My Gang of Swordsmen-Chapter 57 - 41: Miss Kinoshita’s Big Failure

The Big Orange Cat, who had been staring at Mukiwa, half-closed its eyes, wagged its tail, and let out a big yawn after hearing Mukiwa’s "meow meow."

Seeing that the Big Orange seemed to react to her "meow meow," Mukiwa showed a happy expression.

Mukiwa: (/≧▽≦)/ "Meow meow meow! Meow meow meow meow~~!"

She yelled "meow meow" in a tone full of ups and downs, as if she were trying to talk to the Big Orange.

The Big Orange’s head drooped slightly.

Looking at Mukiwa who seemed to want to talk, it let out a low growl.

Then it showed Mukiwa a "damn, idiot" expression...

Mukiwa wasn’t bothered at all by the Big Orange’s indifference; instead, she got even more excited.

Mukiwa:ヾ(≧▽≦*)o "Meow meow! Meow meow meow meow~~!"

Big Orange: "..." (Damn, idiot.jpg)

Mukiwa: φ(≧ω≦*)♪ "Little kitty~ come over, come over~"

Mukiwa, who finally spoke some human language, waved her hand to the Big Orange on the wall top.

Big Orange: "..." (Damn, idiot.jpg)

...

Seeing Mukiwa being a completely different person compared to the other day, Aoto felt a lump in his throat...

——Seems like... I’ve seen something I shouldn’t have...

Aoto silently retracted the foot he was about to step towards Mukiwa...

——What to do...? Should I pretend I saw nothing and quickly leave here...?

Aoto instinctively felt——If Mukiwa found out that he had witnessed all her artistic-like actions just now, it would definitely be bad.

Aoto happened to be standing right under a snow-laden tree branch.

While Aoto was considering whether to quickly retreat from here, the branch overhead bent under the weight of the snow.

A small pile of snow slowly... slid into Aoto’s back collar under the pull of gravity.

"Eep...!"

Unprepared for the snow suddenly slipping into his collar, Aoto let out a low cry.

Though Aoto’s cry wasn’t loud, it was more than enough to reach Mukiwa’s ears...

A strange cry suddenly came from the side, shocking Mukiwa into a trembling fit.

Frightened by the sound, she quickly turned her head in astonishment——

Mukiwa: (ﾟДﾟ)

Aoto: (°ー°〃)

The two revealed vastly different expressions as they stared at each other in a deathly quiet atmosphere...

...

...

How much time has passed?

seconds? 20 seconds? Feeling extremely awkward, Aoto’s sense of time had become a bit muddled.

Mukiwa seemed to have lost consciousness, her lips slightly parted, staring blankly at Aoto.

Seeing Mukiwa as if her soul had departed, Aoto fully understood.

Empathizing——If it was him showing a strange expression and going "meow meow meow" at a stray cat by the roadside, only to be seen by others...

Well, although the body wouldn’t die, the heart would.

After a long time, Mukiwa finally seemed to come back, her eyes slowly widening.

Next... like a blooming red rose, the color rapidly spread from the center of her cheeks to both ears.

Vaguely, Aoto seemed to see streams of white "steam" like something being boiled, rising from the top of her head...

The girl transformed into the "Steam Princess," lips quivering and limbs fidgeting.

She opened her mouth as if wanting to say something to Aoto.

But as soon as her lips parted, a hint of shrinking and timidity appeared between her brows, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

Seeing Mukiwa blushing to the point of steaming, shrinking timidly, and hesitating to speak, Aoto awkwardly scratched his temple hair and then slowly walked over to the "Steam Princess."

"Um... sorry about that. I didn’t mean to hide and watch... I was just passing by here..."

To ease Mukiwa’s tension and shyness, Aoto used the softest tone possible.

Mukiwa looked up, glanced at Aoto who had walked over, and, seemingly unwilling to look at him, quickly buried her head as if trying to hide it in her chest.

"...I...remember you..."

Hearing Mukiwa speak, Aoto quickly focused all his attention.

Her voice was as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz, just like when he first met her the other day, and even standing right in front of Mukiwa, he needed to concentrate to hear her clearly.

"You were... the guest who came to our shop the other day, right...?"

"Yes." Aoto quickly nodded, "The other day I visited your Thousand Affairs House and was looked after by Boss Kiryu."

Mukiwa slightly tilted her head up.

Aoto felt a gaze filled with tension and embarrassment.

"Did you... see my entire play with that cat just now...?"

——You call what you just did playing with the cat? That cat completely ignored you, it was just you harassing that Big Orange one-sidedly, wasn’t it?

Aoto took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to retort, and hesitantly pondered how to politely answer Mukiwa’s question:

"Well... actually, I didn’t see much. I only saw you waving to that big orange cat and asking it to come over."

Should he tell her that he saw fully how she "talked" to that Big Orange cat...? Aoto thought the girl might end up more than just "steaming"...

Thus, Aoto decided to tell a friendly lie.

However — although Aoto had lied intentionally to care for the "Steam Princess," this girl still buried her head even lower out of greater embarrassment...

Even denser "steam" floated from Mukiwa’s head at this moment...

Mukiwa was only 1.5 meters tall.

While Aoto stood at 1.75 meters.

Due to their height difference, when Mukiwa bowed her head to the point her chin almost touched her collarbone, Aoto could only see her hair and not her face.

However, though he couldn’t see Mukiwa’s face, Aoto could see her two small ears.

Moments ago, it was only the ear lobes that turned red, but now, her entire ears were tinted with a beautiful pink color.

Even her ears turned this red... Aoto could barely imagine what color her face might have turned into by now.

Aoto felt that if he didn’t say or do something quickly, Mukiwa’s cheek temperature might rise further...

"...Don’t worry." Aoto let out a sigh, "I won’t tell anyone about what I just saw."

Aoto had never been a gossip.

Broadcasting other people’s little secrets publicly——Aoto didn’t like it and wouldn’t do it.

Moreover, even if he wished to tell others about Mukiwa’s silly appearance, he had no one to share it with since he and Mukiwa had no mutual friends.

After hearing Aoto’s words, Mukiwa——showed no reaction.

She just continued blushing and bowing her head.

Thinking Mukiwa might not have heard him, Aoto was about to repeat himself when——

"...Thank you..."

A soft voice, almost disappearing into the air, drifted into Aoto’s ears.

Mukiwa, who had pressed her chin tightly against her collarbone since moments ago, slowly raised her head.

Mukiwa’s cheeks were still so red that one might feel as if blood could drip from them anytime.

Her lips remained tightly pursed.

Yet the corners of her mouth lifted slightly into a shy curve.

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