Chapter 31 You Arent Lame

Asanagis family summoned me. I didnt know why they would call me this early in the morning, but Id bet it has something to do with causing them so much trouble.

After cleaning up, I steeled myself and left the house with Asanagi.

This was all so sudden, I didnt have the time to prepare myself properly. I tried to dress up properly, but I only have cheap clothes that are function over form, so everything I tried on looked really lame.

Ive been meaning to tell you this for a while, but Your fashion sense is bad. I know that you dont care all that much since you dont leave your house often, but why does everything you choose look lame on you? Seriously, your fashion sense is something else.

As you said, I dont care much about it. Besides, it isnt all bad. You liked the sweatshirt from last night, didnt you?

That ones an exception. The rest of your clothes are either black or gray, whats with that? Are you trying to appeal to the Lord of Darkness or something?

Ill have you know that I graduated from my Chuuni phase last year. Besides, I have white clothes too!

Yes, sure, but still Agh, the next time you go shopping for clothes, make sure to send me pictures first.

So you can tell me not to buy them?

Of course, your fashion sense is that bad. You probably bought those from a pawn shop or something anyway.

I mean, its cheap

Well, if she were to leave me on my own, I would probably leave the house dressed in all-black, so I decided to leave everything to her instead.

But, seriously, humans are such inefficient creatures. They have to go through all this trouble just to go outside.

Ah, by the way, what about your mom? Should I leave a note for her?

I already did, Ive been summoned by Asanagis mom, dont look for me.

What are you, a runaway child? Also, mom isnt mad at you, dont treat this as your death sentence or something.

By the way, her dad was an SDF member and he had been busy with work, so he rarely came home. (T/N: If you dont know, SDF is Self-Defense Force. Japans equivalent of the army, kinda, since they cant have one.)

In other words, I evaded certain death.

I didnt have a daughter myself, so I wouldnt know how a parent would feel, but if my daughter came to my house early in the morning with a boy, I would definitely kill him.

Anyway, we walked side by side through the residential area while exchanging jokes.

I was wearing my casual clothes while Asanagi was wearing her uniform. It felt strange to walk with her like this.

I turned my gaze to her.

She said that she just woke up and only lightly dressed herself up, but she still looked beautiful. Her skin looked smooth and the morning sun enhanced her beauty.

She was pretty to begin with, but since this was Asanagi we were talking about, she definitely put in a lot of effort to take care of herself.

After all, even though she acted sloppily around me, she acted properly everywhere else.

The Asanagi Umi that everyone knew was the hard-working girl that put her all into everything she did.

Mm? Whats up, Maehara? Still nervous?

No, Ive calmed down

Then, why are you staring at me like that? You fell for me or something?

No. Well, I do like you As a friend though.

A-ah okay, thank you

Mm? Whats wrong?

N-no, nothing Anyway, whats up?

It was not nothing obviously, but if I were to push for an answer, shell hit me, so Ill back off.

Well, its not a big deal But, when were walking side by side like this, dont you think it feels unbalanced, somehow?

I dont know if its because of the sunlight, but Asanagi looked especially radiant today.

Her appearance on the outside is already amazing, and while Id never say it to her face, she was beautiful on the inside as well. Its no wonder she became the center of the class along with Amami-san.

And then there is me.

Putting my status as a loner aside, I know that the current me looks really gloomy with the out-of-the-place clothes Im wearing. Theres also the fact that I keep my gaze on the asphalt all the time, adding more to my already gloomy atmosphere.

Of course I knew that Asanagi wouldnt mind. She is that big-hearted. Thats why I got along well with her in the first place.

Youre still worrying over what the rest of the class had been saying?

Mm Well, to be fair, this is the first time Ive had this much attention. Its natural to be worried, no?

Not worrying about it would be easier said than done. After all, they left their negative feelings bare for me to feel, so it was hard to ignore them.

I didnt know who started this, but lately, baseless, unpleasant rumors about me spread to the other classes.

The trigger of this was the fact that I got along better with Amami-san recently.

Normally, Id just dismiss those rumors as the wailing of the losers who couldnt even bring themselves to talk to a girl, but still, sometimes those thoughts would creep into my mind and make me feel miserable. This just happened last night when I was having trouble sleeping.

Im such a mess

I vented everything to Asanagi.

Ah The conversation turned heavy this early in the morning because of me, huh? Sorry.

Its fine Also, dropping this kind of topic out of nowhere should be a no-no in any kind of circumstances though, not just early in the morning.

Right?

Seriously, Im so inconsiderate.

Hmm Maehara, turn around.

Hah? What are you on about

Ei!

The moment I turned my head around, I felt a slight touch on my forehead.

It was a gentle head flick from Asanagi.

What the hell are you doing?!

Nothing ~ Its just you looked kinda cool for a second there, so I need to bring the uncool Maehara back to restore balance to this world.

Are you kidding me?

What is she on about? Cool? When Im venting my inferiority complex like this? Is she okay?

However, Asanagis face looked serious as she continued her words.

Well, I was exaggerating when I called you cool, but hey, what you were doing wasnt lame or anything like that, you know? Admitting your insecurities like that Not everyone could do it even if their lives depended on it

Is that so?

Mhm. I mean, look at the people who mocked you. They did that because they couldnt admit their insecurities. Thats why they grouped up with other similar-minded people and talked sh*t behind other peoples backs. Ive been with Yuu for a while, and their behavior is familiar to me.

Even within the center of the class, which seemed peaceful on the outside, there should still be some kind of conflict hidden behind the scene. Asanagis position as Amami-sans best friend might have sparked other peoples jealousy, huh?

Maehara, you might think of yourself as a lame person or something, but I dont think so. You arent lame, not at all. Of course, Im talking about your personality, not your looks, thats a whole different story.

Shut it.

Hehehe.

Asanagi placed her hand on my head and gently stroked it.

What are you doing?

No ~ thing. Your head is just in the right place for a head pat.

How does that make any sense?

Well, I didnt mind her petting my head like this, so I decided to let her do whatever she wanted.

If you think that you being with me is unbalanced or whatever, Ill help you fix that. After all, the only unbalanced thing about our relationship is our look. Fixing your appearance to be more presentable is nothing for me.

Really? Then, if I ask you to turn me into an ikemen, youll be able to do it?

Sure, I know a good place. Lets see eyelids, chin, nose, and body modification Yeah, give me two million right now and Ill fix everything for you.

So in the end, its all about money, huh?

What are you on about, of course its all about money. You know those pesky people who badmouthed you behind your back? Yeah, slap them with a thick wad of cash and theyll shut their stinky holes up.

Oi oi, you sound like a massive jerk right now, stop it.

Muahahaha! Ill take that as a compliment.

In the end, our conversation spiraled back to our usual silly banter, but thanks to that, I felt a lot better.

Another thing became clear.

It didnt matter what others said, Asanagi was my friend, and they wont be able to change that fact.