In a World of Reversed Chastity, I’m Rumored to Be an Easy Bitch (♂) Among Lustful Girls - 42

Chapter 42: That’s What I’m Talking About, Hirakawa-kun

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The seasons had changed slightly, and it was time to change uniforms. For someone like me, who disliked tight clothing, this season—when a single shirt was enough—felt wonderfully comfortable.

A few years ago, our high school switched to polo shirts for summer uniforms. This uniform felt even better because we didn’t need to use neckties.  Whoever the principal was a few generations back who made that decision… Nice work.

When I arrived at school and entered the classroom, I saw that almost everyone had already switched to their summer uniforms. Technically, this was still the transition period, so we were allowed to wear either summer or winter uniforms. Well, maybe due to the rising temperatures lately, no one was actually wearing the winter uniform.

“Morning, Asahi! Summer uniform all the way, huh?”

“Morning, Haruto. Yeah. Can’t really help it with this heat.”

Haruto was the first to greet me as I walked into the classroom. He seemed to have grown taller since last year, and maybe because of the size upgrade, his navy-blue polo shirt for second-years looked brand new, the collar stiff and upright.

“Haruto, did you get taller again?”

I asked offhandedly, and immediately felt the stares of the girls around us.

…Crap. I forgot this world had gender roles reversed. That question would be equivalent to asking a cute girl friend,“Did your boobs get bigger?” in the original world.  Any guy who overheard that would absolutely perk up their ears. To the girl on the receiving end, it’d basically be public humiliation.

Just as I feared, all the girls turned their attention to Haruto, whose face flushed bright red.

“A-Asahi… Don’t ask embarrassing stuff like that…”

“S-Sorry… That was way too thoughtless of me…”

“You know, Asahi, you’ve gotten kinda bold lately. You didn’t use to be like this, right?”

“Di-Did I? Maybe you’re just imagining things? Hahaha…”

All I could do was laugh awkwardly. Back in the original world, I was the type of guy who kept his perviness under wraps. But ever since the gender roles got flipped, I’d been gaining way too much “experience” too fast, and now my instincts were all out of whack.

It felt like one of those old-school game glitches—selecting the seventh item, holding the Select button for four seconds, then using a move in battle to farm EXP in bulk.

“You’re not the only one, Asahi. Lately, people around me have been acting kind of weird. I wonder what’s going on?”

“Weird? Like  how?”

“Well, the most obvious one is my big sister.”

“Ayame-san…?”

“Yeah. Ever since that incident, she’s been acting differently. She used to smother me with attention to an annoying degree, but now it’s like she’s suddenly stopped being clingy altogether.”

“Th-That does sound strange…”

Haruto’s sister, Ayame-san, was an extreme brocon. You could even say she was one of the biggest victims of the whole gender-role-reversal thing. Her love for her younger brother was so intense that she once secretly showed up at his basketball tournament just to snap candid photos of Haruto.

In the original world, she would’ve probably been seen as a sweet, caring older sister—but here, she was a major handful. I genuinely felt bad for her.

“For someone like her to just suddenly stop making a move on me… There’s no way that’s normal, right?”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right… Oh, come to think of it, she said she found a new idol to support.”

When she treated me to lunch, she mentioned wanting to support a little-brother-type idol group called “Chocolate Bubbles.”

Something told me she probably fell headfirst into the life of  an idol fan rabbit hole after that.

“An idol, huh… I never pegged my big sister as someone who’d be into that. I’m kind of surprised.”

“But doesn’t that mean she’s finally backing off from you? Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Well, for me, sure. But I feel kinda bad for whoever she shifted her attention to.”

“Hey, being adored is part of an idol’s job.”

“I guess so… I just hope it’s not, like, a cold or some weird sickness.”

“If you’re that worried, want me to check on her later?”

“No… it’s fine. On second thought, there’s no way my big sister, of all people, would catch a cold. She’s indestructible.”

Haruto gave up thinking about it. He was probably just thrown off because her clinginess had disappeared overnight. He didn’t need to worry about it too much, really.

Just before homeroom started, Hinayo arrived and took the seat next to mine—barely making it on time. She lived nearby, so apparently even if she overslept, she could still manage to show up on time. So lucky.

“Good morning, Nishimeya-san.”

“G-Good morning…”

For some reason, Hinayo averted her gaze the moment she greeted me and sat down at her desk.

Huh… Did I do something wrong? I mentally searched through my memory, and just then, Haruto leaned in and whispered to me.

“Nishimeya-san’s been acting a little weird too. She’s been staring at her phone a lot lately and sighing a bunch.”

“Then you should talk to her, Haruto. Hear her out.”

I said that out of genuine concern. It was just a hunch, but I was pretty sure these two had feelings for each other. This was the perfect opportunity to bring them closer. I had to assist however I could.

“Haah… You’re always like this, Asahi…”

“Huh? Did I say something weird?”

“What you said wasn’t wrong, technically… But maybe try being a bit more considerate toward Nishimeya-san?”

The sigh that came from this tall guy was palpable. I could almost see the sigh coming out of his mouth. It felt like Haruto was seriously exasperated with me—but I couldn’t think of any reason why.

Hmm… Did I do something to Hinayo…?

I dug through my memories. During that incident the other day, she was the first to call the police, and I’d already thanked her properly for that. I didn’t think I’d done anything to betray her trust…

Digging deeper… Wait. That day, I was supposed to go to the movies with Hinayo afterward. It had completely slipped my mind. She was shy and reserved, so when she saw me all caught up in the chaos, she probably didn’t have the courage to bring it up again.

Man, I really dropped the ball on that one. Time for some serious reflection. I had to apologize to her immediately.

“Um… Nishimeya-san… I’m really sorry.”

“F-Fuah!? Wh-What is it, all of a sudden!? Did something happen?”

“No, I just… remembered I totally forgot about our plan to go see a movie the other day.”

“Y-You don’t have to worry about that! Seriously! Please don’t apologize so much!”

Even though she said that, she clearly was bothered by it. No way she’d be this dejected if she truly didn’t care about the movie.

“You say that, but I know it upset you. This one’s on me.”

“It’s not your fault, Hirakawa-kun. It was that pervert’s fault for ruining everything…”

“True, that creep did ruin our plans—but I’m the one who forgot afterward. So, Nishimeya-san, I know it’s already too late for me to say it, but… Do you want to go see a movie with me? For real this time?”

The best way to make up for missing the movie was to go see a movie. I’d take her to whatever she wanted to see, let her enjoy it to the fullest. That was the best apology I could offer.

“Y-You really mean it? You’ll go with me?”

“Yeah. Of course. I’ll cover the tickets, too.”

“N-No way, you don’t have to go that far!”

“It’s fine. It’s just my way of making it up to you. So, when do you want to go?”

“Th-Then, um… How about today? If that’s not too soon?”

“Sure. I’ll come find you after school.”

“Ye-Yesh…!”

Well, I managed to set up a make-up date, at least. All I had to do now was buy the popcorn and drinks, and we’d be good to go.

I wonder if she prefers salty or caramel? Well, I’ll just buy both to be safe.

I just wanted to cheer Hinayo up with this simple plan of mine… But little did I know, she’d end up way more excited than I ever expected…

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