Kedamono Kareshi [Chapter 42]

At Margaret diner, Ryou’s friend asks if Himari is what he’s interested in here. His friends are looking at Himari serving some customers. Ryou looks flustered but isn’t looking at Himari’s direction. He casually says that it is because she invited him to come. His friend says that she told that to everyone. Since Ryou didn’t reply, his friend asks what happened after that incident. After looking surprised, Ryou looks at Himari and says that afterwards, it is like that. His friend comments that he is too nice and that isn’t good for while he is procrastinating, some other guy will come and steal her away. While filling up a drink from the machine, Himari is nervous over Ryou coming over there. He had asked what time she gets off work. After she told him that it is after around one hour, Ryou offered to bring her home since it is late. She just said ya. End flashback. Himari thinks that it still hasn’t totally gone back to how it was between her and Ryou. She did invite him here and it is meticulous to refuse. She thinks that they can slowly become friends again. Her thoughts are interrupted by some girls squealing about Ryou. They praise him by saying that towards a girlfriend, he is very devoted that it makes them envious. They start talking about his confession during the cultural festival and find it so cool. But then, they don’t remember who the girl was.

Carrying the drinks on the tray, eavesdropping Himari agrees with their observation. Then, their topic drifts to Keita, whom they think is the coolest. They comment that there are too many girls around him lately. A girl says that she heard that today, girls from other sections had confessed to him since it is rare for Keita to mention about wanting to have a girlfriend. This made some girls extremely excited over this. They mention of some girls from section 4 and 7 who were got rejected so they are curious whom Keita will choose. This stuns Himari that she backs away and hits the glass behind her. It falls down and broke. She apologizes and stares at the broken piece of glass that she was picking up. The ponytailed girl recognizes her as Keita’s sister. They start to ask her what Keita’s type in girls since their relationship is good. Himari couldn’t answer so the girls started chatting that Kana, ponytailed girl has really a high chance in becoming ‘the girlfriend’. This made Kana want to confess to Keita soon. Himari recognizes the girl as the one who is always with Keita. They kept on chatting while Himari is lost in her own thoughts. She thinks that after their one and only date, she and Keita are family again so that position of seeing that happy expression of his while beside him, no longer belong to her but gradually to someone else.

Kuroda snaps her out of it by reprimanding her that it is quite a hindrance for her to be lost in thought at that side. He asks if it is because of that guy again. Himari looks flustered. Kuroda sweatdrops over how easy it is to know what she’s thinking. He starts to lecture her that if she isn’t into work then doesn’t be a hindrance. He will be troubled if she daydreams and breaks bowls and glasses. And, he doesn’t want to see that gloomy face of hers. This made Himari want to cry. He tells her that keeping things in her heart influences her work so how about talking with him about it and perhaps, she’ll feel more relaxed. He says that there are times when it is easier to say it to someone who is unrelated to it. He turns away and tells her that there’s no need to force herself, if she doesn’t want to say it, but she’ll just keep on causing him trouble. When he turns to look at her, Himari is crying. She hates herself for wavering over a small thing even if she kept herself busy and tried to cover it up because she doesn’t want anyone to know it. Kuroda darkly tells her that he wants her to tell him not cry on him. She denies that she’s crying. He says she is. She still denies it. Kuroda says that he really cannot do anything with her so he will cover her for a while. He teasingly tells her that if she cries again, her face will become ugly. This made Himari remember Keita again.

Wiping her tears, she tells herself this is enough, today is the last time. She doesn’t want to tell her mother and friends about these feelings of hers, nor make them notice it. And, it turns out that Kuroda is that worried about her. While Himari is hiding behind Kuroda’s back [so that people won’t see her crying], Kuroda remembers to tell her not to dirty his shirt. To his shock, Himari is wiping her face on the back of his shirt. While they argue about Himari dirtying it or not, Ryou sees them and looks flustered. Himari has finished work and finds Ryou waiting for her outside. Once again, Himari insists that there is no need to bring her home. And as usual, Ryou wants to by saying that he’s going the same way. While walking, Ryou asks Himari about her work and if it is tiring. Himari happily says no and right now, she really wants to concentrate on her work. While starting to walk away, she says that thanks to it, she is feeling a lot better. Recalling how Himari cried in front of Kuroda, jealous Ryou asks if it is thanks to the guy she is working with. He grabs her hand and asks why it is Kuroda. He continues to ask why he wasn’t able to see her hurt side when he’s the one beside her whom she can rely on. Ryou tells surprised Himari that he didn’t give up so that she’ll be given to Kuroda.

Comment: So far, Kuroda is doing all the right stuff and the other two are not since they are letting their jealousy get the best of them. I guess Kuroda’s role is to make those two jealous over nothing + misunderstanding because there is nothing yet between Kuroda and Himari. Ryou seems to be treating Himari as a thing that cannot be given to someone else except between him and Keita. ^^; He seems to have forgotten that she had already rejected him. I guess the bad thing about treating a rejected suitor nicely and politely is because he would think that he still had a chance with her. He can be so persistent, too. Being the kind of girl that she is, Himari usually have a hard time refusing him. It turns out that Himari is the type who can show her true feelings or at least, show her hidden? side, to almost total strangers rather than to anyone close to her.

It helps there that Kuroda is super sharp that she doesn’t have to tell him much for he can easily read her expressions and can deduce what’s going on based on minimal information. Ryou didn’t know that Himari is like that so he felt that he was ‘left out’. Maybe she needs to reject him again and insists that they can only be friends now. Well, because of this incident, it seems that Ryou is a ‘demanding’ type of person who would dictate whom she can show her pained feelings to. He also wants her to depend on him just because he’s the one beside her. ^^; Oh well, maybe it is just because of jealous that he lost his cool. His friend also hinted that she might be taken away because of his procrastination so he got a bit too hasty. As for Keita, it seems that he is in a rush to find a girlfriend since he thinks that Himari already found a replacement for him. Those poor girls will probably get their heart broken. Of course, in the end, it would still be Himari for him since there is no other kind of girl. It is up to you to take that good or bad =P Hehe, amusingly, it seems that Himari is quite forgettable that those girls forgot who she is = as the one whom Ryou confessed to. ^^; Scans by all★wink汉化组

Word of the day:

He knows our burdens and our crosses, Those things that hurt, our trials and losses, He cares for every soul that cries, God wipes the tears from weeping eyes. ~ Brandt from Our Daily Bread