After school & hot springs PART – 3

After school & hot springs

PART – 3

The next story will be a new chapter.

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Following Kirasaka, we visited a hot spring, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it an inn.

The inn was nostalgic, but spotless and tidy.

　It was easy to imagine that the employees took care of the maintenance on a daily basis.

It was as if the parents of Kirasaka were involved with the facility.

Since it was after school when we visited the inn, we didn’t relax in the lobby, but instead split up into men and women and headed for the bathhouse.

I went into the men’s bath with Yuuto in tow.

The first thought that came to mind was, “Is this really okay to do such a luxurious thing?”

“There’s an open-air bath too!? I’ll go there later.”

“…Yeah.”

Maybe Yuuto next to me didn’t care, he said with a little excitement with his eyes shining.

Well, for today, let’s just think of it as coming to relax our bodies and not dig too deep into unnecessary things.

I decided to enjoy the bath, which was completely empty except for me and Yuuto.

As I finished washing my body and took my first dip in the bath, Yuuto muttered to me.

“In this kind of pattern, hearing the conversation over from the women’s bath or …is standard.

“You’ve been reading too many manga…”

All we could hear was the sound of hot water being poured and our conversation.

The fact that it was just the two of us in such a large hot spring made me feel uncomfortable.

There was also a sauna and a water bath, but I didn’t like them much.

After warming up for a while, we went to the outdoor bath.

“It’s so nice”

“…”

I leaned back and looked up at the sky as I soaked in the hot water.

As summer approaches and the hours of daylight increase, the sky is bright, though still tinged with vermilion.

It felt strange to me that I was here on a weekday, on my way home from school.

If I had come on a holiday, I would have been able to relax from the bottom of my heart.

If I listened carefully, I could even hear the sound of the river flowing.

Maybe I’ll come back next time with Kaede when Mom comes home.

If I do that, I have to ask Kuroi-san about the way to this place.

In the worst case scenario, I can ask Kirasaka and she should tell me right away.

“I’m going to …leave now”

“Why don’t you go a little slower, Minato?”

I feel like I’m going to have a completely long and exhausting bath at this point.

After saying a few words to Yuuto, I left the bathhouse.

When I went out to the changing room, I found a simple change of clothes that hadn’t been there when I came in.

There was also a yukata for rent, but considering that we would be leaving in a bit, it would be a double effort to change.

So I thought I could just change into my uniform again, but I wondered if Kuroi-san had prepared this for me.

The Т-shirt, which was just the right size, had a pattern printed on it with letters.

[Ren LOVE] (Tl/n – 怜LOVE)

“…Can you wear that!”

I immediately threw it on the floor.

When did Kirasaka prepare such a stupid thing!?

As I let out a sigh of dismay, I saw another shirt under it.

I unfolded the other shirt, truly amazed at how normally she prepared another one after it.

[Shizuku LOVE] (Tl/n – 雫愛)

“…It’s just so I have to wear it!”

It’s a pincer attack.

There she was, alone in the changing room, angrily complaining about this prank that even Shizuku was played on.

As it turned out, there were no clothes available for me to change into, so I put on my uniform and went out to the lobby.

There, I found massage machines, vending machines, a simple dining area, and a place where they could play table tennis and other games.

“You should give up now”

“Kirasaka-san, you’re the one who keeps pestering me over and over again”

The two of them, who were sweating a little after wearing their yukata to the hot spring, were playing table tennis against each other as they had talked about at the school.

I don’t know what makes them so passionate, but they can’t afford to lose.

I don’t know the rules, but I wonder if they’re still playing at deuce.

(Tl/n – I ain’t a ping pong expert so here’s what I found on the internet – “In tennis, a deuce is a tie that must be broken by someone scoring two points in a row.”)

Kuroi-san was acting as a referee, smiling beside them, but I wondered what she was enjoying.

I bought a cup of coffee milk a little further away and watched them play their game.

“Oh, so you’re doing it!”

“I don’t think the game is over, though.”

Yuuto appeared with a towel on his head and sat down on the chair next to me, wiping his scraggly wet hair.

He also has a cup of coffee milk in his hand.

Coffee milk after a hot spring is good, isn’t it?

You could say it’s a classic.

I turned my gaze away from Yuuto for a moment, and returned it to the ping-pong table.

I don’t know anything about the techniques, skills, rules, or format of the game except for the simple ones we had in class, but I still know something at least.

It was hard to believe that they were beginners, they were just playing a very advanced game.

To a serious ping-pong player, it’s probably just a rally.

(Tl/n – Consecutive back and forth shots between players)

But to me, their ability to keep rallying at such a high speed is nothing short of amazing.

I can even think of the phrase “waste of talent”

For a while, Yuuto and I stood side by side, waiting for the girls to finish their game.

It’s a good way to pass the time after a bath.

Both of them were absorbed in the game with a serious look in their eyes, as if they were participating in a tournament.

About ten minutes after we started watching the game, we ran out of drinks and were wondering what to buy next when Kuroi-san, who was supposed to be a referee, came up to us and offered us some tea.

“Thank you very much. “

I thanked him and accepted the tea.

Next to me, Yuuto also accepted the tea.

Kuroi-san smiled and turned his eyes to them, especially Kirasaka.

“The young lady really seems to be enjoying herself these days”

“I suppose…”

She even has a change of clothes for people with her name on it.

I think she’s enjoying this situation well enough.

Hearing my reply, Ms. Kuroi gave a small bow to me.

“Everything has happened since I met Shinra-sama …Thank you.”

“…Please stop”

I stood up and asked Kuroi-san to raise his head.

I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to do it.

“…because you met me or whatever, that’s just purely a consequence”

Even if you had met me, you might have ended up differently than you are now at some juncture.

It’s easy to look at the outcome and say that it was inevitable.

It’s against my way of thinking to assume that the current situation was created by a series of coincidences and that she met just one person.

As Kuroi-san said, I’m sure that we’re more than a little involved in the reason why Kiraizaka is enjoying her current life.

But I can’t just nod my head and say it as if I’m the only one.

I’m not sure if he understand my intentions, but Kuroi-san still smiles.

“I know you’re going to say that, Shinra-sama, but please consider this just a thank you from an old man”

“….Well, if that’s the case…”

I’m not sure if he understands how twisted people like me can be, so he thanked me in a way that was hard to refuse.

I’ll take it as an honest thank you for now.

From that point on, I watched the girls, including Kuroi-san.

The two of them certainly have the worst chemistry.

When their eyes meet, they glare at each other, it’s hard to win in a battle of wills like this.

Their specs are similar, so it should be unavoidable.

However, it may be that they are somehow similar to each other.

Because of the relationship between dogs and monkeys, it was possible to get involved in earnest because the eyes were focused only on the bad parts of the other party.

(Tl/n – ‘Dogs & monkeys’ is a phrase meaning having bad relationship with each other.)

There is even a word for it ‘bad friends’.

I think Kuroi-san should be thanking Shizuku, not me.

I look out the window of the strange building, where despite being a large facility, there are only the four of us, Kuroi-san, and the employees.

The sun had completely set, and another day was coming to an end.

Once the girls’ game is over, we’ll go home and start another normal day tomorrow.

It was a nice break and a change of pace.

It was a bit of a break and a change of pace, but even though it’s been a normal day for me since I was promoted to the second year, it’s been different from other years.

Also, there could be unexpected events and happenings waiting for us.

Aware that my supposedly refreshed mood was easily sinking, I just rested my body in this place for now.

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This is the end of the side-story and the next story will be a new chapter.

I was wondering if I should write about the result of the ping-pong match between Shizuku and Ren, but I decided to end it without writing about it this time.

I’ll try my best to update the story so that you can enjoy the development from the next episode.

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Tl – Fuu… this should be the last one for this month, I’ll post the next chapter after my exam around the the starting of the next month.

ToC

After school & hot springs

PART – 2

This is a continuation of the side story.

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　”Onsen.” (TL/N – Hot Springs)

　What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear this word?

　Is it a bathtub full of steam, or a woman in a yukata?

　Individual may have a different picture in mind.

　For me, the first thing that came to mind was an old man with a white towel on his head.

　I had no weird intentions, it was simply the first scene that came to mind.

　I had been forcibly taken away from school by Kirasaka, and was driving down the Odawara Bypass in Kanagawa Prefecture.

　The car driven by Kuroi-san was a limousine, a typical car for rich people.

　Since he had given me a ride in a black one-box car in the past, I had assumed that it would be the same car this time, but it was actually this limousine that came to pick me up.

　Needless to say, I was so overwhelmed by the situation that I couldn’t say a word…

　Anyway, we are now on our way to Hakone, but the air in the car is heavy.

　The air in front of us was so heavy that everyone was hesitant to say a word.

　The reason for this is quite simple.

　Rei Kirasaka and Shizuku Kanzaki were sitting face to face, playing a serious game of cards.

　The card game, well, it’s playing cards, but actually they are currently facing off in a game of Old Maid.

　Me and Yuuto had already finished all the cards in our hands early, but surprisingly, these two were still there.

　If my prediction was correct, the Joker was in Shizuku’s hand, and if Kirasaka drew a card other than the Joker, she would win, and if she drew any other card, she would be in trouble.

　In such a situation, Kirasaka draws the card on the right without hesitation.

“Oh, Kirasaka-san is easily caught.”

“…This vixen…”

　”…Oi,oi.”

　I’m not sure why they are playing such a serious game.

Kirasaka, who made the wrong choice, seems to have been frustrated by having been bad-mouthed, but on the other hand Shizuku was smiling.

　It’s funny …if I remember correctly, card related games are supposed to be games that are played for light fun…

　It’s a good mindset to be serious about everything, but you can’t be serious about this kind of game.

　However, when Yuuto and I finished, the atmosphere suddenly changed.

　The emotions completely drained from their faces, and a silence reigned as if they were trying to read each other’s minds with their poker faces on.

　They exchanged their cards several times, until Kirasaka now held the Joker, but these two are truly incompatible.

　They don’t want to lose to the each other even if they kills time like this, just like facing a competitior in a serious match.

“I’ve never seen such a heavy hand of cards before.”

“Don’t worry, …neither have I.”

　Yuuto, who was sitting next to me, muttered in a small voice.
　In the end, I couldn’t escape the forced entertainment of Kirasaka, so I presented one condition.

　That is, to let Yuuto, who is right in front of me, accompany me.
　Although I could enjoy the hot spring alone, I thought it would be better to bring him along, considering the other parties with whom I was going.

　However, I think I’ve been seeing a good amount of bitter smiles on Yuuto’s face lately.

　It’s hard to ask, though, because I’m aware that the three of us are the ones who are responsible for it.
　The women exchanged jokers in the same way repeatedly more than a dozen times.

　Before the game ended, Kuroi-san called out to us.

“Ojou-sama, everyone, we will be arriving in about five minutes.”

“So …let’s leave this game to be decided at table tennis after the onsen.”

“I hope …you won’t cry over losing?”

　The two of them gave up on the game here, and put their cards on the table to call a truce.
　I looked out the window of the car and saw a landscape that was different from the town we lived in.

　My family had been here before, but it had been a while since I had been to a hot spring resort, and I felt my spirits lift a little.
　At the same time, I remembered Kaede’s phone call a while ago.
　Kaede was answering the phone as usual, but she was sulking a little.

　I could tell because we were siblings.
　It was only her voice, but I could tell that she had a frustrated expression on the other end of the phone.

　Naturally, it’s normal to be envious when your brother goes to the hot-springs alone.

　When I told her that I would give up my next day off to go with her to a place of her choice as an apology, her tone changed and it was good to know there were no problems for the time being.
　If I didn’t have some kind of compromise plan, I might not be able to eat for a few days, which would be an absolute disaster.
　With my stomach in my sister’s hand, it appeared that the hierarchical relationship in my family is already decided.

　Anyway, it was confirmed that I would have to give up my day off for the second week in a row.
　My resting place is getting farther and farther away.

　The car driven by Kuroi-san stopped when it reached the entrance of the building instead of the parking lot.
　There were already several employees waiting in line at the entrance, and one man opened the back seat of the parked car.

　As I was feeling a little suspicious about his behavior, Kirasaka was the first to get out.

“We’ve been expecting you, Rei-ojousama.”

“I’m sorry to bother you all of a sudden, but I’m going to borrow your facilities for a little while.”

“Don’t tell me …this place is also a part of Kirasaka’s company?”

　After getting out of the car, I was struck by the conversation that was taking place.
　It’s very easy to imagine the answer to this question, as the white-haired man who was probably the director bowed his head several times and was being polite to Kirasaka, a student.

　Kirasaka answered the question that seemed to have no need for an answer.

“Yes, I want to go to the hot spring, but I don’t like crowds, so I asked for a private bath.”

“Apologize to the people who were planning to come here today!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already sent the people who had reservations to other restaurants.”

　I wonder how much money this woman is spending on an after-school, spur-of-the-moment hot-springs day.

　However, it’s possible that we won’t be able enjoy the hot springs because of the regret.

I’m not a substitute for Kirasaka, who went ahead, but I bowed to the employees many times and then followed.

ToC

After school & hot springs
PART – 1

If you haven’t checked yet, pls go and check out my first post: here.

<Author’s notes>

I decided to post a short story before entering the next chapter of the main story.

I would appreciate it if you could read it after taking a break.

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Not limited to high school, the main events in student life often occur at school.

The reason for this is none other than the fact that, as the title “professional student” implies, most of the day is spent at school.

Early morning greetings, lunchtime chats, after-school entertainment, and sometimes stealing teachers’ eyes during class to make conversations.

The same should be the case for me, without exception.

But… most of the time while I am at school something irregular happens.

Even today, an unexpected remark was made from the neighbor.

“I want to go to the…… hot springs.”

“……hot springs. I don’t go to hot springs anymore, but I used to like them.”

I don’t hate hot springs.

They not only remove dirt from my body, but also relieve fatigue and stress, and most importantly, I can enjoy my time alone.

There is no need for conversation.

It’s just nice to take a bath in the tub and rest your body without thinking about your daily worries.

In the town where we live, there are only small public bathhouses and no large-scale hot spring facilities, but it’s not too far to go if you have a car.

Moreover, if you’re with Kirazaka, you can easily go there with a driver.

Considering the location and time, Hakone would be a safe bet.

In my brain search, Hakone was the only place I could think of for a day trip to a hot spring.

As I was pondering over her comment, she raised her voice slightly.

“Well, that’s good to know. Let’s go after school today, shall we?”

“No!”

The opposite word was uttered unconsciously, like a spinal reflex.

What the hell is this woman talking about?

Kirasaka, who had taken out her smartphone even during class, had already displayed several hot spring facilities on the screen.

Perhaps she had the same idea because Hakone was entered the search field.

Even though I don’t mind hot springs, I’m not as active as going around after school.

Besides, I have things to do after school too.

As a member of the homecoming club, which competes to be the first to go home, I have a mission to get home quickly.

It’s no exaggeration to say that this school event is more important than classes.

Moreover, if I had to add, I’d rather take a bath, sweat it out, and lie down on the living room couch while waiting for Kaede to cook dinner.

I immediately rejected Kirazaka’s suggestion and turned my gaze to the blackboard.

There, I saw Shizuku answering the questions posed by the teacher with ease.

She was able to solve a problem that many of the students had not answered.

While most of the boys in the class were staring at Shizuku with a look of admiration, she turned around to go back to her seat after solving the problem and her gaze met mine.

“……”

A sharp line of sight like a carnivore that eyes at it’s prey.

This is… the line of sight of a beast, hunting.

Have you heard the conversation between me and Kirasaka?

I don’t think it can be heard from here or it can’t be human hearing anymore.

There is a word called ‘hell’s ears’, but that may be more true than I thought.

As I felt a chill running down my spine, Kirazaka didn’t give up and made her next proposal.

“It can’t be helped, I’ll make some compromise today. …In the neighborhood today, how about here?”

“Why are you assuming that we’re going ……?”

Why is she acting as if she is compromising with me?

I don’t remember agreeing to it in the first place.

I averted my gaze outward until I saw that Shizuku had taken a seat, and was able to avoid the remarks of my neighbor by responding properly.

“Then, the next problem is…”

The students listened as the teacher finished explaining the problem and moved on to the next one.

I wondered if they were really listening or if they were just letting it flow out the other ear.

Normally, I would just copy the questions and answers in my notebook and ignore most of the lessons, but today I made an exception and listened to the teacher.

Otherwise, the after-school hot spring presentation from the girl next to me would be too noisy.

After school, I promptly left my seat when I heard the bell ringing to signal the end of the day in the school.

I got off to a good start, and I was sure I was in the hallway before anyone else.

The next thing I knew, my vision had flipped.

That’s right, I ‘flipped’.

I felt a strong shock and pain in my back and a choking sensation in my chest.

“Ugh!”

A stupid voice came out from the sudden shock.

Then, Kirasaka’s voice reached my ears from above my head.

“I’m sure you’re aware of it. You can’t have a student council member breaking the school rules.”

I’m not sure if she anticipated that I would run away in advance, but when I got up, she put her body on my back and restrained me.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not a big fan of the idea of being caught or not, but I’m sure I’ve moved faster than anyone else in the classroom, and now I’m standing in front of the door I started from.

If it were a shounen manga, my pride would be hurt a bit by the fact that I was preceded by an amazing physical ability in real life.

Well, I don’t have a great deal of pride that needs to be hurt.

Kirasaka and I, who created a completely different situation in the classroom, gathered the eyes of their classmates, even if we didn’t like.

Naturally, Yuuto was also looking at us.

I’ll never forget the way he raised his eyebrows, lowered his shoulders as if he was sighing, and looked at me.

I’m sure I’ll get back at you for that.

Next, I turned my gaze to the side where Shizuku was sitting, but she wasn’t there.

Instead, I heard voices from above.

“It’s a good idea to keep your hands off of Minato-kun and refrain from making a scene in the classroom.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll be more careful in the future …you should also be careful not to get too close.”

I’m scared …I’m scared of women’s conflicts.

They are both talking completely above my head in an angry voice.

The words whispered at the end of the sentences would only be heard by these two.

Their smiles, which I caught out of the corner of my eye, made me even more afraid.

Why are women able to smile and talk with their natural enemies?

“If you’re going to take Minato-kun out, you’ll have to get my approval first.”

“Why do I have to tell you everything? What I do with him is my business, isn’t it?”

“No …you have to ask me first before you can proceed.”

The premise is wrong.

I tried to utter a few words to them about what they said as if their own property, but they couldn’t seem to hear me.

The girls’ conversation continued to heat up, with me completely in the background.

As if to stop it, Yuuto intervened.

“It’s not the kind of thing you want to talk about in a place like this, right?”

I wonder why.

I’m not sure why, but Yuuto seems very reliable.

I can see a strong light shining behind him, like an angel.

…is what I thought, but it was the sunlight coming in through the window behind him.

Yuuto Ogiwara, who transforms natural light into his own power …a terrifying child.

Such thoughts come to my mind in a space that has become entirely blank.

　I can’t wait for them to release the restraints.

It is at the limit, and if they’re not careful, I’ll even bend the other way..

“Then, we will decide the game with table tennis after the hot spring.”

“No problem! There’s no way I’m going to lose.”

“I don’t see how I can lose – No choice, let’s go with that idea.”

…which idea are we going to go with?

A plan that had nothing to do with my opinions was heard.

I don’t know how it happened, and I don’t understand why the decision was made to play a sport.

However, the three were strangely convinced, and I knew from experience that I couldn’t deny it.

“Well, we have a car waiting, shall we go?”

“No, I’m not going …let me go!”

Kirasaka started walking by undoing the joint technique and grabbed the neck of my uniform.

Shizuku and Yuuto follow me as I’m dragged like a cat.

Shizuku smiles to relieve me with a smile, but it’s just the opposite effect for me now.

I wonder what they’re going to do with me.

If there’s one thing I understand, it’s that we’re definitely going to a hot spring.

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As the main story continued to take a serious turn, I decided to make the small story a little more relaxed.

The next is also a side story.

ToC

Picking Up ‘Ordinary Me & Extraordinary Them’ & some more info

Yo guys! BrutalBot here.

It surely has been a while since I posted something, not that most of you guys would know of.

Well let me just introduce myself here, on this new site. Just an ordinary student here passing his time. Just so you know I dunno Japanese(XD), but I’ve read countless manga, LNs & WNs ~~and hentai~~.

Oh! Also I don’t have any precious experience with websites & translating novels. But I do have some experience scanlating manga. I won’t be able to guarantee the accuracy but try my best to match the original content. Also English ain’t my first language.

I just wanna give back to the community which provided me with such materials to enjoy by doing some myself in my free time.

So I decided to go with ‘Ordinary I & Extraordinary Me’, one of my favorites, since the previous translator has dropped it (Read more here). All the previous translators have my thanks for translating this far.

I am not too good at expressing myself so I will keep it short why I chose to translate this, ‘SLOW PROGRESSION’ .
That’s enough to pick a project, right?

I’ll post the next chapter, in this case it is a side story with 3 parts in a few hours, I’ll also try to finish other two parts within this month or possibly the first week of the next, updates will be slow for now for IRL reasons. Updates should be more stable from the second week of the next month.

Well I am also a reader & like you I also hate sites with ads, bad translations & dirty looking sites.
So I will keep in mind to never let you down in terms of quality and will try to keep the site clean & simple.

…Well there may be some issues, like WordPress putting in ads to cover up the costs for maintaining this site. Just use an AdBlock or something.

Well… I won’t be asking for you all to support unnecessarily since I decided to do this on my own, but if there are some people who wanna waste their money, I won’t mind 😛

Oh! And before I forget I know most of you all hate bright colored sites like this one, so if I save enough money to buy the paid plan, I’ll add the dark mode (or you can just go ahead and use some extensions).

Well that’s all for this post, thanks for reading.

Btw, here’s my NU Romcom list if you want to try some more novels while waiting for the next chapters (haven’t updated for a while): https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/29261/

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