If I understand the author's fanbox correctly, Ch.11 should start going on sale around mid-March, so we will be finally able to get off that cliff soon.

OH YEAH! Let's hope you're right. What's another three weeks at this point?

I don't really think her mom will be as big an obstacle as we might expect. Partly because of narrative precedent (like others have mentioned, even the transfer student butting in turned out to be for cupid purposes only), but also because most of the issues mom would probably have (probably academic and motivational in nature) improved considerably throughout the story.

And anyway: We've made progress, curveball be damned!

That was just crazy lewd.
It's always nice to see artistic progression as well. It started out already pretty enough two years ago and just look at the gorgeous art we're now given in each chapter.

It's not just the hands that are soft. Hino's expression has rarely been so soft throughout the series. She looks incredibly grateful that someone's actually willing to take charge and not let her laze around (effectively wallowing in her own misery, tbh) any longer.

last edited at Feb 15, 2021 9:11AM

Nakano, don't even ask wtf they were doing. Just walk away

I think it's more that she just doesn't sweat the small stuff.

Well she has been living next to Sakurako and Nagisa for a while. She's become resilient I guess.

I saw this chapter as some progress in a somewhat right direction at least. I mean, Miwa no only made up her mind a bit, but also reached out to Saeko and, at least to some extent, talked about her concerns and issues. Not nearly as much as they would need, but hey, it's something.
I also think that Saeko was more than half-joking about the kiss on the stairs and would have been kinda caught off-guard, even before the other guy entered the picture.

I just don't believe Nagisa and Sakurako are in love Nakano. I believe they are fond of her but are using her as an excuse to not address their relationship. The one-shot that showed how they met made them a way better couple than anything the manga can do with them and Nakano. She's just way too much of a blob.

They totally have the hots for her. They'll figure it out, the three are just too cute together - I could really see them as a somewhat working triangle.

Wait, this is here, too? I haven't read the last chapter yet, but I'm so glad that it's here and has one more chapter than my previous source.

Edit: Right, caught up with it. Now I guess I have to wait. Meh. Is there a release schedule for the TL? (and how far is the original anyway?)

last edited at Feb 9, 2021 5:04PM

I don't really think we're near the "endgame" yet, whatever that would be. I could see this running on until we reach 140 chapters or so. There's basically only one or two "more serious" arcs per volume that really drive the plot forward, after all, and there are still quite a few outstanding plot points (and tropes) to be explored.

Thinking about it, I feel they're basically just doing things out of order. At this point they're basically pretending to not be in a relationship, despite both of them having a good enough understanding of the other's perspective. At least Koguma is pretty acutely aware of what's going on, only Hino might still honestly be somewhat on the "she's just being nice" train of thought, even though that facade has long since started to crack.

Most of the things they've and are doing done would also fit quite naturally in if they actually did commit to a relationship. Their dynamic wouldn't change all that much, they'd still be the pushy delinquent and the timid, straight-laced class rep. It would be a bit more earnest and less based on excuses and ludicrous premises, but the cautious tentativeness (I wouldn't even call it reluctance anymore) and pace would still fit the bill. I guess that might make the series less attractive to some, but I personally might enjoy it more that way.

Either way, that's not really a knock on the series, I just re-read the entire thing and it's still gold.
Also why isn't there more of it yet. I really wouldn't mind having more of this.

last edited at Feb 4, 2021 1:06PM

Also, about chapter 70: "This Heat must be making me act weird, too."
Yes, Koguma. It most certainly is heat.

Does this double-entendre also exist in the original?

last edited at Jan 22, 2021 11:37AM

did kogu get wet

Very.

You know... I was gonna say "Hino san might have discovered another source for liquids and electrolytes", but I really have to admit, Koguma saying "It's just sweat" really isn't helping her get outta that one. They were kinda already licking sweat, so... sate your thirst, girl?

Nice.

Protip: They should keep the engagement ring as wedding ring. You want something unintrusive for that anyway, and a small silver band does that really well.

Hino's got it bad, huh?

Like, real bad.

Hino's pushing things along in this one, though. I mean, it's not like she was subtle. She so needed that extra kick from public skinship... People gonna talk now! Except the teacher, she didn' see nuffin.

last edited at Dec 21, 2020 9:57PM

she wanted koguma to wear those ?
and the worst part is how koguma would actually do it for her.

Which would net us some major gay panic moments from Hino. She'd be paralyzed by the mere knowledge of what Koguma's wearing.

Overall a rather uneventful chapter - I'd wager we will get a great payoff tho.

Ressey posted:

I'm still waiting for that spoiler essay to get bumped off the page. :v

It's spoiler marked for a reason, so idk what is your issue.

I think they mean "can't wait until we are on page 44 of the thread so I can navigate the latest thread page without fear of accidentally revealing the spoiler I'd rather not see". Nothing wrong with the system, and the "problem" will solve itself eventually, especially if a new chapter finally gets translated.

Since therefore "can't wait until we are on page 44" implies that we'd have gotten a new chapter, I also can't wait until we are on page 44.

That would definitely be worse than going commando. At least she can justifiably say that not having underwear was a stupid mistake, but people will assume there was deliberate intent if she's caught wearing those.

Grammar question: would it be “caught wearing those, or “caught wearing that?

Inquiring minds . . .

In common use either of them could work. Grammatically, however, I believe "those" would be truly correct, because the bottom piece of underwear is referred to in the plural.

I was making a joke about the actual construction of the object—of course, underwear in the form of panties or boxers is “those” or “them,” but a chastity belt or garter would be “that.”

"Those" may be the "normal", technically correct way to refer to the panties, so it's moderately neutral, but "that" implies "that thing", which has a lot more aversion to it.

Also, before she said "they" were brand new, I was sure she'd somehow gotten a hold of a pair of Koguma's worn panties... though that would be kind of out there, even for Hino.

Last page got me good.

@Arcane
Nice interpretation. I think I need to re-read it from the top one of these days.

last edited at Nov 24, 2020 1:05PM

Good to see Hino can actually be "hit" back..

To be fair, it does seem like Koguma rolled a 20 on that one.

last edited at Nov 12, 2020 5:57PM

I’m not so sure. They both seem to me to be in the classic “useless lesbian” position—hyper-aware of how they themselves feel, but hyper-densely unaware of how the other one feels.

I'm not entire convinced of that. I agree insofar that Hino hasn't (hadn't?) quite figured out what's going on inside Koguma, but while Koguma still isn't always sure what Hino is up to right now, I believe she is at least somewhat aware that Hino isn't just horny, but also a little lovestruck. I'm not certain if Koguma is ready to actually give a name to what she herself feels yet.

Hino is pretty clear—she thinks Koguma only indulges her requests because she’s kind and diligent about getting Hino to class.

So far, so true, but *I would say that changed this chapter, so now she might just catch on - especially if she can remember anything from her feverish night.
(paragraph slightly rephrased to conform more with the chapter)

If the realization of mutual attraction does ever come, both possibilities—that Koguma suddenly has an epiphany about Hino’s real feelings, or that she’s known all along, better than Hino herself—would be equally plausible and consistent with what we’ve seen so far.

Here's hopin'.

last edited at Nov 10, 2020 9:24PM

^She really doesn't realize what she's doing to Hino. There is a such thing as being too innocent.

I kinda think she may have moved beyond that and is now not only aware of how Hino thinks, but actually willing to engage in their game.
I so hope we get to experience this chapter from her perspective (it's happened before, after all) to see whether my wild guess is right.

Thirst world problems.

Thirst world problems require juicy solutions.

While idea of Satou being inside job is pretty plausible, my taken on it is that Satou likes new, inexperienced girls. She was happy when Rin acted clumsy and in fact wanted to cut date short to jump to fucking cuddling. She most likely like taking care of others and so she enjoys when new girls are not yet good at the job and aren't doing exactly well, so she needs to help them out. That's why she immediately checks every new girl. As soon as she saw Rin preparing bed beforehand and taking initiative with bath, she lost her boner and it wasn't her fetish anymore interest in Rin and no longer felt like it was what she expected. If that really is the case, I think it's really stupid, if only for the simple fact that at any professional place even if someone is new, they should be trained well enough to know what they're doing, but maybe she's regular at this place, exactly because owner just hires girls left and right and send them to work without any training whatsoever. But that's only a wild guess stares.

Agreed on all counts, Satou definitely wants to be the one to set the pace and have the initiative. I guess it makes for some nice dramedy if she's just thrown into the situation without much intel, so while IRL that practice would definitely do me a concern, I guess it's alright to play it loose here.

Kogutop.

Next Koguma cradles Hino’s chin and calls her “kitten.”

Hino might die of sweetness overload, though. I'm sure Koguma would be terribly worried and would have to take good care of... oh.

Still, I think we made progress. I mean, Koguma is unusually assertive and Hino absolutely knows what camp she's in now.
Also, I've rarely seen a plan to wriggle out of an intimate situation backfire so spectacularly.

Exactly. No fun allowed. Especially in Ecchi.

/s

@Nevri
More context! Thanks for setting that straight. Now that you mention it, I think I vaguely remember hearing that side of the story before, it apparently didn't stick.

To be fair, if the source is terrible, starting from scratch and basically rewriting everything can yield better results, although I've only seen this work out properly if the target is supposed to be a comedy and not supposed to be representative of the source anymore. Think of the many, many hilarious abridged versions, or the English dub of Ghost Stories. Because of how terrible the source needs to be and how lucid the localization staff must be to not only acknowledge that fact, but also make the call that it's not worth it, it's no wonder that I can't think of more examples. (*when it comes to official translations - abridged versions have the luxury that it's not their job to provide a "true to source" version from the start.)

last edited at Nov 8, 2020 4:14PM