Translated by rsa
Edited by gorg and colibri
In Partnership With LegacyEMTLS

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In the Tsuwabaki High School Library after school, I glanced up from the book in my hands and stretched my arms out behind the front desk, letting out a deep, satisfied groan.

Late May. Regular exams were finally over, which meant the library was practically deserted.

"No visitors today, huh?" I said aloud.

"Th-that's a good thing, though… Means we don't need to talk to anyone…"

That reply came from Chika Komari, vice president of the Literature Club. She didn't even bother to look up from her book. The two of us were manning the front desk today as part of our duties on the library committee. 

—It's been a month since the Literature Club's resurrection.

We'd quietly resumed our activities following the lift of the temporary suspension, and things had been surprisingly (and thankfully) peaceful ever since. That suspension… was, in all honesty, absolute hell. For some reason, my house became the de facto stand-in for our clubroom, and god, that was a nightmare. If you think I'm exaggerating: try imagining how it feels having your "secret" stash of books—yes, the ones behind your bookshelf—being passed around like club reading material by a bunch of girls.

But those shameful days are behind me now. Over. Never again. I flipped open to a page of a bird encyclopedia with a contented sigh, basking in the joy of my untouched pages.

"Hey, Komari. Did you know that falcons are actually related to parrots?"

"Y-your brain turn into a parrot or something?"

Crazy how that's the first time she looked at me today. I shrugged and slid the encyclopedia towards her. "I'm serious. It's from recent DNA research."

"U-ugh… You're right."

See? I told you. Trust me a little, will you?

 She peeked into the encyclopedia. "Y-you into birds now or something?"

"Yeah, I figured I'd try picking up an outdoorsy hobby. You know, like a normal teen."

"Wh-why birds?"

"Well, you don't even have to see them. Just listening to them chirp is pretty fun. Tanaka-sensei does it all the time. He's so good, he doesn't even look, just goes, 'Yup, one's probably over there.' He's usually right too."

"Th-that doesn't sound like something normal teens do."

Huh? Isn't it? After all, birds are outside. That still counts. 

"I mean, our school does have a bird watching club. That counts as normal teen stuff, right?"

"Th-that club got suspended indefinitely… They were, uh, watching stuff other than birds."

…Okay, yeah. That actually sounds like something teens would do.

Komari nudged the encyclopedia back toward me and cast me a sidelong glance. 

"S-so, uh," she said, pausing slightly. "H-has that girl been coming around lately? Th-the new first year?"

Huh? Oh, Shiratama-san? "She's been showing up pretty much every day, I think. She's always there when I look."

"Wh-wha?! E-every day?!"

"Yeah? She's been in the clubroom. You know that."

"...G-go die."

Well, that escalated quickly.

Come to think of it, even after our temporary disbandment ended, she suddenly showed up at my house once. Kaju politely turned her away at the door, though. Those two really need to get along better…

But after the wedding venue incident, Shiratama-san was pretty much a complete, full-time member of the Literature Club. Yanami, for one, was slowly being tamed with snacks. Yakishio was, well, still Yakishio. Even Komari, who I'd worried about, was now able to hold a full two-word conversation with Shiratama-san. On a good day. 

As for Shiratama-san herself, I sometimes saw her chatting with Tanaka-sensei in the hallway. If you weren't in the know, you'd probably just think they were a friendly pair of teacher and student. Nobody'd ever guess that she was a thieving cat^[1] trying to steal her sister's fiancé…As for Shiratama-san herself, I sometimes saw her chatting with Tanaka-sensei in the hallway. If you weren't in the know, you'd probably just think they were a friendly pair of teacher and student. Nobody'd ever guess that she was a thieving cat trying to steal her sister's fiancé…

Suddenly, a book slid across the counter in front of me. Huh. Guess we do have a visitor. 

I looked at the title: "Embracing a Refined Way of Life With Kampo^[2]"

The name on the checkout card—Tiara Basori.

"Um, I'd like to check this out, please."

"Oh, yeah, sure."

Tiara Basori—vice president of the student council. Her signature ponytail was tied up neatly behind her. She looked every bit the serious student, but something was a little… off about her. Even as I processed her checkout, Tiara-san kept darting glances nervously around the room.

"Uh, okay, you're all set."

"Huh? Ah, thank you." 

She took the book, but she didn't move from the counter.

"Er, looking for something else?"

"Um, actually… I came here today to talk to you, Nukumizu-san."

"Huh." 

Tiara-san glanced briefly at the frozen Komari, then cleared her throat. "U-um, Nukumizu-san! I—I came here because I have a favor to ask!"

"Huh."

…

Why the dramatic pause?

Komari nudged me under the desk. Reluctantly, I spoke up. 

"Um… what kind of favor?"

"Ah, yes! Well, it's just, um… You see, the thing is—I mean, I want you to… no, wait, I mean—ugh, jeez!" 

She suddenly leaned forward and slammed her hands on the counter.

"Basically—I want you!"

…

What the hell did she just say?

Tiara-san stood there, panting harder than a marathon runner, eyes locked on mine. Calmly, I replied:

"Uh, Tiara-san? I'm on library duty right now. Could you, uh, wait until I'm done?"

"...Ah. Okay. I'll wait then. Also, please don't call me by my first name," she added, bowing. 

Quietly, she took a seat near the counter and opened up her book. I watched her flip a page out of the corner of my eye and sighed.

…Looks like things are about to get complicated again.

Also, Komari. Please stop kicking me under the counter. Thanks.

Translator's Notes:

^[1] Thieving cat refers to a Japanese expression about a woman trying to steal someone else’s man. “Homewrecker” also fits here, but it’s not quite the same, so this isn’t localized.

^[2] Kampo refers to the study of traditional Japanese herbal medicine, derived from Chinese herbal medicine. It’s seen as a “refined” sort of thing, hence the title.