The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 4 (light novel), page 1
Copyright
The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 4
Saekisan
TRANSLATION BY NICOLE WILDER * COVER ART BY HANEKOTO
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
OTONARI NO TENSHISAMA NI ITSUNOMANIKA DAMENINGEN NI SARETEITA KEN Vol. 4
Copyright © 2021 Saekisan
Illustration © 2021 Hanekoto
All rights reserved.
Original Japanese edition published in 2021 by SB Creative Corp.
This English edition is published by arrangement with SB Creative Corp., Tokyo in care of Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.
English translation © 2022 by Yen Press, LLC
Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Yen On
150 West 30th Street, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Visit us at yenpress.com * facebook.com/yenpress * twitter.com/yenpress * yenpress.tumblr.com * instagram.com/yenpress
First Yen On Edition: October 2022
Edited by Yen On Editorial: Shella Wu, Ivan Liang
Designed by Yen Press Design: Liz Parlett
Yen On is an imprint of Yen Press, LLC.
The Yen On name and logo are trademarks of Yen Press, LLC.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Saekisan, author. | Hanekoto, illustrator. | Wilder, Nicole. translator.
Title: The angel next door spoils me rotten / Saekisan ; illustration by Hanekoto ; translation by Nicole Wilder.
Other titles: Otonari no tenshi-sama ni Itsu no ma ni ka dame ningen ni sareteita ken. English
Description: First Yen On edition. | New York : Yen On, 2020- |
Identifiers: LCCN 2020043583 | ISBN 9781975319236 (v. 1 ; trade paperback) | ISBN 9781975322694 (v. 2 ; trade paperback) | ISBN 9781975333409 (v. 3 ; trade paperback) | ISBN 9781975344405 (v. 4 ; trade paperback)
Subjects: CYAC: Love—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.S2413 An 2020 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020043583
ISBNs:978-1-9753-4440-5 (paperback)
978-1-9753-4441-2 (ebook)
E3-20221108-JV-NF-ORI
Contents
Cover
Insert
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1: The Angel’s Thoughts
Chapter 2: The Angel’s Risky Proposal
Chapter 3: The Angel in the Dream, Feelings of Shame
Chapter 4: Studying with the Angel
Chapter 5: Studying with Everyone
Chapter 6: Before the Test, a Moment
Chapter 7: After the Test, a Moment
Chapter 8: A Reward from the Angel
Chapter 9: The Angel’s New Clothes
Chapter 10: The Angel’s Gaze and Amane’s Struggle
Chapter 11: The Angel Drops a Bomb
Chapter 12: Pretending Not to See, Pretending Not to Know
Chapter 13: Sports Day Preparations and New Friends
Chapter 14: Saying Goodbye to My Cowardly Self
Afterword
Yen Newsletter
“We’re not dating, but to me…he is the most important person on earth.”
Mahiru had made that statement publicly, in front of their classmates. For the rest of the day, Amane couldn’t think about anything else or pay attention in class. He just didn’t know exactly what she’d meant by “important.” Did she mean that they were good friends, or affectionately close, or maybe—in a romantic sense?
The more he thought about it, the more anxiety and unease he felt, but the faintest hope swirled in his chest. All day, he was overwhelmed by emotions he could not put into words.
His friend Itsuki smiled at him, but didn’t make any jokes or say anything about it.
Amane had little hope of figuring out what Mahiru was thinking on his own. He spent the whole day irritated, wishing he could just ask her directly what she’d meant. But he never got the chance at school.
When the two of them got back to Amane’s apartment, he finally, timidly, asked Mahiru.
She looked at him with a puzzled expression. “I wasn’t lying, you know,” she said without hesitation. It sounded like she had no idea why he was asking.
Mahiru put on her apron to prepare dinner. She also put on a little smile, perhaps aware of Amane’s discomfort. “I’m fairly sociable, but my circle of friends is small. The only people I can definitely say I’m close with are you, Chitose, and Akazawa. Of course, all of you are important to me, but among the three of you, you’re the one I’m closest with and the one I feel most at ease with when we’re together.”
“Oh, um…”
Amane knew that what Mahiru was saying was true, but being told this face-to-face felt very strange for some reason.
“We’ve spent the past half year or so together, and it has been a very meaningful time for me. I’ve never been the type to get close to others, and you’re the most comfortable, most likable person I know,” she said calmly and candidly.
Amane suppressed a groan as he looked into Mahiru’s gentle eyes. She gazed back at him.
“For me, the world is a small place,” she continued. “I could count the people I like on one hand, as if I’m living in a miniature garden… In my little world, you are the most precious person to me. You’re the one who told me that I’m okay just the way I am.”
“Mahiru…”
“So I want you to be a little more confident in that regard, Amane.”
Mahiru’s cheeks reddened, coloring her shy expression, clearly showing that she was stating her true feelings, but Mahiru didn’t seem to notice.
The sincerity painted on her face caused conflicting emotions to well up inside Amane—embarrassment and indescribable joy threatened to make his chest burst.
“After all, you already know that I trust you above anyone else. Did you think that there was someone else that I liked?”
“That’s not it, but…when you put it that way, you must have known how I would take it, right?”
“That’s exactly right,” Mahiru answered with an unwavering smile.
Amane stared at Mahiru. “So when you dodged the question that way, you knew it would open us up to insistent prying and suspicions of romance?”
Mahiru’s smile broadened. She was oddly nonchalant. “That’s also right.”
“In that case, wouldn’t it have been easier to manage the rumors by letting out a few snippets of information at a slow trickle? If people are going to speculate, I think it would be better to at least have some control over the direction the rumors take.”
“…Indeed.”
Amane knew that Mahiru had her own ways of thinking about these things, but to him, it had been extraordinarily nerve-racking to hear her talk about him in public, even indirectly.
In the end, there had been a big uproar after her statement, but Mahiru herself had just calmly put on her angelic smile. The boys in love with Mahiru were probably stressing out about it right now.
“Anyway, you should be more careful. If you don’t say anything to me beforehand, I might get the wrong idea, too.”
“Get the wrong idea?”
“…Usually, if someone said something like that about me, I’d think what everyone else is thinking.”
Amane figured that Mahiru must like him in some way. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so relaxed around him, or look at him with such trust in her eyes. But he couldn’t figure out the exact nature of her affection.
Was it the same kind of sentiment that Amane felt toward Mahiru, or was it something more passionate?
The feelings he held were not something that he could easily put into words.
He didn’t feel burning-hot passion, and it wasn’t intense, heartrending yearning, either. It was more like a quiet, gentle candle giving off a steady heat. Mahiru was the first person for whom his heart had felt such affection and desire to treasure.
However, those weren’t the kind of feelings that most friends of the opposite sex could just openly talk about. Also, Amane didn’t know if Mahiru felt the same way. For this reason, he reminded himself to speak clearly, so as not to be misunderstood.
“I mean, if for example I were to announce that you were someone important to me, with that kind of timing, you’d start getting ideas too, right?”
“But I don’t think you would ever make such a declaration in the first place, Amane.”
“Well, that’s true, but—”
“Or are you saying that’s what you’re going to do?”
“I know that if I did, I’d wind up feeling like I decided to sit down on a bed of thorns.”
I kn
Amane waved his hand in front of his face. He had no intention of resigning himself to such a fate without any sort of preparation.
Mahiru let a little giggle slip out.
“I know you’re not the risk-taking type.”
“…Somehow, I feel like that annoys you.”
“You’re imagining things.”
Amane was pretty sure he was not imagining the look of exasperation on Mahiru’s face, but it seemed she didn’t feel like explaining anything to him.
Mahiru let out a deep sigh, as if to vent her frustrations, and headed for the kitchen.
“…Um?”
“What is it?”
“If I did make some kind of public declaration, I think it would have a big effect on your life, too… Are you prepared for that?”
“What a silly question. I would never suggest something if I wasn’t ready to deal with the consequences.”
Amane was at a loss for words because she really said it without a second thought. Mahiru didn’t so much as look his way and started setting out her cooking utensils with a flourish of her apron hem.
“I understand that my social standing is different from yours, and that we receive very different kinds of attention. I also understand that you won’t say anything. And I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“…That’s—”
“It’s a real pain to be popular, you know. People are always watching how you act in public and meddling in your affairs.”
Mahiru grumbled to herself, and it was plain to see she was fed up with the attention. Then she turned around to look at Amane.
“But here, it’s just the two of us; there’s no one to butt in. For now, I’m satisfied with that.”
Mahiru smiled coyly, and Amane couldn’t do anything but stare at her beautiful smile, unable to say anything more.
A new day had dawned since Mahiru’s shocking statement, but the excitement over the angel’s new relationship hadn’t settled down at all in class.
Her words had attracted considerable curiosity, since up to now, she hadn’t shown any interest in boys and had treated members of both sexes the same.
However, no matter what she was asked, Mahiru didn’t answer with any additional information. Her closest friend, Chitose, also insisted that she didn’t know anything, so whoever Mahiru had alluded to remained unknown.
As the boy in question, Amane was relieved by this, but at the same time, he was terrified, wondering when he would be exposed.
“Well, I think if someone got a reeeally good look at your face, they’d figure it out. But from a distance, just looking at your silhouette, I doubt anyone would recognize you,” Itsuki said, laughing at Amane’s concern as he looked over the merchandise for sale.
Amane had brought Itsuki and Yuuta along with him to the sports equipment store. He was there to buy some exercise gear, after deciding that he should start training and exercising to better complement Mahiru, and so that she might fall for him. The impact of her statement had sparked the idea.
Club activities were suspended for the time being due to upcoming exams, so the track and field club ace had some free time and accompanied Amane to help him pick out running shoes.
“I mean, after all, you usually have a plain hairstyle and act all indifferent, so you come off as cold, and your expression doesn’t really change,” Itsuki said. “But when you’re with her, you make all sorts of faces, and you actually look up from the ground, so you seem sweet and gentle. I don’t think anyone would connect that guy with the Amane we see at school.”
“You’re pretty easy to read, Fujimiya; it’s surprising,” Yuuta added.
“Shut up.”
Amane was aware that he acted more gently toward Mahiru than other people, but it was still embarrassing to hear someone point it out like that.
It was all the more humiliating to know that even Yuuta, who he had just started hanging out with, could see it.
Amane frowned, trying to shake off the embarrassment. Itsuki looked at him with a foolish grin.
“Looks like my prediction was right, that you would change when you found a girl you liked.”
“…Shut up.”
“Oooh, you are sooo cute when you’re trying not to look embarrassed, Amane!”
“Don’t be a creep, Itsuki.”
“It is a little creepy, Itsuki.”
“Why are you on his side, Yuuta? You’re supposed to stick with me.”
“Well, it’s…you know.”
“I’m gonna cry, guys.”
Itsuki did not seem like he was going to cry at all. After grinning and poking at Amane for a while, he shrugged. “Well, I guess she really does have all sorts of troubles of her own, huh? Including yesterday’s performance.”
“…Performance? She told me she did it to control the rumors as best she could without telling any lies, since she was under suspicion anyway.”
“Ah, is that how she explained it? Well, that’s all true, but I think it was also an attempt to repel other guys without inviting hostility from other girls. When you’re popular, you’re always the object of jealousy, more or less. By hinting that she’s got a special someone, and that she hasn’t got eyes for anyone else, she’s saying that even if she hangs around Yuuta and us once in a while, she’s not interested.”
“I see.”
“Plus, you know, to keep it all in check.”
“What do you mean?”
“…Ah, it’s nothing. Forget it. Setting all that aside, I can see in your eyes that she’s important to you, and I think she probably feels the same way. You can win her over if you push, or even better, push her down, heh? It’s important for a guy to take a little initiative, you know!”
The words “push her down” made Amane recall the situation that happened over Golden Week.
I didn’t mean to…
By accident, he had lost his balance and fallen on top of her. It wasn’t anything intentional. There was no way he would have done it on purpose, being fully aware that Mahiru would hate him if he did something as outrageous as that.
However, if Mahiru made the same expression next time, looking like she was waiting for him to make some sort of move—he wasn’t sure what he’d do then.
“…Hey, did something happen that I don’t know about? Did you get lucky or something?”
Itsuki made a grabbing motion with his hands, very interested now that Amane’s cheeks were gradually flushing with remembered shame.
“Just shut up for once!” Amane shouted.
“Itsuki, you’re the worst!” Yuuta added.
“Whose side are you on, anyway?! I thought you were hoping for progress, Yuuta!”
“I don’t want to be on your side when you’re messing around like that. Though I do think that Fujimiya is being too passive.”
“As far as I can tell, you’re both against me.”
Amane had complex feelings about getting these evaluations from Yuuta and Itsuki. On the other hand, he knew he wasn’t particularly assertive, so he didn’t feel like he could make much of a rebuttal.
“Now, now, we just wanted to give you a little nudge,” Yuuta insisted. “I don’t know Mahiru that well, so I’m just speculating, but I doubt she has feelings for anyone other than you, Fujimiya. It seems like you’re the only one she really trusts. After all, she seems incredibly wary of most people. I’m telling you, the way that girl looks at you, and only you, is different.”
“…I know that she trusts me, and that she likes me as a person, but even so…”
“Why are you so negative? Have some confidence. You’re a good guy, and you seem like the kind of person who can put in some serious effort, so long as you have a goal. I mean, look, if you really don’t have any confidence, then start working out and get in shape. Physical fitness is linked to emotional well-being, you know. If your body gets fitter, your attitude should improve, and if your attitude improves, everything around you will look brighter. By getting physically stronger, you can make yourself more confident.”
“You sound awfully self-assured.”
“I read it in a book.”
Yuuta seemed amused at reciting something he saw in a book once and passing it off as if speaking from his own experience. He laughed playfully and clapped Amane on the shoulder. “Well, you’re tall, Fujimiya, so you’d look good if you filled out a little, looked a little more balanced, you know? It would be a waste not to cultivate the good features you were born with.”
