I Was Not Popular With Girls in My Previous Life, but I Was Reincarnated Into a World Where Harems Are the Norm, and a Mentally Unstable Elf Beauty Follows Me Around - Chapter 13 & 14

What an Utterly Hopeless Person You Are

Morning came, and when I went to the living room, breakfast was already laid out on the table.

“Good morning, Kaito.”

Airi was the one who greeted me.

“Good morning, Airi.”

Until now, we had met in the inn’s dining hall in the mornings, but from today on, we would see each other’s faces every day at home. That felt like it went beyond just being adventurer companions.

Airi’s outfit was different too. When we met at the inn, she was already in her usual clothes. A dress-like outfit mainly in green, with white tights up to her knees.

But now she wore something like a checkered maid outfit, which looked just like elf cosplay.

“Do you usually dress like that, Airi?”

“Yes. It is easier to move in than my adventurer clothes.”

“I see.”

I thought I had responded normally, but Airi stared at me intently.

“Am I having a bedhead or something?”

“No, your hair looks normal today too.”

“I see. That is a relief.”

(This should end the conversation now, right?)

But Airi kept looking at me.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“You really are hopeless. That is exactly the kind of thing.”

With that, Airi lifted the hem of her skirt slightly with both hands… Oh, I got it. Yeah, this was my fault.

She probably wanted my opinion on her outfit. But the thought “Does she really want my opinion?” came first, and the option to compliment her had not even crossed my mind.

This must be what comes from a lack of experience. Meg had told me the same thing: I needed more confidence.

“It suits you really well. Your usual outfit is plenty attractive, but this one suits you too. I saw it for the first time today, but my gut reaction was that it is cute. There are people who look good in anything, like they step right out of a picture, and I think you are exactly that, Airi.”

“I-Is that so…! Honestly, what an utterly hopeless person you are. If Kaito says that much, then I have no choice, no choice at all! I will wear this around the house from now on. Oh, but do not get the wrong idea. It means it is easier to cook in this outfit… But if it happens to make Kaito happy too, then that can be one of the reasons. Of course, if there is another outfit that is easy to move in and Kaito likes… No, if there is an outfit that is easy to move in, then I might consider consulting Kaito about it.”

“You really can say all that without missing a beat. But anyway, I am glad you are happy.”

I could feel my mouth twitching into a grin earlier. Then, while that was happening, Meg and Sakura woke up too.

“Oh, Airi, you look cute!”

“Huh, if you get serious, you can make any guy fall for you in no time.”

Both of them praised Airi’s maid outfit in their own ways. It was impressive that complimenting her came to mind first.

Then we had breakfast all together. The menu was soft-looking bread, salad, and ham and eggs. Airi had made it.

“Sorry it is something simple.”

“Not at all. This amount is just right for me. And it is delicious!”

“You really are quite the catch.”

“Yeah, it is definitely tasty.”

Airi’s expression softened amid the chorus of praise. But she tried to switch back to a straight face to hide it. I wished she would just show her happy face openly, but maybe that was why the glimpses she gave shone so brightly.

“Well, it is about time for me to head to work. Airi, thanks for the meal. It was delicious.”

Sakura stood up from her seat. She was the only office worker in the group, and she had been at it for five years. Surprisingly diligent.

I had imagined succubi based on the ones from manga and anime, so this surprised me.

After seeing Sakura off, the three of us cleaned up and headed to the adventurer’s guild. Adventurers were not office workers, so in the extreme, we could just stay home all day today.

But that would feel unfair to Sakura, and doing nothing but staying home all day would make me feel this inexplicable anxiety, like I was wasting time.

Even though it was morning, the guild was packed with people.

“The reception and request board are full of people. Let us wait in the entrance for now.”

So we waited, surrounding a wooden table, when someone approached us. It was a young girl.

“Um, are you by any chance Kaito?”

“That is me, but how do you know my name?”

“I am glad. I thought if I waited here, I would definitely meet you.”

“Have we met somewhere?”

“Yes. Do you not remember?”

This was trouble… I had absolutely no recollection. Was there no choice but to use that method?

That method meant playing along casually while desperately trying to jog my memory in the brief meantime. Could I really pull off such an advanced technique?

**

So Let’s Date!

The girl who approached us at the adventurer’s guild appeared to be in her late teens. She had silver medium-length hair, and she wore a white blouse adorned with a small red ribbon, paired with a light blue, flowing knee-length skirt.

My first impression was one of refined elegance, like a young lady from a noble family. She was undoubtedly a beautiful girl, but like Airi, the term “beautiful” suited her better than “cute.”

And there was one important detail. Atop her beautiful silver hair were horns. No, they were triangular and seemed to sprout directly from her head.

(Upon closer inspection, they were not horns. Those were… ears!)

She was a beast-ear beauty. That said, her ears were not particularly large; they poked out adorably in a perky way. Still, I could imagine they were fluffy.

“Kaito, do you remember me?”

To be honest, I did not. There was no way I would forget meeting a beast-ear beauty.

This was one of those awkward situations that could happen even in Japan: you thought it was a first meeting, but the other person clearly knew you.

Should I overdo it a bit and say, “Long time no see!” to gauge her reaction? Or maybe deflect with, “What brings you here today?”

“Um…”

The words would not come. When I thought about it, I had no such conversation skills anyway.

“Sorry, I do not quite remember…”

“That is understandable. Oh, I am totally fine with it! The first time we met, I was still small back then.”

Unlike moments ago, the beautiful girl’s speech had turned casual.

“That means when you were a child, right?”

It had been just over a month since my reincarnation. So the timeline did not add up. Unless she had grown at an impossibly rapid rate, that could not be the case.

“I was small back then. Got it! Let me explain!”

With that, the beast-ear beauty joined us around the table. For now, Airi and Meg remained silent, watching the situation.

“It was unforgettable, about a month ago. My family and I were traveling through the forest by carriage when, unfortunately, we encountered bandits. Of course, we had guards with us, but the bandits outnumbered us, and one of them used powerful magic.”

The beast-ear beauty’s expression grew serious as she spoke.

“That magic was a wide-area status ailment spell. We had countermeasures against magic, of course, but the opponent’s magical power was overwhelmingly greater. It left us all unable to move!”

The beast-ear beauty’s tone grew emphatic at the end, as if she were reciting a story.

“The carriage was loaded with important cargo for a business deal. Since it was custom-made, replacing it would take time! Still, we decided to abandon the cargo rather than lose our lives. Once the bandits had stolen the goods, they grabbed my hand… That was when it happened! A person appeared out of nowhere, dashing in heroically, and rendered all the bandits immobile in an instant!”

It sounded just like an isekai reincarnation story. Starting in a forest. Then hearing a girl’s scream from somewhere and swooping in at the last moment to dominate with cheats. Something like that.

“I was mesmerized by the sheer overwhelming and brilliant display. I asked that person for their name. And then I made this request: ‘Marry me!'”

Up to that point, a certain memory surged back into my mind with incredible force.

“Then that person said this: ‘You need to grow up first!’ Hearing those words, I felt relieved. Because I would grow up soon enough!”

…Yes, that was me. No, wait, anyone would help in that situation, right!? And when a small child proposed, of course, no one would take it seriously, but you could not very well say “No way” or “Okay” either.

So at that moment, “You need to grow up first” was the only thing to say.

Besides, I never imagined she would actually grow this fast. Back then, she had seemed like an elementary school low-grader. Her appearance had not changed much, but she really was a different race, after all?

Come to think of it, she had only said “when I was small,” not “when I was a child.”

“So, how about it? Do you remember now? Me!”

“Could it be a case of mistaken identity?”

“No way! Because you have the same scent.”

(Beast instincts…! This seemed best to acknowledge.)

“I remember completely now. Yes, I did say that, but marrying for real is not realistic, is it?”

“Of course! I understand that perfectly. So let’s date!”

“I think dating leads to marriage.”

In Japan, I had no appeal to women. In this other world, my popularity was strangely specific. Still, I thought this was better, and that made me normal, I supposed.