Chapter 14: Rika's Heart-pounding☆Love Operation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 14: Rika's Heart-pounding☆Love Operation
Tojo Karen, who had suddenly come to find us, laid out her situation as if she were venting.
In short, despite her coming on so strong, her crush, Sakamoto Ryuji, was acting like he didn't even see her.
At that, Kishimoto, who had been listening with a series of "uh-huhs" while eating her Kitsune Udon, hit Tojo Karen with a blunt remark.
"Isn't that because he doesn't see you as a girl?"
"What, you bastard! Are you trying to start a fight!"
"Calm down."
I stopped Tojo Karen, who was about to let her fists fly before her words, with one hand.
"Tch."
Tojo clicked her tongue and sat back down.
Ignoring her, Kishimoto, who had evacuated one seat over with her udon bowl, pointed out Tojo's appearance, determined to say her piece.
"First of all, you say you want to look good for the person you like, but your clothes don't show any of that desire at all. Why don't you start by taking off that tacky gym jersey?"
As Kishimoto, ever the former magazine model, critiqued Tojo's fashion with a serious face, Tojo bit her lip in humiliation and took off the jersey she was wearing over her sailor uniform.
But the harsh critique didn't stop.
"Next is your face."
"What?"
"What kind of cosmetics do you use?"
Tojo hesitated before answering Kishimoto's question.
"I just wash my face, put on some toner and lotion, and then maybe some sunscreen or BB cream…"
Kishimoto narrowed her eyes and asked.
"Are you an old man or something? No, even old men these days probably use more products than that. How can a high school girl like you neglect her appearance so much?"
"Urk."
Tojo Karen clutched her chest, unable to say a word in rebuttal to the relentless stream of criticism.
At this point, I was starting to feel sorry for her, but Kishimoto's critique wasn't over yet.
"Before you wish for someone to like you, why don't you take a look at yourself first? You have a foul mouth like a delinquent, you dress sloppily, and you walk around with a bare face. Trying to win love without even that much effort… don't you have any shame?"
"Gyaaaaaaah!"
Finally, with a single scream, she was completely shot down.
On the other hand, Kishimoto, having unleashed a non-stop barrage of insults, wiped her forehead with a look of relief.
Hmm. When it comes to verbal sparring, Rika's definitely got the upper hand.
A moment later, a completely battered Tojo Karen asked with a desperate expression.
"So what am I supposed to do now? Do I have to give up on my feelings for Sakamoto?"
"No, you don't have to do that."
"What?"
As Tojo asked back in surprise, Kishimoto took her hand with a benevolent expression, like a saint.
"If you haven't taken care of yourself until now, you can just start from today. You've got a good foundation to work with, so with a little polishing, you'll be pretty in no time."
"...Me?"
Tojo Karen still looked half-convinced, but Kishimoto nodded with her usual bright smile.
"With the help of Love Doctor Kishimoto Rika, of course."
"Love Doctor…"
Hearing a title I'd never expected, I felt goosebumps all over my body.
Kishimoto then held up two fingers.
"My first piece of advice for you, Tojo-san, is to work on your appearance. My second is to treat the person you like to a home-cooked meal."
"A home-cooked meal?"
"You know what they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."
"Ooh…"
Unlike her initial skepticism, Tojo Karen now looked completely won over.
"But I don't know how to cook. Do I have to learn that from scratch, too?"
Kishimoto chuckled, "Fufufu," and wagged her index finger.
"Don't worry about that! Because Ryu-chan here will teach you!"
Huh? Me?
I stared at Kishimoto in shock for proceeding without my consent, but she just smiled shamelessly and said.
"You don't want to see my Papa?"
That sealed my fate.
"...Of course, I'll help."
Damn it.
*
The next day.
After school, we went to Tojo Karen's house.
"Whoa~ It's huge~"
"Hmph, this is nothing special."
While Kishimoto, the daughter of a famous manga artist, was certainly from a very wealthy family, Tojo Karen's house was on a whole other level.
It was, quite literally, a massive samurai residence in the middle of the city.
As our black sedan entered the estate, which looked to be at least several acres, the yakuza-like men waiting there all bowed in unison.
""Welcome back, Young Miss!""
"Yeah."
After the driver opened the door for her, Tojo Karen emerged with a casual wave and walked slowly down the marble path.
Curious gazes fell upon Kishimoto and me as we got out of the car after her.
"Are they friends of the Young Miss?"
"For a second, I thought they were assassins from another organization."
"That guy's got some good muscle."
I did my best to ignore their murmurs and followed Tojo's small back.
She led Kishimoto and me to a large room with tatami flooring.
A hanging scroll with an orchid painting, a luxurious vase, a baseball bat and glove, and various pieces of exercise equipment were scattered about carelessly.
The room had a strangely unbalanced feel to it.
I looked around and asked.
"Where are we?"
Tojo Karen put down the schoolbag she was holding and said.
"My room."
Kishimoto was taken aback.
"This is your room, Tojo-san?"
"Yeah, is there a problem?"
"No, it's just… it doesn't seem all that different from Ryu-chan's room I saw the other day."
"Hmph."
As if Kishimoto had hit a sore spot, Tojo pouted and said.
"Anyway, that's not what's important right now."
"Ah, you're right."
Kishimoto clapped her hands and handed Tojo Karen a paper bag she'd been carrying since we arrived.
"This is a present for you."
"...A present?"
"I went to a cosmetics store yesterday and picked out everything I thought you might need. I wrote down the names of the basic skincare products on a memo, so when you run out, you can just buy what's on the list."
It was a gift Kishimoto had prepared entirely out of her own pocket for someone she'd only known for a few days.
After checking the contents of the paper bag, Tojo Karen looked at Kishimoto with a slightly surprised expression, then scratched her cheek and said.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Kishimoto replied with a bright smile.
*
"Anyway, let's start by learning how to use the makeup."
"Got it."
At Kishimoto's words, Tojo Karen turned the paper bag in her arms upside down.
Clatter, clatter!
Cosmetics and makeup tools came tumbling out.
Kishimoto began to explain them one by one.
"This is toner and lotion, BB cream, foundation, powder, mascara, an eyebrow pencil…"
Just listening to it was making my head spin.
And Tojo, who rarely ever used makeup, looked like her eyes were spinning too.
"W-wait a minute."
"Hm? Do you have a question?"
"Could you show me how to do it first? I have no idea what's what just from hearing you talk."
"Huh? It's not that hard," Kishimoto said, putting down the cosmetics and tools she was holding.
"Do you have a big mirror in your room? It's easier to understand if I explain while you watch."
"...Wait a second. I'll have one of the servants bring one right away."
Tojo Karen shook her head and slid open the paper door to leave.
It seemed like she was using it as an excuse to get some fresh air.
*
About ten minutes later, Tojo Karen returned to the room with a vanity table that had a mirror attached.
Kishimoto had Tojo Karen sit in front of it and picked up a brush and pencil with a serious expression.
She looked like a master sculptor sizing up a statue before beginning to carve.
And then, time flew by in an instant.
To be honest, I still didn't know the types of cosmetics or tools, but I could tell Kishimoto's makeup skills were superb just by watching Tojo's face change in real-time.
After about thirty minutes of full makeup and hair styling, Kishimoto stepped back with a satisfied look and said.
"A masterpiece, born from all my effort."
That was certainly no empty boast.
It was a complete transformation.
Given permission to look in the mirror, Tojo Karen cautiously peered at her reflection in the vanity and muttered in a daze.
"...Kore ga watashi?"
No, wait! Stop, internal translator!
It was such a cliché scene that I couldn't help but shudder.
My brain must be pickled in rom-coms.
"...This is me?"
Tojo's voice finally sounded normal again.
In the mirror, her brown eyes, now moist and defined by circle lenses, blinked.
Her bare face had been pretty in its own way, but with makeup on, she looked like a goddess.
As Tojo repeatedly touched her own face in disbelief, Kishimoto, who had been watching quietly from the side, asked.
"So? How does it feel to wear makeup for the first time in your life?"
"...I have no choice but to admit it. I didn't know anything."
"You can just fix things one by one, starting now. You still have plenty of time!"
From my perspective as a spectator, their conversation felt like a scene from a youth drama.
As I watched them fondly with my arms crossed, nodding my head, the arrow suddenly turned towards me.
"Alright! I've taught you enough about how to do your makeup, so now it's Ryu-chan's turn!"
Ah.