Chapter 4

“High School Boys and the Literary Girl” is the 4th chapter of the manga.

Cover Page
A still of Yassan holding her novel.

Detailed Summary
A girl is walking home from school while reading a book when she pauses, noticing Hidenori lying on a riverbank. Hidenori is trying to read a book as well, but the wind is too strong, and he regrets the decision. Just as he sits up, he notices the girl standing next to him. She takes a seat almost next to him, and the two sit for a while in an awkward silence. This stresses out Hidenori, who starts to wonder who she is and why she approached him. He wonders whether to break the silence, and runs over a cheesy one-liner in his mind, but abandons the idea.

He then forces himself to think: Why would she approach him in such a situation? Concluding that the only reason could be her seeking an unrealistic boy-meets-girl scenario, he spits out a corny line about the wind being noisy. Instantly regretting it, he takes a quick glance to see if the girl’s disgust is evident, but she actually seems happy. She then gets to her feet and delivers an equally corny line in return. This amuses Hidenori a good deal, but he quickly comes to terms with the fact that he can’t keep up the effort, having already sent messages to his friends asking for their help. Then, to his astonishment, he sees that Yoshitake has already arrived.

Having evidently realized the mood, Yoshitake asks Hidenori to hurry up and leave, saying that the wind had blown something unpleasant into town. However, he blushes and covers his face as the girl looks at him. Hidenori realises the girl is getting more excited, so he gets up and walks away, trying to dispel the atmosphere with an unspectacular exit line. However, he ends up saying something cheesy again, then curses to himself and decides he might as well carry through with the act until he gets to leave. Suddenly, he notices that Tadakuni has joined the scene as well.

Contrary to expectations, Tadakuni starts rambling about hurrying to get some potato chips that are half-off at the convenience store. Hidenori thinks to himself that he doesn’t understand the setting, but then realises that he does understand and is trying to break it. Meanwhile, the girl, furious at this intrusion, begins to mercilessly attack a hapless Tadakuni. As she does, her bag falls near Hidenori, who spies a few sheets falling out. He picks them up and starts reading them, only to find out it’s a novel written by her. Seeing this, the girl runs back to get the sheets, appearing visibly embarrassed.

She tries to snatch the sheets from him, but Hidenori keeps it out of her reach effortlessly. He realises it’s a love story he’s reading, where a girl and a boy meet on a riverbank. When Yoshitake points out that the main character has control over the wind, everything clicks in Hidenori’s mind. He realises why the girl sought out his presence and why his mention of the wind kept her happy. However, he is frustrated when realising the description of the boy whose real-life version he’s supposed to be – an introverted, lonely otaku. Yoshitake finds it amusing, while the girl puts her head in her hands, blushing profusely.

Characters
In order of appearance:
 * Hidenori
 * The Literary Girl
 * Yoshitake
 * Tadakuni