IEULBERW 03

Chapter 3

 Coming Back to My Senses

“Good morning—”

Clack.

The living room door opened.
A beautiful girl entered, stretching and yawning.

Her long silver hair was a messy tangle, and her emerald-green eyes stared right at me.

““Aaaaah!””

Right.
I’d picked up an elf by the station yesterday.
I’d completely forgotten.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“N-no, nothing.”

I definitely couldn’t admit I’d forgotten.
Still… Chamomile really was beautiful.

Thinking about it calmly now, what the hell was I even doing yesterday?
Even if she’s from another world, bringing a strange girl home?
That’s insane.

The more I thought about it, the hotter my face felt.

“What’s wrong? Your face is red. Are you ill?”
“…I’m fine.”

Right. I was living with her now, wasn’t I?
I sighed as I remembered our conversation from last night.

“You’re acting strange today,” she said, tilting her head. “Yesterday you were much more… forward.”

Well, that was probably because I’d just come home from Comiket and my brain was still fried.

“Now that I’ve calmed down… this is the real me. Inviting a girl over—someone who’s not even my girlfriend—that’s just crazy.”

I’d never even dated anyone before.
And now I was suddenly living with a girl?
What was I thinking?

If I could go back to yesterday, I’d give myself a serious lecture.

“That girl you were talking to so familiarly earlier—who is she?”
“Oh, Amika? She’s my childhood friend. Like a little sister to me. I’ve never thought of her as a girl, really.”
“Hmm… then that means I’m your first?”

Chamomile stepped closer, closing the distance between us.
A faint floral scent drifted from her hair.

“W-what are you doing?”
“You mean to say, Yuya, that you’ve never been with anyone? You don’t look bad or anything.”

She studied my face closely.

“That’s the first time anyone’s ever said that to me.”

I wasn’t an extrovert, but I wasn’t completely gloomy either.
Just… average.
I’d lived a plain, normal life.
And in all that time, I’d never once been popular with girls.

“Maybe I should be your first, then. You’re not bad, Yuya.”

“Wha—what’s that supposed to mean…?”

Chamomile leaned in, her breath brushing my face.
Was she… about to kiss me?

“Pffft—haha! Just kidding, you idiot.”

Her face turned red as she burst into laughter, tears in her eyes.

She was teasing me.

“Don’t joke around like that. I’m the serious type.”
“I can tell,” she said with a smirk. “You’re adorable—totally my type.”

Seriously, what a personality.
If I wasn’t careful, her pretty face was going to get me in trouble one of these days.

“What are you doing, Yuya?”

I was sitting in front of my computer, browsing an online shopping site.
The reality was, Chamomile had come to this world with literally nothing—no luggage, no clothes, no belongings.

“You don’t have any clothes or anything, right? Nowadays you can shop online and have it delivered.
Honestly, going to a store to buy women’s stuff is way too embarrassing for me.”

I wondered if boyfriends did things like this in real life.
It sounded like something out of a manga.

“…Underwear… I don’t even know your size.”

On the monitor, colorful women’s underwear filled the screen.
I’d just have to guess.
Since I didn’t know her bra size, I ordered some in a free size for now.
Just temporary replacements.

“For clothes… I guess a few T-shirts and pants should do.”

I didn’t really know much about women’s fashion.
She wasn’t planning to go out anyway, so simple stuff would be fine.
I added a few more casual items to the cart.

“This is getting kind of expensive… Oh—wait. Mom’s clothes!”

I realized only after placing the order.
I could’ve just used the clothes left in my mom’s room.

I could still cancel the order, but it was too much hassle.

“Guess I should’ve thought it through better before buying. Let’s call this a learning experience.”

No point crying over it now.
I decided to make the best of it.

When I entered my mother’s room, I found her wardrobe still full of clothes.
I was glad I hadn’t thrown them out.

They might be a bit mature in style, but still women’s clothes.
She could make do with those for now, and we’d just buy what was missing later.