In a World Where Chastity Is Reversed, I Kept Provoking Girls Until Things Went Too Far - Chapter 25-26

Chapter 25: A Date with Mom

“…And so, I’m heading out on the ‘nature study trip’ next week.”

After dinner, Kouta put the printout from school on the table.

His mom, Kasumi, took it and glanced over it, then immediately frowned.

“An overnight trip? Mixed boys and girls?”

“Well… yeah, but the rooms are separate, of course.”

“I know that, but… you understand the dangers in this world from what happened before, right?”

Before Kouta could laugh it off awkwardly, Mio stood up silently from the seat next to him.

She dropped her spoon on the table with a clink and slowly turned to face him.

“—Overnight?”

Her voice was strangely low and quiet.

“Uh, yeah. It’s a school event, so… might as well.”

“‘Might as well,’ huh?”

Mio leaned in close.

“‘Might as well’ as a reason to share a sleepover with some girls you don’t know? …Big brother?”

“No, that’s not it! It’s not like that—”

“Hmm. And? Those girls are probably just the sluts in your class who look at you with dirty eyes, right?”

“Hey, Mio, watch your mouth!”

“Don’t change the subject. I’m absolutely, positively not letting you go on that nature study trip!!”

Kouta hadn’t expected Mio’s jealousy to explode like this… The fallout from that net game incident last time hadn’t fully died down yet, and that was the problem…

“Don’t worry. Big brother’s ‘memories’ will all be made with me and right here at home.”

“…Don’t say scary stuff like that.”

His sister Rika, who had been listening from the side, sighed.

“Mio, that’s enough. Kouta’s properly sorry about it, right?”

“Sorry? Heh… I don’t think it’s enough.”

Mom cleared her throat to change the mood.

“…Well, no helping it. Have a good trip. But call right away if anything happens.”

“O-okay…”

Under the stares from his whole family, Kouta quietly set the printout down and escaped to his room.

The next day after school, I was at the shopping mall with Mom.

“It’s been a while since a date with Kouta. Makes my heart race~”

Mom grinned from ear to ear and took my hand.

“What are you talking about? We’re here to buy shoes and clothes for the nature study trip.”

…Well, Mom looks like she’s having fun, so I might as well enjoy it too.

“First, underwear.”

“Nah, what I have is fine.”

“No way. You always pick stuff at random. Look, you’ve worn torn ones before.”

“Urgh…”

She had a point there. But before I could argue back, Mom headed straight to the “men’s” section at the end of the store without a second thought.

“How about this? It’s colorful and it’ll perk you up, right?”

What Mom picked up was—fluorescent pink boxers with a huge smiley face slapped right in the middle.

“Mom… that hurts my eyes.”

“You’re young, so wear something this bright.”

“No, it’s not about being young!”

Mom’s hands kept grabbing one thing after another.

“Then this! Dragon print! You used to like stuff like this, right?”

“When was that, from some ancient era?!”

Truth is, my mom has zero fashion sense. She’s our family’s finance minister, so I want to respect that, but I’ve got my pride too.

“…I’ll pick my own.”

“Aww, you’re no fun.”

“Your sense is hopeless, Mom!”

“What?!”

In the end, I grabbed a few plain black and gray pairs and headed to the register.

Mom was still grumbling behind me.

“Black is so boring. Life needs color.”

“Your colors are too intense, Mom…”

After finally getting the underwear, plus new pajamas and shoes, I felt totally wiped out.

But as we finished paying, Mom smiled like she was pretty satisfied.

“You went with plain in the end… but I think it suits you.”

“You really mean that?”

“Yeah, Kouta looks good in anything!”

We walked home with bags in hand.

Shoes, underwear, and pajamas to boot. My mental energy was pretty much spent after today.

“Hey, Kouta, that was some good shopping!”

Mom smiled next to me, looking pleased.

“…I can tell you enjoyed it.”

“It’s a parent-child shopping date, right? We’d be missing out if we didn’t have fun.”

“Don’t call it a date.”

That’s when I let out a small sigh.

“—Huh? Mom, Kouta?”

I turned at the familiar voice, and there was my sister, probably heading back from club activities.

“You two out shopping?”

“Yep, prepping for the nature study trip!”

“Hmm… Don’t tell me Mom picked out Kouta’s clothes too.”

“Of course I did the choosing. It’s a mother’s duty.”

“He probably hated it. Your sense is hopeless, after all.”

Mom’s face soured as she shot back.

“You kids’ tastes are still so childish. Leave it to an adult’s sense, and you can’t go wrong!! You used to love wearing the clothes I picked out back in the day.”

“Don’t drag up stuff from when I was in elementary school!”

Their usual bickering started up, but it was more like playful teasing between them.

In the end, they both linked arms with me in the middle and chatted about nothing in particular.

The vibe felt oddly comfortable, and I ended up smiling along with them.

—

Chapter 26: The Start of the Nature Study Trip

The cityscape flowing past the window gradually shifted from the urban streets where we lived to landscapes with more greenery.

The bus was filled with a buzz of laughter and the small sounds of candy wrappers crinkling.

As the engine’s vibrations marked a pleasant rhythm, our group had moved into introductions.

“Since we’re here, let’s do proper introductions as a group.”

Otowa spoke up first.

She was naturally taking charge, just like the group leader for this trip.

“I’m Otowa Aida. You all probably know me, but anyway, I’m the group leader this time. Nice to meet you.”

She smiled as she said it, and everyone around her smiled back.

Otowa was really good at creating this kind of soft atmosphere.

Next, the girl from the seat next to me raised her hand.

She had her hair cut evenly at the shoulders and seemed full of energy.

“I’m Eri Kinoshita! I’m good at sports, so leave any physical stuff for the nature study trip to me!”

The energy in her voice drew an “Ooh” and applause from around us. She was the kind of person who usually acted as the mood maker at the center of the class.

Next came a gentle voice saying, “…Um, I’m Haru Sato. I like animals.”

She gave off a small-animal vibe, and the girl next to her, Hanamura, immediately reached over to pat her head, making her blush and say, “S-stop that.”

“I’m Saya Izumi. I like games. And sleeping too.”

She said it in a flat tone, super laid-back, but it didn’t feel off-putting.

Her neatly put-together face stared right back into mine, and I quickly looked away.

Finally, everyone’s eyes turned to me.

“Al alright, me then…”

I cleared my throat lightly and picked my words.

“Um, I’m Kouta Takeda. Since this is a good chance, I want to get along with everyone. Nice to meet you!”

“Hehe, nice to meet you too!”

Eri’s words got everyone chiming in, and the mood was really warm.

“But honestly, I thought you’d skip this event, Kouta. A lot of guys apparently do…”

“Well, it’s high school life, after all. You have to enjoy stuff like this to win, right?”

“But you seem like the type who’d oversleep for events like this. I’m glad you made it.”

“Hey, that’s harsh! I’m pretty reliable these days.”

“‘Pretty’—the fact that you say it yourself makes it hard to trust.”

Laughter broke out again, and the air in the bus softened once more.

Before I knew it, that initial tension had vanished somewhere.

“Hey, hey, bus rides are so boring after all! Let’s play a game!”

Eri’s voice rang out, her energy unusually high.

“A game sounds good… but it’ll probably have a penalty, right?”

Kouta gave a wry smile.

“Of course! Matches need that thrill.”

“So, what are we doing?”

“NG word game! Everyone picks a ‘forbidden word’ for someone else besides themselves.

And then you keep chatting without knowing what your forbidden word is!”

“Whoa, that’s definitely the kind that turns into total paranoia…”

“That’s what makes it fun!”

Otowa, Eri, Haru, Saya—and Kouta.

Everyone huddled across the bus aisle and started writing “NG words” on slips of paper.

Otowa, who was deciding mine, ran her pen across the paper with a straight face.

Her profile, which I happened to glance at, looked just a bit mischievous, like she was smiling slyly.

(…She’s seriously gonna make me say my NG word.)

Once the papers made their rounds, Eri took charge.

“Okay, let’s go. Start with casual chat. If someone says their own NG word, they’re out right then.”

Eri raised her hand right away.

“So, what are you all looking forward to for this nature study trip?”

Haru smiled gently.

“For me, the starry sky at night. You can’t really see it in the city.”

“So romantic~! What about you, Otowa?”

“For me, the campfire. It’s got that classic nature study trip image.”

“Me too, the campfire. Looking at fire outside calms my heart.”

“Huh~ I figured you for an indoor type, Saya. That’s surprising. For me, it’s definitely the pillow talk after lights out. I’m not letting anyone sleep until I hear everyone’s ideal guy!”

“I’m looking forward to everything, one way or another—but—”

“—Ah!”

Eri jumped in and yelled.

“You said it!!!”

“Huh!? What!?”

“‘Fun’—that’s your NG word, Kouta!”

“Whoa, for real!?!?”

The area erupted in laughter.

Otowa pressed her hand to her mouth, her shoulders shaking.

“…I figured you’d fall for it.”

“And so, Kouta, you’re out first thing~♪”

Eri clapped her hands.

“We’ll decide your penalty when we get to the rest stop later!”

“Sigh… I just have a really bad feeling about this…”

“Look forward to it~”