Chapter 46

Editor: Ryunakama

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The Halloween ends without any incident (?), and November starts.

Today is the day where conversations such as「There’s only two month left this year,」「Ehh, time sure flies~」「It feels like we only celebrated New Year not long ago, right~」will happen all around Japan.

「Mutsuki, Kisaragi…」

Sailor uniform and kindergarten uniform pass through my mind, and I start to recite the order of lunar calendar months. 1

「Nagatsuki, Kannazuki… Shimotsuki, right?」

「Are you going back to the moon?」

「I’m not.」

What’s with that stupid line, too messy.

「I know it too, senpai. Shimotsuki is November in the lunar calendar.」

「Yeah, November.」

「It’s already November, huh.」

「Yup, yup. There’s only…」

Looking at what I’m going yo say, the conversation that I just imagined will exactly happen now. Let’s change it a little. I hate sounding dull.

「Mhm. There’s only sixty one days left before this year ends.」

Sixty one really sounds like prime number. Neither eleven, thirteen, seventeen, nor nineteen can be divided, so it must be a prime number. Uhn.

If I multiply it with six, I will get three hundred and sixty six, so there’s exactly only ⅙ of the year left.

「By the way, the time when we are going to school… will continue until when?」

「The winter holiday will start from December 21, or is it 22? There’s still a long way to go.」

If I didn’t remember it wrong, Kouhai-chan’s birthday is on the 12th, right? It should be around the time before the test.

Let’s go and check the schedule later on.

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「By the way, senpai.」

Senpai didn’t say anything else even when we already got on the train.

He should’ve noticed it, right? After all, senpai also changed his uniform today.

「What?」

「Don’t you have anything to say after, er, looking at me?」

「Yes, yes. Cute, very cute.」

「I-it’s not that.」

Senpai launched a surprise attack towards me, making me surprised, but that’s not what I’m asking.

「Haa. Here’s my『today’s question』.」

In November, we will change our uniform. Even if some school change their uniform in October, there will still be some days with high temperature. Our school starts on November 1, when everyone will switch from their summer uniform into winter uniform.

Of course, I am also not an exception.

「How is my winter uniform?」

I make a full spin in front of senpai, at our usual position on the train.

「Even if you ask for my impression, I don’t really know what to say.」

「Don’t you feel something like ‘it suits her’, or ‘cute’?」

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I feel like she is demanding me to「praise」her so much. Well, she is certainly cute, she wears the clothes properly, and it also suits her.

「You know. It’s not like it changes that much.」

The color of her skirt is still deep navy blue, but the fabric looks like it is a little bit thicker than before. It doesn’t mean that she starts wearing those tights? stockings? though.

She is also wearing a cream-colored cardigan, with the school uniform underneath. The sailor’s collar part surely has changed from summer-specific white to winter-specific amber color, but if one doesn’t look closely, they surely won’t realize it. You can even say that it’s one of the differences that no one will notice when playing a quiz on TV in which they need to look for errors in two similar pictures.

「Well, it might seem like that at a glance. But senpai, doesn’t it feels somewhat warmer?」

Thanks to someone’s fault, or so she muttered. Her voice sounded heavy, might be because she was still thinking about yesterday’s incident in her heart.

But, well.

「It suits you.」

「Thank you very much♪」

I should say at least this much anyway.

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「Then, how about my winter uniform? This is my『today’s question』.」

I think I look a lot more different, maybe.

「Nn, I think it’s the same as usual.」

「Oi, don’t you have something to say?」

I am wearing a blazer uniform over a scarlet sweater that I had been wearing after the summer ended. My bottom, or you can say my pants changed to a darker color. I finally felt like I am wearing a proper uniform back after the casual shirt in summer terms.

「Senpai looked somewhat dark from the top to bottom.」

「Dark?」

「Your hair is black, your eyes are black, your glasses frame is black, your clothes are mostly black, your shoes are also black. Senpai is too dark. Are your surname Kirigaya?」2

「I am Keita Iguchi. Don’t match me up with some game maniac.」

「Well, I think it’s good.」

「Oi.」

「Senpai really has that honor student aura around you now.」

I see.

「I feel like your way of speaking has different meanings in it.」

「Did I get found out?」

「Of course you did.」

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「By the way, it’s winter now, senpai.」

When I peeked outside the window, the trees beside the railroad had completely withered.

Coupled with the addition of a jacket in senpai’s uniform, I realized how a long time had passed.

「Oi oi, what happened to you suddenly?」

The first time I spoke to Senpai was on September 14th. That day, it was still on the midsummer, even though it was already September in the calendar. I remembered how the remaining heat was still severe.

Anyway, both senpai and me still wore short-sleeved shirts at that time.

It became long sleeves, and also cardigans.

And finally, we are wearing winter uniforms now.

Around fifty days have passed since that time.

With the「one question a day」, I already knew about fifty things about senpai.

I wonder if it will increase into a hundred, or even two hundred? Or maybe…

「I was just thinking about something for a moment. It’s nothing.」