Why Is the Prettiest Girl in School Trying to Talk to a Loner Like Me during Lunch Break?

Chapter 40 – If You’re Choosing Clothes, Do It Like This

“Onii-chan… that’s called a date.”

(When I got home and told my sister about today’s events, she started saying something ridiculous…)

“No no! The ridiculous one is you, Onii-chan! Listen, think carefully. What do you call it when a close guy and girl go out on a holiday to buy the girl a present?”

(Hmmm…)

“…That’s completely a ‘date.'”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!”

“Oh crap! It really is a date! Wait, then why did Asakura-san agree to this!? No, wait… Class Rep! Class Rep will be there too! Since Class Rep was the one who brought this up, tomorrow it won’t just be me and Asakura-san, she’ll be there too!”

“Onii-chan… didn’t this Class Rep person tell you and Asakura-senpai to go together, just the two of you?”

“Eh?”

(Come to think of it…)

‘Since tomorrow is a day off from school, you two should go into town together, look around while walking with Asakura-san, find something she’d like, and give that as a present.’

“Yeah, she did say that…”

“Onii-chan, you idiot.”

“What do I do! Even if you suddenly tell me it’s a date tomorrow, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do!”

“…”

(Yeah, Asakura-senpai probably felt the same way you do now, Onii-chan.)

“For starters, shouldn’t you go buy some clothes right now, Onii-chan?”

“Clothes? Huh? Why? Sister, even I have casual clothes.”

“Haah… Onii-chan, sorry to say this, but those all-black shirts and pants you wear on weekends can’t be called ‘clothes.'”

“What I’ve been wearing on weekends doesn’t count as ‘clothes’!? Then what have I been wearing when I go outside!?”

“Hmm, just ‘rags’ I guess?”

“My own sister just indirectly called my usual outfit ‘garbage’!?”

(Well, Onii-chan’s fashion really is ‘garbage’ though. Plus…)

“Hey… even if you’re fine with caveman fashion sense, tomorrow you’re going out with ‘Asakura-senpai,’ right? Are you really okay making ‘Asakura-senpai’ walk around with a caveman?”

“Wait…? Am I being treated as a ‘caveman’ by my own sister? I can’t even make Jomon pottery!”

(But my sister has a point. Tomorrow I’m going out with that Asakura-san. If I stand next to her in my usual weekend outfit… Ah, this is bad. I want to die.)

“Sister! Please! Please coordinate some modern human fashion for your caveman brother!”

(It’s late, but I finally realized how bad this situation is! At this rate, I don’t have any ‘clothes’ to wear on a date! But if it’s my sister! Surely my sister can coordinate an outfit that won’t embarrass me next to Asakura-san!)

“Haah… I guess I have no choice~ Really, Onii-chan, you’re so hopeless… Oh well, I guess since I’m your ‘sister’! Since I’m Onii-chan’s ‘sister,’ even though I don’t want to and it’s a pain, I’ll help you choose clothes~”

“Thank you! As expected, what I need is my reliable ‘sister-sama.’ Hehe~”

“By the way, Onii-chan, what’s your budget?”

“Including tomorrow’s budget… Can we get everything for about 5,000 yen?”

“That’s tiny! No way! Why is your budget so small!? Normally, getting a complete outfit costs 20,000 to 30,000 yen!”

“Whaaaat! You’re kidding! 20,000 to 30,000 yen… That’s the same as what I spend on light novels in a month.”

“Onii-chan, try spending some of that money on clothes…”

(Sister, you don’t understand~ Books are brain nutrition, you know? That’s why you can’t skimp on money for them…)

(—is probably what Onii-chan is thinking, but the result of feeding his brain all that nutrition is this ‘loner’ brother… Haah, I hope Asakura-senpai takes him off our hands before it’s too late.)

“First, before choosing which store to shop at, let’s decide what kind of style to go for. Onii-chan, pick something you like from these men’s model outfits.”

“What’s this? Suddenly showing me your phone… Fashion model images? Ugh… Hey, sister… does Onii-chan really have to choose from these? They all look like trendy fashion only allowed for hot guys…”

“Most men’s fashion is like that these days.”

“Seriously?”

(These trendy fashions would be way too painful for a loner like me… This one is a sharp suit-style fashion that would be inappropriate for a student like me to wear, and this other one—what is this? Why is only one sleeve long? Wait, is one sleeve of this shirt torn? The long sleeve looks like a bird’s wing, is this ethnic clothing? And this one… why is he wearing a scarf!? And the jacket shoulders are super pointy!? Plus, the shoes are pointed like drills!? What is this fashion that looks ready to pierce the heavens!?)

“H-hey… sister. I think these would just be embarrassing if I wore them.”

“Huh? Are you seriously saying that, Onii-chan?”

“Eh, ah… yes.”

“Let me teach you something good, Onii-chan.”

“Oh, what?”

“Sure, wearing what fashion models wear might be embarrassing at first. But… there’s no fashion more embarrassing than your usual ‘casual clothes.'”

“…Seriously?”

(After this, following my sister’s orders, I bought a complete outfit from the mannequin at ‘Uniclo.’)

[Bonus Story] “Sense”

“By the way, which clothes in this ‘Uniclo’ do you think look good, Onii-chan?”

“What’s with that… question that sounds like the start of sister’s harsh fashion critique…?”

“It’s exactly what you just said. I thought I’d take this opportunity to destroy whatever ‘cool!’ fashion sense you think you have.”

“What are you, some kind of Imagine Breaker for fashion!?”

First outfit: Checkered shirt

“Hmm, I don’t really know, but isn’t this good?”

“Onii-chan… that’s bad.”

“What is!?”

“No no… Onii-chan, checkered patterns are out in this day and age… Seriously out.”

“Eh! What!? It’s already bad just because it’s checkered? Not the color or collar shape?”

Second outfit: Rider’s jacket

“How about this! This time I’m confident—”

“I’m afraid we’ll have to pass on this opportunity…”

“A rejection email!?”

“No no no no, Onii-chan. This is way beyond your league…”

“Beyond my league!? Why, sister! I mean, there are lots of celebrities on TV wearing this kind of thing! Plus, you just said something like ‘it’s not wrong to wear what fashion models wear’!”

“Haah, Onii-chan… listen. There are areas in this world that amateurs shouldn’t carelessly venture into… Fashion peasants of your rank shouldn’t touch the aristocratic fashion worn by TV celebrities, okay?”

“What’s with this fashion class system!?”

Third outfit: Plain T-shirt with ‘Giraffe’ illustration

“Onii-chan… what’s with this T-shirt with an unnecessarily speedy giraffe?”

“Eh, isn’t it cute? No good?”

“Absolutely not! Why are you choosing this ‘weird giraffe T-shirt’ when I asked you to pick something stylish?”

“No good, huh… I thought it was cute…”

“What? Are you secretly aiming for the cute route?”

(But that’s not Onii-chan’s character at all—)

“Huh? I… no no, I chose this T-shirt thinking it would look good on you.”

“—Huh… me?”

“Yeah yeah, girls like these weird character illustrations, right? Oh, of course for wearing at home.”

(Onii-chan… chose this for me?)