I Started a Lover-for-Hire Service, And For Some Reason, Only Beautiful Girls Are Requesting Me - Chapter 24: Aira's Side ② - Making Him Regret It and Getting Flustered

“You changed your hairstyle, Aira.”

Aira froze for a moment.

That was the first thing Senpai said to her when they stepped out of the bookstore together.

“That style suits you pretty well too.”

“Y-you’re saying it too late!” 

Saying something like that out of nowhere—what was he thinking? There had to have been a better time…!

She had already convinced herself that he wouldn’t say anything about it. Just when she had given up, he suddenly brought it up.

Seriously, when he did things like this, she had no idea how to react…

“Well, if I had said something like that while working, customers might’ve thought I was flirting on the job.”

“You’re overthinking it! W-what even is this…? I feel like an idiot.”

She had assumed he hadn’t noticed at all and had let herself get disappointed over it. And now, finding out he had actually noticed the whole time just made her feel ridiculous.

“Hm? But you’re pretty smart, Aira.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Why did it make her so happy that he had noticed?

What was this feeling? It was completely different from when other guys said the same thing.

Her whole plan to throw him off was completely ruined…

“And I also know you changed your nails to black.”

“Hmm… So, you do pay quite a bit of attention to me, huh?”

He had noticed everything.

Sure, compared to something tiny like trimming a few millimeters off bangs, her changes had been more obvious. But still, she never expected him to catch all of it right away…

Could it be that Senpai was secretly popular? Yeah… that might actually be possible…

“It’s not that I’m watching you on purpose. You always come and bother me while I’m working, so there’s no way I wouldn’t notice. It’s like if a pedestrian in front of me suddenly stopped and did a side chest pose dozens of times.”

“That comparison makes absolutely no sense…”

The side chest pose was something bodybuilders did.

There was an anime that had made it famous—one where clothes would rip apart to reveal insanely muscular bodies. She could understand the reference, at least.

Though, she did sometimes wonder just how much those characters spent on clothing.

“Anyway, Senpai, you still haven’t told me what you think about this.”

Aira held out both hands, showing off her nails.

If he had noticed, then he should at least say something about them. It wasn’t like she got complimented often, so she wanted to hear more.

No—actually, since he was playing the role of her “nii-chan”, this was something he should naturally do anyway.

“…Hmm, your hands are really smooth. No scars.”

“That’s not what I meant! I’m talking about the nails!”

“They suit you.”

“That’s the same thing you said about my hair… Shouldn’t you have something else to say?”

“Aira, it’s about time you returned my scarf.”

“That has nothing to do with this conversation at all!”

Senpai had smoothly shifted the topic to tease her.

Well… she had kind of expected it. It wasn’t like he was the type to let things go her way so easily.

There were characters like this in manga too—older brother figures who acted the same way. She couldn’t even bring up their contract because of it, and Senpai wasn’t the type to just be straightforward…

Not that she had any real complaints, since he had still complimented her in the end…

“Well… I guess it’d be best if I could come up with a variety of compliments, but for guys, ‘it suits you’ is usually the only thing that comes to mind.”

“That just means you have no vocabulary.”

Senpai’s way of doing things was seriously unfair.

He suddenly pointed things out without warning, and while he called her “you” during work, the moment his shift ended, he started using her name.

If he treated her differently like that, of course hearing her name would feel special. He should just be consistent.

If he was doing it on purpose, then that would mean he was way too used to dealing with girls.

Well, considering he didn’t have many friends, that probably wasn’t the case… That was just her personal bias.

“I’m just not used to giving compliments.”

“Not used to giving compliments, huh—”

“What’s with that weird pause?”

“It’s just… that means you’re not used to complimenting girls, right?”

“Why do you look so happy about that?”

“It’s nothing—”

She didn’t even know why she felt happy, but she was very aware of the way her face was softening.

“Anyway, Senpai, this Burberry scarf… Did you buy it yourself?”

“Oh, so it’s called Burberry? I thought it was something like ‘Braberry’.”

“Braberry? That actually sounds kinda stylish, Senpai.”

“I got it as a gift.”

“A gift… from a girl?”

“From my sister.”

“Alright, then I’ll allow it.”

Saying that, she buried her face into the scarf, using both hands to pull it close.

Crap… She was grinning again. Seriously, why? …She needed to fix her expression, fast.

“Hey! Don’t squeeze it like that! It’s mine.”

“I’m marking it with my scent, so it’s fine!”

“Why the hell would you do that…?”

“It’s called marking. So don’t give this scarf to some other girl.”

“There isn’t anyone like that…”

“Hmm. Well, if there isn’t, then fine. But Senpai, you’re not allowed to get a girlfriend, okay? You’re my nii-chan, after all.”

“Can you explain that in a way that actually makes sense?”

Senpai sounded a little exasperated, but at least he was listening.

“If you get a girlfriend, you’ll have less time to spend with me… And I don’t want that…”

“That’s all…?”

“That’s all? I’d be losing out! I paid 150K, remember?”

“Don’t worry. I have no desire to get a girlfriend.”

“Wow, that’s such a lie.”

“I’m serious… If I got a girlfriend, I wouldn’t be able to make money.”

“Money…?”

“Uh, never mind.”

Senpai had said something about money and girlfriends… Was he doing some kind of punishment game? It felt like something she shouldn’t pry into… But now she was curious.

“If anything, why don’t you just get a boyfriend? Then you wouldn’t have to pay me anymore, and you wouldn’t feel lonely—wait, no, forget I said that. That would cut into my earnings.”

“Most older guys wouldn’t say something like that to a younger girl, you know…?”

Out of everyone she had ever met, Senpai was the greediest when it came to money. But on the flip side, that also meant he valued it the most. Because of that, he would never betray someone when money was involved—he was trustworthy in that way.

And… she understood. She knew that Senpai had said that last line on purpose. He was telling her to think of another solution.

…He really was such a strange Senpai.

Even though he was obsessed with money, even though he knew saying that could cost him income, he still went ahead and said it. It would have been better for him to keep quiet.

It was like giving away the location of a treasure without asking for anything in return.

He could be annoying, he made way too many jokes, he never read the room, but—he was ridiculously kind. Too kind. The kind of person she had never met before.

“If I were to get a boyfriend, he’d have to be older. High school guys are unreliable, no way I could do that.”

“You’re so mature for your age.”

“It’s called self-defense.”

“That makes no sense.”

“…”

Because with how she looked, if she ever admitted she wanted to be spoiled, people would just laugh at her. They’d spread rumors, tease her endlessly… There was no way she’d find someone in high school who would take her seriously, who would actually listen—someone like Senpai.

That was just how high school worked. She knew because she was a high schooler.

“Well, I guess what I’m saying is, Senpai should just stay the way he is.”

“People don’t change that easily, you know.”

“Oh, but right now, I do need you to change. Otherwise, I won’t get my money’s worth.”

“Money’s worth…?”

“The contract fee. 150K.”

“Wait, aren’t we about to go eat?”

“You think that’s enough to make up for it?”

“What?”

She never did anything that would leave her at a loss, nor would she allow it. She would always get her money’s worth—because that was what a contract was all about.

“Alright, let’s get started! First, give me your hand, Senpai.”

“My… hand?”

“Yeah, this one.”

She poked at Senpai’s hand with her fingernail.

“…Wait! Are you trying to hold hands!?”

“Who knows?”

“No, no, no—siblings our age don’t just hold hands! Even if it’s a contract!”

“You don’t have to be that shocked.”

She wanted to throw in a comment like, Even manga siblings do this kind of thing, but she knew that would just make things more complicated, so she let it slide.

Instead, she used her ultimate weapon. This was a checkmate.

“By the way, when we made our contract, I never said anything about age, you know? All I said was, ‘Be my big brother’.”

“…”

“So, if I think something is part of what a big brother should do, then you have to do it. Otherwise, that’s a breach of contract.”

“Wait… hold on.”

“You already took the money, so you have to follow through. We never talked about what happens if you break the contract, but in that case, I’ll report you to my dad. I’ll make sure he does everything you don’t want him to.”

“That’s completely ridiculous!”

“It’s the same thing as you working so hard to earn money. That’s how badly I want to be spoiled. I know I’m being a bother, but this is something I won’t back down on.”

Since Senpai and Aira hadn’t exchanged contact information, they could only meet twice a week—on Thursdays and Saturdays, when he had his part-time job. That meant she only had two chances a week to be spoiled.

Even so, 150K was way too expensive, wasn’t it? If she were being reasonable, 70K, maybe 70,000 yen, would’ve been enough. The extra cost was the “nuisance fee,” which was why she had paid the full 150K.

She had made it clear when they signed the contract: 150K for a one-month contract, nuisance fees included.

All the ridiculousness was accounted for in the price.

So the moment Senpai accepted the money, he had already lost. It was a sneaky strategy, but she had set it up that way from the start.

“Hurry uuuup, Senpaaiii. Or should I just start doing side chest poses right here? While loudly announcing that Senpai forced me to?”

“Ugh… fine, fine. I give up.”

“Yes!”

Senpai was quick to understand the situation. There was no escape, after all.

With a deep sigh, he reluctantly held out his hand. He was definitely unhappy about it, but a contract was a contract—

And there was one thing Senpai didn’t know yet.

“Alright, I’ll take it! Here we go!”

“—!?”

She jumped.

Right onto Senpai’s arm!

She grabbed onto it tightly, hugging it close.

“A—Aira!?”

“I never said I wanted to hold hands, did I? I just told you to hold out your hand. So I could cling to your arm like this!”

“W-what kind of logic is that!?”

“And hugging your scarf earlier? That was foreshadowing! To make you realize I’m not a little kid anymore!”

“Hah!?”

Success! Senpai was completely thrown off.

The whole “foreshadowing” thing? Yeah, that was a lie. It just sounded cool, so she said it.

This skinship and surprise attack had an effect on Senpai! Even the older brothers in manga reacted the same way as Senpai!

It was so fun. Really fun!

Right now, Senpai was definitely thinking of Aira as a woman…! His face was all red!

“Ah, Aira… at least loosen your grip on my arm.”

“No way. We’re going to eat like this!”

“You can’t just say you don’t want to! It’s touching. Notice it!”

“Huh? What’s touching?”

“…Your chest.”

“…Huh?”

Senpai said it in a small but firm voice.

Somehow, he said “chest”…

Aira looked at Senpai’s face.

It seemed like Senpai’s gaze was directed towards Aira’s chest.

Aira looked down there as well.

—Her chest was squished through her clothes. It was obvious even from looking.

…Aira could feel Senpai’s arm on her chest…

“Wh-what?!”

The moment Aira realized everything, her mind went blank.

Her face was burning hot. Her whole body was hot. She could only feel her heart pounding violently.

“St-Stop it! Don’t say that! Senpai, you’re a pervert!”

“Then let go of me!”

“I don’t want to! I’m not going to let go!”

“You don’t have to force it!”

“Well, fine! Just enjoy the feel of it! It’s a perk of being the ‘nii-chan’, right?”

“What kind of nii-chan are you imagining?!”

Aira got one over on Senpai.

But Senpai definitely got back at her…

She was sure that her face was even redder than Senpai’s… because Senpai’s arm was so big and firm… This was a counterattack…