very good at.
「Shiori-chan, try saying “Mio”.」
They say the bad shopkeepers don’t like to give up.
And by the way, beyond friendly, her distance is bugging .
Why is it that all of Sendai-san’s friends seem to believe that no one hates them?
「Uhh, Mio-san. How did you know my na?」
I will take her opinion and call her by her given na, but avoid calling her by her family na. If I call her Mio even once, she is likely to call Shiori, and I should deflect the conversation.
I know that she probably knows my na because Sendai-san told her, and she must know my face because she showed her a picture or sothing, but there is nothing else to talk about.
「Because I heard it from Hazuki.」
The words ca back as expected, and I resent Sendai-san.
If Sendai-san had not told about Komatsu-san—— err, Mio-san in the first place, this would not have happened. No, I didn’t co here because I care about her. It doesn’t matter what Sendai-san said about Mio-san.
「Shiori-chan, you don’t want to call Mio that much?」
Mio says ruefully.
「We’ve just t.」
「Is that so? Then, just call Mio-san for now. I’ll call you by your na when we get to know each other better. Oh, but let’s not use honorifics. Let’s not use honorifics, Shiori-chan.」
I don’t want to say I understand, and if I say I understand, she’ll say it’s an honorific.
What should I say then?
Stuck for an answer and searching for Sendai-san with only my eyes, I hear a slightly low voice.
「Hey, hey, don’t bully the custor.」
「Ah, Senpai.」
As if being followed by Mio-san, I looked at the owner of the voice, and the mory of when I ca to this café with Maika ca back to my mind.
This person was a slightly scary looking custor who was talking with Sendai-san.
She is a regular custor here, and I am pretty sure that she is the senior who introduced Sendai-san to the part-ti tutoring job.
What I rembered was not funny, and my brow almost wrinkled. I tug my bangs deceptively and then drink from a pretty glass of water.
「So, Miyagi-chan. Are you living with Sendai-chan?」
Mio-san also abruptly says sothing that she never said.
Huh.
Strange.
I’m not surprised that this senior knows my na, but I’m not surprised that the inaccurate words ca out.
I wonder what Sendai-san is telling this person about our situation.
「Huh? I heard from Hazuki that Shiori-chan is her roommate, but do you live together?」
「Miyagi-chan, how was that?」
I hear a very gentle voice.
But I am scared because she looks at with narrowed eyes.
「We’re just sharing a room.」
My voice was quieter than I thought it would be, but I corrected the wrong perception.
「Miyagi-chan, I’d like to hear more interesting answers.」
「I don’t know any interesting answers…」
「Senpai. You’re making Shiori-chan feel troubled. Let’s ask sothing easier to answer. For example, why you share a room with Hazuki, or about Hazuki in high school. Was Hazuki popular in high school, after all?」
My ears twitched at the sound of Mio’s voice and my heart pulsated.
Even in high school.
That ans Sendai-san is popular in college as well.
I knew it would be so, but until now I had been able to just imagine it. And yet, Mio-san’s words have confird that this is so, and I begin to worry about various things that I have pretended not to see until now.
I wondered what kind of person that person was and how she responded to them.
Things that I didn’t want to think about co up from the back of my mind and I find it hard to breathe, as if the oxygen has beco thinner.
I look down at the nu and breathe in and out quietly to drive away the nonsense that occupies most of my thoughts, but the oxygen is still thin and I hold my throat.
Café latte.
Cafe mocha.
Matcha latte.
As my eyes followed the nu in an attempt to distract myself, an interesting voice rang in my ears.
「Mio, the manager wants to see you. Please return to your seat, Noto-senpai.」
I removed my hand from my throat, looks up lazily, and sees Sendai-san standing there with a stranger’s face.
「Hazuki, oops. You got horns.」
When Mio-san was exaggeratedly scared, Sendai-san snapped back,「It’s mot growing.」
「Beautiful waitress, you can at least tolerate the move.」
「I can’t. Senpai, please return to your seat quickly.」
「No choice then. I’ll go back.」
Noto-san, her senior, reluctantly returns to her seat.
「Shiori-chan, you want cheesecake and tea set, right?」
When asked by Mio-san, who seed to have rembered my order, and I answered「Yes,」and her cheerful voice replied,「Roger!」
「Then, see you.」
I don’t know what it was again, but Mio-san said happily and disappeared into the back of the store. Then, Sendai-san, who was the last one left, stared at and let out a lower-than-usual voice.
「…Miyagi, you let her called you “Shiori-chan”?」
「I don’t know. She just started saying it on her own. She suddenly wants to call Shiori, and it’s exhausting.」
「Did you make her call you Shiori?」
「I didn’t make her call Shiori, so she called Shiori-chan…… I didn’t say that was okay either.」
「And now?」
「What about now?」
「About the Shiori.」
「I wouldn’t let her call that. In general, Sendai-san’s friends are——」
I don’t care what I say to Sendai-san, but it’s not good to speak ill of her friends. I know that much, so I swallow the words I am about to say and gulp down a glass of water.
「You can go on and say it.」
「It’s not a big deal, so it’s fine.」
「I want to hear and learn about your impressions of Mio and my Senpai.」
「…They’re too sociable.」
In case she’s wondering, I’ll give her my impression of the two of them in an oblique way.
「Mio is a little too much, but not that crazy.」
「…I don’t think they’re usually like that.」
I think she lives in a different world from Sendai-san, who is always around people and can talk to anyone in a friendly manner. We don’t seem to agree with each other.
「I wonder. I an, it’s normal to talk to friends of friends in a friendly way, even if it’s only to varying degrees.」
「So people in the world aren’t normal like that.」
「Well, maybe that’s true. Oh, right. Miyagi, what did you ask for?」
Sendai-san puts a period on the pointless discussions that have been going on parallel lines and changes the subject.
「Cake.」
「I see. Well, when you’re done eating that, wait here for a minute.」
「Why?」
「I’m finishing early today, so let’s go ho together.」
「It’s fine. I’ll go ho alone.」
I had heard before I left ho that her part-ti job would end early, but I didn’t co to the café because I wanted to go ho with her. Besides, if I stayed here leisurely, I would be asked a lot of questions again, and I don’t think I want to stay long.
「It’s alright. It’s the end of the year. You should go ho with .」
「If those people co again, it’s going to be trouble, and I want to go ho first.」
「Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that.」
「Absolutely?」
「Absolutely. I promise you.」
I can hear Sendai-san’s powerful voice, but nothing is absolute. In particular, Mio-san is so close to people that one can only assu that she has no personal space at all, and Noto-san is also very familiar with people. I feel that Sendai-san would easily go beyond the word “absolute” and talk to .
But today is the end of this year.
I can give Sendai-san a chance.
「…I’ll leave as soon as one of those two arrives.」
「I’ll make sure to stop them.」
Sendai-san chuckled as she said this.
Reviews
All reviews (0)