One Step 2

[daze_0907]

Season: Winter

Location: Seisoukan Common Room, Seisoukan Apartment Kitchen, Seisoukan Apartment Library, Ensemble Square Garden


<The next day>

Mitsuru: U~Um......

My adventure search for an adult has already hit a dead end~......

I'm lookin' for adults, so I thought about Sagami-sensei and Kunugi-sensei, and I went to go see them, but they were pretty busy so they kinda treated me lightly.

I wish they'd listen to me for just a minute......!

A~ah. What should I do from here...?

What d'ya say in this situation...? Climbing on red bean paste......? But with red bean paste, I don't want to climb it but bite into it instead~......

???: ♪ ~ ♪ ~

Mitsuru: ...... Hm? I can hear humming......? That voice is — It's definitely Amagi-senpai.

(That's right! Amagi-senpai's the oldest one in the dorm, so he's gotta be an adult. I'm gonna ask him to teach me the secrets of being an adult.)

Umm...... Looks like he's in the kitchen?



Rinne: Gulp, gulp, gulp...... Aah! Tea after a day of hard work really hits the spot~!

Keito: What hard work. You just came out of the mahjong parlor, didn't you? I saw it.

Rinne: Gya—!? Don't stand behind me unexpectedly...... It's startling, you know?

Actually, if ya saw me, shouldn't ya have called out to me? Don't be so distant, Keito-chan.

Keito: You didn't even know if anyone was watching, but you still left the mahjong parlor like that. There's no way I'd want to be lumped together with the actions of that kind of man.

I carry the responsibility of Akatsuki's reputation. There are many higher-ups in Rhythm Link that care about reputation too.

Rinne: Uh huh. The office's still saying boring things as always.

No matter how much of'n idol ya are, I don't like it when it consumes yer private time. We're all humans, so we got our own emotions and stress too, ya know?

Keito: It's not that I don't understand your feelings, but you shouldn't speak ill of people's offices. We each get our own benefits from—

Ah! Don't just throw away your empty drink bottle like that. You have to separate the plastic properly.

Rinne: Hm? Ahh, right. My bad, my bad. I'll tear this up — there, that's fine, right?

Keito: It seems like it might be best for Amagi-senpai to have a proper conversation with the resident advisor. Looks like you've thrown things away without sorting them before too.

Rinne: Ue!? H-How did you know that!?

Keito: The other day, I discovered an unidentifiable, unsorted plastic bottle in the garbage can.

After a full survey, you emerged as the suspect. From this conversation, I obtained sufficient circumstantial evidence.

Rinne: Is this guy a genius police detective from a drama or something?

Mitsuru: ......

(H~m, I thought Amagi-senpai might be an adult, but...)

(It's kinda weird. I don't see much of a difference between this and when Hasumi-senpai scolds me~?)

Let's go look for someone else~.



Mitsuru: Hm~. Is anyone here?

Kuro: ...... (Looking at a book)

Mitsuru: (Ah. Kiryu-senpai's here.)

(Now that I think about it...... Tetsu-chan's talked about Kiryu-senpai lots before. "A real man amongst men, I wanna become an adult like that", he said~.)

(In that case, I might be able to learn the secrets of being an adult from him!)

Kiryu-senpai.

Kuro: Hm? Ah, it's Tenma. What's the matter?

Mitsuru: I want you to teach me about the key to being an adult!

Kuro: What's that about? The key to being an adult?

Mitsuru: Yup! I wanna become a cool adult quickly, but I didn't know the best way to do it. Kiryu-senpai looks like an adult, so I want you to teach me!

Kuro: Haha, what're you sayin'? I've never thought of myself as an adult. I worry over the little things. Guess I'm still like a little kid.

Looks like we both wanna grow up quickly.



Mitsuru: Munch, munch...... H~m. I'm understanding less and less~.

Kiryu-senpai said that, but he looks like an adult to me~. But he said he thinks he's still like a little kid...... H~m......

...... Huh? Ah, Anzu-nee-chan! Thanks for your hard work today!



Yeah. It's a nice day today so I thought I'd eat here! Eatin' bread while sunbathing is extra special. Munch, munch ♪

Wanna eat together, Nee-chan? I bought lots so I'll split with you!

Okay, he~re ya go!

— Eh? You had something to ask me so you were looking for me...... What is it?

Aah, you heard from Tomo-chan and Hajime-chan? Yeah. That's right. I was worryin' about the pamphlet photo~.

I wanted to take cool photos, and thought I could if I became an adult, so I went to look for the key to being one. But in the end, I still didn't really get to know anything.

Anzu-nee-chan, will you lend an ear?

— So, I looked into a lot of different people, but I couldn't come up with a clear answer.

Kiryu-senpai looks like an adult to me but he said he thinks of himself as a kid still. I don't get it at all~......

Hm? Anzu-nee-chan thinks "adults are people you look at and accept as adults as they are"? That's why Kiryu-senpai looked like an adult to me?

Umm......? In that case, since I wanna become an adult, I already see myself as a kid now, so I'm a kid after all......

Uu~! This is getting more and more confusing~......

Hm? When you look at the first-year me, I've grown up super fast and had lots of cool moments? You think so? I don't really feel like that personally~.

Eh? "Uh-huh"......?

Ah! I'm totally saying the same things as Kiryu-senpai right now! Yup. So there's definitely cool moments when I'm just being myself!

Is this what it means to accept the me of now? I still don't totally get it, but...... There's one thing I know for sure.

Anzu-nee-chan sees me like that and is producing for me, so the photos will definitely capture my best side.

After all, the person who can make me shine the most is none other than you!


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Notes:

• as always, my japanese is not native-level and thus is prone to error! please understand that this is a fan translation unaffiliated with happy elements.
• the idiom mitsuru's looking for when he says "climbing on red bean paste" (anko ni noriegeru/あんこに乗り上げる) is more like "hitting a snag", which is "anSHOU ni noriageru/暗礁に乗り上げる". it must be said that these idiom mix-ups are some of my favorite silly little bits to translate for him :)