Ch.9Shopping and Karaoke

*Rustle-rustle! Rustle!*

Umi changed her clothes in the fitting room. Honestly, she could have dressed quietly, but she deliberately made noise.

‘Hmph. Men are so simple.’

The sound of changing clothes itself would stimulate his imagination.

‘Perfect… it’s summer clothing, so there’s some exposure…’

Umi smiled with satisfaction as she looked at the outfit.

‘Yes!! I’ll definitely make Shota go crazy this time!’

Umi dramatically pulled back the fitting room curtain with the spirit of a warrior heading into battle.

“How is it?”

Umi immediately addressed Shota.

——–

Back to Shota’s perspective.

“Oh… that looks nice.”

I said that with complete sincerity.

It was a flowy one-piece dress with frills. Being summer clothing, it emphasized coolness and freshness.

“But… isn’t the floral pattern a bit much? It’s pretty, but it feels like it’s trying too hard to be cute? Don’t you have something more refined in a solid color?”

Since I came as the reaction and evaluation person, I gave my feedback as thoughtfully as possible.

“Hmm… you think so? You actually have a good eye for clothes.”

Umi considered this seriously.

“You’re pretty enough without needing cute clothes to dress you up. It feels like the outfit is actually hiding your beauty. I think something less flashy with accessories as accent points would look better.”

That’s what I told her.

“P-pretty without dressing up… aren’t you embarrassed saying things like that?”

Umi said with a blush.

“I’m a shopping man. I don’t feel embarrassment.”

That’s how I responded.

“Shopping man… hehehehe. That’s so incredibly lame. Hehehehe.”

Umi burst into laughter immediately.

“Alright. Then another outfit!!”

Umi went right back into the fitting room.

After that, I enjoyed Umi’s fashion show while offering appropriate advice.

The result? Umi ended up buying all the clothes she tried on. Why ask for my opinion if you’re going to do that anyway?

Additionally, she bought accessories to accentuate her outfits.

——–

Just before leaving the clothing store, Umi asked me:

“By the way, aren’t you buying anything?”

Umi asked.

“Huh? Not really. I have my uniform.”

That’s what I said.

“No… you wear casual clothes on weekdays.”

Umi said with gleaming eyes.

Ah… this pattern. The one where she offers to pick out clothes for me. This would make the already boring clothes shopping even longer. I immediately took evasive action.

“My clothes aren’t torn yet. No reason to buy new ones.”

That’s what I said.

“Hahahahaha! No reason to buy new ones… hehehehe. Not torn yet… hahahahaha! Your reasoning is too funny! Please stop making me laugh…”

Umi trembled as she couldn’t contain her laughter. She really laughs a lot.

Anyway, we postponed clothes shopping for me and headed to our next destination.

———

Back to Umi’s perspective.

Umi belatedly remembered her original purpose.

‘Oh… right. I came to seduce Shota…’

However, she had already forgotten that halfway through.

‘This is too much fun!!’

Honestly, it was incredibly fun. Not only did he wait for her without showing any discomfort while shopping, but they could also have deep conversations about fashion. Plus, his occasional remarks stimulated Umi’s sense of humor.

‘W-well, seduction aside… let’s just enjoy this.’

Umi just wanted to hang out with Shota for as long as possible.

‘After we become closer!! Then I’ll make him my slave!’

That’s how Umi rationalized it.

Just as Umi was trying to remind herself of her goal:

“Ah. Let me carry that. That’s why you called me here, right?”

Shota immediately picked up the bags containing her clothes.

‘How gentlemanly!!!!’

It was different from acting gentlemanly just to impress a girl. It was more like a mature, thoughtful consideration that he did naturally, which hit Umi’s preferences directly.

‘Hnnnnng…’

An involuntary moan escaped in Umi’s mind.

Soon after, Umi stared intently at Shota’s face.

A face that couldn’t exactly be called handsome, but with peculiarly clear eyes and an impression of good character—Umi scanned him with her eyes.

‘Why are you starting to look handsome?!!!!’

Umi screamed silently inside.

——-

Back to Shota’s perspective.

‘Come to think of it… this is quite moving.’

The events of Monday in the first week were different from the original game.

In the game, Arigiri Shota, the character I possessed, persistently flirts with Umi from day one. The player creates some connection by preventing this.

However, Arigiri Shota loses his mind and stalks Umi even at night. After arguing with Umi and parting ways, a monster appears, and Shota is killed.

Then the next day, Arigiri Shota is found dead. The curious protagonist interrogates Umi, who was the last person to talk with Arigiri Shota.

True to the protagonist’s exceptional initiative, they investigate the scene secretly at night, evading the police. And the player encounters the monster for their first battle.

‘Did I… monopolize the connection with Umi?’

The thought made me anxious.

But this couldn’t be helped. I had declined out of courtesy, but I didn’t expect Umi to cling so persistently.

‘If this could be my last day alive… spending it on something like a date with a beauty isn’t so bad.’

That’s what I thought. This much should be allowed.

——-

“Let’s go to karaoke!! Karaoke!!”

Umi said in a completely excited tone.

“Karaoke… Ah. That’s a high school girl pick.”

But… do I know any songs? The only Japanese songs I know are weeby ones.

“Are you tone-deaf by any chance?”

Umi asked with a grin.

“I’m not great at singing.”

Honestly, singing in front of people had become quite uncomfortable for me.

“I want to see Shota sing.”

After hearing my response, Umi seemed even more eager to go to karaoke.

This… is she trying to torture me at karaoke? I realized her intention.

However, backing out now would hurt my pride even more.

“Let’s go. Karaoke.”

I said to Umi.

“Ooh. That’s the spirit!”

Umi excitedly headed straight for the karaoke place in town.

——-

Japanese-style karaoke. Actually, it was my first time.

You had to pay for time blocks, and it was expensive. I didn’t expect it to cost as much as a billiards hall. Living up to its price, it had private rooms and good equipment. Plus, you could order food. Drinks were mandatory, of course. It was similar to a board game cafe. It felt like they incorporated all the annoying and stingy elements. I had just filled up on Japan-love at the convenience store, but here my anti-Japan sentiment was growing rapidly.

‘Why aren’t there coin karaoke places…’

Those have the best value for money.

“Alright. I’ll let you go first.”

I handed the microphone to Umi.

“Why are you saying it like you’re doing me a favor?”

Umi said with a wry smile.

“Well, if I sing too well at the beginning, you might lose motivation. I don’t want to sing alone.”

That’s what I said.

“You’re so arrogant!! You just said you weren’t good!!”

Umi exclaimed with laughter.

“Ah… that’s right. But your provocation has made me ‘serious.'”

I said, brushing my hair back.

“Hahahahaha! Please stop with that weeby way of talking!!”

It seemed Umi’s laughter reservoir had burst again.

“Okay!! I’ll go first!”

Umi immediately pressed the song number.

She started singing something sweet. It was a refreshing love song. I clapped appropriately in response.

The song ended.

Honestly, she sang well. She was above average for an amateur.

’95 points’

The karaoke machine gave her quite a high score.

“How was it? My singing.”

Umi asked proudly.

“Yeah. You did well.”

I praised her straightforwardly.

“…for a rookie.”

And then I added one more line.

“Hahaha!! You’re so cocky!! Let’s see!! How good you really are!!”

Umi laughed and handed me the remote.

I quickly looked through the songbook.

As expected, there were anime songs.

Ah… my anime song folder is burning up. I immediately pressed the number for an opening song that even a normal girl would know.

It was the opening of a famous magical girl series.

“Ah! This song!”

Umi seemed to recognize it. She immediately seemed lost in nostalgia. Yes, that was the effect I was hoping for.

After the distinctive melody of the anime song ended, I grabbed the microphone.

“Dokidoki dokidoki dong dong!!”

And I vocalized the intro. Complete with dance moves.

“CHIKARA GA HAITTARA DOSHIYOOOOOO!! DOSURU!!!!”

Today, I was Apollo, the god of music.

——–

After the song ended, I exhaled.

’96 points’

“Hmph… is that all.”

The trick to getting a good score on karaoke machines was simple. As long as your voice was loud enough and you hit the rhythm lines, you were good. After all, it’s just a machine of 0s and 1s; manipulating it was no big deal.

My victory. Ah… how empty. I was hoping for a worthy opponent.

“Hehehehehehe… please… stop being so funny… hahahahahahaha. I didn’t expect you to do the exact same dance moves… hahahahahahaha.”

Umi was in a state of hysteria from laughter.

“Can you feel it? The difference in power.”

I struck a pose while looking at the score screen.

“It’s only a 1-point difference!!! What are you so proud of?!”

Umi finally got angry.

“Ah… to your eyes, it appears as just a 1-point difference.”

So, she hasn’t reached the level of understanding the meaning behind it.

“Argh! So annoying!!!”

Umi immediately snatched the remote and registered the next song.

“I’ll definitely win!!”

Umi laughed with renewed determination.

The karaoke battle heated up considerably. We originally booked for one hour, but extended it to two full hours of singing.

In the end, Umi won.

And so, we left the karaoke place with light hearts.