Chapter 30: Beauties
“I was wondering…”
Mao suddenly said from the tea table.
Megumi and Shion, who were having a laugh together, turned to face her. Kirara, who was chewing on some meat, tilted her neck.
Kyouya, who was reaching for a cookie, stopped as well and looked at Mao.
“Among the four of us, who do you think is the prettiest?”
Mao said, for some reason, while facing Kyouya.
“Eh?”
“I was told in my cla.s.s that everyone in our club is beautiful. I never really paid attention, but now, when I stop to think about it, we aren’t that bad.”
Mao said, taking a good look at each of them.
As her calculating eyes swept across the room, Shion, Megumi and Kirara all adjusted their posture in their seats.
”And so I started wondering what you guys think.”
“Why did you ask me?”
”Well, you know, you’re the guy after all. You can be the judge.”
“No way. I don’t want to judge you guys.”
”This guy just said he’ll desert us in the face of the enemy. I think an execution by firing squad is in order.”
Kyouya looked around at everyone.
The usually peaceful mood of the clubroom had been blown away in an instant.
“W-wait. L-look, you know… Er… Err… Megumi-chan…?”
He gave Megumi a desperate look, begging her to help him.
“It’s fine, isn’t it?”
He received a bright smile in response.
Even though Megumi could be an angel, she was unexpectedly fond of compet.i.tions, and an extraordinarily sore loser.
“Shion-san?”
Kyouya faced Shion, hoping that the cool and logical girl could explain the pointlessness of this.
“I understand that the practical significance of things such as games and contests is non existent. However, isn’t it precisely because of this lack of significance that we derive pleasure from them? I reckon that the essence of pleasure lies in leisure. In that case, if its pointless, we can say that the pleasure of it is, to some degree, beneficial. Also, this is in accordance with the principles of this club’s bylaws.”
He got a thesis in response, which was of no help to him.
“What about… Kirara?”
He didn’t think it would do him any good, but he still tried asking the last person who could help him.
“Kyoro. Who do you like?”
“Y-you idiot! You! What!? What are you saying!? That’s not it! We’re just asking him who’s the prettiest! Pay attention to the conversation! Where the h.e.l.l did you get this idea from!?”
Mao exploded in anger, turning bright red. She spouted a lengthy protest against Kirara for about three minutes before settling down. In the meantime, Megumi prepared everybody’s tea, setting down an hourgla.s.s and putting the black tea leaves to steam. Shion read a few pages of her paperback.
Kirara kept facing Mao, but she wasn’t listening at all, even yawning occasionally.
“So, who’s the prettiest?”
Kyouya’s wish that the entire thing would end unresolved was not granted.
“Well, when your mouth is shut, I think you’re very pretty, president.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Practically speaking, if you’re not talking and if you don’t bite-… Ouch! Ouch! That hurts!”
After pulling away from Mao’s teeth, Kyouya turned to face Shion.
“Shion-san is the most intellectual one, I think.”
“Y-yes. W-well, I wouldn’t hesitate to acknowledge that.”
“Megumi-chan is kind and the most feminine, I think.”
“Yay. Thank you.”
“Hey, Megu, he didn’t actually say that you’re pretty.”
“And Kirara…”
Kyouya turned to face Kirara, the last one.
He searched for flattery words. The only word he couldn’t use was “pretty”. He searched for a word that would praise her strong points. It was a survival technique, finding the keyword that would grant him victory and allow him to go on living.
“Err…”
As he gazed at her, Kirara tilted her head. He faced the girl and started talking.
“Err… Kirara is… The most eccentric? She’s got gap moe.”
“Moe, huh?”
Mao slapped her knee.
“Moe is one thing, it has no relation to beauty, right? Well, to sum it up, it’s a tie between the four, right?”
Mao smiled with satisfaction.
Kyouya didn’t really understand, but things seemed to be settled, so he let out his breath.
“Hmm…“
CHARACTER PROFILE:
Kirara – Part 2
Likes: Everyone
Dislikes: Danger