Volume 1 - CH 4.2

After listening to Kamiyama-san’s answer, Arai folded his arms and said, “Well…

“Well, in that case… Kominato-kun, do you have anything?”

“Hmmm… I guess so…”

I crossed my arms as Arai did and took a posture to think, looking at the middle of Kamiyama-san and Arai.

Yesterday, after I went home, I tried to think about it in my way. But finally, I couldn’t come up with a good idea. I decided to tell her what I wanted.

“If possible, I would like to avoid anything too troublesome.

“Kominato-kun seems to be a pain in the a*s, doesn’t he?”

Arai laughed as she said this. Then she wrinkled her brow and put her left hand on her chin.

“That’s a problem… I thought about it yesterday too, but in the end, I couldn’t come up with a good idea. I’ll try to think something new.”

Arai wants to do something new.

Something new but not too complicated that you can do together with everyone. This is a difficult problem.

As Arai and I were thinking about it, Kamiyama-san said hurriedly.

“…Gosh, I’m sorry! I’m sorry for making you think so much for me… I’ll think about it some more!”

Arai smiled back at Kamiyama-san.

“Well, we have time to think about it, don’t we? And, Kamiyama-san, you don’t have to speak in such a hurry, okay?”

Seeing Arai’s smile, Kamiyama-san becomes even more nervous. Sweat is dripping from her black hair, which is sticking out from the hem of her paper bag.

If I don’t put a rag on the floor before the lunch break, someone will slip it.

But what should I do?

I think it was a good idea to create a new club for Kamiyama-san who can’t join any of the existing clubs. But what kind of club activity would satisfy the desires of the three of us?

I look at

Kamiyama-san with her paper bag down and her shoulders slumped in dejection. She’s shy and doesn’t like to talk to people.

I had realized.

I came up with an idea for a new and a simple activity that even Kamiyama-san could do, that would benefit her, and in turn, lead to peaceful high school life for me.

I unfolded my arms and opened my mouth to them.

“How about this?”

Maybe this will satisfy everyone…

In my words,

Kamiyama-san and Arai both looked at me.

Embarrassed by the attention I was getting from the two girls, I presented the idea I had just come up with.

Kamiyama-san has high hopes for the new club.

“How about starting a conversation club?”

Arai interrupted me with a question.

“Conversation club?”

“Yes, a conversation club. You are not good at talking to people, right, Kamiyama-san? That’s why I get nervous and have all kinds of catastrophes…”

“Yes… catastrophe…”

Arai looked into the distance with a tight smile as if the trauma of the club visit had returned.

Kamiyama-san pointed a paper bag at me and listened attentively to what I had to say. I looked into her eyes through the hole in the paper bag. The look in her eyes through the hole in the paper bag was serious.

I turned to her and continued.

“If you’re not good at talking to people, maybe you should practice with other members of the club. If you practice and get used to interacting with people, I think you’ll be able to solve the various problems that have been troubling you.”

Various problem.

Specifically, running as fast as you can around the school with me in your arms, kidnapping me to the vending machines, making me sweat so much that my uniform is soaking wet, and inflicting indelible trauma on each club… That’s what I’m talking about.

“Kaka… conversation… practice… or…?”

Kamiyama-san asks in a flustered panic.

“I wonder if I can talk to all kinds of people if I practice…?”

“Yes, I’m sure you will be able to.

I replied cheerfully.

I’m sure you’ll be able to… do it, otherwise, I’ll be in trouble. It was a good idea on my part. It’s new, as Arai had hoped, and since it’s just a conversation, it’s not a hassle, as I had hoped, and it solves  Kamiyama-san’s problem.

Kamiyama-san’s eyes are shining through the hole in the paper bag.

Then Arai interrupted with a simple question.

“Well, it’s a good idea, but what are …… we supposed to do with it?”

My good idea was already dead in the water. I hadn’t thought of that. I answer, hurriedly searching for a reason.

“Oh…, that’s… the conversation is the first step of communication between people, isn’t it? I know that’s right, so, we just entered high school, to have better communication between people when we become college students and adults in the future, we need to improve our conversation skills. “Polish up your conversation skills and… polish up your… skills and…”

I don’t know, this is all coming out of my mouth.

As I answered in a slurred voice, Arai suddenly squeezed my hand. Then she leaned forward with her hand in mine and brought her face closer to mine. I felt my face turn red when Arai suddenly appeared at such a close distance from me, and I hurriedly said

“Oh Arai, what’s going on all of a sudden?”

Arai answered.

“I think that…. is a good idea! Don’t you think so too, Kamiyama-san? A conversation is important! I think it’s a good idea to have a conversation club, Kominato-kun!”

Good, it was well-received.

Kamiyama-san waved the paper bag vertically, clasped her hands tightly in front of his body, and happily expressed his approval with sweat splashing on his face.

I saw Kamiyama-san smiling in front of me.

She is wearing a paper bag, so I can’t see her expression, but I think she is smiling right now. It makes me happy too.

Anyway… a smiling Kamiyama-san. I wonder what kind of face Kamiyama-san smiles with. I suddenly think about that.

I was so happy that I said something unnecessary.

“I’m glad you’re so happy. Kamiyama-san, if you get used to the conversation, you may stop being nervous and stop sweating. Eventually, you’ll be able to take off the paper bag, right?”

“…!”

Kamiyama-san’s happy movement suddenly stopped and held the paper bag with both hands and suddenly stood up and exclaimed.

“No, no, no, no! This! This paper bag! I can’t take it off! I’m so embarrassed that I should have…!”

Then, she stood erect on the spot and clasped her hands tightly together. Sweat drips down from the hem of her skirt, and the paper bag on her head is slowly soaking up the dampness and becoming darker in color.

Everyone in the class, for a moment, looked at Kamiyama-san, but soon returned to their original conversation.

I look at my classmates and think. I think to myself that humans are surprisingly adaptable.

Kamiyama-san is frozen in her posture, and Arai is smiling and nodding her head.

I wondered if the three of us could make it.

I tried not to think about it too much, though a little or a lot of anxiety was going through my mind.

Arai is competing with 2-D.

I wondered if the three of us would be able to make it. To answer the question I had just asked myself, it was not at all manageable. Let me say it again. We couldn’t manage at all.

Why is that?

Because there are too many crazy people in this school.

After school that day, we went to our homeroom teacher in the staff room to form a conversation club. When Kamiyama-san entered the teacher’s room, the teachers were in an uproar for a moment, but quickly went back to their work.

The homeroom teacher handed us a form with an application for a new club activity, and Arai filled in the details of the activity and the names of the club members on the spot and handed it back to the homeroom teacher.

It’s easier than I thought that this is all it takes to start a new club.

As I was thinking this, the homeroom teacher who received the application form made a troubled face.

“Oh? You three are the only members of the club? We need more than four members to form a new club. When you find one more member, please come back again.

The three of us trudged back from the staff room, our steps heavy. I couldn’t bear such an atmosphere, so I said cheerfully on purpose.

“I didn’t think we needed four people. Well, we just have to find one more person to apply.

To this, Arai replies.

“One more person. All my friends have already decided on their club activities. Do you have any idea who it is, Kominato-kun?”

Well, I haven’t had any friends since Kamiyama-san locked on to me on the day I entered the school. I didn’t have any acquaintances who would be willing to accept such a request.

“No, I don’t have any friends either.”

Arai looked from me to Kamiyama-san.

“I see… don’t you know anyone, Kamiyama-san?”

To be honest, I didn’t think I had any idea who Kamiyama-san was.

She always wears a paper bag on her head, sweats profusely, and regarded as a person not to be touched by everyone in the class, and has caused trauma in various club activities. There was no way he would have any idea how to create a new club.

When I looked at Kamiyama-san without any expectations, she was surprisingly pointing towards the end of the corridor.

Her fingertips are still trembling and sweat is dripping from her fingertips as if she is nervous.

I wonder if he has any idea what he is talking about. Is there someone he knows who might be able to help us, who is at the tip of his finger? I look in the direction where

Kamiyama-san points.

A small female student was standing there, happily talking with someone.

The petite girl looked exactly like a high school girl of today.

She was not taller than 5’5″ and had a very pretty face. She was wearing a large size pale pink cardigan and a red checked pleated skirt different from those worn by

Kamiyama-san and Arai.

Although our school has a designated uniform, the dress code is not so strict as to respect students’ autonomy, and some of the students go to school in their favorite casual clothes that they have prepared themselves. Some students go to school in the clothes of their choice, which they have prepared themselves. They say there is no problem as long as they are dressed like high school students.

She must be one of them. She was wearing a short red-checked skirt that was sticking out of her cardigan and her hair was tied in a bun on both sides of her head, bouncing around as if she was having a pleasant conversation with someone.

How could Kamiyama-san have such a normal acquaintance?

A petite female student was standing about 10 meters in front of us and seemed to be having a conversation with someone just at the corner of the corridor. The person she is conversing with seems to be on the other side of the corner, and although we cannot see her, she seems to be enjoying the conversation with a smile on her pretty face.

They are talking quite loudly, so we can hear what they are saying.

“Oh, I see. I read about it in a magazine I bought the other day…”

She was very upbeat and easy to talk to. I wish I could be as conversational as Kamiyama-san.

I listened to the conversation of the female student who was pointed by Kamiyama-san with such thoughts in my mind.

“Oh really? But do you know a crepe shop near the school? It’s very popular among the class for its delicious crepes! Maybe you want to go there after school sometime?”

The content of the conversation was typical of today’s high school girls.

But why did

Kamiyama-sam point out such a cute girl who was having such an ordinary conversation?

The petite schoolgirl’s conversation never ends.

“I see! Let’s go to that clothing store next Sunday, ah-chan.

As Kamiyama-san remained silent and continued to point toward the female student, Arai and I stopped to listen to her rambling conversation.

“Oh, it’s time for the art class next isn’t it? Is the art room that way? Let’s go together, a-chan.

The student takes her friend’s hand from around the corner and turns her around with a cute smile on her face. The girl takes my friend’s hand, and our conversation partner appears from around the corner.

Arai and I both froze when we saw this.

The small female student pulls me by the hand, and a magical girl appears from around the corner.

She was a two-dimensional girl with sparkling eyes and pure white skin, wearing the clothes of the main character in a magical girl anime that has been airing late at night recently. She was dressed in a fluffy white skirt and a shirt that was also fluffy. She held a magic stick in her hand and her hair was bright red. Wearing shiny enamel shoes, there was a magical girl who looked as if she had stepped out of a two-dimensional world.

It was, or rather, it was two-dimensional upon closer inspection.

The magical girl who appeared from the other side of the corridor was a life-size panel that is often displayed in bookstores as a promotional item. At her feet were wheels, and when a petite female student pulled her hand, the panel would roll over and around.

As we stood there in a daze, the small female student pulled the panel by the hand and walked toward us, talking to the picture of a magical girl. Naturally, there was no reply.

“Next is art. I’m not good at drawing.

Still, the petite girl seems to hear something and continues her lighthearted conversation.

“What? A-chan is good at drawing? That’s nice. We had portraits next time, didn’t we? I know, why don’t you two draw each other’s faces?”

In front of us is a small girl and a life-size panel of a magical girl.

One paper bag, then a panel.

I spoke to

Kamiyama-san.

“Kamiyama-san… you were pointing your finger at that girl earlier, do you know her?”

She waved her hands sideways in front of her body and replied with a flutter.

“I don’t know… her, Des…, but she always has a panel with her like that… I’ve passed him in the hallway a few times…”

Why are all these guys in this school…

But the conversation club we are about to create is a club for practicing conversation. In a way, we may be just the right people for the job.

We have no choice at this point,

I had no choice.

I approached her with an expression as if I had given up on something valuable, and called out to her fearfully.

“Uh… well, are you practicing your conversation skills? We’re trying to start a club called the Conversation Club. You can practice conversing with us.”

But the female student didn’t even look at me, as if I didn’t exist, and continued her conversation with the panel.

“Hey, A-chan. I don’t know what’s the matter with him. He feels a little weird. I don’t know why. I can’t talk to a guy.”

It was refreshing to be so completely ignored.

As I was thinking about what was going on, Kamiyama-san suddenly approached the student, walking with her right hand and right foot in tandem, and called out to her.

“What do you think of the conversation club…?”

The female student turns her gaze towards Kamiyama-san.

In front of her stands a high school girl, over 180 cm tall and wearing a paper bag. She was standing there with water dripping from her body as if she just came out of a swamp.

The female student looked at Kamiyama-san once, checked her appearance, and resumed her conversation with the panel again without changing her expression at all.

I thought, ‘That girl… has a strong heart, to not even scream. Or did she think it was a dream? That still seems more realistic.’

I sighed and went back to Arai, who was stunned, and patted her on the back.

“Please… Arai. Just… try asking her to join. She’s like that, and besides, that girl doesn’t seem to be able to talk to guys or anything…”

Arai, who was stunned, turned serious as I urged her to do so.

“Huh? Oh… uh… yeah… yeah… I’ll do my best…”

“Oh, please. I’m not going to say anything else, but try to do your best. Whatever you can do now, just try to do it anyway…”

I said this and entrusted the panel girl to Arai.

Arai approaches the girl who keeps talking to the magical girl panel. When she gets within earshot, she speaks to the girl with her usual smiling face.

“What are you talking about? I’d like to talk to you too, if you want. What’s your name?”

The girl stopped talking for a second, but quickly ignored Arai and resumed her conversation with the magical girl panel.

So Arai didn’t work either.

I was about to think so when I noticed a slight change in the female student.

When Arai called out to her, the female student’s conversation stopped for a moment at a certain point.

I suggested Arai.

“Arai! She just had a reaction for a second where you said, ‘I’d love to talk to you!’ Say it again!”

“Is that… so? Okay… then… I’d like to talk to you!”

“…!”

The female student stops talking for a moment.

As I expected, being needed is her weakness.

Having discovered the female student’s weakness, I sent an instruction to Arai.

“Arai! Keep it up! Try saying you need her more!”

“Okay! I’d like to talk to you! I’d love to talk to you!”

“…!”

“With you! I want to talk to you! I want to talk to you!”

“…!”

Arai’s exclamation echoed through the hallway.

Then the conversation between the female student and the panel stopped entirely.

I was not one to let this opportunity pass me by.

“Now, Arai! Stab her in the throat.”

Whether the word “throat” is appropriate or not is irrelevant at this point.

Arai’s usual smiling face became even more cheerful and she spoke to her in a gentle voice.”

“Hey… would you like to join our conversation club? We need you. What’s your name?”

The female student who had been speaking to the panel suddenly turned red and answered in a small voice while looking down.

“I’m… Harusame. Do you need… Harusame Amano… Me?”

Thus we succeeded in capturing Harusame Amano.