Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 33: About Me
“Hold on a second! Everything just kept moving forward so fast, but… Go-kun, you’re CELENA’s apprentice? I’ve been wondering for a while now, but seriously, who are you? I’m curious about your past with Keina-chan too, but—could you start by telling us about yourself?”
Takarazuka-san, who had been watching the earlier exchange, asked me the question with a surprised look on his face.
“I thought Akkun was still the same as always, but it’s been a while since we last met, so I guess there’s a lot I don’t know. That’s why I want to hear about you too…”
Acchan murmured with a somewhat lonely expression.
“Yeah… to explain everything, I’ll have to talk about my family. But since we’ve come this far, I think I’ll tell you my story.”
Himeji-san, Asuka-san, and Keina already knew a bit about my family situation.
But I hadn’t had the chance to tell Takarazuka-san or Acchan yet.
It wasn’t like I’d been hiding it—I just never had the right opportunity, and time passed.
But lately, we’ve been spending more time together, and I’ve come to want to grow closer with everyone.
So I began to tell them everything that had happened.
○ ●
“So that’s what it was… but now it all makes sense. Your script analysis skills and fashion knowledge were cultivated while supporting your sisters. Still, just supporting them—how did you reach that level?”
“Nah, I’m really just totally average.”
“That’s far from average, I’d say…”
Takarazuka-san looked both convinced and unconvinced at the same time.
“I’ve been your childhood friend, but I never knew anything about your family… That’s why you were always alone back then, huh… Not realizing that makes me a failure of a childhood friend.”
“That’s not true! The time I spent playing with you when we were little made me forget all about my family troubles. I’m really grateful for that.”
“Akkun…”
I spoke gently to the downcast Acchan.
There’s no doubt that those childhood memories with her supported me back then.
“Still, it’s unforgivable—they went as far as to kick you out after everything you’d done. I’m going to storm into Amagasaki Productions and give them a piece of my mind.”
Takarazuka-san stood up with conviction.
“Wait, wait! Takarazuka-san, please stop! Like I said earlier, I’m not bothered by it anymore. Thanks to being kicked out, I’ve gotten closer to all of you, and honestly, I’m even kind of thankful.”
“Even so, I just can’t let it go!”
“I really appreciate the thought, but I’m seriously okay. Please, Suzu-chan, calm down?”
“Ugh!! C-Calling me that at a time like this is unfair…”
Every now and then, I still slip and call her Suzu-chan, like when we played a couple in that school skit.
But that seemed to calm her down, and Takarazuka-san quietly took her seat again.
(Good thing I stopped her—if it had been up to her, she really would’ve barged into the agency…)
“When Keina came back from studying abroad and found out Tsum Tsum had transferred schools, I sort of figured something had happened… I can’t forgive those people for what they did, but Keina thinks it’s a good thing you left that place. Honestly, Keina always said you’d be better off away from that family. It’s long overdue.”
“Well, at the time, I still thought of them as my real family, and I felt indebted to them for raising me… so there was that.”
Back then, being accepted by my family was everything to me.
Looking back now, I realize how narrow-minded I was.
“Still, I can’t believe Go-kun was CELENA’s apprentice. Even I didn’t know that.”
Asuka-san shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, it’s more like… when my family went on a long overseas trip, they left me behind. Around that time, by pure chance, I was taken in by Celena-san and looked after. I ended up working really hard under her. It was pretty rough…”
“Sakasegawa-kun, you’re staring into the distance—are you okay!?”
Himeji-san’s voice snapped me out of it.
I must have been zoning out, lost in the memories of those chaotic days.
“From the look on your face, sounds like you really went through the wringer…”
Asuka-san looked at me with concern.
“Yeah, but thanks to that, I learned a lot. I’m grateful for it. I met Keina during my time with Celena-san.”
“I see… By the way, you call her ‘Keina’ so casually…”
Suddenly, the warmth from Asuka-san’s concern turned into a weird kind of pressure…!?!?
“W-Well… That’s because she was also taken in by Celena-san, and for a time, we lived together like family. That’s all.”
“Oh really now…?”
Even after explaining, Asuka-san’s glare didn’t soften…
“Keina’s fine with becoming family with Tsumu-Tsumu, you know?”
“Wha—”
“Huh?”
“Wait… what?”
“No way!”
All four of them froze after reacting in their own ways to what Keina had just said.
“Haha, Keina’s always teasing me like this. Don’t say stuff like that so casually, okay? You’re super pretty, so someone might actually take it seriously.”
“Muu, I wasn’t being casual about it though…”
Keina puffed out her cheeks and rested her chin on the table, pouting.
“Maybe he doesn’t see her that way because they feel like family… Being too close can be its own problem too…”
“Hmm? Did you say something, Asuka-san?”
“N-Nope! Nothing at all!”
“O-Okay…”
After chatting for a little while longer, we disbanded once the café returned to its normal business hours.
I feel like opening up helped bring me even closer to everyone.
○ ●
“Everyone, thank you so much for letting me use the atelier! I’ll be in your care for a short while!”
I was now at the atelier.
That very same day, Tarumi-san contacted me, and it was officially decided that I would be participating in GalColle (Girls Collection).
Although I had been confirmed to participate, there wasn’t much time left until the show, so I had to hurry and make the clothes.
Since I didn’t have an atelier of my own for making clothes, Tarumi-san arranged for me to borrow a corner of an atelier belonging to a brand affiliated with the agency.
“I want to wear Tsumu-tsumu’s clothes alreadyyy!”
“Calm down, Keina-chan. You know clothes don’t get made that quickly, right?”
“Exactly, Kobe-san. Today we’re only working on the design.”
Takarazuka-san and Himeji-san were trying to calm the fidgety Keina down.
“Still, I can’t believe Mika’s going to be in it too… Are you going to be okay, Go-kun?”
Asuka-san spoke to me with concern.
That’s because Mika-san was also participating in this GalColle with her own brand. Asuka-san was worried that this might bother me—she really is kind.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Even if we run into each other on-site, having all of you with me gives me strength.”
GalColle works by having each brand present five different looks. Visitors then vote on which ones they liked best, and rankings are decided based on that.
In other words, I needed to prepare five outfits.
On top of that, I also needed models, so besides Keina, I asked Asuka-san and Takarazuka-san to model as well.
I got the green light from their agencies, which is why they’re here now.
The remaining two models would be coming from Keina’s agency.
I also asked Himeji-san and Acchan to model, but Himeji-san said, “I’m too embarrassed to stand in front of so many people… And besides, I’m just not cut out for it…” so she decided not to participate this time.
In terms of looks, she has an amazing figure and a beautifully symmetrical face—she practically is a model—but knowing how shy Himeji-san is, I totally understood.
Still, she offered to help out as staff from production through the event day, which I was incredibly grateful for.
As for Acchan, she told me, “My deadline’s coming up, so I don’t think I’ll be able to help or even come see it this time. Sorry, Akkun.”
(A deadline? I wonder if something urgent came up with the café…)
I did feel a bit bad about taking time off from my part-time job.
But that just made me more determined to give it my all with what was right in front of me.
“Alright, let’s do this!”
Fired up, I dove into the work right away.