OtaPon 11-15 (Patreon)

Chapter 11

RAW

　At her school, Saki was such a perfect beautiful girl that no one complained about her.
 Monday morning. A school assembly was held, and Saki participated in it as the student council president.
 As she walked briskly across the stage, several sighs of admiration leaked out.

“...She’s pretty today too.”
“...Yeah, so true.”
“We could have seen that goddess if we had a school assembly every week...”
“Aah... that crisp face is beautiful.”
“...That's right, I want to be stepped on by her...”

　Conversations like this were popping up here and there in whispers.
 Saki just walked, that's it. She glanced intently at the students, then spoke into the microphone.

　The teacher's voice telling them to ‘be quiet’ echoed, and the inside of the gymnasium gradually became quieter.
 Saki thought about greeting them and spoke up.
 But, her voice is small and can only be heard on the stage.
 That’s when Saki noticed.

(...Ugh, the power wasn't on)

　No one seemed to notice such a small mistake, and Saki was quietly relieved.
 Saki immediately turned on the microphone and greeted them.
 Then, she talked as a student council. She announced about volunteer activities that would be held on holidays, special classes held on holidays, etc. It was a speech to recruit participants.

　Originally, these things could have been done by the teachers, but it was left to Saki, the student council president, because “If Hino-san says so, everyone will participate.”

　After finishing her speech, Saki quickly bowed and walked off the stage.

“...Aah, Hino-san has a beautiful voice today as well.”
“...So true.”
“Volunteering, huh?... If the student council is going to participate, I guess I’ll do it too...”
“That’s right, isn’t it... to be able to see Hino-san during Golden Week... that’s the same as going out, right...?”
“...That's right, I want to be abused by that voice.”

　As soon as Saki finished greeting, the gymnasium became noisy again.
 The school assembly ended like that without any problems.

*

　Lunch break. Saki was eating lunch in the student council room.
 She usually eats with someone from her class or someone who invites her, but today she wanted to eat alone.

　With a smile, Saki took out a book from her bag. It was the second volume of a novel written by Osamu. She had already read the first volume and had bought the second volume.
 She plans to read the book while eating. Since she had to act perfect in public, the only time she can eat in such a bad manner is when she's in the student council room.

　Saki placed the five sweet breads she bought on the table and flipped through the pages of the novel.

“Haa... Shimazaki-san... how amazing.”

　It was when she was muttering to herself while reading the novel. Suddenly, the door to the student council room was thrown open. For a moment, Saki's shoulders jumped up in surprise, and in her haste to put away her books and bread, her leg hit hard against the desk.

“Ow, it hurts...!”

　While writhing in pain, she glared intently at the girl that could be called her best friend coming into the room.
 Morishima Mayumi, the treasurer of the student council, who was also planning to have lunch, called out to her.

“Yaho─, Sakicchi─! Let's have lunch together!”

　Relieved that it was Mayumi, Saki began to rearrange the table.
 While rubbing her knee and complaining at the pain, Saki looked intently at Mayumi.

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Chapter 12

RAW

”I don't really mind, but... please don't open the door too hard. It will hurt it.”
“Isn't it Sakicchi's knee that hurts?”
“If-if you know already, please don’t do it!...geez, you're uselessly energetic today as well.”
“Of course I am! I need to be energetic on Monday after all!”

　Mayumi gave her a thumbs up as she said that, and Saki responded with a wry smile as she walked down the hallway. Mayumi then tilted her head to the side.

“Huh, Sakicchi? Are you in a good mood?”
“Eh? Why?”

　She couldn't think of anything in particular, so she tilted her head in puzzlement.

“No, because Sakicchi usually comes to the student council room when you’re tired, you see. It feels like it’s different today.”
“...That’s not true.”

　As Mayumi said, when Saki wants to be alone, she goes to the student council room.
 However, today, she went there because she wanted to freely enjoy the book.
 While secretly putting the book away in her bag, Saki looked at Mayumi. She saw Mayumi looking into Saki's face.

“Wh-what is it?”
“Sakicchi, something good happened last weekend, right?”
“S-something good, you say... nothing special happened. It's just normal, normal.”

　Osamu's smile appeared in Saki's mind and she shook her head in a panic to drive it away.
 She tried to turn away, but Mayumi started repeatedly poking her on the cheek.

“Something definitely happened, right? ...Did you eat something you like?”
“P-please don't talk to another person like they are gluttons...”
“Aren’t you a glutton?”
“I’m, not!”

　Certainly, on Sunday, she went to the all-you-can-eat restaurant that she had always wanted to go to.
 Saki was desperately trying to drive away the scene that flashed in her mind.

“Or maybe you got your hand on something you like...”
“I don’t have anything like that.”

　Regarding that, Saki actually hit the mark. After she parted ways with Osamu on Saturday, she had been reading his novels voraciously.
 Because she had purchased both volumes of the novel currently on sale at bookstores and had become a fan to the extent that she enjoyed the differences between them and the web version.

“...Or maybe... a man?”
“It’s not! It's not like that! Absolutely!”

　Just then, Saki, who happened to have Osamu’s figure appear on her mind, denied it even more than before.
 Mayumi was even more surprised by her reaction. ‘Ah, crap’, Saki thought as she pressed her lips tightly together and averted her gaze as if to run away.

　With those attitudes, Mayumi seemed convinced.

“...It-it’s really a man!? Y-you finally got a boyfriend!? Sakicchi whose history of not having a boyfriend = age!?”

　Mayumi's eyes lit up as she caught Saki. and Saki glared intently at such Mayumi.

“Wa-wait! Could you please not say something embarrassing so loudly...? In the first place, he’s not my boyfriend or anything...!”
“But that means you met a boy you’re interested in, right?”

　Saki remembered the Saturday with Osamu. It was the first time she had met a man who was so easy to talk to. At the time, she thought that he was a good listener and a good talker.
 However, Saki was embarrassed to admit such feelings and turned away and denied it.

“...I-I’m not interested or anything. He just helped me, that’s all...”
“Helped you? Ah, could it be, is it that? Did he help you while you were being hit on? So you got a maiden side, huh!”

　Mayumi vigorously poked Saki with her elbow. Saki was embarrassed to be teased like that and glared at Mayumi.

“I-it's not like that. ...He was paying the bill for me, when I couldn't pay for it.”

　Saki wanted to keep quiet about the incident that occurred on Friday, but she didn't want her to misunderstand in a strange way, so she honestly told her.

────

Chapter 13

RAW

　When Saki spoke while enduring her embarrassment, Mayumi tilted her head.

“Huh? You couldn't pay for it... did you eat that much?”
“T-that’s not it......... I forgot my wallet.”
“A-as expected of Ponkotsucchi.”

(T/N: Ponkotsu - clumsy; useless; no good; unreliable. From the dictionary. This is the same word I translated as ‘clumsy’ in the novel title. I feel like ‘ponkotsu’ is more charming, so I’ll use it from now on.)

　Mayumi's words struck a chord with Saki.

“W-who are you calling Ponkotsucchi! I’m basically perfect, I only make mistakes once in a while. No matter how hard we try, humans are never 100% free from mistakes! We are creatures that are bound to have flaws somewhere...!”
“Might be, but in Sakicchi’s case, I think you are usually clumsy, you are perfect only once in a while. Well, somehow, it seems like you managed to fool the students though.”
“I'm not trying to fool them, that's my normal operation. Mayumi is just trying to find my faults, that’s why I look like a ponkotsu to you! Anyone would look like a ponkotsu if you keep pointing out their weaknesses!”
“Heeh, I see, I see. ...So? How did it go with that man?”

　When she returned to the topic, Saki quickly turned her gaze down.

“I didn’t do anything special.”
“Eeh─, what a waste. You should have at least exchanged contact information. For you to go out of your way to talk like that, means he wasn't an unpleasant person, right?”
“...We did exchange contact information. B-but, there were various circumstances that led to that, you see.”
“Heeh─, so? How much have you been contacting each other?”
“...Eh? Contact, is it?”

　Saki looked blankly at Mayumi. Saki had never thought of contacting him.

“Right, right. Didn’t he at least contact you since Sakicchi is a beautiful girl? I'm sure he’s a little interested in you since he helped you, a stranger, by paying for you, right?”
“...”

　Saki bit her lip hard because she hadn't received any contact.

“Huh, what's wrong, Sakicchi?”
“...The contact, I haven’t received any.”
“Eh? The other side didn’t say something strange?”
“The other side... Shimazaki-san hasn’t contacted me in particular, you know? Besides, in the first place, it’s not like Shimazaki-san helped me for such an impure reason, and he wasn’t the one who asked to exchange contact information. After all, um, I just asked for advice from him and we exchanged contact information so I could get a reply regarding that.”

　Saki thought it would be best to get Osamu's permission before telling anyone that he was a novelist, so she only spoke vaguely.
 Hearing Saki's words, Mayumi put her hand on her chin as if she was thinking.

“I see─. But Sakicchi is interested, right?”
“...It's not like I'm particularly interested in him. He was a kind person though.”
“Didn’t it mean you are interested in him? Sakicchi never met a boy who makes you feel that comfortable, and he made such a good impression that you asked to exchange contact information, then shouldn’t you try your best to get along with him? If you don't end up getting along, you can just cut ties somewhere anyway.”

　Hearing Mayumi's words, Saki also thought the same to some extent, so she nodded slightly.

“...That’s, true.”
“Ah, so you really are interested in him?”
“T-that’s not it...!”

　Saki vigorously shook her head to hide her embarrassment. Seeing Saki like that, Mayumi narrowed her eyes teasingly.

“Now, now, how about you try sending him a message to take your mind off things?"
“...I suppose I should. Either way, I promised to send him one after all.”

　Saki took out her smartphone and stared at it for some time. That time is twenty seconds.

　Saki, who was frozen in place, glanced at Mayumi.
 Then, after letting out a small breath, she clung to her tearfully.

“...Ma-Mayumi. W-what on earth should I write?”
“Y-you’re at that stage!?”
“F-for now... it's springtime, so I know I should start with a greeting about spring...”
“You don’t need to! There's no need for respectful expressions like that for just a message between friends! You can just be genuine!”

　Mayumi raised her voice.
 Even as Saki heard such a voice, her hand holding her smartphone couldn't stop shaking.

────

Chapter 14

RAW

　After school, Saki and Mayumi were walking down the hallway side by side.

“...Hino-san looks dignified and beautiful today as well.”
“...For sure. Come to think of it, did you hear? It seems like she got a perfect score as usual in the quiz that was held the other day, you know?”
“As expected of Hino-san... Now that I think about it, I heard she also did a great job in PE, you know?”
“She’s good in both school and sports, and with that looks... as expected of her.”

　Anyone who walked down the hallway would hear such voices.
 When Saki glanced at Mayumi, she saw that she was holding back a chuckle.

“What are you laughing at?”
“N-no, because... if they know the normal Sakicchi, they’d know the gap is huge... pu-.”
“Don’t ‘pu-’ me. I have no gap.”
“No, no. Because, the quiz aside, you were pretty pathetic in PE, weren't you?”
“C-could you please not say that?”

　Saki quickly grasped her index finger to hide it.
 There was a compress placed on it. She brilliantly made a spike in the volleyball game in PE, but while everyone around her praised her, Saki actually jammed her finger.

“And it looks like you haven't even sent a message yet.”
“I-I'm currently revising it. I-I don’t want to be rude in my first email...”

　She tried to come up with a reasonable excuse, but Mayumi cut in.

“No, no, for a message with a friend like that. You should just purposely make a mistake and have him point it out, and then you can expand the conversation from there. If you don’t leave something to poke at in the message, it’s hard for the other person to reply, isn’t it?”
“...That seems rude.”

　Saki said sulkily, then she went to the student entrance and changed her shoes.
 Then they walked side by side and headed to her apartment.

“Then we have to clean Sakicchi's house today.”
“I’m really grateful for that, but... it-it's not that dirty, you know?”
“Really? But, you know, you might bring your boyfriend there in the future, so as a girl, you have to at least keep your room clean or it might put him off. After all, a lot of men think that it’s the bare minimum you should be able to do.”
“......”

　Mayumi's words made Saki's cheeks twitch. Mayumi tilted her head at that reaction.

“What's wrong? Are you thinking that you won't bring him into your room or something?”
“N-no... Um... It’s already, too late, for that.”
“...Huh? So, you brought him in on the same day you met!?”
“The way you say it is misleading! I-It’s not like I brought him in! I just thought I'd give him the money back because I'd have money when I got home. ...Then, I couldn't really find my wallet, so I just asked Shimazaki-san to wait in the room..”

　Although she kept quiet about the fact that the wallet was actually in her bag, Mayumi was already put off by her words.

“U-uwaa... to think you’d bring him into that garbage house, you’re brave in strange places, huh.”
“I-I didn't really mean it that way...! Because, I already... somewhat, only somewhat okay? He already knows that I’m just a little bit bad at cleaning.”
“...Ah, yeah. Well, um, let's do our best from now on!”

　Mayumi patted her shoulder and smiled.

“...There's nothing really wrong with it, so I'm not really worried.”
“That's what you said, but somehow, you're not as energetic right now, right?"
“It's nothing like that. I'm just tired from screaming too much.”

　They arrived at the apartment and entered Saki’s room together.
 As soon as they entered, Mayumi smiled wryly and started cleaning. Saki will also assist her.
 After a while, when the room was clean, Mayumi wiped her forehead.

“Alright, the cleaning is done! Well then, next is the message!”
“Message?”
“Yes, you should just send him one already. This Shimazaki-kun is from another high school, right? The only time you can meet is on holidays, so you have to ask him about his plans now!”
“M-meet!? I-I didn't have any intention of doing that at all...!”

　She responded to Mayumi's outrageous remark in a rough voice.

“But you were interested enough to exchange contact information yourself, right?”
“...T-that’s... um... I just want to talk to him for a bit once in a while.”
“Sakicchi is already not being honest.”
“...I'm an honest person.”
“You're not being honest, you know─. Well, that's cute though, come on, send him a message soon. You can just greet him, can’t you?”
“...I understand.”

　Saki sat down on the sofa and took out her smartphone.

────

Chapter 15

RAW

　Osamu's smartphone vibrated.
 The person on the other end of the phone is the editor of Osamu's novel. He quickly took his phone and put it to his ear.

“Yes, hello...”
[Hey, Osamu-sensei, is this time okay?]

　A clear female voice reached his ears.
 Osamu's pen name was [Osamu]. He couldn't think of anything particularly elaborate, so he just used his name in hiragana.

“...Yes, it's okay.”

　Since they had exchanged emails in advance, they finished the formal greetings.

[I see. Let's start with the good news. Another reprint has been decided. You're doing pretty well, maybe the advertisement we put out a while ago had some effect.]
“Thank you very much.”
[No, no. Of course, this is because it’s your work. Even if we advertise it, works that don't sell won't sell.]

　The editor laughed in a joking tone. Osamu smiled to match her.

(...But there are many people in the world who are selling a lot more. Being satisfied with the way things are now is no good.)

　If he looked around the world, he would see that there are many people above him.
 That’s why, no matter how much praise he received from his editor, he never got carried away.

[So, how's Volume 3 going?]

　The talk switched to about the next volume.

“I'm writing it right now, but I'm having a bit of a struggle.”
[Well, don't be in such a hurry. The deadline isn’t anytime soon. It will be enough if you have the manuscript ready by the end of June.]
“...I understand, I'll do my best.”
[Well, then, if you need any help at all, you can always come to me.]

　After hanging up the phone, Osamu returned his gaze to his computer and stared at the manuscript for a while.
 While maintaining his motivation with words from the editor, he resumed writing .
 The only sound that echoed in the room was the sound of the keyboard being tapped. While stretching his body from time to time, he continued to write.

“...Guh.”

　And then he got stuck. This is where he originally thought the plot would stumble, and it ended up stopping him as he expected.
 What Osamu was glaring at was the date scene. Osamu's novel is a romance novel, but of course Osamu himself had no experience whatsoever.
 For this reason, he was writing while referring to materials, but things didn't go as he wanted.

　Osamu picked up his smartphone to take a breather and noticed that he had received a message.
 The sender was Saki. He opened the message.

[I'm sorry for being sudden. I’ve read the novel.]

　Osamu was surprised by the message and muttered.

“...She really read it.”

　Before anything else, he’s happy about that, and his cheeks naturally loosen.
 Then as if she was right before him, another message arrived.
 It's an image of Saki holding Volume 1 and Volume 2 of his book.

[Thank you, how was it?]

　Osamu thought about whether to send the message or not, then did so.
 If he were to look online, he’d see a lot of reviews about his books. However, this would be the first time he’d hear their impressions directly, so he was a little nervous.
 Prepared to be bombarded with disparaging impressions, Osamu impatiently waited for her reply.
 Then, his smartphone beeped signaling the arrival of a message.

[I was very, very impressed. I really liked the relationship between the protagonist and heroine, which was more than friends but less than lovers. They gradually become attracted to each other, and I can't wait for the third volume.]
“...I, see.”

　Osamu let out a sigh of relief. He took her words seriously, including her compliments.

[Thank you. Anyway, I'll try my best.]
[Yes, please do your best. I'll definitely buy the third volume when it comes out.]
[Thank you. But, I'm still struggling over various things, so it might take a little more time.]

　After sending that message, Osamu put his hand on his forehead. Because he had no intention of saying anything about his troubles.
 The reason he said that much in his message was because he had the slightest desire to consult her.

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