I Started a Lover-for-Hire Service, And For Some Reason, Only Beautiful Girls Are Requesting Me - Chapter 9: Love Lessons from My Sister Kaya

“Phew… So cold…”

With the sound of the door unlocking, Kaya stepped into the living room, rubbing her hands together.

It was past 9:30 PM.

After finishing work, Kaya dropped her bag onto the sofa with a heavy thud.

“Welcome home, Kaya-nee.”

“I’m home~”

Ryoma stood in the kitchen, still wearing the same outfit from his date with Himeno, continuing to cook. After returning home, he had gone straight into doing household chores.

He wanted to have dinner ready as soon as possible for Kaya, who was probably exhausted from work.

“Sorry, dinner will be ready soon.”

“Oh, no worries at all… huh? Did you go out somewhere today?”

“W-Well… yeah.”

Ryoma still couldn’t bring himself to say it—to tell his sister Kaya that he had started a job as a rental boyfriend.

It wasn’t that he intended to hide it, but even with someone he trusted completely, it was difficult to talk about this kind of job. Besides, Kaya wouldn’t approve of part-time work that had the potential for all sorts of complications.

“You’re dressed a little nicer than usual. Don’t tell me it’s because of this?”

Kaya flashed a smug grin, holding up her pinky finger suggestively.

“N-No, it’s not that! I just went out to hang out, that’s all.”

Technically, that wasn’t entirely a lie. Even though he was sweating nervously, Ryoma kept moving his hands, focused on cooking.

“Well, if you ever get a girlfriend, make sure to tell me. I’ll figure out if she’s a proper girlfriend or not.”

“You don’t have to do that… Anyway, I’ve already run the bath, so go ahead. I even put in some lavender bath salts.”

“You’re always so thoughtful! In that case, I’ll go first!”

Loving nothing more than a hot bath filled to the brim, Kaya hurried off to the bathroom.

(Kaya-nee really is amazing…)

To Ryoma, Kaya was someone he admired—someone he aspired to be like.

She often worked from 9 AM, coming home just before 10 PM, including overtime. Apparently, she was paid properly for her extra hours, but that still meant working around 10 hours a day.

Ryoma had worked 9-hour shifts at his part-time job at the bookstore before, and by the end, his exhaustion would unconsciously show on his face and in his demeanor.

Kaya, on the other hand, must’ve been even more exhausted, yet she never showed any signs of it.

Even if there were things she disliked about her job or felt frustrated about, she never complained—not once.

She always wore the same expression, the same tone of voice, casually saying things like, “Another day done! I worked hard today!” as if it were nothing.

That wasn’t something just anyone could do. It was obvious, without needing to ask, that she did it so no one would worry about her.

That was precisely why Ryoma tried to support Kaya as much as possible.

He cooked, did the laundry, cleaned—anything he could. As a result, he’d developed household skills that could rival any homemaker.

(I still have a long way to go…)

To pay for his tuition, he needed more money. His income sources were his part-time job at the bookstore and his work as a rental boyfriend. The latter paid more in a shorter amount of time. As he plated the freshly made meal, he pondered how to secure repeat clients.

＊＊＊

“Huh? How to get a girl to like you?”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right.”

After they’d finished the curry Ryoma had made, he casually asked Kaya while they relaxed on the sofa.

“What’s going on with you, Ryoma?”

“W-Well, there’s someone I’m interested in. So, I’d like you to give me serious advice.”

Of course, that was a total lie.

Ryoma wanted advice from Kaya to get repeat customers for his rental boyfriend job.

When it comes to understanding women, who better to ask than another woman? Kaya was the only one he could consult about this.

Between pride and money—Ryoma chose money.

“Ah-ha, so you spent time with that girl today, huh?”

“Yeah, kind of…”

“Ryoma coming to his sister for love advice? You must be serious.”

“Well… yeah.”

“Geez, you’re giving me nothing but vague answers. Ryoma, you’re blushing too much.”

“C-Can’t help it… I mean, I’m asking my sister for this kind of advice…”

In this world, there were certainly some brothers and sisters who consulted each other about love.

However, Ryoma’s situation was far too unique, considering he put money above all else.

“Well, I guess that makes sense. If you’re that serious, I don’t mind teaching you, but I might not have much to offer, you know?”

“Thanks. That’s more than enough.”

Ryoma spread out a notepad on the small table and gripped a mechanical pencil.

“Huh? You’re taking notes?”

“I can’t absorb it unless I write it down.”

“You’re really desperate. Your eyes are dead serious.”

“If I’m not seriously committed, I won’t get any results.”

“…Hoh, look at you. You’re absolutely right.”

There probably weren’t many people who got this serious about romance. However, for Ryoma, money was on the line. To earn even a single extra yen, he had to be liked by his clients and secure repeat business.

“Alright, I’ll list some ways to gain a woman’s affection—”

“Yeah.”

“Compliment her a lot. Notice small changes. Treat her differently from other women. Listen carefully when she talks. Make her feel valued. Maintain good hygiene. Oh… and small acts of kindness without expecting anything in return are important too. Like offering her a coffee after work, something simple like that.”

“Wait, you’re talking too fast! Please slow down a bit.”

Kaya rattled off her advice quickly. So far, Ryoma had only managed to jot down “compliment her a lot” and “notice small changes”.

“And then there’s the Caligula effect, the mere exposure effect, cognitive dissonance theory, the similarity principle, the suspension bridge effect—”

“Wait, that’s completely different from what you just said! And what are those complicated terms?!”

If she had been able to explain all of that in detail, anyone would’ve been left thinking, “Who even are you?” Still, what Kaya listed were all valid strategies for gaining someone’s affection.

“Ryoma, honestly, you only needed to understand three or four key things to get a woman’s attention. I just threw out a bunch of terms to make that point.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, even though I’m saying this myself, women can be complicated creatures. If you tried to list every little thing about winning someone over, there’d be no end to it. That’s why people always say, ‘You need to understand a woman’s heart,’ right?”

“Ah… yeah, they did say that.”

“That’s because there’s so much information that you wouldn’t be able to absorb it even if I explained it. That’s why everyone just says ‘understand a woman’s heart’ in one simple line. Explaining it all is a hassle.”

Perhaps it was because Kaya was a woman herself, but her words were extremely convincing.

“In my opinion, if you compliment a lot, listen carefully, and maintain cleanliness, that’s already enough to get you through. Don’t overthink it, just start with those. Once you manage that, I’ll tell you more.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

Ryoma wrote down the new advice on top of what he’d already noted, “compliment a lot” and “notice small changes”. He added “listen carefully” and “maintain cleanliness” to the list.

For now, these four points would be his goal.

“Lastly, it’s important to figure out when and where to show off your skills. For you, Ryoma, you should make the most of your cooking abilities. If the person you like catches a cold and ends up bedridden, cooking them a white fish porridge would be perfect.”

“White fish porridge? Why is that the choice? Wouldn’t egg porridge work just as well? It’s easier to make.”

Ryoma’s question showed just how much he still had to learn. There was actually a specific reason behind choosing white fish.

“Because if you take out the fish bones and put them in the trash, it naturally boosts your favorability. Taking the time to remove the bones shows, ‘This person went out of their way for me. They really thought about me’, right?”

“That’s… a little too cunning, don’t you think?!”

“You can’t be picky about your methods. If you want to make someone like you, you’ve got to do whatever it takes.”

Kaya’s approach was all about strategically making someone develop affection. To Ryoma, it was hard to grasp… but he knew it was a necessary skill if he wanted to make money.

“Also, if you’re thinking about giving someone shoes as a gift, you should first take them to a bowling center.”

“A bowling center? Why?”

“Because when you rent shoes, you’ll find out their shoe size, right? If you ask their shoe size directly, the surprise of the gift will be gone. So, you throw in a little reconnaissance jab like that.”

“!!”

In that moment, Ryoma realized just how deep love could be.

“K-Kaya, what kind of relationships have you had in the past…?”

“Hmm, who knows? But for now, Ryoma, just do your best. Once you reach my level, you’ll be able to make most men fall for you easily.”

“…”

Ryoma was left speechless by Kaya’s casual remark. His mouth hung open in disbelief.