Becoming Sleeping Friends with the School's Sleeping Princess - Chapter 1

One rainy October night.

The fatigue in Kanata Kurosaki’s body, my body, had reached its limit. I was resting in the shade of a tree next to the sidewalk when I heard a voice call out to me.

As I lifted my heavy head, a girl holding an umbrella appeared in my blurry vision.

The good-looking face illuminated by the streetlight was familiar to me.

“Yume…kawa…san?”

I wondered whether it was because I was too tired to think clearly, or if it was due to my lack of social skills that it had taken me so long to remember the name of a well-known person like her.

It was likely a combination of the two, but the latter probably had more to do with it.

“Yes, I’m Yumekawa Shirane. Yume as in ‘dream’, and Shirane as in ‘white noise’.”

The girl bowed with a polite introduction —Shirane.

“Kurosaki-san, right?”

Unlike Kanata, Shirane immediately recalled the names of her other schoolmates.

This caught him off guard, but he affirmed it with a nod of his head.

“I don’t think you’re okay. I mean, you’re soaking wet!”

Shirane crouched down and held her umbrella over my head, surprising me.

The cold rain was obstructed, and the top of my head started to slowly regain its warmth.

“Just a moment, please.”

Shirane fumbles around in her pocket and pulls out a handkerchief.

Without hesitation, Shirane applied the girlish, pale pink handkerchief to my face.

“No, it’s fine…”

“No, you’ll catch a cold if you don’t do something about this.”

I’m pretty sure the opportunity to avoid a cold is long gone.

Such a response retracted into the back of his throat when he saw the serious expression on Shirane’s face. Kanata, who inherently lacked a sense of independence, was content to be coddled.

The nice scent of detergent mixed with the smell of rain tickled my nostrils.

From behind the handkerchief, I peered at my schoolmate’s face again.

Shirane Yumekawa.

Also known as the “Sleeping Princess”.

She was given this title due to the fact that she spent most of her time in school asleep.

Even Kanata, who had no friends in class, knew of her tendencies.

He repeatedly heard the name “Sleeping Princess” throughout his daily life, as well as the oddity of her being one of the top students in his grade despite the fact that she spends all of her class time in dreamland.

The girl’s unparalleled beauty, combined with the fact that she was a solitary student at school, made her a familiar face in Kanata’s mind.

Her face is so well-defined that not even the expression “doll-like” does it justice. Her eyes are as clear as the blue skies of the snow-covered mountains, and her beautiful silver hair reaches down to her waist, suggesting that she has some Scandinavian blood in her veins.

Her height is a little shorter than the average girl’s, but I’d heard someone in the class say that this is actually an attractive feature that makes you want to protect her.

On the other hand, Shirane is known for her innocence and gentle nature.

I guess she really does have all the makings of a “princess”.

It would be a lie to say I had never felt any attraction to Shirane, even though I rarely take interest in the opposite sex.

But that doesn’t make it any less important.

In the first place, there’s too much of a difference between her and myself in terms of natural genetics and our position in the world.
The only people who have the right to monopolize the precious time when Shirane is awake are the so-called top of the class caste of handsome men and beautiful girls, and there is no room for an outsider like me.

For Kanata, who had never even spoken to any of his classmates in general, they were above the clouds.

The difference between myself and her would be as great as the difference between a low-ranking soldier’s shoeshine and a princess, so we would probably never get involved again and go on with our lives in accordance with our respective stature.

That’s why I was surprised.

I had never dreamed that the princess would go out of her way to talk to me and wipe my drenched face with her personal handkerchief.

“I’m afraid this isn’t enough.”

Shirane’s eyebrows furrowed in concern.

It seems that the degree of wetness is much worse than I thought, and a simple handkerchief won’t do much to help.

“Are you on your way home now? Just in case…”

What do you mean, “just in case”?

I’m not sure how to communicate properly in a situation like this, and it makes me regret my solo lifestyle a little bit.

“I get it. Where is your home, if I may ask?”

“…Downtown Setagaya.”

“So it’s the neighboring station!”

I heard the sound of her clapping her hand over her mouth.

Was it my imagination or did it sound like there was a sense of excitement in her tone?

…I’m sure it’s just my imagination.

“You’re not walking, are you?”

“No, I’ll take the train.”

“Yes, the train. But it’s a long way to the station, and in that condition…”

After a moment of deliberation, Shirane nodded with a determined look in her eyes and said, “Alright.”

“Please wait a moment, I’ll get you a towel and an umbrella.”

If I recall correctly, there’s a FamilyMart a little further down the road.

I suppose she could get me those things there.

As soon as Shirane put the umbrella in Kanata’s hand, Kanata’s rationale, which was easily influenced by his surroundings, went into overdrive.

I’m not sure why she would go so far out of her way to help a classmate she’s never even spoken to.

He was not accustomed to the kindness of others, so he could only speculate.

In the first place, if you give me your umbrella, you’ll get wet.

When the thought occurred to him, he stood up.

“That’s… I’ll be fine.”

To be honest, I was more than grateful for the offer given my current physical condition.

However, as a person who is reluctant to get too deeply involved with others, I hesitated to accept any more generosity.

He was afraid that there might be some ulterior motive, and his small amount of pride made him feel as though he didn’t want to owe her anything.

“H-hold up…”

She grabbed me by the wrist with a snap, as if to say “I can’t leave you like this.”

There was no trace of ill will in Shirane’s eyes.

They were purely concerned about her fellow schoolmate and had a hint of genuine sorrow in them.

Yes, even Kanata understood.

I’m sure that this girl, Shirane Yumekawa, is purely an honest and kindhearted person.

But that’s also why I felt that she shouldn’t worry about me.

I handed the umbrella back to Shirane and spoke in a trembling voice.

“Thank you for the umbrella and the handkerchief…”

I gently remove Shirane’s hand and start walking again.

It seems that my body was more worn out than I thought it would be.

In addition to my sluggish gait, the rain has lowered the amount of friction on the ground.

“Whoa-”

“Kurosaki-san!”

I fell to the ground, collapsing.

I felt a pain in my knee as I lurched forward.

My palms felt the cold and hard asphalt.

I had no strength in my arms nor legs, and I was simply unable to get up.

Shirane is saying something in an urgent voice. Probably something along the lines of, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“How can you possibly be fine…!?”

Not caring about her clothes getting wet, Shirane put her arm around Kanata’s shoulders.

He felt the soft touch and sweet smell of her small body.

In a daze, he stood up, borrowing Shirane’s shoulder.

“Please hang in just a little longer. My house is just around the corner.”

…My house?

He couldn’t even utter the question that had come to his mind.

As if dragged by Shirane, Kanata moved his limp feet.

Little did he know, this was the beginning of a long relationship with Shirane Yumekawa, the sleeping princess.

Translator’s Note: Woo, that took a while. Hey guys, Unu here. I liked this author’s past works and the premise of this one seems really sweet. This is all MTL so it takes me quite a long time to do, and I have a lot of prior arrangements this week, but I might be able to eke another chapter out at some point. Make sure to head over to the Discord to be notified when future updates are released. And hey, stuff like translating and editing takes a long time. If you’re up to it, I’d appreciate any and all donations to my Ko-Fi, as it can help me with motivation and prevent me from burning out.