Chastity Reversed: Part-Time Life by the All-Girls High School - Chapter 27: Reverse

How many days had passed since then?  

At least a week, I thought.  

“Welcome~!”  

After school, I was back at my part-time job today, full of energy!  

Apparently, fresh vegetables at convenience stores sold surprisingly well.  

I mean, why not just buy them at a supermarket? But for people who worked late into the night, I guess it was convenient.  

“Potatoes, carrots, green onions, and…”  

In any case, restocking single vegetables was a must. I carefully carried the bagged veggies over to the Fresh Veggie Corner.  

“…Is this even okay?”  

And there it was—a carrot with a ridiculously weird shape. What was this? It was split in two like a forked road.  

“Well, whatever.”  

I looked it up, and it was apparently fine to eat. In fact, if one thought about it, it probably had more volume overall?  

Sure, it looked odd, but for cooking purposes, it might actually be a bonus.   The more I stared at it, the funnier it got. If this guy was left over by the time I clocked out, maybe I’d buy it myself.  

I couldn’t help but feel drawn to these “not-so-normal” things whenever I saw them …Wait a second. Was I sympathizing with a carrot?  

“—Sato-kun! Help needed at the register!”  

“Oh! On my way!”  

Looking over, I saw a group of elementary school kids pouring into the store—three groups of them!  

Things were going to get busy.  

****

“Thank you very much!”  

“Thanks!”  

The manager and I managed to handle all the kids buying snacks in high spirits.   They were so excited; maybe they were preparing for a spring field trip? Ah, youth was great (says me as a high schooler).  

“Thank you for waiting—let me scan your items…”  

And then I turned to serve the last customer standing behind them.  

“!?”  

“H-Hey.”  

“Azuse? Whoa, didn’t expect to see you here—and wow, you’re buying a lot!”  

It was her—Azuse—holding a basket packed with items.  

Loads of snacks…and even some fancy gift-wrapped sweets that seemed meant for someone else rather than herself.  

“Uh… Tomorrow’s kind of…you know.”  

“Oh? Visiting a friend’s house or something?”  

“…How’d you guess? Well, yeah… It’s for a study group.”  

“Haha! Study groups with girls are basically just hangouts.”  

As I scanned her items one by one, we chatted casually.  The store was empty now anyway. No harm in taking it slow for a bit.  

“Is that how it works?”  

“Totally! Though this is definitely overkill.”  

“…Ugh.”  

“If you wanted an excuse to talk to me, you could’ve just said so.”  

“T-That’s not it! I just didn’t know what to bring, so I bought everything!”  

“I see. Well, this gift box here is top-notch.”  

“Huh?”  

“If someone like you shows up with such classy sweets, the contrast would be hilarious.”  

“You picking a fight or what?”  

“Do you have a points card with us?”  

“Don’t ignore me!”  

“Haha.”  

A good third of her total cost was probably from that gift box alone. It was delicious but pricey.  

“Oh, hey! You’ve got reverse energy drinks in here too.”  

“I drink them when I’m tired.”  

“Nice choice! Alrighty—your total comes to 3,100 yen.”  

“Cash. And add a bag for me.”  

“You got it! That’ll be the exact change—thank you!”  

As I tucked her items into the bag and handed it over…

“Hey… Sato?”  

“Hm?”  

She called out as I was putting her cash into the register drawer.  

“Why do you go out of your way to do all this for me?”  

With her bag packed and ready to go, I handed it over to her. And my reply was already decided. 

“It’s because I’m a guy and you’re a girl.”  

Her eyes widened in surprise at my answer—a reversal of expectations that only made sense to me in this world.  

“Pfft… What kind of nonsense is that!? It’s supposed to be the other way around!”  

“Haha! True enough.”  

After being momentarily dumbfounded, she burst into laughter—and so did I.   

“For the record… Are you looking for a girlfriend right now or anything…?”  

“Nope—not interested in dating at all.”  

“! W-Well neither am I! Not interested in guys or anything…”  

“No need to force yourself there.”  

“…Tch.”  

Still as straightforward as ever—or not really—but that was part of what made her interesting too.   

“And by the way… Azuse-san wouldn’t settle for someone like me anyway.”  

“What was that?!”  

“There it is! Man, I’ve missed hearing that line from you.”  

“Huh?” 

“Haha! Thank you for shopping with us—please come again!”  

“Tch… Like hell I’m coming back!”  

“What a shame.”  

With her bag in hand and receipt in pocket:   

“—Seriously though… Thanks for everything—it’s all thanks to you.”   

She said those words before leaving the register area behind her.   

With how she carried herself now… I was sure she’d attract someone eventually.   

She had that cool look going for her too—and let’s face it: bad girls were popular no matter which world we were in.   

Add in her shy side and clueless charm as a bonus—and top it off with that smile.   

Honestly…it even made my heart skip a beat just now! Sheesh—what an upgrade she’d had lately!   

[By the way… Azuse-san wouldn’t settle for someone like me anyway.]

Well—in other words:   

Even though that was what I’d said earlier—  

“—It’s the “opposite”, you idiot.”  

You’re already an incredibly charming girl right now.

So much so that someone like me wouldn’t stand a chance.