LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 17_ Cold Night
“What are you doing. Why are you doing that pointless activity.”
“Ah? Oh, Riku~! Look at this. I drew this dress I saw on television. The girl who was wearing it looked so pretty~! Do you think I’d look good in it?”
Her drawing skills were to be commended. Aside from that, I saw nothing of interest in the specific piece of art she made.
“I want to learn how to dance as well~! Do you think I can be an idol as well when I grow up? You’d be my fan, right, Riku?”
She jumped up and twirled around, happily and naively showing me some dance moves. I couldn’t help but notice that she was able to replicate some difficult-looking techniques perfectly—without any practice.
“Don’t waste your time with stuff like that. The next test is in two days.”
“Aw~. What’s the point of all of these tests anyways? I don’t want to study, I just want to sing and dance. Studying is so boring…”
“That’s irrelevant. If there’s a test, you study. It doesn’t matter whether it’s fun or not.”
“Eh~. Maybe I’d study harder if they would get me a cute dress to wear. I don’t like these robes that we have. They’re too plain.”
“That’s not for you to decide. Where did you even see a television?”
“Ah, I peeked into the director’s room~ Hehe.”
This girl was a prodigy in the most literal sense. She was capable of learning anything within seconds of witnessing it. It was a standard that I couldn’t even hope to reach.
Still, she wouldn’t be able to survive in this place—not with that attitude.
However, not even I’d be able to predict what’d happen to her. If only I had known, maybe I would’ve stopped it. Well, who knows if I would’ve.
***
“Mizutaka-kun, what did you think of the movie?”
Miyazaki-san looked up at me.
“It wasn’t too bad. I got bored whenever you weren’t in the scene.”
“Ehe~ I was worried you weren’t going to like it.”
• ───────────────── •
The two of us made our way back through the city centre. The awkward tension between us had subsided for the most part. We were able to talk about some different topics pretty casually.
The sky was beginning to darken as the day came to a close.
The two of us were still strolling around outside, talking about whatever random topics came to mind. It was comforting, walking around the outskirts of the mall, past all the shops which had closed their shutters for the day. It was dark enough so all the cars that drove by would illuminate the area before eventually disappearing into the distance.
“…did your director really tell you to do typing exercises?” I asked.
“Yeah! He was like, ‘you need to act like you’re actually good at coding, so take this course over the weekend’. It was so hard! I spent almost six hours just typing on my computer that weekend.”
“Aah, well, did you get better?”
“I managed to get my word count from forty to eighty words per minute. In the end, he just edited out the clips of me typing! There was only like a five-second shot of me typing.”
“That’s such a shame. On the bright side, I’m sure it’ll be a cool party trick.”
“Eighty words per minute is definitely not fast enough to be a party trick. I saw people typing at over a hundred-and-fifty words per minute.”
“But a cute girl typing at that speed is pretty impressive.”
She stuck out her tongue at me.
“Is that pity? If I wanted to, I could train myself to type much faster! I only had one weekend to practice, you know?!”
“Aha, I’m sure you could.”
She playfully punched me in the shoulder. Looking out into the distance, she took a breath.
“Still… today was more fun than I expected,” she sighed.
“I’m glad. If you’re ever tired from work, we can hang out and relax together.”
“Haa, that does sound nice.”
…
Eventually, it got dark enough so that no one could see us. Leaning over, I put my hand on Miyazaki-san’s face.
“Huh…?! W-what are you doing?”
Slowly, I pulled her mask down.
“I just wanted to see your face properly.”
I could feel Miyazaki-san’s face heating up. It was too dark for me to really see it that well, even without her mask on.
“You’re a greedy boy, aren’t you?”
“Maybe I am.”
Regaining her composure, the two of us continued to stroll. Walking side-by-side, we embraced the fresh, night-time air. Looking at her posture, it seemed that she was relatively happy.
Suddenly, I felt her grab my arm.
“What’s up?”
“You said ‘feel free to grab my arm whenever you feel like it’ during the dating show, didn’t you?”
“That was if you were my girlfriend.”
“Too bad, I want to do it right now.”
I tugged back a little bit, but she held on tight. No one could see us, and I could hardly see the path in front of me. I could feel the warm embrace of her body as she pressed up against me. Her hair was drooped down my arm, swaying against my skin.
“You’re pretty greedy as well.”
“Oh? I’m the type of person to do whatever I want.”
“It sure is lucky that you’re a celebrity then.”
“It’s not luck, you know?”
We did a full lap of the block, doing nothing but talking and walking. In the corner of my eye, I could see the bricks from the building beside me. Like black imprints in the wall, they lie devoid of light.
“Ah, I’m sure you’ve got to get going now. Won’t your parents get concerned?”
“I told them that I was out partying with friends.”
“Oh? Does that mean I’m your friend, then?”
She poked my face.
“Don’t act all friendly with me, commoner,” she teased with a deep voice.
“That phrase doesn’t fit your image.”
“What’s your image of me?”
“An air-headed little girl.”
“Hey!”
She poked me again, this time with a little more strength.
“Is your home near here?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll walk you home. Let’s go.”