Striving to Become the Ideal Man in a World of Reversed Chastity - Chapter 52-53: Lunch with Hikasa ①-②

It was the day after deciding to meet up with Shironeko-san for an offline meeting.

“Hmm, what should I do…” 

“W-what’s wrong, senpai?”

During lunch break, I was eating lunch in the club room as usual when my junior came to the club room once again. Therefore, today I was eating lunch alone with Hikasa.

“Huh? Oh, well. Actually, I have plans to meet… ‘a female cousin’ this Saturday.”

The truth was that it was the day of my offline meeting with Shironeko-san, but I felt that if I told Hikasa I was going out to play alone with a girl, it would make her extremely flustered, hence I deliberately decided to lie and say it was a “female cousin”.

“Oh, you’re meeting your cousin! Do you meet with this cousin frequently?” 

“No, this cousin lives quite far away, so she’s someone I rarely meet.” 

“I see. Oh, then… are you perhaps worried about where to take your cousin?” 

“Ah, no, that’s not it. The place we’re going to has already been decided in advance.” 

“Oh, is that so?”

For the offline meeting with Shironeko-san, we had already decided to meet around before noon, have a light lunch, and then go to the arcade afterward. As for what happened after the game time… well, we would just decide that based on the mood at the time (meaningful smile).

“Wait, huh? Then what exactly are you worrying about, senpai?” 

“Well, it’s simple… I have no idea what clothes to wear when going out alone with a girl, and that’s what I was worried about.” 

“Ah, I see… I see!?”

When I said that, Hikasa showed a surprised expression.

I had asked Shironeko-san to wear a super mini-skirt because I wanted to sexually harass her, but come to think of it, I hadn’t thought about my own clothes at all. Shironeko-san hadn’t made any requests about my casual clothes either.

“Um… the person you’re meeting is your… cousin, right? S-so, um… is there really a need to be particular about your clothes…?” 

“Huh? Well, I guess that’s true.”

I mean, if I were really just going out with a cousin, my usual casual clothes would be fine… but if I was going to a date with a girl, as a guy, I naturally wanted to wear clothes that would appeal to girls to some extent. That’s why I was thinking about what clothes to wear on Saturday.

“Oh, then, if Hikasa were to go out alone with a boy, what kind of clothes would you want him to wear?” 

“Eh… EHHH!? D-does that… mean like a date?” 

“Yeah, that works.” 

“I-I see… Then… um…”

When I asked that, Hikasa started to ruminate over it. And then, after several tens of seconds, Hikasa finally opened her mouth.

“W-well… I think… I-I like… the kind of simple clothes that senpai usually wears…” 

“Huh?”

Hikasa said such things to me while her face turned bright red.

Certainly, Hikasa and I had met in casual clothes several times before, like at soccer club parties or when going to buy supplies on days off. But the clothes I usually wore…

“N-no way, the clothes I usually wear are just mass-produced cheap clothes, though? Those aren’t fashionable or anything, right? Since it’s a special date, wouldn’t you want him to wear more stylish clothes?” 

“N-no, that’s not true! Senpai, y-you… have a slim body and very good style… so those simple clothes look really good on you! S-so… I like senpai’s clothes like that…!” 

“I-I see… I understand.”

After being so emphatically told by Hikasa, all I could do was nod.

But I felt like Hikasa’s answer was about “what clothes she’d want me to wear if we went on a date”… well, I guess that was fine.

“A-also, this might just be me… but if the other person showed up in very fashionable high-brand clothes, I might just get really nervous.” 

“Ah, I see. That could definitely happen.”

I could certainly understand that. If a girl I was meeting was wearing obviously super expensive high-brand clothing, I’d probably be pretty intimidated too.

But thinking about it that way, as Hikasa said, wearing simple clothes so as not to intimidate the other person seemed important. I felt like I’d received an extremely valuable opinion from a girl’s perspective!

“…I see. Yeah, thanks, Hikasa! This information is really helpful!” 

“Huh? Oh, y-yes! I’d be glad if it was useful as a reference!”

Saying that, I expressed my gratitude to Hikasa again. She seemed happy as she responded.

So for my first offline meeting with Shironeko-san, I think I’d go with my usual simple clothes instead of dressing up strangely. Well, the main dish wasn’t me but Shironeko-san’s toned thighs anyway!

(But still, Hikasa really helps me out all the time.)

She helped me buy supplies, went to the gym with me, even let me play naughty pranks on her, and gave me really helpful advice like today… I really coudn’t thank Hikasa enough.

(Yeah, I need to properly thank Hikasa for all of this.)

So I started thinking about how to thank Hikasa. Hmm, but what would make Hikasa happy… Oh, that’s it!

“Oh, right. Since we’re on the topic, Hikasa, have you thought about what you’d want to do if you went on a first date with a boy?”

“Eh… w-what I’d want to do on a first date… you ask!?” 

“Yeah, that’s right. If there’s something you’d like to do on a first date… I could accompany you on a practice date as thanks for today.” 

“Eh, EHHH!? Y-you mean a date with me, senpai!? T-that’s… Huh!? I-is that really okay!?” 

“Of course it’s okay. Well, if Hikasa doesn’t want to go on a date with someone like me, we can forget about it.” 

“What!? N-no, no!! I want to!! Of course I want to!! I want to practice dating with senpai!!”

Hikasa said this to me with the loudest voice she’d used all day. When she said she wanted to go on a date with me so passionately, it made me feel really happy too.

“Haha, I see, I see. Good, I’m glad. So, at this point, is there any kind of date you’d like to try?” 

“Um… w-well, l-let’s see… um…”

When I asked that, Hikasa’s face became increasingly red while looking embarrassed.

“W-well, it might be a bit cliché… but I’d like to take purikura photos together. Y-you know, purikura is basically for boys, right? So I’ve always had this longing to take purikura photos with a boy…” 

“Purikura is for boys…? Isn’t purikura basically a machine that girls use?” 

“Huh? N-no, no, what are you saying, senpai? Girls don’t take purikura photos with each other. Isn’t it basically a machine for photos between boys or couples?” 

“I-is that so…? Oh, I see… in a reversed world, that’s how it would be.”

Come to think of it, a lot of things were reversed in this world. Shironeko-san had said that in this world, the gaming population was overwhelmingly female >> an insurmountable wall >> male.

So maybe in this world, it was boys rather than girls who preferred to use purikura. Well, I didn’t know for sure.

“…? Is something wrong, senpai?” 

“Hm? Oh, no, it’s nothing. But I see, taking purikura photos as a couple is definitely a classic and sounds fun!”

“Y-yes, right! Actually, I’ve never taken purikura photos before, so that’s partly why I’m a bit curious about it…” 

“Oh, really? Actually, now that I think about it, I’ve never taken purikura photos either. When I think about it, I might want to try purikura on a date too.”

Come to think of it, when I was looking at my friend’s private online account, there was a post titled “Went on a date with my girlfriend!” with lovey-dovey kiss photos with his girlfriend. Man, that made me so jealous I got annoyed.

I wanted to get a girlfriend and take kiss photos too… Even if people teased us for being a stupid couple, I wanted to take those kind of lovey-dovey intimate purikura photos!

(Hmm? Wait, but this is a world with reversed chastity values, right? If I’m thinking this way, does that mean Hikasa might also…?)

“…Hey, Hikasa?” 

“Yes? What is it, senpai?” 

“Well, you know, when taking purikura photos, I’m the type who’d want to take slightly naughty photos embracing my girlfriend and kissing… but what about you? Do you also think about wanting to take those kinds of purikura photos?” 

“Huh… HUH!?”

I asked Hikasa such a question. Her face quickly turned bright red. Judging by her reaction, it seemed I hit the mark.

“Um… huh?? W-well, t-that… t-true, some couples do that… b-but that’s… well, certainly I’ve felt envious thinking how happy it would be to do such lovey-dovey things with a boy…!” 

“…Haha, I see, I see. Then next time we go shopping for supplies… why don’t we take some purikura photos together before going home? For when Hikasa eventually gets a boyfriend… let’s practice those things now?” 

“Huh…? D-does that mean… um…!?” 

“Yeah, of course. If it’s with Hikasa, I’d be willing to gently hug you or even practice kissing with you. So, feel free to ask anytime, okay?” 

“Huh… HUHHH!?”

When I said that with a laugh, Hikasa looked at me with a surprised expression, her face becoming even redder.

“Haha, well, so feel free to ask anytime, okay? I would never refuse a request from Hikasa… Oh, lunch break is almost over, so let’s hurry up and finish eating, okay?” 

“Huh… huh? Um, well… auu…”

I said that while resuming eating my lunch. Hikasa seemed to be somewhat spacing out beside me… but well, she’d come back to reality soon enough.