Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat - Chapter 17 Her Identity

“L-let’s see…”

When I got home, I found a beautiful girl I didn’t know.
I’m currently in a situation that doesn’t seem real whatsoever.

A girl was sitting across the table from me, staring at my face.
Her large eyes shone like the setting sun. She had beautiful silver hair, smooth from root to tip.
Her face was incredibly well defined, and I felt uncomfortable having her staring at me.

“Why are you keeping your mouth shut? Satou-san.”
“W-what’s with the first name… I mean, who are you really…”

The silver-haired girl proceeded without hesitation.
As for me, I’m not in a state to answer the trespassing girl in front of me naturally.
Though I’m not sure why she’s pouting when I’m confused here…But it was cute.

“Don’t you recognize me?”
“I don’t really know anything…”

I’m an only child and there was no way I’d have a sister this cute, and even if she was a relative, I don’t remember her.
I’ve been alive for more than 20 years and I have no memory of ever meeting this girl. How could I forget such an impressive girl?

She was still staring at me with a pout.
If there was any connection between me and her in the past, I can only shake my head because I can’t remember.

“…You still don’t understand?”

She put her hands on top of her head as if to say she had no choice.
When she let go of her hands, what appeared to be cat ears appeared.

“That’s an interesting trick.”
“I-it’s not a trick!”

I immediately praised her for her sudden trick, but for some reason she was in an even worse mood.
Quite realistic, those fluffy ears. It was a well done magic trick.

I don’t understand why she suddenly did that, but the cat ears themselves look good and cute, so I’m okay with it for now.
However, the shape of those ears is something I’ve seen…

“Satou-san, you’re so insensitive.”

She suddenly threw a harsh comment at me. …Why am I suddenly being made fun of by someone I’ve never met before?
To top it off, she sighed loudly and fixed her gaze on my face.

“Even if you say that…”
“…Are you sure you don’t understand?”

Suddenly her expression darkened and the tone of her voice dropped.
I can immediately tell that there was a tremendous amount of sadness behind her expression.
I felt as if she would disappear if I kept saying things that would disappoint her.

“I’m sorry, just give me a minute.”

I apologized to her and turned my gaze that was away from her to look at her again…I can’t find anything.
It was really unethical of me, but she was half naked and I couldn’t look at her in many ways.

Right now she was covered by the table, but she was not wearing any pants underneath.
So her thighs are exposed, and I can’t help but look at them.
If I’m not mistaken, those clothes are probably my shirts…

I handed her a blanket that was nearby, it was too poisonous for my eyes.
She received the blanket with a slightly curious look on her face, but when she saw me, she understood what I meant and pulled the blanket over her legs with a hint of red on her cheeks.

I looked at her again and saw that she had a really beautiful face. Her skin was white and her hair shone like snow, despite her Japanese face.
The cat ears that grow out of her hair are also white and fluffy, and they occasionally change direction or pivot…………No, what’s with it, really.

“H-hey. You.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Can I touch your cat ears?”
“Eh…? No, it’s fine.”

She looked puzzled for a moment, but then hesitantly offered her head.
The sight of her huddled up against me with her eyes closed as she waited for me filled my imagination with something strange, and I shook my head to drive away the evil thoughts.

Her cat ears, which had been standing upright earlier, were down as if terrified by my touch.
She herself looked a little embarrassed, which seemed to show a lot.
I’m not sure what kind of mechanism those cat ears have, whether it was the delicate movements or the fact that they are linked to emotions…

In order to unravel this mystery, I reached for her cat ears instead of the depths of the Amazon…
…Chon. [TLN: Rustle]

“Meow…”

When I touched her cat ears, she let out a small cry.
The cat ears twitched and responded to my hand movements. They were as fluffy as they looked, and as warm as human skin.
Honestly, these were too realistic to be a magic trick. The cat ears really seemed to be a part of her body.

However, it only deepened the mystery about her. A beautiful girl who knew me, who I’ve met before, and who has cat ears that look like the real thing.
The more I think about it, the more I don’t understand. In my memory, was there a girl with such pretty, beautiful, white hair—

…Mashiro?

For some reason, that word stuck in my head.

…Snowy hair color, the beautiful orange-colored eyes, and the shape of those cat ears that were somehow familiar.
It was just that I naturally left those out of the running, but I certainly knew someone who has those features.
Everything she’s said and done so far makes sense to me, except for one thing: she was too unrealistic.
But, is it…possible?

I looked up with a faint sense of possibility, hope, and anxiety in my heart.
If this speculation is correct… I thought, and looked around the room.

There is no sign of her on the bed or on the sofa. There was no trace of her running away.
That means that she was the “girl” who greeted me at the door just a few minutes ago…

“Mashiro…right?”

I turned to her and said the name.
For some reason, I was able to say her name without feeling uncomfortable, even though the person sitting in front of me was unmistakably a human girl.
The beautiful silver-haired girl with cat ears smiled gently and said

“Yes. Satou-san.”

She nodded and called my name back.

[TLN: Your pepega translator is back from his Genshin addiction.]