6 A charming person

　　Shinichi averted his eyes from the book and stared at the girl who suddenly became active in surprise.

　　"I borrowed this from the school library yesterday... What's wrong?"

　　It wasn't until Miku realized that her reaction had indeed been too much, that she quickly sat back down in her chair, and when she lowered her head in apology, her ears turned red.

　　"No, sorry... Because I've been looking for that book for a long time, but none of the libraries in town have it... I didn't expect to see the truth here, so I accidentally got excited... Asada senpai, I'm really excited."

　　Accepting this serious apology, Shinichi sighed in his heart that Japan's senior and junior system is really dangerous, and shrugged indifferently.

　　"It's okay, just relax. Even though I'm a member of the Disciplinary Committee, I don't really respect the law..." He glanced at Miku who was looking down, then at the book in his hand, and suddenly asked.

　　"Accidentally poured his nose into the tea bowl at a certain tea party, who drank it without changing his expression?"

　　Miku raised her head in an instant, and replied with bright eyes: "Ishida Mitsunari! Because of that, Otani became a life and death companion with him, and even died for him in the battle of Sekigahara!"

　　"Tokugawa Ieyasu died of a stomach ache, what did he eat?"

　　Miku curved a shallow smile, and raised a finger: "Tempura! The medic blamed the fact that Seiji, a wealthy businessman from Kyoto, gave Tokugawa freshwater fish tempura, but it was all because of him. This is the link between eating a high-fat diet at a later age!"

　　"Do you know the anecdote that Inahime refused Sanada Masayuki and Nobushige's father and son to enter the town at Numata Castle?"

　　"Of course, among the women of the Warring States Period, I especially like Inahime!" With joy and excitement clear on her face, as if she had changed a different person, the beaming Miku spoke incessantly, "Back then, Inahime's Battle of Sekigahara, Inahime refused her father-in-law's request to visit her granddaughter in the city because they were in the same camp. was different at that time, so she stood in front of Masayuki Sanada in battle uniform and said "Now we are enemies, even if you are my father-in-law can't enter the city", but after the two left, they brought their grandson to the shrine to meet them. ..."

　　"Meet them... Ummm..."

　　Miku's voice grew smaller, because she found that Shinichi was looking at her with a smile on his face, and nodded approvingly from time to time, his eyes full of shock.

　　After understanding what happened, the excitement turned to embarrassment in an instant. She lowered her head deeply again, buried her face in her headphones, and covered her blushing face with her long bangs.

　　Then, several depressed and unhappy voices sounded out of anger.

　　"Asada senpai… are you teasing me?"

　　Shinichi shook his head.

　　"No... It should be said that there is only one point. Anyway, seeing you care so much about this book, I wonder if you really like the history of the Warring States Period. I tried casually, but I didn't expect…"

　　He twitched the corners of his mouth, as if he could barely hold back a smile, and quickly stuffed a mouthful of rice into it, afraid that if he laughed on the spot, the girl in front of him would be embarrassed.

　　"It's really eye opening to see such a fresh reaction. Thank you, Nakano-san for your help."

　　Miku raised her head, her bright red cheeks puffed out, her blue eyes fixed on him, clearly expressing her unhappiness.

　　"... Bully me."

　　With pleasure in his heart, Shinichi nodded honestly: "Okay, I admit I went too far, please forgive me."

　　Miku frowned slightly, looked away, snorted softly, and said reluctantly: "The favor is offset... Please take responsibility and bring me back properly."

　　"Does not matter. Even though I have many flaws, my greatest strength is being trustworthy." Shinichi shrugged, closed the book abruptly, and handed it to Miku.

　　"Take."

　　Miku froze for a moment, and reflexively took out the "Original Warring States Tales Collection"

　　"You didn't read it?"

　　"I've read it twice, let me lend it first, so that it won't be borrowed again when I get it." In contrast to the ignorance earlier, Shinichi now looked at her with great interest, "Let me tell you first, although I have permission to borrow books for two months without returning them, but I will borrow another set of books the day after tomorrow, and all the books I borrowed yesterday will be returned, so ..."

　　"I will finish reading it asap!" Interrupting his words, Miku hugged the book tightly, her ample chest pressed against the book, but she didn't pay any attention to it, but said seriously to Shinichi, "I can finish it before school tomorrow afternoon at the latest, and even if I don't finish it, I will return it to you, and I will never delay!"

　　"People who like to read aren't bad people, I trust you." Shinichi smiled, and was about to use his chopsticks to get the rice out. When he looked down, he found that he had finished eating his bento, so he put down his bento. The empty bento box returned to the bag and turned towards the three. "Let's go, lunch break is almost over, I'll walk you back."

　　Miku looked at the book in her hands, her eyes showed great excitement and joy, the corners of her lips curved up, and she nodded.

　　"En!"

　　...

　　Due to a book, the atmosphere between Shinichi and Miku is not as tense as before. The two walked and chatted about Warring States character anecdotes, and their voices filled the entire garden maze.

　　Even though it was the first time they met, they chatted very pleasantly, the atmosphere was harmonious as if they had been friends for many years, very different from the one just now.

　　But mostly it was Miku doing the talking, Shinichi just responding at the right time. Because he saw that Miku never seemed to talk about these matters with anyone, and there was no way to stop when she was interested. She expressed her love and longing for the Warring States Period, wishing to be reborn in that era and beyond.

　　The cold face when they first met, the indifferent expression of not being able to see clearly what she was thinking, had long been broken into slag, replaced by the joy of speaking freely and sharing with others, displaying the vitality and decisiveness she should have in her age.

　　The pretty face was dyed pink, but what was most beautiful was a pair of sparkling blue pupils, reflecting the intoxicating brilliance in the sunlight.

　　It was precisely because of this beauty that Shinichi lent out the book on his own initiative, more like a listener echoing her annoying topics without getting bored at all.

　　——People who pursue knowledge, value knowledge, and love knowledge always appear so dazzling.

　　Shinichi likes people like this. They may not be very smart, they may not have talent, or they may not be able to express their love, but they can only hide their longing deeply, like a monster guarding a treasure.

　　Afraid of being discovered by others, afraid that others will look at you strangely after knowing it, afraid that the treasure will be scorned, and even if you are willing to share it, you will always be trampled on.

　　Nakano Miku might be that kind of person, because she told him so.

　　"I don't want others to know that I love history and military generals from the Warring States Period… Can you keep it a secret that I'm a Calendar Girl?"

[Calendar Girl: A girl who likes historical stories and characters]

　　"It is possible, but why? In Japan, the Calendar Girl's economy has an output value of around 70 billion, and some local governments even welcome Calendar Girls to visit ruins and take photos in disguise. There's no need to hide, right?"

　　"There's a complicated reason for this… Overall, please! Especially don't tell girls who look like me that they are my quintuplets. I just don't want them to find out!"

　　"Quintuplets… Your mother is really strong."

　　"Yeah, a lot of people think that... No, now isn't the time to complain, right?"

　　"I'll keep it a secret. After all, there is no reason to say it everywhere."

　　"Thank You."

　　Miku's relaxed smile reminded Shinichi of someone.

Furuhashi Fumino.

　　She had an unparalleled talent in the liberal arts, and as such, she knew nothing about mathematics, even to the point where looking at formulas was tantamount to hypnosis.

　　Even so, the full handwriting on the textbooks indicated that she wished to study mathematics well and received knowledge contrary to it. She is troubled, suffering, and persistent because of it.

　　Then, what unspeakable predicament did she have…

　　After all, Furuhashi is just like Miku.

　　Seeking knowledge, loving knowledge, and as if her soul was shining, she put her heart and soul into the embrace of knowledge, and was willing to give everything for it, even if it was painful and stressful.

　　Shinichi thought from the bottom of his heart that such a person was more honorable and charming than anyone else.

　　Because he was fundamentally different from them