Chapter 46: Shopping Date ①

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Translator: Soafp

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A few days had passed since summer vacation began.

Without school, the only real difference in my daily life was that I woke up and went to bed a little later than usual. Otherwise, things hadn't changed much.

Except—

“Ren, breakfast is ready.”

…I still wasn't used to being woken up by Airi.

I stretched on the bed and sat up. As I rubbed my eyes and exchanged a morning greeting, she gave me a somewhat teasing, sensual smile.

“Ren, you were pretty energetic this morning.”

“…You're kidding, right?”

“Who knows? I've heard it's just a normal biological thing for boys, so you don't need to worry.”

“I'm the one who's worried!?”

Airi let out a mischievous little laugh.

“I'd like to see the real thing directly, not through your clothes. Anyway, hurry up and come downstairs.”

“….”

She left the room, closing the door behind her.

Lately, she seemed to be getting bolder by the day. It felt like just yesterday she wouldn't respond no matter how much I talked to her.

(Oh right… Airi confessed to me.)

Honestly, I still couldn't believe it.

The girl everyone at school admired—someone completely out of my league—liked me.

No, more than that, I never imagined a girl would confess to me first.

(What do I want with Airi…?)

I thought about it every day, but I still couldn't find an answer.

Even if we did end up dating, what if she got taken away from me like before?

Before I knew it, that fear was taking over my thoughts.

(Still… I shouldn't drag this out forever.)

Airi hadn't demanded an answer right away, but there was a limit to how long I could keep her waiting.

Like Ito said, if I wasn't careful, I'd just become a jerk who enjoyed her feelings without giving anything back.

Thinking that, I went downstairs—only for Airi to suddenly cling to my left arm.

“W-what is it?”

“Come on, Nodoka, hurry too.”

“U-ugh…”

Since last week, Nodoka had been coming over to teach Airi how to cook.

Just like when she used to take care of me after I injured my arm.

For some reason, she was now standing on my right side, fidgeting with a bright red face.

“Geez…! I'm only doing this for you, okay!?”

Then Nodoka also tightly clung to my arm.

“…Wait, what? What's going on? Where am I being taken?”

Airi was one thing—but why Nodoka too?

And why was she blushing all the way to her ears?

As I looked back and forth between them in confusion—

“Honestly… like father, like son…”

My mom muttered coldly, letting out a sigh.

Wait, did I do something wrong?

Am I being arrested right now?

Airi chuckled.

“That's right, Ren. Today, just accept your fate and let us capture you.”

Before I knew it, the two of them dragged me to the dining table, sat me in the middle, and took seats on either side.

The table was filled with an unusually large variety of dishes for breakfast.

“This looks great. Did you two make all of this?”

“Y-yeah! We made everything for you, so don't leave anything!”

“Th-thanks… both of you.”

“Ren, I know it's a bit of a return favor, but can I ask something?”

“Hm? What is it?”

Airi picked up a piece of omelet with her chopsticks and held it out toward my mouth.

“Say ahh.”

“Huh? A-Airi?”

“Oh? I heard you used to eat what Nodoka fed you just fine. Do you not like mine?”

“It's not that… Wait, Nodoka, you told her that too…?”

“W-well! We're friends! Friends don't keep secrets!”

“What are you, elementary schoolers?”

In the end, I ate the omelet from Airi's chopsticks.

As I chewed, she smiled softly.

“Alright, next is Nodoka.”

“Huh? I have to do it too!?”

“You don't have to. I'll just keep going.”

“I-I'll do it!”

Nodoka broke off a bite-sized piece of grilled salmon and held it out.

Both my arms were perfectly fine, so why was I being fed like this?

I didn't really get it, but—

“Hurry up and eat!”

—she urged me, so I obediently ate.

“Ahh.”

“Ahh.”

“Is it good? I made that one.”

“This one's mine! It's good, right? You like this, don't you?”

The two of them seemed completely absorbed in feeding me one bite after another.

What kind of situation even is this?

As I sat there completely lost, my mom muttered again with a cold look:

“Since when did my son become a king?”

I couldn't agree more, mother.

---

After breakfast, under their absolute command, I was made to wait in my room for two whole hours.

Today was the day we were supposed to go shopping—something I had promised Nodoka on the bus during the field trip.

(They said they'd handle the plan, but…)

Aren't we just going to the mall near the station?

Why does that need planning?

I had my doubts, but since they insisted, I figured I'd just go along with it.

(This kind of reminds me of when I went on a date with Yuzuki…)

Back then too, we didn't meet at the station like normal people—it started from my house.

And just like now, I had gotten ready early and ended up waiting a long time.

Of course, this wasn't a date—just shopping with friends…

(Though after that confession, it's hard to call Airi just a “friend.”)

She might actually think of this as a real date.

—The moment I realized that, I jumped up and rushed to the mirror.

Both Airi and Nodoka would probably be putting in effort.

I couldn't just show up looking the same as always.

(Guess I'll try dressing up for once.)

After showering, I trimmed my eyebrows, styled my hair with a dryer and wax, and finished it with spray.

Then I picked out clothes based on a trendy outfit I found online.

…Even with all that effort, I didn't look like those models.

And my hair was definitely getting a bit too long.

Still, better than doing nothing—

Knock knock.

“Hey, we're ready! Come out already!”

“Got it.”

I opened the door and stepped out.

As expected, both Airi and Nodoka were dressed to impress.

Airi had her long black hair down, wearing a bold halter-neck top that exposed her back, paired with a black mini skirt that emphasized her long legs.

Nodoka wore a light blue off-shoulder crop top with frills and denim shorts.

Both outfits screamed summer.

And—

“Airi, you're wearing light makeup.”

“Y-yeah… Nodoka's been teaching me. H-how does it look?”

“You look great. Honestly, you already looked amazing without makeup, but now it's even more powerful.”

“Th-thank you.”

Airi, unusually, blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear.

Maybe she wasn't used to compliments.

Nodoka stared at me with wide eyes.

“Wait, who are you!? What happened to you!?”

“It's me, Fuka-chan.”

“I told you to stop calling yourself that! No, more importantly—you look completely different when you dress up!?”

“It's not that big a deal.”

“It is! Why don't you always look like this!?”

“It's a hassle to do every day… Plus, Kitayama once told me not to go out looking like this.”

“Huh? Why?”

Airi chimed in.

“Probably because she didn't want other girls seeing how good her boyfriend looked.”

“Huh? Wouldn't you want to show him off instead?”

“That just means her possessiveness was intense. Though… I kind of get it. If he showed up at school like this, girls might start seeing him differently. Some might even make a move.”

“…Yeah, I wouldn't like that either. Alright, Ren! Stay in your ‘otaku mode' at school!”

“I don't have a mode like that.”

Am I really that different?

I couldn't tell myself… but at least the reaction was positive.

“Alright then, let's begin our date, Ren.”

With that, Airi tightly hugged my left arm.

Nodoka hesitated for a moment, then hugged my right arm.

“…Wait, we're going like this?”

“Why not?”

“I mean, I don't hate it, but…”

I could already feel the stares.

“Nodoka, are you pressing your chest properly against him? Oh—sorry. Guess you don't have much to press.”

“Hey! I'm not that flat! Ren, you can feel it, right!?”

“…Well, somewhat.”

The moment I answered honestly, Nodoka's face turned bright red.

“Y-you pervert!!”

“What am I supposed to say!?”

Feeling the unfairness of it all, I headed downstairs.

Under my mom's cold gaze, we stepped outside—into the blazing summer heat pouring down on us.

As we walked, I asked the two of them:

“So, where are we going? Straight to the mall?”

“If you want, Ren, we could skip that and go straight to a love hotel.”

“W-what!? We're going to a l-love hotel on our first date!?”

“…Let's skip the love hotel.”

More importantly—Nodoka, you think this is a date too?

Don't tell me she also sees me that way—

No, don't get ahead of yourself. Just because Airi confessed doesn't mean anything like that.

“Anyway, let's stick to the plan. We'll go to the mall first and buy swimsuits.”

“Oh, Nodoka's erotic bikini, right?”

“I'm not buying anything like that!? And I'm definitely not trying one on!”

“If Ren picks it out, I wouldn't mind an erotic bikini at all.”

Airi spoke in a soft, breathy voice, almost like she was trying to seduce me.

“Even something micro, I'd be fine with it.”

“M-micro!? R-Ren, are you into that kind of thing!?”

First of all, they don't even sell something that extreme in a normal mall.

And even if they did, you'd definitely get kicked out of a public beach wearing it.

“I'll pick something completely lacking in sex appeal for you, Nodoka.”

“I-I can wear something sexy too, you know!?”

Blushing all the way to her ears, Nodoka looked up at me.

“I-if it's something you pick, Ren… then even if it's a little… revealing, I-I don't mind…!”

…Is this what you call tsundere?