After Coincidentally Saving the New Transfer Student’s Little Sister, We Gradually Grew Closer - CH 28

TL: PuffyPyjamas.

ED: Daemon.

“Hey… It feels very realistic…”

Thanks to one of his relatives being a mangaka, the main character admired them and ended up wanting to become a mangaka himself. Afterwards, the person he admired died from overwork, causing him to give up his dream after realizing it was a harsh occupation. The cause of death was reported as overwork, but the main character seemed to think that he committed suicide. The reason he gave up his dream was probably not because his relative died, but because his fear of suicide.

I think that it is common for many people to admire people close to them, only to soon face setbacks and failures.

“That’s it! I think this manga is amazing because it’s drawn very realistically!”

“I see…”

I don’t know if it’s that amazing yet, but I nodded to Charlotte who was a little excited. She was excited probably because she really wanted to read manga with a friend. Her current frolicking appearance resembles that of a child, and has a slightly different appeal than usual. Honestly, I want to watch her more than manga.

“Ah… Should I keep quiet while reading…?”

Since my reply was rather casual, she looked at my face and asked. The expression on Charlotte’s face changed from a delighted one to that of an uneasy one.

It’s no good… It seems that I tend to reply quite casually when I am thinking about something.

“When you say that you want to read with a friend, you essentially want to exchange opinions while reading, right?”

“Y-yes…”

“In that case, don’t hesitate to speak, Charlotte-san. I’m still a beginner, so I don’t know if I can provide an opinion, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.”

In truth, it seems more fun to discuss with Charlotte than just solely reading manga. I’m still not used to having her face right next to me, but I want to see her happily talking expression more.

“T-thank you… Then—”

Charlotte, who heard my words, gladly began to explain the occurrences within each page. When we turn a page, first she’d wait for me to go through it, and then she’d express her opinions. However, there are some pages that don’t have any significant content to give any particular opinions on, so we would just move on past those.

As the story progressed, some heroines started showing their interest in the main character, and some characters were planning to create a manga together. However, no matter how realistic it seemed, there was still an aspect unique to manga.

Although it’s not always the case, reality never works like this. There are things where if you were to do it in reality, people would be appalled, and yet in the manga, it is accepted favorably. That’s what I don’t like about it.

“—Characters who have pure love like this are wonderful, aren’t they?”

When I noticed, Charlotte next to me had a dazed expression. What she was referring to was when the main character made a promise with the heroine by saying, “Let’s get married if both of our dreams come true. Until then, let’s do our best toward our dreams,” and the innocence of the two who turned bright red just by meeting eyes.

I guess girls really do admire this sort of romance? How many people in the world can actually have this kind of romance, though? Probably less than half.

However, I think Charlotte is someone who will probably have a love story like this. Somehow, I was convinced of that.

…Is it a little extravagant for me to pray that the other person is me? I think her partner should be a man like Akira who is popular with everyone. I was lucky enough to get along with her, but I wouldn’t match well with a popular person like her. If this were a manga, I’m sure that I could come together with her without any problems. Really, I think the manga characters are crazy.

What do I want to do? Originally, I didn’t intend to get involved with Charlotte. However, instead of getting involved once or twice, because of fate’s magic, I ended up being together with her every night like this. I think it’s a little regrettable to give up as it is.

Give her to Akira—rather, avoid getting closer to her. The sentiment of giving her to someone only works while looking down, and does not include Charlotte’s feelings. Since Akira is aiming for Charlotte, it shouldn’t be good for me to get close to her. If I think about my best friend, it is the correct decision to refrain from getting any closer to her.

The reason why I had Charlotte hide this relationship may have been a somewhat of a betrayal to Akira. Regarding Charlotte, I gave priority to my emotions without thinking about my best friend. If I just kept my distance from Charlotte, it wouldn’t have been such a complicated thing…

“—yagi-kun…! Aoyagi-kun…! Aoyagi-kun…!”

“!?”

“What happened…? You seemed to be thinking about something with a serious expression.”

Before I realized, I seemed to have forgotten about manga and solely concentrated on thinking. Charlotte is staring at me with an uneasy look. If one suddenly dazes off, it is natural to be anxious.

“It’s nothing. I was just lost in thought.”

“…”

Although I had hurriedly made an excuse, Charlotte continued to stare at me. Then, she slowly reached out for my forehead.

“!?”

I thought that her cool hands felt good for a moment, but as soon I understood the situation, my body became hot.

“You don’t have a fever… Well, I do think it’s a little warm… You seem to be getting warmer by the minute… And your face is red as well, did you catch a late summer cold?”

No, well. I’m not warm because of a fever. My body is getting hot due to my embarrassment from being touched by you.

I thought that within myself, but my lips only moved but no voice came out due to the tension. Then, Charlotte touched our foreheads together.

Her face! Her face! What is this girl doing!?

“It appears you have a light fever… It’s a pity but let’s end our session for now.”

“Ah, uh, yeah…”

I was confused but managed to squeeze out my voice.

“Aoyagi-kun, where are your futons stored?”

“Eh…? There, in the closet.”

My brain was way too occupied, so I absentmindedly answered as Charlotte asked me. Then she muttered ‘excuse me’ and opened the closet. While I was wondering what she was doing, Charlotte had already pulled out the futon from the closet and placed it on the floor.

“Now then, Aoyagi-kun. Please lay down now.”

“Eh? What?”

“It’s important to rest when one starts catching a cold. In Aoyagi-kun’s case, you should go to bed early because you already have a fever. It’s okay, I’ll be there until you fall asleep.”

Charlotte gorgeously smiles, her smile resembling that of a saintess.

Yeah, it’s not okay at all. Rather, I want to ask how it is okay.

“If you have a cold, you’ll be in trouble, so I will carry Emma. You should lie down.”

Charlotte picked up Emma from my arms, laid her on the floor with a cushion as a pillow, and then held my arm, slowly leading me to the futon.

“No… That…”

“Ah… You’re still getting warmer… Aoyagi-kun, please lie down immediately.”

While moving, Charlotte, who touched my forehead again, said with a worried expression. I would like to tell her that the reason why my body temperature is rising is not because of a cold, but because of this situation, but my head is spinning around and I can’t articulate well. My throat also feels dry due to tension.

“—Well then, good night, Aoyagi-kun.”

In the end, I couldn’t resist Charlotte’s actions and was laid down on a futon. She turned off the lights in the room as she said ‘good night’ in a gentle voice. However, there were no signs of her leaving. It seems that she’s going to be by my side until I fall asleep.

As soon as she realized that I had a fever (misunderstanding), Charlotte suddenly transformed into an older sister. Is this payback for always taking care of Emma, is this what it feels like being taken care of?

…For the time being, let’s do as she wishes…

With all that happened, I couldn’t think anymore.

―While my consciousness was fading, I thought, ‘I despise manga because it is not realistic, but isn’t this situation unusual even in manga?’