I Started a Lover-for-Hire Service, And For Some Reason, Only Beautiful Girls Are Requesting Me - Chapter 55: Ryoma and Himeno's Battle ④

“Welcome back, Himeno.”

“I’m back.”

Having had some time to calm himself, Ryoma managed to maintain his composure and smiled at Himeno as if nothing had happened. She responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Their exchange sounded like that of a cohabiting couple, yet there was no flirtatious atmosphere—just the tone of a routine conversation.

“Oh, you took off your bear-ear hood?”

“Shiba teased me, and I got warm.”

Saying this, Himeno sat not on the carpet but on the bed, hugging a giant orca plushie.

Was this a warning? A silent message saying, “If you tease me again, I’ll do this to you”?

Using her slender arms, she wrapped the orca’s head in a perfect headlock—a technique straight out of the world of professional wrestling.

If it were somehow possible, the plushie might have let out a suffocated “aaya” sound in protest.

“I really didn’t mean to tease you, though…”

“Shiba looked like he was having fun.”

“I can’t really deny that, huh?”

Saying “I wasn’t enjoying it!” outright wasn’t an option.

After all, no shoujo manga protagonist ever said something like that.

Tease, deflect, or affirm—those were the three options. Ryoma was doing his best to play the part of a shoujo manga lead.

“You’re still mean. When Shiba gets serious, he turns mean.”

“Haha, is that so?”

“Why do you look happy? I’m saying something bad about you.”

“Well, I have my reasons.”

“…?”

She thought of him as mean, yet there was no sign that she was actually upset. In a way, this was proof that he was managing to stay in character.

Ryoma was a cautious man. To regain his full composure, he decided to stretch out the conversation by bringing up a completely unrelated topic.

“Ah, changing the subject… Where did you buy those pajamas? I’ve never seen that style before.”

“I found them online.”

“Oh, online? I’ve heard that sometimes the sizes don’t match. How was it for you?”

“I just pick the smallest one.”

“Ah… I see.”

The difference between online shopping and in-person shopping lay in whether you could see the actual item and, in the case of clothing, whether you could try it on. The weakness of online shopping was precisely this—uncertainty about whether the size would fit.

However, for someone as petite as Himeno, simply choosing the smallest size usually prevented any disastrous sizing mistakes.

“Shiba, did you just think I’m tiny?”

“I wonder how many times we’ve had this conversation… Sorry.”

“Hm, I forgive you.”

As she had before, Himeno responded with generosity.

“But sometimes, don’t you still end up with sizes that are too big?”

“Both happen.”

“Both? You mean you’ve gotten clothes that were too small, too?”

“Yeah, once I didn’t check properly and ended up with kids’ size clothing.”

“Haha, did you manage to wear it?”

“Himeno isn’t that small.”

It was the kind of story meant to get a laugh, yet Himeno answered with a completely straight face.

“But your feet are pretty close to kids’ sizes, aren’t they? You wear 21.5 cm, right?”

“No, it’s 22 cm. Look.”

Himeno placed her bare feet flat on the carpet, letting Ryoma see for himself.

Ryoma looked at her bare feet… but the only thoughts that innocently crossed his mind were: small, white, and pretty.

“Yeah, I don’t think I can tell a 0.5 cm difference just by looking…”

“…It’s 22 cm.”

Himeno spoke with quiet determination, as if this was something she absolutely would not compromise on.

“But you know, foot size-wise, you’re probably the same as a 9- or 10-year-old boy.”

“No way. That can’t be true.”

“I saw it on a poster in some shopping center. A size comparison chart said that boys aged 9 to 10 usually have feet between 21 and 22 cm.”

“…Lies.”

“It’s true.”

“…”

At that moment, a dark shadow seemed to cast over Himeno’s usually expressionless face. It was as if she had been pushed to the edge of despair.

(This is bad…)

Ryoma’s internal alarm blared. He needed to change the subject—fast.

“A-Ah! Hey, so, are you okay with it now? Showing me your bare feet?”

“Hm?”

“I mean, when I got to your apartment earlier, you were wearing sandals in the elevator… and you seemed embarrassed then.”

“…”

“But just now, you literally told me to look at them…?”

As Ryoma tilted his head in confusion, Himeno suddenly released the orca plushie from its headlock and gently placed it on the bed.

Then, without a word, she stood up.

“Huh?”

“I’m putting on socks… Shiba humiliated me.”

“Isn’t that unfair!?”

“You saw too much…”

Given the situation, she must have recalled what had happened after Ryoma pointed it out. Her face flushed red, and she shut her eyes before quickly leaving the room again.

“—Wait, what?”

It took Ryoma a moment to process what had just happened—Himeno’s change in expression.

“Just now… huh? That looked completely natural…”

Calling her expressionless had been inaccurate. The embarrassed look on her face seemed completely genuine.

(This isn’t just my imagination… Is this really the effect of shoujo manga…?)

As that realization sank in, Ryoma replayed the image of Himeno’s flustered face in his mind.

“I didn’t know… she could make that kind of expression.”

A hint of happiness crept into his voice as he said it out loud.

And then—something strange happened.

Thump, thump.

“…Huh?”

The calm, steady rhythm of his heartbeat suddenly grew louder and stronger, almost suffocatingly so.

(W-what is this…?)

He had no idea what was happening. The only certainty was that his heart was pounding like crazy.

Without realizing it, Ryoma had fallen victim to the same “gap moe” that had stunned Himeno before. It was almost poetic—her reaction to his transformation in the university’s empty classroom had now been returned in full force.

Click.

“—!”

Himeno re-entered the room, her face still flushed, fidgeting slightly.

On her feet were pristine polka-dotted socks.

“Now it’s fine.”

“A-ah…”

“Shiba, is something wrong?”

“N-no, it’s nothing!”

“I see.”

While Ryoma struggled to regain his composure, Himeno sat back down on the bed. Then, cradling her beloved giant orca plushie, she proceeded to put it in yet another professional wrestling hold—the camel clutch.

“Shiba, let’s do the next request.”

“A-ah… Yeah, no point wasting time! Uh, next is…”

“Himeno will hug Shiba.”

She declared it while keeping the orca locked in her hold. She wasn’t demonstrating—just stating a fact.

“Huh? But if we’re going by order, shouldn’t the princess carry come first?”

“The princess carry… is unnecessary now.”

“Y-you don’t need to do it?”

“Mm. Himeno decided. The princess carry is for the wedding.”

“Uh… You mean you want your husband to do it?”

“Yes. Also… I don’t want my face to be seen when I’m being carried.”

“Yeah, that’d be pretty embarrassing.”

“Mm. Sorry for bringing it up so suddenly.”

Everyone had their own values. For Himeno, she wanted to save this first experience for her most special day.

“That’s why, in exchange, I’ll decide on the hug setting… This is where I’ll focus on leveling up the manga.”

“Got it. I’ll respect your decision.”

“Mm, thank you…”

“No, no, you don’t need to thank me for that.”

Once the client clearly stated their opinion, the stand-in had no right to force anything. Their job was to respect it.

Ryoma accepted with a smile, but—

(I’m saved…!)

Internally, he was breathing a sigh of relief.

Yes, this meant he had just managed to dodge a major trial. He had been unknowingly rescued by Himeno’s personal values. There was no greater stroke of luck.

“Alright then, can you tell me about the hug setting?”

Now that he had avoided one ordeal, the nervousness from earlier had completely vanished. He asked in a relaxed tone.

“Shiba, is there a game you like? Or one you want to play? Anything is fine.”

“A game? Hmm, I don’t really play games that much…”

“Not allowed. Pick something.”

“Even if you say that… Uh—oh!”

After a moment of hesitation, Ryoma suddenly remembered.

“A new Pokémon game came out recently, right? The one with Marnie, I think?”

“Mm, it did.”

“It’s been a while since I played Pokémon, so I’ve been kind of curious about the new one.”

“Understood. I’ll bring it.”

“You’ll… bring it?”

“Mm.”

Himeno nodded firmly, then released the orca plushie and headed back to the living room.

A few seconds later, she returned—holding the explosively popular gaming console, the Switch, in both hands.

“Wait, you bought it?”

“Mm. I already finished everything.”

“That was fast…”

“Shiba, you can sit here and play Pokémon.”

She patted the bed where she had been sitting, marking his spot.

“Is it okay?”

“Mm, play as much as you want.”

“Seriously!? Thanks!”

Being able to play a game he’d wanted to try—of course he was happy.

Ryoma took the Switch from Himeno, but naturally, she followed up with her real request.

“While Shiba is playing Pokémon, Himeno will hug from the front.”

“…Huh?”

His excitement had made him forget they were in the middle of a request.

Seeing that Ryoma didn’t quite grasp it, Himeno clarified in even simpler terms.

“While Shiba enjoys Pokémon, Himeno will sit on Shiba’s lap and cling to him like a koala.”

Thus, while Ryoma played Pokémon, Himeno secured unlimited hugging privileges.

And this would end up activating Himeno’s clingy mode switch.