The Stand User Of The Daily World

Chapter 13: Speaking So Softly, Yet Still Wanting to Buy a Game with Marin Kitagawa

"So, Eriri, what did you need me for today?"

Eriri shot Shunsuke a glare. "Can't I come to you for no reason?—Wait, no, I mean, of course there's something!"

"Uh-huh, but could you keep your voice down? You're going to draw attention."

Though Shunsuke didn't care much about that sort of thing, Eriri's constant outbursts during lunch were starting to get a bit annoying. Couldn't she just stay calm and enjoy her meal?

Looking flustered, Eriri glanced around nervously, then quickly tried to play it cool by taking a huge bite of her curry.

Watching her gnaw away at it like she was venting her frustration, for a moment, Shunsuke felt like he was the curry.

After a few moments of silence, Eriri restarted the conversation. "Yesterday Wet Girls 2 was released. Don't forget to buy me a copy today."

"Wet Girls 2?" Shunsuke raised an eyebrow. "Can you say the full name?"

"Guh!" Eriri's face flushed bright red. "Don't pretend you don't know! Even if you really didn't, you could just ask the store clerk."

"I don't play those kinds of games, so why would I know? Besides, asking the clerk for that would be way too embarrassing. I refuse."

"You already know what kind of game it is, and you're still making me say the name!"

Eriri bared her small fangs, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"No name, no game," Shunsuke replied, not giving in.

Eriri glared at him, but when she saw that he wasn't budging, she finally gave in and muttered awkwardly, "The, the full name is... Saint... Mistress... 2."

Her voice was so faint and halting, it was almost impossible to make out.

Or not.

With his inhuman hearing, Shunsuke had caught every word, but he frowned and said impatiently, "Louder, I didn't hear you."

Eriri mumbled something under her breath again.

Shunsuke took out his phone and opened the voice recorder app. "Still can't hear you."

This time, Eriri spoke just barely louder than a whisper. Afterward, she grumbled, "You heard me that time, right?"

"Nope, didn't hear a thing. If I say I didn't hear you, then I didn't hear you."

"How do you expect to buy an H-game when you're mumbling like that?"

Eriri clenched her fists, tempted to punch Shunsuke right then and there, but she held back.

After glancing around and confirming that no one was nearby, and the cafeteria noise was loud enough to drown out her voice, Eriri finally gave in.

Pushing through her embarrassment, she practically shouted, "It's called Saint Slippery-Slick Girls' Academy: The Shameless Life of the Aristocratic Ladies in the Club of Shame 2!"

Shunsuke nodded and, after recording her words, opened the message that Mrs. Izumi had sent him the day before. "Yup, just as I thought. It's the same game Mrs. Izumi asked me to get yesterday."

Seeing the full game title on the screen, which Mrs. Izumi had sent to Shunsuke in case he forgot, Eriri couldn't hold it in any longer. Shaking her head furiously, she swung her twin-tails wildly, aiming a slap at Shunsuke's face. "ERYYYYYY!"

Shunsuke calmly dodged her attacks, letting her flail about. But instead of stopping her with words, he used a different method—one that always worked. Just as her twin-tails flew by, he leaned in and bit down on one of them.

Eriri instantly froze.

Though touching a girl's hair, especially like this, could be seen as inappropriate—perverted even—Shunsuke felt no remorse.

This wasn't the first time he'd done it, and despite everything, Eriri never learned her lesson. Shunsuke had every reason to believe she was doing this on purpose.

Dealing with a tsundere masochist is such a hassle.

...

In Japan, high schools finish early in the afternoon, leaving the rest of the day for club activities. However, Shunsuke was proudly a member of the "Go Home Club."

Since it was still early, not yet 6 p.m., Shunsuke remembered the requests from Mrs. Izumi and Eriri. After changing into casual clothes at home, he boarded the train heading to Akihabara.

Although the enforcement was loose, buying an 18+ game in a school uniform was too bold—even if the store clerks didn't want to care, they'd have to.

Just thinking about the name of the game he was about to buy made Shunsuke sigh.

He could understand Eriri's curiosity—after all, she was in her teens and it was natural. Her family was well off, too, so it wasn't much of a surprise. But Mrs. Izumi? At her age, asking the neighborhood boy to buy adult games for her...

Considering she'd been divorced for years and never remarried, Shunsuke could sort of understand.

Living alone without a man in the house, maybe she had some needs.

Still, the fact that she didn't even bother to hide it, casually asking like it was nothing, without considering the emotional turmoil it might cause a teenage boy... it was brutal.

If Shunsuke didn't know Mrs. Izumi's true character, he might've thought she was toying with him. Then again, considering her modest... assets, she'd probably be the one getting crushed in that scenario.

When Shunsuke arrived at the game store, he headed straight for the restricted section.

Inside, there were a few stereotypical otakus and some other suspicious-looking individuals, dressed in masks, hats, and sunglasses—doing their best to look inconspicuous, but achieving the opposite.

Trying to hide like that only makes you more suspicious, Shunsuke thought, recalling his own awkward experiences when he first ran these errands.

Just like how fairies don't use the bathroom, handsome guys never buy adult games—or at least that was how he used to think.

He remembered one time, when a store clerk—breathless with excitement—couldn't believe a cute, well-dressed boy like him had come in to buy such a game. The memory still made him cringe.

As he scanned the shelves, Shunsuke quickly spotted Saint Slippery-Slick Girls' Academy: The Shameless Life of the Aristocratic Ladies in the Club of Shame 2 in a prominent display.

This title is ridiculously long, he thought. The creator must've come from the light novel industry.

Still, being a popular sequel, only two copies remained on the shelf. Shunsuke silently thanked his luck for not coming too late and reached for the game.

Just as his hand touched the case, he felt another hand—soft and pale—grasping the same game. To be precise, her hand was holding his.

"Ah! Sorry, I didn't mean to!" The girl quickly pulled her hand back.

Shunsuke glanced over and, to his surprise, found the hand's owner was a girl. But then he thought of Mrs. Izumi and Eriri and realized—maybe it wasn't so surprising after all.

The girl had long, waist-length golden hair like Eriri, but unlike Eriri's natural blonde from her half-British heritage, this girl's hair seemed dyed. Her nails were long, painted in multiple colors, and she wore pink-colored contact lenses. She also sported earrings and a fashionable, bold outfit, with a collar around her neck that had a small bell dangling from it.

Her whole look screamed "party girl"—a gyaru who loved to have fun. But her innocent and cute face stood in sharp contrast to her provocative appearance. The combination made her the epitome of the sweet yet sultry look.

Most importantly, she was someone Shunsuke already knew.

This was Kitagawa Marin—a girl with a gyaru's appearance, a curvy figure, a love for adult games, and an unexpected innocence. She was also a model and a cosplayer.

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•Marin Kitagawa [My Dress-Up Darling]

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