Volume 1 - CH 3

“To think not only me, but the section chief also leaped back in time…”

My name is Shimono Nanaya, and I just recently traveled back in time. Yesterday, I found out that my former superior Kamijou Touka also leaped back in time as I did. Because my brain was in full capacity trying to comprehend this incident, I didn’t get much sleep the whole night, and morning arrived like that. With bags under my eyes, I passed through the school gate. The weather was awfully clear today, making the sunshine dazzlingly bright.

“Ah.”

At the shoe lockers, I ran into a girl who had equally big bags under her eyes.

“Good morning, Chief.”

A moment of silence passed.

“Good morning, Nanaya-kun~! Come on, what’s with those eye bags, you need to properly sleep at night.”

“Eh, you’re still going with that character?”

“Oh be quiet! It’s not a character! I’m not at the company, so it’s fine! Right now, I’m a healthy high school girl in her prime!” The section chief was mindful of our surroundings, scolding me in silence.

I mean, she is a healthy high school girl in her prime, and absolutely adorable, but it’s still the section chief on the inside.

“Also, you too have bags under your eyes, you’re not much better than me, Chief.”

“I keep telling you not to call me Chief at school!”

“But, what else should I call you then? Going with Kamijou-senpai is far too embarrassing this late into the game.”

“T-Then just call me Touka.”

“I’ve been thinking this yesterday already, but after turning back into a high school girl, did your IQ drop a bit, Chief?”

“What?! Is calling me by my name so awful for you?!”

“Yes, it is!”

“Urk…That much should be fine, you dense idiot…”

“What are you mumbling about now?”

“Zip it! Then this will be an official order from your superior! Employee Shimono, call me Touka!”

“Ugh…! Despite telling me not to call you Chief, you now use your position in the company to order me…! However, we’re not at the company, so I will ignore that order!”

Alright, I confidently said ‘No’ to my superior committing power harassment! I won’t stay a Yes-man forever.

“…Alright then, sniff.”

Why’s she said now? She even said ‘sniff’ out loud. How adorable.

“Did you not get much sleep either, Chief?”

“Well, yeah…I didn’t think I’d end up traveling back in time with my subordinate.”

“Yeah, I get that~”

“Since we both came back to this time simultaneously, the reason must be that shrine after all.”

“Shrine?”

“Huh?! You don’t remember?!”

“Well, my memories of that day are so vague…No, wait…Ahh, I remember! That shrine! Where we stopped because you almost puked!”

“You didn’t need to say that since I didn’t throw up in the end!”

Yeah, yeah, I remember. It’s that shrine. There, I wished for the chance of redoing my encounter with the section chief.

“Hey, Shimono-kun, why are you keeping quiet? I didn’t throw up, right? Hey, I didn’t throw up, yeah?!”

When talking about my encounter with the section chief, it was during our high school days. Ahh, that makes sense. Basically, that god granted my wish. But, there’s no meaning to it if the section chief is with me, dear god…

“Did I actually throw up?! Did I throw up in front of you, and just don’t remember?! Hey! You’re joking, right?! It’s a lie, right?! If not, I’ll immediately attack your head with a blunt object and erase those memories!”

“Ah, I’m sorry, I was lost in thought I didn’t listen. I heard you say some rather violent words, but that was just my imagination, yes?”

“Geez! You’re bad at multi-tasking, so I always tell you to focus on the task at hand first, right!”

“Yes, I’m sorry, Chief!”

“Don’t call me chief here!”

“I mean, it sounds like something you’d say when we’re at work~ If you complain about me calling you that, at least sound like a high school student yourself.”

“Even though you just said ‘You’re still going with that character?’ a few minutes ago…Alright then, I’ll say something a high school student would.”

“Chief…?”

Her eyes suddenly looked awfully serious. At the same time as the morning chime rang, Kamijou Touka declared the following.

“Shimono-kun, go out with me.”

And the words she threw at me couldn’t be more brimming with youth.

*

Yeah, I knew. I expected this, I really did. After classes ended, I went out with the section chief to a stylish cafe near the train station. As a faithful listener of Love Mentalist Yuito, I had immediately seen through this cliché development. Happens a lot, that kind of ‘Go out with me’ stuff. Go where, am I right? Yep, I totally get it. You get it, yeah? I most definitely wasn’t nervous and excited all day after the section chief fired these words at me, only to shortly after run away with ‘Ah, the chime rang. See you after school’. Don’t get the wrong idea!

“Enjoying a delicious cup of tea after school is something high school students would do, no?”

“Chief, the way you said that sentence couldn’t be further from how a high school student would describe things. Also, a single cup of blended coffee is a solid 1,000 yen! Nobody our current age would come here! Your choice of cafe is messed up! We’re standing out so badly!”

There are only people wearing suits around us. But, the atmosphere felt calm, and a pleasant scent of coffee drifted in the air.

“Ehhhh, but the coffee here is so delicious~!”

“At least look into the trends of today’s youth a bit more! High school students would frequent casual cafes to take pictures they could upload online!”

“Now now, that’s not important right now. Ehehe, drinking coffee with each other like this, it almost feels like a date, right? Don’t worry, this mature lady will pay for your coffee.”

“Huh, you’re still going with that character after all? You won’t get me flustered with that anymore, you know? You might look like a high school student on the outside, but I know that you’re the Chief inside. Though I will gladly accept that offer.”

Heh, you’re not deceiving me again. She probably enjoyed my reaction more than expected yesterday and continued to keep up the act to tease me. However, since she doesn’t even see me as that much of a man to continuously joke around like that, I guess it’s impossible to win over the section chief even during my second high school life.

“It’s not a character! I was always this kind of high school girl! You sure know how to grind my gears!”

“I’m sorry, I was acting cheeky again!”

Eh, she gets angry at me there?! She’s scary after all. If I get scolded even outside of my job, I might just be too terrified to even say or do anything.

“For crying out loud…Want some more coffee? It’s my treat.”

“I’m thankful for that, but haven’t you forgotten that you are still in high school? You don’t have that kind of money, right?”

“It’s fine, I have an older brother who is five years older than me, and he’s starting up his business despite being in university, so he earns plenty. I get a lot of that for allowance myself. I don’t like using the money I received from other people, but he’s different. If it’s from blood relatives, I’ll use that money however I want to so that it makes the economy flourish. Naturally, I’ll be paying them back once I earn my own money. Or rather, I plan to, in this current state.”

This is the first time I heard about her having an older brother, but I shouldn’t be surprised to hear that her siblings are also hyper businessmen.

“Starting a business while being in university is amazing.”

“Not really. He may have the talent for it, but he’s also messing around a lot.”

“When I was in university, I was pretty much just fooling around and being lazy.”

“Oh really? Does that include having a girlfriend? Not like I would care, of course.”

“No, of course not. It’s me, remember?. I would just play games or watch anime. Well, I guess I was somewhat of an otaku back then.”

“I see! I mean, not like that matters! I don’t hate otakus or anything~ Having excessive knowledge in a single field will eventually become a useful weapon at one point. Not like that matters, though! Ah, I’d like another coffee please!”

Picking up the section chief’s voice, the waitress, wearing a fully-fledged maid uniform turned towards us, pouring the chief another cup of coffee, as she glanced at me with a smile.

“Ah, I’ll take some more as well, then.”

That smile urged me to take an extra order myself. Well, the section chief said I didn’t have to hold back, so it should be fine…right? I can’t say no when a mature and older lady like that smiles at me.

“The coffee here really is delicious.”

“It’s completely different from the canned coffee we would usually drink at work.”

“You do that all the time, yeah. Even though I purchased hosting services.”

“Drinking it from cans makes me feel more like I’m at work.”

“Fufu, what’s that even mean.” The section chief smiled.

I spotted something rare today. Since her genuine smile was so alluring, I could only drop my gaze onto the cup below me, taking a sip from the coffee. Tasted bitter. The atmosphere and the circumstances actually felt like a date, and since I was that wimpy of a virgin, I brought up another topic.

“The shrine wasn’t there, huh.”

“You’re right. I guess it hasn’t been built yet in this time. Or, maybe that building itself never existed in the first place.”

“Ohh, suddenly feels like a horror story~”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Before we came here, the section chief and I headed to the place we remembered the shrine to be located at. On the nearest train, after a 15-minute walk from the train station near the company. After going up the hill road, we reached the stilly freshly-built residential district. It was at an elevated location, allowing you to observe the landscape. Unless you lived close-by, you normally wouldn’t come to visit here, for certain.

Coming here, all the memories freshly filled my head once more, and we managed to confirm that the shrine wasn’t here. This was definitely the location we prayed at. Instead of the shrine, we found a bamboo grove. Around it were no houses, nor any private land belonging to someone. If you’re into all that occult stuff, this is probably like a dream come true, but with our uniforms (and the section chief’s skirt), we judged that entering the bamboo grove would be difficult, and returned down the trail back to the town. At the very least, we found out that the shrine didn’t exist at this time.

“It sure looked old despite having barely been built in these eleven years.” I argued.

“I would imagine that the shrine itself was a supernatural phenomenon. Since it could send us back in time like this, I doubt it’ll stay around forever.”

“If this was an anime, nobody would be able to tell who out of us was the protagonist~”

“You can say that again! This isn’t even any proper story!”

“Why are you suddenly screaming like that, Chief! Calm down.”

“Ah, my bad, my bad. I actually love these kinds of time travel stories. That’s why, you know, I thought this was pretty half-baked~”

“R-Right.”

Well, I do have to agree. I would have been perfectly fine as the only time leaper, god who granted this wish! I want to scream myself!

“Now that the shrine doesn’t exist, we have no more leads on how we can return to our own time.” The section chief said.

“Is this really such a bad outcome? We can just relive our youth one more time.”

“You’re quite accepting of this situation. Do you not want to return?”

“Well, I personally don’t mind either way.”

Don’t wanna work after all.

“Would you like to go back, Chief?”

“Personally…I’m a bit curious about the company…”

Oh wow, she’s the exact opposite of me. I actually feel embarrassed now.

“As expected of someone in a leading position, the level of responsibility is just on an entirely different level. I really respect that.”

“B-But, well, I also think that it wouldn’t hurt to spend the time like this. What’s happened, happened. And, we get to enjoy some delicious coffee as high school students after all…?”

For some reason, the section chief kept on throwing glances at me, with a reddened face. Don’t tell me…

“Chief, did you actually think of our work as tiresome as well?! Oh man, you could have just told me~ Ahh, I feel so understood all of a sudden.”

“What?”

Scaryyyyy?! Eh, her eyes turned into the shape of kitchen knives! Did I mess up somewhere again?! I guess something was bad about my response, but I don’t know where. For starters, I should just apologize.

“I’m sorry.”

“Say, you think that you should always apologize first thing, huh?”

“That’s the Chief for you, you’ve seen right through me. Only you understand me this much, really.”

“Eh, really? W-Well, of course I would. Yes, how many years do you think we’ve known each other? Of course I know you. You need to actually mean it when you apologize. Ah, Shimono-kun, would you like a slice of cake? I’ll eat one, but we can order some together?”

The section chief sure can be scary, but if you admit your mistake, she forgives you immediately. Stretching out lectures doesn’t benefit anybody, and she knows that. She really is a talented leader, you rarely see people like her.

“Oh yeah, there’s something I wanted to ask you, Chief.”

“What, what? My birthday? Hobbies? Well, I’ve been hitting the gym a lot lately. Also, hot yoga is pretty good, and great for the body! As of late, I’ve been sweating a lot while doing yoga!”

These hobbies practically scream office lady! Like hell you’re a normal high school girl right now! The section chief went ahead and ordered two cheesecake slices from the waitress passing us by, and smiled.

“Not that, I was talking about the time leap.”

“Tsk.”

She clicked her tongue?!

“I was just thinking…since we’ve returned to this time, there’s been small changes here and there, right? Nothing fundamentally different, but the insignificant changes caught my attention.”

“The butterfly effect, is probably what you mean.”

I figured as much. It seems like my assumption was correct. Since the section chief said it, that must be the case.

“By us traveling to the past, and through every action we take, the future will slowly but gradually change,” I said.

“Indeed, you know your stuff, I see.” The chief smiled.

“I quite like Do*aemon after all.”

“Nobita always goes around changing history, it’s basically the same.”

“The Kingdom of Clouds movie was especially scary. That reminds me, that time leap anime movie I watched before put a huge focus on the changes in history that were made, so I wonder what will happen to us.”

“Right. We should probably keep an eye out for that, then we can understand it to a certain degree, but even in the previous timeline, we could never tell what the future will bring, right? We’re simply living in the here and now.”

“Agreed. But, that sounded pretty cool, Chief.”

“Also, it’d be pretty bad for me if actions taken now can’t change the future either way.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

“Nothing, really. Doesn’t have anything to do with you, Shimono-kun.” The chief spoke with an oddly blunt tone.

“Well, the future of you becoming the student council president changed, after all. What a shame.”

“So persistent. Why are you so adamant about having me become the student council president?”

“It’s the opposite. In the previous future, you became the student council president, so I’m wondering why not now.”

“Didn’t I tell you my answer yesterday?”

“That you want to experience a different kind of youth?”

“T-That’s right. Do you have a problem with that?”

Rather than that, I still don’t fully get it. Since I wasn’t satisfied just yet, I was considering asking her some more about it, when I heard a familiar voice.

“Oh, it’s Nanaya.”

In front of our table stood a girl with large breasts and a maid costume, carrying two plates with slices of cheesecake. That’s the first time I’ve seen such a revealing maid uniform. Those boobs are huge, like volleyballs.

“Hold on, Nao?! Why are you here?!”

“Because I’m working here part-time, duh. Didn’t I tell you?”

“Huh, wait, you did?”

I looked through my memories eleven years ago. I think she was already working at a cafe during this time. But, you can’t expect me to remember this place, okay.

“Nanaya, did you get a hard-on while looking at your cute childhood friend’s grown boobs, huh? Come on, come on, you don’t always get to see a big-breasted maid like this~ You got excited? You can use me as material tonight, if you want~” Nao grinned, and put her elbows together to forcefully create an even larger cleavage between her breasts.

So this is the destructive power of a boobs uniform, huh! Please, stop. I’m an old man here! I’ll really get hard if you look like that in front of me! However, Nao didn’t bother much with my problems and just looked at me with a smile. She is cute, all right. Back during this time, we were almost too close, I never actually saw her as a girl, but now that some time has passed, I realize that she is cute-looking. Having such an adorable childhood friend, was I a bit of a normie?

“…Shimono-kun.”

Ah! What is this ominous aura I’m feeling…

“Chief, this isn’t what it looks like!”

“Chief?” Nao showed a bit of confusion in her expression.

“Just leave those plates here, Nao.”

“Ah, yeah, yeah. But, why are you panicking like that?”

Nao finally stopped emphasizing her breasts, putting down the cheesecake slices on the table. Of course I’d be panicking. The chief really hates this kind of sexual harassment imitation stuff. Even that playboy of an assistant manager kept his sexual jokes at bay when the chief was around. If she were to get the wrong idea, assuming that I would get excited by looking at a high school girl’s breasts, a written apology will not suffice. I’ll get banished. However, as you would expect from my childhood friend, Nao immediately grasped what I was so terrified of, and looked over towards the source. And then, she spoke up with an energetic voice.

“Oh, it’s Kamijou Touka-senpai! Hello!”

“Wait, you know each other, Nao?”

“Nope!”

“You don’t?!”

“I mean, she’s famous.”

Well, that is true.

“Hmph!” The section chief cleared her throat, clearly telling us to not ignore her. “You are Nakatsugawa Nao from class 1-7, yes? Good day to you.” The section chief smiled as well.

I was wondering how she knew about Nao’s name, but it immediately clicked right after.

“You know about me, Touka-senpai? Oh yeah, will you be participating in this year’s student council election? I heard rumors that you’re gunning for the spot of the president!”

“I won’t.”

“Huh?! Why?! I totally thought you’d be my rival!”

“So you’ll be a candidate, I see. Do your best.”

“Yes, I will! Thank you very much!”

Nao’s gunning for the position of student council president. And last time, she had to go against the section chief as a rival, losing the election in the end. That’s probably how the section chief remembers Nao. Still, I’ve been wondering about this back in the day already, but why did Nao want to become the student council president? Might as well ask her.

“Say, Nao, why do you want to become the student council president?”

“To make the food at the cafeteria free for everybody!”

“So superficial! Also, the student council president doesn’t have that much power! And nobody will vote for you either!”

“But I got big boobs, so the boys will vote for me.”

“That…sounds plausible!”

That girl, she’s using her breasts as an absolute advantage, huh. Being aware that your big boobs are your charming point, there’s nothing better for a girl to do.

“Nanaya, be my assisting president.”

“Huh, why me? Don’t wanna.”

“Come on, come on! Please! I can’t be bothered to look for anybody else!”

“You really shouldn’t be saying that while asking me!”

“Please, please! I’ll let you do what you want with my boobs, as always…”

“Stop with that lewd voice!” I stood up and threw a retort at Nao when the cold voice of the Ice Queen next to me broke between the two of us.

“As always…?”

“Waaaah, she’s just joking, Chief! Don’t take her too seriously!”

Nao seemingly caught on to something interesting, as her eyes lit up. And then, she suddenly clung to me, moving her index finger around on my chest, poking at the area close to my nipple. My chest isn’t the school grounds, alright! Stop walking in circles! I’m not accepting there to be such a lewd maid!

“Nana…ya…be my assisting president…You can mess me up as you did before if that helps you decide…”

“Mess her up…? As he did before…?” The chief’s face turned redder by the second.

“I got it already! I’ll do it! So stop with those jokes, it’s getting really messed up!”

“Wohooo! Thanks, Nanaya!”

Damn it! She clearly got the jump on me now. So cheeky despite being some high school student! Damn brat!

“Shimono-kun…” The chief got up from her chair, approaching me on staggering feet.

Oh lord help me.

“You’re wrong! It was a joke! Come on, explain it to her, Nao! That was a joke, right?!”

Yet, Nao didn’t say anything, keeping quiet. This woman, I’m really gonna fondle her breasts if she’s that desperate for it. And yet while I was cursing her, the chief continuously approached me. Her expression was as cold as ice. She’s a demon. A devil! A death god!

“Me too…”

Me too?! She’ll let me fondle her boobs?!

“I’ll do it as well!”

“Huh? What exactly?”

“The assisting committee, I’m joining that!” She said, and clung to my arm, pressing her body against me.

Now I had Nao to my right, and the chief to my left, surrounded by breasts.

“Huh? You’ll join the assisting committee for Nao, Chief?”

“That’s right!”

Hearing those words, Nao jumped in joy.

“Yaaay! With Touka-senpai as a supporter, I’ll win the election for sure!”

Yeah, she’s not wrong about that.

“With the chief’s presentation skill, there’s no way Nao wouldn’t win the election after all.”

“Again, stop calling me chief!”

“My plan to make the cafeteria food free has progressed an important step! Thank you, Chief!”

“Hey, not you too! Don’t copy him!”

Together with two clueless subordinates, the Nakatsugawa Nao assisting department was born. By the way, since we caused quite the ruckus inside the cafe, Nao was scolded by the manager. I wonder if she’s even doing her work properly. Couldn’t help feeling a bit worried for her.

*

A few days passed after that, with it now being the afternoon. We entered the pre-election period, and the candidates had begun acting for real. We were no exception, handing out flyers at the shoe lockers. The evening breeze felt a bit chilly. As the days are hot, you tend to wear light clothing, making your skin freeze, but that only helped in heightening motivation. As I accepted the position of assisting president, I plan on properly fulfilling my role.

Nao might not look like it, but she’s actually a very diligent person. Even her traveling the world as a backpacker was her trying to find out a way she could help with world peace, or so I was told from a classmate later. She might sound like an idiot, trying to erase all costs of the school cafeteria, but becoming the student council was properly thought out by Nao in her own way.

Well, said Nao went off to the toilet, not being here with me, and as the other assisting committee member, the section chief, also vanished without a trace, I’m the lonely guy handing out flyers in the cold. Where did the chief go? The cold feels even harsher now. Maybe because my heart is frozen.

“Nanaya-kun~”

Suddenly, warm metal was pressed against me.

“Wah! Hot! What are you doing, Chief?!”

“Eh, I saw this often in dramas or TV shows, but I guess it didn’t work out?”

The section chief stood in front of me, holding two cans of coffee.

“You do that with a cold bottle of water! Nobody would do that with a hot can! This is just torture! Also, copying stuff from a drama, you’re a lot more maiden-like than I thought, Chief.”

“W-Who’s a maiden! For crying out loud…Anyway, you liked it black, right? Here, let’s take a short break.”

“Thank you very much. You’re right, we handed out a lot, so a short break shouldn’t hurt.” I opened up the can, and poured some of its contents down my throat.

Yep, coffee during work is the best after all.

“High school students sure look young to me now. Before, upperclassmen looked a lot more like adults.”

“Even now, you still look like an adult, Chief.”

“Hmph, are you calling me old?” The chief slammed her fist into my chest in anger.

Cute.

“Why would you think that? I’m saying that you’re mature and beautiful, of course.”

“A…Are you stupid? You’ll never climb the corporate ladder with such obvious sweet-mouthing.”

“Huh, my superior is saying that?! Power harassment!”

“Drop it! Your colleague Namiki-kun already managed to become a section head, and assistant manager Nakagawa achieved those results in two years only.”

“Please don’t compare me to a monster like assistant manager Nakagawa, okay!”

Also, since the section chief rose to a higher position even further than that assistant manager, she’s a lot scarier. She’s had way less work experience than him and is younger on top of that.

“Well, he’s skilled for sure, and he’s considerate, so if he’s good at his work, he surely knows how to treat a woman. He’s super popular, unlike a certain someone.”

“Huh, I see. So he’s the type of person you’re into, Chief.”

“Wha…”

“Why not? He’s pretty handsome, unlike me.”

“No, um…are you angry?”

“I’m not angry or anything. It’s the truth.”

“You’re wrong…That’s not it. He’s not my type at all. He always pulls dirty jokes, and even though he’s got a wife, he always tries to woo over other women from our company. I don’t like him at all, okay?” The chief pulled on the sleeve of my blazer, looking up at me with a troubled expression.

Crap, I’m about to awaken to something weird. I should have known that the serious section chief wouldn’t like some playboy like him, but the jealousy got the better of me.

“I-I know that! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound that way!”

“You’re not angry anymore?”

Hey, hey, why does she look like she’s about to break out in tears? I’ve never seen her like that before…Is she actually a bit of a maiden once she’s outside the company?

“Yes, I’m not angry. I would never get angry at you for something like this, Chief. Not to mention that I’m your subordinate, so I wouldn’t dare. More importantly, Nao sure is late, huh?”

“Yeah, she looks like a diligent type of person, so I don’t think she’s slacking off somewhere.”

Nao left us before the chief even went off to buy the coffee. The toilet’s right next to the entrance of the school building, so she should be coming back soon enough.

“I’ll go look for her.”

“I-I’m coming with you!”

The section chief still held onto the sleeve of my blazer. That’s the top 3 of what a boy wishes a girl to do to him! Damn it, the chief really is cute. But, I can’t have her do even more extra work, she already bought the coffee.

“It’s fine, Chief, doing the miscellaneous work is the job of the subordinate.”

“You’re the assisting president, so I’m your subordinate.”

“It’s just the two of us, so there’s no higher or lower!”

“You’re right. And since it’s just the two of us, there’s no subordinate or superior.”

Hmmm…Yeah, I really can’t win against her when it comes to arguing power.

“Well, if you’re fine with it. Let’s go then.”

We changed into our slippers, entering the school building. In doing so, we immediately heard loud voices coming from the back of the hallway. Sounds like some kind of fight. The chief seemingly caught on to that as well, heading towards the source of the noise.

“I have to hand out these flyers, okay~ Let’s do it another time, okay~”

“Who cares about that. You’re not gonna win anyway, so let’s go for some karaoke Nakatsugawa~”

Class 1-7, which would be my classroom. Nao was standing against the wall next to the classroom, showing a troubled smile, her eyebrows tilted accordingly. In front of her stood a single boy, pressing his hand on the wall as if to seal off any possible way of escaping. It’s a perfect example of a wall slam. Was it already popular during this time? Four to five people were observing the situation from the classroom.

“Who knows, I might just get elected, you know…And that’s why I’m working hard right now, so let’s do this another time, Tatsuki.” Nao tried to reject him with a smile, but she clearly wasn’t enjoying the situation.

I guess even the nonchalant and always-energetic Nao would have to be considerate when dealing with folks like him. This Tatsuki guy is actually in class 1-6. Since he was pretty famous, I still remember him. His parents are city council members, which is why he just did whatever he wanted those three years in high school, a real dangerous fellow, and a playboy in a different way from Onikichi. In the sense that he’s the bad kind, of course. Oh yeah, I remember hearing about him gunning for Nao, only to get rejected.

“Are you that desperate to become the student council president? Then I’ll manipulate the votes. As someone on the management committee, I can influence the votes as much as I want. No teachers or students could tell me anything either even if they found out, so no need to worry. So come on, just forget about handing out flyers and let’s go have some fun, Nakatsugawa. You totally are my type, you know.”

“That brat…” The chief grit her teeth.

Anger filled her expression, and she was about to break between the two, when another voice spoke up.

“What’s going on here?”

It was our homeroom teacher, a young man.

“Nothing at all, Hayashi-sensei. I was just inviting Nakatsugawa-san out for some karaoke, but she declined. Sorry, I guess I was a bit too aggressive.”

“Tatsuki from class 6, huh. Well, make sure not to cause that much of a ruckus. Sames goes for you, Nakatsugawa, you’re always causing trouble.”

“Ehehe, I’m sorry, teach~” Nao smiled.

If there’s anything she did wrong just now, then please tell me. Well, I might not like the way things ended, but it at least stopped things from exploding, so I’m glad that our teacher came by. Right as I was thinking that, Tatsuki’s left elbow purposefully bumped into Nao’s chest at the exact moment he tried to walk away.

“Kya!”

Nao immediately fell backward, but Tatsuki kept a prideful expression and acted like nothing happened while distancing himself. Our homeroom teacher Hayashi—was scratching his head while looking at the wall. Come on, acting like you didn’t see anything is a lousy excuse. I controlled the whirling emotions inside of my chest, and offered my hand to Nao.

“You okay?”

“Ahaha, I slipped~”

Even now, she tried to play it off with a smile. Both that Tatsuki and Hayashi…I can’t stand them, but they’re not even worth my time. Once they get a taste of how society really works, they’ll quiet down soon enough. Childish folks like these would be best left alone.

“Hey you, wait a second.”

However, one person didn’t watch this in silence.

“Huh?”

Tatsuki was probably hell-bent on just running away from there, which is why he half-glared at the chief.

“Apologize to Nao-chan.”

“What’s with you?”

I could tell from the chief’s eyes, she was dead serious. I haven’t seen her this pissed in a long time. More specifically, I’ve only seen her like this two times. Once when one of our employees received unfounded slander from one of our customers. The other was when the head of our department came to our branch department and immediately groped the butt of a new female employee. Right now, the section chief glared at Tatsuki in the same way, as she crossed her arms, which gave me the hallucination of her wearing a suit.

“I’m telling you to apologize.”

“I just did, no?”

Our homeroom teacher must have caught on to the chief’s attitude, and whispered in a voice Tatsuki couldn’t hear it.

“You’re second-year Kamijou, right. Come on, that’s enough. Nothing to gain from teasing fate like this.”

He spoke with his eyes alone, reminding the chief about his parents. However, her sharp gaze simply moved towards Hayashi now. This is bad. Maybe I should stop her.

“Chief, calm down. Nothing good will come from fighting here.”

I fully understand how annoyed she must be. However, this isn’t something she should get herself involved in. Retaliation now won’t amount to anything, I know that.

“That’s right, Chief~ I’m totally fine!”

“You’re not fine at all!”

“Wah?!”

Met with the pressure from the chief, Nao clung to my arm. I get it. She’s terrifying. I’m scared myself.

“If you do something bad, you have to apologize. Doesn’t matter who it is. Whether it’s the customer, the head of the department, or the son of some important people. You have to teach children properly—that’s the responsibility of an adult.”

She was absolutely right, which is why I couldn’t say another word.

“Come on, boy. Apologize.”

“I literally just apologized. Right, Natsukagawa.”

“I’m not taking that as an apology! There’s no meaning to an apology with no genuine feeling behind it. I’m telling you to reflect on that!”

“Tsk, so annoying.”

“Even so, I’m not letting this go.”

“…Sorry about that. Fine with that?”

Tatsuki seemingly lost against the chief’s pressure, as he looked at Nao’s eyes while apologizing, followed by him quickly moving away. The chief still didn’t seem fully satisfied by that, but Nao didn’t give her another chance to speak up.

“That was so cool, Chief! Thank you!”

Nao’s boobs pressed against the chief’s boobs, creating a comfortable Squeeze sound in my ears.

“Hey, Nao-chan, what are you…”

“I love you, Chief!”

The Marshmallow tower is completed. Boing boing. The chief seemed a lot more refreshed now, as Hayashi called out to her.

“Kamijou, don’t go around acting so important. Adults have their own circumstances.” Hayashi scratched his head with a sigh.

“Sensei.” I stepped in front of the chief, glaring at Hayashi in her stead.

I was surprised at how I did this almost subconsciously.

“What, Shimono, do I need to explain it to you as well?” Hayashi said while countering my gaze.

“Ah, no, it’s nothing. I’m sorry for causing such a ruckus.

Hayashi didn’t utter another word, and returned to the staff’s office. Phew, that reminded me of a scary customer before. Losing against the pressure and apologizing in the heat of the moment is the greatest weapon of a salaryman.

“Shimono-kun, isn’t this his third year as a teacher?”

“Um…since I am in my first year…Yes, I think he should be.”

“What does he know about being an adult? He’s even younger than us, that brat.”

The way the chief grumbled about that looked oddly dignified, and, just as Nao said, pretty cool.

*

It was now a bit past 6 pm. After handing out the rest of the flyers, we were on our way home. As we passed by the Arcade Business District near the train station, Nao stopped walking in front of a certain cafe.

“Alrighty, I have a shift at my job now!”

“Isn’t it a bit late to have a shift now? Are you okay? It’s dangerous for a high school girl to walk home alone at such a time.”

“Ahaha, Chief’s almost like an older sister! You’re just as much of a high school girl! And it’s fine, Mom will come to pick me up after I’m done working.”

“I see, that’s a relief. Do your best, then.”

“Yup! Thanks a lot for today, Chief! Same to you, Nanaya! Don’t assault the Chief just because you two are alone, okay?”

“Hell I will!”

Nao flashed her white teeth with a bright grin, and disappeared into the cafe while waving her hand.

“You’re not?”

“I won’t, okay!”

“Really, you’re so cute. Then, why don’t you escort this lady home safely, hm, Shimono-kun?” The section chief showed a teasing smile, moving closer to me.

I really don’t know what reaction to show her, seriously. Since she called me ‘Shimono-kun’, I assumed she was just going back to teasing me, but…what if this was actually the section chief trying to actively approach me? And if so, should I just respond with some flirting of my own? No, don’t jump to conclusions.

The second I show my affection towards her, she’ll just be cold and say stuff like ‘Wha…I didn’t do it with these kinds of intentions, though’ or ‘Sorry, I can only see you as a younger brother, but not as a man’, and so on. Girls can do that perfectly fine without hesitation. You won’t deceive me. As long as Love Mentalist Yuito’s top-class hints aren’t being dropped, I’m not falling for anything!

“You’re a bit close, Chief. You’re not drunk, are you?”

“…Virgin.”

“Huh?! What did you say just now?! Why are you suddenly dissing me?! What does me being a virgin have to do with anything?!”

“Shut up shut up shut up! Virgin!”

“I see, I see, so we’re having a case of the Labor Standards Act, I see. I’m not letting this stand! I’ll tell them that I received power harassment by my superior! I’ll tell them that you made fun of me for being a virgin!”

“The supervisors don’t have time for some case like that!”

“Also, we’re high school students, so isn’t it normal to be a virgin at this age? If anything, it’s healthy! I’m a healthy young man!”

“Nowadays, even middle school students are banging the lights out! What a shame!”

“Wha…are you serious?”

“Yup…I read about it online.”

“What an awful world this has become…”

“You’re right…”

“Then again, as we’re eleven years in the past, that doesn’t count right now, no?”

“Your quick-wittedness saved us once again.”

“Thank you very much.”

We both dropped our shoulders in defeat, as we walked out of the business district.

“That reminds me, Nao-chan sure is amazing for working part-time as a high school student.”

“Yeah, she’s probably saving money for the future. She will travel the world after graduating from university.”

“Wow, that’s so cool. Having a plan for the future like that, I can’t do that, so I have to respect that.”

“What are you talking about? You’re just as amazing, Chief. Becoming a section chief with barely 28 years, you don’t often hear that.”

“Heh…in the end, I’m still a salaryman. I’m still a hired nobody. Not like I’m really doing or producing anything on my own.”

“That’s not true!”

“Shimono-kun…?”

Ah, I accidentally screamed. Well, sometimes even the subordinate has to do the scolding when his chief is being a dummy.

“You’re amazing! Admirable, reliable, and a great person!”

“T-Thank you…”

Gaaah, my lack of vocabulary is really showing! But, never mind that right now.

“It’s not like you to undersell yourself! You’re fine because you’re the section chief! I can always brag about you, and everyone admires you!”

“Everyone…is it. Hehe…Shimono-kun got angry at me.”

“Ah, there’s one more thing I’d like to be angry about.”

“There’s still more? Didn’t you say that you would never get angry at your superior just today?”

“This and that are different.”

“Ehhhhh?”

That’s right, this is something I have to say no matter what. The sun has started to set considerably around us, so I kept on walking while simply looking at her face.

“Well, rather than wanting to be angry about it, I wish that you’re careful. It’s about what happened in the hallway.”

“Are you talking about Tatsuki-kun? I don’t think I was in the wrong, though.”

“Of course, I won’t put fault onto what you did. You were amazing back then. However, don’t you remember him?”

“He’s the son of city council members, right? He was famous for that, so of course, I remember him.”

“Not that, I’m talking about the actual day of the election. Chief, after you gave your speed, you were pushed off the stage by that boy who was part of the management committee, right?”

“Of course, I still remember that.”

It happened eleven years ago during the student council election. Before the voting, the candidates are to give a speech in front of the entire student body. Such did the chief as well, of course. I still remember how dignified and respected she looked, that’s how amazing her speech was. After she was done, she walked back to the seat prepared for her on the stage, when a boy from the management committee suddenly pushed out his arms, throwing the chief off the stage. Because of that, she fell down from the said stage, and although it wasn’t that high or anything, without any preparation for the sudden descent, you’d end up with a severe injury.

Well, since I happened to sit right at the front of the stage, I ended up the one being crushed by her, which is why I was the heavily injured one after that whole incident, but that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is the boy who pushed her off the stage.

“That was Tatsuki.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. From what I heard after that, Tatsuki didn’t like you reprimanding him for not taking his work seriously, so he wanted to pay you back for that.”

Learning of this, I immediately went to the staff office to protest, saying that this didn’t make any sense, that she could have gotten injured because of that. However, the teachers’ reactions were awfully cold, saying that she had simply lost her balance on stage, and that it was an accident, not purposefully done. Even the naive me back then knew that this was just a weak excuse and protested that many times, but Tatsuki received no blame. Ever since then, I stopped trying to even bother with these kinds of people.

“Reprimand…I don’t remember the details, but since everybody was doing their hardest for the election, I surely would have complained at somebody who didn’t take things seriously.”

“Not just surely, you’d do it even now. I was relieved to hear you weren’t aiming for the position of the student council president this time around, but after what happened today, I don’t think you’re on his good list at least.”

“Ahh…yeah, that does make sense. But, I would have done the same even if I knew. I can’t forgive him for hurting Nao-chan like that.”

I’m not getting through to her at all…! Sheesh, she’s always like this. And that’s one of her good parts as well.

“Anyway, you’re still right in his line of fire, so please be careful!”

“Yes yes, I get it. But, I see, you were worried about me…I might be a bit happy.” The chief looked like she was tearing up a bit.

Is she embarrassed? Damn it, why are you so cute.

“Of course I would worry about my superior.”

And here I am, acting like a tsundere. Am I cute? Damn it.

“If…”

“Hm?”

“If I were to end up in danger, would you save me like back then?”

“Eh, like back then? What do you mean?”

“It’s nothing! Ah, my house is right here! S-See you, Shimono-kun!” She said, and ran away without even showing me her face.

Her house should be a bit further down the street. Also, hold on? Did she know that I was the one who cushioned her fall? Hm? So then she knew that we were from the same high school? Hm? Hm? I don’t get it! I don’t know how to read girls! Save me, Love Mentalist Yuito-sensei!

*

It was an average afternoon. Lunchtime is the most blessed time of them all, and this doesn’t change whether you’re a student or a working individual. Just for the sake of this lunch break, I can do my best during the morning, and thanks to the lunch break, I can do my best for the afternoon. As for what I’m trying to say, the udon at the cafeteria is of utmost delicious taste. It’s like I’m sitting in Kagawa. It really warms up my stomach. This being the case, I’m heading for the cafeteria for some delish udon.

“Hey hey, Nanacchi, where you goin’?”

“Yo, Onikichi. I’m gonna get some udon from the cafeteria.”

“Let’s go for take-out and eat in the classroom, yeah!”

“Ehhh, it’ll make the noodles all soggy, so I wanna eat in the cafeteria though~”

“If I’m with you, everything can be a cafeteria…No?”

“Nope.”

“Nanacchi~!”

Since Onikichi clung to my arm like a small child, I was sadly not able to head over to the cafeteria, because a school-wide broadcast from the speaker above the blackboard started playing.

‘Hello everyone. We will be… introducing the candidates for… the student council election.’

We could hear a girl’s voice, belonging to a broadcast committee member. The way she put regular breaks in her sentences feels so nostalgic.

‘Today…we have Nakatsugawa…Nao-san from class 1-7…’

“Ohh! It’s Nao! Let’s listen to it, Nanacchi!”

“Yeah, might as well.”

Right as I had raised my hip to head over to the cafeteria, I sat back down on my seat again.

‘Heyho! I’m Nakatsugawa Nao!’

Drop that ‘It’s me, Rola1!’ attitude! You’re jumping ahead in time here!

‘…………’

Hm?

‘……………’

Weird, I can’t hear anything. Maybe there are some technical difficulties?

‘Um…Nakatsugawa-san?’

‘Yeah?’

That’s my line! What was that weird silence about just now!

‘What about your self-introduction…?’

‘I just did mine!’

‘That was all?!’

Woah, even that broadcasting girl is baffled, her way of speaking turned normal!

‘Then, um…I love gyudon!’

This isn’t some mixer, you hear!

‘My family owns cows to sell milk, so feel free to buy some and get a taste!’

She’s advertising now?! How about you advertise yourself so that people vote for you?!

‘Please vote for me!’

Rola again?! Well, she’s done her best, I guess. That’s all I can say.

‘O-Okay, that’ll be all for our broadcast!’

Even the girl doing the broadcast was so baffled she completely lost her previous way of speaking. I feel bad for her.

“Well, it’s typical of Nao, I guess.”

“As expected of a childhood friend, Nanacchi.”

“I’m trying. She’s been working hard lately, so I can forgive that.”

“Yeah, she’s mostly asleep during recess. She’s still working part-time along with the whole election stuff, right? Respect is on max here, yeah!”

Not only after classes, but Nao is also even handing out flyers early in the morning, calling out to the students. At night, she has her part-time job, so she shouldn’t be getting that much sleep. Yet she’s attending school as always, and interacting with her friend in her usual cheerful attitude. Just like Onikichi, I have to respect her.

“Alright, off to the cafeteria.”

“Ah, hey, Nanacchi!”

I brushed off Onikichi’s arm, and ran to the cafeteria as if my life depended on it.

*

On the same day, after classes ended, we were busy handing out flyers at the front door of the school, when an incident happened. A calamity arrived. Right when I was wondering what the ruckus near the school gate was about, a single individual approached us. I doubted my eyes. So much that I doubted my 20/20 vision, looking for my glasses. Normally, there weren’t any to be found.

“Onii-chan!”

All the students currently on their way home looked at me. After all, a girl looking to be in middle school suddenly called me Onii-chan. They probably drew the connection of her being my little sister. However, I really didn’t want people to know of her as my little sister, to be perfectly honest.

“Kofuyu was wondering why you were coming home late recently, but you were flirting around with other women besides Kofuyu-sama, huh.”

With women, she must be talking about the section chief and Nao, who I was currently with. The two were confused, as you would expect. As for Kofuyu herself, she was mounting a boy wearing gym clothes, most likely her classmate in high school. Next to this horse boy was another girl, also crawling on all fours, wearing a collar around her neck. The leash was connected to Kofuyu’s hand.

“The hell is going on?!”

Both the boy acting as the horse and the girl with the collar showed no disdain for the situation whatsoever. On the contrary, they seemed overjoyed, expression colored in ecstasy.

“Heh…heh…I feel blessed to be Kofuyu-sama’s horse.”

“Ahhh, yes, Kofuyu-chan, treat me like a dog some more!”

“Silence, slaves! Kofuyu is talking with Onii-chan right now, so be quiet you human waste!”

““Yes!! Thank you very much!!”

What am I even looking at?! I really don’t want to be related to her, you know! I glanced at my side, seeing the chief frozen stiff like she encountered an unidentified lifeform. As for Nao…

“Ohh! It’s Kofuyu-chan! Been a while! It’s Nao-neechan, remember me?”

Nao greeted Kofuyu, who she hadn’t seen since grade school, with her usual friendly smile. Is your mentality made out of steel or something?!

“Kofuyu hates those bad boobs!”

Same goes for you! You were always clingy with Nao, calling her Nao-neechan over and over, is this your rebellious period or something?! Also that phrasing sure is cruel!

“You remember me because of my breasts?! It’s fine, Kofuyu-chan, if you fondle them yourself, they’ll grow in no time! It even feels good, so you get two birds with one stone!”

“You be quiet! And don’t teach my little sister anything weird!”

“What’s wrong, Nanaya~ Did you get hard? Wanna relieve yourself in the toilet?”

“Shut up already!”

What chaos is this! My little sister and childhood friend are far too crazy, I can’t get out of this!

“Chief, save me!”

“What am I supposed to do here?!”

Truly, a valid retort. As expected of the section chief, I can respect her for always staying calm. As my thoughts however couldn’t keep up anymore, Kofuyu spoke up.

“Kofuyu won’t forgive you, Onii-chan! Just sniffing Kofuyu’s feet won’t be enough to calm down this anger. Now you’ll have to sniff her butt as well!”

“Stop! I’m begging you! A middle school student shouldn’t be using such vocabulary!”

Damn it, she’ll probably earn a lot of cash in her future job. This kind of sadistic personality is no joke. The eyes around us keep on getting sharper as well. Though, coming this far, I really can’t be bothered to care about the audience around us.

“Kofuyu was really expecting you to come home at least today…”

Oh, the situation’s changing. Right when I thought the tone of Kofuyu’s voice dropped, tears started building up in her eyes. And these tears ran down her cheeks, dropping onto the ground. I see…she’s always been like this. Quick to get lonely, always clingy when it comes to her Onii-chan. Since our parents would always come home late because of work, it was just the two of us, and since her classes ended before me, she’d wait for me at home. I think she always welcomed me so happy whenever I got home. Since I’ve grown up, I totally forgot about that. Not to mention that today is…

“I’m sorry, Kofuyu. You’re right. Today is your birthday after all.”

“Waaaaaaah! That’s right! Onii-chan, you dummy dummy dummy!”

I gently caressed her head, when the section chief spoke up herself.

“I see. Then, why don’t we hold a birthday party for you know?” She smiled at Kofuyu.

“Um, who are you? Ah, this is the smell of the woman who’s been awfully clingy with Kofuyu’s Onii-chan lately! You’re the slutty pig who’s trying to steal Onii-chan!”

“Slutty pig?!”

The chief’s eyes opened wide in shock, most likely because she was never insulted like that right to her face.

“Ahhh! Kofuyu-chan! Ahhhh!”

Even the girl with the collar around her neck reacted to that keyword. Kofuyu’s trained her pretty well, huh.

“Hey, Kofuyu! That’s not something you should say to other people!”

I mean, in certain sections of this world, that might be the exact right thing to say to other people. However, you need to choose the right person for that, specifically those who are willing to pay money for it. As young as she is, she seemingly didn’t understand that just yet. Yet, she’ll grow up to become a full-fledged Queen. I really don’t want to see my little sister growing up to call other people her pet.

“But, that’s a good idea for some pig like you. Kofuyu wants to hold a birthday party.” Kofuyu sniffed loudly.

Is she a tsundere or not, I really can’t tell at this point.

“Then let’s do that. I said.

“R-Right! Just leave it to me, Shimono-kun, I’ll be the organizer! I think to order that Shirasko near the train station should be good enough. A course maybe? Maybe with free refills.”

“Chief, we’re high school students! I know being called a pig must be shocking, but you need to calm down! Your thoughts have leaped eleven years into the future!”

“Ah, you’re right. Then, where would you like to hold your birthday party, Kofuyu-chan?”

“At home, of course! Don’t act so important, you brute of a woman!”

Could you just be quiet for a moment?! You’re in middle school, right?! Your choice of words is a bit too aggressive if you ask me! The chief’s frozen stiff even. She’s trying her hardest not to cry. Or rather, she’s crying a bit. As she was in a state of denial, Nao took the reigns and spoke up with her usual energetic tone. Her mental strength seriously is no joke.

“Alright, then here we go to the Shimono Household!”

*

It was currently a bit before 7 pm. The table in the living room was stacked with cake and fried chicken which we bought with everyone’s allowance. The birthday kiddo Kofuyu was currently playing a racing game with Nao. With the wheel-shaped controller in her hand, she strongly moved from the left to the right. I was a bit surprised that they already had these kinds of controllers and sensors at such a time. Eleven years felt like a time long in the past, but I guess it’s just my perception.

Kofuyu had returned into a genuine middle school student, fully focussed on the racing game. In the end, she and Nao had always been close. Seeing how she had fun, I was feeling a lot better myself. The chief was currently cooking on her own in the kitchen. She was planning on making some side dishes with the food we had left in the fridge. Since we had a connected living room with a kitchen, she could smile at Kofuyu and Nao while preparing the food. Yup, I’d love to have her as my wife. As for myself, I was on the balcony with the two middle school students, giving them some earnest future guidance counseling.

“Sakano-kun, Shiraki-san, listen carefully.”

“Yes!” “Yes!”

“You’re allowed to have whatever interest you’d like, and I’m not here to deny that either.”

“Yes, I like Kofuyu-sama.” “I also Kofuyu-chan. A lot more than Sakano-kun.”

“Yeah, I get it. I really do, so please listen to me for a moment.”

“I like her more than Shiraki-san does, though.” “Probably? That’s because I love Kofuyu-chan.”

“Yeah, you really don’t need to fight over her here. We’re getting off-topic. What’s important is that you two are still in middle school, and although I’m happy you feel this way about Kofuyu, you can’t express your love the wrong way.”

“Yes!” “Yes!”

Ohh, I see. Deep down, they’re very honest. Seems like they’re properly accepting my words. I guess correcting their errors should be done with this.

“To prepare for the future, it’s important you quickly learn how to properly convey your affection. Once you become adults, and even now, if you want to be bullied by the person you like, that’s totally fine. But, keep that once you grow up. Children like you should play, study, and enjoy a healthy childhood with healthy feelings.”

“Yes!” “Yes!”

“Alright, good. Kofuyu might like to bully you, but you can’t consent to that. So, I hope you get along with my little sister in a more healthy way from now on.”

“Yes!” “Yes!”

Aren’t they adorable? That’s a relief, it’s still too early for middle school students to indulge in some SM roleplay.

“Thank you. Then let’s go back and eat.”

I took them with me back to the living room. This concluded that Nanaya special future guidance counseling.

“Ahh, Kofuyu is exhausted from all the standing. Sakano-kun, chair. Shiraki-chan, massage.”

“Yes, Kofuyu-sama!” “Yes, Kofuyu-chan!!”

Sakano-kun immediately dashed towards Kofuyu, going down on all fours, with Kofuyu sitting on him, crossing her legs. At the same time, Shiraki-chan dashed in the same direction, gently massaging Koyuki’s white legs.

“Haaaa, please continue to use me as a stool, Kofuyu-sama!”

“Ahhhh, Kofuyu-chan smells so nice! Kofuyu-chan!”

Yup, these two are done for. Also, I was a bit worried since they listened to my advice without saying anything, but these guys are just pure masochists, huh. I gave up and grabbed a fry from the food on the table.

“Shimono-kun, if you got nothing else to do, could you help me?” The section chief called me over.

The others were still busy with their game, so I’ll head over there for now. Greeting me was the chief wearing an apron as she was busy cutting the vegetables. I lent her my Mom’s apron, but why does it look so good on her, I wonder. It’s dazzling.

“Could you peel these potatoes for me?”

She handed me a peeler, so I grabbed the potatoes on the cutting board.

“I just used what I could find in the fridge, but was that all right?”

“It’s fine, really. Our parents won’t be home until late at night, so I’m the one who’s in charge of the fridge.”

“Eh, so you’re the one who’s usually doing the cooking?”

“Well, yes.”

“So you knew how to cook? Didn’t you say you’d always buy food from the convenience store?”

“I mean, I don’t really feel motivated to cook when I’m living alone. Since I was living with my little sister at this time, I basically had to do it.”

“Can’t tell if you’re lazy or capable, really.”

Is that so? I don’t mind working when it’s for other people, but when it’s just myself, I can’t be bothered doing all the time-expensive work. Even if I made something, it’ll only last an instant, and without anybody eating it, there’s no way I have enough motivation.

“I guess this is just typical man if you’re not really into cooking.”

“Guess I’ll have to cook for you from now on.” The chief showed me a wink.

“Again with that? Haven’t you been teasing me a bit too much since we went back in time?”

“I-I’m not teasing you. It’s just, doesn’t it feel like we’re newly-weds, standing shoulder to shoulder in the kitchen?” The chief said with a somewhat flustered tone.

With how lovey-dovey she’s been acting, I might actually get the wrong idea about this. But, I know. There’s no way she would act like this towards me! When I said that we were like a newly-wed couple back when she fixed my necktie, she immediately blew a fuse. This is a trap. If I said ‘You’re right’, then she’ll just say ‘Huh? I was joking. Gross’. I just know it. If I don’t react accordingly here, I won’t qualify as an adult, let alone be popular. That’s what Love Mentalist Yuito would say. That’s why I just returned a calm comment.

“Hahaha, you’re returning the favor now, huh? I know, I know, I was joking about it before, you don’t need to hold that much of a grudge, okay?”

I provided a follow-up, saying that I was joking, and I have to say I’m proud of that one. The chief loves to tease me as a virgin and treat me like a child after all. I need to show her that I’m an adult and that these jokes won’t work with me.

“……”

No response came from the chief.

“Chief?”

“…Did you finish peeling the potatoes?”

“Eh…Ah, yes. Wait, Chief, are you crying?”

“…I’m not.”

“But, I can see the tears.”

“I’m not crying! I’m just working with onions here!”

Just as the chief said, the bowl in front of her was filled with ground beef and pork, as well as finely chopped onions. I wonder, is it just my imagination or has she been mashing up the contents of that bowl a bit more aggressively now? She then used the peeled potatoes to make potato salad, lining it up on the table with the hamburger steak she made. Without saying a word, the two of us returned to the living room. For some reason, the chief’s been a lot more distant and cold than before.

Maybe I said something that made her angry? But, whenever she’s angry, she’d usually tell me what’s wrong. Maybe it’s just my imagination this time? While stuffing my cheek with the hamburger steak (It’s delicious), Nao approached me, pausing the game they had been playing.

“Nanaya~ Did you do something to the Chief?”

“Eh, does it look that way after all?”

“Super-duper does! You’ve always sucked at properly dealing with a girl~”

“Really?! I’ve always been like this?!”

“That’s right! Back in middle school, you were super insensitive and called me a tomboy, so I massaged my boobs every day to grow them into these puppies!”

Yeah, I feel like I often said that to her back then. Also, did she get these honkers because she massaged them? No, it must be the genes of her mother. Even before the time leap, they were pretty big…Alright, that’s enough thinking about my childhood friend’s boobs. I’m already thinking about Evangelion and One Piece way too much either way.

“Wanna fondle them?”

“Don’t ask me so nonchalantly! Especially not in front of middle school students!”

“We’re high school students, so there’s nothing weird about this.”

“I mean, I get it, but!”

That’s not the problem here!

“Anyway, I wanna talk with you about something, Nanaya.”

“Hm? Where did that come from? What’s up?”

Nao suddenly spoke up with an oddly serious expression.

“Not in front of everyone.”

The three middle school students were creating a lot of noise as they enjoyed the chicken. The chief was facing the TV, playing a fitness game. It’s scary how serious she is.

“Got it, let’s step out on the terrace.” I nodded.

It’s rare to see Nao this serious. After stepping outside, I closed the window behind me. We sat down on the two chairs on the terrace. Now that I look at it again, my family’s house is fairly well-established. I don’t mean to brag, but I have to admire my parents. Only after working myself did I realize how crazy it is to buy a single home with a terrace like this. Not to mention even a table and chairs fitting with that. I feel like you’d have to earn as much as the chief to afford something like this…Well, that’s in the future right now, I should rather focus on the problems ahead of me.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Do you have someone you like, Nanaya?”

“That sure was abrupt. Love talk now? Are you sure you’re talking with the right person?”

“Don’t bother with that! Just tell me!”

Hmmm, I definitely have someone like that. It’s a bit embarrassing to call it love, but I’ve always admired the chief, and these feelings haven’t changed since high school. Then again, if I told Nao about this now, it’ll most likely negatively impact the whole election campaign. Knowing Nao, she’d think ‘Oh he likes the chief, so he’s doing that as an attempt to get closer with her’, and it’ll make working together a lot worse. I should say that I don’t.

“I don’t have someone like that.”

“You don’t? Really? Really really really?”

Why’s she so obstinate about that? Don’t push your face towards me, I’ll be able to pick up your scent. Can I not advance this conversation without saying that I have someone I like? Well, when it comes to advice of any sort, especially love, sympathy is of utmost importance. If I don’t have someone I like, I wouldn’t even understand her feelings. Can’t help it, I’ll drop some breadcrumbs without telling her that it’s the chief.

“I might be interested in someone.”

“You’re so annoying at times, Nanaya~”

“I’m gonna cry, alright! Think about what you’re saying!”

“But, I see. So you have someone like that, huh?”

Err, what? That was all? She’s done talking just after confirming that? Or, is this the part where I have to dig deeper myself? No, I remember this kind of situation in one of Love Mentalist Yuito’s videos. A popular man would show sympathy for the girl while leading the conversation, giving answers that the girl would want to hear. I see, that makes sense. So this is a trial for me to become a popular man. Fine, you’re on.

Uhhh, Nao asked me if I had someone I liked…Ah! I know! It’s like a psychology seminar! Yuito said so. When a girl asks you a question, it’s the question she herself wants to be asked. Basically, I have to throw the same question at her. Hehe…As expected of me, I really am a true follower of Yuito.

“Do you have someone you like, Nao?”

“Ah, that doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

F*ck! God f*king dammit! ‘Got nothing to do with you’, huh?! I’ll kill you, damn childhood friend of mine!

“Do you want to go out with that person, Nanaya?”

And yet, she’s moving the conversation forward, completely ignoring my own feelings. Then just take the lead from the very beginning, will you, why do you have to embarrass me like this. My mental strength can’t keep up when I’m with you. Well, I should at least answer her question.

“I mean, I’d be happy if it would lead that way, but if I don’t become the type of man who could stand next to her, I don’t have the confidence to confess, I guess.”

“You sound like an old man, Nanaya. Just go with the flow and date, alright.”

“Are you stupid? Dating someone isn’t something you just do on a whim! You have to understand each other, and be confident enough that you’ll be happy with that person, that’s when you start dating!”

“…R-Right. Then, what if someone else were to confess to you before that? For example, if there was a girl nearby who’s totally serious about you and wanted to date you, and you’d feel bad for rejecting her, what would you do?”

Nao moved her chair towards me. Her eyes were all-too-serious, looking only at me.

“I’d reject her.”

“You would?! Don’t you feel bad?!”

“Of course I would.”

“Then why?!”

“Because going out with her despite not even liking her would make me feel even worse.”

“T-That might be true, but you don’t have to be so straightforward about it…”

“No, I will be. That’s the proper thing to do towards the person who mustered up their courage and confess to you. So, I’ll be prepared to be hated by her after rejecting her.”

That’s how love works. It won’t always work out. You don’t know how the other person felt. What’s important is to properly convey your feelings. Yuito didn’t say that, but that’s how I feel. This is my own type of love mentalism.

“…You’re right. Yep, thank you, Nanaya.”

“Huh? For what?”

“For hearing me out.”

“Hold on, that’s it?! I didn’t even give you any advice! I was just talking.”

“That was more than enough. Really, you’re such a dummy. It’s because you always think about boobs.”

“Hell I am! Don’t just decide my character for me!”

I don’t really get it, but it seems like her worries have been resolved now. I don’t get it. I was really trying to show off there, but I guess that was not needed.

“Then let me ask you a question as well. Why did you decide to become the student council president, Nao?”

“Huh? Isn’t that the second time you ask me that question? You okay, Nanaya? Did you travel back in time or something?”

What a bothersome retort that was. I actually did travel back in time.

“Like hell I’d believe that whole free cafeteria food spiel. You must have a proper reason, right? How many years do you think I’ve known you.”

“You really know how to say the grossest things with a straight face.”

“And you know how to insult me without batting an eye!”

“I actually want to visit all sorts of places once I’m an adult. Since I’m an idiot, I have to study a lot more, meet all sorts of people, and find a way that I can help people.”

Yeah, I know. You’re a diligent hard worker, and you’ll become a great person, trust me.

“But, how is this related to becoming the student council president?”

“Don’t you think I’m not cut out to be the president?”

“Sure do.”

“Hey, no need for your honesty! I’ll blow you away with my boob missiles!”

What the hell are boob missiles?! Is my childhood friend actually a cyborg?!

“So? Since you’re not made out for it, I have to question it even more.”

“It’s a challenge! Challenging the things you’re not good at, things you don’t know much about! Once I head overseas, there’ll be countless things I don’t understand. The language barrier, culture shock, and much more. I’ll just end up quitting right away otherwise.”

“Really? I don’t think you’d give up that quickly.”

“Ohhh, makes me happy to hear you say that! Alright, go fondle my boobs a bit.”

“Why do you always get back to your breasts?!”

But, I get where Nao’s coming from. She’s still in her first year of high school, so basically a child. How far she’ll manage to integrate herself in society, and the challenges up ahead, she must be worried about. Even when I’m 27, I’m still worried!

“That’s why I decided to become a candidate. So that I could challenge the things I’m not good at. That’s right, I’m not doing anything for the school, it’s just my impure motive!”

“It’s not impure.”

“Really~?”

“Yeah, I think it’s great. If you’re worried about my personal opinion, go talk to the chief. She’ll definitely give you more words of encouragement.”

That’s the kind of person the chief is, after all, I can guarantee that. Well, knowing her, she probably realized that Nao was doing this whole candidate thing for a completely different reason.

“Ehehe, thanks, Nanaya. Right now, you might actually be popular with girls.”

“Mind your own damn business.”

Nao showed me a bright but bashful smile. Every single thing she does is so vibrant with emotions.

“More importantly, you gonna be okay with the chief? You better apologize~”

“You say that, but I don’t even know why she’s angry in the first place.”

“Hmmm…well, she does look calm and collected on the outside, but she can also be very cute and childish, yet also so mature she makes me question if she’s actually a high school student at times. She sure is an odd person. I can’t tell what she’s thinking, but that’s also her charm. A mysterious beauty, you know?”

Just as Nao said, the chief’s become a lot more open and frank with her emotions after the time leap, but that also made it harder to tell what she’s thinking. Back at the company, I could immediately tell if she was in a good mood or not. I wonder, maybe her physical body made her psyche turn younger as well? Sounds a bit too science-fiction if you ask me.

“Damn it, I don’t get it at all!”

“I mean, I guess she likes you, Nanaya. She’s always so flirty with you.”

“No way. She’s just teasing me.”

“You think so~? Maybe you’re just too dense.”

I’m not dense at all. If anything, immediately interpreting the smallest kind of affection as romantic feelings, is what a true virgin would do. You’ll only get hurt. I mean, I want to think that I have a chance.

“Either way, if we don’t get soon, let alone the chief, even Kofuyu will give us an earful.”

“You’re right. For starters, if you apologize, the chief will forgive you. If push comes to shove, an apology always helps!” Nao smiled like the devil, and we returned to the living room.

I was a bit worried that Kofuyu would go crazy again, but she was having fun talking with her friends, not even realizing that Nao and I had stepped out. I guess they can be perfectly healthy middle school students if they feel like it. That reminds me, this might be the first time Kofuyu invited friends over. As an older brother, I’m relieved she managed to make friends. Although their playing is worrying me.

“Aren’t you close.”

Instead of Kofuyu, the chief greeted the two of us with arms crossed. She was swearing a bit, most likely because she got so much into her game.

“Ahh, the chief is jealous! You do like Nanaya after all!”

Hey, moron, drop it. She’s already in a bad mood, do you have a death wish or something? Will the chief get angry at a girl who can’t read the mood? Maybe not? No, she definitely will!

“I-I-I-I do not!”

See, she’s angry! Nao, you do something about this!

“A flustered chief is so adorable~!”

How is she flustered?! Her face is beet red from the anger!

“Shimono-kun! Do something about this girl!”

“Hey now, why are you throwing the pass at me, Chief? I’m sorry, I cannot stop her.”

“You’re childhood friends, right?!”

“That is why I am painfully aware of my inability to stop her!”

“Don’t act so proud about that!”

“Oh, you two are on the exact same wavelength~ Hui hui, like newlyweds!”

“Gaaaah! Stop with that word already! You’re killing me!”

“Huh?! Why’s the chief crying now?! What did you do, Nanaya?!”

“H-Hell do I know!”

Maybe the newly-wed gag was the reason? I had a feeling, but even so, my response back then was correct, I’m sure. I just don’t get it. A woman’s heart is too complicated for me.

“Hey, you old ladies, don’t cause a ruckus in someone else’s house without Kofuyu around!”

I beg you, my dear little sister, don’t cause even more of a ruckus now! Also, don’t use that word around the chief!

“Waaaaaaah! A middle school girl called me an old lady!” The chief cried even more.

“Kofuyu-chan, even I feel hurt from that, okay! Didn’t we have lots of fun playing the game just now?” Nao complained.

“Zip it, booby grandma! All girls approaching Onii-chan are old ladies!”

“Booby grandma?! That’s actually a bit funny, Kofuyu-chan.”

“Waaaaaaah! So what if I’m almost thirty?!”

“It’s fine, Chief! Right now, you’re a healthy and youthful high school girl!”

It took another thirty minutes until all this chaos calmed down.