I Managed to Bring Down the Entire Family of That Impossible-To-Conquer S-Class Beauty, Completely Filling in Her Outer Moat
โUm, excuse meโฆโ
After confessing something pretty embarrassing to China, I ended up at her place.
I never meant to go that far, but my mouth just kept going.
(Still, I’m weirdly nervousโฆ)
Usually we’re all hanging out in the living room with her family, but this time I’m entering her roomโher private domain.
And since she hadn’t asked why I was coming, it only made me more nervous.
โAh, well, the whole family’s out together for once, so just relax.โ
Relax? Easy for her to say, but that just makes it harder for me to relax!?
Feeling my heartbeat thudding in my ears, I climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Ignoring my nerves, China marched steadily ahead. And then, we arrived at the door to her room.
โAlright, I’ll open it.โ
โO-okay! Bring it on!!โ
โNo need to get so worked up. It’s really boring in here.โ
Saying that, she opened the door.
The view beyond the door wasโฆ nothing.
It was an inorganic room, composed mostly of white, with only the bare minimum of furniture.
โThisโฆ Could it be, China-san, you’re a minimalist?โ
โNope, not really.โ
Entering the room, I was urged to sit down on a chair. The study desk was a common type, with a lock on the top drawer.
However, decorating the desk top were the nails I’d made for her and a cherry blossom crafted from paper napkins.
China sat down on the bed beside it and began to speak.
โYou see, I don’t have any hobbies.โ
โHobbies? Not a single one?โ
โYeah. I tried all sorts of things, but I always gave up on them quickly. I’d sell the things I bought or give them to friendsโฆ And that’s how I ended up like this.โ
She’d dabbled in many things, but none suited her.
It felt like her possessions steadily dwindled before she could even find a hobby.
“Because I don’t have any hobbies, I kinda envy people who do have them. I think, โThat’s niceโฆโ with a little jealousy.
But then, seeing you, Watarai-kun, with more hobbies than anyone elseโno, hundreds of times moreโฆ I ended up hating you.”
โโฆI’m sorry. I’m such a jerkโฆโ
โNo, no! It’s not that! I realized I hated myself for feeling more and more jealous of you. I don’t hate you at all!โ
So this was why she avoided me.
She probably stayed away to stop hurting both me and herself with her jealousy.
โI’m really sorry. For avoiding you without saying anythingโฆ For worrying over something so trivialโฆ!โ
โโฆIt’s not trivial at all.โ
She confessed this in a voice choked with tears.
Is there anything I can doโฆ?
โChina, what specific things did you try?โ
โHuh? Umโฆ piano, drawing, reading, games, visiting museumsโฆ stuff like that?โ
โI see. Anything else?โ
โEh, um, I can’t really remember much elseโฆโ
โChina. What you’ve done so far is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more hobbies out there in the world.โ
When I said that, she scowled and protested.
โBut! I can’t just find something that easily!โ
โIf you can’t find it! If you don’t mind, Chinaโฆ! Why don’t weโฆ find it together? A hobby, I mean.โ
โWith Watarai-kunโฆ togetherโฆ?โ
โYeah. After all, I’m a guy whose hobby is everything under the sun!!โ
I grinned, showing my gums, and gave myself a thumbs-up.
A brief spark lit up her eyes. But shadows quickly fell across her face.
โB-butโฆ there’s no benefit for you, Watarai-kunโฆโ
“Hmmโฆ Oh, right! My new hobby! I’ll make โdoing all kinds of fun things with China-sanโ my hobby!!ใThat way I get to enjoy it too, so it’s a win-win, right?”
I reached out my hand to China and declared.
Her eyes deepened to a more intense blue, saturated hues spilling from the corners.
โHuhโฆ! Watarai-kun, that’s such a silly idea. Sniffโฆโ
โEh, r-reallyโฆ?โ
โButโฆ I like that way of thinking. Let’s get along from now onโฆ!โ
She took the hand I offered and gave a crumpled smile.
Her expression, which had been clouded for so long, finally cleared. Like after the rain, it shone even brighter.
They say rain makes the ground firm, but China-san doesn’t need rain anymore.
I won’t let it fall.
Absolutely not.
ใใ๏ผใใ๏ผใใ๏ผ
โโThe next day, hobby hunt number one.
โChina-san! The first hobby is this!!โ
After class the day after we promised to find a hobby together.
I’d promptly brought something over to Chinatsu-san’s house.
โThat’sโฆ a potter’s wheel?โ
โCorrect! My very own potter’s wheel. Have you ever done pottery, Chika-san?โ
โNope. Never! I’m excited! Though, I’ve never seen anyone with their own potter’s wheel beforeโฆโ
It’s that thing where you put clay on the wheel, spin it round and round, and shape it.
โAlright, let’s give it a try!โ
โGot it!โ
I handed her the clay, set it on the wheel, and turned it on.
She fumbled around, trying to shape the clay as it spun round and round.
Aki-kun and Serinuntius-chan barged in midway through, and the result was something resembling a demonic jar.
โHmm, this is trickyโฆโ
โIt’s normal to start like this. It’s got a unique shape, but it’ll look nice with flowers in it, so let’s just fire it like this.โ
โBut it was fun!โ
โI’m glad to hear it.โ
Still, she didn’t seem keen on doing this every day, and mentioned it might not be the right hobby for her.
Next.
ใโโHobby hunt, number two.
โTa-dah! Instruments! Today, let’s try touching any instruments here that catch your eye.โ
โW-Wow, you brought a lotโฆโ
Today, she brought so many instruments that both hands were full.
Since we’d already touched the famous ones like piano and guitar, she brought rare instruments we’d probably never even touched before.
โUm, what about this UFO-like disc instrument?โ
โThat’s a handpan. It makes a gentle โpo-po-poโ sound.โ
โAnd this staff-like thing?โ
โA didgeridoo. I made it myself because they’re expensive.โ
โWowโฆ Oh, this one’s cute!โ
โThat’s a kalimba. I have a bunch, so I’ll give one to China-san.โ
We spread the instruments around the room, tried most of them out, and I taught her how to play the ones that caught her interest.
Apparently, she liked the kalimba both visually and for its sound, so I gave it to her as a present.
Still, just this alone would probably get boring eventually. She should find other hobbies too.
Next.
โโHobby hunt, number three.
โGood evening.โ
It was nighttime when I arrived at China’s house.
Since I planned to do something only possible at night, I’d gotten permission from her family.
โGood evening, Watarai-kun. What are we doing todayโฆ Wait, is that for stargazing?โ
โYes. Let’s look at the stars with this telescope.โ
โOh my~ How lovelyโช Nozomu chan, feel free to use the garden as you like~~โ
What I brought was an astronomical telescope.
It was given to me by a college student I know who’s in the astronomy club.
I thanked Hina-san for welcoming me so warmly and headed out to the balcony.
I set up the telescope and pointed it toward the sky.
โChina-san, take a look.โ
โOkay. โฆOh, oh! Saturn! I can see Saturn’s rings!?โ
โHeh heh, it’s a pretty good telescope!โ
We observed various stars through the telescope and looked at constellations.
While eating snacks Sachiko-san had brought over, we simply enjoyed gazing at the sky.
But the downside is you can’t see anything when the sky gets cloudy.
I should find other hobbies too.
โโFrom then on, China and I tried all sorts of things together.
Making our own board games, cultivating microorganisms, airsoft, sewing stuffed animals, taking nude photos of fried food, trying out keeping reptiles, digging for fossilsโฆ
We did more things together than I could count on both hands.
But we still hadn’t found a single hobby that suited herโฆ
Maiasa