A Late Bloomer's Powerful Restart ~My Second Life Starts at a Prestigious School Where the Gender Ratio Is Totally Off, and for Some Reason, All These Talented Girls Get Attached to Me...!?~

Chapter 45: Wanting to Be Dyed in Your Taste

After lunch, Shika and I ended up splitting up and doing our own thing.

Right when we were saying bye, she goes, “Today’s my loss, huh,” or something kinda weird like that.

Maybe she was treating whatever was going on like a game and decided there was a winner and loser or something.

Sasa had no clue what was up, so she just looked super confused, but since Shika was keeping it secret, I couldn’t really explain anything.

Anyway, with our stomachs full, me and Sasa headed toward the clothing store that was our original plan… or at least that was the idea.

“Hey… um, since I’m the one who dragged you here, it’s kinda hard to say this but… clothes are expensive, huh?”

“Really? I think this place is pretty average, actually.”

The store we walked into was a direct flagship shop for the fashion brand ‘Cleart’.

When picking clothes for a proper ojou-sama like Sasa, I couldn’t just go somewhere random… so that’s why I chose this place that’s famous for being high-end.

I didn’t really remember how their existing checkout system worked, so I figured I’d check it out while we were here, but I never expected the prices themselves to hit me this hard.

“Pfft, Taiki, you were basically a commoner until pretty recently, right~? We can go to a different shop if you want, y’know?”

“No way. A guy doesn’t go back on his word. Let me pick out some high-quality Cleart stuff for you.”

Today I’m covering everything.

I just really wanted to pay for our first date and take the lead like a guy should… that kinda feeling.

I mean, I don’t even know what I’m practicing for, but experience is experience, right?

Oh, and about the money—I told everyone Grandpa gave me some pocket money.

In reality I earned it myself, but it’s not good to go around saying you’ve got a bunch of cash on you. Even in upper-class circles, that’s still true.

“…By the way, Sasa, your casual clothes are usually pretty dark tones, huh? Is that the style you like… wait, why’re you smiling like that?”

“Huh…? W-was I grinning that much? I just… felt kinda happy that you notice so much about me, that’s all.”

I didn’t say grinning, though.

“Ah, no, I wasn’t, like, staring straight at you or anything… sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing!? I said I was happy!!”

Why am I the one getting yelled at…

I never thought Sasa would actually like being looked at that much.

“So… you really do prefer darker colors?”

“No!! Look… Teimon Academy’s uniform has pretty bright colors, right? That’s why… it stands out more when there’s contrast, y’know?”

“O-oh… yeah…”

…So she really is the type who loves standing out.

“But yeah, you’re right. I don’t actually have many light-colored casual clothes, so… would you pick some for me?”

“Leave it to me.”

I’m… probably not great at fashion.

But all I gotta do is find stuff that looks good on Sasa. I can trust my gut on this.

It’s almost rainy season, so maybe something light blue-ish that feels cool and refreshing? I wandered around the tops section looking.

Among all the blouses lined up, one caught my eye.

(Off-shoulder is… way too revealing, yeah. Uh-huh… Sasa’s still growing, it’s too soon for that.)

I didn’t even think about what “too soon” actually meant. I just compared her to the grown-up version from my past life and figured the current her wasn’t ready yet.

I quickly looked away and started heading toward the long-sleeve shirts with less skin showing, but—

Sasa, who was behind me, suddenly stopped walking.

“A cropped-length blouse, right? Is this the one you want? Hmm…”

“…No, wait. I just thought it looked interesting for a second. C’mon, how about this shirt over here?”

“Taiki… that’s men’s clothing…”

Crap. I panicked and grabbed the first random thing I saw to dodge the topic.

But… doesn’t that kinda make it seem like I’m into slightly mature-looking stuff?

…Yeah, I’m not gonna deny it.

“Y-you were interested in this one, right? It’s fine… I’m saying I’m okay with it, so it’s fine…!”

Her cheeks went bright red while she said it, so she clearly knew it was a pretty bold piece.

But… you don’t have to act that embarrassed about it, do you? It’s just off-shoulder with maybe a tiny bit of midriff showing. Relatively speaking, that’s it.

“O-okay, then let’s get that one. But this long-sleeve shirt isn’t bad either, right?”

If I kept picking super revealing stuff, it’d basically be admitting this is totally my type.

At least let me balance it out with some actual thought for the rest.

I grabbed a few more pieces and held them up against her upper body in front of the mirror.

“Since we’re here… is it okay if I try them on so you can see?”

“Y-yeah… sure.”

I paired the first blouse with a longer flare skirt, and the others were already set-up outfits, so it didn’t take long to pick a few and head to the fitting room.

Sasa asked me to wait right outside the fitting room… but man, it felt awkward.

Maybe because there were so many women around? I thought ‘Cleart’ wasn’t mainly a women’s brand.

This is weird… considering my mental age, I shouldn’t be feeling this pure-hearted-guy panic.

Remember… the pride of a noble gentleman.

“I’m opening it, okay? …Taiki, why are your eyes closed?”

“Oh, uh. Just… meditating for a sec… whoa… yeah, it really suits you.”

“Hehe… actually being seen like this makes my heart race, huh.”

Wait, didn’t you say you liked being looked at…? Now I’m confused which one it is.

Still, I thought it was just revealing, but it actually looked way better than I expected.

That pure, innocent vibe… is this what people mean by classy?

I didn’t think I had much fashion sense, but maybe I had some hidden talent I didn’t know about. Or maybe it wasn’t just my taste—maybe I instinctively picked what actually looks good on her…?

“~~~!! H-how long are you gonna stare like that…!? I’m happy you’re looking, but staying completely silent is… kinda mean, y’know…?”

“Ah, yeah. Go ahead and show me the next one too…”

I shouldn’t have been busy admiring myself.

In the end all I could say was “it suits you”… that was probably rude.

I can’t just keep treating Sasa like a dress-up doll either—I should give proper opinions.

So I reset my mindset back to beginner mode and we did the rest of the try-ons.

In the end, besides the first blouse, we picked two more and put them in the cart.

I was about to head to checkout thinking that was everything, but then Sasa stopped me.

“Hey… can I pick out some clothes for you too? Like, as thanks?”

“Huh? …Well, they do have men’s stuff. But I’m not really—”

“Can I pick for you?”

“Please do.”

Maybe I’m weak when her eyes start sparkling like that.

Even in my past life I was totally indifferent to clothes, so I just wore whatever my subordinates gave me as gifts. Come to think of it, some of the stuff Sasa gave me back then was pretty pricey, huh…

Ugh… sudden wave of guilt.

A little while later, Sasa—who for some reason was super fired up—brought her picks, so I went back to the fitting room to show her.

In the end I bought two outfits too.

“Oh yeah, there’s a lingerie shop right next door… I’m actually kinda picky about underwear too… would you help pick some for me?”

“…Yeah, I’m gonna have to pass on that one.”

“O-of course I was joking! ……hmph.”

Was it just my imagination, or did her face not look like she was joking at all?

I mean, I didn’t think there were girls who’d actually want a guy they’re not even dating to pick their underwear… but apparently there are. Maybe she’s just that out-of-touch with normal life.

Even putting that aside, we already had way too many bags.

By the time we finally left the store, both my hands were completely full.

“I’ll take the lead on the way back, at least.”

She said that and started walking ahead with light steps.

The sidewalk lit up by the evening glow.

Her golden-brown hair looked like it was sparkling brightly.

There were some stressful moments, but picking clothes for someone else for the first time was actually pretty fun… and for a first date, I think it went pretty well?

Watching Sasa skip along all excited, I was probably getting carried away too. I forgot that the date isn’t over until we’re actually home… and let my guard down.

—Thump!

“Wah!”

Sasa, who wasn’t looking where she was going, bumped straight into a huge guy who’d stopped right in front of her.

“Hm? …Ow.”

“S-sorry… I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Aniki? What’s up?”

“Yeah, just got body-slammed outta nowhere. Never had that happen in the city before… first time meeting a professional bumper, huh.”

Another huge guy climbed down from the truck parked right next to the first one.

Even though it clearly wasn’t anything close to a real body slam, he was making a huge deal out of it.

And then… the two big guys slowly turned their eyes toward me—Sasa’s companion who’d been following her the whole time.