It's a Chastity-Reversed World, But It's Different From What I Imagined? - 81

Chapter 81: Transfer Student

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The summer I spent, woven with suspicion and illusion, had left me troubled. I had shared a passionate kiss with Ran-san. Did that mean we were boyfriend and girlfriend? Was it okay for me to think of her as my girlfriend? I really wanted to call her that, but it would be embarrassing if I were just misunderstanding.

Ran-san hadn’t said it to me clearly. But that had to be a confession, right? Since this was a world where the concept of chastity was reversed, it made sense that she was the one who confessed to me. She hadn’t outright said, “Let’s go out,” but… I should be allowed to think of her as my girlfriend, right?

But still, I wanted her to say it clearly, that we were going out. Haah… Happiness and anxiety tightened around my heart at the same time.

……I hadn’t talked to Tsuki since then. Even when I invited her to dinner, Tsuki had stopped showing her face. I had to think about what our relationship as siblings would be from now on.

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From the first semester through summer vacation, a lot of things had happened. After coming back from the trip, I had spent my days working as part of the cheer squad. Since there were a lot of tournaments during the summer, it had been nothing but a string of spontaneous cheering events.

Part of it was because I didn’t want time to think about the awkward relationships with my mother or Yuuna, so I had been dealing with some complicated feelings. Then, my little sister had hit me with a shocking event that blew all that away, and I’d received happiness from Ran-san. I just couldn’t keep my thoughts in order anymore.

School starting again had actually been a good change of pace. Being busy with plans meant I didn’t have time to think about anything. When I entered the classroom for the first time in a while for the opening ceremony, the atmosphere had changed a little.

There were a few girls in Class 1-A that I didn’t recognize. At Aoba High, class assignments changed based on academic performance. It was said that rankings could fluctuate drastically depending on grades. I had thought the classes changed every year, but apparently they changed every semester, it was quite a harsh environment.

“Morning.”

Seiya arrived at school, and Hayato and Youhei were there too — the familiar faces hadn’t changed.

“Yoru-kun, Seiya-kun, Hayato-kun, Youhei-kun. Good morning.”

The one sitting in front of Youhei was Harumi Mogami-san. We’d gotten along during the joint training camp with the student council, so things felt easygoing between us.

In front of Hayato sat Ichika Mimori. In front of Seiya, Asuka Kuramine took her seat.

The seat in front of me was empty, and no one sat there as Tsubaki Kanzaki-sensei walked in.

“Did you all enjoy your summer vacation? I pray none of you went too wild. If I find out later that someone caused trouble, it’ll be a big problem.”

As always, Sensei spoke in her usual lazy tone.

“Starting today, we’ll have a transfer student. Come on in.”

At Sensei’s call, the classroom door opened. In a world with reversed chastity concepts, it was typical in stories for a beautiful foreign girl or an idol you once helped to transfer into your class. 

“My name is Tsuyu Zashiki.”

Tiny. So tiny I couldn’t even see her. Her voice was small too — I couldn’t hear a thing. I could tell the door had opened, but from where I sat, I couldn’t see the girl who had entered.

“All right, Zashiki-san transferred here from Shizuoka. I think everyone already knows her academic record.”

Eh? I had absolutely no idea. Wait, why did everyone else seem to understand?

“Zashiki’s seat is over there.”

Following the teacher’s direction, a girl walked up to the seat in front of me. Even though I was sitting down, she wasn’t any taller than me.

“Wha—!”

“Hello.”

She greeted me in a small voice in response to my surprised outburst. Wasn’t she the elementary school girl who had helped me when I got lost during the summer trip?

“I’m not an elementary schooler.”

“Eh?”

“You just thought I was an elementary schooler, didn’t you?”

“Ah—sorry.”

“Honest. I like that.”

The tiny, cute girl, who turned out to be the same age as me, sat down in the seat right in front of me.

“Based on the first semester’s proficiency test results, rankings were determined. I think you all already know — Zashiki is first, Kuramine is second. Keep that in mind and study hard. That’s all for today; you’re dismissed.”

After finishing homeroom, Kanzaki-sensei announced the dismissal. Classmates gathered around Zashiki’s desk. Naturally, girls also gathered near me, making it impossible to leave even if I wanted to.

“Hey, hey, Zashiki-san. Are you from that Zashiki conglomerate?”

At the words spoken by Umeno Kizuki, a question mark floated in my head. Zashiki conglomerate? I’d heard that Reika Toudou-san’s family was extremely rich, so was this the same sort of thing?

“Yes. Our base is in Shizuoka, but we’ve expanded here as well, so nice to meet you.”

Her voice was small, but when she mentioned “expansion,” the girls began to get excited.

“Really?! Does that mean we can eat those legendary sweets here too?”

“Mm-hm. Leave it to me.”

Saying it was a little gift, Zashiki took out a small paper bag and handed out wrapped treats to the girls. She placed one on my desk as well, saying simply.

“Here.”

Inside the small wrapping was a beautiful sugar confection.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

When I said that honestly, Zashiki gave me a happy smile. When I took a bite, the flavor was elegant and not overly sweet; the faint aroma of tea drifted up at the end, spreading a mysterious, refined taste through my mouth.

“It’s delicious.”

I said that honestly again. For some reason, the entire classroom had gone quiet — and everyone’s eyes were on me.

“Eh?”

I tilted my head in confusion, not understanding what was happening.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!”

For some reason, all the girls suddenly dashed out of the classroom, screaming at the top of their lungs.

“Eh? Eh? What’s going on?”

“Yoru… Well, that’s just how you are, I guess…”

Seiya looked at me with an exasperated face, while Zashiki, sitting in front of me, was frozen in place, her face completely red.

“What on earth?”

“You unconsciously softened your expression, and the girls couldn’t handle it. They got totally flustered.”

Seiya offered what sounded like an explanation, but I didn’t get it. All I had done was eat a tasty Japanese sweet…

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