Nekura to Hiria ga Deau Toki [LN] V1 Chapter 0.1 Prologue part 3

 ◆ Nekura

I opened the door to the second library.

This second library is just what everyone calls it, but it is not actually a library.

The number of books in the library has been increasing every year, and the library is no longer able to hold them all. It was a temporary storage place until we could decide where to put them. Compared to the library that is used properly, it is small and almost no one comes here. The lock had been broken for several months, but no one cared, so it was left unattended.

Or it is possible that the breakage was not even noticed. That’s how remote it was. To put it simply, it was a hole in the ground.

The musty smell of old books on the floor soothed my soul. I went to the back of the room and crouched down.

Being in class was just a distraction.

I wonder why I’m so popular and yet so unpopular. If I was so popular, my heart should have been in line with it by now, but the reality was only getting worse. Why is it that my mind is always the same as that of someone who is so unattractive?

In the end, I think I am too self-conscious.

I don’t have the courage to break the idol that people imagine from my appearance.

However, I also don’t have the dexterity to play the role of the person that people think I am.

For example, if I were to befriend a girl in a place where my face is not visible, would I be able to express myself without pretending to be something I am not?

But if I think about it calmly, I’m not the kind of guy that people would like for what I am.

If people knew who I was, they will never like me. It would be boring.

However, you can’t even have a conversation with someone while you’re pretending to be something you’re not.

The only way is to become a man who is popular from the inside.

Let's change our mindset.

I'm popular in one way or another, so if I can make my consciousness popular, I can become a complete popular guy.

But what does it mean to be popular on the inside? I don't know.

Whenever I think like this, an imaginary girl always pops up in my mind. The name of the girl, in the shape of a small straw doll, is Warako-chan. The character for "woman" is written in her eyes. She is the image of a girl in my mind, and she always teaches me what a girl is.

The girl doll in my mind, Warako-chan, says in a frivolous voice.

"Girls like a kind person!"

That's it.

No doubt about it.

Kindness. One good deed a day. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Warako-chan is right.

Let's start from here. A life of popularity.

As I was thinking this, I heard a clang from the door and my heart jumped.

The sound of their breath, the rhythm of their footsteps. And a faint scent.

There is no doubt! It was a female student!

This is bad. I don't know why it's bad, but it's bad if they see me here.

The second library is very small. There is only one row of bookshelves. There is only one large wooden bookcase and one cheap-looking pipe bookcase in the back. From the entrance, my figure was obscured by the wall of bookshelves.

The girl didn't seem to notice that I was standing next to her across the bookshelf, and stretched out with a cute voice, “Mmm”. I shrank back and stifled a gasp.

Then I heard her spill out with a sigh.

“Ah, I want to eat natto.”

Natto?

A female student's voice certainly said so. It was the kind of soliloquy you don't hear very often.

Don't all girls like chocolate, cake, and ice cream? That's what Warako-chan said. I'm not saying I don't eat natto,  but I don’t think natto is something that a girl would want to talk about. Or am I underestimating natto too much? I mean, I think "natto" and "tofu" have the opposite kanji. Oh no. It has nothing to do with natto. I have to get back to my thinking.

A soliloquy flew over my confused thoughts.

"Uwaa, I want a Gyuudon!"

Gyudon, huh?

As my eyes widened in astonishment, a female student was chanting “I want to eat, I want to eat” in a small voice.

I’m confused. I’m so confused.

What is going on here? What would make a girl want to eat a Gyuudon? ........ Girls should only say things like "I want a parfait" or "I love pink" when talking to themselves. What is the situation that makes a girl want to eat a Gyuudon?

I see. I get it.

“A-Are you hungry!?”

I shouted out in a panic.

At that moment, I felt the presence on the other side gasp and my blood ran cold. I was sweating.

Why did I speak up? But now that I had spoken to her, there was no going back.

In order to avoid becoming a suspicious person, I started to speak quickly, as if I was trying to follow up with a kind line.

"Hey, b-bread, you want some bread?"

"E-Eh?"

I heard a very confused voice on the other side, and I was equally or more confused by my own statement. I was supposed to be trying to be nice, but I felt much more confused.

I looked at the yakisoba bread in my hand that I was about to eat and tossed it across the bookshelf in desperation. The bookshelf was high and packed with books, almost to the ceiling, but there was enough space for the bread to pass through.

There was a light thud as the bread fell to the floor.

What the h*ll am I doing?

This is.....kindness?

Answer me! Warako-chan!

Warako-chan told me, "Soushi-kun, you are the creepiest!"

That's my girl, Warako-chan!! That's right! I can't even see her face and suddenly asked if she wants some bread! That's not just being nice, that’s an offense! I was sweating as I thought about what I had said.

What was I thinking?

'Are you hungry?'

'Want some bread?'

This is exactly what a human would say when encountering a strange, undiscovered creature in the jungle. I felt dizzy.

I heard a voice from the other side of the room.

"Yakisoba bread...."

That's commercial bread! There's no pubic hair in it! I shouted in my mind.

I heard the person whose face I couldn't see open the bread bag. The smell of sauce wafted over to me.

"Thanks. I eat."

She's going to eat it. I was a little relieved.

The person on the other side of the bookshelf replied in a somewhat uncivilized, monstrous manner, and chuckled again.

The female student then followed up with a surprising response.

"You......are a good guy....so, I don’t want to eat you.”

I understood when it was said in a somewhat low, caged, made-up voice.

The game of “unknown creature in the wilderness” has begun.

I don't know if there is such a game.

I shivered. You're the good guy. You’re a girl who can’t even say anything openly about defecation, and yet you are willing to play the uncivilized monster game with me.

I definitely did not try to play the uncivilized monster game. However, it was a miracle that it did not turn out to be a dangerous one, which could have killed nine people. I couldn't become a gentle, popular person, but I escaped becoming a suspicious person with the bread of yakisoba noodles.

I shook with unspeakable agitation and heard a rattling sound. I felt like I shouldn't make a sound, so I froze again.

I kept my ears open for a while, listening to the tiny sounds of the girl chewing and swallowing her bread, huffing and puffing as quietly as possible. Highly perverted, to say the least. I wanted to leave as soon as possible, but I couldn't leave the door without going past the girls. I couldn't move.

Soon after, I heard a sound like an empty plastic bag being folded. It sounded like she had finished her meal.

The female student let out a small breath and said, “Fuu”.

"Thank you for the food. Next time, I'll eat you."

“Gehogoho!”

I choked violently.

I heard the female student stand up and said, “Are you okay, human?”.

"Wait, don't come any closer! I don't taste good!

I immediately spewed out the worst possible words, and I heard she giggling again.

"Human, what's your name.....bu fu."

She was laughing a bit as she said it.

What can I say, this female student was in high spirit. The details aside, she was helpful.

“Human, name…… Kuku Kuku.”

"Eh, ah, m-my name? Um, Saku......Saku? No, I’m a simple, nameless Nekura! I’m Nekura! Hey, don't come in here!"

I didn’t need to yell at her to stay away, although she seemed to stand up, she didn't seem to be coming toward me. She continued to speak brightly over the bookshelf.

"Nekura ....? Then I'm... a wandering nonentity."

"Eh."

"Yeah, ah, Hiria! Call me Hiria!"

"H-Hiria? -chan."

My voice trailed off as I called out the girl’s name, which was not her real name by any stretch of the imagination.

Hiria, a female student, did not care about such a turnabout said, "Yes! It sounds like an alias, doesn't it? You are Nekura-kun!" and giggled happily again.

The mysterious girl, Hiria-chan, and I talked for a little while, using our temporary mysterious handles.

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