I Joined the Sentai Heroes Who Were Beautiful Girls Other Than Me but the Heroines Were All Yanderangers

96. Momoko and the Fitting Room

“When does your summer vacation start, Senior?”

“Ah, well, my university starts in August.”

“College students have summer vacation until around mid-September, right? That’s great.”

“For us, it was… around the 19th or so, I think.”

“Speaking of which, there was a couple who looked like middle schoolers earlier! They were so cute.”

“Oh, yeah, maybe.”

An awkward reply from behind the curtain. While unbuttoning the buttons of a cute blouse with an embroidered lace collar, I could feel the tension in my body as I sensed my senior’s uneasy reaction.

I wonder if it was a mistake to come here right after lunch, I thought as I looked down at my stomach.

No, it’s okay. I’ve been maintaining my figure so that I’d be ready for a day like this. Just because I ate a little too much dessert doesn’t mean my peachy perfection is ruined.

Inside the fitting room, Momo, who was making a hundred different faces, picked up a bikini with a sweet design in white and pink. It was an off-the-shoulder type with a subtle floral pattern, and the voluminous frills would hide the Loneliness around her chest, and the lace on the cover skirt was very cute. It was also not very revealing, so it would probably suit Momo.

I had dragged my bewildered senior to this swimsuit specialty shop. It was a little expensive for a high school girl to buy, but I had my hero’s salary, and since it was a specialty shop, they had a lot of really cute ones. There was a wide selection of designs, and it was perfect for Momo, who wanted to have a cute but slightly unique look.

When Momo was in middle school, she would choose one from the swimsuit section that was set up for a limited time in the ladies’ section of a large shopping center and have her mother buy it for her. She would hold the cute but somehow unsatisfying swimsuit in her arms and dream that one day she would wear a stylish and s*xy swimsuit and go to the pool with her boyfriend.

I’m still not quite ready for the s*xy part, but this year my dream is about to come true.

“…Um, Momo?”

My senior, who had been lost in thought, called out to me, feeling uncomfortable because the conversation had stopped.

“What is it?”

“Um, will it take much longer?”

“Just a little longer. If you’re bored, you can look around the store.”

“Wha!? N-no. It’s fine, I’ll wait.”

I guess he couldn’t stand the awkwardness of standing there in silence, surrounded by women’s swimsuits.

“……..”

Oh dear, he’s gone silent again. I wonder if he’s blushing furiously and glacing at the salesclerks?

I’m glad that my senior is being swayed by Momo and that his head is full of thoughts about Momo. I want him to be even more infatuated with Momo.

“Um, Momo. I think I’ll wait outside the store, so you can take your time trying on swimsuits…”

“I’m finished changing!”

I peeked my face out from behind the curtain of the fitting room, and my senior made a strange face, as if he was both relieved and expectant. “Oh, okay,” he replied.

“Do you want to see?”

I shook the curtain. My senior averted his gaze in a strange way, looking in the opposite direction and then back at Momo.

“…..Well. Of course I do.”

“hahahaha, you’re so honest, Senior.”

My senior scratched his cheek with his fingertips and blushed noticeably. I could feel his hot, expectant gaze on me, and at the same time, my chest felt warm. If I were to be looked at like this by another man, I would be 100% uncomfortable, but strangely, I felt a thrill from the expectation that my senior had for me. It felt like every second I was with him, I was being made aware that I was in love.

“Y-you’re the one who asked me to.”

My senior pretended to be angry, but he wasn’t angry at all. Oh, how cute. I get all flustered no matter what he does, but I have to stay calm and take the initiative here. It would be lonely if only Momo was head over heels in love, and I have to make my senior’s heart skip a beat with the cutest swimsuit ever.

“I see, I see, so you’re interested in Momo’s swimsuit.”

“I can’t help it.”

He didn’t deny it! I’m so happy, hehehehe.

“Well, then, here you go.”

I opened the curtain halfway and took a step back. I twirled around, getting carried away. I realized that I was getting a little high and felt embarrassed.

“W-what do you think?”

I showed it to my senior, trying to suppress the stiffness in my expression from the nervousness and the urge to grin at the situation. I thought it looked pretty good when I looked in the mirror. I wonder how it looks in my senior’s eyes.

“……!”

The senior had taken in the entirety of Momoko’s body… or so it seemed, but he fell silent.

“What’s wrong?”

Oh, come on. Why aren’t you saying anything?

This is weird. I thought you said you wanted to see Momoko’s swimsuit. Or maybe you don’t like cute things like this? I thought about how I’d just end up looking pathetic if I tried to show off my s*xiness around mature women like Nightingale-san and Dr. Gentian, so I chose this instead, but maybe I misjudged things and cute swimsuits aren’t your thing.

This is just the first one, the first one. I’ll have to go with something more appealing to men next time… Momoko was racking her brain, trying to figure out how to make up for her mistake, when her senior’s belated reaction finally came.

“It’s… cute.”

“Y-yes!”

Oops, I accidentally blurted out a response.

“Huh?”

W-wait, did you just say it’s cute? I’m not mishearing this, right?

“Sorry, I’m not very good at giving compliments. I don’t have the vocabulary for it… It’s just, well, how do I put this? It’s amazing.”

Those words made it all clear. He had been speechless for a moment because he couldn’t find the right words right away!

I-it’s amazing. Momoko’s cuteness is amazing. hehehehe. Momoko is so cute that he froze for a moment!

“Oh man… something’s wrong. Was Momoko always this cute?”

“W-what do you mean by that? That’s rude.”

My senior is collapsing! He’s about to collapse because Momoko is too cute! Momoko’s facial muscles are about to collapse too!

“No, no, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… I wonder how I was able to look at Momoko normally up until now.”

My senior covered his mouth with his hand and looked back and forth at Momoko, his face bright red.

He’s flustered. Oh man, this is crazy. Is this for real? Is she really that cute?

“II think that if you were to bring such a cute girl to the pool, everyone would be captivated and it would be a disaster.”

Earthquake! No, wait, my heart just skipped a beat. It’s been going crazy ever since I entered this store, but now it’s like a major disaster. Oh man, my senior’s face is so red. This is crazy. She’s cute. I love it. I’m so happy. He’s really into it. This is amazing. What do you mean by captivated? That’s a weird thing to say. My senior is going crazy because Momoko is too cute. I love it.

“F-for example, what if all the guys who have girlfriends fell in love with Momoko and it turned into a huge mess…”

Are you still going to keep up with that ridiculous story, Senior!?

My senior thinks Momoko is really cute! What should I do? I’m so happy!

“Wait, what am I saying?”

“Y-yeah, that’s right. Even if Momoko is cute, that’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

I can’t calm down. I was planning to tease him in my swimsuit, but now I’m blushing too. Now that my senior is flustered by Momoko’s cuteness, this is my chance. I have to keep him on his toes!

“It’s not an exaggeration. Momoko is that cute, in reality.”

Oh man, oh man, oh man! You idiot! Why would you say something like that!

What’s wrong with you, Senior? Aren’t you being a bit too forward? Why are you being so honest? I feel like my heart has been beating out of my chest ever since a while ago! If this keeps up, Momoko is going to die!

“aaa-anyway! I understand that you like this swimsuit, Senior! S-should I just go with this one? I’ll do that! Yes, that’s what I’ll do!”

I actually wanted to try on a bunch of different swimsuits and see my senior’s reactions and learn about his preferences, but that’s impossible now. Change of plans. I’m buying this. I have to buy this after getting such high praise.

Besides, if I get any more compliments, Momoko won’t be able to handle it. The effect of this swimsuit is too strong. It’s terrifying that I’ve gotten my senior, who never compliments me, to say so much. I think all the girlfriends in the world should go buy swimsuits. Or rather, I’m glad I bought this one with you first. I think I would have died from a fever if I had shown it off at the pool.

“And with that, the fitting session is over!!!”

“Huh?”

Momoko reached for the curtain to end the session, but her senior’s disappointed voice stopped her.

“It’s just that, you’re even cuter than I imagined, so if Momoko doesn’t mind… W-would you mind if I saw some of the others? …Is that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay!!!”

After that, Momoko tried on about five more swimsuits, and her senior stopped her from buying them all.