Tonari no Seki no Satou-San chapter 17

Here is chapter 17!

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Title: A gloomy day for Satou-san.

“Phew”(S)

Satou-san sighed. I happened to hear that and casually moved my eyes to peer to my right. Then I saw her face. The gloomy expression on her face, with her eyelashes down, was something I hadn’t seen before since we were seated next to each other. I almost stared at it for too long and looked away in a hurry.

The classroom was buzzing on this early May morning. It’s always noisy in the hours leading up to the teacher’s arrival, but I’m especially upbeat today because the holidays are coming up. I’m also looking forward to the Golden Week. I don’t have any plans other than to hang out with my friends, but I’m looking forward to being away from my classes. Do you have any plans for the holidays, Satou-san? No, I’m not going to ask. We’re not that close, and it’s none of my business if I know.

“Fu…..”(S)

I hear a faint sigh this time, as if to blend in with the murmur. I gingerly turned my gaze back to see that Satou-san still had a dark expression on her face. What was she thinking about? I’d never seen her so depressed since this morning before. I was starting to get curious about it, too.

As soon as I get a hint of trouble, I will back off. With that in mind, I quietly opened my mouth.

“What’s wrong, Satou-san?”(S)

“…Huh?”(S)

There was a lag of a few seconds before Satou-san turned to me. The face that looked at me wasn’t smiling either.

“You’ve been sighing for a while now.”(Y)

As I say, I take out my first period textbook from my desk drawer. I’m not pretending that I’m just making small talk – no, I’m not pretending, I am in fact. I’m concerned about my classmates on a whim, that’s really all. It’s not that I don’t like her.

“Are you depressed because you have P.E. in third period?”(Y)

I asked with a light chuckle, and Satou-san laughed a little bit to go along with me.

“There’s a little bit of that, too.”(S)

Her voice quickly sinks low. There’s that too, though? But what’s it all about? Does it mean that something other than physical education happened to make her feel down? What is that? I can’t ask her, but I am somewhat concerned about it. After that, Satou-san became silent, and I couldn’t pursue the matter any further.

The buzz in the classroom is a little abominable today. How can everyone be so calm because the holiday is near? we don’t have time for it. Out of the corner of my eye, I spy on Sato-san’s gloomy profile. I wondered if she had this expression on her face. What is casting a shadow over her mind? She doesn’t usually look like this, though. It’s so unnatural that she looks more mature than usual, and it makes me feel weird.

After a while,

“Hey, Yamaguchi-kun.”(S)

Satou-san called my name. So I turned to her as a matter of course.

“What?”(Y)

Satuo-san, next to me on the right, her expression softened just a bit.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”(S)

“What is it?”(Y)

“What if…”(S)

As she said it, she gently stroked her hair, which was tied in a ponytail.

“Let’s say Yamaguchi-kun’s best friend was really depressed.”(S)

“A friend of mine?”(Y)

“Yup. So when they ask you for advice about your problems, what do you want to say to them?”(S)

The question Satou-san posed to me was not only shaky, but also difficult. I put my face down and pondered.

“It’s hard to have friends.”(Y)

“Yeah. I think so too.”(S)

“First of all, it depends on what kind of trouble you’re having.”(Y)

When I told her that, Satou-san chuckled.

“Oh, I see. Well, I guess it’s… er… life’s problems.”(S)

“Life?”(Y)

That’s a very serious matter again. I don’t know who it is, but it’s a hasty thing to do, to tell Satou-san about your worries. If you are a dullard and meddlesome Satou-san, you will only suffer from other people’s problems. I can’t expect to get any good advice from you.

Satou-san seemed reluctant to say, but she did her best to explain.

“Well, you know, it’s not so much life, it’s a way of life…”(S)

“I don’t know if it’s a career problem or something.”(Y)

“Oh, yeah. That kind of thing.”(S)

She seemed relieved by my assistance.

“She asked me for advice about her problems, and I guess I can’t say anything crazy. I want to help her, but I think only she can find the answer, so I hope I can at least give her  warm words.”(S)

She looks troubled after saying that.

“But … you know … Warm words alone are so hard to come by, aren’t they?”(S)

“So true.”(Y)

I’ve heard that. They say you shouldn’t say ‘do your best’ to someone who is severely depressed. It’s better not to ask for more and more effort when you’re desperate. I would think such a person is a pain in the ass, but people’s minds seem to be rather sensitive. For example, it is a fact that even if someone told me to “do your best” when I was busy studying for exams, I would just tell them to leave me alone. I don’t like it because it’s too intrusive. I’m always trying my best, to a point. But if that’s the case, then I wonder what the best thing to say in this case is.

“I’m going to call her later this evening.”(S)

Satou-san said. I wonder who is the person that is talking to about her problems. Isn’t it a student in the class? No, it was Satou-san, who seems to be too slow to type. Whoever it is, it will probably take them until the night for her to respond.

“I was wondering what it would be good to say to her…”(S)

She sighs again while I’m thinking about something else. The gloomy look on her face makes even my mind buzz. Maybe it’s because it’s too unsuitable and uncomfortable. So I felt I had to think of something to do.

“Here is an idea…”(Y)

I come up with an idea and suddenly say.

“If there’s anything I can do for you, you can count on me?”(Y)

It feels strange for me to say Satou-san’s lines. It’s all over the place. I think it would be good to just say one word and wait for the rest.

“Huh? Wait…?”(S)

A blinkered Satou-san asked me back. For some reason I spoke a little too quickly, but I continued.

“For example, I think that people who are struggling need someone to listen to them. In Satou-san’s case, you’ve already listened to her. So I think it’s a good idea to wait until they ask you for help in other matters.”(Y)

If she can confide in you about something else, you can ask her about it. If she doesn’t feel like that, then you could wait for him to get over her depressed mood.

“It would be nice to tell her that you’re always there for her. That’s what friends are for.”(Y)

I tell Satou-san, but I wonder if I would be able to say that. It’s clearly not my line. I think it’s because you’re the one who can say it. It’s not me. It’s a line that’s appropriate for you.

Satou-san listened intently to what I had to say. And after a while, she lowered her eyelashes as if she were lost in thought.

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea. Maybe we should meet and talk?”(S)

“Yeah, that might happen. If I could talk to you face to face, that would be better.”(Y)

I’m sure there are things that cannot be conveyed in words alone. The more so if you’re a clumsy person, the better. There’s a lot that can be conveyed by looking at her face. I didn’t understand Satou-san until we sat down next to each other. Well, I can’t say whether it was good to know her or not.

“Yeah, I guess so.”(S)

Finally, Sato-san smiled as usual. The distressed color of her face hides in the shadows and her expression becomes bright.

“Thank you. You’re really good, Yamaguchi-kun.”(S)

“No, it’s not much. It’s just an opinion.(Y)

“No, it’s amazing. I can understand everything you say, and I think it’s amazing.”(S)

It’s a bit embarrassing to be praised honestly.

“It’s too much praise.”(Y)

I turned away, but deep inside I was relieved.

Satou-san gave me her usual smile. I knew she didn’t have a gloomy face, and I’d rather see her smile. It’s not that her smile is cute, but it’s comforting to see her smile. I guess it’s because I’m used to seeing her. I don’t know what her friends’ problems are like. But if you’re smiling brightly like that, Satou-san, I think you’ll be able to support them a little bit. Hang in there.

“I’m glad I asked Yamaguchi-kun about it. Thank you so much.”(S)

Satou-san is still thanking me. You’re still persistent. I frowned and said with a rare urge to tease her

“I’m sure you’ll be able to get through the third period P.E. with this. Girls are supposed to run hurdles on the ground.”(Y)

“Eh….”(S)

Instantly, her face tightens.

When I saw Satou-san’s extremely depressed face, I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. But I can’t give you any good advice on this, and I can only cheer you on from the bottom of my heart. –You’re going to have to do your best in P.E. too, Satou-san.

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Notes:

This is starting to bug me. Every time you see the word face is where I edited the sentence in the last few chapters. The original word in deepL is cheekbones. It feels weird to read “I looked at her cheekbones” or “I put my cheekbones on the desk”. Seriously it takes a lot more time to edit everything and I cringe every time I read the line. I wish I could read Japanese to avoid mtl, but alas I can’t.

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