I Quit the Going-Home Club for a Girl with a Venomous Tongue - Chapter 109

T/N: New arc! This is the second last arc, a short one and a fun one at that. Have fun reading!

 

Chapter 109 – The Words I Wanted to Hear

 

There was a common thing that people said. ‘I failed at life.’ (T/N: Mood)

 

We all heard that at some point. Oftenly, it was used when someone did something that couldn’t be undone. For example, messing up a job, realizing that one’s dream couldn’t be realized or one’s life plan went terribly wrong. People would mutter that word whenever they tried to cling to something that would never come around again.

 

Youngsters like us weren’t exception to that.

 

Since we were preparing for either entrance exams or job hunting, depending on the result, there was a chance that we would mutter those words out of despair.

 

I always wondered if I would be one of those people. If I failed the entrance exam and became a jobless NEET, would I tell other people that I had failed at life?

 

The answer was a big fat ‘no’.

 

Failing at life? I didn’t even know what was the point of my life.

 

I had neither dreams nor goals. Becoming famous? Becoming a wealthy person? I had never thought of those. That was why I couldn’t imagine something like me failing in my life. I guess I would be one of those people who would lament that their life was empty on their deathbed.

 

Because of that, I felt impatient. I kept telling myself that I had to make a goal for myself so that my life wouldn’t turn out that way.

 

And so, I asked myself the old age question, ‘why was I born?’. Maybe, if I could solve that question, I could get myself a dream to catch for.

 

“So, Sui-kun’s decision will remain the same and he will take the entrance exam for college, is that correct?”

 

Asked my teacher to my mom.

 

This was my last career counseling, a three-way interview with my teacher and mom.

 

“Yes, it’s correct.”

 

Answered my mom. It was neither my wish nor my mom’s. Me going to college was just something that happened naturally as both of my parents were college graduates. I was merely trying to follow their footsteps for no particular reason.

 

Well, it wasn’t like I didn’t want to go there. I mean, if I got into a well-known university, regardless of my character, I would gain a huge advantage during a job interview. Besides, the opportunity to study in a higher level of education didn’t come up often, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because my parents were still willing to take care of me.

 

But, that was all there was to it. Those generic ‘benefits’ were the only things I could think of because I didn’t particularly have any goals to achieve.

 

After the interview was over, I told my mom to go home first because I wanted to study for a little longer, so she left the school after telling me to study hard. 

 

I returned to the deserted classroom and sat down at my desk.

 

“You.”

“Call my name properly. I’m not your husband.” (T/N: She’s calling him ‘anata’ here. Normally, it means ‘you’, but sometimes, married couples will use ‘anata’ to refer to their partners.)

“I’m sorry, I’m still not used to calling your names.”

“Some things just never change, huh? You barely called me by my name back then too.”

 

Arina was also staying here to study. She took her earphones out of her ears before putting down her pen.

 

“The summer vacation will start in half a month, huh?”

“Yeah. Time flies.”

“Do you have a plan for it?”

“Just studying.”

“That’s a surprising answer. I thought you’re going to take it easy for a while.”

“Take it easy? Do you mean I should go with you to the beach or something? You wanna give me some fanservice?”

“I doubt that anyone would be excited seeing me in my swimsuits.”

“Of course, because they would straight up worship you instead.”

 

Since it was my last summer as a high school student, it would probably be nice if I were to take it easy and play around. But, I didn’t feel like it, so I decided to spend my days studying, resting and rotting at home like usual.

 

“I’ll probably do the same as you. I’ll spend my days studying, going out for a while to get some fresh air and sometimes, I’ll think of you.”

“That last part is unnecessary, don’t you think?”

“If I don’t do that, I won’t be able to remember anything about you. It’s the reason why I made you quit the going-home club, isn’t it?”

“I mean, yeah, but still…”

“This summer is going to be boring.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. We have our entrance exams coming up soon.”

 

She sighed and plopped onto her desk. I stretched my body before getting ready to study.

 

“It’s going to be boring…”

 

She muttered in frustration. Yes, yes, let’s ignore her. Sine-cosine-tangent–

 

“I’m going to miss you…”

“What’s with those sweet words? Where did all your thorns go?”

 

Her words made it harder for me to concentrate.

 

*   *   *

 

“I’m bored!”

 

Arina suddenly appeared when I was putting some pennies into the vending machine.

 

What the hell was wrong with her? Coming to me on my peaceful lunch break like this and suddenly vented out her boredom to me. Was the melancholy of Hiwa Arina about to begin? (T/N: Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya reference.)

 

“What does that have to do with me? Don’t you have something better to do?”

“I’m! Bored!”

 

After I said that she immediately went into pouty mode.

 

Well in any case, I had to buy some tomato juice first before I could attempt a decent conversation with anyone, so I decided to ignore her and did just that. After entering enough pennies, I could hear the sound of the tomato juice can dropping from inside the vending machine. Yeah, I could tell it was a tomato juice can, I was a pro after all, this much wasn’t a big deal for me. Definitely not because I rarely bought anything other than tomato juice from this vending machine.

 

“Ah, oi, give it back!”

 

Then Arina snatched the can away from me.

 

She had a glare on her face, reminding me of the face that the poisonous rose always made.

 

“What’s wrong with you? If you want some, then buy it yourself!”

“I don’t want it.”

“Then, give it back!”

“No.”

“UOOOGH! Then, don’t blame me if I use force!”

 

After that threat, I made creepy movements with my fingers to make her yield. That action worked out beautifully as she immediately tossed the can back to me. If there was something that worked better than violence, it was being a total creep, I guess.

 

“I don’t know…”

“Hm?”
“I don’t know, I just feel impatient for some reason…”

“Maybe it’s because of the entrance exam?”

“That’s one thing, but it isn’t about that. It has something to do with you.”

“Me?”

“I’m anxious… What if I can’t remember you… That thought keeps me awake at night, you know?”

 

She turned her head down before clutching her skirt. What was she so anxious about, anyway? Out of all people, she should know that realistically speaking, it would take years before she would be able to remember everything, there was no point trying to rush things like this.

 

“I never expected you to regain all your memories in your high school years. No rush, just take it slow. You won’t die by being more patient, you know?”

“I know that, but there’s something else that made me feel this impatient…”

“Like I said, you don’t need to be in a rush. It isn’t like the Martians are going to invade us soon or anything…”

“I know! But, something tells me that if I don’t hurry, I’ll lose something important to me… Call it a woman’s intuition.”

 

Sheesh.

 

Now she was just talking nonsense.

 

I guess she finally entered that phase, huh? Though, she was a little late to the party. Still, I should entertain her so that she doesn’t feel lonely. (T/N: He assumed that she’s entering her chuuni phase.)

 

“I get what you’re saying. Really, I do.”

“You don’t.”

 

Somebody, help me.

 

Since I couldn’t figure her out, I decided to change my mindset a little. I stopped treating her like an ordinary Earthling and treated her like an alien that was unable to communicate properly with our kind instead. After that, I led her to the classroom while giving her a brief history lesson about the earth. From the sea to the land, life grew from a single root that spread through the entire planet. Then, monstrous creatures came to existence and ruled over the land for a long period of time. In the midst of their golden era, a huge meteor hit the earth, making those huge creatures extinct and replaced by the mammals. One of the mammals that roamed through the land was us, humans. Using our intelligence, we managed to increase our numbers, found out how to use fire and invented various ways to communicate. Eventually, we managed to create a huge civilization and developed science to a degree that we could be proud of. I explained everything to her slowly about how we humans came to be the ruler of the earth. Sadly, all my words fell into deaf ears. This one was a tough nut to crack, huh?

 

“Alright, sit down first. This is your chair. Chair. Do you understand English? Do you know English? This is pen. Hamburger? Computer? No good, I’m not getting through. Could it be that her intelligence is only as big as two potatoes?”

“That analogy doesn’t even make any sense.”

“Wow! You, Japanese! Pardon me, do you speak Japanese?” (T/N: The italic parts are him talking in broken English.)

“Jeez, let’s just forget about this! I’m wrong and you’re right, okay? Now, let’s move on!”

 

If that was what she wanted, then so be it. Honestly, I’d rather talk with dumb AIs that would recommend you to google the question you ask to them rather than talking with Chaos Arina.

 

Makoto, who had been watching our antics from the beginning, teased me by saying, ‘You two married couple, go get a room!’. I retaliated by telling him to start learning how to pluck a bird’s feather properly instead of teasing me. That line would make everyone who loved badminton antagonize me, but who cares.

 

“…Couple?”

 

Arina straightened her and looked at Makoto. Seeing her gaze, he instantly trembled in fear. Well, good bye, my dear friend, I’ll make sure to attend your funeral.

 

Contrary to my expectation, she didn’t kill him. Instead, there was a cheerful smile on her face.

 

“U-Um… D-Did I say something wrong?”

 

Makoto’s behavior turned weird after seeing her smile.

 

Arina, on the other hand, turned her gaze to me. I sensed a bad premonition.

 

“Sui, there’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time now. Do you want to go out with me? I like you.”

“Huh?”

 

She just blurted that out of nowhere. Didn’t even bother to set the mood or anything, just directly said that to my face. Was this a real confession or was she just messing with me?

 

This girl wasn’t the type of girl who’d do something like this for a giggle. Even if she did, the blush on her face disproved that possibility. Seeing her behavior, rather than being happy about this situation, it just made me feel confused.

 

Was I overthinking things again? Maybe Ugin was right, love was indeed a strong enough force that could prevail over logic.

 

“Wait, what? Huh??”

 

That was the only respon I managed to utter because I couldn’t even think properly.

 

“PIIIIIGAAARRROOOOOO!”

 

Makoto’s scream, which reminded me of Munch’s masterpiece, The Scream, echoed in the classroom. (T/N: Edvard Munch is a painter and The Scream is a painting he made back in 1893.)

 

The girls in the class also started to make a fuss over this.

 

I looked at Arina, she was looking at me straight in the eye while waiting for my answer. What the hell happened? Why were my classmates making this much fuss over this? And more importantly… Why couldn’t I feel happy over this?

 

“…Can you give me some time?”

 

That was the only answer I managed to squeeze out.

 

“Yes. I’ll be waiting?”

 

Arina just gave me a smile.

 

F**k! What the hell is happening?!

 

TL: Iyo

ED: Dodo

 

 

Fuel my gacha addiction please