In a World of Reversed Chastity, I’m Rumored to Be an Easy Bitch (♂) Among Lustful Girls - 48

Chapter 48: Even Though All I Did Was Drop My Phone…

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Hey Asahi, can I talk to you for a second?”

It was during a break at school when Haruto came to me. It seemed he had something he wanted to discuss with me. 

“What’s up? Did something happen?”

“Yeah, sort of. It’s about my big sister.”

“Ayame-san?”

“Yeah. I told you recently that she’s been acting really cold toward me, right?”

“Oh yeah. You said it was like she suddenly stopped being so clingy?”

“Exactly. But it’s not just with me. She’s been acting distant to our parents too.”

According to Haruto, Ayame-san was the type who, even though she lived alone, kept in regular contact with their family. But lately, her responses had been delayed. In fact, sometimes she wouldn’t reply to messages until the next day or later, and that was becoming the norm.

“So anyway, our parents asked me to go check in on her.”

“Ah, that’s right. Today’s one of those days when all our school clubs are off. Perfect chance. You should just go and pay her a quick visit.”

“I mean, yeah, but…”

Haruto made a reluctant face at that suggestion. I couldn’t blame him. No matter how you looked at it, the girl who used to obsessively dote on him was now acting distant. That kind of change would be awkward for anyone to deal with—even if they weren’t Haruto.

“I just… I don’t really wanna go alone. So, Asahi, would you come with me?”

“It can’t be helped, huh? Well, I did want to thank Ayame-san for the other day anyway. I’ll go with you.”

“Really? Thanks, Asahi. You really help me a lot here.”

During that incident the other day, it was Ayame-san who ultimately tackled the culprit and pinned her down. When it came to physical strength, you might think Riria would come on top, but Ayame-san actually far surpassed Riria. Back in high school, Ayame-san competed in wrestling tournaments at the national level. She was even selected  as a specially designated athlete.

For some reason, she quit wrestling when she started college, but apparently she shifted her focus to studying medicine with serious dedication. She’d helped me study a few times in the past too, and I used to really admire how she could excel in both academic and sports. 

Well, it’s kind of a shame that ever since the world flipped and turned into a reverse-chastity society, her little brother has been majorly creeped out by her…But if I go with Haruto, the tension between the Fujisaki siblings shouldn’t get too bad.

After school, I followed Haruto to the apartment where Ayame-san lived. We took the train from the station nearest our high school heading toward the city center, then got off a few stops before the terminal station. Apparently, Ayame-san lived in a youthful, student-heavy part of town.

“…Nee-san, it’s me.”

In front of her apartment door, Haruto hesitantly pressed the intercom. After a short pause, a reply came back through the scratchy speaker.

『Ha… Haru-kun?』

“Yeah. Mom asked me to bring you some stuff.”

『O-Okay. Gimme a minute to tidy up. Just wait there.』

About five minutes later, the sound of the lock turning echoed, and the door opened. Standing there was Ayame-san, clearly in her off-duty mode.

“Ah, thanks, Haru-kun… Wait, Asahi-kun too!?”

“I hope you don’t mind, Ayame-san. Haruto asked me to come along.”

“Geez. Asahi, you weren’t supposed to say that.”

“Oops. My bad.”

Ayame-san looked pretty surprised by my unexpected presence.

I mean, it’s not every day a total stranger tags along to a sibling visit—anyone would be taken aback.

Though something about her reaction felt a bit over the top… but whatever, I should let it slide for now.

“A-Anyway, why don’t you come in first? At least have some tea or something.”

“It’s fine. I’ll head back after I drop this off.”

Haruto bluntly handed her a large paper bag. Inside were supplies sent by their parents. This was the first time I’d ever seen Haruto act so cold. Their relationship must be really bad, huh?

“Come on, Haruto. No harm in staying a little. I’m sure Ayame-san has things she wants to talk about too.”

“…Well, if you say so, Asahi.”

Thanks to my persuasion, Haruto reluctantly agreed to come inside. But once we sat in the living room and had just one cup of tea, he said he was heading out and left almost immediately.

Yeah, this is worse than I thought.

Haruto basically bolted. I quickly followed after him. Just as we reached the ticket gates at the station, I realized something.

“…Ah, I forgot my phone.”

I usually use a commuter IC card to get through the gates, but when I was travelling outside of my commuter IC card’s zone, I had to rely on my phone’s mobile IC. My parents didn’t like using cash, so my allowance was transferred to my phone too. 

In fact, it was harder to find a place that didn’t accept digital payments these days. Convenience stores, vending machines, everything could be paid with digital payments. I had gotten pretty used to it so… Losing my phone was actually a very big deal to me. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say forgetting my phone was a sin worthy of death. 

“Oh, my sister just messaged me.”

“Is it about my phone?”

“Looks like it. Sorry, Asahi. I rushed out and made you forget your phone”

“No worries. At least now I know where it is. I’ll head back to Ayame-san’s place. What about you, Haruto?”

“I think… I’ll just go home.”

“Alright… I will see you later.”

“Yeah, later.”

I saw Haruto off at the station, then ran back toward Ayame-san’s apartment. The sky looked a little suspicious. If I didn’t hurry, it might start raining. And sure enough, those kinds of ominous feelings always hit like Ichirou Suzuki with his batting skills in his prime.

“Whoa… It’s raining! And those are some huge drops…!”

I got soaked wet in an instant. I looked around for somewhere to take shelter, but figured it’d be faster to just make a dash for Ayame-san’s place. Sprinting through the rain, I finally made it back to her door and pressed the intercom button. Before I could even say who I was, the door opened and Ayame-san stepped out.

“Ah… Asahi-kun!? You’re drenched! Hurry up and come inside before you catch a cold!”

And just like that… I got pulled straight into the antlion’s pit.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー