It happened on a day when the sun beat down with a heat unusual for spring.
"Masato! It's already past morning and into the afternoon~!"
"Yeah, yeah! I'm coming out now."
It's been a month since I was transported to this world.
As I found out after a little while, this place seems to be less of another world and more like a parallel universe.
For some reason, I have a family register, the existence of 'Katasato Masato' has been a part of this world from the beginning, I'm considered to have graduated from my old high school, and even the enrollment procedures for the university I was supposed to attend from spring were already completed.
Of course, I was worried about whether I could live a normal life at first, but now I'm living without any particular inconvenience.
And if you were to ask who I have to thank for that…
"Masato, you have a shift today! Make sure you're at the bar by 6 PM!"
"Okay, I will be there."
It's none other than Tsukuda Aika-san, the woman who's been calling out to me from outside my house. She's like a goddess who rescued me when I collapsed in an alley right after I was transported and, through a series of events, became my guardian. By the way, she's married, but apparently, she doesn't see her husband anymore. The darkness is deep.
Aika-san didn't just stop at becoming my guardian; she even allowed me to attend university. Of course, it's with a scholarship, so I'll have to work and pay it back myself.
In any case, I owe this woman everything. I can live now, without a doubt, thanks to Aika-san.
When I opened the front door, Aika-san was waving her hand lightly.
"Good morning."
"Mm, morning. But like I just said, it's already afternoon, you know?"
Her wavy brown hair is tied into a single braid on one side. The same hairstyle she had when we first met. She's almost 30, but she's still a beautiful person. Maybe it's because of her profession, but she seems to take good care of her appearance.
This apartment I'm living in is a building Aika-san is renting for me.
It's right near the bar Aika-san runs, so she sometimes comes by in the morning to call out to me like this.
"So, how's it going? Made any friends at university?"
"Ah… Well, I guess… one?"
"That sounds suspicious. Don't you get fooled by any weird women. If you're going to stay out all night, you have to contact me! Also, stop with the polite speech!"
"O-kay! I'm heading out!"
Feeling embarrassed, I decided to cut the conversation short and make a quick escape, as if fleeing from the criticism of, "You're still using polite speech!" that I could hear from behind me.
Even so, for the short time we've known each other, I do feel a certain familiarity with her. But still, being told to drop the formal language… it's hard to stop using polite speech with someone I've only known for a month, especially someone I'm so indebted to. I'm a stiff kind of guy.
But still, the fact that the phrase "don't get fooled by any weird women" comes up here really drives home how different this world is from my original one. From Aika-san's perspective, I must look like a reckless young girl, to put it in my old world's terms.
I parted ways with Aika-san and headed to the university. The time was 11 o'clock. The sun was mercilessly beating down on the pavement.
With summer just around the corner, the temperature at this time of day is ridiculously high.
I wiped the sweat streaming down my forehead with a handkerchief and glanced at my favorite watch.
"Crap, I'm not gonna make it to second period…"
Second period starts at 11:10. If I keep walking at this pace, I won't make it in time. But running in this heat is gonna be rough… I guess I have no choice but to run.
Just as I resolved myself to the inevitable, my smartphone vibrated in my pocket with a ping. I stuck my hand in my pocket, pulled out my phone, and saw a single social media notification.
"Koumi" 『Masato, you have second period in room 104 today, right? I saved you a seat ♪』
"You're a lifesaver! Friends are the best thing to have!"
I stopped my aborted attempt to run and switched to a brisk walk. I sent a sticker expressing my thanks and stuffed my phone back into my pocket. If she saved me a seat, it doesn't matter if I'm a little late.
The real hell is being late when you haven't saved a seat and having to start the lecture right in front of the professor!
I thanked Koumi in my heart and continued on my way to the university.
"And therefore, the meaning of this sentence is—"
When I entered the classroom, the lecture had already begun.
I was about 10 minutes late, but it's a large lecture hall, so it's not a problem. Our university is pretty lax about that kind of thing. For now, I have to find Koumi, who saved me a seat.
(Masato! Over here, over here…!)
After tapping my student ID on the card reader to mark my attendance, I turned around and scanned the classroom, spotting an ash-blonde head bobbing up and down in the very back corner.
I quickly made my way to the back and successfully secured the seat that Koumi had saved for me using her bag.
"Seriously, thanks a bunch, Koumi."
"Nishishi… For Masato's sake, something like this is a piece of cake ♪"
The girl with the short bob cut smiling innocently at me… Igarashi Koumi, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she's my only friend at this university. Her "Nishishi" smile is impishly cute, and her crimson eyes sparkle like marbles.
Due to the whole transfer mess, my university enrollment was delayed, and I ended up starting classes about a month later than the other freshmen.
That first month of university is a huge deal. Everyone has already formed their friend groups, and they've even decided which clubs they're joining.
Having missed the boat, I had resigned myself to a lonely student life… but that's when Koumi appeared.
Koumi herself, with her bright personality, should belong to several groups, but for some reason, she's a miraculous being who is especially kind to a loner like me.
But then again, maybe such a convenient turn of events is only possible because this is a world with reversed chastity standards. …Hah, could it be that, t-this girl, did she fall for me at first sight!?
…Whoa, dangerous. The deluded virgin in me was about to log on.
As I was thinking that, I felt a tug on the sleeve of my short-sleeved T-shirt.
"…Hey, since I went to the trouble of saving you a seat, you have to go get lunch with me today."
…What is this adorable creature?
The destructive power of this girl, inviting me on a date with a goofy, innocent smile.
The small pearl earrings peeking out from her ash-blonde bob cut create a cute gap with her innocent demeanor.
Because the white shirt she's wearing is off-the-shoulder, when she leaned in close, I couldn't help but get a glimpse of her skin, making my heart skip a beat. …Calm down, calm down. This is when I have to be cool. I'm a cool guy.
"Ah~… I'm re~ally sorry, I have my part-time job today."
"Ehh~. Masato, does that mean you're guaranteed to have work on Fridays?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"I see~ Then how about next Monday!"
"That should be fine, yeah."
"Yes!"
Koumi made a small victory pose before moving back to her original position.
Seriously, isn't she too cute?
You're doing that on purpose, aren't you! Give me a break!! But you're cute, so I'll forgive you!
…Phew, I let out a breath and focused on the lecture. The truth is, Koumi and I have almost all the same classes.
That's because when I was registering for my courses late (the process of choosing and signing up for the classes you want to take), Koumi helped me out.
Since we were in the same faculty, she was kind enough to tell me which classes I had to take and even took the ones we could take together. Isn't she a goddess?
…But thinking about it calmly, I'm starting to feel bad.
She's such a cute girl, she probably wanted to take classes with friends from her own group…
"…Hey, are you really sure it was okay? You probably wanted to take classes with your friends more than with me, right…?"
"…Hmm? Not at all. I can see my friends at the club and stuff."
We were whispering, so our voices didn't echo through the classroom. After confirming that the volume was low enough to be drowned out by the professor's voice, I continued.
"If you want, you can take classes with your friends sometimes. I'm fine on my own, really."
A girl as popular as her must have a friend or two in this class.
That's what I thought, but.
"Why?"
In that instant, I felt like the temperature dropped by about ten degrees.
Koumi was still smiling, but her eyes weren't.
—Eh? Did I just step on a landmine?
"Uh, no, I just thought, you know, maybe Koumi would want to take classes with other people…"
"Do you not like taking classes with me, Masato? Or maybe, do you want to take classes with some other girl?"
"No, no, no! That's not it at all. I'm seriously grateful, and getting to take classes with a beautiful girl like you, there's nothing that would make me happier, yep! Besides, I don't have any friends other than you!"
I don't really get it, but I sensed danger, so I tried to explain myself at the speed of sound.
Man, I don't get girls. What did I do wrong? This is scary.
However, starting around when I said the word "beautiful girl," Koumi's expression gradually began to brighten.
"B-Beautiful? You think? So? From your perspective, Masato, am I cute?"
She suddenly started acting shy.
"Y-Yeah. Of course, you're cute. You can be confident about it, you know?"
"I see~ Ehehe… So I'm cute, huh…"
Phew… It seems I've escaped danger.
I really don't get girls these days… or rather, girls in this world, I should say.
What on earth did I do wrong?
Looking at the cute Koumi, who was smiling like she was melting, I let out a sigh of relief.