ODL – Chapter  50 – Rinjou Shizuka’s this and that

[Shizuka’s PoV]

────Dear everyone who lives in this world, how are you all doing? It’s the season of drastic temperature changes so I hope none of you have caught a cold or anything. I, Rinjou Shizuka, am quite concerned about that.

Now, changing the subject…

In Japan, there exists a term called “Koi no Yamai”, aka “Lovesickness”. It refers to the condition where someone longs for and loves a specific person so much that it feels like an illness. When I first heard this expression, I thought it was a clever way to put it.

… Right now, I’m holding Souma-kun’s hand.

Upon discovering that Souma-kun and Mafuyu were holding hands, I was shocked, shuddered, and panicked. Even though I was flustered, I somehow managed to successfully hold hands with Souma-kun. Perhaps the reason I made such a fuss was that I couldn’t bear the embarrassment.

It seems that Souma-kun thinks of me as ‘the opposite of femininity’, but I am, in a way, a woman too. I have a maiden’s heart within me. As a result, I was scolded by Souma-kun for making a fuss, but compared to the warmth of this hand, the punishment felt light.

Now, why am I holding hands with Souma-kun in the first place? Why was I unable to stand seeing Mafuyu and Souma-kun holding hands?

The reason is… well, it’s straightforward: lovesickness.

Look at me, I’m in love with someone. I’m indeed a girl. Yay!

Anyways, seeing my love rival, Mafuyu, holding hands with Souma-kun is a big no-no in my book. It’s like a Type 1 combat readiness alert¹ with flashing red signals. I don’t think there’s any chance that Mafuyu and Souma-kun are actually dating, but I’ll need to question them thoroughly about this later. Chances are that Mafuyu forced him to hold hands, right?

“…Oi. What are you doing?” (Souma)

Without even greeting him, I forcefully held Souma-kun’s hand, and he spoke with a tone that didn’t sound too angry but he did use angry words. I don’t think he’s actually that mad. I mean, there’s no reason to be angry for holding my hand, right?

“There’s no reason why you can hold hands with Mafuyu and not with me.” (Shizuka)

Even though I tried to make it sound casual… deep down, I was still a little scared.

I mean, there was like a one in a hundred million… no, more like a one in a hundred billion chance that he would say something like, ‘Sorry, Shizuka, I’m dating Mafuyu-chan.’ So, I was a bit scared.

“That doesn’t mean that you have to hold my hand… How am I suppose to move like this?” (Souma)

“Well~ I’m good at taking the lead, so don’t worry.” (Shizuka)

But it seemed like Souma-kun really didn’t have a reason to hold Mafuyu’s hand and not mine, and that made me really happy. I might have sounded a bit too cheerful, and my voice might have been a bit bubbly. But I was just that happy.

I mean, it’s Souma-kun’s hand, you know… It’s quite warm.

“Shizuka, if you’re going to be a nuisance, you can leave. We’re having curry today, so you don’t need to come with us.” (Mafuyu)

Mumumu~!

If this were a game, he would have already been on my route², but in reality, it doesn’t always work out that way. A troublesome character appears. Mafuyu was actively trying to pry Souma-kun away from me.

“Onii-chan, please send this troublemaker back to the apartment.” (Mafuyu)

“Souma-kun, kick this cheeky little sister out.” (Shizuka)

A showdown over Souma-kun. It feels like we’re being watched by the people around us, but… I’m sorry, please forgive us just this once. Right now, we can’t afford to think about that.

“…Ah, that’s it! You two, just stay quiet and follow me!” (Souma)

However, our catfight came to an end with Souma-kun’s shouting.

“…Kyuuun.” (Shizuka)

“…Suki.” (Mafuyu)

Standing side by side behind Souma-kun, our cheeks turned red. We exchanged quick glances at each other… and then immediately averted our gazes. It’s strange how there’s a certain sense of comradeship between those who like the same person, isn’t it?

And then we successfully gathered the ingredients for curry and lined up at the cash register. The cashier seemed to know about Souma-kun and Mafuyu and had a big smile when our eyes met. I couldn’t help but wonder about the meaningful glance she gave me.

“…Oh? Is it not just the usual lovey-dovey couple today? What’s going on today?! Surrounded by flowers in both hands, aren’t you quite lucky, young man!” (Cashier lady)

The cashier lady, named Sato-san, started teasing Souoma-kun. Even in this brief moment, I could tell she was a cheerful and friendly person.

…………Hm?

Didn’t she just say something outrageous?

…………Lovey-dovey?

…………Couple!?

“…Souma-kun, what does she mean by ‘the usual lovey-dovey couple’?” (Shizuka)

“Hyii…” (Souma)

As I stared at him intently, Souma-kun let out a pitiful voice and trembled. Come on, you better have a good explanation for this.

“…………Hmph.” (Mafuyu)

Mafuyu directed a triumphant look toward me. I will remember that. I will definitely get back at you one day.

…………That evening, for no particular reason, I decided to drink a Yakult 1000 right away. I fell asleep quickly, so I couldn’t really tell if it had any effect.

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TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

Well… this is rare. A Shizuka PoV chapter of the same event. 

I’ll never get tired of seeing Shizuka being so narcissistic on the inside.

Also hooray 50 chapters. We are halfway through.

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Footnote:

1. Probably referring to the defense readiness condition 1 (DEFCON 1)? DEFCON 1 signals the beginning of nuclear war or something.
2. Like how in visual novels you make choices and you end up at one of the heroines route.