The World Becomes a World Where Chastity Is Reversed?! - 16

Chapter 16: It Looked Like Amagi-san Was Having a Hard Time Too

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And so, it seemed that the girls’ evaluation of me was apparently rather high. Well, getting that kind of evaluation honestly made me happy.

“I see. But I totally didn’t know I was getting that kind of evaluation from the girls.”

“Yes, that’s how it is. So, getting back to the main point, why don’t you go out with anyone? You get confessed to a lot, right? Do you not want a girlfriend or something?”

“No, that’s not it. Of course I really want a girlfriend.”

“Heh, really? Then why don’t you go out with the girls who confess to you?”

Amagi-san asked me something like that. The reason I didn’t go out with anyone even when I got confessed to was… Well, it was simple.

“Well, how should I put it… If I were to date someone, I feel like it’d be a little difficult unless I were in a situation where I could properly trust the other person. So for now, I guess I’ve turned everyone down. If I’m going to date someone, I want it to be someone who’s a close friend to me, you know?”

“Hmm? You kinda think like someone old-fashioned or like a heroine from a shounen manga from a decade ago, don’t you?”

“Huh? A shounen manga? Wait—ah, right…”

I realized again that this place was a chastity-reversed world. So what would be called a shoujo manga in that other world would be considered a shounen manga here. And if someone told me my way of thinking was like a heroine from a shoujo manga… Well, that might actually be true. Even in the real world, my friends had said stuff like that to me.

“Well yeah, maybe I actually like that boys’-manga-like stuff. But does a guy with that kind of old-fashioned thinking seem weird?”

“Hmm. It’s unusual, sure…But I don’t think it’s weird. I think people like that seem more sincere, so I think it’s nice.”

“I see. I thought so too. It just feels more sincere, you know? Plus, if you start a relationship from being close friends, it seems like you’d be less likely to break up. If I’m going to date someone, I want it to be with someone I can stay with all the way until marriage.”

“Hmm, I see. You really think far ahead, don’t you? But listening to you… I kind of can’t help thinking about something. You feel a little different from other boys. Fufu, maybe you aren’t actually someone from this world?”

“Eeh?!”

Hearing Amagi-san say something so spot-on, I was extremely shocked. Seeing my reaction, she tilted her head in confusion and said to me.

“Hm? What’s wrong all of a sudden? I only said an obvious joke. Why are you panicking like that?”

“Eh? Ah—n-no, so it was a joke…”

“Huh? Of course it was. No way someone would come here from another world. That kind of unscientific thing can’t happen. What are you even saying?”

“Ah—y-yeah, you’re right. There’s no way that’d exist. Ahaha…”

“Hm? You’re acting strange. Well, whatever. But even if your conviction sounds sincere and nice enough… Not being able to date someone unless they’re a close friend sounds pretty tough. Becoming close male-female friends is already a pretty high hurdle, isn’t it?”

“Ah—yeah, you’re right. Now that I think about it, the only person I can call a close friend right now is… Well, pretty much just you, Amagi-san.”

“Hmm, I see. Just me… wait—f-ffeh!?”

“Eh?”

Still flustered, I kept talking with Amagi-san when suddenly she also looked shocked, and her hand holding the pen stopped moving. I didn’t understand why she reacted that way, so I asked her.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Amagi-san? Why are you acting so surprised? Ah, wait—did I think of you as a friend, but you didn’t think of me as one?”

“Eh!? N-no, that’s not it at all…!”

“Oh, that’s good. Haha, I was worried for a second. We almost always talk during breaks, so I’d freak out if you didn’t think of me as a friend. I’m glad you don’t dislike me.”

“N-no… I-I don’t… I don’t dislike you or anything…”

“……”

When I said that with a laugh, Amagi-san’s face turned red and she started mumbling. What on earth happened?

“Um… Did something happen? Your face is really red. Do you have a fever or something?”

“Eh—wait—eh！？ My face is red!? N-no, I don’t have a fever! S-so don’t worry about it!”

“R-really? Well, if you say so… Ah, right. This is totally changing the subject, but… There’s a stylish café in front of the station, right? If you want, would you like to go there together sometime?”

“Eh? A c-café?”

“Yeah. Back where I lived, there weren’t any fancy cafés like that. So I kinda admired the idea of going to one after school with a friend. So I thought it’d be fun to go with you, Amagi-san, if you’re okay with it.”

Trying to reset the mood, I invited her to the café. Back in the countryside, we only had big chain fast-food places, so I’d always admired the idea of going to a stylish café in the city. So I invited my friend Amagi-san to the one near the station. But…

“…Sorry. I have cram school every day after school, so… I can’t go.”

“Ah, I see. If you’ve got cram school, then it can’t be helped. Do your best with your studies.”

“…Yeah.”

She refused with an apologetic expression. But since she always looked busy studying, I more or less expected she’d say no, so it didn’t bother me.

“Still, going to cram school every day must be tough. Do you need to study that much to get into a famous university?”

“Yes, that’s right. You can’t pass a difficult university unless you study a lot. So you should study properly too.”

“I see. Hearing that makes me feel like I should start studying properly as well. By the way, Amagi-san, since when have you been going to cram school every day?”

“Um, I’ve been going to cram school since I was in elementary school, but I only started going every day recently. My mock exam ranking dropped a little, so my mother got angry and increased the number of days and—”

“…Eh? You got scolded that much just because your mock exam ranking dropped a little?”

“Eh-?! Ah! N-no, forget it! Pretend you didn’t hear that!”

“Eh? Ah—o-okay…”

It felt like I had accidentally heard something very stressful about her home life. Well, this was the city, so there were lots of difficult universities, and she probably had very strict parents. But studying that much was kinda worrying… I knew Amagi-san studied hard every day to get into a top university. But if she kept studying this excessively, I worried she might collapse someday.

I wish there was something I could do for Amagi-san, who was working so hard every day…)

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