Life In The Reverse World

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After getting the handouts from Asama-sensei, Harutaki did not head straight for Shihou’s apartment. Instead, he took out his phone, opened LINE, and sent a message to Nogami.

Harutaki: Want to come with me to visit Shihou and check on her? [cat waving] –Unread

Showing up alone to visit someone at home did not feel very appropriate. Bringing along a friend of the same sex would clearly be better. Besides, with Nogami and the others present, it would be hard for Shihou, who valued her friends so much, to refuse.

Usually everyone spent a bit of time scrolling on their phones after class, and Nogami was no exception. The unread mark quickly turned into read.

Nogami: When? --Read

Harutaki: Now. Wait for me in the classroom. I’ll be right back. –Read

He sent the messages while walking. Not long after the last one went through, Harutaki returned to Class 2-3. He quickly packed up what he needed, slung his bag over his shoulder, and when he passed Nogami’s desk, he knocked lightly on it to signal the girl, who was tapping on her phone, to follow him.

“Um… Nogami, did Shihou say anything to you about why she didn’t come today?”

Considering there might be things she was not comfortable discussing with a guy, he asked partly to make conversation and partly to clarify Shihou’s leave, turning to Nogami beside him.

“She’s not feeling well. What else could it be? The temperature dropped all of a sudden yesterday, and it rained too. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to catch a cold, right?”

Nogami glanced at Harutaki in confusion, then seemed to realize something. She let out a soft “ah,” and her gaze gradually shifted into one of suspicion.

“Don’t tell me you know something. Or wait… are you the reason Chouko had to take leave and couldn’t come to school, Hoshikawa?”

This was bad. A girl’s sixth sense was way too sharp.

Harutaki wiped cold sweat in his heart. Shihou’s leave probably did have something to do with him, but definitely not in the way Nogami was imagining right now.

“I’m still a virgin.”

“Pfft… Who even asked you that? That’s just lame.”

At his words, Nogami immediately burst out laughing, and her earlier doubts and guesses faded away.

If possible, she did not want to doubt Harutaki, and even less did she want suspicion to damage their relationship.

She still remembered how her father often said that trust was essential between two people if they wanted to live well together, even though every time he said that, her mother would glare at him until he could not continue.

“By the way, where are Sae and Sanada? Aren’t they coming too?”

Seeing that Nogami had reached her conclusion and stopped pressing the issue, Harutaki quickly changed the subject to something else he was curious about.

“Sae has club activities, and Minako has library duty and cleaning as part of being a librarian. They actually wanted to take leave and come visit too, but I stopped them. When it comes to visiting someone who’s sick, too many people is not a good thing, right? And if Chouko found out they took leave just to visit her and felt guilty about it, what then?”

“I didn’t think you’d consider things that carefully…”

Harutaki looked at Nogami in surprise, then immediately noticed his unintentional slip and hurriedly added,

“…as expected of Lady Nogami.”

“That’s just common sense. Common sense.”

She said it was common sense, but clearly she was pleased by Harutaki’s praise, the corners of her mouth lifting uncontrollably.

The two walked side by side through the campus, drawing the attention of many students who had not yet left. Since both he and Nogami were famous figures at school, Harutaki felt that posts about the two of them had probably already started appearing on the anonymous school forum, maybe even right now.

“Looks like there’ll be posts about me and Nogami-san again on the forum. They might even spread rumors that we’re dating…”

“Tch, more like I’m walking my dog. Did you forget who you are, Hoshikawa?”

At her words, he was suddenly reminded of the titles he had gained before because of his morning assembly speech.

“Queen’s Twilight Demon Wolf.”

“The Demon King’s Third Treasure.”

In short, no one seemed to think he and Nogami would be a couple anyway. After all, the girl was the infamous Nogami Izumi.

With all the terrifying rumors surrounding her, how could Nogami possibly have a boyfriend? Or rather, how could there be any boy willing to date her?

After leaving campus, taking the train, and walking for a while, tall buildings began to rise around them. As they gradually entered a commercial district, Nogami asked curiously,

“Does Chouko live alone around here?”

“Of course not. She’s trying to save money, so she’s basically living near the edge of the city.”

“Then you…”

“Isn’t it common sense to prepare a small gift before visiting someone’s home? Common sense, Nogami-san.”

Harutaki borrowed her earlier words to tease her back. Unfortunately, he forgot one crucial thing. Girls were different.

“Ow, ow, my ear’s going to fall off…”

Feeling the warmth of her slender fingers and the smoothness of her skin was certainly pleasant, but having his ear pulled still made him suck in a sharp breath. Painful, yet somehow enjoyable.

“Th-then… what kind of gift would be appropriate?”

In truth, this was probably Nogami’s first proper visit to someone else’s home. Unlike her casual visits to Sae’s place, and completely different from the last time she went to Harutaki’s house, she only realized it after hearing Harutaki say it.

Whether visiting or checking on someone who was sick, going empty-handed was extremely rude.

In the past, when she went visiting with her father, gifts were always handled by her father’s secretary. It never fell to her, the daughter, to think about such things. As for Sae, she did not care about formalities at all. One could even say that if Nogami brought gifts every time she visited Sae, Sae would find it troublesome and distant instead.

“When visiting someone who’s sick, people usually bring fruit or milk, but that feels a bit too ordinary. So…”

“So?”

“So I’m the gift. Hey… Nogami-san, why are you pulling my ear again?”

They were not even dating yet. How was Nogami already so natural and skilled at tugging his ear?

If she could do this already, he did not even dare imagine what she might do later.

“Don’t make dirty jokes when we’re talking about serious matters. That’s gross.”

“What I meant was buying ingredients and helping cook dinner as a gift. By the way, what were you thinking just now?”

“I-I wasn’t thinking about anything! Hurry up and buy your ingredients!”

Her face burning red, Nogami shoved Harutaki from behind, and the two of them entered the LIFE supermarket marked with a four-leaf clover logo, one after the other.

However, what should have been a very couple-like, or even married-couple-like, supermarket experience felt a bit different to Harutaki.

A couple? Husband and wife?

It felt more like bringing along a daughter or a younger sister.

Watching Nogami look around curiously at the layout and displays, Harutaki could not help asking,

“Have you never been to a supermarket before, Nogami-san?”

“I… I… toothpaste and toiletries can be bought at a convenience store. For everything else, I go to large malls. And I don’t usually cook for myself…”

Truly a sheltered young lady.

“Is it really fine to eat out every day? At the very least, you should learn to cook properly. Otherwise, no one will want you when it’s time for arranged meetings.”

“You can cook, can’t you…”

Wait, what did she mean by that?

Harutaki froze mid-step, the shopping cart stopping along with him.

Nogami herself was a beat late in realizing what she had said. Letting out a small, muffled whimper, she slapped Harutaki’s arm hard while urging him to keep moving, then stumbled through an explanation.

“I–I mean, you could cook just for me…”

How was that any different from being a house husband?

“N-no, that’s not it. I mean, as a dog, you should be responsible for your owner’s meals…”

“I don’t think a dog like that exists, or an owner who makes their dog cook.”

While complaining, Harutaki stopped in the vegetable section and examined the shelves for suitable ingredients.

As he was thinking about how to plan the meal, Nogami, who had disappeared somewhere earlier, poked him from behind.

“Hey, look at these two boxes of tomatoes. Which one is better?”

Harutaki looked at the girl carefully comparing the two boxes, and his heartbeat sped up a little. He swallowed to moisten his slightly dry throat, then explained,

“As long as there aren’t any obvious defects on the surface, with packaged vegetables like these, you don’t really need to worry about quality.”

“Then should we buy them?”

“…Let’s buy one box.”

There were two plump, bright red tomatoes inside. He estimated it would be just enough for tomato and egg stir-fry for three people.

Once she confirmed that Harutaki would buy the tomatoes she had chosen, Nogami could not help smiling in satisfaction, as innocent as a child. She happily put the other box back on the shelf. Seeing this, Harutaki could not help but smile as well.

Nogami could be quite cute at times, especially when that cuteness was shown only to him. It made him want, without thinking, to ruffle her hair and pinch her cheeks.

After that, Harutaki bought lettuce, bok choy, pork loin, eggs, and a small 500-gram bag of white rice. Once he had gathered all the ingredients for cooking for Shihou, he looked at Nogami, who insisted on pushing the cart with him, and asked her opinion.

“Is there anything in particular you want to eat tonight?”

“I… I’ll just eat the same dinner as Chouko…”

After hesitating for a moment, Nogami shook her head and declined Harutaki’s special treatment.

She was really looking forward to tasting his cooking again, but eating at someone else’s home and asking for special treatment on top of that felt wrong.

Putting etiquette aside, she did not want Harutaki to think she was a spoiled and willful girl.

“Then I’ll treat you to a drink. How about Calpis?”

“Mmm.”

When they passed the fruit section, they also picked up three apples, then went to the self-checkout machines to pay and bag everything.

However, when Harutaki walked out of the supermarket carrying a large bag of ingredients, Nogami suddenly stretched out her left hand.

“Want to hold hands?”

He teased her knowingly.

“No!”

“Alright, alright. Thanks for your help, Lady Nogami.”

After teasing her a little and seeing her flustered reaction, Harutaki quickly handed the other side of the shopping bag to Nogami.

As a side note, the heavier items, the rice and eggs, were on his side.

……

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