Striving to Become the Ideal Man in a World of Reversed Chastity

Several dozen minutes later.

After arriving at a stylish café at the neighboring station, we immediately ordered pancakes and were now eating them.

“Delicious!”

“Yeah, they’re super tasty!”

The pancakes we ordered were so delicious that we devoured them in an instant.

After quickly finishing the pancakes, we both took a relaxing breath while drinking tea.

“Man, that was good. I wonder if I could make these at home… Would that be possible?”

The pancakes we ordered looked very fluffy and substantial, but… when I actually ate them, they were surprisingly light, making me feel like I could eat them endlessly.

“Huh? Kurahashi-kun, do you cook?”

“Oh, yeah. Not every day, but I do cook for myself reasonably often.”

When asked by Sakurai-san, I answered that I was fairly capable. Since I lived alone, I was pretty decent at household chores in general. I also enjoyed cooking to some extent.

“Wow, that’s impressive! Oh, by the way, do you have any specialty dishes?”

“Hmm, let me think. Well, I often make stir-fries and simmered dishes.”

“Oh, so you’re good at home-style cooking! Hehe, that means you’d make a good house husband in the future!”

“Huh, y-you think so? But isn’t it pretty normal for guys these days to know how to cook?”

These days many parents both worked, so there were plenty of people like me who had to figure out dinner for themselves. Regardless of gender, wasn’t it common for people to know how to cook nowadays?

Also, we lived in an age where you could watch tons of cooking videos on Cooked or Youtube, so it seemed like an era where many people had cooking as a hobby.

“No, no, that’s not true! None of the boyfriends I’ve dated ever made me home-cooked meals.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s right. Aah, I wish I could have tried home cooking made by a boyfriend.”

Sakurai-san said this while puffing her cheeks out slightly. The gesture seemed completely calculated to be cute, but it was so adorable that my heart skipped a beat. Seriously, weren’t deliberately cute gyaru just too powerful?

“I-I see. So there are quite a few guys who don’t cook much, then.”

“Yeah, that’s right. So, Kurahashi-kun, guys who can cook like you probably score high points! If you appeal with that skill, you might get a girlfriend right away, don’t you think?”

“Really!? Is that so? Oh, by the way, do you cook, Sakurai-san?”

“Me? Not at all. I’ve only cooked during home economics class.”

“Oh, I-I see.”

Hmm, I understand, so it seemed Sakurai-san wasn’t good at cooking. But still, guys who could cook scored high points… I see, I see.

“Hmm, but that’s nice. Kurahashi-kun’s girlfriend gets to eat your home cooking as much as she wants, haha.”

“Huh? No, no, I’d cook for anyone, not just a girlfriend… Oh! In that case, would you like to have lunch with me sometime? I could make a bento for you!”

“Eh, really? Hmm, but that would be too much trouble. It would be really hard work for you, wouldn’t it?”

“No, no, it’s totally fine. I love cooking, so it’s no problem at all. So…”

“Yes? So what?”

“Well… would you like to have lunch somewhere private with just the two of us?”

When I said that, Sakurai-san looked puzzled for a moment, but soon seemed to catch on and smiled at me with a knowing look.

“Hehe, you really are a good boy, aren’t you… Sure, that sounds good. Hehe, then next time… let’s eat somewhere where we can be alone, okay?”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Ahaha, me too!”

After saying that, Sakurai-san and I continued to relax at the café for a while longer.

It was just past evening.

“Oh, by the way…”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Having finished the pancakes we were after, we were heading back to the station to return home. On the way back, I decided to ask Sakurai-san about something else I was curious about.

“Speaking of which, is it true that you and Kashima-san are childhood friends?”

“Ah, yes, it’s true. Chika and I have been going to the same schools from kindergarten through high school.”

“Oh, I see.”

So I decided to ask about the relationship between Sakurai-san and Kashima-san that I was a bit curious about. Sakurai-san said they were childhood friends, but since their personalities and characters were so different, I was somewhat curious.

“Hmm, but you two seem to have quite a confrontational relationship, don’t you?”

“Huh? No, not at all. When Chika and I are alone together, we’re close enough to talk about pretty much anything without hiding anything.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, so I’ve told Chika about all my past boyfriends, and each time I’ve even shared my impressions of sex with them, haha.”

“I-I see…”

Ah, now I understood why Kashima-san had called Sakurai-san a “promiscuous player”. Since she’d been hearing these vivid intimate stories directly from Sakurai-san, Kashima-san could confidently say that to me.

“And well, Chika and I still hang out just the two of us even now.”

“Oh, really? That’s kind of surprising.”

I had somehow thought that Kashima-san and Sakurai-san had an oil-and-water type of relationship, but it seemed that was not actually the case.

“By the way, what do you and Kashima-san do when you hang out together?”

“Huh? Well, we do normal things like going to movies, eating out, or sometimes I go to Chika’s house and we play games together.”

“Oh, I see! You do quite a variety of things with Kashima-san.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Also, when either of us finds really good erotic magazines, we share them with each other. Haha, that girl has seriously intense sexual desires, so be careful, Kurahashi-kun!”

“Wh-what?! I-I see, I understand!”

What, sharing erotic magazines?! That sounded like they were doing something really fun! I wondered if I could join their naughty fun club… Maybe I should just ask directly!

“Um, about that erotic magazine sharing time… I’d like to join.”

“Huh? Fufu, Kurahashi-kun, you’re interested in that too? That’s unexpected.”

“Well, I am at that age where I’m curious about such things. And also… it’s because it’s Kashima-san and Sakurai-san.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by ‘because it’s me and Chika’?”

When I said that, Sakurai-san tilted her head and asked me back.

“Yeah, I think I get along fairly well with both Kashima-san and Sakurai-san, but if possible… I’d like to become even closer, to have a relationship where we can talk about anything without holding back, just like the two childhood friends you are.”

I answered while looking directly at Sakurai-san’s face.

“…Hmm, I see. So you’re envious of my childhood friendship with Chika?”

“Yeah, something like that. Actually, I just thought it would be fun to get excited about naughty talks together with Sakurai-san and Kashima-san.”

“Haha, so that’s your real objective after all.”

Sakurai-san laughed brightly when I said that. But soon, with a slight chuckle, she said this to me, “Fufu, well… then… if Kurahashi-kun can become ‘good friends’ with both me and Chika… at that time, the three of us can become ‘good friends’ together… okay?”

“Huh?! Y-Yes, I got it!”

With Sakurai-san’s statement, I nodded deeply, inferring various things. It seemed I now needed to urgently become “good friends” (with deeper meaning) with both Kashima-san and Sakurai-san! I’d definitely work hard to make it happen!!

“…Ah, look, we’ve already arrived at the station while we were talking.”

“Oh, you’re right. That seemed to happen so quickly.”

“Fufu, I’m glad you feel that way.”

We arrived at the station while having such naughty conversations. Well, now I had a clear goal to aim for, so today had been a very fulfilling day.

“Thank you so much for spending time with me today.”

“No, thank you! I’m looking forward to having lunch with you, Sakurai-san.”

“Fufu, I’m really looking forward to it too! Let’s discuss the details about when we’ll eat together through LINE, okay?”

“Yes, got it. See you tomorrow then.”

“Yes, see you tomorrow.”

Since we took different trains, we parted ways at the station ticket gate. I watched Sakurai-san go through the gate before heading to the gate for the train that would take me home. And on the way back, I whispered a small comment with a smile:

“Fufu… I’m really looking forward to next week…!”

So, I managed to secure a promise to have lunch alone with Sakurai-san sometime next week. For now, I needed to start looking for places where we could be alone together at school.