Chapter 75

「…………」

「…………」

That’s so embarassing! Just as I imagined Andou-kun looking at my cleavage, how’d I have known that he saw my bra!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Aha, ahaha… Really. What was I thinking? To presume that I would have any cleavage— as if I’ll be able to make some magically out of thin air! (Asakura)

Ah shit… Still Asakura-san was too defenceless, and the level of exposure of her bra to me was so powerfully invigorating compared to the powers of the 103,000 forbidden books… It was so poisonous to my eyes that I couldn’t help but point it out, but …………

The mood has plummeted ten-fold! (Andou)

I know I can’t just keep this mood up forever, so even if I’m not up to it, I have to switch topics… (Asakura)

「U-Um… Is there any new light novels that you’ve read recently that you would recommend, Romeo?」

「Eh? Ugh, hmmm… Oh! Recommend, huh? Let’s see—」

Light novels that I’ve read recently, was it… Come to think of it, that was interesting to read. (Andou)

「You might not have read this though, as it’s not a『Narou』, nor was it a web novel serialization. It’s a light novel about a drag queen monk 『Ikkou-san』 and I find it really good.」

「That one! I was also interested in it! If I’m not mistaken, the premise was about–……」

　Once upon a time, there existed a bar on the edge of the capital, ran by Ikkou, a monkish drag queen……

　Seriously~~　

「— That’s the one, am I right?」

「Yup, that’s it! I was lured in by the title so I bought it but for it to be such an outlandishly hilarious light novel, slacks off— Err… I meant hats off to it!」

「Heh~ Really? If it’s that good, then maybe I should buy and check it out.」

「If you want, you could borrow mine.」

「Can I?」

Phew, what a relief… It looks like she’s back to her cheerful self again. All the same, when it comes to Asakura-san, it’s great that we have the same wavelength on light novels. (Andou)

「Yea, it’s fine. Then I’ll bring it with me to school tomorrow, Juliet.」

Juliet… School… Talking about that— (Asakura)

「…………」

「Juliet?」

「Hey, Romeo… I think I ought to decline the role of Juliet.」

「Uegh!? Where is this coming from?」

「I’ve thought about it… Whether『Is it alright for me play this role?』. Afterall, everyone in class is hard at work making the props and costumes, yet, because of my shoddy acting, we can’t proceed with rehearsing the play, the crux of all this. Even though I’m inconveniencing everyone, here I am, casually enjoying a date without a care… Thank you for all your help. With me stepping down, I won’t be a burden to anyone anymore. It’ll be fine… Even if I’m not playing Juliet, there’s always Momo who can fi—」

「No.」

「Romeo…?」

「Asakura-san, it’s okay to trouble us, as, everyone had a hand in making this play.」

「Everyone… helped make it?」

「Yep, you said it before. The purpose of us performing the play for this year’s recital, was to deepen the bonds of friendship.」

「Yes, I did… Which is why I’m doing this, so I won’t hold everyone back—」

「There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s okay to hold us back. It’s fine to trouble us. Is that not how『the bonds of friendship』are deepened?　

　However, you can’t just pass on the role of 『Juliet』when everyone wanted you to perform it because that is the responsibility that you have undertaken as a cast member; which is to say, your『responsibility』.

　Don’t you think that everyone in class is hard at work creating the sets and costumes because they want us to concentrate on rehearsing the play? That’s why you can’t just say you want to give up and quit.

　It’s alright. Even if you still find it difficult to handle, Asakura-san, it’ll be fine to just say these words.

『I’m sorry』」

「Oh…………」

「If not, how ever would the bonds of friendship deepen?

　Everything’s going to be fine… Even if they criticize saying that your acting is horrendous, or that you’re a ham actress, or not taking it seriously, I will never deny your『Juliet』.

　So, will you go out together on stage with me, Juliet?」

「…… I will.」

Though this may just be for my own self-satisfaction… Whilst the class did pin their hopes and wish for Asakura-san to be Juliet, the person that really wanted this to happen most of all, was me.

　However, in exchange for that… I must do something about Asakura’s acting. It is afterall, my 『duty』for making her perform as『Juliet』! (Andou)

「Hey, Romeo…」

「What is it, Asakura-san?」

「Take a look at this…」

Hnn? The email displayed on her smartphone… Wait, that–!? (Andou)

Sender: Momo

『Hey Sakura and Andou-kun,

By the way, given that Class Rep’s assignment was「it’s a date until the both of you get home」so until you both do, you still have to continue calling each other「Juliet」and「Romeo」~』

「Romeo… It’s penalty time♪」

「AIIIIIIGHHHHHHHHH!?」

Mo-Momoi-san!? WRYYYYYYY, Momoi-sannnnnn!? Why did you only send the email to Asakura-san!? (Andou)

「That’s invalid! When we were splitting up earlier, Momoi-san had said that we had cleared the assignment…」

「Fufufu! She had said we cleared it but made no mention that the assignment was over! To begin with, the number of times you called me by m–that name was miniscule, Romeo~」

I was set upppppppppp! (Andou)

「Ugh… Inconceivable! Who’d have thought that I’ll still have to perform the penalty at the end of it all… With that, how many times do I have to whisper『sweet nothings』?」

「N-Nothing I can do about that… Frankly, this was a bit underhanded so… I-It’s fine if you say them just once…」

Besides if he were to whisper them that many times… this time I’d be so over the moon with joy, and embarrassed past my limits, that I’d die from it all. (Asakura)

Phew… Thank god. If it’s only just once then— The『words』I’ll use are… (Andou)

「T-Then…………here I go」　*thump thump*

「Y-Yeah…………」　*ba-dump! tha-dump!*

Ugh… I’m nervously awaiting Andou-kun’s『sweet nothings』! (Asakura)

Asakura-san— I like you, the girl who’s utterly beautiful, and… unexpectedly adorable beyond measure. Despite the fact that ordinarily, it would never have been possible for us to become friends, we became acquainted and started to converse, surprisingly through our hobbies… Before I realized it, I became fascinated by you, and fell in love with you.

　No matter what occurs, you always give it your all. However, there’s that obstinate side of you which stems from your dislike of depending on others. There’s also that side of you that’s really caring, and unexpectedly clumsy… When I think of what’ll happen if I’m not there to watch over you, and other people steal you away from me… When that happens, it makes me anxious…

　That’s why I want you to be my girlfriend… but a coward like myself will never be able to take such a bold step.

　These『sweet nothings』I say are just part of the penalty, even if it is the『truth』, Asakura-san wouldn’t perceive it. For me, that’s fine……… (Andou)

「　I love you　」

　Hence, I’ll paint over this one real truth with a『lie』. (Andou)

「Juliet…」

　Yes, with this『transparent lie』— (Andou)

「Fuaaa…」

The seriousness of Andou-kun’s『I love you』. H-How it packs a punch! If you were to utter them to me with such passion… I can’t help but respond to them, ya know… Besides, this is just acting afterall. It’s okay for me to ride on it, right? (Asakura)

「Mm! I love you too… Romeo」

「Thanks, Juliet.」

This is just acting afterall… It isn’t Asakura-san’s true feelings. (Andou)

This is just acting afterall… It isn’t Andou-kun’s true feelings. (Asakura)

「…………Ehehe」

「…………Ufufu」

Even so, her— (Andou)

Even so, his— (Asakura)

『words』make me happy (Asakura & Andou)

***

The next day

「O, Romeo, Romeo! Why art thou a 『loner』 …？」

「Wow~ Sakura, that was amazing! Your acting was beyond flawless~」

「Really? For real, Momo? YAY!」

「…………」

「Andou-kun, well done. Just how on earth did you managed to make a ham actress like Asakura-san become a pro at acting?」

「Who knows? Wouldn’t this be a result of your『assignment』, Class Rep?」

「It’s unlikely that such a flimsy tactic would make her acting blossom… For her to become this good at acting, I suspect that you had a hand in it, Andou-kun.」

「Class rep, to denounce the assignment you put on me as flimsy, that’s…」

Well, point taken. It’s true that Asakura-san’s acting has improved by leaps and bounds due to my actions. In the first place, the problem with Asakura-san’s poor acting lies in her trying to become Juliet. Asakura-san had viewed the play like her studies, and had imagined performing Juliet from the script like reciting from a textbook. But that was inherently the wrong train of thought. A play is a form of entertainment, so the script shouldn’t just be read. Anyone can tell when Asakura-san’s actually reading and thoroughly enjoying herself with it. That’s why at the very start when we were establishing the character’s settings, I added an addendum at the bottom of Asakura-san’s script. (Andou)

『Juliet was a reincarnator. That’s right, in her past life, she was known as Asakura—』

「Romeo… Romeo, Romeo! I finally found you!」

That’s right. Asakura-san doesn’t have to be Juliet. It’s better that Juliet becomes Asakura-san. (Andou)