Chapter 56 Send a message to the girl part 1

It was the evening after school.

Shijouin-san and I were in the library together for our work as library committee members.

“It’s always nice to read a light novel with a cool main character. Some of the ones I’ve read in one sitting lately have been great, like The Sorcerer’s Orphan!”
[EDN: Maybe this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorcerous_Stabber_Orphen Not certain though]

“Oh, he’s so cool… Every single line he said when he fought his past self in volume 5 touched my heart, and I fell in love with him so much.”

“Yes, yes, yes! I like that volume very much, too.”

We were sitting across from each other at a table in the library, enjoying a discussion about “Ranobe-” in between our work as book committee members as usual.

It was the perfect time for me to combine my hobby with my love life, and normally I would just soak in the happiness, but today was a little different.

Today, I had a mission to complete.

(Today is the… day I have to say it out loud…!)

My heart was pounding and I was trying to find the right time.

What I have to say is simple, and the content is not particularly strange now that I can have a light chat with Shijouin-san like this.

All you have to do is say one word — tell her what it is.

(I probably should have asked her earlier, but when I told her… that I hadn’t actually asked her yet, she was all over me…) [TLN: Basically he told his sis that he hasn’t asked shijouin-san yet and his sis laughing at him]

All I can think of is the disgusted faces of those close to me who know about my love life.

“What? You haven’t told her yet? …What are you doing, bro?”

“Are you serious? …You are getting along so well too…”

“Yes…? I’m sure you’ve had plenty of opportunities to ask her this before, but what the hell are you doing?”

“Oh, you haven’t done that yet! What, is this a joke?”

These are the words of ridicule I received from my sister Kanako, Ginji, Kazamihara, and Hatsuhashi.

And objectively speaking, they are the ones who are reasonable, and it is my fault for not being able to ask her about it yet.

(But I get nervous when I’m about to bring it up. …I was a shady guy in my previous life, and I never had the chance to ask a girl this.)

However, there is no point in agonizing over it forever.

It’s not my style in this life to be afraid to step away from what I need to do.

“That… Shijouin-san. Actually, I’d like to ask you something.”

“Ah, yes. What is it, Nihama-kun?”

“That …actually, m-… m-…”

“M…?”

Oh, shit. I’m not a sheep. What am I babbling about?

Don’t be afraid! Trust the relationship you’ve built up!
Be honest about your desire to take the next step with Shijouin-san!

“That…! Could I have Shijouin’s cell phone number and email address…?”
TLN: why not just confess to her smh. Confession chapter when? EDN: Welcome to the world of romcom

After getting over my nervousness, I finally said it out loud.

Up until now, I could always meet Shijouin-san when I came to school.

We were in the same class, so we could have as many meetings as we wanted, whether it was for study groups or library committee work.

So I didn’t feel particularly inconvenienced — but the semester was almost over and summer vacation was coming.

It was only recently that I realized that if we didn’t exchange numbers and e-mail addresses before the end of the school year, we wouldn’t have any contact for about a month.

(If we didn’t have much of a relationship, asking this would be nothing more than a pick-up line. …But now that Shijouin-san’s perception of me has been upgraded to “friend,” there should be no problem… Right…!?)

However, my heart was racing as I said, “Tell me your e-mail address” for the first time in my life.

Those youkas who can hear such things as if they were breathing are too amazing.

And as for Shijouin-san’s reaction…

「…」

What? What? Why is Shijouin-san frozen in shock…?

Is she possibly troubled by my request-

“Yes, yes! Yes, yes, yes!!! I’d love to!”

“Whoa!”

As I looked at her with anxious eyes, Shijouin-san suddenly pulled her body close and spoke up. What the hell is this momentum?

“Oh, I never thought I’d have more friends to exchange addresses with in such a short time. …I’m finally getting over being a lonely woman…!”

“What? Oh…”

Seeing Shijouin-san rejoicing as if she had found salvation, I remembered what she had said to me at the Shijouin house.

She said… that since entering high school, she has had shallow friendships with those around her, but no one has been able to get along with her beyond a certain point because of the gap between them.

“Maybe you’ve… hardly ever exchanged addresses with your friends before, or…?”

“Yes… I’m ashamed to say that’s true… In the first year of school, the girls in the class could not help but have safe conversations with each other. …While others were exchanging addresses, only one was left behind…”

Perhaps remembering the lonely days of that time, Shijouin-san said with tears in her eyes.

“In manga and light novels, high school girls get along with each other quickly, but in reality, it’s tough. …Until recently, every time I looked at my clean address book, which only had my parents’ registration, I felt depressed…”

“So, that’s it…”

It’s common for students with poor communication skills to have trouble fitting in and making friends in class. …On the other hand, it’s rare for a student to be shunned at a level where his or her communication skills, good looks, and high social status at home are too aligned to not even exchange addresses.

But that means that …Shijouin-san was always smiling and cheerful to me and other people in my previous life even though she was lonely like that.

…Are you a saint?

“Oh, but only recently did Kazamihara-san and Fumihashi-san suggest that I register my address! I was so happy that I… spilled a few tears and made them very upset…”

“That’s why I’m worried…”

I’ve heard that Shijouin-san’s friendships were shallow, but I didn’t expect that she even had the attribute of being a loner who was sad about the number of registered addresses on her cell phone.”

I wonder if this is one of the reasons why she likes the unity and harmony of the class…

“Then let’s exchange them right away! Let’s do it now!”

“Oh, yeah, take care!”

I brought the excited Shijouin-san’s phone closer to mine, and we exchanged addresses using infrared communication, something we don’t see much anymore in the future age of smartphones.

“Hmmm… I now have my third address! I’m starting to really enjoy my life!”

When I see the innocent smiling face of Shijouin-san, I feel like I’ve done some good deed rather than being happy that I’ve achieved my goal…

“Oh, but… Nihama-kun might be a little special.”

“What…?”

“After all, besides my father, you’re the first man to exchange addresses with me!”

I’ve learned this many times before, but the one person who can say something like that with an innocent smile is Haruka Shijouin.

I’m sure you’re unaware of the… usual, but for a high school boy with a pure heart and a horny body, ‘the first guy’ is just too special…!

“In fact… I’m the same way. I’ve never registered an address with a girl before, except for my family.

“Wow, I didn’t know that! It’s a great privilege!”

I can tell just by looking at her face that she really feels that way, and wasn’t just flattered.

For me, it’s an honor to receive such words.

“Oh, please send me a message when you feel like it! It would be so sad if we exchanged addresses but never used them at all!”

“Oh, yeah! Then I’ll send you the first email as soon as I can this evening!”

“Oh, really? Then I’ll be looking forward to it!”

I jumped at the excuse to send a text, and Shijouin-san responded with a smile.

All right. …… All right, all right!

Not only was I able to get her address, but I was also able to promise to send her an email! I’d say this was the best success imaginable.
(Phew, thank goodness… I saw an article on the internet a long time ago that said if you ask a girl for her address, be prepared to get a roundabout rejection like ‘Sorry, my phone is being repaired’ or ‘I don’t actually have a phone’, but it was totally unnecessary.)

I thought that I had broken through the biggest obstacle of all, and I was happy to have completed the mission and become one step closer to Shijouin-san.
I never imagined that I would be in great agony that night due to my lack of experience.