In a World of Reversed Chastity, I’m Rumored to Be an Easy Bitch (♂) Among Lustful Girls - 31

Chapter 31: Shall We Go for Jiro Ramen?

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Monday, the start of the week. The weekend had ended, and the Monday blues had set in. However, today was a fantastic day since, for various reasons, school would be over by noon. I wished everyday could be like this. Please make every Monday half-day. 

Once the morning classes ended, we were free from school. Feeling hungry, I thought about grabbing something to eat. I turned to Haruto, who sat behind me, and called out to him.

“Haruto, let’s go get some ramen.”

“Sounds good! Practice is canceled today, so let’s hit up that place we haven’t been to in a while.”

“Oh yeah, let’s go, let’s go!”

The place Haruto was referring to was a ramen shop with the distinctive name “Ramen Chain: Look Up at the Sky.” It was one of those places where you could pile on extra oil, garlic, and vegetables—a heavy, high-calorie type of ramen joint. Because of the sheer portion sizes, it was especially popular among student athletes.

I wasn’t particularly confident in my stomach capacity, but considering how hungry I was today, I felt like I could handle it. Eager to secure a spot in line as soon as possible, Haruto and I sprinted toward the ramen place. When we arrived, panting from the run, there was already a line stretching outside the store.

“Haa… Haa…”

“We ran here at full speed, but there’s already a line, huh?”

“H-Haruto… You’re too fast.”

“I train my body everyday, after all. Asahi, you should work out too.”

“I-I’ll… think about it.”

Haruto was ridiculously fast. He was tall, with long legs, and once he reached his top speed, he could maintain it effortlessly. For an average guy like me, keeping up with him was impossible. The only way to catch up was to take advantage of the corners, slowing down at turns to close the gap.

Catching up with the difference at the corners…!

“Still, look at this line. Guess everyone had a half-day today?”

“Probably. Nishimeya-san mentioned earlier that all the schools in the city are off for half the day.”

“Then I guess there’s no helping it. I’m starving, but we’ll just have to wait our turn.”

“They say hunger is the best seasoning, so this amount of line should be just right for us.”

With that, we joined the end of the line. Judging by the length of the queue, it looked like we’d be waiting for about thirty minutes. Just as I was preparing myself for the wait, the screech of a bicycle braking suddenly pierced the air.

“Yo, you two! What a coincidence!”

“S-Sotogahama-san? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I just happened to spot you two here!”

“O-Oh… Yeah, a coincidence, huh…”

The person who had dramatically skidded to a stop on her bike was Riria. As usual, she showed no shame whatsoever when her skirt flipped up from the sudden stop, exposing her underwear. Today, she was wearing brown fabric with turquoise lace—a pair that had the same high-class aesthetic as those expensive chocolates you’d see in department stores around Valentine’s Day.

Man, Riria sure has an impressive variety of underwear.

She claimed it was a coincidence, but she had probably been tracking my location using the SENLY app. Since Haruto and Riria weren’t friends on the app, she must have predicted I’d be with him and taken a guess on where to find me.

Damn, she’s got sharp instincts…

“So, you guys are here for ramen, huh?”

“Yeah. The portions here are insane, so I figured since I’m starving, this place would be the perfect choice.”

“I see, I see… Mind if I join you?”

“Eh? Sure, but the portions are really big, you know? Are you okay with that, Sotogahama-san?”

“Leave it to me! Today’s my cheat day!”

“I wasn’t talking about calorie intake… I meant stomach capacity…”

“Oh, that? No problem!”

With a beaming smile, Riria lined up behind Haruto and me. Haruto had mentioned before that he wasn’t fond of Riria because she always talked about crude topics during lunch. But once they actually started talking, they warmed up to each other surprisingly fast.

Thanks to Riria’s naturally gifted communication skills, they were able to have a casual conversation with ease.

Amazing, Riria. How are you able to do that? 

As we chatted, the line moved forward, and before we knew it, we had bought our meal tickets and taken seats at the counter. After placing our orders and waiting for a bit, an enormous bowl of ramen was placed in front of us.

“Whoa… This looks even crazier than usual today.”

“Yeah… I ordered extra, extra vegetables, but I wonder if I can finish it all.”

“Heee~ Not bad, but this is nothing for me.”

As our bowls arrived, we each reacted in our own way, then grabbed our chopsticks and started eating.

Yeah. That initial punch of oil and thick noodles hitting me all at once… This is what makes it irresistible.

Though, as always, it got harder to keep going the more I ate. Still, I pushed through and somehow managed to finish my bowl. Haruto, looking completely unfazed, polished off his extra, extra vegetable portion. As expected from Haruto.

And as for Riria…

“Humph. This is nothing. I could probably handle the Double Large Pork next time.”

“Whoa… She actually finished all that?”

“Yeah, I didn’t think a girl could eat that much…”

Although she had opted to leave out the garlic, Riria had ordered almost the same amount as Haruto. I had expected her to struggle and end up going down the ‘Groveling Before the Owner! Please Watch It on the Subchannel!’ route, but she kept eating without pause until she was done.

Hey, come on, this is where you’re supposed to leave some food behind… Groveling is supposed to be your specialty, Riria…

Still unable to process my surprise, we stepped out of the shop. The spring breeze that hit us after our battle felt incredibly refreshing. …Except for the unmistakable scent of garlic lingering all over our bodies.

No, I should just hold my breath and ignore it.

“Phew… Sometimes, eating junk food like this isn’t so bad.”

“I didn’t expect you to eat that much, Sotogahama-san. That was impressive.”

“Right? Even when I go to all-you-can-eat dessert buffets with the popular girls’ squad, I end up eating the most.”

“Yikes… A true calorie monster…”

“Well, for me, that amount of food is easy-peasy. The trick is to go for items with a high ingredient cost—”

Puffed up with pride, Riria launched into tales of her heroic feats at dessert buffets. For the first time in my life, just listening to someone talk was giving me heartburn. I managed to tune her out with a series of “Yeah, yeah…” responses, but Haruto—who wasn’t fond of sweets—wasn’t so lucky.

“S-Sorry… I’m starting to feel a little sick…”

“Haruto, are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah, but eating too much earlier is making my stomach feel even heavier now.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard. After all, you’re the power word of the basketball team.”

“…Power forward.”

“…Right. My bad.”

Realizing that listening to any more of Riria’s dessert stories would be dangerous, I urged Haruto to head home and rest. He had a few tournaments coming up, so looking guilty, he took my advice and left.

Don’t worry about it, Haruto.  Riria is the real problem. She just doesn’t know when to stop.

“Ahh… Fujisaki-kun left.”

“Because you kept talking about sweets, Sotogahama-san.”

“But it’s all true! If you don’t believe me, we can go to Sweets Shangri-La next time, and I’ll prove it!”

“No, I’m not doubting you! I’m just amazed you kept going despite knowing Haruto doesn’t like sweets.”

“…Wait, really?”

“The fact that you didn’t realize it until now is definitely what I would expect from Sotogahama Quality…”

“Wait, does this mean I can’t go on a Sweets Shangri-La date with Fujisaki-kun!?”

“Yeah, probably not. He taps out after a single slice of shortcake.”

Riria’s disappointment was so obvious it was almost funny. I had no idea what kind of date she had envisioned, but sweets were a strict no-go for Haruto. Even Ayame-san, of all people, didn’t get him chocolate for Valentine’s. Instead, she gave him a meat cake.

Meat cake… What even is a meat cake?

“I wanted to talk with Fujisaki-kun more, but I guess it can’t be helped…”

“Just remember, no talking about sweets in front of him.”

“Got it, I’ll be careful. By the way, Hirakawa-kun, are you free now?”

“…Yeah, I guess so.”

“Then how about we go do some exercise to burn off all that food?”

Riria gave me a mischievous grin at that.

…Wait, when she says exercise, does she mean…?

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