Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 7: Reunion?
“Y-you’re… the appliqué kid from this morning!”
When I turned around, there was the boy whose pants I had helped patch up earlier today.
“Who the hell are you calling ‘appliqué’?! My name is Kongou!”
“Sorry, sorry. Kongou-kun, right? What’s up?”
What a coincidence to run into him in a place like this.
“This morning, you really screwed up my pants. I figured I owed you a proper thanks.”
“Oh, you came all this way just to thank me? You didn’t have to!”
“Not that kind of thanks, idiot!”
(Then what kind of thanks…?)
“Kongou-san, I knew it—it’s him! He’s the one who took us down yesterday!”
“You mean you got taken down. I didn’t.”
Behind Kongou-kun were the two guys who had been bothering Himeji-san yesterday.
“Ah, you guys are the delinquents from yesterday.”
“We’re not delinquents! I’m Raita!”
“And I’m Fuuta…”
Are they brothers? They’re hanging out together again today—how close, I’m jealous.
“So you’re the one who messed with my precious underclassmen, huh? Still, I can’t believe you two got your butts handed to you by such a small fry.”
“Yeah, he used some Aikido or whatever—totally unfair!”
“I didn’t get beaten, though…”
“So yeah, now there’s no way I’m letting you off the hook.”
Somehow, this whole thing is being twisted to make me the bad guy.
“I only stepped in because you two were bothering Himeji-san and she looked uncomfortable. I think you guys were the ones in the wrong.”
“What!? Don’t tell me… you two idiots actually hit on Himeji-san!?”
“Well, any guy would say something to a beauty like that.”
“I didn’t say anything, though…”
“What the hell were you thinking?! If word got out that my underclassmen were harassing Himeji-san and she ended up hating me because of it… wait, Himeji-san!?!!”
Kongou-kun finally notices Himeji-san standing next to me and looks completely mortified.
“She’s even more beautiful than usual—with added cuteness too! No wonder I didn’t recognize her right away…”
“Hey, it’s that hot chick from yesterday! Still a total babe.”
“Raita, don’t you dare look at Himeji-san like that!”
“Ow!!”
“Uh, h-hello, Himeji-san. G-good afternoon…”
Kongou-kun bonks both delinquents on the head with his fists. His attitude does a complete 180, becoming meek and respectful.
“Himeji-san, are you friends with Kongou-kun?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Wait! Himeji-san, it’s me! Kongou! We’re in the same class!”
“Hmmm…?”
Himeji-san tilts her head and searches her memory.
Even the way she frowns in thought is adorable, geez!
(Yeah… she really doesn’t remember him…)
“Sorry, Kongou-kun. Himeji-san and I are hanging out today, so we’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt.”
“That’s right! We’re off to get those limited edition strawberry donuts now!”
“What!? We just had crepes and now you’re eating again!? You really do love sweets, Himeji-san.”
“Yup! My body is made of sugar!”
She puffs out her chest proudly. She’s just too cute.
I want to spoil her with all the sweets in the world. Yes, yes, good girl.
“H-Himeji-san is talking so normally… and she looks and sounds so cute… she’s unbeatable.”
Kongou-kun is totally smitten with Himeji-san.
I get it, though. I really do.
“Anyway, we’ll see you at school, okay?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold it! Just because some plain, tiny guy like you can talk to Himeji-san doesn’t mean you can get all cocky! Himeji-san, forget him—come with me instead!”
“Don’t you dare talk down to Sakasegawa-kun! I don’t want to go anywhere with you. I’m on a date with Sakasegawa-kun right now.”
She turns to me with a dazzling smile.
W-wait, so it was a date after all!?!?
“Tch… flashing that kind of smile… unforgivable. Fine then. I don’t care if she’s watching. Sakasegawa, I’m gonna make you pay! Take this!”
Kongou-kun shouts and charges in to punch me.
I quickly switch gears and catch his fist.
“Watch out, Kongou-san! That guy uses some weird techniques!”
“Relax. It’s just Aikido, right? That fake martial art’s nothing against my black belt in karate. It won’t even tickle.”
“Fake, huh?”
I look up at Kongou-kun, still holding his fist. He’s easily 20 cm taller than me.
“Yeah, all that TV crap doesn’t work in a real fight. And there’s no way a shrimp like you could take me down.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Still holding his arm, I step to his side, lift my own arm, lock his elbow, and slam down in one smooth motion.
With a thud, Kongou-kun crashes to the ground.
“OWWWW!!!”
“That was the Katate-dori Shihonage—the one-handed four-direction throw. Even a small guy can take on someone bigger with the right technique.”
“Y-you’re amazing, Sakasegawa-kun! That was so cool!”
The two delinquents rush over to check on Kongou-kun.
“You okay, Kongou-san?!”
“What… what just happened…? I didn’t even see it… Is he stronger than our dojo’s head instructor…? Damn it…”
“Let this be a lesson. Don’t go causing trouble again.”
I look down at Kongou-kun as I warn him.
“After seeing just how much stronger you are… I got nothing. And I embarrassed myself in front of Himeji-san too… This sucks. I only became a delinquent because I wanted to be popular…”
“Same here… but it’s not working. Guess being a bad boy’s not trendy anymore…”
“Wait, all of you became delinquents to get girls?”
I couldn’t help but say what was on my mind.
Kongou-kun began to speak, still hanging his head…
“Ah, I’ve got a big, rough body and face, so I figured I had to become a delinquent if I wanted to be popular. But it just made people avoid me even more…”
“People think I’m glaring at them because I’ve got thin eyes and a sharp face, so they run away.”
“My hair’s long and I’ve got a pale complexion, so people say I look scary…”
So each of them had their own reasons for becoming delinquents.
In manga, delinquents are often portrayed as popular, but maybe reality isn’t so kind…
“If your appearance changed, would you all stop being delinquents?”
Himeji-san gently asked them.
“H-Himeji-san is talking to us!?”
“So? What do you think?”
“If we could change, we wouldn’t be doing this in the first place.”
“Yeah, that’s right…”
“Mhm…”
All three of them looked sulky and dejected.
“Himeji-san? What brought this on all of a sudden?”
“Sakasegawa-kun, would you mind doing their makeup for them?”
“Huh? …Ah, I see. Sure!”
Understanding her intention, I agreed.
“Makeup? For us guys?”
“Kongou-kun, it’s a time when makeup isn’t just for girls anymore, you know?”
I responded to Kongou’s doubt.
“Even if we do that, it won’t change anything…”
“Don’t worry! Sakasegawa-kun is really good at this. Come on, give it a try—you’ll be amazed!”
Himeji-san gave them a passionate push after seeing they were still reluctant.
(You’re kind of raising the bar a bit too high, Himeji-san…)
“Well, if Himeji-san says so, I guess I’ve got no choice. Alright, Sakasegawa. Hit me with your best shot!”
“Please do!”
“Yeah…”
“Okay, here we go!”
◯ ●
“Whoa!” “This is insane!” “Is this really… us!?”
Standing there were three total hotties.
“Kongou-kun’s strong, defined features were used to create a dependable, gentle look. Raita-kun’s sharp eyes were enhanced with eye shadow to give a mysterious, elongated appearance. For Fuuta-kun, I used foundation to brighten his complexion and styled his hair to give him a more androgynous vibe.”
“Amazing! You didn’t cover up their features—you brought out the best in each of them!”
“Thank you, Sakasegawa. No—thank you so much!!”
“Thanks a ton!”
“…Thanks.”
Actually, I got a bunch of samples from that cosmetics shop earlier.
Didn’t think I’d use them so soon.
But I’m glad they liked it.
“You can change your appearance like this, but the most important thing is to learn to like yourself. Embrace the parts you like and think about how to deal with the parts you don’t without giving up. That way, your heart will grow along with your appearance. If you do that, maybe you will become someone people admire. Or… well, maybe I’m not the best person to say that, haha.”
I ended up saying way more than I meant to… that’s kinda embarrassing.
“Even your heart is cool… We’ll polish ourselves inside and out to become real men!”
“I’m done being a delinquent!”
“I’ll start doing good things…”
“Sakasegawa-kun… you’re so cool.”
“Yeah, that’s the right attitude. You’re all cool—so you’re definitely going to become popular from now on.”
I’m glad my words resonated with them.
But for some reason, Himeji-san seems moved too!?
“We’re really sorry for the trouble! We’ll turn over a new leaf starting today! Hey, you guys, apologize too!”
“Sorry about yesterday.”
“…I’m sorry.”
All three, including Kongou-kun, bowed their heads to us.
“It was a little scary yesterday, but thanks to that, we had a good encounter today… So I forgive you all!”
“If Himeji-san forgives you, then I’ve got no complaints! Oh, and next time we meet, I’ll teach you more about makeup!”
“Really!? That’d be awesome! Please teach us whatever makeup we can do—even if it’s not at your level, Sakasegawa-san! Thank you so much for today!!”
““Thank you very much!!!””
They gave one last deep bow and left.
“Phew, I’m glad they’re not delinquents anymore. Huh, it’s already sunset! Should we head home too?”
Looking around, I noticed the city was bathed in a crimson glow from the setting sun.
“…Wait, I wanted that strawberry donut…”
“Let’s go hang out again, just the two of us. We’ll get the strawberry donut then, okay?”
“…Okay! It’s a promise!”
And with that promise, we each went our separate ways home.