Chapter 30: At Momiji’s house.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people. Can also mean Mr.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one’s older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

“So, who was that?”

“What are you talking about?”

It was just after 1 PM on a Saturday, and I was visiting Momiji’s house as promised. As soon as her front door was opened to let me in, she asked me with great swagger, whatever it meant.

“Oh, welcome!” A voice called out from behind her.

“Ah, auntie, it’s been a long time. Sorry to bother you.”

“No, no, I’ve actually missed you! You haven’t been here lately, so enjoy yourself and take your time,” after the voice, Momiji’s mother emerges from the back, breaking off that gloomy atmosphere from before. Lively and young, she did not look like someone close to the age of forty.

“In the meantime, Yuu, come to my room,” Momiji looked as tense as she sounded. Do you want me to leave or something? I can, uh, just come back later.

“Oh, and I’ll bring you two some drinks and sweets later. You did like your milk tea, didn’t you, Yuu-kun?” Her mother chimed in.

“Ah, yes. Thank you very much.”

Auntie is the best! Maybe she went out of her way to prepare it for us? In any case, she’s a really thoughtful person, so that would probably be the case. Thank you very much, I can’t wait for the tea.

Then, she saw us off to her daughter’s room.

Mhm, it’s been quite a while since I’ve last been here, but, erm, there weren’t any bookshelves before… What the hell is up with this amount of light novels? She started reading, like, two weeks ago, and there are already about 40 volumes here.

Ah, she also has the latest issue of “Love Brain.”

“Are you trying to read already? Answer my question!”

“Well, I have no clue what you’re on about.”

This is beyond hysterical. I haven’t seen her in this state since middle school, the last time happening just before I was falsely accused of a crime. No, back then it was more akin to a child’s tantrum, and now it’s more graphic and different.

“Thursday. You and that girl seemed to get all chummy-chummy! I saw it happen, you were on the school gates!”

School gates, the day before yesterday… Oh, was it when we were going to that outdoor supply store? If so, it should be that girl.

“Oh, Yuki? Nothing was happening. I told you before, that’s the other freshmen in the excursion club.”

“That’s all, huh?! You were all different than usual! I didn’t hear you were friends with anyone at school other than me!”

“It’s not like I don’t talk to anyone in my class at all like I’m some sort of outcast.”

“And didn’t you go home together after that?!”

Her face is tiny! Ugh, this is scary, and her eyes are even bloodshot! Moreover, did we really look that friendly back then? In any case, if I deny it, I’ll be admitting I have no friends at school… Meh, it’s fine.

“You didn’t see what happened after that. My club’s prez came over, and the three of us went out to buy some supplies.”

“But—!”

Bang! Bang!

“Momiji, we can hear you from downstairs. Yuu must be troubled by this situation, right? So calm yourself down,” auntie brought us some drinks and sweets. I want none of this, let me spend time with you instead!

“Ah, thank you very much.”

“You’ve grown quite a bit, Yuu. Momiji, why don’t you calm down and learn a bit from him, hmm? Oh, that’s right, eat dinner with us today,” she turned to me.

“I wouldn’t want to impose…”

“You loved my curry, didn’t you? Would you look at that, it’s on the menu today! I’ll just give your house a call to let them know, okay?”

“Ah, okay. Then please.”

She’s quite pushy, though her curry is a masterpiece. I don’t know why, but her food just hits different. Maybe it’s some sort of deep umami I couldn’t find anywhere else. I even asked her once how to make such a delicious curry, since I would like to have it at home, but she turned around and said, “Fufu, it’s a secret! Whenever you feel like eating it, come to my house!” The recipe was then locked behind seven seals or something.

Well, auntie has gone through all that trouble just so I could eat with her today, so I’d be happy to oblige.

“It’s fine. I’ll contact my house in this case,” I said.

“Okay, then I’ll start with the curry. Time to get fired up and get it done!”

With that, she skipped out of the room.

“So, calmed down yet?”

“No.”

Though, thanks to auntie, she’s somewhat quieter than before. Hmm, let’s put our minds to rest here. I wonder if there’s anything I can… Oh, that’s right.

“You just got home from club activities, didn’t you, Momiji?”

“That’s right. I came here just before noon.”

You are reading story An Ex-popular Guy Can’t Get Love Down His Throat at novel35.com

“I mean, there was a faint smell of sweat…”

“Idiot! Don’t smell me! Besides, is that even something you tell girls?”

“Just go take a shower first.”

“Eh…”

Why are you blushing all of a sudden? I, for sure, didn’t mean it like that.

“Okay, I will. Just read Love Brain or something in the meantime…”

Regardless of the outcome, this was a pain in the a*s. I evaded the conversation, but it’s not like Yuki and I have anything going on in the first place. Quite the opposite, really. I mean, we just belong to the same club, and I had something I wanted to ask her back then. That’s all. I just hope Momiji forgets about this.

Oh well, I’m also interested in this new issue of Love Brain, so I’ll start with it first. Oh, before that, I need to call Sayu and tell her she doesn’t need to prepare my share for dinner.

It’s been probably thirty minutes since I started reading Love Brain, but I couldn’t finish it at all. That’s because…

“I’m back. Why don’t you go take a shower, too?”

“No, I took one this morning and I didn’t sweat.”

“Right.”

She then sat down next to me, locking eyes with her cheeks flushed.

“What?”

“…”

She looks like she might pounce on me at any second. I won’t let her.

“Oh, by the way, which light novel did you want to recommend to me?”

I stood up and moved in front of the bookshelf.

“Urgh.”

‘Urgh’ from me too.

“You’re buying too many novels, aren’t you?” I continued. “Have you read all of these?”

“No, I can’t just read all of them in two weeks. I bought one volume of a book that called my attention, and if I enjoyed it, I’d get all of them. There are still many here that I haven’t gotten around to finishing.”

“Gotcha. So, which one do you recommend?”

Looking around, I saw two available series. There were also familiar works, such as those with only a volume and those that have been animated. She’ll probably indicate one of those.

“I’d like you to read them both, but first, this one.”

The book she put on my hands was the single one out of all that I have been actively trying not to pay attention to: ‘My heroine can’t be anyone other than my childhood friend.’

…Blatant, much?

“I’m more interested in the other one. What kind of work is it?”

I picked up the second book, ‘Aurelius the Vengeful’ and flipped through the pages. I didn’t know what kind of story they would tell, but it’s some sort of revenge plot, so I’ll probably enjoy it too.

“It’s a fantasy novel that starts with the protagonist, a man whose family has been murdered, embarking on a journey to enact his revenge. The storyline is so well structured that you won’t get tired of reading it, even when you see characters that were supposed to be the MC’s friends betray him! Oh, and the author’s writing skills just suck you in, it’s really damn good. I was so emotionally involved in the middle of the story that I thought I was the main character.”

You’re living an amazing life, huh? Said a lot just now.

“I’ll read this one then. Looks like fun.”

“B, but, you know what? I still recommend the other one! If you don’t read that one first, I won’t let you borrow the second!”

“Eh… What kind of work is it in the first place?”

I can already tell by the title, but I’ll still give it a listen.

“As the title suggests, it’s a romcom, but the protagonist is oblivious to the goodwill of a kind and devoted childhood friend, which brings all sorts of garbage his way! But it’s all about the protagonist reaffirming who his significant other is as he spends his days! They even say this work is meant to be a Bible to young people.”

“Momiji, you don’t have the talent to recommend things to other people… Well, I get it. If it’s boring, I’ll just stop reading it halfway. However, I’m still full from reading one book today, Love Brain, so can I just borrow your recommendation and go home?”

“No. You must come to my house if you wanna read my books.”

“Eh, so I have to come here every time I wanna read one of your books? Sorry, but pass.”

Give me a break.

“Even if you don’t come to my house, I’ll barge into yours with the books, so it’s your choice. Well, too bad you’re a slow reader, but I’ll read Love Brain today. So, it’s time for me to start with my session here. I would also like to read the rest of ‘Aurelius the Vengeful.’”

Thus, we each started reading to our heart’s content.

T/N: Her mother’s nice. Fine, even. You might even say she’s a mother I’d like to… hug. Yeah.

You can find story with these keywords: An Ex-popular Guy Can’t Get Love Down His Throat, Read An Ex-popular Guy Can’t Get Love Down His Throat, An Ex-popular Guy Can’t Get Love Down His Throat novel, An Ex-popular Guy Can’t Get Love Down His Throat book, An Ex-popular Guy Can’t Get Love Down His Throat story, An Ex-popular Guy Can’t Get Love Down His Throat full, An Ex-popular Guy Can’t Get Love Down His Throat Latest Chapter