OtaPon 66-70 (Patreon)

Chapter 66

RAW

[Aah─. Yes yes, so Shimazaki-kun came to save you, is that it?]
“That’s right. ...He happened to be on his way home nearby. And then, he pretended to be my boyfriend.”
[I see... So, you called each other by your name to pretend he is your boyfriend?]
“You’re good at guessing. And so, um... well, in the end we decided to call each other by our names, and we just went home like that.”
[I see. Well, he ended up not being a problem and, on the contrary, he even became your Cupid in the end, good for you.]
“Yes.”

　Saki replied as she laid down on the sofa. Her lips loosened as she remembered when Osamu had called her name.

[But then, rumors about you might finally spread at school.]
“At school, is it?”
[That's right. The person who confessed to you... what was his name again? Well, whatever. Wouldn’t he tell his friend about it? Any news about Sakicchi spread quickly, so you might hear about it at school after this.]
“I... see. You’re talking about them asking me if I have a boyfriend, right?”
[Yeah, that’s right. How do you reply then? Are you going to tell them he’s your boyfriend?]
“...That's true. That would be more convenient for me. ...I don't think anyone will confess to me after that either.”
[I don’t know if they will stop though.]
“Eh? Is there anyone who would confess to someone who has a boyfriend?”
[There is also such a thing as stealing another person’s lover. It depends on the person. But, well, I think it will definitely decrease.]
“I would be glad if the number decreased, but I'm worried that it will cause trouble for Osamu-san.”

　As Mayumi said, if she says [he’s my boyfriend], there won't be any more annoying confessions.
　However, even though they were from a different school, there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be anyone who wanted to take a look at Osamu.

[Hmm, in that case... how about asking Shimazaki-kun if it's okay if you pretend he’s your boyfriend?]
“...I-Is that okay?”
[Wouldn’t that depend on Sakicchi? If you tell him everything, even if he doesn't like it, Shimazaki-kun will be aware of it, right?]
“...T-That's certainly true.”
[It’s either that, or you really confess, I guess?]
“T-that's impossible! It's still too early!”

　Saki shook her head even though she knew Mayumi couldn't see her.
　It hadn't even been a month since she met Osamu.

[Is it really too early? You get along pretty well, so I think it'll be okay.]
“...It's a little different than saying we get along well. I think Osamu-san is only with me for his novel.”
[Eeh─, is he really?]
“He is... anyway, right now it's still not good. That’s why, confessing is definitely a no.”
[Then, how about trying to only consult him? You already consult Shimazaki-kun anyway, so all you have to do is ask for his help too. I'm sure men won't feel bad about being relied on!]
“I-Is that so? If I rely on him too much, won’t he get annoyed?”
[He would if he didn't like you, but I think Sakicchi will be fine. He doesn't hate you, right?]

　Saki slowly nodded at Mayumi's words.

“I don't think, he hates me. I think we've built a cordial relationship... although I think it's just as friends.”
[Then, it's normal to consult him, right? Isn't it okay to do it like you do with me?]
“...I, understand. I'll try asking him the next time we meet.”
[Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, I'm glad everything is okay! Let me know if you need anything, okay?]
“...Yes, thank you very much.”
[Then, see you tomorrow. Good night.”
“Good night.”

　After saying that, Saki dims the screen of her smartphone.
　After that, she secretly resolved herself to “I’ll consult him the next time we meet.”

────

Chapter 67

RAW

　After the morning class was over, Osamu stretched his stiff muscles to loosen it up.
　After that, he opened his smartphone and noticed that he had received a message.
　The sender was Saki. Just seeing her name filled him with joy. But at the same time, he felt a slight nervousness. He opened the message and checked its contents.

[I'm sorry for contacting you so suddenly. Would you like to hang out with me on one of your days off?]

　Seeing the word ‘day off’, Osamu thought about the plans he had made.
　Then he typed a message.

[Is it okay if I call you now?]
[Yes, it’s okay.]
[Got it, then I'll call you after I leave the classroom.]
[I'll be waiting for you. Any time is fine for me after all.]

　After seeing that message, Osamu got up from his seat.
　At that time, a girl from his class came up to Osamu. She is a popular girl in the class.

“Hey, Shimazaki-kun, are you going to have lunch now? How about we eat together?”

　Behind her, girls were watching Osamu.
　They were a group of six men and women. These were the people who Osamu selfishly thought were the top caste of his class.
　Among them were two men who usually made fun of Osamu. One of the men looked openly hostile, but the other was smiling calmly.
　Recently, Osamu has been observing the movements of his classmates and has understood something.

　That was, the two guys who usually made fun of Osamu were not real inkyas. They were the so-called ‘kyoro-juu,’ people who are preoccupied with appearing popular, and the one at the top of the class was the lone male student there who never dropped his smile.

“That's right, how about it, Shimazaki-kun?”

　That male student said while smiling and tilting his head.

“...I have something important to do, I have to call someone. Sorry.”
“Eh─, is that so? Then, you can just come after that, you know?”
“...Aah, I guess so. If I have the time.”

　Osamu gently declined and left the classroom with a smile on his face, trying to avoid being viewed as hostile as much as he could.
　Then, once he went out into an empty schoolyard, he put his smartphone to his ear.
　After a few rings, the call connected.

[Hello, Osamu-san. What's wrong all of a sudden]

　Hearing Saki's voice, his tiredness from school was blown away in an instant.

“Ah─, um... on my day off, I was thinking of writing my novel for a bit. So I was thinking of spending the weekends eating some pre-made curry at home.”
[C-curry... I see. S-so you can cook...?]
“If it’s just curry... there are instructions on how to make it on the back of the curry roux after all.”
[I didn't know about that...]

　Osamu smiled wryly at the usual Saki.

“...That's how it is, my bad. Going out for a while is... well.”
[I see... if you’re busy then, I’m sorry... oeh!?]
“Eh?”

　Suddenly, Saki let out a cute voice, and Osamu was surprised.
　Osamu reflexively tilted his head, but he heard Mayumi's voice echoing from behind Saki, and he somehow understood the situation.

[I-I'm sorry for surprising you.]
“No, it's fine, but... are you with Morishima?”
[Yes, that's right, but... if you don't hate it, can we make curry together?]

　Osamu was surprised by Saki's unexpected proposal.
　Saki shouldn’t be able to cook, he knew that from the conversation earlier.

　She might just serve something dangerous. Even so, one emotion emerged within Osamu.

　──I want to try eating Saki's cooking.

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Chapter 68

RAW

“...Make curry together, huh?”
[Y-yes. I want to eat curry and I also want to learn how to make it...]
“It's not something you need to learn, though.”
[Even so... is it no good?]

　Osamu naturally couldn't help but smile at Saki's pleading words.

“Aah, sure. About the curry... should we make it at Saki's house?”
[...No, if we do that we won't be able to use Osamu-san's pre-made curry... Ma-Mayumi! Please don't say stupid things!]

　This time it seemed Saki spoke up while holding her smartphone away. With a huff, Saki's angry voices echoed from a distance.

“Stupid things?”
[...Eh, n-no, it’s nothing! P-please don't worry about it!]
“...Really? I'm curious though...”
[Why don't you just stay the night at Sakicchi's house?]

　He heard Mayumi's voice from afar, albeit faintly.
　It wasn't hard to understand why Saki had judged that it was a stupid thing.

[...G-geez Mayumi... That's how, it is.]
“A-as expected... that's, bad for Saki, right?”
[Eh? N-no... I don't really... um, mind, I suppose. On the contrary, I feel bad for Osamu-san... even though you’re trying to seclude yourself and make curry to write your novel...]
“...No, I don't really mind, I'm using a laptop anyway, and I can concentrate better if I'm in an environment where I can't access the internet.”
[Eh? ...I see, this is the so-called ‘mansion cramming’ isn’t it?]
“I’m not going to push myself that hard though.”

* (T/N: 館詰め - ‘mansion cramming’ - letting others do everything else while you focus on your own work. Probably. The one in dictionary is 缶詰め - 2. confining someone (e.g. so they can concentrate on work). I think they’re pronounced the same. The latter one is probably more popular, I’ve seen it in manga even. That’s why Osamu responded like that.)

　Osamu answered with a wry smile.
　The deadline itself was approaching, but it was not the time to panic yet.
　Still, there is the end-of-term exam in July, so he wanted to be in a position to concentrate on the exam before that, so it was true that he wanted to hurry.

[I see... S-so... what shall we do?]

　Osamu was worrying over Saki's words. He doesn't want her to dislike him for stepping in too far, but he wanted her to be interested in him as the opposite sex by stepping in here, even if only a little. These conflicting feelings clashed with each other, and Osamu──

“...Can I stay the night? I’d get lazy if I'm alone, and I think you could take my smartphone away from me.”
[...I, understand. But, I don't have any... ingredients at home, so there’s a need to buy some, but what shall I do?]
“If it’s that, it's okay. I was thinking of stopping by the supermarket on my way home today. I'll buy some at the supermarket, prepare some clothes for when I stay the night, and then go to Saki's house.”
[...I see. ...Can I go to the supermarket with you? I do need to buy my own meal, after all, so I'll help out as well.]
“S-shopping together, huh?”
[...T-that's right. Is it no good?]
“No... shall we go together?”
[...Yes. Please send me another message with the location of the supermarket. I'll head there as soon as school is over.]
“...Yeah, thank you.”

　After ending the call, Osamu patted his chest in relief.
　After he felt relieved that he hadn't been rejected for a brief moment, he was immediately struck with nervousness.

“...Come to think of it, how many days will I be staying at Saki’s house!?”

　They didn't even talk about the exact schedule. Osamu’s plan was to cook three days' worth of meals tonight.
　In other words, he was planning to arrange his preparation to shut himself inside from today until Sunday.
　If they go on as is, he will end up staying at Saki's house until Sunday──.

　As soon as he thought that, his face got hot.

(...A-am I going to be okay?)

　Although this was unrelated, he didn't have enough time to go back to his class and eat with his classmates.

────

Chapter 69

RAW

　School was over and he was getting ready to leave the classroom.

“Shimazaki-kun, do you want to go to karaoke with us on the way home?”
“...No, I have a bit of something to do.”
“Eh─, how about the weekend?”
“...Ah─, I have a bit of work.”
“Eh, you have a part-time job!? Where!? At a supermarket or something?!”
“...Ah, no, I don't really want to say it.”
“Eh─, I want to know─.”
“Come on, Misaki. He’s troubled, so, stop it.”

　Another girl grabbed the girl called Misaki by the scruff of her neck and left.
　Osamu patted his chest in relief before leaving the classroom.

　Recently, more and more people have been talking to him like this in the classroom.
　He didn't feel bad about it, but as someone who liked his alone time, Osamu had mixed feelings about it.

　He left Mizu High and started walking towards the supermarket. After about ten minutes, he arrived at the supermarket, and Osamu waited for Saki at the entrance.
　When Saki's eyes met Osamu's, she ran up to him and stopped in front of him.

“I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, Osamu-san.”
“No, it's totally fine. Well then, let's go buy it right away.”
“Yes, let's go.”

　Osamu and Saki entered together, carrying a cart and checkout basket.
　Then, Saki went to the fruit and vegetable corner and looked around.

“What’s wrong?”
“...No, I’m not very familiar with this place. I see, so there are so many different things here.”
“...Have you ever bought vegetables since you started high school?”
“I-I have...! Even cup noodles have green onions and stuff in them, right?!”
“That doesn't count as buying, does it?”
“I-I also bought some for the end-of-year and Obon!”
“Didn't you just follow your parents shopping when you were home?”
“Th-that's not true...! ...I-it’s curry, right? I looked up how to make it easily during my lunch break. First is the carrots, right?”
“That's right. Let's pick some.”
“Yes.”

　Saki grabbed a bag of carrots and looked at them.

“I heard that carrots with thin cores, dark colors, and shiny surfaces are good.”
“...O-ooh. You sure know something that sounds like housewife wisdom.”
“After I decided to go with Osamu-san, I looked it up after all. Aah, shall I go with this one? It looks really nice.”
“Yeah.”

　Saki put the carrots in the basket and smiled with satisfaction.

“Next would be potatoes I guess?”
“Can I get those mushrooms over there too?”
“Eh? Mushrooms? I’m fine with that, but this may be the first time I’ve put mushrooms in curry.”
“Really? Isn’t there something called mushroom curry?”
“I’m... come to think of it, my mother doesn't like mushrooms, so I've never eaten them.”
“Is Saki okay with mushrooms?”
“Yes, I’m okay with it.”
“Speaking of which, is there any food that Saki doesn't like?”

　Osamu was genuinely curious because Saki has eaten everything like a vacuum cleaner.
　Saki scratched her cheek in embarrassment, then looked at the nearby vegetables. There were packaged bell peppers lined up there.

“...I'm not a big fan of bell peppers. Other than that, I think I'm generally okay.”
“I see. It certainly has a peculiar taste.”
“Yes... I'm still not used to it. How about you, Osamu-san?”
“As for me... I guess I don't like eggplants a little.”
“Eh, I see. Certainly, I didn't like them when I was small either.”
“You can eat them now?”
“Yes, I got over it.”

　While talking about such things, they put the necessary items in the basket.

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Chapter 70

RAW

　While moving the cart, Saki stopped in front of the cup noodles.

“Ah, there's a new product.” (Saki)
“Super spicy ramen, huh... come to think of it, I saw it in a commercial.”
“I also heard about it at school. How it was extremely spicy and they couldn't finish it... or something like that. ...I'm a bit interested.”
“...I-I see. As expected, finishing it alone is probably difficult, but if we each eat half... maybe we can?”
“S-shall we challenge it?”
“Yeah, let’s.”

　Seeing Saki smiling happily, Osamu also smiled.
　Then, Osamu and Saki lined up at the cash register and it was their turn.
　The female clerk was working the cash register with a friendly smile, but when she laid her eyes on Saki, she froze.

“H-huh?, Hi-Hino-senpai!?”
“Eh!? Umm...”

　Saki scratched her cheek, looking troubled. Then, the clerk opened her mouth while working the cash register.

“Ah, I-I'm sorry. I'm a first year student... a-are you shopping with your boyfriend?”

　When she said ‘boyfriend’, Osamu almost choked. He was about to deny it, but Saki spoke up first.

“U-umm... well, I suppose so.”
"C-come to think of it, there was a rumor about that... huh? So it was true?”

　Osamu was surprised by the sudden declaration of boyfriendhood. Still bewildered, Osamu finished the payment and stuffed the purchases into the plastic bag he received.
　Next to him, Saki stuffed the bag in the same way while making an apologetic sound.

“...I'm sorry, today I wanted to talk about the ‘boyfriend’ thing from earlier.”
“O-okay.”

　The word ‘boyfriend’ naturally made him nervous.

“It’s about when you saved me the other day, after that time, rumors were spreading little by little that there is someone dating me...”
“I see... but, why did you lie earlier?”
“U-um... I, I don’t want anything to happen like back then when someone confessed to me, so I guess you could call it a windbreak... That’s why, will you go out with me?”
“G-go out...!”

　Osamu knew what the words meant, but he almost choked as he picked up those words.
　Saki's face turned bright red and she shook her head.

“O-of course it’s only pretending!? I-if it’s not a bother, I’d like you to pretend to be my boyfriend...”
“I know already... Pretending to be your boyfriend, right? I've also been asking you for advice on various things. If this will help Saki, then please use my name as much as you want.”
“...Thank you very much.”

　Osamu almost misunderstood Saki because she smiled so happily.
　That's why Osamu said this to himself over and over again. That Saki only said that to get rid of the annoying confessions.
　After they finished putting the items into the plastic bags Osamu tried to grab the two bags, but Saki quickly grabbed one of them.

“I’ll carry it.”
“No, it's fine... um, please let me hold it. If both of our hands are full──”

　That’s when Saki looked at the female clerk from earlier.
　Osamu followed her gaze, and he saw her glancing at him as she was working.

“──We won’t be able to hold hands as we go home.”

　As Saki’s cheeks loosened, she took Osamu's hand.
　Osamu gasped at the soft sensation.

(Don’t misunderstand, don’t misunderstand, me!)

　Osamu’s head was filled with embarrassment, but he persevered.

“I got it. Then, let's go home.”

　When Osamu strongly squeezed back Saki's hand, she nodded her head slightly, her face turning bright red.
　Seeing such a cute reaction, Osamu's heart beats even faster.
　While praying that his hand wouldn't convey his feelings, Osamu started on his way home.

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