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When I, an Otaku, Helped a Beautiful and Clumsy JK, We Become Friends and Go to Each Other’s Houses

Author - 木嶋隆太 - Kijima Ryuuta

RAW - オタクな俺がポンコツ美少女JKを助けたら、お互いの家を行き来するような仲になりました

Shimazaki Osamu, a loner and gloomy high school writer, was eating alone at a family restaurant. On his way out, he encountered a beautiful girl who seemed to be at a complete loss. Concerned, Shimazaki called out to her, but she seems to have forgotten her wallet and looks as if she is about to burst into tears on the spot. Intending to be luxurious, he paid for her share as well, but after that, the beautiful girl took him to her house, saying that she will have the money then. At first, they are just curious about each other, but gradually they become attracted to each other──slowly but surely, their relationship deepens. The two, who are clumsy when it comes to love, gradually grow closer to each other while making those around them jealous.

Chapter 1

RAW

“What’s wrong?”

　When Shimazaki Osamu was about to pay his bill, a beautiful girl in front of him was looking at her bag with a ghastly pale face.
 She is a breathtakingly beautiful girl.
 With long chestnut hair that looked as if it was swaying in the air, she was still digging through her bag even now. She wore her uniform neatly, showing her seriousness.

　After digging through her bag for a while, her face stiffened.
 The word [despair] was etched on her beautiful face, and Osamu, unable to leave her alone, called out to her.
 It’s not like she was his acquaintance or anything. His intention was to end the conversation right then and there if she looks at him in suspicion.
 However, contrary to Osamu's thoughts, the beautiful girl, still looked as if she was about to burst into tears even now, said in a mutter.

“I-I forgot... my wallet...”

　She let out a cry of despair. Even though she was called out to by a man she doesn’t know, she answered without any vigilance. Osamu then turned his attention to the slip she was holding.

“...By the way, how much was it?”
“Um, Umm... that’s.”

　She slowly showed the slip to Osamu, looking half puzzled and half embarrassed.
 Osamu looked at the slip and realized why she reacted like that.

“Y-you sure ate a lot...”
“I-it's not that much...! I-it's normal for high school girls these days to eat this much...!”
“I-is that how it is?”

　That was surprising information. Osamu once again checked the slip.
 Spaghetti, ramen, hamburger, udon. Osamu let out a small breath at the carbohydrate festival written there.
 He glanced at the amount at the bottom. 3,000 yen was enough to get a change back.

“Next customer─!”

　The previous customer finished paying the bill, and now it was the beautiful girl's turn.
 When she was called, her shoulders jumped up and her body trembled.

“A-am I going to become a criminal...?!!”

　Osamu's mind was coming up with all kinds of ways to deal with the situation.
 She could call her parents, or she could leave some valuables behind while she went to retrieve her wallet──However, the girl in front of him was extremely frightened, so, still holding the slip, Osamu headed towards the cash register.

“Eh?”

　While hearing the voice of confusion behind him, Osamu finished paying for the two of them.
The total cost was 4000 yen. Osamu's portion was less than 1,000 yen.
 After taking the receipt, Osamu left the store, but the beautiful girl from earlier walked next to him.

“U-um... that, wh-wha-wha-what’s the meaning of this─!?”
“I just paid your share. No need to worry about it... I didn't think high school girls eat so much, so I'm glad to hear a valuable story.”

　When Osamu honestly told her what he thought, the beautiful girl turned red all the way to her ears.

“P-please don't make fun of me...! I’m-I'm sorry, thank you for paying for me... you saved me. Um... I'll have money when I get home, so could you come with me?”
“...You don’t need to be bothered about it.”
“I’m bothered about it...! I can't just let an unfamiliar person spend money on me!”

　Hmph─, she said with a snort.
 Osamu wasn’t really bothered with it, but since she was really bothered, he gave up and let out a sigh.

(...I haven't slept much lately so I'm really sleepy... I wanted to go home and sleep, but I guess it can't be helped.)

　Osamu replied with an assent as she fixedly peered into him.

“I got it. Then, we’ll go together until your home.”
“Yes... please.”

　The beautiful girl smiled, feeling relieved.
 Then she tilted her head slightly.

“Come to think of it, I didn't ask your name. My name is Hino Saki... How about you?”
“I'm Shimazaki Osamu.”
“Shimazaki-san, is it?”

　That was how he met Saki.

────

Chapter 2

RAW

“...Is this Hino’s home?”

　Osamu looked up at the apartment and let out a groan.
 The place she led him to was the most conspicuous apartment building in the city.

　He passed through the automatic door and went inside with her. Osamu lives near this place, and although he has seen it many times, he has never gone inside.
 As Osamu restlessly looked around him, unable to hide his surprise at the difference from his apartment, Saki unintentionally smiled.

“Yes... Well, to get my parents to approve of me living alone, I had to choose this place because they wanted it to be a safe place in terms of security.”
“I see...”

　A born winner, these words came to Osamu's mind, but he didn't say them out loud.
 Then, Osamu tilted his head.

“...You live alone?”
“Yes, that's true... ah, is that unusual for high school students?”
“No, it’s not that...”

　Osamu also lives alone, so he didn't find it unusual.
 Even after Osamu pointed it out, Saki still looked puzzled.

“Eh, what is it?”
“...Even though you live alone, you led a man to your home, isn't that dangerous?”

　Osamu thought he was also bad for not asking earlier, but he thought that Saki was living with her family.

　Osamu knew from eavesdropping on his classmates that there weren't many kids who started living alone starting from high school.
 When Osamu pointed it out, Saki's face turned bright red.

“I-I’m not a s-slut who would bring a man I met into my house, okay!?”
“...No, no one said that much though. Well, I'm not going to do anything. I'll just go home once I get the money, so rest assured.”
“...I-I know. It's okay.”

　Saki nodded her head, and the two of them got into the elevator that finally arrived.
 There were about ten floors, and Saki pushed the tenth floor without hesitation.

“Is it the top floor?”
“There's also a rooftop. It's open during fireworks festivals, but it's usually closed.”
“...So that’s how it is. But if you're on the 10th floor, you still have a pretty good view, right?”
“That's true. I had my friends over at the fireworks festival last year.”* (T/N: I don’t know if it’s one friend or multiple friends.)

　While talking like that, they walked down the aisle to the 10th floor.
 Osamu was restlessly looking around at the beautiful view, and Saki giggled at that.

“Your reaction is kind of refreshing.”
“...I'll probably never see this view again, so I thought I'd burn it into my memory now.”
“What’s with that?”

　Saki chuckled as she continued moving.
 Then, they arrived at Saki's room, room 1008.
 Entering the room requires a card key. At that point, he thought their point of reference was on a different level.
 Saki took out her card key and looked at Osamu.

“Please wait in the room.”
“...No, I'll wait here. If I go inside, it would be bad in a lot of ways.”

　Osamu said and shook his head sideways.
 Due to Saki's reaction earlier, he was reluctant to go inside her room.
 Saki seemed to finally understand Osamu's words, and her cheeks turned slightly red, then she shook her head vertically.

“Th-that’s true... I-I'll find it right away!”
“Yeah...”

　Based on Saki's reaction, Osamu assumed that she had forgotten about the conversation earlier, and then he killed time by leaning against the wall and playing with his smartphone.
 However, due to Osamu's piled up fatigue, he was attacked by severe drowsiness and repeatedly waxed and waned in consciousness.
 And then, after a while,
 Clang, Osamu looked up in surprise at that sound. When he turned his gaze, he saw an apologetic Saki peeking out from the gap in her door.

“Did you find it?”
“...Th-that, it looks like it's going to take some time... so, please wait inside...”
“...I, see.”

　‘Then I’ll take it next time’ Osamu couldn't immediately think of that suggestion right then.
 He went inside as he was told and walked into the room with unsteady gaits.
 It was a large and luxurious room. It was clearly too much for one to live alone.

“...It’s-it's just a coincidence that the room is dirty, okay!”
“...Is that, how it is?”

　After being told that the room was dirty, Osamu finally looked at his feet.
 Garbages and the likes were put into bags, but there were still garbage bags here and there.
 Clothes and the likes were also left as they are when she took them off.

　Osamu was momentarily surprised by such a sight, but he was immediately attacked by drowsiness and didn't think any deeper.

“Please sit on the sofa and rest.”
“...Yeah, I got it.”

　Such a voice echoed from somewhere far away, and──
 As soon as Osamu sat on the sofa, he fell asleep.

────

Chapter 3

RAW

　What woke him up was the pain he felt in every joint of his body.
 Osamu lightly moved his body and immediately furrowed his brows at the snapping sound he received in response.
 Then, when he looked up, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

　Not only that, but he smelled something good.
 When Osamu looked, he was covered in a towel blanket he had never seen before.
 Furthermore, he was lying sideways on a fluffy sofa, so he jumped upright because of that.
 And then, he searched his memory.

(Right, I paid her share yesterday and then──!)

　Realizing that he had let his fatigue take over him and fallen asleep, Osamu's whole body began to sweat profusely.
 He hadn't done anything wrong, but he was filled with guilt.

　When he looked at his smartphone, he saw that it was 9 o'clock. Morning sunlight was peeking through the gap between the curtains. He realized that he had been asleep for nearly ten hours.
 Fortunately, today was Saturday and school was closed.

“...For the time being, where is the owner of the house──”

　While feeling that she should have woken him up, Osamu started walking in search of Saki, the owner of the house.
 Osamu thought it was rude to move around too much on his own, so he only checked the living room before speaking out.

“Hino! Hino...! Where are you!?”

　He raised his voice as if to scream.
 However, there was no reply from Saki.
 Osamu scratched his head as he reluctantly opened the door that leads to another room and raised his voice.

(So many rooms... and she lives here alone?)

　He opened the doors to several rooms, but every room has clothes strewn about and dust accumulating.

　Saki wasn't very good at cleaning, and in fact, she probably didn't do any housework. He could tell by looking at the kitchen.
 Because although the rooms were very dirty, the kitchen was clean. Also, it was clear from the number of instant products that were packed in garbage bags.

　While he was doing such pointless analysis, a beautiful girl came into the living room while rubbing her eyes.

“Nwa? Good morning─...”

　Her face was so stupid that he could tell her consciousness wasn’t clear.
 Osamu looked at Saki, his cheeks twitching.

　She was wearing pajamas with a cute bear embroidered on them. Her clothes were worn out of shape, revealing glimpses of her underwear.
 She was defenseless──but Osamu endured it with just his cheeks twitching. He coughed lightly and then asked.

“...Good morning. My bad, it seems I fell asleep yesterday.”
“...Yesterday? Fell asleep? ...Ha!”

　At that, Saki's eyes widened. After a delay, she turned bright red and then straightened her clothes.
 However, her beautiful long hair was still messy, doing as it pleased. Osamu pretended not to notice, thinking it would be boorish to point it out.

“Shimazaki-san...! Good morning!”
“...Good morning. As I said earlier, it seems I fell asleep, sorry...”
“No, please don't worry about it. It was originally my fault after all.”
“...I got it. So, did you find your wallet?”
“...Yes, I did.”

　Saki's cheeks twitched.
 Osamu tilted his head at her reaction.

“What’s wrong?”
“...It, it's nothing, you know?”
“I don’t think it’s nothing from your reaction...”

　When he answered, Saki politely kneeled down quickly.

“I-I'm very sorry... a-about my wallet... it was in my bag like normal...”
“In your bag?”
“Y-yes. I thought it wasn't in the place I usually put it in, but unluckily, when I put my hand in my bag, it didn't hit my hand properly... so it was in my bag like normal...”
“...I-I see. W-well, don't mind it too much, it happens sometimes.”

　Osamu spoke to Saki, who was sitting on her knees. Saki, still looking like she was about to burst into tears, raised her face, and then she came over to him, carrying her wallet which was placed on the table.

“I'm sorry, here is 3,000 yen... thank you very much.”
“...No, it's fine. Don't worry about it.”

　Osamu took the money and then put it in his wallet.

“My bad, I ended up staying the night...”
“No, please don't worry about it. Still, you seemed tired, didn’t you?”
“...Well, there are various reasons.”
“Various reasons? I suppose it’s hard when you’re a member of society, right?”
“...Wait a minute.”
“...Eh?”
“I'm a high school student. I'm in my second year of high school.”

　Maybe she misunderstood because he wasn't wearing his uniform jacket and was only wearing a dress shirt.
 When he answered, Saki's eyes widened──

“We-we’re in the same year!?”
“...Eh?”
“...Please wait a minute. What is that ‘eh’?”

　This time, Saki responded in the same way.
 Osamu responded with a wry smile. The reason why he responded that way was because he had only seen her lackluster appearance since they met yesterday. She said that she was a high school girl, so Osamu knew that much, but he had selfishly assumed that she was younger than him.

“No, um... you look young, you see.”
“...Is that really true?”

　Saki glared at him. Osamu scratched his cheek and looked away.

“...Well, I guess so. More importantly, I should go home soon, well then.”
“Please wait a minute. If you don't have any particular business, would you like to go have breakfast? It's Saturday anyway, and since we're both high school students, there are things I'd like to ask you.”
“...Things you want to ask?”

　When he asked while tilting his head at her words, Saki nodded her head

“Yes. I would like to talk to you for a while...”

　Saki smiled brightly. Osamu also thought it was a good opportunity, so he nodded his head.

“But breakfast, huh... what are we going to eat?”

　Osamu asked, the thought from earlier running through his mind.
 Then, Saki headed to the kitchen,

“...W-which one would you like?”

　With a smile, she held a cup of noodles in each hand.

────

Chapter 4

RAW

“You don’t usually cook?”
“...Th-that's right. But, but, cup noodles are delicious too, you know!?”
“...Well, I guess so.”

　Osamu too, only cooks once in a while, so he couldn't press her any further.
 Saki began to boil water in a nearby electric kettle. Osamu took a cup of noodles and began preparing it.
 Saki opened three cup noodles. His cheeks twitched at that.

“...A-are you going to eat all three at once?”
“Not all at once. Once one is ready, I'll start preparing the next one, that’s why I opened them right now.”
“Your breakfast, is three cup noodles, that's what it means, right?”
“Yes... Ah, i-it’s just a coincidence today!”

　Judging from the way Saki was accustomed to preparing them, it was easy to imagine that this was how she usually ate.

　After the preparation for the cup noodles were finished, they both put their hands together, used disposable chopsticks, and began eating.

　Osamu is also used to eating cup noodles.
 Many cup noodles these days are authentic, and the ones prepared by Saki are no different.
 All of them were more expensive than what Osamu buys, so Osamu could eat them with a fresh feeling.

“So, what is it that you want to ask?”
“...Ah─, n-no... I was hoping we could have a normal conversation.”
“Conversation?”

　After finishing her cup noodles, Saki scratched her cheek in embarrassment.
 When Osamu tilted his head at that reaction,

“Which high school did you go to, Shimazaki-san?”
“I go to──or rather, we're the same age, so you don't have to use honorifics.”
“Um, this is how I basically am, so please don’t worry about it.”
“...I got it. I go to Mizu High, do you know it?”
“Ah, yes, I know. My school is Kaze High, so it's pretty close.”
“...Kaze High, huh? I guess Hino is really smart.”

(T/N: 水高 - Mizu Kou. Water High. 風高 - Kaze Kou - Wind High. What stupid names.)

　That school is said to be the smartest in the prefecture.
 The school that Osamu attends, Mizu High, has the third highest deviation score in the prefecture, so there wasn't that much of a difference.

“...What’s with that rude stare?”
“...Did it show on my expression?”
“It did. Why are you looking at me like that...!”
“No, I’ve only seen your various lackluster parts, so... It has nothing to do with your grades at school, okay?”

　When Osamu smiled to deceive her, Saki puffed out her cheeks.

“Even if I look like this, I entered the school at the top of my grade and kept getting first place in every exam you know.”

　After that, she placed her hand on her moderately ample chest and straightened her back.

“...That's amazing, in a normal way.”

　Being number one at the best school in the prefecture simply means that she is the smartest among second year high school students in the prefecture.
 When Osamu was surprised, Saki smiled wryly.

“Th-there's no need to be so surprised. How is Shimazaki-san’s high school life?”
“...Let’s, see.”

　Osamu's cheeks tensed as he thought of how he appears in class.
 He had zero friends and was an out of place existence in his class.

“I’m average at studying, and I’m moderately good at sports.”
“You are certainly tall, do you play volleyball or basketball?”
“...No, I’m in the go-home club. I'm busy with various things, you see.”
“Is it a part-time job or something?”
“...Well, I guess it's something similar.”

　Osamu was a novelist. His work, which he posted online last year, caught the attention of an editor and was eventually published.
 Osamu was being ambiguous because he had no intention of disclosing it to anyone. He doesn't think this position is something to be proud of.

　Osamu took another look at Saki, who was puzzled. When he saw her outside, she was a beautiful girl that everyone envied.
 Of course, even now, she still retains her beauty. He was only in awe of how she was able to maintain her beauty in spite of her rough clothes.

────

Chapter 5

RAW

　Saki and Osamu were in different positions in everything.
 Osamu compared himself to her and dropped his shoulders in disappointment by the difference.

　In particular, Osamu was not as proud as Saki in his high school life.
 Osamu didn't want to talk too much about his high school life, so in order to drop the topic, he said,

“So, is this the kind of conversation that you wanted to have when you talked about it earlier?”
“...Umm, that,”

　After scratching her cheek, she blushed slightly and laughed.

“I haven't had many opportunities to talk to boys my age, so I thought this would be a good opportunity. That's one of the reasons.”
“...You go to co-ed, right?”
“Of course it's co-ed, you know? B-but, I'm too embarrassed to talk to anyone at school!”

　After screaming, Saki's face turned so red that it looked like it was going to smoke.
 Osamu was surprised by Saki's unexpected reaction. Because he thought that with her looks, it wouldn't be strange for her to have a boyfriend.
 Contrary to Osamu's doubts, Saki said that shyly while pressing her index fingers together.

“That’s unexpected.”
“Please don't say unexpected. Anyway, that's how it is, so if you don't hate it, I thought we could talk a little more. There are a lot of things I'd like to ask you.”
“Of course, I don't hate it.”

　Osamu replied immediately. He would never hate talking to such a beautiful girl.
 Osamu watched with his heart calming down as she let out a breath of relief.

(Probably, she’d be more comfortable talking to me. I'm not particularly good-looking, and I'm not someone she’ll ever meet again. I've heard that if you want to talk about your worries, it's better to talk to someone lower than you, is that what it is?)

　Just as Osamu thought that, Saki’s gaze glanced towards the sofa. That’s when Osamu suddenly realized.

“Um... anyway, I didn’t take a bath and fell asleep on the sofa, but... I didn’t get it dirty, did I?”

　The sofa she was currently sitting on was where Osamu was sleeping yesterday.
 Osamu was really anxious because everything in this apartment seemed to be luxurious.
 Saki glanced at the sofa, but she shook her head.

“I don’t see any particular problems, you know?... Ah, I said I wanted to talk to you about various things, but I’m sorry I wasn’t very thoughtful. Would you like to take a shower?”
“...Eh? As-as expected, that would be bad, right?”
“Please don't worry about it. There's nothing there that would be embarrassing if you see them... Ah, but I don't have any changes of clothes.”
“That’s okay. I can just wear these clothes as is... then, is it okay if I borrow the bath?”

　Osamu asked after pointing out the uniform he was currently wearing.
 Because he was a bit bothered by the smell after not showering for one day.
 Saki nodded.

“Of course. Well, I'll get you a towel here. The shower is this way, please follow me.”
“...Yeah.”

　Saki said as she got up from the sofa, and Osamu, while surprised at the size of the bathroom, washed his body there.

────

(T/N: Release schedule: 3 release a week, each release being a bundle of 5 chapters.)

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