V1C1 Part1

Translated by Damian's TLs Edited by Damian's TLs

Some news for everyone: volume 2 releasing soon! Our favourite couple’s story continues!

“ーYes, looks good. Thank you for doing this on your day off.”

The principal of the school we attend checked over the documents Mitsuki and I submitted. She thanked us with a warm smile. It’s a Sunday evening. Of course, it’s usually a day off, but there was some urgent business for the student council, so Mitsuki and I, president and vice president respectively, have been at school since noon to take care of it. Oh, and we had gyudon from a certain chain restaurant for lunch today.

“No, Principal- Tsuyuki-san, thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Asuka-neesan~”

When the two of us replied in a casual tone, her smile became even more friendly.

“Nono, this is just my normal business.”

Us and Asuka Tsuyuki, the principal of our school, have known each other for a long time. She seems to be one of my dad’s business acquaintances, and she’s also taken care of Mitsuki and I sometimes when we were little. She’s the reason we’re at this school in the first place, so far away from our parents.

ーAn experience of living separately from their parents when they’re young, as practice for the future

ーDue to our family’s status, we must be able to keep an eye on them

ーDonating to a school may work, but it has to be a place where the two won’t stand out

This school, where Tsuyuki-san is the principal of the board of trustees, was the only one that met our parents’ ridiculous conditions. And that’s why we’re here. Surprisingly, the reason Mitsuki and I are president and vice president and that the other two members are related to us both have nothing to do with our parents.

“I’m glad that you two are on the student council. It makes things a lot easier for me.”

“It’s mutual. It’s a lot easier for us to deal with people we know.”

If you know those that you work with, you don’t have to worry about negotiating.

“I’m going to make some tea.”

“Oh, thank you, Mitsuki-san.”

At Mitsuki’s offer, I sat down at the coffee table, facing her.

“Yuuya~?”

I looked at her. Mitsuki, who was pouring tea for Tsuyuki-san, looked at the teacup in front of me.

“Ah? ーMm.”

“Mmm~”

When I asked for a refill with my eyes, she responded with a smile and poured me another cup. In return, I let her take a bite of my yokan (sweet red bean jelly) that I was offered.

“Mm. ーHmm?”

“ーMhmm~”

I looked at her as though to ask ‘do you want me to pour some for you too?’, to which she replied with gratitude, so I did. Mitsuki sat down next to me, and after she settled in, we each sipped our tea.

“Hah…”

(In unison) ““What’s wrong?””

Tsuyuki-san exhaled. She was looking at Mitsuki and I with a troubled look on her face. Not so much troubled, I’d say, but more of a mix of a resignation, surprise, and a smile?

“…No, justー I’m wondering what kind of relationship you two have, that’s all.”

(In unison) ““We’re engaged…?””

“…No, not that…”

When we both instantly gave the obvious answer, she looked even more tired.

“As you may know, your parents asked me to keep an eye on you, so I was wondering what kind of life you two lead…”

What she was saying was a completely normal topic for a conversation, but the way she said it felt oddly awkward to me, and I realized what she was trying to get at. Mitsuki seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

(In unison) ““Ah, that’s what you mean. …We haven’t had sex, okay?””

“Can’t you say it a little more delicately? N-, no, it’s exactly what I wanted to ask, though…”

We both answered quickly, and Tsuyuki-san responded with a pout.

“Think of it as a sign of how close our relationship is with you, Tsuyuki-san. But… why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“Right? Our parents told you about it, and we’re having a ‘clean’ and ‘proper’ relationship.”

“ー‘Clean’, maybe, but whether it’s ‘proper’ is debatable.”

When Mitsuki and I started our ‘semi-cohabitation’ lifestyle, our parents gave us next to no instructions or conditions. The only thing they said was ‘for the sake of public appearances, please try not to do anything that is normally done after graduating high school’. …Well, delicately or not, as a member of a family of high status, and also the likely successor to the head of the family, I need to keep a good public image of myself. And not to mention, considering that we’re in high school now, I understand our parents’… concerns. So until we graduate from high school, we’re not doing anything like thatー

“I believe you, of course, but your… actions… naturally raise suspicion.

(In unison) ““Do they?””

Mitsuki and I both tilted our heads. Are we really acting that strangely?

“…Literally because of stuff like that. ーHave you ever been referred to as ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’?”

“Happens often, I guess.”

“Sometimes they even add ‘mature’ and stuff like that.”

I grabbed a tea biscuit, and Mitsuki did the same. It’s not like we particularly intend to, but we rarely talk with each other when we do something together.

“I think it’s rather natural for a man and woman living together at such an age to have such desires and impulses… Yeah?”

(In unison) ““Mhmm…””

It’s not that I don’t want to do those kinds of things, and it’s not that I don’t have a desire for it, but…

I thought about it for a bit, then looked at Mitsuki sitting next to me. Our eyes met. We nodded at each other once we understood that we were thinking the same thing.

(In unison) ““We’re used to it?””

“Man, that’s enough. Please excuse me.”

Tsuyuki-san had a look on her face that seemed to plead to us, saying ‘don’t show me any more of this, please’, but I don’t really know why. Neither of us really got what she meant, so we both tilted our heads.

ーーーーーーー

After leaving the principal’s office, Mitsuki and I made our way to the student council room, where the other members and our two childhood friends were waiting.

“Hey, is our relationship that weird…?”

“Well, I guess it’s not all that common, in a way…”

From the perspective of your average high school boy, it’s certainly not normal to live with a good friend of the opposite sex – fiancée included – and not have anything of a sexual nature happen. But even so, our current relationship is comfortable, and I’m not particularly unhappy with how things are.

“ーIsn’t the way things are now fine? We are how we are. I don’t have any issues with it.”

“Yeah, I’ve got nothing against it either, so it’s probably okay~ It’s impossible for us to be too casual, or like Yukina and the others.”

“Right, Yukina and Taiga are a couple too. I don’t think their relationship is common either~”

Yukina and Taiga are our childhood friends, and also the other two members of the student council. Those two have known each other for a long time, but they didn’t officially start dating until we all graduated from junior high school.

As we were talking about this, we neared the student council room. Mitsuki thought of something with a smirk.

“ーThe two of them are alone in there right now. Maybe they’re making out?”

“Nope, they’re aware of where they are. They don’t know when we’ll be back, after all.”

The two of them are close with each other, and Taiga is a bit of an airhead, but he wouldn’t try to make out in public. So even if the two are alone, they probably wouldn’t be flirting at school…

We arrived at the student council room, and I opened the door.

A girl was looking up at a boy with moist eyes, who moved his shirtless body closer to her, their faces getting closer.

(In unison) ““Ahー””

(In unison) ““…Eh?””

The two people in the room froze when Mitsuki and I let out our surprise. The air stood still. The world stood still for a few seconds. And thenー Mitsuki and I, who came to our senses first, spoke almost simultaneously.

(In unison) ““We got the wrong room.””

“Eh?! Wait, it’s not what you think it is!!”

I closed the door, and heard a girl’s panicked voice and the sound of footsteps rushing toward us. She opened the door, and the girl I knew since childhood rushed out.

“This is the right room! A-, and-, you’re misunderstanding! We weren’t doing anything this time!”

The girl with the beet-red face is Yukina Sawatari. She has brownish hair that reaches just past her shoulders, and I’d describe her as a ‘legitimately beautiful girl’. If Mitsuki is the ‘sheltered maiden’, then Yukina is a ‘normal’ girl. Her atmosphere makes those around her feel at home. If you ask people which one they like more, it’d be split straight down the middle. Normally, Yukina is a gentle and caring girl, and she’ll tease you, but… you don’t want to make her angry. Why? I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.

“No, it’s not like you’re cheating, so there’s no need to panicー right?”

“Mhmm! I’m glad you guys are that close~ And I can guess from your reaction it’s not what we think it was. But… Yukina, something feels off.”

“Wh-, what…?”

Based on how she reacted, it’s pretty obvious they weren’t really flirting or making out. …But here’s the thing. Something that Yukina said in her defense was very peculiarー

(In unison) ““You just said ‘this time’, didn’t you?””

“…Eh?! U-, uwaaaa!”

Yukina’s face turns even redder, and she runs away, crouching in the corner of the room. …Even though it’s somewhat of a self-destruct, it’s still a bit cute.

“ーMitsuki, it’s up to you.”

“Kay~”

Since she feels ashamed after what happened, I thought it would be better to leave it to someone of the same sex.

“…Don’t tease Yukina too much, Yuuya.”

As Mitsuki walked over to Yukina with a smirk, the boy’s voice called out from inside the room. It was, of course, my childhood friend, Taiga Ookubo. He uses the female ‘I’ (watashi), always speaks politely, and has a calm personality. His handsome face gives the impression of intelligence, which makes him look straight out of a student council president in an otome game.

TN: Otome game: dating simulator with a female protagonist and male love interests.

Although Mitsuki is the student council president, if you didn’t know, you’d definitely think that Taiga is, especially given the air of intellect he hasー …And just a minute ago, he was with a girl, shirtless.

“Taiga, when did you put your shirt back on? ーOr rather, why did you have it off in the first place?”

“There’s a gentleman’s rule that goes ‘take your time undressing, put them on quickly’. And why I had my shirt off…?”

There’s a lot I wanted to ask him, but let’s start there for now.

“I was done with my work, so I thought I’d grow a bit of muscle while I waited for you guys. So I just took off my top and did some push-ups.”

…It’s said that as one’s love for muscle grows, they switch from calling it ‘working out’ to ‘growing muscle’.

He has a nice, intelligent face, he has the brains to match, and he’s got a good head on his shoulders. However, despite the impression he leaves, he’s a muscle-crazed man with a weird way of thinking. He’s a quick thinker and has a good memory, but his words and actions sometimes bug me. Reality and appearances are a complete mismatch, to the point where you could call it ‘appearance fraud’. That’s Taiga Ookubo for you. It’s making my head hurt a bit, so I look over at Mitsuki comforting Yukina.

“Yukina, sorry, see, it’s not that bad~”

“Wauuu…”

It looks more like she’s taming a frightened puppy than comforting a girl, but it’s soothing in a weird way.

“So? What were you doing to Yukina just before?”

“Yeah, she said she got dust in her eye, so I was taking a look.”

…The reason was more normal than I thought it would be.

“If that’s the case, I guess it can’t be helped. Even though you guys are lovers… isn’t it a bit much to approach a girl while naked from the waist up? Even though you ‘didn’t mean to’?”

I look at this muscle-for-brains of a guy, and he looks away in shame.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to be called lovers, you know…”

“That’s what you’re embarrassed about?”

Unlike Yukina, who was still recovering, Taiga was far too innocent. As their friend, I see them get along well far too often, so I’m forced to make comments like these every so often…

Is this innocence what makes a couple’s relationship ‘normal’…? Thinking back to yesterday morning’s ‘show’… Yeah, we’ve got zero shame.

“Hm? By the way, Yuuya, did something happen during your discussion with the principal?”

I was a bit lost in thought, so Taiga reminded me.

“Uh, there wasn’t any problem with the papers we submitted, we just chatted a bit. ーWhen Yukina feels like herself again, we’ll talk about the details.”

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