Chapter 111: Don’t Say Weird Things, Kanzaki Sou!

Is this what they call “love at first sight around the corner”?

No, no, no, what am I thinking.

The moment that ridiculous thought popped into her head, Xiao Chun Miura immediately shook her head.

Then, her brain started spinning rapidly, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for her behavior of “wandering around the school building after class instead of going home”.

She couldn’t possibly say,

“I wanted to create a chance encounter with Kanzaki in the Student Council room, but ended up failing.”

Impossible.

She couldn’t say it. There was no way she could say it.

“….Kanzaki-kun.”

Xiao Chun Miura did her best to control her facial expression, trying not to look as weird as she felt.

“I… I just went to the bathroom, and was about to head back.”

The moment she said it, Xiao Chun Miura regretted it.

The excuse she just made up was so clumsy even she wanted to crawl into a hole.

Her shoes were already changed. When did she go to the bathroom?

Xiao Chun Miura hurriedly tried to shift the topic.

“What a coincidence, you haven’t gone home either…?”

“Yeah, I was just about to.”

After saying this, Kanzaki Sou looked at Xiao Chun Miura for a while without speaking.

Then, he just smiled slightly and walked down the steps.

When he reached Xiao Chun Miura, Kanzaki Sou kept a polite but not distant distance.

Very proper.

“I just came from the Student Council, finishing up some paperwork for the sports festival. It took a bit longer than expected.”

“Who?”

Xiao Chun Miura was startled.

“Student Council… wasn’t there no one there?”

The moment she spoke, she regretted it a second time, wanting to bite her own tongue.

She was done for. She’d just exposed herself.

Wasn’t that basically telling him she’d just been to the Student Council?

Xiao Chun Miura immediately averted her eyes. If she met his gaze now, Kanzaki Sou would definitely notice how flustered she was.

— But avoiding his gaze was obvious too.

What was she supposed to do?

Looking at Kanzaki Sou felt wrong, not looking at him felt wrong too.

Seeing her reaction, Kanzaki Sou’s eyes widened a little.

Then, the smile in his eyes grew even clearer.

“Miura-san… did you come looking for me in the Student Council?”

“N-No!”

Xiao Chun Miura’s face turned bright red as she frantically denied it.

“I didn’t come looking for you, Kanzaki-kun! I was just passing by!”

“It was just a coincidence. I wasn’t looking for you.”

She couldn’t even come up with a proper excuse anymore. It was a completely weak denial.

But Kanzaki Sou didn’t seem intent on making Xiao Chun Miura even more uncomfortable.

He kindly changed the subject at just the right moment.

“We were probably both in the Archive Room inside the Student Council room, organizing documents. That’s probably why you didn’t see me.”

“……Eh, so that’s how it was.”

“Yeah, most likely.”

As the atmosphere eased, Kanzaki Sou also seemed relieved.

Then, he pointed towards the main entrance of the school building.

“Since we both haven’t gone home yet by chance… let’s walk together for a bit.”

***

This again.

Xiao Chun Miura walked beside Kanzaki Sou, looking down at the shadows of the two of them stretched out by the setting sun.

Their shadows crisscrossed, separated, then overlapped again on the ground.

She’d walked home with Kanzaki Sou once before, but it already felt like ages ago.

But this time, she just felt nervous and uneasy.

She’d clearly been warned by the system to keep a low profile, and she’d clearly resolved to act like a background character for the next few months.

But…

Kanzaki Sou had suggested it, and she somehow couldn’t refuse.

Was it because, deep down, she didn’t actually want to stay away from him?

That didn’t fit her intentions at all.

“Miura-san.”

“Yes!”

Kanzaki Sou suddenly spoke, and Xiao Chun Miura replied reflexively.

“I heard that at noon today… Haruka came to see you, right?”

“Ah… Yes, she did.”

Hearing Kondo Haruka’s name, Xiao Chun Miura relaxed a little.

For now, Kondo Haruka was a safe topic.

“She… apologized to us.”

“She did.”

There was a hint of relief in Kanzaki Sou’s voice.

Then, he turned to look at Xiao Chun Miura.

“I feel like… you had something to do with that, Miura-san.”

“Eh?”

“I mean, it feels like Haruka has grown a bit.”

Kanzaki Sou fixed his gaze on Xiao Chun Miura.

“After the incident, Haruka’s attitude changed a lot.”

Kanzaki Sou recalled.

“She wasn’t someone who paid much attention to others’ feelings before, and it caused a lot of trouble.”

“But after what happened, she became much gentler.”

“I don’t know exactly why, but…”

He stopped walking, sincerity radiating from his words.

“Thank you, Miura-san.”

“I just felt like I had to say that.”

“–Ah, um.”

Being stared at made Xiao Chun Miura feel uncomfortable, so she looked away toward the power pole by the road.

“I… I’m not sure? But I do feel like Kondo-san was different today…”

“The atmosphere felt different from before.”

She said quietly.

She didn’t mention eavesdropping on Kondo Haruka and Kanzaki Sou’s conversation in the Infirmary, nor that she and Kondo Haruka had talked.

In the end, those things weren’t said for Kanzaki Sou’s sake.

At least, not only for Kanzaki Sou.

So Xiao Chun Miura decided not to tell Kanzaki Sou about it, planning to keep it as a secret in her heart.

Kanzaki Sou smiled, and that smile made him a little hard to read.

But he changed the subject, not giving Xiao Chun Miura time to dwell or question it.

“By the way, now that you’re no longer a Library Committee Member, what do you do with your free time these days, Miura-san?”

He asked as he started walking again.

“Ah, well… Chat with friends, or go home early…”

“I see, that feels very much like you, Miura-san.”

“No… I think it’s pretty normal…”

“–Actually, it feels a little lonely.”

Kanzaki Sou suddenly said.

“–Pfft!”

Xiao Chun Miura almost choked on her own saliva.

Lo…Lonely?

What kind of thing was that to say??

Is that something he should be saying to me?! Huh?

“N-no, sorry, that’s not what I meant.”

Kanzaki Sou seemed to realize the difference between what he meant to say and how it came out, and hurriedly explained.

“I mean…I got used to working with you in the library every day, and suddenly having nothing to do during lunch break feels strange. Like that sense of fulfillment disappeared. You know what I mean?”

“That does make sense…”

“Miura-san was always able to hand me the documents I needed when I needed them, or quietly take care of things when I was overwhelmed.

That sense of ease always made me feel comfortable.”

Xiao Chun Miura’s heart suddenly pounded.

A sense of ease.

Understanding.

Calm down, Xiao Chun Miura, calm down.

I can’t let this continue. I need to steer the conversation back to a safe topic!

“Um, actually Sakura-sensei also said that once things settle down, our shifts might get reinstated…”

She awkwardly changed the subject.

“Yeah, I hope so.”

Kanzaki Sou nodded. He didn’t seem to notice how flustered the girl was, but he also didn’t continue the dangerous topic from earlier.

The two of them walked on with their own thoughts, and before they knew it, they’d arrived at the Store Street in front of the station.