Volume 3 Chapter 3 Part 4
「I tell them that your face is burning red ‘cause of your fever, and that your condition is really bad, and they tell me to let you sleep here!? What’s with your family!?」
Ayame: 『I told my father that I might spend the night at your place since I was going to take care of you ‵”(*´ ∀ `*)ﾉ *kya kya*』
As usual, I had no clue what was going on. Maybe it was because she didn’t have the strength to sit up anymore, but Tateishi had fallen prostrate herself on the table, all while typing on her phone at the same time. Her cold would only get worse the longer this dragged on.
I wrapped her arms around my shoulders and moved to pull her to the bed in the Western-style room. Perhaps due to how little energy she had left, Tateishi kept nearly slipping out of my grasp despite my best efforts to move her.
Ah screw it. I’ll do it this way.
「Kya-」
In swift one motion, I picked up Tateishi bridal style. She barely responded, letting out only the tiniest of whimpers. My strength had increased along with my level. As I predicted, it really was that simple. My power-up had shortened the amount of time I could enjoy the feeling of Tateishi’s stockings rubbing against my hand, but right now, I had to get her to the bed as fast as possible.
After placing her on the bed, I checked her condition.
Ah. She was staring at me wearing a horrified expression. And her eyes were slightly tear-stained as well…
Well, that was understandable. I had just forcibly carried a helpless, feverish high school girl who could barely move onto my bed. I didn’t have another choice, even if she glared at me like that.
I mean… I didn’t have a choice, right? I couldn’t just leave her collapsed on the table. And from brief conversation I’d had with Tateishi’s father, I didn’t imagine him to be the most responsible parent. If I called him, he’d probably just say something like “If there are any problems, I’ll just go there and ‘HA!’ so no need to worry!” [1. TL Note: Another joke about T-san. Like last chapter, this refers to a monk who can solve all problems by yelling HA!]
As Tateishi continued to stare up at me, her eyes narrowed into slits, I noticed her lips opening and closing. She appeared to be saying something, but her voice was too quiet to make out any words. No doubt she was throwing profanities at me.
Just when I’d lost all hope of recovering the situation, advice streamed into my ear from the Shizuku-earphone.
「Master. I believe that Tateishi said something about her smartphone.」
That’s right! Her smartphone! Earlier, when I’d picked up Tateishi bridal style, her smartphone had fallen out of her grasp, probably because of her lack of strength.
Dashing out of the room, I quickly retrieved the device and handed it back to Tateishi. She immediately seemed to brighten up as her fingers flew across the screen.
Ayame: 『Pushing me on the bed so suddenly… Suzuki you *geh* Σ( ´ Д ` (〇=( ´ ∀\ *) *jeez, pervert!!*』[2. TL Note: The kaomoji is one person punching the other while shouting ‘pervert,’ in case it was confusing.]
As I read the message, I felt a wave of exhaustion pass through my body, and I sat heavily onto the bed, nearly falling into it.
The next thing I knew, Tateishi had fallen fast asleep. A small part of her looked pained, but mostly, she seemed content, a gentle smile spread across her face.
For the time being, I should heat up the Western-style room. I should also increase the humidity, but I didn’t have a humidifier stored anywhere. Instead, I decided to soak some towels in hot water and line the room with them. At the same time, I dipped a towel in cold water and lay it across Tateishi’s forehead.
「She might be smiling in her sleep, but her fever is terrible. Her forehead is burning.」
「Yeah.」
It seems Shizuku was also concerned for her. But for now, this was all I could do.
When I’d calmed down a little, I remembered something that had been bothering me for a while.
「Hey, Shizuku.」
「What is it?」
「D-do you think that Tateishi… likes me?」
The thought had crossed my mind, but I’d refused to believe it. To begin with, I’d never been popular in my life. So it obviously made no sense. But… I couldn’t come up with a better explanation of Tateishi’s behavior. So I asked Shizuku.
「Of course she likes you.」
「Ehhh? Really?」
Shizuku spoke with utter confidence. 「Master is the coolest person ever, so of course she does!」
N-nah. Shizuku was just biased. Following her opinions wasn’t going to be helpful.
From the very beginning, ever since I moved to Tokyo and started working part-time at the family restaurant, Tateishi had been working there already, and took up the role as my senpai.
「I sucked at the job initially, and I doubt I made a good first impression. But let’s just assume that she does like me. That’d explain why she came over to my home. But then the question is, why does she like me?」
「She’s always liked you~」
Nah, that couldn’t be it. The reason… ah.
「Oh Shizuku. You mentioned something about relationship advice with Tateishi, right?」
「Yes.」
「Do you remember what she asked about?」
「Yes, I remember it perfectly.」
「Then, tell me as detailed as you can.」
「Understood.」
Saying that, Shizuku transformed into my figure. Probably to perform an accurate reenactment.
「Let’s do this in the living room. I don’t want Tateishi waking up and seeing us.」I said.
「Understood!」
Once we changed locations, Shizuku began to perform the reenactment, comforting an imaginary Tateishi.
Apparently, there was someone that Tateishi liked, but due to their age difference, he hadn’t taken much notice of her.
She hadn’t explicitly stated who that person was, but from what I gathered, it was probably the manager. Wait- was she talking about the guy from earlier in his 40’s who was barely clinging onto his position as a manager…?
But if you looked at the situation objectively, it all made sense. It also helped that Shizuku was a stellar acting. In the times where Tateishi would speak, she’d mimic her voice in my body, so the whole thing felt as if I was watching a masterfully designed play.
「Oh that reminds me. When Tateishi was teaching me the basics of working at the restaurant, she mentioned that manager did the same thing for her.」I recalled.
The manager probably took great care in making Tateishi feel welcome. I want to point out that Tateishi didn’t nearly go to the same lengths though.
At any rate… The ‘me’ I was staring at right now looked rather attractive. It’s not like Shizuku had changed my face structure or anything. It was still distinctly ‘me.’
So obviously, ‘I’ wasn’t the striking image of beauty or good looks.
But the dignified expression, the smart gestures, and way of speaking all created an attractive image. ‘I’ continued to comfort the miserable Tateishi. It certainly was a favorable impression.
As I watched Shizuku’s recreation of me, I realized something. That this attractive ‘me’ was the person that Shizuku saw me as.
At that realization, I nearly teared up. Along with the embarrassment of being viewed like that, I felt a surge of joy. I couldn’t afford to betray Shizuku’s expectations of me.
Eventually, the reenactment concluded. Shizuku returned to her usual white slime form.
「Shizukuuu!!!」
「Kya- what is it?」
Without even thinking, I embraced Shizuku.
「Shizuku, Shizuku, Shizukuuuu!」
Unable to contain my emotions, I buried my face into Shizuku and rubbed my cheeks against her.
「Master, Master, Master~~~~~~」
Shizuku responded in kind. Her jiggling felt so nice.
For a while, I did nothing but lose myself in Shizuku’s touch. Eventually, I pulled away and moved my thoughts to Tateishi. Since Shizuku’s performance still left many things unclear.
But honestly, had I gone that crazy just because Shizuku turned into an attractive, cool version of me?
「Oh right. Did you talk to Tateishi at any point after that?」
「Yes. It was when Master was really tired and sleeping in the break room. I was Master’s clothes, so I took over from there.」
Like most days, I’d gone to work that day with a very inadequate amount of sleep.
And without me realizing it, Shizuku, disguised as my clothes, had assumed the role of me.
「Can you do a reenactment of that time as well?」
「Yes!」
Shizuku transformed into the me from the break room.
Dark, heavy bags accented my droopy, half-open eyelids. Since I’d fallen asleep, my neck was craned in a completely different direction, dangling without any support.
After seeing myself in this state, I didn’t blame Kuno for thinking I was possessed by a spirit.
Of course, the current me and the Shizuku me were identical in face and body structure, but we still looked like two totally different people.
As I watched slightly aghast, the zombie me and Tateishi began to converse.
Apparently, Tateishi had given up on pursuing the manager.
Instead, she had found someone else she liked. But she had no confidence in herself.
Wait, wait, wait.
Now, Tateishi was saying stuff like 「Hypothetically speaking, Suzuki, if it was you, do you think you could fall in love with me?」…
「Isn’t that a roundabout way that women tell you that?」I said, hardly believing my ears.
「A roundabout way? Tell you what, Master?」
Ah…
Shizuku was really clever, but her knowledge of humans was far from complete.
Her main source of information was the ‘forbidden texts,’ after all.
「W-well, it’s whatever. How’d you respond?」
…I-it was hopeless. Despite my zombie-like appearance, I heard my own, cool and suave voice reply in the affirmative to Tateishi’s question.
「H-hold on, Shizuku.」
「What is it?」
「Can you turn into the Tateishi from that time as well?」
「Yes!」
Tateishi’s face was bright red as she avoided my gaze, staring at the floor while mumbling.
Look up! Up! I wanted to scream at the past Tateishi. The guy you’re talking to might have a cool voice, but his eyes are dead and his neck is drooping to his chest- he’s literally a zombie!
And that wasn’t the end of it. Following her question came countless more, as if she was reading off a list. With each item starting with「Hypothetically speaking, Suzuki, if it was you…」- ‘would you go out with me?’ ‘would you consider marriage?’ ‘how many kids would you want?’
And to each item Shizuku coolly and confidently answered in the affirmative. To the question about children, her answer was ‘any amount is fine.’
Shizuku’s vision of me was unparalleled.
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