Chastity Reversed: Part-Time Life by the All-Girls High School - Chapter 72: Studying for the Test!

“This type of equation is much easier if you use this formula.”

“Oh…” I replied, nodding.

“Math is eighty percent memorization!”

It was Sunday.  

After finishing my part-time job yesterday, I was abruptly brought back to reality (panic mode).  

That’s right. The dreaded academic test was looming. Honestly, I’d been so preoccupied that I’d completely forgotten about it.  

It was tomorrow. Tomorrow!  

Sure, it wasn’t as important as midterms or finals, but it still affected my grades.  

Just then, I received a message from Rika-san.  

[Can I come over to your place?] it read.  

“You’re pretty smart, huh, Yuka?” Rika commented.

“Hehe. Well, I am a university student after all,” Yuka replied with a proud smile.

When I told her I was busy studying, Yuka immediately messaged back with, “Let me help you study!”  

Why are you the one asking? Well, not that I’m complaining—it’s actually helpful!  

And so, from 10 AM with breaks in between, we studied until 3 PM.  

If this were a private tutor session, it would’ve cost me at least 5,000 yen!  

“Yuka’s always been good at studying. Only at studying though,” Rika teased.

“Hey! That’s mean, Senpai!” Yuka protested.

“She talks to guys like her IQ is 30.”  

“Stop it!!”  

“She even takes college guys to beef bowl restaurants. That’s just not gonna cut it.”  

“C-Come on…”  

“Haha. I like beef bowls though,” I chimed in.

Naturally, Rika-san was also here. And naturally, she was being critical as usual.  

She’d been playing games the whole time—not that I minded.  

“Looking at your notes really makes it sink in—you’re still a high schooler,” Rika remarked.

“I am a first-year high schooler,” I replied flatly.

“But you have the vibe of a graduate student.”

“That’s true!” Yuka agreed enthusiastically.

“…Isn’t assuming older ages for guys kind of bad?” I asked.

I didn’t mind personally—but wasn’t that a problem in this world?

“Don’t high school boys actually want to be seen as more mature?” Rika asked thoughtfully.

“Ah… Boys really are complicated creatures,” Yuka said with a sigh.

“Complicated!? Are you even really a boy?” Rika asked suddenly.

Her tone was filled with genuine curiosity as if the words had just slipped out of her mouth.  

Once again, I felt it—the reality of this reversed world. In this world… I must seem so out of place.  

[Are you trying to appeal to girls?]  

[Like some kind of ‘girly guy’? Honestly, it’s annoying—]

That was the reason why my classmates looked at me like that.  

I was aware of it. I knew there was something wrong with me here. But even so—I had to go to school. Ugh! How annoying!  

“H-Hey, Rika-san.”

“Oh… S-Sorry. That was rude of me.”

“It’s fine. I’m aware of it anyway,” I said casually. “I don’t have any friends either.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Both of them stared at me in disbelief.

Why did they look so surprised? This was just how I was.

“I’m pretty much universally disliked by other guys.”

“…Ahh. That makes sense,” Rika muttered.

“Well… yeah, you probably do make enemies easily,” Yuka added hesitantly.

“Right?”

“But not having any female friends? That’s surprising.”

“It really is!”

“Oh… Yeah, that’s true.”

I realized something then—friends didn’t necessarily have to be of the same gender.  

In my old world, I never had female friends, so the thought had never even crossed my mind before.

“Oh… I feel like something’s been lifted off my chest,” I said with a sigh of relief.

“Really?” Yuka asked, tilting her head slightly.

“That’s good to hear!” Rika added with a smile.

“By the way, does a ‘friends-with-benefits’ relationship count as friendship?” Rika asked suddenly.

“…That’s a tough one,” Yuka said, her expression turning awkward.

“P-Probably?” she added hesitantly.

Both of them gave rather unconvincing answers.  

But… it didn’t really matter either way.  

“Then, Yuka, will you be my first female friend?” I asked with a small smile.

“Wha—Of course!” Yuka exclaimed, her face lighting up.

“…Thank you. That makes me happy,” I said sincerely.

“S-Sato-san’s first…” Yuka mumbled shyly, her cheeks turning red.

Thinking back on it now, it had always been like this.  

We met in the fighting game area at the arcade, and later I discovered that the light novels she owned matched my tastes perfectly.  

Life really was unpredictable (spoken like a true isekai protagonist).  

It hadn’t even been a month since I came here! 

“…What about me?” Rika asked hesitantly.

“Huh?”

“I want to be friends with you too,” she said, looking away slightly.

“S-Sorry! If you’re okay with someone like me—would you be my friend too?” I asked nervously.

“…Fine,” Rika replied curtly but smiled faintly afterward.

To be honest, I thought she was just here to keep an eye on Yuka or something.  

“You know… Rika-san might seem tough on the outside, but she actually gets lonely easily—”

“You don’t need to say that!” Rika snapped quickly, her face turning red.

“Haha! Well… now I have two friends,” I said with a laugh.

“You’ll make more in no time,” Rika assured me confidently. “Even if guys don’t work out—you’ll have no trouble making female friends.”

“You think so?”

“I’m sure of it!” she replied firmly.

Rika’s words gave me hope—a hope I didn’t think was possible before now.  

Honestly—I’d resigned myself to enduring life as a loner for as long as necessary.  

But maybe things could be different now…  

“Soon enough, all the girls in your class will want to be your friend!” Yuka declared cheerfully.

“Haha! That’s an exaggeration.”

“No way! If someone like Sato-san had been around when I was in high school…” Yuka trailed off wistfully.

“That’s nice of you to say,” I replied with a smile. “You’re getting better at dealing with guys too.”

“You think so?” Yuka asked nervously, but seemed pleased by the compliment nonetheless.

“At least there’s hope now,” I thought quietly to myself as our conversation continued into the evening…

“But remember—I’m Sato-san’s first female friend!” Yuka said proudly. “Don’t forget that!”

“Is that really such a big deal?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It is! Even though being someone’s ‘first’ in that sense might hold more value…” Yuka trailed off awkwardly.

“Is that so?” I replied nonchalantly.

“Huh?”

“Friends are more important than that.”

I realized how strange that sounded as soon as I’d said it. This line… made me sound kind of sleazy.  

Not to mention—Yuka was technically my ‘first’ in both senses. Not that I could ever say that out loud!  

“…I-I’m happy to hear that,” Yuka stammered before pausing. “But… does that mean losing your virginity wasn’t exactly a good memory for you—”

“Hey! Don’t ask things like that if you want people to like you!” Rika interrupted sharply.

“Ahhh! Sorry!!” Yuka cried out as she quickly bowed her head in apology.

Rika had stopped her just in time, but it was already too late.  

Well… if we were being honest—it wasn’t exactly a good memory.  

It happened before I’d even realized it—and just like that, it was gone.  

But still… my ‘first partner’ became my ‘first friend’.

If losing my virginity allowed that to happen—then maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.  

“Haha! Don’t worry about it,” I said reassuringly. “It’s fine.”

“I’m sorry…” Yuka mumbled quietly.

“Oh yeah—since I couldn’t do this before, feel free to do whatever you want with me now,” I offered casually.

“Wha—What!?”

“Well, as long as it doesn’t get too loud—we are in an apartment building, after all.”

Hearing this seemed to lift Yuka’s spirits instantly. She perked up and grinned widely. Simple-minded as always!

“I-I want to rest my head on your lap while you clean my ears—and then cuddle for a while before going all the way!!” she blurted out loudly.

“That’s literally the plot of the ASMR audio you bought yesterday… Gross…” Rika muttered in disbelief.

“But still! Isn’t this every girl’s dream?!” Yuka exclaimed passionately.

“Keep your voice down!” Rika hissed urgently, glancing around nervously.

Dream bigger, will you? Seriously… specifying every single step like that—it was obvious where she got this from!

“Well, whatever. Let me grab some cotton swabs… Okay, ready when you are, Yuka.”

“Thank you!” she said excitedly as she slid over and rested her head on my lap.

“M-Me too… later…” Rika mumbled shyly from behind us.

With cotton swabs in hand and a university girl resting on my lap—I prepared myself for what came next.  

This… definitely wasn’t something I could let my classmates see!