Chapter 43

Translator: mii

Editor: Ryunakama

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The next day.

Sure enough, she called me to the station after noon.

「Ah, senpai! Here!」

As usual, her matching outfit really attracts other people’s eyes. Does she even realize how her surroundings are glancing at her?

I’m sure that she surely noticed. On top of that, she even dares to ignore it.

…It’s truly impossible for me, but for her, I think there’s nothing impossible.

「Did I make you wait long?」

「I waited for senpai since morning, so it’s alright.」

「Ha?」

「I’m joking. Even if it’s true, it’s impossible for senpai to come in the morning if I don’t contact you in advance.」

「Haa…」

Well, that’s my lifestyle anyway? I don’t want to change it at all.

In fact, even if I try to change it, I’m too sleepy in the morning. I can’t get up. Even on weekdays, I need to muster up my willpower to wake up.

「More than that, there’s something even more important now.」

Kouhai-chan who is standing in front of me narrows her eyes, looking at me closely.

「It suits you, senpai. Anyway, it’s the glasses that don’t really suit you.」

Yes. I honestly put on contact lenses today, using Kouhai-chan’s gift. Since I’m not using my finger, not a silicon tweezer, I’m not afraid of putting them on.

But, well. As I thought, it will be hard for me to put them on at school everyday. The easiness of putting them on hasn’t changed that much. It still took ten minutes for me to put each of them on this morning.

「Well, thanks.」

「Then, let’s go now.」

Kouhai-chan turned around (her skirt was fluttering), and she started walking towards the exit of the station.

Or so I thought, when she suddenly stopped.

And then, she looked somewhat embarrassed, and said this.

「By the way, where should we go now, senpai?」

＊　＊　＊

The moment when I was about to leave after meeting senpai, I realized.

I had no idea where we would go today. I was careless.

「Ha?」

Senpai also made a face, not understanding what was happening.

「Senpai, do you have a place you want to go?」

「No, you know. I usually don’t have any place I want to go at the weekend, and I just hole myself up at home.」

「So you don’t?」

Senpai stayed silent for a few seconds before he opened his mouth again.

「If you ask if I have or not, I have.」

「Hou hou.」

「But then, it’s not a place where people can go for a date.」

After that preface, senpai pulled his bangs, and added.

「I want to cut my hair.」

「It certainly already become quite long, huh.」

I don’t know what a man’s standard is, but senpai’s current hair certainly looks a little bit too long. His bangs already reach his eyes, and they seem like they block his line of sight.

「Then, there―」

I stopped myself from talking. I came up with something even more interesting.

「Nn?」

「Senpai,『today’s question』.」

There’s no way senpai would go to a decent place, since senpai is senpai anyway.

「Senpai, what beauty salon do you usually go to?」

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Hey now. I am a male.

「I don’t go to those high class places, and in the first place, I don’t even go to a beauty salon anyway.」

「Ahh…」

「Oi, what’s with that relieved ‘as I predicted’ look!」

「No, nothing.」

「It’s just those 1000 yen cut, you know.」1

It was a little stupid when I think how having my hair cut would need the amount of money I could use to buy the paperback I wanted that cost a little more than usual. Well, it was also the price for the labor cost, so it couldn’t be helped.

But beauty salon will certainly cost even more, right? No way.

「I see. I understand.」

「For you to ask that, where are we going now? That’s my『today’s question』.」

「Haa…」

When I thought Kouhai-chan was sighing, she suddenly shifted her attention to the road.

「Senpai, please just follow me. I will tell you soon.」

If she said it like that, I had no right to refuse.

No, if she was being unreasonable, of course I could refuse her, but it was really troublesome to do so.

We walked for a while, entered a questionable building, got on the swaying lift. I could smell Kouhai-chan’s shampoo from somewhere.

The moment she opened the door, there was as I expected, a beauty salon.

「Er…」

「I will be the one paying.」

That’s not the problem. I mean, this is a matter of my feeling and belief.

There’s no need to spend much money on fashion, or to look sophisticated. Since I have been living with this belief, just by entering this kind of place already makes me lose my bearings

Without any care on how I was stupefied, Kouhai-chan entered the room.

Correction. She cared.

Kouhai-chan pulled my hand, and pushed the door open.

「Oh? Maharu-chan, welcome. Didn’t you just get a haircut last time? What happened?」

The receptionist was a person with unreserved speech. Honestly, I don’t really like it.

「It’s not for me, but him.」

Kouhai-chan suddenly pulled my hand she was currently holding, and pushed me to the front.

「Oh? Your boyfriend? So it is finally spring for Maharu-chan?」

For some reason, I couldn’t voice out my denial even though I want to.

「I will go home now, okay?」

「Sorry, sorry.」

Saying that, the flashy guy turned towards me. Seeing how he had scissors on his waist, perhaps this person was a beautician. Huh? Or was it a hairdresser? Barber? Well, whichever was okay.

「Now then. Nice to meet you. I am Hatano, a beautician that is in charge of Maharu-chan.」

「Nice to meet you. I’m Iguchi.」

「Iguchi-kun, eh. Nice to meet you too. Then, what will you have today?」

He must be asking about what I wanted to do here today, but unfortunately, I didn’t have any experience at this kind of shop, so I didn’t know how should I reply to him.

When I was thinking for a while, Kouhai-chan answered for me instead.

「Please make him look good, turn this unsophicasted guy into someone better looking.」

「What’s with calling me unsophicasted, isn’t that too rude?」

「I’m just speaking the truth.」

Well, that might be right. People who「don’t have more than necessary effort for fashion」will look dull from the perspective of those who care. It’s just to be expected.

「Right, got it. Leave it to this older brother.」

He slapped my shoulder and guided me to a chair.

「By the way, are you okay with dye?」

For a moment, I thought he was asking whether it was alright to get my collar dirtied with hairs. But it seemed like that’s not the case.

「Please leave it black.」

After all, I am still the student council president.

Real hair color and brown-dyed hair currently had been quite a hot topic.

But after all, it felt kind of, you know? If we were talking about the「honor student」, there was always the image of having black hair. I don’t want to go against that.

「Yes, yes. Then, I will start.」

＊　＊　＊

It took around thirty minutes.

Senpai who finished shampooing returned to my side.

「Yup. It looks good.」

He didn’t dye his hair as I thought, but his hair that looked massive before became cleaner, making his impression change slightly.

「Just that?」

「Hatano-san, thank you very much.」

After thanking him, we went out from the store.

「Senpai, how is it?」

「I feel like it doesn’t really change at all.」

Senpai’s hair was hardened with wax by Hatano-san, and also styled by him. I felt like senpai was cool, but only from the neck up.

Looking down, his clothes are no good. He is really choosing the safest of the safe one, huh.

「Later, should we look for some better clothes?」

My small muttering was overlapping with the sound of the cars on the road.

Whether it reached the ears from the person walking beside me, I had no way to know that.