Life In The Reverse World

“So you figured it out. I’m David Hoshikawa. I tripped over a rock, passed out, woke up in the Eastern Nation. Transfer me 29,980 yen, and when I get back to America and take over the CIA, I’ll pay you back ten thousand dollars.”

“In the movie it’s called the ‘Treadstone’ program. And…” Nogami shot Harutaki a glance before continuing, “…a guy who can’t even beat a delinquent has the nerve to call himself an agent?”

“Last month’s me wouldn’t know how strong this month’s me is.”

“Hoshikawa, if you mess with the names like that, fans of the movie will get mad.”

Chouko complained as she lightly smacked his shoulder, apparently, she was one of those fans.

So Shihou watches romance movies too… he thought in mild surprise, while desperately trying to drag his gaze away from her.

Damn it… what’s with that Himalayan-mountain-level curve under the knit top?

And what’s with that black sheer blouse, glistening like it’s soaked?

Nogami aside, why is Shihou testing this old-school moral paragon too?!

“Hey, pervert dog, don’t just stand there drooling~”

Nogami circled behind Chouko, placing both hands on the girl’s bare shoulders, smiling brightly as she asked him:

“Well? What do you think? Is it me… ”

Here it comes!

The death question!

He thought for sure she was about to ask whether gentle, pure-styled Nogami looked better, or whether sexy, overflowing-with-charm Shihou was superior.

“This outfit on Chouko was picked out by me. Super pretty, right?”

“I invoke my right to remain sil— huh?!”

That’s not how this is supposed to go?!

“Pfft… ha… hahaha, Chouko, did you see that? Look at Hoshikawa’s face, he’s totally frozen.”

“Hehe… Hoshikawa, you were totally imagining that annoying question, weren’t you? Did you really think Izumi and I are the kind of idiots who’d ask something like that?”

The two of them burst into laughter, holding onto each other for support. Meanwhile, Harutaki stood there like an idiot who’d just fought three hundred rounds of wits with thin air, completely at a loss.

It’s fine, he told himself, watching the two beautiful girls clinging together. Just seeing this scene alone was already a huge win.

Perhaps because of the cheerful atmosphere, Chouko seemed more relaxed than usual, finally no longer hiding her lively nature.

She playfully blinked those pale-gold eyes at Harutaki, a mischievous, ill-intentioned smile on her face.

“The first time I ever wore this kind of outfit for someone to see, Hoshikawa, you took it~ Oh, and by the way— ”

Shihou lifted the hem of her skirt on both sides, raising it just a little.

Gulp.

He swallowed unconsciously, his gaze instantly sliding down from her face like he’d just hopped onto a sky-high water slide.

This is a slide you’re not allowed to touch, Shihou!

“This is also my first time wearing a skirt shorter than my school uniform.”

Which meant that the only person who’d ever seen this part of Shihou’s thighs was him, Hoshikawa Harutaki.

What a terribly wicked personality.

Still, as his gaze returned to her cheeks, now faintly flushed pink, he thought confidently: he wasn’t some pathetic virgin who’d get hard just from imagining things. This kind of prank had no effect on him whatsoever.

“Heh heh, filthy pervert dog. Your pants are about to burst~”

Nogami shot him a contemptuous glare, then narrowed her rose-colored eyes and stepped closer, whispering softly into his ear:

“Be grateful, stupid dog~ You’re also the first guy to ever see me dressed like this~”

“Even my fa–ther–has–n’t–seen–it~.”

Mr. Nogami would be very sad to hear that, you know?

Normally Nogami wasn’t the type to say things like this. Compared to Shihou, though both of them had somewhat nasty personalities, Shihou’s was the level of childish pranks, while Nogami’s was more like whipping, trampling, and outright domination.

…Wait, that comparison might be a bit dangerous.

To regain his composure and suppress the desires and impulses stirring inside him, Harutaki took a deep breath and forced himself to speak calmly.

“I’m kind of selfish. I want these super-cute girls to treat only me like this, so… just in case, how about you go pick out a few more outfits before someone shows up?”

“Hmm?”

“So even Hoshikawa has things he’s afraid of, huh.”

I’m warning you two, this is still my brain barely keeping control over my thoughts and actions. Keep pushing and who knows what’ll happen.

“Can we do a few more sets of black tights, white tights, pantyhose, thigh-highs, stirrup socks, over-the-knee socks, knee socks, long socks, short socks, and ankle socks?”

He rattled them all off in one breath, grinning triumphantly as their expressions gradually stiffened and cooled.

“Oh, and tabi socks and over-the-knee tabi would be great too. Best if you can pair them with a short shrine-maiden outfit that shows the armpits.”

“G–go die! You porn-obsessed freak, filthy pervert, disgusting dog…”

Nogami staggered backward on trembling legs, looking at him like she’d just seen hazardous waste at a recycling plant.

“I didn’t know Hoshikawa liked that kind of stuff, ehehe…”

【O–kay~】

…He misread her lips, right?

He had to have misread them, right?

As Nogami dragged Shihou away, the silent words Shihou left him with, no matter how many times he replayed and mimicked them in his head, always came out the same:

“Okay~”

“Harutaki, what are you muttering about?”

Sae’s voice came from beside him, snapping him out of his mental crash loop.

“Ugh, that smile is so gross… You’re definitely thinking about something weird, aren’t you? It’s fine, Sae will generously allow you to use me as a side dish before bed when you don’t have a girlfriend~”

“Huh? Just imagining? Shouldn’t a good bro lend a hand directly?”

“Hey! Who’re you calling your ‘good bro’?!”

The pain in his ribs made Harutaki grimace, but—

He was finally back to normal. As expected of his bro Sae. Such kindness needed no thanks.

Rubbing the spot she’d elbowed, he sucked in a breath and complained:

“I think you’d be more suited for soccer or basketball than swimming or track.”

“Huh? Am I really that athletically gifted?”

“With your height, you’d be landing elbows on the court with pinpoint accuracy, ow!”

That really hurt…

“Harutaki? Need Sae-chan to help refresh your memory~?”

“If you want this loyal dog, Lord Hoshikawa, you’ll first have to defeat Demon King Nogami~ But anyway, ” he followed Sae toward the shop entrance and continued, “, weren’t you sitting in the rest area? Why’d you come looking for me?”

Noticing Nogami and Shihou at the counter paying, packing their purchases, and filling in the address, he ruled out the possibility that she’d come to call him away, and instead asked why Sae had come over.

“Minako asked me to pass the message along. Sounds like she wants to discuss something with you.”

Sae pointed toward the slightly narrow corridor leading to the restrooms not far away.

“She said she needed to use the bathroom first, and told you to wait for her over there.”

That only left Harutaki even more confused.

Setting aside why Sanada suddenly wanted to see him, if she had something to say, couldn’t she just say it directly?

Why ask Sae to relay the message?

And why specifically tell him to wait by the restroom, what was she trying to do?

But in the end, there was no bad blood between him and Sanada. Given his relationship with Nogami and Sae, there was even less reason for anyone to do something that might harm him… and besides, what did he, a guy, have to worry about anyway?

It’s not like Sanada was going to eat him alive.

“Thanks for letting me know, Sae. I’ll step away for a bit.”

“Don’t play around with Minako in the bathroom for too long~”

Now is not the time for dirty jokes!

…?

Help, Nogami, Shihou, and my good bro Sae too, he really is about to get eaten by Sanada at this rate…!

Staring at the deep cleavage before him, at least ten centimeters, if not more, Harutaki couldn’t help swallowing twice in a row.

He’d thought Sanada was only a little bigger than Shihou, but when she deliberately pushed things together like this… it actually reached this level?

“Sanada-san, if you walk around like that on the street, you’re absolutely going to cause traffic accidents!?”

“Oh? Do you like it, Hoshikawa-kun?”

Please, let just one person suffer in silence, don’t endanger public safety!

“It’s not a matter of liking it or not…”

As a perfectly normal man in every conceivable way, was there anyone who could truly dislike something like this?

“…Uh, Sanada-san, you asked Sae to bring me here and then suddenly dragged me into a multipurpose restroom for people with special needs. What exactly is this about?”

“What do you think?”

Her eyes lowered slightly, those fox-like emerald-green pupils shimmering with moisture, just like a succubus from legend, seducing souls and draining men dry,

Terrifying, he thought. If Nogami could learn even half of this from her, he’d probably have fallen into her gentle trap long ago.

“Exploring a multipurpose restroom you’ve never used before… together?”

He calmly shifted his gaze away, toward the toilet behind her.

Hmm. TOTO Washlets aren’t cheap.

“Since we went to the trouble of coming into a multipurpose restroom, are you really going to keep pinning me to the wall the whole time, Sanada-san?”

“Heh heh, that does sound like something you’d say, Hoshikawa-kun…”

Minako took two steps back, then reached up to her chest and tugged the neckline of her newly bought dress upward.

Whew…

The alluring abyss finally disappeared. Harutaki felt a twinge of regret, but far more relief.

He was genuinely afraid he might do something out of line, only to get caught red-handed by Nogami outside.

“I thought you weren’t interested in my type at all. You’re always talking about ‘blonde bombshells,’ yet your eyes never leave Izumi…”

As she spoke, Minako folded her arms and deliberately pushed up that dreamlike F-cup.

“…But it looks like you’re no different from any other guy after all. Did you like me better just now? If you ask nicely, I can go back to how I was before.”

“I think the current you is more captivating. You’re showing less skin, but with subtle gestures and expressions, your presence and figure still stand out. That hazy kind of beauty, there’s nothing quite like it, don’t you think?”

“Hah, I really can’t win with you… No wonder Izumi’s still a virgin.”

The ambiguous atmosphere vanished in an instant. The girl pouted, wearing a look that clearly said you’re such a pain.

“Still, people tend to cling to things they’ve lost. They don’t cherish them when they have them, but once they’re gone, they linger in the heart.”

“Oh?”

“This is my lifelong wish. Could you let me admire it one more time? Your Mount Fuji, Sanada-san…”

“Life doesn’t give you do-overs, you know. But they say people dream about what they experience during the day. If the impression was deep enough, maybe you’ll see it again if you lie down and sleep right now~”

Minako narrowed her fox-like eyes slightly, a playful yet gentle smile on her lips.

“It’s fine. A brilliant monk once said, ‘Every second marks the beginning of a new life.’”

He reused the line he’d fed to Sae earlier.

“That ‘brilliant monk’ wouldn’t happen to be called Hoshikawa, would he? You’d better hope a real monk doesn’t hear you calling yourself that just to look at a girl’s chest, or your head might get knocked like a wooden fish.”

What a troublesome woman. He let out a shallow sigh, thinking that if this back-and-forth continued, Nogami and Shihou were bound to get suspicious.

“So? Back to the original question. Why did you ask Sae to pass the message, and why drag me into a place like this?”

“Obviously, to do something special, and say things that can’t be spoken openly.”

“Ha… girls as difficult as you aren’t exactly popular, Sanada-san.”

“I’m not an ordinary girl,” Minako lifted her arms again, then continued, “, but it goes both ways. A guy as dense and watertight as you, Hoshikawa-kun, isn’t very popular with girls either.”

“That’s fine. That’s for ordinary guys, I’m Hoshikawa Harutaki~”

Like a noble gentleman straight out of a novel, he placed one hand over his chest, extended the other forward, and gave a slight bow.

“My fair lady, I look forward to your continued favor.”

Chu.

Huh?

Wasn’t that supposed to be a handshake?

Harutaki, the so-called noble gentleman, stared blankly as he lifted his head, looking at his right hand cradled near Minako's lips, a vivid lipstick mark left on the back of it.

Catching the mischievous smile on her face from the corner of his eye, he couldn’t help thinking: so the most normal girl in your three-person group is actually Sae, huh?!

“I’m very interested in you, Hoshikawa-kun.”

Minako smiled warmly at him, but he understood that there was no romantic implication in her words at all.