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

“Then pick one from here. One that’s mine.”

The place Aira had dragged her brother to was—

“Hey, hey, a capsule toy machine…?”

“Why do you look so put off? Don’t underestimate gacha machines.”

It was a store called Gachagacha no Hayashi.

Like a forest, like a maze, the floor was packed with capsule toy machines stacked high.

A specialty shop with exclusive gacha items you couldn’t find anywhere else.

“Listen, if it’s between buying this or getting you some winter gear, I’d rather buy you the winter gear. I’m not that broke.”

“Hmm. You sure you wanna say that? A scarf costs about 4,000 yen, you know.”

At that moment, I didn’t get it. My stingy brother had just said, with his own mouth, that he’d buy something expensive.

Honestly, I wondered if he’d hit his head or something.

“Aira, you’re younger than me. It’s good to be considerate, but being too considerate isn’t.”

“Ohh, so that’s what you mean.”

That explanation finally made the pieces fit together.

“I’m not being considerate.”

“No, you totally picked this place because you were thinking about the price.”

“For real, I’m not! I mean, come on, I have a 150K contract with you, right? Being considerate would just be a loss for me.”

“Th-that’s true, but… why choose something cheap like a gacha toy? If you used the word ‘contract’ on me, you know I’d buy you something decent, right? There’s no way smart Aira wouldn’t realize that.”

“You’re really gonna say that to me? Wow, you’re such an idiot.”

Seriously, my brother… no, actually, at this moment, Senpai fit better.

Senpai was a total idiot. Too much of a soft-hearted idiot.

I mean, he really shouldn’t have said that. Now, if I started milking him for stuff, he couldn’t even complain, right? He basically put himself in a disadvantageous position—he was a complete masochist.

“If you don’t see this loophole, then the Aira standing in front of me isn’t the real Aira.”

“Are we getting philosophical now? …Well, yeah, I do get it, but still.”

“Right? That’s why I wanna know why you deliberately picked something cheap. The only reason I can see is that you were being considerate.”

“…”

Even though he didn’t want to spend money, if I started being considerate, he suddenly acted like that was wrong and insisted on spending money anyway.

You don’t understand my true feelings at all, yet you act like this—that’s why I couldn’t help but feel weak.

I could never just take advantage of you like that… I was really grateful that Senpai had become someone like this for me.

Even after we’d made that unusual contract, he didn’t change at all. You’re really too kind, Senpai… People like you are hard to find, no matter how much you search.

Ugh, just when I’d finally calmed down, my heart was racing again.

“Come on, if you’re really not holding back, then tell me the reason.”

“…Because I agreed with what you said.”

“Something I said?”

“‘If someone considers your feelings when choosing something for you, then no amount of money can beat that.'”

“Hey… Don’t repeat that, it’s embarrassing.”

“You’re the one who asked me to say it! Besides, there’s nothing embarrassing about it.”

I didn’t get my brother’s sense of embarrassment. He should just say it proudly. I mean, wasn’t it just proof that he really valued the gifts he received? If someone like that gets a present, it actually feels meaningful to give it to them. And… well, just a little bit, I thought that was kind of cool…

“Besides, holding hands like this is way more embarrassing, don’t you think?”

“You don’t look embarrassed.”

“Well, yeah.”

At times like this, I was glad my brother was so dense.

Of course I was embarrassed. Ever since we held hands, I’d felt like my face had been burning… I was probably bright red right now.

And if I was not red, then I’d seriously start thinking I had some weird illness.

“Anyway, back to what I was saying… I picked the gacha machine because of what you said—‘if someone considers your feelings, then no amount of money can beat that.’ Out of all these gacha machines, I wanted to see what you would pick for me.”

“I see… That makes sense.”

“So yeah, that’s why I chose it. Because that is what it means to consider someone’s feelings over money.”

“Okay, okay, I get it, just stop saying that line already…”

“Aww, flustered Onii-chan is kinda nice too~”

“What the hell is nice about it?!”

He was getting even more flustered because I pushed him further. …Well, that was the plan.

I didn’t want him focusing on me right now. If my face got any redder, my scarf wouldn’t be able to hide it anymore… He’d notice…

“Alright, I’ll just wait outside then!”

Just as I was about to let go of his hand to put some distance between us—

“No, you’re coming with me to look around.”

“Wha—HUH!?”

He just squeezed my hand! I practically shouted out loud!

“It’d be a waste if we didn’t look around together, right? You brought me here, so that means you’re at least a little interested, yeah?”

“W-Well, yeah, but…”

That was not the problem right now… Ugh, this was the worst.

If he suddenly gripped my hand like that, I couldn’t handle it…

“A-Aira? Your face… What’s wrong? It’s red.”

“Because you just harassed me!”

“Wait, what?! How?!”

“My hand!”

“My hand?! How does that—?!”

My brother looked completely shocked. And finally, finally, he let go of my hand.

But now my hands are burning up, my whole body was burning up… Why was I so flustered? This was different from before. I didn’t get it anymore.

“Anyway, I’ll wait outside! Just call me when you’re done choosing!”

I left everything up to my brother and dashed out of the gacha shop.

Because if I stayed in there any longer, it would’ve been really bad. If we’d kept holding hands… that would’ve been really bad.

I had no idea if he’d be done in a few minutes or take forever.

But at least I’d have plenty of time to calm down.

Seriously, squeezing my hand like that out of nowhere was unfair, idiot…

****

Finally, after twenty whole minutes of calming down—

“Just to check… You’re joking, right?”

“No, I’m dead serious…”

My brother had called me back into the gacha shop. And the thing he was pointing at was—

A giant, palm-sized, hyper-realistic pill bug from that 500-yen capsule machine that had went viral.

“…You literally just picked the most expensive one, didn’t you?”

“Well… price-wise, yeah, I guess… B-But wait, do you hate pill bugs?”

“It’s not like I love them or hate them, but… Why this?! I’m not trying to diss pill bugs or anything, but there were so many better choices! How did you pick this while thinking about me?!”

I’d said it over and over—he’d thought about me and picked a pill bug! A pill bug! My reaction wasn’t wrong!

I knew it was selfish, but I kinda expected him to pick something… better.

“Tell me the reason, seriously!”

“I-I have two reasons…”

“Hurry up and say them.”

“First, don’t you think the visual contrast between a gyaru and a pill bug is incredible? It’ll make people smile.”

“…Huh?”

“I mean, the concept of a gyaru and a pill bug together is pretty funny, don’t you think?”

“So you were messing around.”

“I wasn’t!”

“That’s such a lie.”

I could hear the coldness in my own voice.

I knew I was not mature enough yet if I let my irritation show, but still… Wasn’t this just wrong? I’d asked him to pick something for me, and he focused on visuals and comedic impact?

He’d said it himself—‘Something chosen with the other person’s feelings in mind is worth more than any price’.

And this was the reason he gave me? This explanation? Of course I was mad. It was selfish, but the gap between what I’d expected and what I got was way too big.

“Whatever. What’s the second reason?”

If that was how he started, I couldn’t expect anything better next. I wouldn’t. I’d already given up.

But… since he did pick it thinking about me, I had to at least hear him out. That was only fair.

“…Well, Aira, you told me before, right? That you feel lonely. That you’re always by yourself at home. So I picked something from the gacha store that has the biggest presence. Since it’s technically a gift, I thought maybe looking at it would remind you of today and make things feel a little less lonely.”

“…”

“And, you know… If you keep this pill bug at home, or even just stare at it at school—which honestly, with your personality, I can see happening—your parents or friends will probably react like, ‘What is that?’ And if that happens, you’ll have more conversations, more chances to talk, and maybe feel a little less alone.”

“…Ah.”

I got it now.

I get what Senpai was trying to say.

So at that moment, all my anger disappeared.

I mean, how couldn’t it?

“I figured that for people to joke around with you in a fun way, for conversations to start naturally, it’d be good to have something with humor and impact. Since we’ve built this kind of relationship, I want to do what I can to make things even a little bit better. That’s why I picked this.”

“…I see.”

This was… totally unfair.

Ending with that reason was just cruel…

It wasn’t a joke, not at all. Senpai really, truly thought about me…

Ugh… Now I was mad, but at myself for how I’d acted earlier.

“But… I’m sorry, Aira. I was really inconsiderate. No matter the reason, giving a pill bug as a gift was a bad choice… I’m really sorry.”

Senpai bit his lip as he apologized… bowing his head just slightly, so people wouldn’t notice. I could see the guilt all over his face…

But… he was wrong. Senpai had nothing to apologize for.

He was the one who’d thought about what would make me the happiest… I was the one who’d messed up.

“It’s… fine.”

“Huh?”

“I… I want this one.”