FTL/TLC: Alisa
Editor: Kakarotto (aka G-String)
Note: Alisa bought the official volume on Bookwalker JP and translated directly as a raw reader. Kakarotto (aka G-String) made final edits and checked for any irregularities in sentences.
Shout out to our beta readers.
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“Thirty minutes! No… it might take a bit longer. Just wait for me in the park there!”
I, Nishino Asuka, spoke while holding down my messy bed hair.
Under the window, you, who had been singing a radio exercise song until just a moment ago, were looking up at me with a face like a little boy, ever so gentle and slightly mischievous.
──If you ever feel like running away, touch your left ear and that will be my cue.
It couldn’t be called a promise, it was more like a joke. Even so, this joking way of speaking was very you.
A precious memory that connected us to that distant summer day.
So you still remembered, you noticed it… Saku-nii.
I hurriedly closed the window, afraid that if I let my guard down even a little, I would start crying.
I wasn’t usually a good sleeper, but due to an unexpected series of events, I breathed slowly to calm my mind which had gone beyond awake and became hot.
Su, Phew, Ha.
Eeh!?
After calming down, all kinds of emotions—especially embarrassment, came over my head.
When I hurriedly looked in the mirror, my hair was even more disheveled than I thought, and lately, I had been thinking too much at night and couldn’t sleep well, therefore my skin didn’t look good. And more importantly, I wasn’t wearing any underwear under my pajamas…
Once I realized this, I couldn’t stand any longer and crouched down with my head in my hands.
It was only for a brief moment, he shouldn’t have noticed, right?
Snap. I slapped both of my cheeks together to regain my composure. It wasn’t time to laze around, I had to get ready soon.
After quietly walking out of my room, I tiptoed down the stairs. Father and Mother’s bedroom was on the second floor, so as long as I didn’t make any loud noises, they wouldn’t wake up even if I used the washroom downstairs.
I washed my face carefully and put on a face pack as a last-ditch effort. The packaging was full of enticing words such as high moisturizing, clarifying, whitening skin, and so on. All I could do was believe in them now!
In the mirror in front of me, I saw a reflection of myself that I couldn’t show to anyone.
I took longer than usual to brush my teeth. To save space, I packed my pouch with small samples of lotion and cream.
After taking off my face pack, I put on my usual makeup with a little bit of blush that I didn’t normally use.
After carefully arranging my hair, I quietly went back to my room.
I took out my leather Boston bag from the closet when I suddenly realized something.
Huh? Could it be that I’m going to spend the night with Saku-nii?
──!
If this were a manga, my face would’ve turned red and sweat would definitely run down my cheeks with a big letter of *fluuush* written on the page. Smoke would probably have come out of my head while my eyes would have been swirling around in circles.
Trying not to think too deeply, I continued to get ready but stopped when I was about to pull out a drawer.
…Um, well, about the underwear, what should I wear?
No, it’s not like I’m imagining something weird!
Excuses came to my mind one after another even though I didn’t know whom they were directed to.
After what I would describe as a moment too long, I made up my mind and took out a shopping bag that had been hidden away at the very back of my closet.
Inside were two pairs of clean blue underwear.
One set was ink-blue like the letters of a fountain pen on an old letter, and the other was a blue moon like the night sky we looked up at together that summer.
In fact, I originally wanted to wear them someday on an ordinary day. Like a novel I happened to find interesting, or a chance encounter with a familiar stray cat on the riverbank. Just for ridiculously trivial reasons.
I picked them up while trembling───────
The decision was quickly settled.
After I finished getting ready, I wrote a short message to my parents on the same kind of note paper I had given him the other day, and placed it on the dining room table.
I put on my shoes at the entrance, quickly straightened my expression, before finally opening the door.
Sitting on a bench in the park, he looked innocent as his head was moving up and down. I felt somehow nostalgic and found him so endearing as I walked towards him.
Even if you were Saku-nii, even if I was the girl from the past—
I am Asu-nee now.
“…Hey, kimi (you).”
The adventure had begun.
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Translation notes – None
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Plebian Translation 