After being hit by Charlotte-san’s cuteness, there was an awkwardness between us.

I couldn’t look at Charlotte-san’s face anymore, and Charlotte-san was still keeping her distance from me, as if she was worried about her sweat.

As for Emma-chan, she has started sleeping in my arms.

She is quite a free spirit.

“”―U-Umm…””

The silence was awkward, and I was about to say something when my voice overlapped with Charlotte-san’s.

I quickly opened my mouth, wishing I had kept my mouth shut a little longer.

“Sorry, what is it?”

“Ah, no… Aoyagi-kun, you had something to say, right?”

“No, I’m fine with mine. You can speak up first, Charlotte-san.”

“No, I’m fine with mine, too… Aoyagi-kun, I’ll hear what you have to say.”

We kept on passing the baton to each other.

Since the situation was getting awkward, I decided to talk about something else.

Incidentally, since Emma-chan was sleeping, I had reverted to Japanese as the language we spoke.

“Erm… have you gotten used to the class?”

“Let’s see… to be honest, I haven’t gotten used to it yet.”

Yeah, that’s right.

After all, she just came from abroad today.

Why did I even broach this subject when it sounds like I’m just being mendacious when I’m told I’m used to this, haa~…

Not only the awkwardness of the atmosphere is raising, but also the fact that I was dealing with Charlotte-san may have made me too nervous to think straight.

This topic has been a common mistake.

I had to talk about something else…

While I was thinking about this, Charlotte-san looked at me.

So I looked at her, too, and she slowly bowed her head.

“―Thank you very much for today.”

And what she said was a word of thanks.

She was probably referring to the fact that I had protected Emma-chan.

“I hope you’re not thanking me again, because it was a coincidence that I saved Emma-chan, and if you want to thank me, I just heard about it.”

“No, of course I want to thank you for Emma, but I also want to thank you for covering for me today.”

Come to think of it, she knew I was covering for her, huh.

I had to go through with it when I was in the staff room because of Emma-chan, but honestly, I would have been embarrassed if she knew I had moved to cover for her.

So I just wanted it to be over as it was…

But if it’s already been brought up, it’s probably not a good idea to misrepresent it.

Besides, if I’m wrong about what happened, I’d like to clear up that misunderstanding, and maybe it’s exactly the right time to do so.

I was a little embarrassed, but I looked into Charlotte-san’s eyes and opened my mouth.

“It’s good to ask someone out, but it’s not good to be unreasonable and forceful. But Akira didn’t mean to offend you, so I hope you’ll forgive him.”

Akira just moved to help Charlotte-san integrate into the class as quickly as possible, and he said that out of the goodness of his heart that she could bring her sister.

That guy would not have treated Emma-chan as a distraction and would have really welcomed her.

I didn’t want her to misunderstand that and mistake him for someone who would forcefully invite her.

“Yes, I understand. I was very happy when I heard that you were going to hold a welcome party for me. However, Emma was at home by herself, and I was afraid that she might be scared to take her to the welcome party since she could not speak Japanese, so I declined the offer. Aoyagi-kun not only defended me, but also persuaded everyone for another reason so that I would not have to worry about it, right? I am sorry I made Aoyagi-kun look bad because of that.”

I thought I had been thanked, and now Charlotte-san bowed her head in apology.

I thought I had done well at that time, but on the contrary, I seemed to have made Charlotte-san feel responsible.

If my intentions had not been noticed, this would not have happened, but Charlotte-san seems to be very perceptive.

“I don’t mind. I just did what I wanted to do, and there was no problem. And if you’re concerned about it, it’s kind of embarrassing.”

“…You really are very kind, Aoyagi-kun. I understand, I will try not to mind. But in return, I hope you will accept my gratitude.”

Charlotte-san, with a gentle smile as if smiling, said this to me as she clasped her hands on her own chest.

Her smile was so beautiful and cute that I thought she was like an angel.

And I was somewhat embarrassed to hear her express her gratitude so clearly.

Charlotte-san may have a sincere personality, but I, who am not used to being thanked so much, was dazzled by it.

Above all, Charlotte-san’s smile is genuinely too cute to look directly at.

“Well, yeah… I understand.”

I replied, unable to keep my eyes on Charlotte-san’s face, while averting my gaze from her.

―After that, the air was a little lighter and we were chatting and finally got to my apartment.

“Erm… is Charlotte-san and Emma-chan going inside, too…?”

“Yes.”

Charlotte-san answered immediately with a smile that showed no signs of hesitation.

I don’t understand why she is smiling so refreshingly.

No, I couldn’t understand why she wanted to come to my house in the first place.

Could it be that people from overseas are just this friendly?

If I were a student in Japan, I would never go to the opposite sex’s house on the day I met them.

Cultural differences are scary things…

As I walked up the stairs, Charlotte-san followed behind me with a smile.

We went straight to the third floor where my room was located.

Charlotte-san still seemed to be concerned about her sweat, but she didn’t seem bothered about coming to my house.

Does this mean that she doesn’t see me as a man?

Seeing Charlotte-san so unconcerned, I was shocked to my core.

“This is… my room, but…”

I finally arrived at the front of my room and let Charlotte-san know that I was puzzled.

My voice was hoarse from nervousness.

I was more bewildered before I arrived at the house, but when I finally got there, my nerves kicked in.

It was the first time for me to invite a girl to my house, and it was natural for me to be nervous when I invited a beautiful girl like Charlotte-san to my house.

“Okay. Ah― wait a moment. I’ll unlock the door now.”

Charlotte-san said with a smile and started to look through her student bag.

As I watched her, a question popped into my head.

Why does she have the key to this apartment?

And why is she reaching for the door of the next room?

I looked at Charlotte-san with such questions in my mind, but she didn’t seem to pay any attention to me and was trying to open the lock of the next room.

And then―.

“It’s open.”

Charlotte-san looked at me with a happy smile on her face as the room key clicked open.

“Oh, okay…”

I nodded my head at her words, but my confusion prevented me from saying anything else.

―Honestly, I had quickly come to a conclusion as to how she was able to unlock the room next door.

However, I am puzzled because the situation is unbelievable given the odds.

“Fufu― I actually live in the room next door to Aoyagi-kun.”

Charlotte-san smiled, as if she were a child rejoicing at the success of her prank.

I was struck by an emotion that I don’t know how to describe, while at the same time thinking that she has a mischievous side as well.

This is definitely what Miyu-sensei meant by funny.

That’s why Charlotte-san looked so pleased at school.

She probably heard from Miyu-sensei that our houses are next to each other.

I have something to say about privacy laws and invasion of privacy, but I won’t get into it.

I think Miyu-sensei had her own reasons for doing what she did.

But― what on earth is going on today?

Not only did a beautiful girl who looks like she came out of a manga come to study at the same school, but we’re even in the same class.

And when I help a lost girl I met on my way home, she just happens to be the younger sister of a beautiful transfer student who just came from abroad to study here today.

I was lucky to be able to get close to a beautiful transfer student thanks to her, but then to top it all off, the beautiful transfer student also lives in the room next door…?

I think I used up all the luck in my life in one day…

―I’ve been so lucky that I’m afraid for my future.

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Translator’s Afterword: This is the final part for Chapter 1 only. Man, this took long, only managed to get a foothold of translating again recently that’s why I lacked in updating all of my series.

Also, my little sister is about to have her moving-up ceremony soon. She’s in 10th grade and I want to help my family celebrate it for her even for just a bit in terms of financial for things like the cake and so. I hope you guys could help me with this, thanks in advance!