Chapter 4. My popularity!? (2)
Chapter 4. My popularity!? (2)
Let's rewind the story to a little before school started.
There's a lot of talk about getting rid of suit-style uniforms and switching everything to gym clothes, or just getting rid of uniforms entirely, but the discomfort and price of uniforms in reality don't really mean much in a virtual world.
Anyway, as long as the illustration looks pretty, that's all that matters, so what does it matter if the uniform looks a bit unrealistic?
Though, my memory of what the cover of this novel looked like is hazy.
In the novel, the setting was the Academy, i.e., high school, but that doesn't mean the uniforms middle schoolers wear are particularly different.
A style that looks similar to a suit, yet is decisively different in some way, with a strangely lively feel.
A blouse on top, and on the bottom... a skirt that emphasizes mobility, less tight than a suit skirt.
"Finally...!"
Soi's eyes sparkle as she tries on the uniform delivered to the house.
She wasn't exactly short in the lower grades of elementary school, but having really shot up during 5th and 6th grade, Soi looked quite good in the uniform. Could you literally call her a 'teenager'?
Though her face is still quite baby-faced to be considered a high schooler.
Lately, I've started feeling a huge sense of skepticism about sleeping in the same bed as Soi. Back when we were both in elementary school, weren't we just little brats who didn't need to worry about such things anyway? I changed clothes in my room, and we didn't bathe together, so I rarely had to worry about the fact that Soi is a girl.
Well, yeah.
It was bound to happen anyway, yep. Regardless of this or that, wasn't she a heroine? What's wrong with a heroine growing up like a heroine?
I'm the same when it comes to being tall. Soi and I grew up as if we were competing. We took turns being about 1 centimeter taller than the other.
Right now, I'm about 1 centimeter shorter.
I'm a girl, Soi's a girl, and it's natural for both of us to go through secondary sexual characteristics, so putting aside the appearance...
If there's one problem.
"Ooh!"
"D-does it suit me?"
"It suits you! It suits you so well! You're pretty! You're cute! My little sister is the best!"
Soi cheers repeatedly, her eyes sparkling.
That's right. Until this age, I haven't been able to escape the status of 'little sister'.
Actually, I just thought it was like a stubbornness from when we were young.
My birthday is obviously in January, isn't it? And considering I'm from The Orphanage, my birthday couldn't have been later than that, it could only have been earlier.
Since Soi has her birthday party several months later than me, I thought that once friends started thinking it was strange, they would naturally just treat us as the same age.
"How about me?"
Soi spun around in front of me.
"I-it suits you well."
Plus, there's one more problem.
You see, in my past life, I used to play really well with girls until I was in elementary school.
We didn't care about things like looks, and well, even if there were kids who talked about dating each other, it was basically a time when we didn't really see each other as romantic interests, right?
I used to get along well with the kids in my class, saying hello and all.
The problem started when I became a middle schooler.
Whether it was due to chunibyo, or because I was conscious of the girls who had changed so much, for some reason it became hard to talk to them, and above all, even when I talked to girls I already knew, the reactions were lukewarm.
So I just kept hanging out with a few close friends... well, that's how it is.
"Hm? Is that it?"
Soi asked, bending down to look into my face.
"Hm? Hm? Your eonni praised her little sister so much~ Why is my little sister so stingy with her compliments? Hmmm?"
She's not actually angry or disappointed.
It's just 100% pure teasing. She really thinks the way I get embarrassed is cute.
It was a frustrating situation, but unfortunately, I'm weak to girls my age getting this close to my face and talking to me!
...Though I am a middle schooler.
Well, I've lived in this world in this body for as long as my age, after all.
The only reason I can endure it is because of the memories of my past life. I can draw a line in my own way, and if I keep repeating in my head that she's my sister, I can endure it for now.
What will I do when I become a high schooler or college student later?
Will I be able to have a normal conversation then too...?
Bang.
Someone opened our door without even knocking.
"Hi."
A girl who looked to be about Soi's age, with pink hair grown to about her shoulders, greeted us.
"Hi."
Soi's eyes narrowed slightly as she answered.
Maybe she's a bit annoyed because she opened the door without knocking. In this house, even our parents knock and ask for permission before opening the door.
Chaeyi was also wearing a uniform like Soi. The same school uniform as us.
"...It suits you both."
Chaeyi said as she approached.
"Right? Well, because she's my little sister."
If you just heard that, it sounds like she's bragging about a little sister with whom she shares very thick blood, but in the first place, not a single drop of the same blood flows between us.
"You'll definitely be popular at school, right? Won't you get a boyfriend as soon as you enter?"
"N-no way."
When I protested, Soi chuckled.
"No, I'm serious. There's no way they'd just leave such a pretty and cute kid alone."
"That's right. Lua is the type who will be popular at school."
Is that so?
Maybe. I get surprised every time I look in the mirror too.
In elementary school, I knew I was pretty, but it didn't make a huge impression. After all, the me in the mirror was just a brat.
But lately, every time I look in the mirror, what I see is myself becoming a perfect beautiful girl, keeping that pretty look from my childhood. Naturally, curves are starting to form on my body, and my face is becoming a bit slimmer too.
Well, Seo Lua was a heroine too, so I guess it's the predetermined path.
But, how should I put it.
Being popular with guys, isn't that a bit...?
I don't know if I'll be able to date a girl in this life, but at least I'll never, ever date a guy.
From my past life until now, I've never once had sexual desire in that direction.
"..."
But, what if I become popular with girls?
In a situation like now, even if I become popular, wouldn't I just get petted and stutter my words?
With my inner loner self holding me back like this, can I become a normal social butterfly?
"Hey, don't worry too much."
Thinking I was nervous about going to school, Soi said, stroking my hair.
"This eonni will stick right by your side. If anyone bothers you, tell me everything! Eonni will take care of it!"
"I don't know who would bother Yuseong's daughter or how, though..."
Chaeyi sniped from the side. Soi glanced at Chaeyi, but Chaeyi just averted her gaze.
*
Anyway, that's how we entered middle school.
Since it was just an ordinary middle school that wasn't particularly special, there were a few kids I'd known since elementary school.
But still, there were far more kids I was seeing for the first time than just changing grades, so I felt nervous for no reason.
Even now, we were already swarmed by other students around us. And most of those students were girls.
Soi, who had been wandering around classrooms of the same grade since 1st grade, had ended up becoming acquainted with almost every kid in the same grade by the time we graduated. And among the kids she'd gotten to know, at least on the surface, there wasn't a single kid who disliked Soi.
It was only natural that Soi was the one receiving the most attention as soon as we were in the same class.
"Lua, you're in the same class too! Hi?"
"Ah, hi."
Already the seventh person.
A kid whose face and name I don't know is greeting me, recognizing me.
No, did I see her face? I think I might have.
After barely managing to greet them by peeking at the name tags on their chests, another kid who was talking to Soi speaks to me.
And after exchanging greetings with kids from the same school like that, I was sweating bullets on the inside.
Almost all the kids just greeted me lightly and left, so does that mean I have to pretend to know them every time I run into them from now on?
No, it was like that in elementary school too, but somehow, aren't human relationships much more important in middle school?
We're still kids, but it's an age where everyone is starting to grow up a little.
"Sigh."
I briefly escaped the classroom during break time and ran to where Chaeyi was, and Chaeyi let out a light sigh.
"...Soi, she thinks that if she has friends, she should introduce them herself."
"No, there's no need to go that far..."
"You ran away because you were uncomfortable, didn't you?"
I had nothing to say to that. No, well, that is true, but.
But I don't want to think badly of Soi. She's doing it because she's thinking of me.
"Chaeyi, hi? Ah, Lua's here too. Hi? We're in the same school! Let's get along well this year too!"
Another kid I didn't know greeted us.
"..."
Chaeyi, who accepted the greeting, averted her gaze when she saw me staring at her.
Wait, aren't you the same?
Am I really the only one who can't remember friends right now?
Am I the weird one?
"Th-that can happen..."
Soi said as if comforting me.
For some reason, that comfort felt even more painful.