arc2 · 074-ch74

Chapter 74: Shopping with Umi

Having obtained unexpected information at university, I stepped outside and immediately called Himehana.

"Hello? Sota? What's up?"

It seemed like Himehana wasn't diving into a dungeon today either, so she picked up right away.

"Yeah, I saw a poster at university. Are you coming to my university next week?"

"Aw man, you found out!? I was keeping it a secret to surprise you!"

Whoa, whoa—she thought she could keep it a secret when there's a poster that flashy plastered up?

"I mean, with a poster that flashy, anyone would notice..."

"Ehh? But that poster's probably been up for about two weeks now. Sota, you didn't notice until today, did you? It's because you're always walking around looking at the ground!"

Ugh, Himehana's right. I don't even have a leg to stand on.

"Anyway, Himehana, when you come to my university, absolutely do not talk to me. You're a huge celebrity now. I don't want to stand out."

"Ehhh, I was so looking forward to seeing Sota at university!"

No, that's exactly the problem! If I'm around her, she's definitely going to accidentally blurt out that I'm SS. I need to drive the point home now before it's too late.

"Please, don't do it. People will find out I'm SS..."

"Hmm, alright, fine. But you absolutely have to come listen to my talk! I'm going to talk about the Tokyo Skyscraper Dungeon, you know!"

Talking about dungeons is fine, but please, whatever you do, don't reveal my identity...

"Make sure you decide what you're going to talk about beforehand, and absolutely don't say anything extra. I'm counting on you!"

I was seriously worried, so I emphasized it one more time before hanging up. Himehana can be pretty scatterbrained, so this is making me extremely anxious.

That said, there's no point worrying about it any further. I'll just have to trust that Himehana handles it properly.

Now then, after this I need to head home and go shopping with Umi. Last night, while I was talking with Mom, Umi asked me to go shopping with her. I figured Umi wanted something for herself, but it turned out the target was my clothes.

She told me that since I've started working, I should finally buy some clothes that aren't just casual wear. Being told that by my elementary school sister...

But she had a point, so I decided to just go along with it. Unlike me, Umi somehow has great fashion sense, so leaving it to her should be fine.

I headed toward the station at a slightly quicker pace.

▽▽▽

"Come on, Onii-chan, follow me!"

After that, I went home and before I could even catch my breath, Umi dragged me out. Now we're at a shopping mall. Apparently, the first order of business is buying clothes that aren't too casual. Something called "formal casual." Well, that's exactly what it sounds like.

Umi led me into a fairly well-known brand store popular with young people, and started grabbing clothes one after another.

"Here, hold this. And this, and this, and this too. Now, the fitting room's over there, so go try them on. We're buying a lot more, so hurry, hurry!"

I somehow ended up with an armful of clothes and got shoved toward the fitting room. Wait, wait—am I supposed to try all of these on?

Pushed into the fitting room, I started putting on the clothes one by one.

"This one's a buy. This one's meh. Put this one back. Oh, this is the one that looked really good on you!"

Umi sorted the clothes I tried on into buy and don't-buy piles. Her efficiency was like watching a pro stylist at work.

"Thank you for your purchase!"

After buying about six outfits, we settled the bill. Buying this much at once really puts the store clerk in a good mood, huh.

"Alright, next stop!"

Next up, we're apparently going to buy suits that can be worn to formal occasions. I can't believe she even researched suits—just how capable is this little sister of mine? Or so I thought, but it turns out she's leaving the suit selection to the store staff. Yeah, that makes sense—an elementary school girl picking out suits would be a stretch.

"These are our latest recommendations. You're quite tall, sir, so I think they'll suit you nicely!"

Following the store clerk's recommendations, I bought three suits. With this, I probably won't get made fun of for my clothes anytime soon.

Carrying bags in both hands, I thought today's shopping was done. But apparently, there was one more stop.

"Come on, Onii-chan. We're going to get that pointlessly long hair cut!"

The next place Umi dragged me to was a salon rumored to have a charismatic stylist. Before I could even complain, I was plopped into a chair and draped with a cutting cape.

"Two-block short, please!"

While I was still standing there dumbfounded, my little sister was telling the charismatic stylist what hairstyle she wanted. I have no idea what any of that means, but when on earth did Umi research men's hairstyles?

"You got it, leave it to me!"

Apparently the complicated-sounding hairstyle Umi requested got through to him. The charismatic stylist approached with a smile, snipping his scissors.

My long, light-brown hair kept getting snipped shorter and shorter. Watching it happen, my eyes met my own reflection staring back at me in the mirror. Since my dad is half-British, my blue eyes and light-brown hair set me apart a bit from the typical Japanese person.

My nose isn't too high—just the right height, I think. My skin is fair and I've never tanned. It's like I inherited the best parts of both British and Japanese features. But when I was little, I hated this face. I got bullied for looking different from everyone else.

But maybe it's about time I accepted this face. I've changed. Thanks to my Job "Drone Pilot," I've regained my confidence and my social anxiety is improving. No more hiding my face under hoodies and masks—I should live proudly.

"Whoa, I cut it myself so maybe I shouldn't say, but this suits you incredibly well... actually, you're seriously good-looking, man!"

The charismatic stylist was genuinely surprised after finishing the cut. I'd never really thought about it, but maybe my face isn't so bad after all.

"Onii-chan, you look so cool! That look is definitely way better!"

Umi looked at me and gave me a genuine compliment. If even Umi is praising me, maybe it's okay to have a little confidence in my appearance.

"Hey, brother. That hairstyle suits you so well—if you're up for it, would you let me put your photo up by the shop entrance? I'll pay you a modeling fee!"

No, no, no—I just decided to have confidence in myself, but that doesn't mean I want to stand out. There's absolutely no way I'd agree to that!

"No, I'm not really cut out for that sort of thing, so I'll pass. Please find someone else."

For now, I turned him down gently. He still looked like he wanted to say something, but I paid right away, and Umi and I left the salon, leaving the disappointed charismatic stylist behind.

"Hehehe, Onii-chan, you're so cool! Come on, let's go home!"

Hmm, it seems like my face really isn't that bad. Still, I should stay humble and not let it go to my head.

Trying my best to ignore the gazes I kept feeling, I headed home with Umi.