Chastity Reversed: Part-Time Life by the All-Girls High School - Chapter 38.2: Secret

“…There’s no one here.”

It was Saturday, 3 PM.  

At ‘Shinna Bookstore’—a store located three train stations away from Tsukigaoka Academy, the school I attended. Despite being called a bookstore, the place was filled with some of the least appropriate items imaginable.  

Dressed to impress in my carefully chosen casual outfit, I stealthily made my way inside.  

My extensive research had revealed that this was the time when the store was the least crowded.  

Yes, for today, at last—  

[Beyond this point: 18+ Section]

Gulp

I had to venture beyond that forbidden threshold and buy what I came for.  

I approached it, halted, hesitated, and repeated the process.  

This was a trespass into forbidden territory.  

I knew it was wrong—of course I knew.  

But for the sake of obtaining my treasure—  

today was the day to do it!!

“––Oh, hey, it’s the class rep.”

…Huh?  

Why was he here?  

Why was Sato-kun standing right in front of me?  

“What are you doing?”  

“Ah… ah… ahhh!”  

And just like that, my bold operation came to an end.  

☆ 

“…” Thud

“Whoa, Tanaka, are you okay?”  

“She’s been like this all class,” someone chimed in.  

“I need sleep… I stayed up way too late…” murmured Tanaka groggily.  

“Good night~”  

“Honestly, that’s so unhealthy.”  

Grumble

“Wow, she’s out already.”  

“…”

The classroom was unusually quiet.  

Takahashi-san was absent with a cold, and Tanaka-san was fast asleep from pulling an all-nighter.  

“…It’s oddly peaceful, huh?”  

“…It is,” I replied, fidgeting.

Our class, 2-B, had two rather special boys.  

One of them was Kanata Azuma, so breathtakingly beautiful that just looking at him directly might make you faint.  

The other was—  

“This makes it easier to ‘trade’, right, class rep?”  

“…”

The boy in front of me, flashing a mischievous grin.  

All I could do was nod in response.  

“Man, I really didn’t expect this. You’re seriously as ‘by-the-book’ as they come, huh, class rep?”  

“…Not that much,” I replied flatly.  

“Here, take this.”  

He handed me a package.  

“Does this have…?”  

“Yup, ‘Virgin Squad: Part 2’ is in there, just like you asked. It was on sale for 1,800 yen. Score, huh?”  

“Thank you. Here’s the payment.”  

“Got it.”  

Inside the black bag he handed over—hidden between study guides for camouflage—was that.

Yes, it was an adult video.  

The plot? A group of socially inept virgins, whose “defenses” the heroine managed to break down one by one… until “things escalated”.  

Unwholesome in every way.  

“Make sure to ‘research’ thoroughly, okay?”  

“…I will.”  

Because this was research. 

That day, at the 18+ section—  

[Research? Wow, that’s dedication, class rep. Want me to grab something for you while I’m at it?]

Despite the explicit nature of these products, rejecting them outright just because I didn’t understand them would have been foolish.  

And so, I decided to learn.  

It certainly wasn’t because I personally wanted them. Not at all.  

…I felt like I’d said something along those lines in a frantic rush that day.  

And then—  

[What genre do you want?––Oh wait, I mean, what genre are you researching?]

Finally, I got my hands on the coveted item I had longed for—no, the research material I needed.  

[Don’t worry, I’ll keep quiet about this. Just let me know if there’s something else you want… for research purposes, of course.]

He smiled as he handed it over.  

Even now, this secret trade continued.  

What an odd boy.  

His boldness as he walked into the 18+ section might be wrong… but it was undeniably “feminine” in its confidence.  

To be honest, when he caught me that day, I was convinced it was all over.  

But thankfully, his denseness saved me.  

“By the way…”  

“Hm?”  

“This is for you… I made it.”  

“Whoa, that’s huge.”  

“It’s… to thank you for helping me.”  

“You really didn’t have to.”  

His lunches usually consisted of convenience store bread or snacks.  

It was so unhealthy I couldn’t just let it slide.  

And so, as thanks for our “transactions”, I started making him a bento once a week.  

Thanks to my part-time job at a family restaurant, I was decent at cooking.  

“…” Gulp

“This is sooo good!”  

“! R-really?”  

“It’s amazing. I skipped breakfast, so I’m starving.”  

“Wait! You need to eat breakfast! Haven’t you heard the saying? ‘Eat breakfast like a king—’”  

“Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll try harder.”  

“Honestly…”

He quietly ate the meal I’d prepared.  

Normally, it was the guy who cooked for the girl. That was how it always happened in the eroge, ero-manga, and ero-anime I’d seen.  

It was practically a trope.  

But this time, it was reversed.  

Somehow, though—  

“This hamburger steak is amazing. There’s cheese inside!”  

“It’s pretty easy to make.”  

He lived alone.  

It wasn’t normal.  

Home-cooked meals weren’t something he could rely on anymore.  

Maybe that was why…  

Watching him eat so happily truly made me feel glad.  

It was something only I could do for him.  

“This goes so well with Coke.”  

“Is that a compliment?”  

“The highest praise possible.”  

“…Honestly.”  

“But you know,” he started.  

“Hm?”  

“You don’t have to go to all this trouble anymore.”  

“Wait… was it bad?”  

“No, it’s delicious. Too delicious, even.”  

“Then why…”  

“Last night, you stayed up late preparing this, didn’t you?”  

“!? I-I…”  

“The dark circles under your eyes give it away, class rep.”  

“Wha—!”  

He pointed out every single sign, like a detective unraveling a mystery.  

Like ‘Miss Sherlock’.  

“And your mistake in class today, too. That’s not like you.”  

“…”  

“Plus, that cut on your finger. You slipped up because you aren’t used to staying up late, right?”  

“Urgh…”  

It was like he already knew everything.  

“You don’t have to push yourself so hard just to repay me. Got it?”  

“…Got it. But…”  

“But what?”  

“Why… how can you notice all of that—”  

I paused.  

“And yet, still believe my ‘excuse’ about doing ‘research’?”  

“!”  

Someone as observant as him shouldn’t have bought that obvious lie.  

“It’s simple,” he replied.  

“Simple…?”  

“You’re forgetting something important, class rep.”  

“Huh?”  

“You weren’t the only one at the 18+ section that day.”  

“Wait… but it was just me and…”  

“Exactly. I was there too. And I definitely didn’t want my secret getting out, either.”  

“So…”  

“So, let’s keep working together, shall we? Mutual understanding.”  

It was true. He was there that day.  

He had emerged from the section, bag in hand, filled with who-knows-what.  

“…You’re a terrible person, Sato-kun.”  

“You’re one to talk, class rep.”  

“Urgh…”  

“Well then, I look forward to our future transactions.”  

“…Fine.”  

And so, the bell rang.

“Oh, the warning bell already?”  

Flinch!

“Morning, Tanaka.”  

“…Huh? Wait, what time is it!?”  

“It’s 3 PM.”  

“Eh? What!? Oh no, it’s over—wait, why is there a bento here? Is this lunch…? Lunch!?”  

“Right, I’m heading to the bathroom now—”  

“You think I’ll let you escape, Sato?”  

“Awake now, aren’t you?”  

“That smug face of yours is so annoying!!”  

And just like that, the usual chaos started up again.  

It was the same as always.  

“Honestly… you guys…”  

“Oh, sorry, class rep.”  

“It’s fine.”  

Sigh

As I cleaned up his now-empty lunchbox, I glanced at Sato-kun.  

He’d returned to being his usual self—there was no trace of the entirely different person he’d been just moments ago.  

“Well, I’m seriously heading to the bathroom now.”  

“…I’ll go too.” 

But that was exactly the reason why… I couldn’t help but be curious. 

“Hey, Sato-kun.”  

“Hm?”  

In the hallway, as if speaking in code, I asked something only the two of us would understand.  

“That day… Sato-kun, what were you buying?”  

At the adult store.  

Back then, he had seemed like a completely different person.  

What exactly had he been purchasing?  

Why had he, so naturally, been there?  

The questions still lingered, making my heart race and my curiosity grow stronger.  

I steadied myself as I waited for his answer––  

“––Do you really want to know?”  

And just like that, it happened again.  

Just like that day.  

He adopted the same aura—like someone entirely different.  

His long bangs cast shadows over his eyes, and those eyes… glimmered strangely, like they held some hidden secret.  

“Uh… ah…”  

Just being near him made my breath quicken.  

My heart was pounding so loudly it felt deafening.  

“Sorry, but that’s a secret.”  

With just that, he turned on his heel and walked away.  

“…Haah…”  

He truly was…  

A mystery.  

“Who are you… really?”  

Tanaka-san and Takahashi-san didn’t know.  

In our classroom—no, in this entire school—I was the only one who knew.  

He was—  

Capable of something incredibly… indecent.  

Outrageously so.  

Only me.  

I was the only one who––  

“…”