Chapter 58: Disparate Society
Translator: Krrizis
Editor: Gold Swallow
First Published on Ainushi
「My~~ It"s going to be summer soon, ain"t it, cla.s.s rep?」
「Yeah~ The play is around the corner, so it"s imperative to practice for it. Right, Momoi-san?」
… What is with that shoddy play-acting? (Andou)
「Momoi-san, Cla.s.s Rep. Cut the pretense. Why don"t you both start by telling the reason why you called Asakursan and me to the park in front of the train station?」
I did hear from cla.s.s rep that we have practice but… the only people that showed up for the gathering are the four of us— me, Asakursan, Cla.s.s Rep and Momoi-san. Furthermore, the meeting was to be at nine in the evening in front of Nishiguchi Park"s train exit. Just what are they scheming? (Andou)
「Exactly! Momo suddenly said to me out of the blue,『When school"s out today, let"s meet in front of Nishiguchi Park train exit at 9pm. There will be a rehearsal for the play there~』!」
「Now now, calm down, Sakura. I"m sorry for not going into details so calm down. You can get all the deets about what"s happening from Cla.s.s Rep.」
Preparations complete. Both of them have been safely reeled in… Now, I"ll leave the rest to you, Cla.s.s Rep. (Momoi)
Leave it to me, Momoi-san. The cla.s.s practice is going to be held tomorrow. Today"s so-called rehearsal session was fabricated. (Cla.s.s Rep)
「Today will be the first rehearsal! So I will have the two of you undergo a『test of courage』!」
「「Haaah!?『Test of courage』!?」」
「Yup! That"s why we called you both at this hour to gather after the sun had set!」
「Wait, hold on, Cla.s.s Rep… Why is a test of courage necessary for a rehearsal?」
「He"s right! He"s right! A『test of courage』has no connections at all to the stage play we"re performing!」
「Asakursan… I wonder about that?」
「Wha…What do you mean?」
「The play that we"ll be performing is an adaptation from the original stage play『Romeo and Juliet』. And so in that story, can you tell me what is the nature of Romeo and Juliet"s relationship?」
「「Friends?」」
「No!? Yes, Momoi-san!」
「Hmm, a man and a woman with mutual feelings for each other?」
「Correct! In short, even if it"s just a role that the both of you are playing, you must commit yourself to enact the『mutual love』that Romeo and Juliet had!」
In that instant, it was as if both of them were struck by lightning!
「「!?」」Bzzzt!
「So, I"ll ask again. Asakursan, Andou-kun! What is your… relationship?」
「Eh…」
「Er…」
「「F-Friends…」」
Why do these two keep missing each other… (Momoi & Cla.s.s Rep)
「In other words— Cla.s.s Rep is saying she wishes that the both of you, who are nothing more than『friends』, will go through a『test of courage』to develop『mutual feelings』for each other even if it"s fake so you"ll perform better at your roles ♪」
「That"s what I meant! As expected of Momoi-san! You understood the necessity of this rehearsal!」
I-Is It really as Momoi-san says…? That means to say, if I"m comprehending what she said correctly, the test of courage acts as a『bridge』 so that we can temporarily feel the『mutual feelings』the characters have and understand them better… Somehow, I feel that"s an extremely unbelievable warped excuse she gave.
Asakursan would never— (Andou)
「I see. Certainly, it"s just as what Cla.s.s Rep and Momo said!」
Oh no. There"s goes the same old Asakursan.… (Andou)
「B-But… There"s no need to actually undergo a『test of courage』, is there?」
Hnn, Asakursan"s reaction… What"s up with that? (Andou)
「Oh, that"s right~ If I"m not mistaken, Sakura is terrified of scary things~」
「Eh, is that so, Asakursan?」
「Hey, wait! What are you saying, Momo? Don"t misunderstand! Look, it"s not that I"m terrified of scary thing… What I was trying to say was that I"m genuinely worried that some danger might befall upon us girls doing a『test of courage』this late at night!」
「Ahahaha~ Well, then there"s nothing to fear! After all, for that very reason you"ll will be doing the test of courage together with Andou-kun.」
「Yup. Ease your worries, Asakursan. Even if anything should happen, Andou-kun will be there to protect you. He"s a boy after all.」
「Um… Well, if anything does happen, I"ll be sure to protect you…」
「Oui!」 *heart skips a beat!*
Andou-kun, he… he said he"ll『protect』me! (Asakura)
「Uuu… But a test of courage certainly is—…」
「Hmm~ you"re right. Cla.s.s Rep, I know you went through such lengths, but since Sakura is not keen on it, let"s sc.r.a.p the plan— I mean, let"s sc.r.a.p the rehearsal?」
「Plan?」
Momoi-san, did you just say『plan』? (Andou)
「No? What are you saying, Momoi-san? After all the preparations I made for our rehearsal today!」
「Yup, yup! Cla.s.s Rep, just like what Momo said, how about we suspend today"s rehea—」
「So, I"ll do the test of courage with Andou-kun~」
「Ueee!?」
Momoi-san!? Why are you suddenly hugging me!? I mean, her breast is—! That feeling of a size incomparable to Asakursan"s! (Andou)
「HAAAAAAHHH!?」
Wha— Momo! Let go of Andou-kun! Huh… D-don"t tell me, Momo also likes him? That"s impossible. I won"t allow it! (Asakura)
「Momoi-san, you"re not playing the role of Juliet, so there"s no reason for you to undertake the test of courage with Andou-kun.」
「Eh~~~? But Sakura doesn"t want to go. Soooo, even if it"s only Andou-kun doing it, it"ll be fine since he"ll get to understand Romeo"s feelings.」
「Hah!?」
Does that mean… Andou-kun will come to have feelings for Momo!? (Asakura)
「Y-You can"t!」
「Eh~~~? But Sakura, you didn"t want to do the test of courage?」
Hnnnghh, Sakura"s jealousy sprung up marvelously when we got to a good moment ♪ I wonder how Andou-kun"s going to react~? (Momoi) *squeezes softly*
I wonder… why in the world are we at odds with one another? All lives are equal, bestowed by G.o.d— If I am allowed to relish these sensations, then let it be! (Andou)
「Hmm, I~~ I"ll do the test of courage with Momoi-san~」
Andou-kun… get a hold of yourself! If you"re acting like this, then I can"t pa.s.s you on to Sakura? H-However… I"m happy that you"re holding onto me so much. Ehehehe~~… (Momoi)
「Andou-kun!? Hnnngh seriously! Momo! Release Andou-kun this instant!」
「Eh~ But it"s cuz you"re a『coward』— that"s why I"m doing it now. Even now, you"re『terrified』 and if you do it, wouldn"t you…『cry』? That is why I"m going in your stead.」
What… did she say just now? (Asakura)
「Haa… that"s true. It"ll be like what Momoi-san said. No other way, then. The pairing for the test of courage will be Andou-kun and—」
「I"ll do it!」
「Eh, Asakursan!?」
「Sakura… you sure about that?」
「Asakursan… are you seriously going to do the test of courage?」
「Yes… Who the heck is a『coward』? Who said I"m『scared』?
『Cry』? Fine! If you"re going to put it like that, I"m going through the test of courage! Momo, Cla.s.s Rep, Andou-kun, watch me!
I"ll show you that the test of courage does not frighten me at all!」
「「O~~~kay!」」
Cla.s.s Rep, that was well said! (Momoi)
Yes! It"s just like Momoi-san said.『Sakura is someone who"s surprisingly one-track minded so if you lightly provoke her, she"ll immediately rise to it!』(Cla.s.s Rep)
If I line『Asakursan』, 『Cla.s.s rep』and『Momoi-san』side to side… Yup, it"s that sort of feeling when I look at them -『small』, 『medium』, 『large』… (Andou)
「Andou-kun! Since it"s already been decided who"s doing it, let"s leave immediately!」
「Eh…Y-Yeah, Smakursa— I mean, Asakursan!」
Translator"s Notes:
小倉(しょうくら) – In the raw, Andou-kun accidentally verbalizes his thoughts, by way of saying Shoukura. Shou for small and kura being the second character for Asakura"s name. Oh, Andou-kun! Get your head out of the gutter. Free talk:
Thank you Jason Dionne for the $20 USD. I"ll be buying LJ"s Volume 2 next week with that. Huhu. Can"t wait to have it with me <>