"Did you two seriously follow me all the way here?"
Naturally, that was the first thought crossed in my mind upon seeing two of them here.
"Aren't you giving up of getting beaten up yesterday?"
“‘Give up’ is not in our book!”
The first delinquent answered. She was an energetic-looking girl with long hair down to her back—oddly enough, it looked smooth and well-maintained despite her delinquent status.
"Hehe~ Isn’t it a bit rude to assume we’re stalking you? We just got out of school and happened to drop by."
The second delinquent was a blonde girl with yellow eyes. For a second, she reminded me of my manager, especially in how she dyed her hair.
If my manager had those assets ... I might’ve thought they were sisters.
"Still... I’m surprised to see a cute guy like you working here. If I’d known sooner, I might’ve become a regular."
"Can you not bother me while I’m working? And from the start—why did you two target me yesterday? I never thought of myself as attractive enough to be someone’s target."
Sure, I was popular in class, but that was because my personality in this world was kind. Not because of my looks.
Honestly, if anything, they should be the targets. Aren’t they too pretty to be just delinquents?
"H–How dare you say that when you’ve got such a sexy butt!"
Fuming, the long-haired girl stood up and pointed at me.
"So in the end, you’re just perverts."
Not just chests—even a guy’s butt can be considered attractive to women in this world. Even the manager smacked mine earlier.
"Cough. Calm down, Hina. We’re in public. People are staring."
The blonde girl faked a cough, clearly embarrassed, and shot a sharp glance at her friend—Hina, apparently—making her sit down again obediently.
"Sorry... Sis Alice."
Alice smiled at how well her sister listened. Then she looked at me again.
"Sorry on her behalf. But are you seriously asking that? Don’t tell me ... you’re unaware of your own charm now?"
"I prefer combat builds, so I never put any points into charisma."
"Well, it’s not like I dislike guys like you. Anyway don’t worry—we’re not going to cause trouble here. I’m serious. This meeting really is just a coincidence."
Why did you ignore my game references? Honestly, it hurts my heart a little ...
I realized something in her words.
Maybe I should be more careful on my way home later.
Quickly taking their order, I didn’t want to spend any more time with them than I had to.
Only ... I felt a strong grip on my butt as I turned away.
"Nine points, I’d say. Heh."
After I finished serving them, I went back to the kitchen.
Apparently, someone had witnessed the interaction. Because one of my coworkers—a waitress too, came up to me with a concerned expression.
"Are you okay? Should I report them to the manager?"
"Don't worry, it's not like I lost anything from them."
But honestly, I didn’t really mind being groped by them. It was nothing serious anyway.
"More importantly, do I really have to keep wearing this uniform? This turns out to be embarrassing..."
Also, why is the chest area on this uniform so damn tight?
Since I was still a student, my shift didn’t run late—by nine o’clock, I was allowed to head home.
"They’re really waiting for me, aren’t they?"
As soon as I stepped out of the restaurant, I saw two familiar figures watching me from a distance.
They tried to hide, but Alice’s blonde hair stood out too much in the night. It was easy to spot them when they were together too.
Or do they really have no intention of hiding? Honestly, they actually look a bit stupid now.
"I’ll remember the uniform they wear. That way, I can avoid students from their school if I see them."
Considering my physical strength had been nerfed in this world, I didn’t want to deal with them any further.
"Still... this might be hard. Looks like they live in the same city as me, too. I’ll need to be more careful from now on."
Returning to the restaurant, I asked one of my coworkers who was also going home if we could go together to the station.
With that, I managed to get home safely without being bothered.
This time, it was my mom who greeted me. Sitting at the dining table while using her laptop, she immediately gave me a teasing smile as I walked in.
"Oh, look who’s back—our sweet Ren. How was school? Did you enjoy feeding a girl at lunch today?"
So Dad really told her?
"Let me rest first, Mom. I just got back from my part-time job."
"Alright, alright. Well, I’m glad you’re dating Yona now. Go on, take a bath already."
I’m not dating anyone.
The next morning, thankfully, the train wasn’t as crowded as before. In fact, it felt pretty spacious today.
Because of that, I quickly spotted Yuri.
"Good morning, Yuri. We meet again here, huh?"
"Ah ... Good morning too, Ren."
"Mind if I sit next to you?"
Even though I said the train was less packed than yesterday, the seats were still nearly full, and it felt kind of cramped.
It made me feel a little bad for Yuri.
"Sorry. Maybe I should just stand."
Was Yuri talking about my smell? I don't remember wearing perfume though...
Somehow, Yuri seemed flustered when she saw me confused.
"I—I meant the train’s air freshener! Yeah!"
"Air freshener? Oh—do you like the smell, Yuri? Honestly, I feel a little nauseous when I smell it…”
Talking about it now only made me more aware of the smell—and a little queasy.
Not wanting to throw up on the train, I quickly took out what I had planned to show Yuri.
"Anyway, look at this, Yuri. Voila! A PSP I just bought online last night! It arrived this morning right before I left."
"Woah! Y–You brought it to school, Ren?"
"Of course! I never brought a handheld console to school before since I didn't have anyone to play with. But now you're here!"
"What games do you have installed?"
"Just Monster Hunter for now. But that should be enough if we’re just playing on the train, right? Our ride’s long enough to kill Tigrex three times!"
Tigrex was a pain in the ass the first time I fought him. But now that I’m a seasoned MonHun World veteran—it’s no big deal!
While I was creating my character and trying to connect to Yuri's PSP for co-op, I suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right, Yuri. Before we parted yesterday—when you met up with your friends—you seemed wanted to tell me something. What was it?"
"Ah... It—it’s better if you forget it. If I told you, you’d probably reject it anyway ..."
Her voice grew softer at the end. But since we were close, I heard her clearly.
"Do you have a request for me? If it’s not something too difficult ... I don’t mind. We’re friends, right?"
"Then ... Ren, will you join my Game Club?"