Rabu kome manga no sekai ni haitte shimattanode - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A date to watch over a date?

Sigh… Friday after school was ridiculously fun.

Talking at the café was a blast, and going to the bookstore together was amazing too.

Well, we were both a little embarrassed on the way home… but even so, it was still incredible.

Come to think of it, that was basically an after-school date.

As I was thinking that, the doorbell rang at the front entrance.

Right—tonight was Saturday night, the day Yūichi was coming over to my place.

To be precise, he’d come to take refuge at my house so that Tōjōin-san wouldn’t interfere with his tomorrow’s date.

That way, tomorrow morning, Yūichi would be able to go to the date spot without being monitored by Tōjōin.

If I do say so myself, it was a pretty solid plan.

Well, Sei-chan was the one who noticed how good the plan was. As expected of Sei-chan.

I opened the front door and welcomed Yūichi inside.

“Yo, welcome to my humble abode.”

“Yeah…”

“My parents aren’t back yet, so just make yourself at home.”

“Got it…”

“…What’s with you? You seem down. What happened?”

Yūichi was usually cheerful, but he clearly didn’t seem like himself.

“What, did you lose today’s basketball practice match or something?”

“No, we won, but… listen. This is an emergency.”

“…I really don’t want to hear this. Does it have anything to do with tomorrow’s date?”

“It has everything to do with tomorrow’s date.”

“That makes it even worse. This is definitely about Tōjōin-san, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… Kaori found out that I was staying over at your place tonight.”

“That’s the worst possible outcome. Seriously.”

And just like that, the entire plan went down the drain. What the hell were you doing…?

“Sigh… how did she find out?”

“I just left my house to head over here like normal, and then… there was a limousine right in front of me.”

“I see… then what about the limousine parked in front of my house?”

“Of course, Kaori gave me a ride.”

“You are seriously done for.”

Why did you come here in secret… by riding in the limousine of the very person you were supposed to keep it secret from?

“Good evening, Hisamura-kun.”

“G-Good evening, Tōjōin-san.”

It was already night, and the only light outside came from the streetlamps and my front porch.

Even in that faint light, Tōjōin-san’s beautiful blonde hair gleamed as if it were giving off light of its own.

No, seriously, why is it glowing? Is this some kind of manga-style effect?

I mean, this is a manga world, so I guess it’s possible.

“So you’re having a sleepover with Yūichi tonight. It sounds like so much fun—I’m almost jealous enough to want to join.”

“N-No, I mean, having a girl like you around when it’s just two guys is kind of… you know.”

“Yeah, exactly. Kaori, seriously, just go home already.”

That was a bit harsh, dude.

Even if she’s your childhood friend, she’s still the daughter of what could easily be called the world’s top corporation.

“Ara, how cruel, Yūichi. After I went out of my way to drive you here in a limousine so late at night, and that’s what you say to me?”

“W-Well, I appreciate that, but… we’ve got some intense guy talk to get to. Right, Tsukasa?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. I invited Yūichi to watch the adult videos he always watches.”

“Hey, wait!? I never said anything like that!”

Yeah, he definitely didn’t.

“H-How awful, Yūichi! I went through all the trouble to make a photobook just for you, and then I even hid it under your bed!”

“That was you!? My Older sister found it, and we almost had a full-on family meeting!”

Wow… yeah, I remember that from the original story—she really went all out.

She’d put it there in place of an adult video, so it was a pretty intense photobook.

“Sounds like Yūichi couldn’t bring himself to throw away the photobook and hid it under his bed, and his onee-san found it. Must’ve been quite the scene.”

“Why do you know about that!? I never told anyone! I was planning to take that secret to my grave!”

Crap—whoops. I let my knowledge of the original story slip.

“Oh? Is that so, Yūichi? I was embarrassed because I thought I’d gone too far, but if you liked it, maybe I should make another photobook.”

“I don’t need it! Seriously!”

“I was thinking of making the next one a nude photobook, but you really don’t want it?”

“……I don’t want it!”

“Dude, you hesitated like crazy just now, didn’t you?”

Well, as a guy, I get why he’d struggle with that.

Anyone would hesitate if Tōjōin-san—who had a figure completely unbelievable for a high schooler—said something like that.

I can understand, as a man, why someone would end up staring at Tōjōin-san’s photobook.

“What a shame. Well, my nudes will have to wait… for someday, on the bed, okay?”

“Ugh… I-I held it back… my nosebleed…”

“Ahh, I didn’t hear thaat.”

I repeatedly tapped my ears, making it very clear that I wasn’t listening.

Still, if you had a sexy childhood friend like her, your life would be nothing but roses.

On top of that, she was absurdly rich—so it wouldn’t just be a rosy life, but a golden one.

Still, Yūichi’s willpower to not be swayed by all that was pretty impressive.

If I were in Yūichi’s shoes, I’d definitely get swept along.

But as for me, I had Sei-chan—my lifelong oshi.

If Sei-chan ever said something like what Tōjōin-san just did…

 

‘D-Do you want… my nude photobook? I-I’ll do my best if you do …’

 

“Buh—!?”

“Man, You’re the one getting a nosebleed!?”

Just imagining it made my nose start bleeding. And not just a little, either.

I-I mean… this was the first time in my life I’d ever had an erotic fantasy and gotten a nosebleed from it…

Figures—this really is the world of manga. I never thought something like this could actually happen.

“Ara, Hisamura-kun, I have no intention of showing you any nude photos of myself, you know? If you’re prepared to have your eyes gouged out afterward, I might let you look for about a second… but no, I still don’t want to.”

“It’s not like I even want to see them, but I couldn’t, no matter what, huh?”

“Of course—because it’s me.”

“Yeah, that figures.”

When it comes to nude photos of an heiress from the Tōjōin Group, there are probably wealthy people out there who’d gladly pay hundreds of millions just to get their hands on them.

And Yūichi could get them just by saying, “I want them”… seriously, that’s insane.

“A-anyway, I don’t want a nude photobook! And you should head home already! If it gets too late, your parents will start worrying!”

Y-Yūichi, that’s…

“…Yes, you’re right. I understand—I’ll be heading home soon.”

Tōjōin-san replied that way, but… no matter how you looked at it, she seemed more down than before.

Just moments ago, she’d been beautiful with that confident smile of hers, but now she wore a faintly fragile one instead.

Maybe because they were childhood friends, Yūichi noticed it right away.

“Kaori, what’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. I really should be going now.” 

“Y-yeah… get home safely.”

“Hehe. I came by limousine, so as long as the driver’s careful, there won’t be any problems.”

With that, Tōjōin-san got into the limousine and left.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

She’d been so obviously down that even Yūichi—the dense protagonist type—could tell.

“…Who knows? You didn’t really say anything weird.”

I know the reason. Of course, that’s thanks to my knowledge of the original story.

Tōjōin Kaori doesn’t get along with her parent.

Her mother died giving birth to her, so her only parent is her father.

And since that father is the president of the Tōjōin Group, he hardly has any time to be involved in his daughter’s life.

About once a month, the two of them have a meal together at a lavish restaurant.

Even those dinners are extremely stiff, more like meetings where they just exchange brief updates.

There’s no parent-and-child conversation at all, and even though the food is supposed to be top-class, Tōjōin-san always seems so tense that she can barely taste it.

Tōjōin Kaori is starved for love.

Having grown up without knowing a parent’s love, that’s only natural.

She believes that the one who gives her that love is Yūichi—her longtime source of emotional support—and so she grows dependent on him, clinging to him and trying to keep other girls away.

That’s why, even when Tōjōin-san goes home… there’s no parent waiting for her.

She believes there’s no parent who worries about her coming home.

Yūichi’s words earlier must have reminded her of that, and that’s probably why she got so down.

Even Yūichi, who’s been with her since elementary school, doesn’t know—more than that, Tōjōin-san has hidden it even from him.

So at this point in the story, Yūichi still doesn’t know.

For just a moment, I wondered if I should tell him… but I decided this wasn’t the place to do that.

I mean, if I told Yūichi something like that out of the blue, he’d obviously ask, “How do you even know that?”

This is a topic that becomes deeply intertwined with the story later on in ‘Ojōjama’… and I don’t want to interfere with that.

There’s a storyline there that really moved me.

I don’t want to mess with it—and as a fan of ‘Ojōjama’, I want to see it play out properly.

“For now, let’s go inside my place. If we leave the front door open, bugs’ll get in.”

“Y-yeah. Excuse me for intruding.”

“Tch, a bug got in.”

“Oi, I’m not a bug.”

For now, I’ll set aside the matter of Tōjōin-san’s parent.

What I need to focus on next is… tomorrow’s date between Yūichi and Fujise.

 

◇　◇　◇

 

Tōjōin Kaori got into the limousine and leaned back against the seat.

“…Head butler, we’re leaving.”

After the head butler in the driver’s seat replied, “At once,” the limousine began to move quietly.

Resting her elbow, Kaori stared out the window with a blank expression.

Tōjōin Kaori is an Ojōsama by anyone’s standards—by her own admission and everyone else’s.

She lives in a mansion beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine, cared for by maids and butlers.

She’s extremely cute and beautiful, sharp-minded, and gifted with exceptional athletic ability.

A person who was given almost everything by the gods from the moment she was born—that is Tōjōin Kaori.

But still… the gods took her mother from her.

Her mother died when she was born, and she grew up never once seeing her mother’s face.

Of course, photos and videos remained, but since her mother passed away before Kaori was old enough to remember, she doesn’t recall anything about her.

She doesn’t remember feeling especially lonely. The butlers and maids treated her kindly and filled the role of a mother figure.

But… she never knew a mother’s tenderness, that unconditional love.

The butlers and maids were kind to her as well, but in the end, they were still just staff employed by the Tōjōin household.

At the elementary school sports day, while everyone else was eating with their families, Kaori sat alone on a large picnic sheet, eating a lavish bento prepared by the maid, under the watchful eye of the head butler.

And at times like that──the one who always joined her was Shigemoto Yūichi.

‘Wow! That looks so delicious! Can I have some too!?’

‘Uh… y-yes, of course. Eat it with gratitude.’

“Thanks! Itadakimasu!”

She loved him so much.

Yūichi claimed he hadn’t done anything special, but to Kaori, she felt a deep sense of love from him.

Kaori considered herself fortunate.

Aside from not having a mother, she had nearly everything else she could want.

Yet, it was her strained relationship with her father that troubled her the most.

It wasn’t that they were on bad terms.

No… perhaps it would have been better if they were.

Once a month, she had the chance to dine with her father.

Alone with her father, the president of the Tōjōin Group, at a lavish restaurant.

For Kaori, there was no time more nerve-wracking than this.

She would talk with her father then… yet he had never once done anything that felt truly fatherly.

Indifference—that was the word that summed it up.

The opposite of love isn’t hate; it’s indifference.

Kaori was neither liked nor disliked by her father.

That was the complex buried deep within Kaori’s heart.

 

As she was lost in thought, the head butler spoke up, “We’ve arrived.”

Kaori realized that while she had been daydreaming, they had somehow already reached the house.

“Thank you, Head butler.”

“Ojōsama, what are your plans for tomorrow?”

Tomorrow, Yūichi—the one Kaori liked—apparently had plans that he couldn’t tell her about.

If it were something with his friend, Hisamura Tsukasa, Kaori wouldn’t probe too deeply.

But Kaori’s intuition told her it was probably something related to a girl.

So, as always, she decided she wouldn’t interfere.

After all, Kaori liked Yūichi…

‘If it gets too late, your parents will start worrying.’

(I don’t have parents like that… no one loves me like that.)

Can someone like me… this unloved me… can I really love someone else?

Do I truly like Yūichi after all?

“Ojōsama?”

“Uh… sorry, I was lost in thought. Yes, I think I’ll be keeping watch again from the morning. Head butler, I’ll be counting on you again.”

“Understood.”

With that, Kaori stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut with a force that seemed to cast her worries away.

 

◇　◇　◇

 

First, I let Yūichi into the house, then we moved up to my room.

Just as we were about to enter my room on the second floor, the door to the room next door opened, and Rie came out.

“Onii-chan… is that the person who came to stay over today?”

Rie said this while looking at Yūichi, who was standing behind me.

“That’s right. Yūichi, this is my adorable little sister I’m proud of—Rie.”

“…Onii-chan, don’t say things like that, it’s embarrassing.”

“Haha, you two get along well. I’m Shigemoto Yūichi, Tsukasa’s friend. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Rie.”

Yūichi smiled warmly, and Rie, a bit shy, averted her gaze slightly as they exchanged greetings.

…Hm? Wait a minute.

Huh, weren’t Yūichi and Rie supposed to meet a bit later in the original story?

That’s right, they weren’t supposed to meet this early…!

They were supposed to have a fated meeting later… well, not that dramatic, but it would have been a different way of meeting!

And now, just by inviting Yūichi over, I’ve changed the original story again…!

“W-Wait, Yūichi, Rie… can we pretend you didn’t meet here today?”

“Huh? I don’t get what you mean.”

“Onii-chan, what are you talking about?”

“I know, right.”

Of course, there’s no way to undo it; time doesn’t go backward.

Ugh, what do I do now?

Does it even matter? The original story’s already changed the moment I came into this world.

Especially, Tsukasa confessing to Sei-chan never happened, and probably would never have happened in the original story, no matter how long it continued.

From now on, I guess it can’t be helped if the story changes.

A lot of things have already changed anyway.

“Well, whatever. Just get along as much as you want!”

“Man, why do you get to sound so high and mighty? Saying stuff like that makes it harder to get along.”

“…Onii-chan, you’re an idiot, aren’t you?”

“It’s painful that my best friend and little sister are both so sharp-tongued. My little sister is fine, but as for my best friend, I’m not helping with your date tomorrow anymore.”

“Sorry… want me to massage your shoulders?”

“For two hours straight.”

“That’s way too long! Thirty minutes is enough.”

“…Can I go down to the living room?”

As we were joking around, Rie looked at us with a deadpan expression and asked that.

“Y-yeah, of course.”

“Sorry, I’ll be intruding.”

“…Please, take your time.”

Rie said that, then went down the stairs to the living room.

We entered my room and relaxed while talking.

“Man, your younger sister, Rie-chan, is cute, but she’s kind of unfriendly.”

“What an insult. How dare you mock my adorable little sister—I’ll knock you out, dude.”

“That’s scary… man, are you a siscon or something?”

“No, but I’ll never let you have her.”

“See, you are a siscon!”

Even Sei-chan said it, but I’m not a siscon.

Seriously, what’s going to happen if Yūichi and Rie actually meet here?

How will Rie interact with Yūichi, fall for him, and become one of the sub-heroines?

Or maybe she won’t fall for him and will never become a heroine at all.

Either way is fine. When I read the manga, I wanted Sei-chan to be happy, but now Rie is also my little sister, fully family.

It would be cruel if such a cute little sister fell in love with a romance that was doomed to fail.

“Anyway, let’s talk about tomorrow. I never even dreamed you’d show up at my house together with Tōjōin-san.”

“Sorry about that, man. I never dreamed there’d be a limousine parked in front of my house either.”

Of course—normally, there’s no way you’d ever see a limousine parked outside your house.

“The plan was that since you’d be heading to the date from my place tomorrow, we wouldn’t have to worry about Tōjōin-san tailing you… but if she finds out you’re leaving from my house, the chances of being followed go way up.”

“Would she really go as far as following me? At that point, that’s just stalking.”

“Think back to what just happened. Dude, do you seriously think Tōjōin-san just happened to be waiting in a limousine outside your house right when you were heading out?”

“…Yeah. She’s already crossed into stalker territory.”

That’s the kind of thing that only gets a pass because she’s a manga heroine—or rather, because she’s the heiress of the Tōjōin Group.

Besides, even if Yūichi finds it troublesome, it’s not like he truly hates it deep down.

Of course, there’s no way he’d ever consider getting the police involved.

“So yeah—it’s basically a given that you’ll be followed when you head to the date spot.”

“Seriously… that’s bad, man. If she interferes, I won’t be able to confess to Fujise.”

That’s right—he’s planning to confess to Fujise on tomorrow’s date.

And Fujise herself is planning to confess on that date as well.

They’re already completely in love with each other. Seriously—why don’t they just explode already?

I want to become mutual with Sei-chan too, and soon… though who knows if that’ll happen.

“For now, I’ll message Sei-cha… Shimadа.”

“Hm? Why?”

“To tell her there’s a chance you’ll screw up again and Tōjōin-san might follow you all the way to the date.”

“I’m sorry…”

Honestly, almost all of this started because of his carelessness.

The limousine outside his house couldn’t be helped, but getting found out by Tōjōin-san on the way to school was completely his fault.

…Though, whether she found out or not, we were probably destined to be interrupted anyway.

For now, the goal is to smash that destiny to pieces.

“Alright—sent.”

I told Sei-chan that Yūichi had messed up and been found out by Tōjōin-san.

It was marked as read almost immediately, and a reply came a few dozen seconds later.

‘What the hell are you doing, you idiot!’

“That’s what she says.”

“I’m sorry…”

Yūichi sat in seiza and bowed his head.

Bowing to me doesn’t convey that sincerity to Sei-chan at all, though.

Still, I’ll at least let her know that he’s apologizing.

“For now, your dogeza doesn’t matter.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter? That’s my last shred of pride, man!”

“That kind of pride matters even less. More importantly, tomorrow’s date.”

“That’s right—my last shred of pride doesn’t matter, so we need to think about tomorrow’s date.”

What are we really going to do?

To be honest… I was starting to think maybe it’d be fine if they did get interrupted.

After all, it got interrupted in the original story, too, and coming up with any more plans feels impossible.

If the date goes uninterrupted and one of them confesses, the two of them will just end up dating.

And if that happens, the entire plot of ‘Ojōjama’ will be completely derailed.

I feel bad for Yūichi and Fujise, but personally, I want Tōjōin-san to be happy, too.

If those two start dating as things are, Tōjōin-san might never be saved.

There’s supposed to be a story later on where she is saved.

As long as Yūichi ends up happy, I don’t care whether he dates Fujise or Tōjōin-san.

Either one is fine, as long as he’s happy.

I know Fujise is an adorable, wonderful girl, and I also know Tōjōin-san is a lovely girl who truly cares about Yūichi.

That’s why I don’t want to take sides too strongly with either Fujise or Tōjōin-san.

I want Yūichi to truly get to know both of them, then choose based on his own feelings.

But as things stand now, Tōjōin-san just looks like the villain who keeps getting in the way.

That’s not it—she has her own reasons, her own thoughts, for interfering.

Yūichi doesn’t know that yet; he just sees her as a childhood friend who’s trying to stop him from getting a girlfriend.

At this rate, Yūichi will start dating Fujise without ever really seeing or understanding Tōjōin-san.

As a reader—as a fan—I want to prevent that somehow.

If Yūichi doesn’t truly look at Tōjōin-san, the story can’t even begin.

But… seeing up close how seriously Yūichi cares about Fujise and wants to confess to her also makes me want to support him.

That feeling doesn’t come from being a reader or a fan—it’s the honest emotion of his best friend.

“For now, I’ll try to think of a way you won’t be interfered with—as much as possible, at least.”

“Yeah, that’ll do. Thanks, man.”

Ideally… yeah.

Maybe the best outcome is that we seriously try everything we can—only for Tōjōin-san to interrupt us anyway.

“Maybe we should talk it over with Shimada, too, and decide.”

“Yeah—I just thought of a good idea.”

“Oh? That’s rare—for Yūichi to come up with a good idea.”

“Heh. If you underestimate me too much… you’ll get burned, man!”

“You that hot? If your tongue’s getting burned, is your body temperature like a hundred degrees, dude?”

“Man, I’m not boiling. Just listen.”

“I’m listening.”

“So, Fujise and I are on our date, right? And you come along too.”

“Me, by myself? Why do I have to go to an amusement park alone as a guy?”

Yūichi and Fujise are going to an amusement park date tomorrow.

“So Shimada comes too, and you two—”

“Approved.”

“Isn’t that decision way too fast!?”

Crap—I approved it just because it meant Sei-chan and I would be going to the amusement park together.

“Don’t tell me… man, you—”

“…”

Even as dense as he is, my reaction must’ve given me away.

Well, whatever—it’s my best friend, after all.

“Man, you wanted to go there too!? I knew it! Of course you want to go to an amusement park!”

“Thank God you’re an idiot, dude.”

“I’m not an idiot! What’s that supposed to mean!? High schoolers are allowed to want to go to amusement parks!”

That’s not the stupid part, though.

Going to an amusement park isn’t strange at all for high schoolers.

Well, this is exactly the kind of guy he is—that’s what makes him fun.

“But why does it turn into me and Shimada tagging along on your date?”

“You two come with us, keep an eye on me and Fujise, and if Kaori shows up to interfere, you stop her! That’s the plan!”

“That sounds insanely improvised. And the burden on me and Shimada would be way too big.”

“I’m seriously sorry about that. But I can’t think of any better plan.”

“…True.”

If the date location get found out, Tōjōin-san could interfere however she wants.

No matter how much planning we do here, it feels pointless.

In that case, it might be better for Sei-chan and me to go directly to the date spot and keep watch ourselves.

Still… the burden on me and Sei-chan would be huge.

“Dude, you’re really planning to ask Shimada to do something that troublesome?”

“…I-Is that bad? Shimada’s a good person, so I thought she might help.”

“I think she would help, but that’s still way too arrogant. Like saying, ‘Guard my date all day for me.’”

“Ugh… when you put it that way… yeah…”

Yūichi might manage to ask something like that of me, his best friend—but there’s no way he could ask Sei-chan to do it.

At the same time, it’s also true that we don’t have any other plan.

“Hm? A RINE message from Shimada… seriously, that girl…”

“What did she say?”

“Just confirms again that Shimada’s a really good person.”

I handed him my phone and showed him the message from Sei-chan.

‘I thought about ways to stop her, but in the end, the only thing I can think of is going to the place where Shiho and Shigemoto will be on their date tomorrow and stopping Tōjōin if she shows up. In the worst case, I’d be tailing Shiho and Shigemoto alone… could you ask Shigemoto if that’s okay?’

“Ugh… Shimada’s too good of a person. It hurts…”

Yūichi, still holding my phone, dropped into seiza like he was repenting, lifting it up as if offering it to the heavens.

Looking at that message, I can understand why he’d feel like doing something like that.

I never would’ve expected Sei-chan herself to suggest the plan Yūichi mentioned.

She really is a wonderful girl—kind and always thinking about her friends.

“Sigh… Man, Shimada really is so kind… hm? Eh, ah…!”

“What is it? And hey, give me my phone back already.”

“…S–Sorry. I think when I was doing that whole repentance thing earlier, my finger touched the screen, and I scrolled back through your chat history with Shimada…”

“…Ah.”

If you scroll back through my chat history with Sei-chan, yesterday’s conversation would show up immediately.

And yesterday was the day I confessed…

“Man, you… liked Shimada?”

“…Got a problem with that?”

“No, it’s not bad or anything, but… eh, seriously?”

“Seriously. Now come on, give me my phone back.”

Yūichi handed the phone back to me, completely stunned.

“Wait—so you already confessed?”

“…Yeah. I kind of did it on impulse.”

“No way! Eh, W–Wait—this is so sudden, I can’t even get my thoughts straight.”

Watching Yūichi panic, I let out a long sigh.

I never imagined he’d find out like this…

Well, maybe this is as good a chance as any to tell him.

“It’s simple. I like Shimada—and I already confessed to her.”

“Seriously… huh? Then are you two dating?”

“No… we’re not.”

“Huh? Then did you get rejected?”

“No, I didn’t get rejected either. She’s still thinking about it.”

She’s still thinking… but I wonder when she’ll give me an answer.

“Wow… but if she didn’t turn you down right away, doesn’t that mean you’ve got a chance? Shimada seems like the type who’d reject you immediately if there was no hope.”

“Hmm… maybe. If I think positively, that could be true.”

“It definitely is. Man, though—I never thought you’d be into Shimada… but honestly, I think you two would be perfect together.”

“Haha, thanks.”

Knowing him, he probably means that sincerely, without any hidden agenda.

Still… in the original story, Sei-chan was the one who fell for him. Damn protagonist.

“If I get rejected, I’m gonna start hating you, dude.”

“Why!? That has nothing to do with me!”

“I’m kidding.”

Yeah, it really is a joke. If I did that, it’d just be misplaced resentment.

I might feel a little bitter, sure—but I’d never actually hate him for it.

“Still, you already confessed, huh. Hey, I’m going to confess tomorrow too—teach me.”

“Teach you what?”

“Like… what you said when you confessed!”

“Of course not. What is this, a punishment game?”

“Come on! I won’t tell anyone! I just want it as a reference for tomorrow!”

If it’s Yūichi, Fujise would probably say yes even if all he said was “Please go out with me.”

I don’t think he needs my words at all—but there’s no way I can say that.

“Sigh… It’s embarrassing, so I’ll keep it vague.”

“Oh! As expected of Tsukasa! So generous!”

“You’re in a good mood, huh…”

So I gave Yūichi a brief rundown of what happened when I confessed to Sei-chan.

It was too embarrassing to go into the details, so I just vaguely told him what I’d said.

Since Yūichi wanted it as a reference for his confession tomorrow, that was probably the part he cared about anyway.

And after hearing my short explanation, Yūichi’s first impression was…

“That’s basically a proposal.”

“Huh!?”

That was nothing like the reaction I’d expected.

“W–Why does that count as a proposal!?”

“No, what else would it be? ‘I like you, please go out with me’ might be a normal confession, but ‘I’ll absolutely make you happy’? That’s already a proposal.”

“Ugh…!”

O–Okay, if you only listen to the words, it does sound like a proposal, but…!

“I–I didn’t actually say ‘please marry me’, so that means it’s safe, right…!?”

“Hmm… barely…?”

Yeah… it really is barely.

“Eh—so you like Shimada enough that you’d want to marry her?”

“If I married Sei-chan, I’d die.”

“You like her that much!?”

Of course I do—it’s Sei-chan.

In my previous world, I spent almost all my time outside of school working part-time jobs and pouring everything into Sei-chan.

Just being in the same world as her like this, breathing the same air, already makes me absurdly happy…

If we started dating and even got married, it wouldn’t be a case of “I’d be happy enough to die”.

I’d die from being too happy—the cause of death would be “death by overwhelming preciousness.”

“I never thought you liked Shimada that much. You even call her ‘Sei-chan.’”

“Ah—oops.”

“Nah, I already knew. When I saw your RINE chat history, you had her saved as ‘Sei-chan.’”

Come to think of it, I was still in that dreamlike mood during last night’s chat, so I probably was calling her Sei-chan.

Even now, sometimes I still slip and call her that out of habit from my previous world.

“Oh—speaking of RINE, I still haven’t replied to that earlier message.”

I’d shown Yūichi Sei-chan’s message and completely forgotten to respond.

“Right. But will Shimada really come to the date spot? If she does, that’d be a huge help…”

“Yeah, let’s ask her that first.”

Okay, the message to send would be…

‘Yūichi says he’d really appreciate it if you could do that, but wouldn’t it put a huge burden on you?’

Alright—send.

It was read immediately, and a reply came a few dozen seconds later.

‘It’s for Shiho—something like that is nothing. But keep it a secret from her. I haven’t told Shiho that there’s a chance Tōjōin might come to interfere. It’s supposed to be a special date, and I don’t want to make her worry unnecessarily.’

“Such a good girl…! I love her…!”

“Man, you’re not even trying to hide how you feel about Shimada anymore.”

Yūichi was saying something, but none of it reached my ears.

Sei-chan planned to keep it hidden from Fujise to the very end and shoulder the burden herself so Yūichi and Fujise’s date would succeed.

She didn’t care even a tiny bit about being thanked by Fujise.

She simply wanted her best friend’s love to come true.

Compared to how much Sei-chan cares about Fujise, I really am hopeless.

I even blurted out, “Isn’t that too much of a burden?” when Yūichi suggested it.

Meanwhile, Sei-chan proposed it herself and was ready to carry it out without telling Fujise.

She’s incredible. Cool. I like her.

“Sigh… guess I’ll step up for you too.”

“Huh—then…!?”

“I’ll come too—to protect your date with Fujise.”

“Yeah! That’s my Tsukasa—my friend of the soul!”

“What are you, some neighborhood boss singing badly in an empty lot?”

“Hah! If I do say so myself, I’m actually pretty good at singing!”

“I know.”

I’d listened to the drama CDs from my previous world—his character was voiced by an absurdly handsome-voiced actor.

We haven’t gone to karaoke since coming here, so I kind of want to hear that cool voice sing.

“If it succeeds, karaoke’s on you.”

“Of course. That much is fine.”

“I’m gonna order the most expensive food on the menu like crazy, though.”

“Please don’t.”

While joking around like that, I sent another message to Sei-chan.

‘I can’t let you go alone, so I’ve decided I’ll come too to protect Yūichi and Fujise’s date. Let’s do our best together.’

Send.

“Fujise and I really have some great friends.”

“Seriously. You should thank me too—and Sei-cha— I mean, Shimada.”

“Of course. And you know, you can call her Sei-chan in front of me too—I already know.”

“Shimada told me I’m only allowed to call her that when we’re alone, so absolutely not.”

“…Eh. Did you just flirt-brag at me?”

“I–I’m not bragging!”

“No, that was totally bragging… which means tomorrow, you two are basically going on a date too, right?”

“Huh? …ah—y-yeah, I guess so.”

“You only just realized?”

R–Right. If the two of us are going to protect Yūichi and Fujise’s date together, that means Sei-chan and I will be alone together too…!

T–This is bad—if I think about it that way, that message was basically asking her out!

I hadn’t been conscious of it at all, but now I was suddenly getting nervous.

What if she turns me down…?

When I checked the chat screen, my message already had a read receipt.

B–But there was no reply yet… scary.

“D–dude, Because of you, I’m suddenly super nervous now…”

“Hey, you basically made a grand proposal, didn’t you? Then this should be nothing.”

“It wasn’t a proposal.”

I did confess, but that confession only happened because I thought I was in a dream and worked up the courage.

The chat history Yūichi saw earlier was sent in that same dreamlike mood.

But everything I said was genuinely how I feel.

I want to make Sei-chan—who’s doomed to be the losing heroine in this story—happy no matter what.

I’ll never let her end up with a sad ending.

…Though if I get rejected, I’ll be completely crushed.

Pom-pom. A distinctive sound rang out from my phone.

A reply! I looked at the chat screen…

‘So Hisamura’s coming too. Having you there is reassuring—thanks in advance.’

“Yesss!!”

“Whoa!? Don’t suddenly yell like that!”

Seeing that she’d agreed, I couldn’t help but shout.

Thank goodness—she didn’t turn me down…

Wait—am I really going on a date with that Sei-chan tomorrow…!?

No—we’ll definitely be together, but the goal is to watch over Yūichi and Fujise’s date and stop Tōjōin-san from interfering.

I can’t mix up the means and the objective.

“Shimada and I are going on a date together!”

“Well, yeah, but you’re protecting our date, right?”

“Of course! Alright—what should I wear tomorrow…!”

“Do you really get it…?”

Maybe because my excitement was so obvious, Yūichi looked worried.

Man… I can’t wait.

 

◇　◇　◇

 

“…Huh? Wait… does this mean it’s going to turn into a date between Hisamura and me…?”

Sei realized it a few minutes after she’d sent the RINE message to Hisamura.

The purpose was to keep an eye on Shiho and Shigemoto’s date—but if you looked only at appearances, it was basically the two of them going on an amusement park date together.

“Ugh… I—I shouldn’t have noticed…!”

She’d already sent a message agreeing that they’d go together to watch over the date.

At this point, there was no way she could say, “I’ll go alone.”

And it was also true that Sei herself had thought it would be more enjoyable if they went together.

“N-no, the goal isn’t to have fun—it’s strictly to stop Tōjōin-san from interfering…!”

She tried to convince herself of that, but once the thought had crossed her mind, it was hard to let it go.

The act itself was practically an amusement park date.

“Ugh… It’s my first time going out alone with a guy…!”

Of course, anyone would be nervous doing something for the first time.

And on top of that, her partner was Hisamura—the guy who adored her and had practically proposed to her.

That just made it even more nerve-wracking.

“W-wait—what am I supposed to wear on a date…?!”

In Sei’s mind, it had already become a full-fledged date—but that part didn’t matter anymore.

She had no idea what kind of outfit she should wear to go on a date with Hisamura.

She opened her closet and looked through her clothes… but she still had no clue what one was supposed to wear on a date.

“W-what do I do…? R-right—Shiho…!”

Sei often went shopping for clothes together with Shiho.

Shiho knew what kinds of clothes Sei owned—and what styles suited her.

Thinking that, she picked up her phone and called Shiho.

It rang once, twice… then connected.

‘Hello? Sei-chan? What’s up? This is rare.’

“Ah, sorry for calling so suddenly. Actually…”

She stopped mid-sentence.

(H-how am I supposed to explain this…?!)

She’d called Shiho on impulse, but now she was stuck wondering what she should say.

The one thing she absolutely couldn’t say was that she and Hisamura were tagging along on Shiho and Shigemoto’s date tomorrow.

If she said she was following them, it would only make Shiho worry.

That was absolutely not okay.

‘What’s wrong? Did something happen?’

“A-ah… give me a second. I’m trying to think of how to explain…”

If she couldn’t say she was going along to watch Shiho and Shigemoto’s date… then she had no choice but to say she was going on a date with Hisamura.

(I-it’s embarrassing…! B-but that’s the only thing I can say…!)

In truth, she was only going to keep an eye on Shiho’s date—but she couldn’t let that be known.

She prioritized not making Shiho worry over her own embarrassment.

“A-actually… um… Hisamura… asked me out on a d-date…”

‘Huh!? Really!? Wow—when?!’

“T-tomorrow.”

‘Tomorrow!? Then you’re going on a date with Hisamura-kun on the same day as me!’

“T-that’s how it turned out…”

‘Wow, really? That makes me kind of happy—Sei-chan going on a date too…’

“Ugh… s-so anyway, the date with Hisamura is set, but I’m stuck on what to wear…”

‘Hehe—leave it to me! I’ll come up with an outfit that’ll make Hisamura-kun fall head over heels!’

“Y-you don’t need to go that far! J-just something normal!”

‘Ehh? But you want Him to call you cute, right?’

“W-well, I do want to hear it… but he says it to me all the time anyway, so…”

‘…Huh? Are you bragging right now?’

“I-I’m not bragging!”

So, to make it easier for Shiho to choose, they switched to a video call and put it on speaker.

Sei propped her phone up on the desk, and it was decided that she would show her outfits to Shiho one by one.

‘Sei-chan, where are you going on your date with Hisamura-kun tomorrow?’

“Huh!? W-Where, you ask…? W-Why are you asking that?”

‘Because what you wear depends on where you’re going. I’m going to an amusement park tomorrow, so I'm going with something easy to move in. I’ll probably be riding all sorts of things, so I can’t wear a miniskirt.’

“I-I see…”

‘So, where are you going?’

“Um… I-I’m going somewhere similar to you, somewhere that involves moving around a bit.”

‘Oh, so a place where you can do sports?’

“S-Something like that.”

‘Like Round One?’

“Y-Yeah.”

Round One is a place where you can enjoy a variety of sports in a single facility.

‘Then I guess a miniskirt’s out for you too, Sei-chan.’

“I didn’t really plan on wearing a skirt to begin with…”

To begin with, Sei barely owned any skirts at all.

‘Ehh? Skirts suit you really well, Sei-chan.’

“It’s not my style, and I can’t compare to you, Shiho.”

‘That’s not true… the miniskirt you tried on and bought before was super cute, you know?’

“I didn’t buy that on my own! You insisted on it, Shiho…!”

‘If you showed that to Hisamura-kun, he’d fall for you instantly.’

“I’m absolutely not wearing it! And I told you, I’m going somewhere active, just like you!”

‘Hehe, that’s a shame. Then let’s see…’

After that, Sei tried on each outfit as Shiho suggested, checking how they looked one by one.

“T-This is embarrassing! My stomach’s showing and everything…!”

The first thing Shiho picked was a T-shirt so short that it exposed Sei’s navel.

‘You’ve got an amazing figure, Sei-chan, so it’s fine! Your waist is gorgeous, and even your navel is cute!’

“I-I don’t really understand finding a navel cute… but there’s no way I can wear this.”

‘Ehh, what a waste. If you wore that, you’d absolutely have Hisamura-kun melting.’

(And Sei-chan’s chest is pretty big too, so that outfit really emphasizes it and makes her look sexy. Well, I’ll keep that to myself… it’s frustrating anyway.)

“I’ve been saying this, but it’s not like I want to make him melt or anything…”

‘But you want him to think you’re cute, right? You want him to say it, don’t you?’

“Well… yeah. B-But even so, this is too much!”

‘Hmm, okay. Then…’

After hearing several of Shiho’s recommendations, Sei chose the ones she felt she could actually wear.

None of Shiho’s picks were skirts, but they were all cute styles that differed slightly from Sei’s usual taste.

When she asked why, Shiho gave an embarrassingly direct answer, “Because I have to show Hisamura-kun how cute you are!”

For now, they have finished choosing what Sei would wear on her date tomorrow.

‘So you’re going on a date too, Sei-chan… then have you already given him an answer?’

“Ugh… I haven’t yet, and I haven’t even decided what my answer will be.”

‘Eh, you decided to go on a date without answering him yet?’

“I-It just sort of happened…”

‘I don’t really know how that happened… but I guess you don’t have to be a couple to go on a date, and I’m doing the same tomorrow, so I can’t really say anything. Still, Sei-chan, Hisamura-kun confessed to you… or rather, proposed to you, right?’

“I-It wasn’t a proposal!”

Somewhere else, someone else had said the exact same thing, but Sei and Shiho had no way of knowing that.

‘If you go on a date before answering him, Hisamura-kun’s going to get his hopes up…’

“Ugh… d-do you think I really need to give him an answer now?”

‘Yeah, I do. I don’t think you should keep him waiting too long.’

“Y-You’re right… okay. I’ll give him my answer tomorrow.”

‘Yeah! Whether you decide to go out with him or not, I think you should really think it through on tomorrow’s date!’

“Y-Yeah.”

Sei had exchanged messages with Hisamura even before his confession, but there was still far more she didn’t know about him.

After being confessed to, they talked about all sorts of things together, and she came to know Hisamura much better.

That he cared deeply about his best friend, that he had a younger sister, that they shared a love of shounen manga, that he drank his coffee with one milk and one pump of gum syrup…

She learned many other things as well, and tomorrow’s date—strictly speaking, it wasn’t really a date, but in form, it was.

She would get to know Hisamura even better on tomorrow’s date… and then give him her answer.

‘Hey, Sei-chan.’

“Hm? What is it?”

‘Honestly, the chances of you two dating are pretty high, right?’

“Wha!?”

Since they were still on the video call, Sei could clearly see Shiho’s teasing smile as she said it.

Of course, Shiho could just as clearly see Sei’s face turning bright red at those words.

“I-It’s still too early to tell! On tomorrow’s d-date, all his bad points might come out!”

‘Ahaha, so if nothing changes, that means you’ll go out with him?’

“—! I-I’m hanging up now! Thanks for helping me pick out clothes!”

‘Hehe, yeah. Sei-chan, let’s both do our best tomorrow.’

“…Ah, Yeah.”

‘Yeah, good night then.’

“Good night.”

And so, the two girls in love ended the call, each wishing for the other’s success.

…Later, just as Sei was about to go to bed, she realized something.

“Ah—wait. Shiho picked these clothes for me, but if I wear them, I might get found out.”

Her real objective wasn’t going on a date with Hisamura, but keeping an eye on Shiho and Shigemoto’s date.

That meant they would be going to the same place—the amusement park—so she would need to watch from afar without being noticed.

She didn’t plan on getting that close, but if she wore the outfit Shiho chose… even from a distance, the chances of being noticed would skyrocket.

“W-What should I do…!?”

Failing to carry out her original goal of watching over the date would completely defeat the purpose.

That meant she couldn’t wear any of the full outfits Shiho had just put together for her.

Of course, there was no way she could ask Shiho again.

In other words, she had to start over from scratch on her own—without any of Shiho’s advice—and come up with an outfit different from the ones Shiho chose.

“Ugh… th-this just got even harder…!”

Tomorrow, Shiho and Shigemoto were meeting up before noon.

To match that, Sei and Hisamura needed to arrive a little earlier, prepared for interference from Tōjōin at any moment.

Because they had to get there earlier than Shiho and Shigemoto, she didn’t want to stay up too late.

But with her outfit completely undecided, she couldn’t fall asleep.

“I-I need to decide quickly…!”

Growing increasingly flustered, Sei thought hard about what she would wear tomorrow.

But it was difficult, and she kept ending up with outfits similar to what she usually wore when hanging out with Shiho.

There was nothing wrong with that, of course—but she couldn’t help thinking that wearing her usual clothes on such a special date felt a little lacking.

Still, those were the only outfits she could come up with, so she had no choice.

Knowing she had to be up early tomorrow, she crawled into bed… but…

(I-Is that outfit really okay…? Maybe I should think about it more… but I can’t come up with anything better on my own… then maybe I should just go with what Shiho suggested… no, that won’t work, the chances of being noticed will go up… but still…)

She kept thinking about it nonstop, and even an hour after getting into bed, she still couldn’t fall asleep.

TN - Sorry for late update.

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