Rabu kome manga no sekai ni haitte shimattanode - V3 Prologue

Prologue

“I want to get a part-time job.”

I murmured this thought aloud while watching TV on the living room sofa at home.

“A part-time job?”

My little sister, Rie, who was watching TV with me on the sofa, asked back, looking puzzled.

“Yeah, a part-time job.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Well, I'm not in any clubs, so I'm free after school, and I was thinking I'd like to work and earn some money.”

Originally, before I came to this world, I had a part-time job.

It's been about two months since I entered this world—the world of the rom-com manga “My Childhood Friend Ojōsama Gets in the Way, So I Can’t Have a Normal Rom-Com”—and our school uniforms have now switched over to the summer ones.

I will never be able to forget the things that have happened in these past two months.

I met Shimada Sei, my absolute Oshi from the manga, confessed to her the moment we met... and after a whole lot of things happened, we started dating.

It's something I truly never could have imagined back when I was in my old world.

I'm so happy that I'm a little scared this world is just a dream I'll one day wake up from.

Well, putting that aside, I had a part-time job before coming to this world.

The reason I worked was because I wanted to earn money to buy merch and things for my Oshi, Sei-chan, from ‘Ojōjama’.

But now, having entered this world and started dating Sei-chan, I can contribute to my Oshi directly.

Could there be any happier way to spend money?

But without a part-time job, I have no money at all.

Summer is coming, and there will be all sorts of events, so I want to save up some money by then.

“Money's going to be essential to keep dating Sei-chan, right?”

“Ah, so it's for Sei-san.”

My little sister Rie has met Sei-chan, and she already knows that Sei-chan and I are in a relationship.

...It feels kind of embarrassing to say “in a relationship” myself.

“I think that's a good idea. What kind of job are you going to get?”

“Well, probably just a regular café worker or something.”

That's the kind of job I had in my old world, too.

“I'll probably look for a café around here that's hiring.”

“I think that's a good idea.”

“I think I could learn to do some light cooking at a café, and then I could make something for you, Rie.”

“Mm, I'll look forward to it.”

Rie smiled, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.

Man, my little sister is cute.

I couldn't help but reach out and pat Rie's head.

“D-Don't pat my head.”

“I'll definitely make you a delicious meal, so you just wait.”

Chatting like that, we spent a relaxing time at home.

 

The next day, during lunch break at school.

The usual five of us gathered, pushing our desks together to eat lunch in the classroom.

“Yūichi, I made you a bento today, too. My recommendation for today is the hamburger steak. They're bite-sized, but of course, they're handmade.”

“Whoa, seriously? That's amazing.”

“Here, say 'ahhh.'“

“Hey, I say this every time, but that's embarrassing...”

“I worked hard making this for you since this morning, you know? I'd like at least this much of a reward.”

“Ugh, fine. Ahhh... Mmm, delicious.”

“Fufu, I'm glad.”

The guy sitting in front of me, flustered by the assertive girl next to him, is the protagonist of this ‘Ojōjama’ manga world, Shigemoto Yūichi.

And the one being assertive and making him say “ahhh” is the heroine Ojōsama, Tōjōin Kaori.

As always, Tōjōin-san is incredibly forward.

“Shigemoto-kun, I made a little something, too, so will you eat it? It's a dashimaki tamago.”

“Oh, you sure?”

“Yeah... Um, s-say 'ahhh.'“

“F-Fujise, you don't have to do it if you're embarrassed, you know?”

“I-I'll do it! So I don't lose to Tōjōin-san! Here, say 'ahhh'!”

“Ah, ahhh... Mmm, this is delicious, too.”

Next to Yūichi sat the other heroine, Fujise Shiho.

She and Tōjōin-san are rivals for Yūichi's affection, and she was fighting back with her own “ahhh” so as not to be outdone.

“R-Really!? I'm so glad...”

“So you can cook too, Fujise.”

“E-Ehehe, I've been practicing a little bit lately.”

Fujise smiled, looking overjoyed at being told it was delicious.

She was originally the type of heroine who was catastrophically bad at cooking.

But after borrowing Tōjōin-san's house to practice, she's improved enough to cook as well as an average person.

“Shiho, you've grown so much...”

“Sei-cha... Shimada, you sound like a parent watching over their child.”

And the girl next to me, watching over her best friend Fujise, is none other than my girlfriend, Shimada Sei.

Sei-chan was the one who worked the hardest to help Fujise overcome her poor cooking skills, so she must have been happy to see Fujise treating Yūichi to her food.

Whoops, that was close. I'm only allowed to call her “Sei-chan” when we're alone.

“I heard from Shiho earlier, but it seems she made her bento all by herself today.”

“Wow, that's amazing. It was only a little while ago that she was creating dark matter.”

“It's proof that she's working hard. Yep.”

“You really do sound like her parent... By the way, Shimada, you make your own bento, right?”

“Yeah, I do. I make it almost every day.”

Looking at Sei-chan's bento, I could see an array of very delicious-looking side dishes.

Sei-chan is good enough at cooking to be able to teach Fujise.

“...Do you want some?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Fufu, you're honest. Well, I suppose that much is fine.”

Sei-chan and I are keeping our relationship a secret.

So when she said, “is fine,” she probably meant, “it won't reveal that we're dating.”

“I'll give you a side from my bento, too. Though, my little sister Rie made it for me.”

“I see. I've never had Rie's cooking, so I'm looking forward to it. May I have the tamagoyaki?”

“Of course.”

Sei-chan took the tamagoyaki from my bento.

“Which one do you want, Hisamura?”

“I think I'll have the tamagoyaki, too.”

“I see. Then go ahead and take it.”

The moment I went to take it, I hesitated for a second.

Ugh... I want her to feed it to me with an “ahhh,” like with Yūichi.

I'd be over the moon if Sei-chan did it, but it's absolutely impossible here.

If I did something like that, it would be obvious that Sei-chan and I are dating.

If that happened... the jealous glares from all the guys in the class that are currently piercing Yūichi would extend to me.

No, frankly, I'd gladly accept that, but Sei-chan apparently wants to keep our relationship a secret, so I can't let it get out.

“Hm? What's wrong?”

Since I had suddenly frozen, Sei-chan asked me with a puzzled look.

“No, it's nothing. I'll have this, then.”

I moved my stalled hand and picked up the tamagoyaki that Sei-chan had made.

Sei-chan and I ate each other's tamagoyaki at almost the same time.

“Mmm, delicious! As expected of you, Shimada.”

“Your tamagoyaki is delicious, too.”

“I'll tell Rie that Shimada said it was delicious.”

“Yeah, please do.”

After that, we continued eating our meals.

“By the way, Hisamura, why did you freeze up earlier?”

“Hm? You mean when I was about to take the tamagoyaki?”

“Yeah. It looked like you were having some kind of internal conflict.”

As expected of Sei-chan, to have noticed that much in that brief moment.

Yūichi and the others are no longer around us, and no one is paying us any attention.

I moved a little closer to Sei-chan and spoke in a voice only she could hear.

“Actually, I was thinking I wanted you to feed me with an 'ahhh,' like Yūichi.”

“Wh-...!?”

At my words, Sei-chan's cheeks instantly flushed red.

She glanced around before speaking in a small voice, just like I had.

“I-I wouldn't do something like that here...!”

“Yeah, that's why I gave up and just took the tamagoyaki normally.”

“I-I see... Well, yeah, that's right.”

Sei-chan looked around again, and after confirming that no one was watching, she spoke in an even smaller voice.

“I-I'll do it for you when we're alone... Tsukasa.”

The moment she said that, my heart gave a powerful throb.

Ugh, I-I thought I was going to die from the cuteness...! That was close...!

Such an incredibly cute and happy thing to say, combined with her calling me by my name, which I'm still not used to—it feels like she's trying to finish me off.

“...It's a promise, Sei-chan.”

“Y-Yeah, of course.”

Sei-chan turned her face away, bright red.

Hah, my girlfriend Sei-chan is just too cute today, too...!

 

And so, a few days later.

Sei-chan and I were at a café on an after-school date.

We couldn't leave school together, so we pretended to go our separate ways at school, then met up partway and came to the café.

It might be a bit of a hassle, but it feels like a secret date, which is surprisingly fun.

We came to “Moonba,” a café that Sei-chan likes, and she bought a drink with a name as long as a magic spell. We sat down together to drink.

Sei-chan, who has a surprising sweet tooth, narrows her eyes slightly in bliss when she drinks it, which is somehow adorable.

“Sei-chan, is that good?”

“Mmm, it's delicious. When I come to Moonba, I always order this. I sometimes try the new seasonal drinks, but nothing beats this one.”

“I see, it's that good, huh?”

“Do you want to try some, Tsukasa?”

“Huh? Is that okay?”

Sei-chan still isn't used to calling me by my first name, and her face flushes a little when she says it.

It's so cute that a small part of me hopes she never gets used to it.

“Of course, a little bit is fine.”

“I see. Then I'll have some... Ah.”

“Hm?”

She offered it to me, and as I accepted it and went to take a sip, I stopped when I saw the straw.

Wait, does this mean I have to... do an indirect kiss?

I mean, we had something like an indirect kiss at the amusement park before, but that was with food.

This is a straw, though, so I feel like it's a step up on the indirect kiss ladder. Not that I know if indirect kisses have levels.

“Tsukasa, what's wrong... Ah.”

It seemed Sei-chan also noticed me hesitating at the sight of the straw, and her cheeks turned red.

Ah, right. I’ve got a coffee too, so I can just stick a straw in it and drink.

“I-It's fine.”

“Huh?”

“I-It's fine to have an indirect kiss. W-We're a couple, after all...”

Sei-chan said, her face bright red as she averted her gaze.

Ugh, my chest is full of cuteness and happiness and embarrassment...!

“I-I see. Well then, I'll have some.”

“H-Help yourself.”

Now that she's said it like that, doesn't it just make me more conscious of the straw?

No, I'll try not to think about it.

Though nervous, I put my mouth to the straw and took a sip.

“...H-How is it?”

“...Y-Yeah, it's delicious.”

I couldn't really taste it properly, but I could tell it was sweet and delicious.

The reason I couldn't taste it should be obvious without me having to say it.

“W-Well, that's good.”

“Yeah.”

“...”

“...”

Perhaps because we were both embarrassed, Sei-chan and I fell silent for a little while.

“O-Oh, right. I made cookies for you today, Tsukasa.”

“Ah, yeah, that's what we were talking about.”

Sei-chan started a new topic, so I went along with it.

Yesterday, Sei-chan had asked me on RINE, ‘I'm making cookies tomorrow, want to eat some?’

I, of course, replied, “I totally want some!”

But then I followed up with, “But this is sudden. I'm happy, but what's up?”

The next message I got was—

‘Well... we had a promise, didn't we? About the 'ahhh'?’

I just about died from the sheer cuteness of that.

Sei-chan had made cookies just so she could feed me with an “ahhh.”

...Wait, huh?

So, the fact that Sei-chan has taken out the cookies means...

“Ah...”

Sei-chan must have also remembered our RINE conversation from yesterday, because she froze after taking out the cookies.

Then, Sei-chan and I looked at each other again and turned bright red.

“S-So, Tsukasa... as I said on RINE yesterday, these are the cookies.”

“Y-Yeah, they look amazing. They look delicious.”

“Thank you... So, um, as I said yesterday...”

“Yeah...”

Sei-chan took a cookie out of the bag and held it in her hand.

“S-Say 'ahhh'...”

Her ears bright red and her eyes slightly teary, Sei-chan offered me the cookie with a trembling hand.

S-So cute...!

I want to take a picture of this sight and make it my phone wallpaper...!

But it would be cruel to leave Sei-chan hanging any longer.

I'm embarrassed too, but I'll steel myself...

“Ah, ahhh...”

The cookie Sei-chan made went from her hand directly into my mouth.

Could anything this blissful possibly exist?

“H-How is it?”

“Yeah... Sorry, I was too embarrassed to really taste it, but I'm incredibly happy.”

“Hmph! I-I went to the trouble of making them, so please taste them properly when you eat.”

“Ugh, so cute...!”

“Wh-!? D-Don't say things like that so suddenly!”

It just slipped out, but her cuteness has broken all limits.

But she's right. It's my fault I couldn't taste it properly just now.

It's because Sei-chan is too cute, but since Sei-chan is cute, she's not at fault.

Which means only I am at fault.

“Sorry, I'll taste it properly next time. So, can we do it one more time?”

“O-One more time!?”

“Yeah. Personally, I'd like to eat all of those cookies via 'ahhh.'“

“All of them!? How many do you think I baked!?”

They're in a clear bag, so just by looking, I can see there are probably about twenty in there.

“For now, just one more. I'll taste it properly this time.”

“Hmph, you promise?”

“Of course.”

“Then... say 'ahhh.'“

“Ahhh... Yeah, it's super delicious.”

I was still embarrassed this time, but I was able to suppress it more than the first time and could actually taste it.

The cookie has a chocolate flavor and is very delicious. The shape is very pretty, too.

“I-I see. I'm glad.”

“Yeah, thank you so much, Sei-chan.”

“Yeah. Well, it was a promise.”

The fact that she properly fulfilled our promise to do the “ahhh” thing when we were alone shows off her serious and dutiful personality, which is so cute and something I love about her.

“I made quite a lot, so eat them with Rie when you get home.”

“Thanks, Rie will be happy, too.”

I took the bag of cookies from Sei-chan and was about to put it in my bag when I said “Ah,” as a thought occurred to me.

“You fed me with an 'ahhh,' but I haven't fed you.”

“M-Me? I don't really need you to...”

“No, I want to do it for you, Sei-chan.”

“Hmph, y-you want to do it that much?”

“I really want to.”

When I looked straight into Sei-chan's eyes and said that, she shyly averted her gaze for a moment.

“F-Fine... Will you, um, do it for me?”

“Yeah. Here, okay, Sei-chan, say 'ahhh.'“

“Ah, ahhh...”

Sei-chan closed her eyes, modestly opened her mouth, and pushed her face slightly forward toward me.

Ugh, what is this? She’s too cute…!

“…Tsukasa, why are you frozen? Don’t I look like an idiot, just sitting here with my mouth open?”

“Ah, sorry. Your ‘ahhn’ face was so cute, I was captivated.”

“Y-You really are…!”

Sei-chan sighed in exasperation, but her cheeks were red, perhaps from a bit of embarrassment.

“Sorry, I’ll get it right this time.”

“I’m counting on you… A-Ahhn.”

Steeling myself against her overwhelmingly cute face, I placed the cookie in Sei-chan’s mouth.

“Mmph… Yeah, it tastes the same as when I sampled it.”

“I’d imagine so.”

It’s not like being fed a cookie changes its flavor.

“But having you do it for me made me incredibly happy.”

“I-Is that so? Well, I suppose I was happier… than I would have been eating it myself, maybe.”

“F-For you to say something so cute, Sei-chan…!”

“Y-You’re making fun of me, aren’t you!?”

Of course, I wasn’t making fun of her, but…

“I’m pretty sure anyone else watching would think we’re a ridiculously lovey-dovey couple.”

“Ugh, the fact that I can’t deny it is what hurts…!”

Sei-chan glanced around, confirming once more that there was no one she knew nearby.

There was no one we knew, but an elderly couple was watching us with warm smiles, while a man who looked like a single office worker was glaring at us with hatred.

That guy is amazing; I feel like I can actually see a black aura emanating from him.

“I use this café all the time, so I’d rather not stand out too much…!”

“It’s fine. From now on, whenever you come here, I’ll be with you.”

“What part of that is fine?”

“Since we’ll be together, we’ll only get half the stares.”

Besides, most of the glares from men are looks of hatred directed at me, so I think the number of stares Sei-chan gets will be less than half.

“No, that’s not fine at all.”

Sei-chan said, laughing in exasperation.

 

“You’re starting a part-time job?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

I told Sei-chan the same thing I had told Rie before.

“I’ve been wanting to for a while now. I found a pretty good place, so I contacted them. I think I’m going for an interview tomorrow, on Saturday.”

“What kind of job is it?”

“A café. Not a chain like this one, I think it’s an independent place.”

“I see. I think that’s a good idea, but this is sudden. Why are you starting one?”

“For you, of course, Sei-chan.”

“For me? It’s not like I’m going to do something thuggish like extort money from you, Tsukasa.”

“Ahaha, I know you’d never do that, Sei-chan.”

Though if she did, I’d refuse… or would I?

If Sei-chan of all people asked me, “Tsukasa, can you give me some money?” I might just give it to her.

Of course, I know she’d never ask, but as someone who’s poured money into supporting my Oshi, I might not be able to refuse.

“I think we’ll be going on all sorts of dates like this from now on.”

“W-Well, I suppose so.”

Sei-chan, blushing slightly at the word “date,” is so cute.

“Right now, we’re just going to cafés, but you want to go to amusement parks and other places again, right?”

“Hmm, you think we’ll get tired of just going to cafés every time?”

“That’s why I thought I’d get a job now, save up some money, and go on all sorts of dates with you, Sei-chan.”

“I-I see. So that’s why you said it was for me.”

There’s also the fact that my allowance is small, so if I don’t get a job, I won’t even be able to afford coffee at a café.

“You don’t have to use it all on d-dates with me. You should use it for your own hobbies, too, Tsukasa.”

“Hmm, I’d like to, but I don’t really have that many hobbies.”

In my previous world, I worked part-time for the sake of Sei-chan’s merchandise, so most of my money disappeared there.

That’s why in this world, I have no regrets about pouring all my money into Sei-chan. In fact, it’s nothing but happiness.

“You don’t have any hobbies? Didn’t you say before that you liked manga and stuff?”

“Oh, right. I guess I’ll use a little for manga and anime.”

I’ve barely read any of the manga from this world, so that might actually be pretty fun.

“Speaking of which, I read the manga we went to buy the other day, Sei-chan.”

“Ah, that one? That shoujo manga?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

When Sei-chan and I were talking about manga before, we went to a bookstore together and bought it.

Thanks to her older brother’s influence, Sei-chan apparently reads a lot of shonen manga, but she hasn’t read much shoujo manga.

But she was still curious, and I remember a scene depicted in the ‘Ojōjama’ manga from my past life where she would go to a bookstore alone and hesitate over buying shoujo manga.

Sei-chan hesitated to buy shoujo manga, thinking it wasn’t in her character.

So when we went to buy it together, I bought the shoujo manga and promised to lend it to her.

“Was it good?”

“Yeah, it was great.”

“I-Is that so! I recommended it, but I hadn’t read it myself. I just recommended something that looked interesting to me, so I was worried it might not suit your tastes, Tsukasa.”

“Is that right? Even if it didn’t suit my tastes, I’d be happy just to learn about yours.”

“But you bought it with your money, Tsukasa, so you have to be the one to enjoy it first.”

“Fufu, you’re so kind.”

“N-Not at all. That’s just common courtesy.”

Sei-chan said, looking embarrassed.

“I finished the shonen manga you lent me, too, so I’ll bring it next time.”

“Ah, okay. And, um, the shoujo manga, too…”

“Of course I’ll lend it to you. It’s a promise.”

“I-Is that so! Thanks, I’m looking forward to it.”

Sei-chan’s face lit up with joy.

She has such beautiful, cool features, but it’s unfair how cute she looks when she smiles like that.

“That ‘Tengobu’ you lent me was amazing. I never thought a character reincarnated as a weak-looking species like a goblin would get that strong.”

“Fufu, that’s right. At first, I wasn’t too keen on reading it because he looked like a goblin, but it was so satisfying to see him get stronger and stronger despite his appearance and take down the other monsters who looked down on him.”

We briefly discussed our thoughts on the manga Sei-chan had lent me.

Since both Sei-chan and I like manga, time flew by as we talked about all sorts of things.

“──And then… whoa, it’s already this late.”

“You’re right, it’s getting a little dark outside. I didn’t even notice.”

“Should we head home? Sorry for keeping you out so late.”

“No, same here. It’s just that… I’ve never had anyone to talk about manga with before, so I got completely absorbed.”

It’s true. Fujise, Sei-chan’s best friend, doesn’t read manga, so she probably didn’t have anyone to talk about it with.

But I like and read manga, and I was able to genuinely enjoy the shoujo manga that Sei-chan was curious about.

“I’ll talk about manga with you anytime. It’s fun talking about it with you, Sei-chan.”

“Th-Thank you. Then I’ll lend you some other manga, and we can talk again.”

“Yeah, of course.”

Sei-chan and I smiled at each other and left the café.

Today, I got to be fed a homemade cookie by Sei-chan. It was a very happy date.

 

◇　◇　◇

 

After her café date with Tsukasa, Sei finished her homework at home before taking a bath.

Normally, she would have gone straight to the bath, but that day, she stood in front of the bookshelf in her room, a hand on her chin in thought.

“Hmm… which manga should I lend Tsukasa next?”

Muttering to herself, she looked over the numerous manga that were packed so tightly she would soon need to buy a second bookshelf.

“Should I go with a classic shonen manga? He said ‘Tengobu’ was good, so maybe he likes classic battle series. But he did say he reads all kinds of manga, and if he found shoujo manga interesting, then maybe a rom-com would be good, too.”

Slightly different from shoujo manga, Sei could read and buy rom-coms with male protagonists without feeling self-conscious, so her bookshelf was lined with all sorts of them.

After thinking for about ten minutes, she said, “I guess I’ll take a bath first,” and left her room.

But even as she soaked in the tub, all she could think about was which manga to lend Tsukasa.

“What should I do… Oh, I see. I don’t have to pick just one, do I? I can just lend him two—a classic battle manga and a rom-com. Yes, let’s do that.”

Muttering to herself, Sei closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh.

(I had fun talking about manga with Tsukasa today. It was the first time I’ve ever talked about manga with someone, so I got carried away. I hope I didn’t weird him out…)

She recalled not just the manga talk, but everything that had happened before it.

(I was, well, happy that he liked the homemade cookies. And I even did the ‘ahhn’ I promised… When I was feeding him, it felt like I was giving a pet a treat, but having it done to me was embarrassing…)

Thinking that far, Sei had a sudden realization.

(W-Wait, have I been thinking about Tsukasa almost constantly since I got home…?)

Since it had gotten late, Tsukasa had walked her home.

Right after he left, she had thought, (That was nice of him. He’s such a kind boyfr… yes, a kind boyfriend, that’s fine).

She hadn’t thought about him much while eating dinner and finishing her homework, but from the moment she finished her homework to getting in the bath and up to now, she had been thinking about Tsukasa the entire time.

(D-Doesn’t this make me sound like a girlfriend who’s way too in love with him…!)

Sei’s face turned bright red as she shook her head, as if making excuses to herself.

(N-No, I was thinking about other things besides Tsukasa, it’s not like I was thinking about him the whole time, nope. I was just thinking about what kind of manga to give him the next time we meet, that’s all.)

Making such excuses in her head, Sei got out of the bath.

She did her usual skincare routine, dried her hair with a hairdryer, and returned to her room.

Her phone was lit up; it seemed someone had sent her a message on RINE.

When she looked, she saw it was from Tsukasa.

‘Sei-chan, thanks for the cookies. Rie said they were delicious, too.’

Seeing the message, her lips curled into a smile without her realizing.

‘I see, I’m glad to hear that. I got to try Rie’s tamagoyaki before, so I hope this serves as a thank you.’

When she and Tsukasa had exchanged side dishes from their bentos before, Rie’s cooking had been delicious.

Wanting to thank Rie as well, she had made cookies not just for Tsukasa, but for Rie, too.

Just then, a reply came back immediately.

‘I bragged to her, ‘I got Sei-chan to feed me with an ‘ahhn’!’ and she said, ‘Are you an idiot?’’

“Wh-What is he saying…!”

That wasn’t something he should tell other people—well, to Tsukasa she was family, but still.

‘What are you bragging about? Don’t say things like that to other people.’

As soon as Sei sent that, it was marked as read and a reply came back.

‘Ah, sorry. I just wanted to brag. I didn’t mean to make you mad.’

That was the reply, but it wasn’t like Sei was actually angry.

Looking back at her own message, though, it did sound curt and angry.

‘I’m not mad.’

After letting him know she wasn’t angry, she wrote another message.

‘It’s just, it’s embarrassing, that’s all.’

After sending it, she calmed down a little, which only made her feel even more embarrassed.

The fact that the message was marked as read, yet no reply came even after several minutes, was another reason her heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

(Wh-Why isn’t he replying? Was he put off by me saying something like that is embarrassing? But it really is embarrassing…)

Just as she was thinking that, a reply came from Tsukasa.

‘I was relieved you weren’t mad, but you were so cute I was writhing around by myself.’

That message made Sei’s cheeks turn even redder.

‘You don’t have to report every little thing to me.’

She sent that back, but since she had been wondering why he hadn’t replied sooner, maybe it was fine for him to report it this time.

‘Sorry. Anyway, about the bragging, I’ll try not to do it to Rie so much from now on.’

‘Yes, please do.’

‘But sometimes, even when I’m not trying to brag or anything, she’ll say things like, ‘Can you stop bragging?’’

‘…What kind of things are you talking about?’

‘For example, the other day when we were walking to school together, a big dog was on a walk with its owner, and when it barked as we passed, you jumped and it was cute, or something like that.’

‘First of all, stop telling that story. It’s embarrassing.’

That had certainly happened, but for Sei, it was just an embarrassing incident.

‘Also, how when you were eating your bento, you opened your mouth wide to eat a piece of karaage that was a little too big to eat in one bite, and you looked cute chewing on it like a squirrel.’

‘That’s embarrassing too. And you were watching me!?’

Just the other day, during lunch break at school, she had tried to eat a piece of frozen karaage in one bite and had struggled a bit.

Of course, she had covered her mouth with her hand so as not to be crude, but to think Tsukasa, who was right next to her, had seen it.

‘I was holding my daily ‘Sei-chan is cute’ presentation, but every time she just says, ‘Yeah, yeah, bragging, bragging.’’

‘…I can see how that would sound like bragging to other people. And it’s embarrassing for me, too, so please be more discreet.’

The reason she didn’t say “stop it” was because there was a part of her that was a little happy about it.

‘Got it. I’ll try to hold back to once a day.’

‘You were doing it multiple times a day…?’

“Honestly, Tsukasa…”

(Just how much does he like me…? Ugh, I’m getting embarrassed just thinking about it myself…!)

To forget her embarrassment, she tore her eyes from her phone and looked at her desk.

There lay the “Tengobu” manga she had lent Tsukasa before and gotten back.

“That’s right, I’ll ask Tsukasa what kind of manga he wants now.”

Remembering her promise to lend him a manga, she sent a message about it.

‘About the next manga I’m lending you, what kind would you like? I have all sorts, like classic shonen, isekai series, rom-coms, and so on.’

‘Hmm, a rom-com, then.’

‘It’s not a shoujo manga, but a rom-com from a shonen magazine. Is that okay?’

‘Of course. In fact, I think I prefer those.’

‘Okay, then I’ll bring it to school.’

‘Thanks. I’ll bring the shoujo manga, too.’

‘Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.’

As they exchanged messages, she noticed the corners of her mouth turning up unintentionally.

Part of it was her excitement for the shoujo manga, but what was truly fun was talking about manga with Tsukasa.

‘Tsukasa, I love you.’

She typed out the message, but hesitated to press send.

It would take a lot of courage to send this.

Since she’d only managed to say it out loud a few times, she figured maybe she could say it in a message instead… so she tried writing it, but…

(Th-this is way too embarrassing…)

Just looking at the message she wrote made her cheeks flush.

No, I can’t send this… I’ll delete it.

The moment she reached to erase it, her phone suddenly started vibrating.

“Whoa! Th-that startled me… Is that Shiho?”

It seemed like her best friend Shiho was calling out of the blue.

It wasn’t particularly unusual—Shiho would sometimes call like this without warning.

“Hello, Shiho? What’s up?”

‘Sei-chan, sorry for calling out of nowhere, but I had a question about the math homework—how far were we supposed to go in the workbook again?’

“Up to page twenty-four.”

‘Oh, just up to here? Ugh, this is the part I’m bad at.’

“Want me to help you with it for a bit?”

‘Really!? Thanks! Honestly, that’s kind of what I was hoping for when I called.’

“Hehe, figured.”

Sei switched her phone to speaker so she could talk without holding it to her ear, then sat down at her desk and opened her math workbook.

Just then, her phone vibrated again—another message had come in.

‘Hm? Did your phone just buzz, Sei-chan?’

It seemed Shiho could hear it through the call.

“Ah, sorry. I’ll set it so it doesn’t vibrate.”

‘I don’t mind. Maybe it’s from Hisamura-kun?’

“W-well… I think so…”

At this timing, the only person who’d message her would be Tsukasa, since they had just been texting earlier.

She opened her chat with him—

“Ah…!?”

‘Huh? What’s wrong?’

Sei let out an involuntary shout.

On the screen was the message she had written earlier but hadn’t meant to send—

‘Tsukasa, I love you.’

…had been sent.

And it had already been read. There was even a reply—

‘Thanks, Sei-chan. I love you a lot too.’

“I—I messed up…!”

Sei muttered, her face burning bright red.

When Shiho had called earlier and the phone vibrated, her finger must have accidentally hit send.

‘Sei-chan, what’s wrong? Are you okay?’

“N-no… I’m not okay, but I’m okay…”

‘Which is it? Did something happen with Hisamura-kun?’

“Ugh… well, yeah, but…!”

There was no way she could tell Shiho about this—it was far too embarrassing.

‘Come on, what happened? Tell me!’

“I’m not telling you. This is a secret between me and Tsukasa.”

‘Oh? You just called him by his first name, didn’t you?’

“Ah…”

‘Oooh, I seee So you’ve started calling him by his first name. Judging by that, you use it when you’re alone together, huh?’

“N-no, that’s not… well, not entirely wrong…”

‘You wouldn’t slip up like that unless you were flustered, right? I wonder what happened between you two just now?’

“I told you, I’m not saying! Come on, Shiho, hurry up and do your homework.”

‘Hmm, Did Hisamura-kun tell you ‘I love you’ over RINE?’

“Wha—!?”

‘Oh, that reaction means I’m right, doesn’t it?’

“Th-that’s enough! If you keep teasing me, I won’t help you with your homework!”

‘Okaaay.’

Even with her face still bright red, Sei properly helped Shiho finish her homework.

But afterward, she found herself writhing in embarrassment as she stared at her conversation with Tsukasa.

 

Meanwhile, at that same time, Tsukasa—

“She’s way too cute…! What is this message? I took a screenshot the moment I saw it…! She didn’t even say it out loud—it’s just text—so why is it this adorable? Sei-chan’s cuteness has broken into another dimension…!”

“Onii-chan, stop squirming around in the living room and go to your room.”

His younger sister, Rie, shot him a cold stare. 

<V3 Illustrations | Index | V3 Chapter 1>