18 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

Miyagi is Too Laid-back Chapter 18 The day I visited Miyagi's house—with a bit of dissatisfaction and a lot of courage—was the first time there wasn't a transaction of the usual five thousand yen. The clothes I brought back instead are now tucked away in the back of the chest where I keep my piggy bank. Returning them would have been ideal, but they had become compensation for my command, much like the five thousand yen, so I have no plans to use them. However, that day was special. A few days have passed since then, and today, as usual, I received five thousand yen from Miyagi. Yet, there have been some changes. Miyagi offered iced barley tea instead of cider. And she's been talking a little bit more. While I understand why she switched to iced barley tea, I don't know why she suddenly felt like chatting. Still, it's undoubtedly more enjoyable than extended silences. "That book was boring." Miyagi mumbled softly, interrupting my train of thought so I looked up from the romance novel I was reading. "Really? I think it's interesting." "It didn't have a happy ending." "Hey, that's a spoiler! I've just started reading it." "What's the big deal?" "It is a big deal." Her words aren't of great significance. However, seeing Miyagi reach out to talk feels like a once-skeptical stray cat has finally let me pet it. From the start of summer, it took over half a year. When I consider that it took roughly this long to tame a wary stray cat, it feels quite moving. But still, spoilers are a no-go. I closed the novel I was halfway through and tossed it onto the bed. Then, I picked up the manga Miyagi was reading and sprawled out. Taking advantage of her silence, I flipped through the pages. Though it's not the first volume, since I've read it a few times before, I don't mind. After getting through about a third, Miyagi, who was using the bed as a backrest, stood up. "Sendai-san, play a game with me." "A game?" "Yes, this one." Miyagi turned back around, having pulled something from under the TV. In her hands was a case depicting a stylized car. "It's boring playing alone," she said, likely about the racing game she held. I had asked her before if she played games, to which she replied she didn't play dating simulation games with handsome characters, but she never told me what she did play. Perhaps the case in her hands is the answer, but Miyagi doesn't strike me as the type to play racing games. That's surprising. I have no idea what type of game—if any—would fit her image, but it's certain that a racing game isn't it. However, since a well-known character is depicted with the car, it could be that she likes the character more than the racing aspect. "Is this the one where you race cars against each other?" I lack confidence since I don't usually play games. "Yes, you try to reach the goal while sabotaging your opponent." "Don't games like this allow you to battle over the internet?" "...If you don't want to play, that's fine," Miyagi said, suddenly sullen, as she put the game back. I hurried to intervene. I'm all for more ways to pass the time. Though I love manga and novels, sometimes I want to do something different. "It's not that, I want to play, but I don't know how." "I'll teach you then." Miyagi powered on the game console and began a tutorial. However, the controls were more complex than anticipated, and I couldn't fully grasp them. Midway through, perhaps finding the explanations tedious, Miyagi's instructions became considerably less detailed, prompting me to interrupt. "By the way, I've started attending prep school, so I might not be able to come on some days." "Prep school?" "Well, I'm a student preparing for entrance exams, so it can't be helped." If I manage to get into the university my family desires, I felt I'd be able to return to the life I had as a kid. University entrance exams are my last chance to reintegrate myself into my family. However, there's a part of me that doesn't care about family or any of that. I doubt I can enter the university everyone wants, and even if I could, I'd refuse. But I wrote my name on the prep school application form prepared for me. —Thinking now, attending prep school isn't going to change anything at this stage. I used the bed as a backrest and gazed up at the ceiling. The wallpaper is a different color than in my own room, but for some reason, it feels familiar. "It doesn't matter if you arrive late," Miyagi said in a voice I couldn't read. "Prep school finishes quite late, so it might be impossible. If I come after, I’d get home nearly at midnight." "In that case, if it turns out you have to go to prep school when I call for you, then just come the day after." "Got it." With that, Miyagi wrapped up the explanation and started the game, but my car didn't move as I'd intended. Before my car could make a right turn, my body tilted to the right. The same for the left. Though I thought I was going straight, I was swaying, and Miyagi quickly overtook me. It's infuriating. This has got to be the car's fault, not mine. And Miyagi is being mean. She's tossing banana peels and bomb-like objects to hinder me. As a result, Miyagi keeps on winning, and I can't win. "Miyagi, ease up." "No way." "I'm a beginner." "I know." "Ugh, let's take a break. Break! I can't win, and it's not fun." I tossed the controller halfway through the race and drank some iced barley tea. While I drank, Miyagi's car continued on the screen, crossing the goal line in first place. "Sendai-san, you're too weak." Miyagi, without an ounce of mercy, set down the controller and stretched out her legs. It wasn't enough to call it chatty, but she was certainly more talkative today. I have no idea what she usually talks about with Utsunomiya, but maybe she engages in similar conversations, just with a bit more of enthusiasm. Maybe it'll snow tomorrow. Thinking such a rude thought, I glanced toward the unusually chatty Miyagi. Even now that we are third years, she hasn't changed. No makeup, her uniform skirt only a little short—she doesn't diverge much from the standard. If anything, it's safe. She's managed to stay just under the teachers' radar. But I suspect shortening her skirt a bit more wouldn't get her into trouble. Something like this, perhaps. When I impulsively tugged her skirt a bit, I noticed a blue bruise on her knee. "What are you doing?" Miyagi frowned as she pulled her skirt back down. "There's a bruise on your knee." "I bumped it at school." "Does it hurt?" Asking the question, I poked her knee beneath the table. But she promptly swatted my hand away. "It doesn't hurt. But it might have, so why did you poke it?" "For no reason." "If you have time to poke my knee, let's continue the game," Miyagi said, handing me the controller with a displeased expression. The game was fun enough, but I didn’t want to keep losing. More precisely, not being able to win even once was downright frustrating. My mind started to wander, seeking a strategy to pull Miyagi's attention away from the game, and then I remembered something. "By the way, did you know that putting a slice of lemon on a hickey makes it disappear faster?" "I didn’t, but is that something you’re speaking from experience?" she asked, hinting at the unfounded rumors that I appeared modest but was secretly fooling around. I quickly denied it. "No, not from experience. Umina mentioned that to get rid of a hickey, placing a slice of lemon on it does the trick." "Are you telling me to put a lemon on this bruise?" "Exactly. Bruises like that are subcutaneous bleeding, just like hickeys, so I thought it might work." "I doubt it. Besides, did Ibaraki-san's hickey really disappear faster with lemon?" "Apparently it did, but it might’ve vanished on its own anyway. They say warming or cooling helps too. Why not try something?" "It's been around for a couple of days already, so there's no need to bother now," she said with a hint of annoyance, placing the controller down and taking a sip of cider. Whatever desire she had to continue the game seemed to have vanished as well, she turned off the console. Relieved to be free from the role of perpetual loser in the racing game, I picked up the manga left open and began reading. But before I could even finish a page, Miyagi tapped me on the shoulder. "I’ve got an idea. Let's do an experiment" "An experiment?" "Yes, an experiment. First, take off your blazer," she said with an unsettling excitement. I had a bad feeling about this. "Is that an order?" "An order. Take it off now," Miyagi commanded in a tone that left no room for argument.