Chapter 397: Must Be an Elf
Chapter 397: Must Be an Elf
After saying goodbye to Miss Iida, Himekoji headed straight to the bookstore first.
But maybe this store hadn’t stocked it yet. Himekoji searched all around but couldn’t find Mashiro’s manga.
That shouldn’t be possible?
A huge promotional poster was clearly displayed right at the bookstore’s entrance.
He had no choice but to ask at the counter.
“Excuse me…”
“Here to buy Mashiro’s manga?”
“Huh? How did you…”
He wanted to ask “how do you know,” but stopped when he looked up.
The familiar voice belonged to an equally familiar face.
Standing behind the cash register, wearing blue-and-white work clothes with her signature high ponytail—this was unmistakably Nanami.
He hadn’t expected to bump into Nanami here…
No, thinking again, seeing Nanami anywhere wouldn’t be surprising.
Because after changing jobs, she’d become an S-rank job warrior!
“So… another new part-time job?”
“Yeah. Moving out soon, so I need to work hard for the dorm fees.”
Nanami had mentioned earlier she’d move out of Himekoji’s place after the seiyuu exam. This must be what she meant now.
Mashiro was already gone. Was Nanami next?
“Actually… couldn’t you just stay? It’d be fine, right?”
The words slipped out without thinking.
“Eh? Saying that… could it be Himekoji’s made a decision?”
“A decision?”
“If you choose me, living together could be an option.”
“Ah?! N-Not like that at all!”
Similar on the surface, but worlds apart in meaning.
Nanami’s bold remark even made Himekoji picture things too explicit for young people. His ears flushed red.
“Aoyama? When did you learn to joke like that?”
“Joke? Fine, fine, I’ll stop.”
But it wasn’t really a joke.
Just a clever, roundabout probe from a girl.
She desperately wanted Himekoji’s answer but refused to show it.
Partly from modesty, partly afraid to pressure him.
“Oh, about Mashiro’s manga—the last copy sold out half an hour ago.”
Nanami circled back to the start of their conversation.
“She’s amazing, Mashiro-chan,” she added sincerely.
“Eh? Guess I’ll try elsewhere?”
“Doubt it. Other stores probably sold out too. Mashiro’s sales are insane!”
Having worked several shifts here, Nanami knew her stuff.
“No way…”
Himekoji’s face fell.
He should’ve asked Miss Iida for free copies earlier.
Just then—
“Here.”
Nanami leaned over the counter, handing him a manga.
Pervert Also Wants to Fall in Love.
Mashiro’s hugely popular work.
“I thought it was sold out?”
Taking it blankly, Himekoji asked.
“It is. This is my own copy,” Nanami explained plainly.
“Return it after you finish, okay?”
“Haven’t you read it?”
“I have. But I want to read it twice! Three times!”
As she spoke, her gaze drifted to Mashiro’s autographed poster in the store.
“Truly impressive…”
The whispered praise escaped her lips.
Today wasn’t the first time Himekoji heard others rave about Mashiro.
From strangers clutching her manga on the street to her editor Miss Iida. And now Nanami.
A gulf seemed to open suddenly—Mashiro standing far away under spotlights on some grand stage…
“…Yeah, she is amazing.”
Himekoji echoed Nanami absentmindedly, though he hadn’t even flipped through the book.
Right then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. The default notification tone chimed.
Imouto perhaps? Or Machida-san?
Aside from those two, hardly anyone contacted him. Few even knew his number.
“Mashiro?”
But seeing the screen shocked him.
After a week of unanswered texts, he’d given up… only to get a reply now.
—Tomorrow. 2pm. Station front.
A terrifyingly brief message. But following a week of silence, this counted as breaking new ground!
Besides, Mashiro struggled with gadgets—early on, she couldn’t even spell “Aki” in Akito’s name.
Still, none of that mattered. What mattered was Mashiro finally agreeing to meet!
“Mashiro! Mashiro texted back!”
He blurted it out, wanting to share the joy. Yet shouting it aloud made him freeze.
Himekoji’s smile froze for a second or two before he set his teeth and looked awkwardly at Nanami.
“U-Um…”
He just didn’t know what to say at a moment like this.
“Do your best!”
But Nanami smiled brightly without seeming to mind at all, offering him encouragement.
“Hurry and bring Mashiro back, okay? Waking Mashiro up every day, checking Mashiro’s outfit, making sure Mashiro studies… I got so used to doing it all. Now that Mashiro’s gone, it feels like I have no reason for being here… like I’m just freeloading off Himekoji. Though I guess this freeloading won’t last much longer anyway…”
She clasped her hands together, her soft shoulders pulling inward slightly. Her smile seemed a bit forced.
But it was still beautiful.
…
The next day, Himekoji left home early after lunch.
He reached the meeting spot—the station nearest to Mashiro’s hotel—at one o’clock.
Then, one o’clock… one-thirty… two o’clock…
Himekoji looked up at the large clock overhead.
He’d checked several times. There was no mistake. It was past two in the afternoon!
Only a few minutes away from two-thirty.
Meaning, Himekoji had just stood around like an idiot outside the station for nearly an hour and a half…
Groups of passersby walked past him—Group A, Group B, Group C—but Himekoji remained rooted to the spot.
Curious glances slowly began turning his way.
Without realizing it, he’d become the focus of a small crowd.
Himekoji found this seriously unbearable and pretended not to notice.
He muttered internally to himself—
Seriously, it wasn’t like he liked standing here looking stupid in front of the station.
He wasn’t a performance artist, and he definitely wasn’t an idiot.
He was waiting, okay? Just waiting!
Wait!
Could it be Mashiro was still angry and stood him up?
That was totally possible!
Just waiting dumbly wasn’t going to help. Himekoji pulled out his phone, deciding to call Mashiro.
Worth mentioning, this was the third call he’d tried since two o’clock.
The first two hadn’t connected. But this time…
It actually went through!
A racket of noise came through the receiver, car horns drowning out everything else.
On the road?
Himekoji quickly scanned ahead. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar slender figure running towards him from the direction of the Hotel.
She was stopped by a red light.
On the other side of the road, the girl’s eyes darted anxiously back and forth over the passing cars, as if urging them to hurry up, faster, faster.
When the light finally turned green, she started jogging towards him awkwardly.
A fluttering, pure white summer dress. One hand pressed down on the wide-brimmed hat she wore to block the sun. On her feet, cute but impractical sandals that weren’t easy to walk in.
Pat-pat-pat went Mashiro’s sandals as she jogged, clutching the sketchbook pressed against her chest which looked totally out of place with today’s outfit.
He felt like he was seeing something amazing.
The girl jogging towards him… she was definitely the Mashiro Himekoji knew.
Slow and steady, always moving at her own pace. A face that rarely showed much expression, moods that always seemed calm and untroubled.
She ate slowly, taking small mouthfuls. She spoke slowly, every word drawn out. She walked slowly, taking tiny steps.
It was rare to see her run like this.
Even if she were about to be late for school, Mashiro would never run unless Himekoji dragged her.
But right now was different.
Alone, she ran from one side of the road to the other. She looked a bit anxious… a bit flustered.
Mashiro seemed to spot Himekoji instantly in the crowd.
The moment their eyes met, Mashiro looked like she launched a final sprint. She sped up, taking bigger strides as she dashed towards Himekoji.
She never slowed down. Mashiro rushed right up to him—looking unsteady, eager, and a little tired.
Not at all like her usual self.
She gasped for breath, winded. At the same time, seeming bothered by strands of hair that had slipped out from under her hat and tangled in the wind, she lifted her hand and anxiously smoothed each strand straight again.
After that, she caught her breath.
“Akito.”
Her voice steady now, she greeted him.
But looking at her like this… a strange, indescribable feeling suddenly stirred inside Himekoji. He involuntarily froze for a second.
By the time he snapped out of it, he’d already responded—
“Mhm, mhm…”
“How funny, we meet again.”
Yeah, they were meeting again. Their first meeting in over a week.
Since they knew each other, this was the first time they’d been apart for so long.
But—
“What do you mean ‘funny’?! We arranged this yesterday! Two o’clock! The station!”
Avoiding the awkwardness he didn’t know where came from, Himekoji turned his face away. Yet, out of the corner of his eye, he still wanted to look at the Mashiro standing before him. Because he was so distracted by this, he failed to notice his voice got too loud.
Kind of harsh.
Had he scared her? After finally seeing her again.
He worried.
Until the next moment—
“Have you been waiting long?”
Hearing no signs of Mashiro being cross in her tone, Himekoji finally felt relief again.
“You’re thirty minutes late.”
Himekoji stated the fact.
“Ngh.”
Instantly, an unhappy expression appeared on Mashiro’s face, her cheeks puffing out slightly.
But… the one who’d been waiting was definitely Himekoji…
Shouldn’t he be the one upset about it?
“I ran all the way here.”
The girl pushed out her lips a bit sulkily.
“I know, but you’re still late, right? If you want to be punctual, leave the hotel earlier…”
Not scolding, just teasing out of habit.
“And the walk from the Hotel only takes two or three minutes…”
“Preparing takes time.”
With that, Mashiro proudly straightened her posture, pulling in her stomach and lifting her chest like a model as she stood before Himekoji.
Beautiful and delicate, shimmering under the sunlight.
Yet—
Her dignified eyes nervously darted downwards beneath her large hat, staring at her own toes as anxiety hid itself within her refined features.
What is this behavior…?
Nothing like Mashiro at all.
Just like any ordinary girl…
A foolish thought, but this Mashiro seemed incredibly cute—cuter than ever before.
“I took a little longer.”
This time, her tone held a hint of defensiveness.
All in all, Mashiro radiated a tension blending nervousness and anticipation.
As if bewitching him, Himekoji caught the feeling too, his heartbeat involuntarily quickening.
“S-so, j-just… prepare faster earlier! Y-you set the time, didn’t you?”
Himekoji desperately tried to stay calm, but reality went exactly the opposite.
Staring at Mashiro like this felt dangerous.
His instincts screamed warnings in his head.
“Is that all?”
“W-what do you mean by ‘that’?”
His mind was stalling, as if under a “charm” spell, making him utter ridiculous things.
“D-do you want me to complain more?”
He instantly gave that remark a big ZERO in his mind.
“Complaints are not allowed.”
Mashiro answered him seriously.
“S-so… what d-do you want me to say?”
Confused about how the conversation was turning, cold sweat started forming on his back.
He kept looking at Mashiro, and right then, his eyes met her timid upward glance, hidden beneath her hat.
Suddenly electrified—
No!
Wrong!
Mashiro was still Mashiro!
But just one week apart? Why were her every word, every movement, every glance…
Wait! Mashiro hadn’t even smiled yet!
Not smiled, not used her secret trick—why was it already this deadly?!
What’s this? Got upgraded?
An enhanced version?
The once plain white color Mashiro now seemed different from that transparent purity.
After countless secret looks at her, he suddenly realized why—
“…Y-you… d-did you… put on makeup?”
As if having witnessed something unbelievable, the shocked words slipped out from Himekoji’s throat.
“Mhm.”
Mashiro swayed nervously, slightly nodding in embarrassment.
She had indeed put on makeup, light and almost unnoticeable.
And it was this makeup that caused her late arrival.
Mashiro glanced secretly at Himekoji, her eyes holding silent expectations.
But words to fulfill those expectations… he just couldn’t grasp any—
“Cute,” “Beautiful,” “Gorgeous,”…
Such ordinary praise felt useless on her—they were terms for regular girls.
The Mashiro now standing before Himekoji shone brighter, glowed fiercer, and shattered his reason more violently than ever.
A fairy, maybe.
……
……