Toru’s Choice
TL/ED: Bogdi
The classroom was silent as if it had been hit by a tsunami.
Aino Luthi was asking Toru if he wanted to have lunch with her.
Aino is a solitary person, always alone in the classroom, and I’ve never seen her having lunch with a girl, let alone a boy.
Suddenly, she asks one of her inconspicuous classmates, “Do you want to have lunch with me?” It was only natural that she would attract attention.
The girl in front of me, Aino, was trembling and her cheeks were red.
(This is a problem …)
I’m not sure what wind is blowing, but it’s clear that the Aino in front of me has taken an unexpected course of action.
Thanks to this, Toru has attracted more attention than ever before.
I’ve been getting a lot of stares from the boys for talking to Asuka, and now with Aino on top of that, I feel like I’m on the end of a needle.
“So, no?”
Aino says, looking up at me. I was almost drawn in by her beautiful blue eyes, and I gasped.
An alarm sounded in Toru’s head.
If I fail to make a choice here, I’m going to be in trouble.
As I was trying to decide what to say, Asuka interrupted us from the side.
“So, Luthi-san was close with Renjo?”
Aino folds her small hands together and fidgets, as if embarrassed.
“It’s not that, but yesterday, Renjo helped me.”
“Helped you?”
Asuka parroted, then glared at Toru.
For goodness sake, he had not told her that he had helped Aino at the bookstore yesterday. It backfired.
Toru broke out in a cold sweat, and then gave up.
“I met Luthi-san at the bookstore,” he said. “I was just helping her get some books off the shelf.”
“…… You said nothing happened with Luthi-san, but you lied to me.”
Asuka puffed up her cheeks and glared at Toru with a scowl. In the end, it is true that I lied.
“I’m sorry. It was not a big deal, and I thought it would be a bad idea to talk about it without Luthi-san’s permission.”
“If that’s the case, …… you may have no choice but …….”
Asuka said crisply. However, it was clear that Asuka’s anger had eased.
Toru was relieved.
But then Aino dropped a bomb on him.
“You didn’t just get the book for me, Renjo-kun. I was about to fall off a step ladder, but you caught me in your arms.”
“Huh, Renjo caught you …….”
Asuka murmured quietly to Aino, who said that with a sly smile.
The surroundings are noisy.
The situation is going in the opposite direction of a solution, and is attracting more and more attention.
“So, I wanted to thank you, Renjo-kun.”
“Don’t thank me, I don’t care. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Toru tried to say so in a soft tone.
Aino, who is surprisingly shy, might back off with this.
However, my prediction was wrong.
“Even if you’re okay with it, I don’t feel comfortable with it. I’ll buy you the most expensive lunch at the school cafeteria.”
Aino said in a beautiful voice. Now, what should I do? Aino’s intentions seem to be strong.
However, if I told her that I had a prior arrangement, Aino would probably back down. I don’t actually have any plans to have lunch with anyone, but a lie is a good excuse.
There’s nothing good about getting involved with a pretty girl as special as Aino. The smart thing to do would be to turn her down.
But …
Toru looked at Aino in front of him. Aino gazed anxiously back at Toru. Aino’s thin legs are trembling a little. I’m sure she must have summoned up the courage to ask Toru out. The lonely goddess may actually be a timid, shy girl who is not very good at socializing.
When he thought of this, Toru thought that it was …… wrong to refuse Aino’s invitation with a lie.
It is true that Toru is lethargic at the moment. He lacks self-confidence, wants a peaceful life, and wants to avoid trouble.
But if he lied here and rejected Aino, he would hate himself even more.
He felt like that.
“I have not done anything to deserve you buying me lunch, but maybe you can buy me a coffee from the vending machine after lunch.”
“Are you going to have lunch with me?”
Aino says, her eyes sparkling.
I was unconsciously stunned.
It’s a foul for a pretty girl to make such a face. High destructive power.
Toru looked away, mumbled, “Well,” and nodded.
(It should be okay …)
This was just a thank you for yesterday. This should not be a reason to get deeply involved with Aino.
Unlike Asuka, who is used to people and seems to have good interpersonal skills, Aino gives off a somewhat insecure impression.
This may be what makes Aino a mysterious and solitary goddess, but for Toru, it was a cause for concern.
If he got deeply involved with Aino, he might hurt her and disappoint himself. Maybe he was overthinking it, but he was afraid that such a situation would happen.
Just like he did with his childhood friend Chika.
“I’m glad.”
Aino mumbled and smiled.
Then she blushed a little.
“It’s not that I wanted to have lunch with you, it’s just a thank you, okay?
“I know.”
“I’m not happy at all.”
Even as she said this, Aino lowered her eyes in embarrassment.
Toru also noticed that Aino’s true feelings were contrary to her words. She could be called Tsundere.
For some reason, Toru seems to have been liked by Aino, but is that only because of what happened yesterday?
Or is there some other reason?
Toru thought about it, but he was sure that he had only talked to Aino a handful of times before.
When he looked up, he saw that Asuka was staring at Toru with a look of displeasure on her face.
“Even if Luthi-san isn’t happy, I’m happy for Renjo, because he can eat lunch with such a cute girl.”
“Most boys would be happy about that, I’m sure.”
“Renjo is one of those ‘most boys’, isn’t he?”
“Yes, you’re right. You’re right.”
Denying it would be more trouble than it’s worth. Toru smiled and nodded.
Asuka looked at Toru with a frown and said, “Hmm.”
“I see. Renjo-kun is …… happy.”
Then she looked at Toru, her eyes shining like sapphires. Looking back, Toru thinks that this was a turning point. If he had rejected Aino at the time, the situation would have been different. At the very least, the unexpected situation of him becoming Aino Luthi’s fiancée would not have happened.
