My Childhood Friend, Sometimes a Schoolgirl—She Only Wears That Ribbon Around Me - Episode 17

“By the way, since we reunited, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in casual clothes, Sora-kun. Besides your uniform, what kind of clothes do you usually wear these days?”

“What kind of style…? I haven’t really thought about it, but I guess mostly simple stuff.”

“Like tank tops and shorts?”

“What, do I look like a wild kid or something?”

Only a guy who spends all his time working out would pull off that look in high school.

“I usually wear plain or just slightly decorated T-shirts or hoodies. For bottoms, cargo pants or jeans.”

“That’s simpler than I expected. Not really into fashion?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m not interested, but I’m not that into it. Honestly, I don’t even know what kind of style suits me.”

“I guess it’s normal not to know much when you first start trying to dress up.”

Yua nodded and crossed her arms like she’d been there before.

“But even simple clothes can look stylish. They’re easy to keep clean and fresh. You could try different brands or items while sticking to your current style.”

“Clean and fresh… Now that you mention it, when Yua’s in boy mode, she looks neater than most guys.”

“Yeah, I pay attention to little things when I’m in boy mode! Just looking clean can make even me seem a bit handsome.”

I wanted to tell her, “You’re not just ‘seeming’ handsome—you really are,” but I held back, knowing it would probably just embarrass me.

“Even if I’m not handsome, looking clean would definitely make a better impression. But… how do you keep that up?”

“I guess it’s about taking care of the little details? Like regularly cutting your nails.”

“Can something like that really make a difference?”

“Even if it doesn’t seem like much at first, those small efforts add up. Eventually, it becomes part of taking care of yourself, which leads to looking stylish.”

“I see…”

Small efforts, huh?

I turned my hand over and looked at each fingernail.

“They’re pretty long…”

“How long have you left them like that?”

“About two weeks.”

“Wow, you really don’t care much about them… But strangely, that kind of makes me feel at ease.”

Yua cupped my hand gently with both of hers and looked at it quietly.

Feeling her warm palms, I straightened up just a little.

“What kind of mindset is it to feel at ease with long nails?”

“It means I can tell you’re not out playing the field!”

“What kind of logic is that?”

Usually, no one would connect nail length with whether someone’s seeing other girls. But it’s true, I’m not.

“…By the way, your hands are pretty small, Yua.”

Looking down, I took both of her hands in mine.

“Really? I think they’re about average for a girl.”

When we were kids, our hands were about the same size… Well, that makes sense. It’s been years.

“Your skin’s fairer than most girls, and your fingers are thin and pretty… Now that I look closely, you’re not really as much of a ‘prince’ as people say.”

“Ha, I’m just normal. I admit my skin’s fair, but I was in the volleyball club in middle school, so my fingers aren’t that delicate.”

“They’re definitely thin enough… See?”

My hand reached for a ring on my desk and slowly slipped her finger through it.

“See? This ring fits her fingers with plenty of room.”

At that moment, her hand twitched.

“Yua…?”

Looking up from her hand, her cheeks were bright red.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and muttered.

“W-well, that’s just because your hand’s bigger, so of course it fits easily…”

Holding the hand with the ring, she hurried back to tidying up. After a moment, she hid the lower half of her face behind a folded cardboard box and stared at me intently.

“Can I borrow this ring… just for today?”

“Huh? I don’t mind.”

She set the box down and gazed at the ring on her ring finger, glowing under the ceiling light.

Looks like she really likes the ring my sister gave her.