Volume 1 - CH 17

13-16 minutes 01.06.2023

Episode 17: “Fashion Check”

Today is Saturday.

It’s Saturday, a day off from school, a Saturday with no plans, just an ordinary Saturday… the day I indulge in games from morning till night. It’s the day off I always eagerly anticipate, rivaling Sundays as the most awaited day of the week.

But today is different…

Normally, I would be excited and engrossed in my mobile game from the morning, but something feels off today.

I can’t concentrate, and I keep wanting to do something else.

(…Is my date with Nanami-san tomorrow? We were supposed to go to the movies together… Taking her to the movies two days in a row, was that a bad move?…)

While thinking about such things, I realized that my party had been completely wiped out in the game.

“It’s unusual for Canyon-kun to experience a total wipeout. Seems like his mind isn’t here, huh?”

“Did something happen?”

Baron-san and Peach-san are worried about me. The reason for the wipeout was simply due to a careless mistake… It was a wipeout that wouldn’t normally happen to someone experienced.

As I continue playing, it becomes clear that I’m lacking concentration. I’m aware of it myself.

“Tomorrow is my first date with her… I can’t help but keep thinking about that.”

To be precise, I was thinking about tomorrow’s date and… Nanami-san today. That’s why I couldn’t focus. The preparations for tomorrow are already complete.

I’ve already bought the tickets online and selected the seats. Initially, I had planned to meet at the movie theater, but I suggest otherwise.

Considering what happened with my senpai and what happened yesterday… it seemed highly likely that Nanami-san would encounter some strange pickup attempt.

With such a cute girl being alone, there are probably fewer guys who wouldn’t try to hit on her.

In response to my concerns, she casually said:

“Then, should I come to your place?”

Upon reflection, it was a simple solution. If I go to her house to pick her up, the chances of her getting hit on would be almost zero. It was a revelation for me, and I accepted her suggestion. This time, we won’t have a meeting place, and I’ll go directly to Nanami-san’s house to pick her up.

At first, she seemed to be considering coming to my house. Well, I couldn’t let my male pride waver, so I politely declined.

That’s why yesterday, for the first time, I walked her home and then returned to my own house. As a result, yesterday became the longest day I’ve ever spent with Nanami-san.

…I’ll make it clear that it wasn’t because I wanted to know where Nanami-san’s house was. I’ll make that clear as an excuse.

“By the way, do you think this is how people who live together go home together? It’s something to aspire to, right?”

She said that on the way back, and I was at a loss for words.

Well, Nanami-san also said, “Oops, forget it please…” so I guess that was just a self-destructive comment. Her ears were red too.

Living together with Nanami-san and returning home together… just imagining it… makes me squirm.

And thinking that the record for the longest time spent together will be broken tomorrow… makes me feel uneasy.

My feelings are restless.

I thought about initiating contact myself, but I refrained from doing so because I didn’t want to spoil the fun they were having as friends.

Nanami-san kept me updated on everything.

“The movie was amazing! It had some embarrassing scenes, though… but maybe I learned something from it? Look forward what’s to come!” she messaged me.

I panicked, wondering what she had learned and what I should be looking forward to.

“For lunch, I had a hamburger. What did you eat, Youshin? It would be nice if I could make you lunch on your days off. How about I come over and make lunch for you next time?”

During lunch, I remembered Nanami-san’s homemade bento, and suddenly my usually delicious cup noodles seemed tasteless.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow! I want to see you soon. I’ll contact you tonight. Let’s make tomorrow’s date fun!”

She constantly says cute things like that.

It’s no wonder I can’t focus on my game.

I can’t stop grinning. It’s kind of creepy, even for me.

“That’s great. It’s a youth thing, right? The first date… It’s bound to be exciting. Are you fully prepared?”

“Yes, I am. I’ll go pick her up from her house.”

“I see, I see. Well… enjoy yourself tomorrow without worrying about the game.”

“Please take care,” Peach-san added.

Oh, Peach-san gave me a supportive comment for the first time. It’s quite moving…

“Just be careful not to be told it was a boring movie or a bad date or the worst. Don’t let those cruel words break your heart,” she warned.

It’s different… She might be cheering me on, but there’s something negative about it.

I feel like this girl’s darkness is deepening. Maybe she really hates the gal style…

“Peach-chan, don’t say that… But you’re right. Make sure to escort her properly so she won’t say those things. That way, your favorability rating will go up. Although I feel like your favorability is already maxed out…”

If I take Peach-san’s words positively, I have to be careful about how the date goes tomorrow.

…Thinking about it, even though I’ve only spent a few days with Nanami-san, just being with her makes me happy…

But when I think about it, that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s having a good time. I’ve learned something valuable.

“So, what are you planning to wear on the day? What kind of outfit for the date?” Baron-san asked.

“Outfit…? You mean clothes…?”

Clothes… for the date…

Huh? What kind of clothes should I wear on a date? Can I just wear my usual clothes?

“For now, most of the clothes I have at home are mostly black… Now that I think about it… And loose-fitting, baggy pants… and maybe jeans?”

My words made Baron stop talking… and then…

“Canyon-kun… You’ve become close with Senpai-kun, right? Can you take a full-body picture of yourself and send it to Senpai-kun? Just to see what he thinks?”

“Canyon-kun… Surely… it’s not true, right?”

I received worried messages from both of them. Did something go wrong?

I changed out of my casual jersey, which I usually wear at home, into my regular clothes. Other than my school uniform and home clothes, I don’t have many outfits since I rarely go out except to buy games or books.

For now, I’ll put on something and figure out how to take a full-body photo…

Ah, now that I think about it, my dad has a mirror that shows the entire body. I’ll ask if I can use it.

Suddenly, as I started taking pictures of myself, my parents at home tilted their heads in confusion. Ignoring their gaze, I took a full-body photo and sent it to Senpai with a message.

“Senpai, are you okay right now? I have a question… Can you take a look at the clothes I plan to wear on my date with Nanami-san tomorrow?”

About 10 minutes passed, and I received a reply from Senpai.

“Misumai-kun… You have an incredible nerve to tell me that as someone who got dumped… Alright, it’s fine. It’s the break time for the club, so go ahead and send it.”

…Now that he mentioned it, it was true. But in the current situation, Senpai is the only person I can rely on when it comes to fashion.

My teammates in the social game are just online acquaintances, and among my few friends, they are all people who prioritize buying things other than clothes.

“I’m sorry, but Senpai is the only person I can rely on… I’ll send you the photos.”

I sent my photos to Senpai, and both messages were marked as read immediately. Then, Senpai’s response came quickly.

“Misumai-kun… I’m also too focused on basketball, so I’m not that knowledgeable about fashion… Please ask with the assumption that I’m not well-informed.”

Senpai gave such a preamble, but… Did something seem off?

“Why is everything black from top to bottom?! Both the inner and outer layers are all black, and even the pants are black. Are you naturally an assassin or a ninja? Also, what’s written in red on that shirt? It stands out so much because everything is completely black, and black with red text is kind of scary!!”

“Senpai, I didn’t send you a picture of me in my underwear. The color of my pants is green trunks.”

“You don’t need to tell me that!! In this case, ‘pants’ refers to trousers!! Don’t make irrelevant jokes like that!!”

I see. I’ve always called them ‘trousers,’ so I wasn’t familiar with that term… So, ‘pants’ means trousers… Oh, then what do you call ‘underwear’? Well, it doesn’t matter.

“Misumai-kun, is it possible that all the clothes you have are like that?”

“Yes, that’s right. I only have similar clothes.”

“Go buy clothes right away!! It’s fine to go to a casual wear mass retailer! And send me photos of your outfits one by one!”

…It seems like my outfit was completely unacceptable. Moreover, even though he’s in the middle of club activities, Senpai offered to check each outfit for me. I’m really grateful.

I see… This was a failure… Well, I knew about half of it already.

“Understood, thank you, senpai.”

“Sure. Since I’m still in club activities, I might not be able to check it frequently, but I recommend you talk to the store staff and get their advice. Remember, simplicity is key.”

After expressing my gratitude once again, the messages from senpai no longer showed a “read” status. He might have returned to his club activities. Having finished my conversation with senpai, I informed Baron-san and Peach-san that I would be leaving the game.

“Alright, that’s good… to ask about your clothes.”

“…I didn’t expect it to be that bad.”

Receiving such comments from the two of them, I started feeling embarrassed about going to buy clothes in my usual outfit. This must be what they call a situation of “not having clothes to wear to buy clothes.”

However, I had to prepare myself and go shopping. After withdrawing some cash, I headed to a large store in a shopping mall in the city, although it was a bit far. The movie theater where I would be going with Nanami-san tomorrow was also located here, so it served as a chance to scout the area.

And so, my first experience of choosing clothes began.

At first, since it was a large store, I lightly thought, “Huh? Clothes aren’t that expensive, are they?” as I looked at each item. However, when I added up the total cost of everything, it turned out to be quite high.

It wasn’t kind to the financial situation of a high school student without a part-time job…

I started regretting not having a part-time job. I didn’t know what kind of jobs I could do, but…

…Does Nanami-san have a part-time job? Maybe we could work together… No, that’s not good. I’d probably end up making mistakes while looking at Nanami-san.

As I tried on clothes and sent pictures to senpai, it took quite a bit of time. Senpai diligently provided accurate comments on the photos.

“If there are too many options, it can be confusing, so let’s stick with black skinny jeans for the bottom. Then choose what you want to wear on top. Let’s go for a refreshing look.”

Following senpai’s advice, I chose black skinny jeans, a slightly wide-striped shirt in white and navy, a white outer shirt, and a simple belt with no embellishments.

I mentioned that my shoes were also completely black, and I purchased a pair of light blue sneakers from a different store.

Finally, I sent a full-body photo to senpai, and he replied, “That’s good, it’s safe. It gives off a refreshing vibe.” So, it should be fine.

I thanked senpai, but when he mentioned receiving gratitude in the form of barato-kun’s bento that I was getting, I politely declined. As a gesture of gratitude, I casually mentioned that it would be nice if Nanami-san could share some side dishes with senpai.

…An immediate reply filled with incredible joy came back. I didn’t realize he wanted to eat that much…

However, even though I had spent more than double the usual amount I would spend on clothes, well, I’ll consider it a good opportunity.

I just need to be careful not to get caught by my parents and have them ask, “What’s going on? Why did you suddenly buy clothes?” I feel exhausted just from buying clothes… I should hurry home and relax to heal my fatigue before tomorrow’s date… As I was thinking about that, I heard a voice that sounded familiar to me.

“Hey, could you stop? We all have boyfriends, so we’re not interested.”

“It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s just the three of us girls now, right? Let’s hang out with us. It’ll be okay if we don’t get caught.”

When I directed my gaze towards the familiar voice… there was Nanami-san’s friend, Otofuke-san.

Come to think of it, Nanami-san mentioned that the three of them were going to watch a movie today, so she must have come here too…

Looking at them again from a distance, I felt a bit perplexed.

There was Otofuke-san, Kamoenai-san, and… an unfamiliar girl. The three of them were being approached by a group of three guys who seemed quite flashy.

Interlude: Just after watching the movie with Nanami

“Wow… wow… there were so many explicit scenes… I was surprised… but it was fun, right?”

With my face completely red, I hurriedly walked with Hatsumi and Ayumu. Even though it was rated R-15, I was still shocked by how intense it was…

“For Nanami, who hasn’t even had her first kiss, it must have been quite stimulating…”

“Well, even for us, we’ve only kissed our boyfriends, so yeah… Hey, Nanami, should we send a message to Misumai about our thoughts on the movie? Like, saying we studied?”

“Yeah, let’s send it. I’ll do it now.”

After that, I sent the message, but when I received Youshin’s reply saying, “Looking forward to it… What are you going to do for me?” I snapped back to reality and became even more flustered…