When I got home, a RINE message arrived from Rinka.
“Ritsuki, I’m really sorry about today.
I swear I’ll never do anything that awful again.
I’m really looking forward to the movie!”
O-oh… the day really came when a girl from my class would message me on RINE.
And all she did was borrow my glasses for a bit, yet her sense of guilt is overwhelming.
Maybe when someone has no friends, they end up becoming overly pure.
There’s no way she could ever pull off a delinquent boss character.
“I don’t really mind.
I’m looking forward to it too.”
Whew… it took me thirty minutes to write just that.
I rewrote it like crazy.
If it was too long, she might think I’m creepy.
But maybe it’s too blunt?
In the end, I couldn’t figure out the right answer, so I sent it as is and went to sleep.
～～～～～～～～～～
(So this is Rinka’s house…)
The day of the preview screening.
I stopped in front of an impressive detached house.
Is it okay to ring the doorbell?
Or should I just say “I’m here” on RINE?
I need to decide before I get mistaken for a suspicious person.
“Ritsuki! Morning!”
Rinka opened the front door almost immediately.
Huh? How did she know?
Was she watching outside the whole time?
Are you some kind of indoor dog that can’t wait to go for a walk?
“Ah, Rinka. Morning.”
“—Wait, why are you wearing your usual Kitaro look? You’re supposed to disguise yourself, right?”
“Ah, sorry, force of habit. I always wear glasses outside.”
When I took off my glasses, Rinka stared at my face for a while.
Is there something on my face?
After staring intently, she let out a dazed sigh.
Sorry for making you sigh.
Do I really have such a tiresome face?
To draw her attention away from my face, I opened my mouth.
“Anyway, we really need to make sure no one from class sees us.”
“I think you won’t be found out if you take off your glasses, but… a-and even if people talked, if it’s with you, Ritsuki…”
Rinka suddenly started mumbling in a tiny voice.
I couldn’t hear the second half at all.
“No, that’s not it. The problem is just you ‘walking with a guy who isn’t Yoshiharu-kun.’”
“…?”
Rinka looked completely confused.
She really must have been a loner most of the time.
Having an entourage still makes her way better off than me, though.
“Listen. Everyone thinks you ‘like Yoshiharu-kun,’ so what do you think they’ll assume if they see you walking with another guy?”
“Um… ‘Rinka-chan has lots of friends and is really reliable~’?”
“That kind of Rinka-chan doesn’t exist! Listen carefully—people will absolutely start spreading rumors that ‘Rinka is a slut who jumps from guy to guy’!”
“S-slut!?”
Rinka went pale and grabbed her head.
I feel bad for her, but she needs to face reality.
“You won’t just get dirty looks—you’ll be judged like that all the way until graduation.”
“N-no way… just for walking with a guy…”
“And if they find out that guy is some gloomy loner like me? Even after graduation—sorry, saying this myself is making me depressed.”
Rinka stood there in despair for a while.
She must have finally felt the fear of something called ‘society.’
Then suddenly, as if she’d had a flash of inspiration, she looked up.
She stared at my face, clearly thinking about something.
“…Ritsuki, if your hair stays like this, people might still recognize you as Kitaro from a distance, right?”
“W-well, yeah.”
She was right.
When I become Shion, the makeup artist always fixes my hair.
Of course, today too, I’m supposed to have it done before the surprise stage greeting at the theater.
The problem is whether I can slip away from Rinka smoothly.
“Maybe I should tie it back… Rinka, do you have a hair tie?”
“Eh… ah! A hair tie, right! Of course I do!”
Rinka suddenly turned bright red.
Does she have a fever or something?
“But Ritsuki, just tying your hair back still isn’t enough. You could still get found out.”
“Y-yeah… so what should we do?”
Rinka put on a mischievous grin and grabbed my arm.
She’s definitely thinking of something dangerous.
“We still have time before the movie, so let’s disguise you properly at my house!”
“No, going into your house feels wrong.”
“It’s fine! I made my family go on a hot spring trip— I mean, they went! They won’t be back until tomorrow!”
“So they left you behind… poor thing.”
“Just come on, hurry!”
I couldn’t turn down Rinka’s forceful invitation.
“My older sister’s in the drama club, so we even have wigs!”
“That’s rude. I’m not bald yet.”
And after being dragged around by Rinka for about ten minutes…
～～～～～～～～～～
“T-this… is me?”
“Wow, amazing… you look like an actress… and you’re not even wearing makeup…”
There I was, standing in front of a mirror, completely dressed as a woman.
I definitely looked like a blonde woman—but knowing the inside was still me made it feel unsettling.
“With this, it won’t look like I’m walking with a guy, and no one will think you’re Kitaro either!”
“Rinka, you really are…”
I let out a sigh without thinking.
“—A genius.”
Of course, I’d realized it halfway through.
She told me to change into women’s clothes, after all.
Still, I decided to go along with Rinka’s plan.
If my embarrassment alone could protect Rinka’s reputation, it was a cheap price to pay.
Even my somewhat effeminate face can be useful once in a while.
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