I Started a Lover-for-Hire Service, And For Some Reason, Only Beautiful Girls Are Requesting Me

It was now the final period of the day.

Fortunately, an empty classroom was easier to find than expected. Ryoma turned a chair around and sat across from Himeno at the long desk.

“You can eat.”

“O-Oh… thanks.”

Ryoma found himself getting completely drawn into Himeno’s atmosphere.

She reached into her bag, pulled out a heart-shaped pouch with a keychain attached, and took out a handful of candies and caramel, setting them neatly on the desk.

“Want some chocolate too? It’s bear-shaped. I have it in another pouch.”

“N-No, I’m good. I already have all these candies and caramel here.”

“…Okay.”

Was she hoping to show him the bear-shaped chocolate? Or did she just want him to eat it?

Either way, her expression remained as unreadable as ever, making it difficult for Ryoma to tell.

If he had noticed, he might have hesitated for a moment before saying, “Actually, I do want some.”—like a delayed reaction in a game of rock-paper-scissors.

For now, the mood wasn’t quite right to bring up the main topic.

Ryoma decided to start with some small talk—like throwing a light jab before the real fight.

“So, I take it you really like sweets?”

“Mm, about this much.”

“Just how many do you have in there…?”

In response, Himeno opened her pouch and tilted it toward him. Inside was a stash of candies and caramel—far more than what was already on the desk.

Imagining her sitting alone at home, carefully stuffing all of these sweets into her pouch, brought a small smile to Ryoma’s face.

“Want to count them?”

“Then, count them for me?”

“One, two, three, four, five…”

Himeno earnestly started counting the candies and caramels inside her pouch.

There was a reason Ryoma had asked her to do this.

“You don’t have to be so nervous, Himeno.”

“…!?”

Her hands stopped counting. Instead, she suddenly lifted her head with such force that her silky silver hair swayed dramatically.

She was clearly shaken.

Ryoma had already noticed—Himeno was hiding something deep inside.

Right now, he was giving her time. Time to let go of that feeling. Time to relax.

“Like I said before, I’m not mad at all…Well, if you did something on purpose, I might have to say something.”

“It wasn’t on purpose…”

“Then you don’t have to keep apologizing, and you don’t even have to tell me what happened. I think I already have a pretty good idea.”

Up until now, they hadn’t even spoken at university.

With that in mind, the only way this could involve Ryoma was through the lover-for-hire situation.

It wasn’t hard to guess—she must have made everyone around her believe she had a boyfriend.

Even if she did have one, as long as no one knew his identity, it wouldn’t cause too many problems.

But there was another issue.

Now that people thought she had a boyfriend, she would have to keep up the act.

And since her friends had seen them together, she couldn’t just swap out her “boyfriend” whenever she wanted.

This situation, when carefully considered, actually worked to Ryoma’s advantage, given his desire to earn money.

“We originally came to this empty classroom to talk about what kind of mistake you made, Himeno… but why don’t we just make this a casual chat instead? You even brought snacks, after all.”

Ryoma had already decided to stay at the university until 6 PM when the chance of rain would decrease. While he was offering Hime-no support and subtly persuading her, part of him simply wanted to have someone to talk to and enjoy the moment.

“Then, let’s eat some candy?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Ryoma was starting to get used to Himeno’s abrupt suggestions.

After he picked up a grape-flavored candy, Himeno took one as well. They had ended up choosing the same flavor.

“Hime-no, do you like grapes too?”

“I prefer muscat.”

“Oh… that one, huh…”

The candies came in five flavors: grape, melon, strawberry, mandarin, and apple.

Both unwrapped their candies and popped them into their mouths.

“Shiba.”

“What is it?”

Himeno’s cheeks were slightly puffed due to the candy in her mouth.

“Thank you… for forgiving me.”

“Y-you don’t have to say it so formally…”

“I wanted to say it properly.”

Maybe she kept the candy in her mouth to help suppress her embarrassment. Only Himeno herself would know the real reason.

Ryoma still didn’t know much about the quiet Himeno, but he found himself enjoying this moment.

“…Shiba.”

“What is it?”

“H-himeno wants to be friends.”

Another sudden statement. Her expression was the same as always—like a mask she wore.

But one thing had changed.

—Her face was flushed, like autumn leaves. Because of her fair skin, the redness stood out even more.

“I already thought of you as a friend, Himeno. Though, during the substitute boyfriend gig, that’s a different story.”

“Shiba, you lie. You were trying to avoid Himeno.”

“Th-that was just because I couldn’t keep up with what was happening at the time…”

“Then let’s exchange contact information… since we’re friends.”

“…Ugh. Y-yeah, you’re right. Because… we’re friends.”

Ryoma forced a somewhat awkward smile—Himeno had completely outmaneuvered him.

Friends normally had each other’s contact information. The whole “substitute boyfriend” thing didn’t matter anymore.

Whether she had planned for this outcome or not was unclear, but there was no way Ryoma could refuse now.

Both of them took out their smartphones and powered them on.

Ryoma’s phone had a simple plastic case, whereas Himeno’s was covered in a large, cat-shaped silicone case. It was the second time he had seen it. With her small hands, handling it seemed a bit tricky.

“LINE is fine, right?”

“…Himeno only uses Twitter.”

“Oh, Twitter… I made an account once, but I had no idea how to use it, so I just left it alone.”

“As long as you have an account, it’s fine. Himeno can DM you.”

“Direct messages, right?”

“Mm, personal mail.”

“Wait a sec, I’ll open it.”

Ryoma had downloaded the Twitter app just because it was trending. But, not knowing how to use it, he had left it untouched for months.

“Uh… this is my account…”

He turned the screen toward Himeno.

His profile picture and header were still the default ones. No bio, no posts, zero followers, and zero following. It looked like a brand-new, untouched account.

“First, I’ll give you my account, and you need to learn how to use it.”

“Thanks, that helps.”

“First, press the keyword search.”

“Got it.”

“Next, search for ‘Devil’ in hiragana.”

“‘Devil’?”

“Yeah.”

Ryoma searched for ‘Devil’ as Himeno instructed. Several accounts with the name ‘Devil’ popped up in a list.

“Wow, there are so many accounts with the same name…”

“The one at the top is mine.”

“So, this one? ‘Devil-chan’?”

“D-Don’t say my name out loud!”

Ryoma glanced at Himeno for confirmation, but she turned her face away. Despite having chosen the name herself, she seemed to be feeling shy about it.

Ryoma pressed on ‘Devil-chan’s’ account, leading him to the profile page.

“Huh. You have so many followers… Wait, what? One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… 130,000?! Wait, what? A manga author?”

After confirming the number of followers, Ryoma looked at Himeno with a stunned expression.

“W-What?”

“Y-You’re that ‘Devil-chan’?!”

Ryoma couldn’t hide his surprise. Being someone who worked at a bookstore, he had a good understanding of the industry.

“Y-Your books… they’re in bookstores, right? A rom-com series, about four or five volumes?”

“…Only at Comiket.”

“Th-That lie doesn’t make sense, though… It even says ‘Available in bookstores’ in your profile…”

Himeno had mentioned after the substitute boyfriend gig that she was making money as a student.

Her pen name, ‘Devil-chan’. She was a prominent author of rom-com manga. It was no exaggeration to call her a big deal in the industry.

Without a doubt, she was a successful manga author making decent money.

“Shiba. H-Hurry up and follow me. Don’t look anymore!”

“S-Sorry, I’m just surprised.”

Ryoma, still in a state of shock, was forcibly interrupted by Himeno, who seemed eager to end the conversation.

Himeno didn’t know that Ryoma worked part-time at a bookstore. She had assumed that he wasn’t familiar with manga at all. She had wrongly assumed that he wouldn’t press her about it.

A few seconds after Ryoma followed her, he was followed back. The mutual follow was now complete.

The ‘Devil-chan’ account, with 870 people followed and 130,000 followers, had now followed an account with only one follower and one following. To outsiders, they might think, “Why is this guy being followed by Devil-chan?”

“Alright, you’re done. Now, just press this envelope button.”

“So, that’ll take me to the DM screen, right? Can I send something?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

After getting her approval, Ryoma pressed the envelope button and moved to the DM screen. He hesitated for a moment over the message content, then finally sent it.

“…You idiot, Shiba.”

“Haha!“

After seeing the message, Himeno directly scolded him from across the table. But there was no malice in her words, more like a playful way of hiding her embarrassment.

“Don’t tell anyone this account is mine.”

“Of course, I know.”

“It’s a promise, okay?”

“Got it.”

“Mm.”

What Ryoma didn’t know was the significance of Himeno giving him her work account. He didn’t realize that he was the only person she had shared it with.

Moreover, Ryoma had no idea that Himeno had other personal accounts besides her work one.

—The reason why Himeno shared her work account was because she spent more time on it.

She could notice messages from Ryoma right away. She could respond quickly because it was her primary account for communication.

＊＊＊＊

“…”

That night, Himeno sat on the couch, legs crossed, staring at her phone.

“Thank you for the lesson today. Next time, try not to mess up, Devil-chan.”

The message was the one Ryoma had sent her earlier that day. It was playful, a message to show that he wasn’t really mad.

“…You idiot, Shiba.”

Himeno muttered to herself, but a faint smile appeared on her face.

With the DM still displayed on her phone, Himeno pressed both the power button and home screen at the same time.

Click—the sound of a screenshot being taken.