In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 51-52

Chapter 51: White Day Gifts

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“There’s quite a lot, isn’t there?”

“Well, of course. It’s the main event for White Day.”

The jewelry shop we stopped by was in the middle of their White Day Fair. Well, yeah. White Day was dawning near after all. Inside the glass display cases were various small pendants, earrings, and rings, each with different motifs.

The price range was mostly between a few thousand yen and about 30,000 yen. The price varied greatly depending on whether the piece was plated or not, and whether it featured precious stones, semi-precious stones, or colored stones.

“Onii-chan, what’s your budget?”

“I brought extra money, but around 20,000 yen for each one, I guess?”

I had checked the average prices for White Day jewelry online in advance. Actually, for high school students, the reference prices were even lower.

Since it was a gift between minors, it seemed that a few thousand yen was fine. But I thought the White Day gift would be pretty special for the girl and since this was a special occasion, I wanted to give them something nice. That was my thinking.

If it were just one gift, the money wouldn’t be a problem, but well, since I had to buy three gifts, of course the cost would add up. My part-time job wages alone wouldn’t be enough, so I added a bit more from my special male allowance account, just to be safe.

“Then, that gives us a lot of options. Hmm, well, something around here looks good?”

At first, we decided to check out items in the 10,000 yen range.

“The classic options seem to be open-heart designs or simple pieces with a small stone.”

I see. There were indeed many designs like that.

“What kind of gift would a girl like?”

“Well, if it’s from someone she likes, I think she’d be happy with anything, but if I had to pick, I’d say something with a little special touch would be nice.”

A special touch?

“The most obvious would be engraving names. You could engrave both of your names, or maybe engrave the guy’s name, or something like ‘You are mine.'”

“Names, huh… But doesn’t that take time to engrave?”

“Not at all, look.”

She pointed to a poster for the White Day Fair at the shop.

《We offer engraving of names and initials. If you place your order by 5 p.m., we can have it ready for you today.》

“You’re right.”

“It seems like there are products with engraving fees included. Like this one, for example.”

She pointed to a pendant in the glass case, which indeed had a tag that read “engraving fee included.”

“Which means, anything with this tag can have a name engraved. Of course, depending on the design, some might not be possible.”

I see. Names… I feel a bit embarrassed about that, but maybe initials would be fine? It seems like adding a small touch of something special would make girls happy, so that might be better.

After a lot of deliberation, I chose a pendant that had two stars, large and small, linked together as if holding hands. The larger star had a colored gemstone at its center, and the rest of the surface was covered in tiny diamonds, making it quite a sparkly piece.

It looked simple, but still quite luxurious at the same time. When the light hit the surface, the reflection was so beautiful, and that was what sold me. The star motif also reflected my own name. Since the back was flat, I decided to have the initials of me and the girl engraved there.

“I’m glad you found something you like.”

“Yeah. It was lucky that they had it in three different colors.”

The price was much higher than I originally planned, but I was happy to have found just the right one. This way, I thought the gift would last them a long time.

“Well then, while we’re waiting for the engraving, let’s go buy some sweets. After that, Onii-chan can tag along while I do some shopping too.”

We chose the sweets based on what Yui suggested and decided to have them wrapped as well. When we went to the wrapping corner, luckily, it was less crowded than before.

While waiting in line to be served, I spotted someone I recognized at the pickup counter. She was wearing her casual clothes, so the aura she exuded was a little different than usual, but it was hard to mistake her given her tall stature. 

“Onii-chan, what’s wrong?”

“I just saw someone I know, maybe?”

“Who?”

“The tall woman at the pickup counter.”

“That person? Hmm…”

Yui looked at her with a surprised expression.

“Yui, do you know her?”

“N-no, I thought she looked like someone I know, but it’s not her.”

“I see. That woman is the student council president from St. Catherine’s Academy. Still, she’s holding such a huge bag. I wonder how many things she ordered.”

“Yeah, her bag looks like Santa Claus’ sack.”

“With that appearance at a girls’ school, she must be really popular.”

In fact, she was amazingly popular. They even called her “Karen-sama” and White Rose-sama.”

“…She seems to be gaining more power, but I’m definitely not going to lose.”

Huh?

“Yui? What do you mean, ‘not going to lose’?”

“Uh, no, It’s just.. I want to grow taller like her, too.”

“I see. But I think your size is cute, Yui.”

Yui has a petite and cute look, so I think she’s perfect just as she is. 

“Co-Come on, Onii-chan! If you smile like that while saying things like that…”

“Kyaa! He smiled!”

“Ah…”

Oops, I did it again. I was standing out. But since we were in line, I couldn’t move. I was in a bit of trouble.

“Well, I guess it’s impossible to tell you not to stand out, seeing as you’re the ‘Pudding Prince’ after all”

Huh?

“They call me the ‘Pudding Prince’?”

“Yeah. There’s this online forum called 【MachiPuri】, and they keep posting sightings of you. Apparently, it’s mostly you selling or eating pudding. The post is making you pretty popular around here.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Not really. As of now, your identity hasn’t been fully exposed yet. There are forces that are trying to mislead people and confuse the information about you.”

…Forces? What does that even mean?

“Onii-chan, do you not like being called ‘Pudding Prince’?”

Yui looked up at me, a little worried.

“It’s embarrassing, but I don’t mind it. I really do love pudding after all.”

“Then I’m glad!”

Yui smiled happily.

I wasn’t sure why, but after that, Yui was in a good mood. We continued our shopping. Our souvenir for home was “Kinza pudding” from Rokaku, and I asked for a lot of whipped cream for decoration!

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Chapter 52: SNS◇ The Girls’ Rhapsody: The Day Before

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

《2-A Group Chat》

Mika: Did you see the new post on MachiPuri?

Ran: I saw it. There was another sighting of the prince.

Kyoko: Seriously? Ugh, I haven’t checked yet.

Shizu: What? What happened?

Mika: Apparently, he was at a jewelry shop with a girl.

Yuuko: Eek! It’s over. That girl must be the main one. What about me, what about me?

Mika: Hey, hey, calm down, calm down. Even if he was with a girl, it’s probably his little sister.

Yuuko: His little sister? Really?

Ran: Oh, she rebooted.

Chika: The physical features match.

Yuuko: Oh, thank goodness… So that means I still have a chance, right?

Mika: Yeah, but I mean, if he’s shopping at a jewelry store, it means someone will be getting a gift.

Yuuko: I see. I should think about it that way.

Saki: Ugh. You all seem so calm. Meanwhile, I’m so stressed with my own situation.

Shizu: I’m curious. How many pieces of jewelry did he buy? That’s the most important information for me.

Ran: I don’t think the post mentioned anything to that detail.

Shizu: Hmm. Yuuko is probably a sure thing, right? I feel like Kyoko has a chance too. If anyone gets cut, it’ll definitely be me.

Kyoko: You’re not very confident, Shizu. That’s not like you.

Shizu: Yeah. Honestly, it’s frustrating that I got a late start. I couldn’t narrow things down early enough, so I didn’t have enough time to pursue him.

Ran: Sounds like caution worked against you. But it’s not over yet. Things were looking good during the graduation trip.

Shizu: Really? I hope so.

Hina: What’s going on? You all look so down.

Saki: Hina, you’re lucky. You’re already a sure thing. I’m jealous, but congratulations!

Hina: Hehe. Thanks.

Yuuko: Congratulations, Hina! I want to ride on that lucky wave too. *pats Hina

Hina: Yuuko, I really feel like you have a chance. I’m praying everything goes well for you!

Yuuko: Thanks! Your prayers might just boost my luck!

Ran: Pray for me too!

Hina: Of course! I’m praying that things work out for you, Ran! And I’ll give some info to you and Chika too.

Chika: Info? Is that a good thing?

Hina: Probably. It seems like it. Houjou-chai let something slip, but it looks like Uesugi-kun is also buying jewelry. Multiple pieces, even.

Ran: Really?

Hina: Yeah. Uesugi-kun already has three girls he’s engaged to, right? They told him that if he’s adding someone new, they want to upgrade their rings. So, Uesugi-kun is apparently pretty broke right now.

Chika: Oh… There’s hope! Hina, please pray for me!

Hina: I’m praying for you, Chika!

Chika: Thanks. I feel like things are going to work out now.

Saki: You’re all so lucky. I’m just full of anxiety.

Mika: Right? When it came to the confession and even after, Yuuki-kun never showed any real 

reaction.

Saki: “Thanks for the chocolate,” and that was it. I’m starting to wonder if he even thinks of me as a potential partner.

Mika: Same here. It seems like he notices me, but I’ve never felt like he sees me as anything more than just a friend.

Saki: Exactly. No other guys are showing any interest either.

Hina: Other guys, huh? Speaking of which, what about Saito-kun? He never comes up in conversation.

Ran: I heard from a girl who made a move on Saito-kun that it didn’t seem likely.

Hina: Why?

Ran: His wife just gave birth, and he feels like he needs to help out. So, he told her that he couldn’t focus on anything else right now.

Hina: I see. That’s unfortunate for the girl who tried.

Ran: Well, but she said she went for it knowing that he was in a vulnerable state after his wife gave birth. She said she had nothing to lose, so she tried.

Saki: Sounds like a typical reason for Saito-kun, but yeah. It’s an unfortunate situation for the girl too.

Mika: Hearing that makes me feel like Yuuki-kun might just flat-out reject me too.

Saki: I’m anxious. What will happen tomorrow?

Hina: I hope everything works out for everyone! I’m praying again!

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー