Chapter 20

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We made it. Half way to complete 40 chapters. I am assuming the 40 chapters include the six extra chapters. See Tonari no Seki no Satou-San is currently divided into 4 arcs and two extra chapter arcs. The first arc only has 34 chapters and then the extra chapters continue after and then the second arc starts. According to the guy translating the manga the manga ends at 40 chapters. However I am not sure if he is including the extra chapters in his count. So I will assume he is and plan to hurry to translate all 34 chapters and 6 extras

Title: Satou-san laughs next to me.

Satou-san was in the classroom that morning. She was sitting in the second seat from the window, at the very back. I was about to take the seat next to her when she called out to me.

“Good morning, Yamaguchi-kun,”(S)

Then Satou-san smiled.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. Of course, it’s been a while, but…”(S)

“Yeah.”

I nod. But I don’t know what I should look like. I didn’t expect Satou-san to be here today – no, it’s only natural that she’d be there if it were true. It’s normal for her to be sitting next to me, but I hadn’t seen her face in a long time, so I was nervous. I put my bag on the desk, and that’s all the noise I hear.

It seems that Satou-san has finally returned to class after a few days of illness. She seems to have lost some weight at heart, and her cheeks are a little thin. However, she is fairer than I thought, and her smile is the same as before. At the same time as I was relieved, I felt uncomfortable. Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten used to having an empty seat next to me. The seat to my right, which had been empty for only a few days, was now occupied by its original master. Maybe it will take me some time to get used to that again. It’s just as if I’ve developed a strange habit of occasionally noticing the seat next to me.

Shaking her single knot of hair, she looks around the classroom.

“Really, I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve done anything. I’ve been resting, and it’s only been a short while.”(S)

She mumbles nostalgically, then laughs at her own words.

“It’s nice to see everyone’s faces.”(S)

As she says this, she waves back to the girls in her class as their eyes meet. Her classmates’ eyes are warm. The same warmth comes from the eyes she gives the entire classroom.

I don’t intend to forget Satou-san’s expression and mannerisms. We hadn’t seen each other for just a few days, but I’m confused that she’s here. Why do I feel so awkward?

“Are you all better now?”(Y)

Still, I asked in a casual manner. Satou-san turned to me and nodded her head.

“Yes, thanks to you, I’ve got my appetite up and I’m doing fine. “(S)

“We have a school trip coming up. Can you go?”(Y)

“Well, it’s perfect. I am already in good shape.”(S)

Judging by the blood color in her cheeks, it must be true. I’m glad, I said, and Sato-san smiled a little ruefully.

“But I didn’t get the perfect attendance award. Ah, what a pity.”(S)

I wonder if the perfect attendance award is such a good thing. I wasn’t interested in it from the beginning, so Satou-san’s disappointment was hilarious.

“I’m still saying that your body is more important.”(Y)

I couldn’t help but laugh, and Satuo-san told me with energy,

“I’ve never been late and never missed a class since I was in elementary school.”(S)

“Huh….”(Y)

“It’s the only way for me to get an award. I really missed it.”(S)

It’s true that Satou-san wouldn’t seem to have anything else to be proud of. She doesn’t get good grades, doesn’t always answer the questions she is asked to answer in class, and has a poor sense of athleticism that makes her a drag in gym class. She seems clumsy, brittle, and witless, and I don’t even think there’s a subject she’s good at. But she’s a girl who keeps her promises. I’m proud of her honesty in her character. I’m sure that’s why she gets an award for perfect attendance.

“But I’m really grateful to Yamaguchi-kun.”(S)

Satou-san’s tone of voice changed.I had a bad feeling and looked away. I thought I knew what she was going to say next.

“I only vaguely remember… that time, the day I was sick, Yamaguchi-kun approached me during lunchtime.”(S)

A slow voice spun the words as I remembered what happend. It was definitely a voice that I had missed. It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a while.

“Well, yeah.”(Y)

I replied vaguely. She was right, but it wasn’t something I should affirm to the fullest extent. Should I be the first to tell her that she doesn’t need to thank me? Otherwise, Satou-san will be persistent.

“I was wondering what would have happened if you hadn’t taken me to the infirmary. Thank you so much.”(S)

“No, no.”(Y)

“’m sorry. I wish I could have thanked you properly that time, but I don’t remember much because of the fever. I’m sorry.(S)

Satou-san looked apologetic. She must have been looking at me in the same way. So I looked away and responded.

“It’s okay, I knew you didn’t look well. You had a bad dream in the infirmary, so it’s not surprising that you don’t remember it.”(Y)

“I was having a bad dream? Me?”(S)

“Yes”(Y)

I pulled my chin back. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I looked at Satou-san.

Satou-san is seated next to me on the right. She looks a little thinner than he used to be. Even so, she was fair-skinned and her face, looking at me suspiciously, was the same as before. I remembered what she had said in a rambunctious manner, buoyed by the heat of the moment.

What was that all about, waiting, I don’t know. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about it. I mean, if someone lets you down by making you wait for a promise to keep it, then he’s a major scoundrel, isn’t he? Satou-san has nothing else to offer but to keep her word, and that’s the only thing she can be proud of, but if someone stepped on her toes, that makes me angry. Did she catch a cold because of him? If that’s the case–. Well, maybe I’m wrong, and it’s none of my business in the first place.

Satou-san is laughing next to me.

“What was I like having a bad dream? Did I say something weird?”(S)

“Oh, no”(Y)

That’s a weird thing to say. Satou-san did say weird things. She was saying things that I couldn’t understand. She was saying things that I, who had nothing to do with the situation, could not help but think about. But I shook my head. Like an outsider, I pretend that I don’t know anything about it.

“You were just groaning. you weren’t feeling well, so don’t worry about it.”(Y)

“It’s embarrassing that you heard I was groaning. Yamaguchi-kun, forget about it.”(S)

“Okay, I’ll try. By the way.”

I opened the bag I had left on my desk just to divert the conversation.

I pulled out a binder with a loose leaf closed in it. It’s a special edition notebook with furigana for the past few days of classes. I held it out to Satou-san.

“”You need your class notes, right?”(Y)

Satou-san, who was blindsided for a moment, immediately returned to her smile.

“Thank you! Can I borrow it?”(S)

“Okay. You’re behind, so you’ll have to work on that.”(Y)

“Yeah, I’ll just copy it down. I owe a lot to you, Yamaguchi-kun.”(S)

Satou-san smiles, but he hasn’t changed much. The clumsiness of her hands as she unrolls her notebook and the fidgeting as she runs her pen over it is the same. Except for the fact that she’s lost a little weight, Satou-san has returned to her seat next to me. So, am I the one who has changed? Is it because of my own weirdness that I feel awkward? I didn’t know how to interact with Satou-san, and I couldn’t tell her half of what I wanted to say.

“ I’m sorry for everything you’ve done for me.”(S)

Satou-san says that easily.

I can’t say it well. I just shook my head and returned.

I had a lot of things on my mind while she was gone, but in the end, there were so many things I couldn’t say. The truth is, there were other things I wanted to say.

“You’ve been sick for a while now, so don’t be too hard on yourself. We have a school trip to attend.”(Y)

I said in a pout and let the conversation drift off.

“You’re right. I may not get a perfect attendance award, but I definitely want to go on a school trip.”(S)

Satou-san nodded widely. She smiled in the seat next to me. As usual, unchanged.

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