T/N: Just as the title says, this chapter seems to be a special chapter for Claire, who ranked first in character popularity ranking.
At the entrance of a movie theater inside a shopping mall, I– Amane Rin stood restlessly waiting for someone.
Until suddenly, the surrounding people became noisy.
"Oi, look at that girl, she is hella gorgeous."
"Is she a foreigner? What beautiful hair…"
"Should we talk to her?"
"Idiot, there is no way such a girl will respond to the likes of us! She must be a model or something, and her boyfriend must be a handsome celebrity!"
(… Looks like she came)
It was easy to imagine who came from the reactions of those around me.
"I am very sorry to make you wait, Rin-kun."
"No, I just came too, don't wor–"
Recalling the warning my kouhai once said to me before, I tried to give her an appropriate response, but– I was at a loss for words. Because I was just simply mesmerized by the girl standing in front of me.
Beautiful long silver hair that shines in the light, delicate white skin like snow, and a pair of deep blue eyes that are dazzlingly looking at me. The name of the girl, whose appearance was like something that was sculpted by a god, is Claire. If I had to describe our relationship in one word– I think it would be appropriate to call her my colleague.
Naturally, I'm already familiar with her face, as I've seen her many times. Even so, there is a reason why I was mesmerized by her right now. Her appearance, which was usually cool and beautiful at work, now was totally different.
She wore a white shirt and a light blue cardigan on top, and a skirt up to her knees on the bottom. All in all, her outfit wasn't only emphasizing her pure atmosphere, but also bringing out a different loveliness than usual at the same time. It feels like I've just taken a right straight (Boxing Punch) from a place I didn't expect. (T/N: The last phrase was just Rin saying Claire’s appearance was straight to his heart, or smth)
"? What's wrong?"
"N-no, nothing. Since you’ve already come, let's go pick a seat first."
"… Alright. Let's do that."
Unable to say anything regarding her outfit, I changed the topic. Hearing that, Claire looked a little down for a bit before she came next to me.
Meanwhile, I recalled how we could be in this kind of situation–
◇◆◇
『Rin-kun, do you have any plans for next Sunday?』
『Eh?』
One day, when I was in the leisure room, Claire abruptly asked me. Despite being confused by such a sudden question, I replied while maintaining my composure.
『I-I-I don't have any plans that day, though…』
Yosh, I answered it perfectly! As I was confidently thinking like that, Claire continued.
『If Rin-kun is fine with it, there is a place I want to go together with you, but…』
『-!』
Sudden invitation! If we're talking about a man and woman going somewhere on the holidays, it means ‘that', right? It's definitely ‘that', right?!
Thus, while still maintaining my composure, I calmly responded to her.
『A-aa. Of course』
『Really? I'm glad』
Hearing that, Claire stroked her chest in relief.
『Actually, I have two movie tickets that I got for free, and the expiration date for these two tickets is Sunday. I was thinking of going to see the movie version of 【Magical☆Dungeon☆Girls】, but I don't know anyone to invite except Rin-kun… That's why, I'm relieved that the tickets wouldn't go wasted』
『… I see, so it's that kind of development, huh』
『? Did you say something?』
『Nothing』
Un, well, we aren't in a relationship where we invite each other to somewhere without official reason after all. Yup, I understood that. Yup, I'm not crying about it… well, maybe on the inside.
However, when I think about it again, the fact that we're going somewhere together is an undeniable truth. Because of that, I could feel my heartbeat getting faster.
◇◆◇
— Well, that's the story of how we promised to go to see a movie together.
And right now, 『Magical☆Dungeon☆Girls The Movie』 was playing in front of us.
Magical☆Dungeon☆Girls– or commonly known as 『Maji☆Dan』. It is a classic story about two magical girls– Shirone and Kurona, who went to defeat monsters that emerged from dungeons, which suddenly appeared on the earth 20 years ago. It is a TV anime about hot battles and friendships that is popular among children and even adults.
Just like in the TV version, it goes without saying that Shirone and Kurona will also play an active role to defeat their enemy and protect ordinary people. Furthermore, the series' mascot, Wolven, was also giving his advice and ranting more than usual in the movie. And every time Wolven came out, Claire's eyes, who called herself a Wolven's fan, were shining.
"Rin-kun? Is there something wrong?"
"N-no, nothing."
"? Is that so?"
Subconsciously, I stared at her face from the side. Until Claire suddenly noticed it, and I tried to brush it off in panic. Fortunately, perhaps because she wasn't that curious about that, Claire immediately turned her gaze back to the screen.
After that, as we continued to watch the movie in silence, the story entered the climax, as the magical girls were fighting a powerful monster. And when I was looking at the spectacular battle scene in front of me, I suddenly felt someone's gaze from my side.
"… Etto."
"N-no, nothing"
Claire turned her face back to the screen in panic while saying that in a very low voice. Somehow, this feels like our previous exchange, but our positions were reversed. How should I explain this, err… It just makes me feel indescribably embarrassed.
(Or rather, from her reaction, does that mean Claire was looking at me?…. No way, right?)
Yup, there is no way that was the case. And while I was thinking about that, the story progressed, and eventually the movie reached a moving ending.
After the movie, since it would be a shame if we just went back right away, we went to a café inside the shopping mall to discuss our impressions of the movie. Then, maybe I should say ‘as expected', Claire attracted the attention of every customer inside the café.
However, it seems she was used to receiving such reactions, as she immediately ordered a café au lait from the waitress without minding any of that. Right after her, I also ordered milk tea. I ordered this definitely not because black coffee is bitter, so I couldn't drink it, okay!
"Actually, the tart here is superb, you know? How about you order it too, Rin-kun?"
"Speaking of which, it is indeed about time I'll be hungry. Yosh, let's eat that."
"That's what I expected of Rin-kun."
What kind of image does she have of me inside her mind? With that in mind, I ordered two fruit tarts that Claire recommends.
A few minutes later, when I ate the tarts that arrived, the tart was indeed perfect. The sourness of the fruits, the sweetness of the cream, and the texture of the dough, everything was in perfect harmony. This is undoubtedly a situation where I could say the idiom ‘My cheeks might fall'. (T/N: Japanese Idiom for Very Delicious)
When I looked at Claire, she was putting her hand on her cheek and displayed a very blissful smile on her face.
"It's really delicious, right?"
"… Indeed."
I never thought I could see a rare expression of Claire here. Although I vaguely knew that she has a sweet tooth, I didn't expect it was to the extent she showed this kind of reaction.
At any rate, while thinking about that, I continued to eat the tarts. But of course, we also discussed Maji☆Dan while enjoying the tarts. And at the time we ran out of drinks, we decided it's about time we go home. Well, we're originally here just to see a movie with the extra ticket she had, after all. So, I think this is a good time to part.
However, on the way home, Claire suddenly stopped her step. It seems she was looking at a women's clothing store. It was a store that I have visited, as Hana took me there before.
"Is there something that caught your eye?"
"N-no, it's definitely not like that."
Even if you said that, you seemed quite interested in something there, you know?
"Since we still have plenty of time to spare, do you want to stop by?"
"… thank you very much. But, is it really fine? I don't usually come to these kinds of fashionable shops, so I don't really understand…"
That's about it, it seems. Does that mean she usually bought her clothes in public stores, I wonder? But when I heard that, I looked at her outfit and tilted my head. Because even in the eyes of a fashion noob, her outfit looks pretty good, though…
"In that case, where did you buy those clothes?"
"This is actually wasn't something that I bought on my own initiative, but something that I bought after being forcefully recommended by an acquaintance… Truth to be told, this is my first time wearing it."
"I see. What a waste. It suits you very well, though–"
"… Eh?"
"– Ah."
Wait, what the heck did I just say? Did I just subconsciously say something outrageous? As a proof, right now, Claire displayed an expression as if she didn't understand what I just said.
"Rin-kun… Just now, I think I heard you say something like this clothes suit me well, but…"
"Ah, no, that was, errr, not like that… or not. That's true, but my mouth just slipped accidentally."
"… Does that mean, you really thought so?"
"… Well, yes."
"I-I see…"
An awkward atmosphere flowed between us. I wonder what this feeling is… And when I was pondering what to say here, Claire said first.
"Does Rin-kun think this outfit suits me?"
"A-aa…"
"But, you didn't say anything when we first met today, right?"
"That was, err… I was just a little embarrassed…"
Ugh, putting an excuse on top of excuses… What a shameful reply. But when I was worried about what Claire would think about that, unexpectedly, Claire smiled.
"There is no need to worry about that, you know? It's not like I am angry because of that, after all."
"Really?"
"Yes. Rather than that, I was really happy that Rin-kun said that. Thank you very much, Rin-kun."
"—–"
When I saw that soft and lovely smile of hers, I could hear the sound of my heartbeat thumping loudly. And perhaps because I was too conscious of these sounds,
"… I guess I shouldn’t say that Nanami-san told me to only wear this outfit for a special moment, right?"
I ended up missing the small mutter that Claire said at the end.
At any rate, just like that, a casual day with Claire, unrelated to dungeons and battle, has passed.
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