Transmigrated into a World of Reversed Roles
Chap 15

Lunch Break

In the classroom, I sat across from Kaito—we were having lunch together for the first time in a while.

But I felt like Kaito was acting a bit different than usual today.

“Kaito… haven’t you been on your phone a bit too much today? What video are you watching?”

“I’m not watching a video.”

“Then why are you so focused?”

“Curious?”

Without even glancing at me, Kaito kept his eyes glued to his phone. His lunch hadn’t been touched, and both his hands were busy with the device.

“No. I’m not curious anymore.”

“That so?”

If we were talking about the old Kaito, I could probably guess what was up. Either his favorite idol had released a new video, or he was deep in a heated debate with haters.

But the current Kaito isn’t into idols anymore. Honestly, I don’t even know what hobbies he has in this world.

Truthfully, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious. But since he clearly didn’t want to share, I lost interest.

Finishing up my lunch, I stood up.

“I’m heading downstairs for a bit.”

“Careful not to get caught by Yona~”

“Huh? What’s she got to do with this?”

“You’re planning to visit that underclassman girl from the other day, right? Be careful, especially after walking with her this morning. Yona may show up late often, but you never know~”

What is wrong with you today, Kaito? Seriously.

He was right that I was planning to visit Yuri, but what was the point of bringing up Yona’s name? It’s not like I’m cheating. I’m not even dating anyone.

Besides…

“I don’t have that kind of relationship with Yuri.”

I admit that Yuri is cute. But that doesn’t mean I have feelings for her, right? We’re just gaming friends.

“Just giving some friendly advice~ Up to you whether you listen or not.”

“…”

Whatever. I don’t get this guy anymore.

With a shrug as my only reply, I left the classroom.

The reason I wanted to see Yuri today was because I didn’t see her on the train this morning.

“This is all Hina’s fault. I overslept today. Why did she think giving me coffee at night was a good idea?”

Though honestly, it’s my own fault for drinking it all… and then gaming until midnight.

“I wanted to ask Yuri to help me finish a quest in MonHun… I need it to get the final item to upgrade my equipment.”

As I made my way downstairs, I reached the hallway for the first-year classrooms. Since seniors rarely came here, I quickly became a sore thumb.

It was kind of uncomfortable, honestly. Most of the people staring at me were girls. I hurried to find Yuri’s classroom.

“I remember Yuri said she was in Class 1-C, right?”

Luckily, the classroom was near the stairs I came down from, and I found it quickly after glancing around a few times.

The classroom door was open, so I didn’t have to awkwardly run into anyone like I did with Yona yesterday.

But when I peeked inside, I didn’t see Yuri anywhere.

“Maybe she’s at the cafeteria? It is lunchtime, after all.”

A bit disappointed, I thought about heading to the cafeteria to look for her. But the idea of interrupting her while she was eating made me hesitate.

Just as I was about to leave, two girls from the class suddenly approached me.

“Wait up!”

“Are you looking for Yuri?”

They were both girls with full-on gal aesthetics. Dyed hair, multiple piercings, skirts rolled short, and shirts slightly unbuttoned around the chest area.

Aren’t these Yuri’s friends?

Before I could answer, they both continued.

“Are you here to talk about the Game Club!?”

“Yuri said you were thinking of joining.”

“Uh… yeah. So that means you two are also candidates for the Game Club?”

Their appearances practically screamed “normies,” and I wasn’t sure if they were actual gamers like Yuri and me.

But I know I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

“Yep! Even if we don’t look like it, we’ve actually played a lot of games!”

“We’re totally gamers!”

See? Told you. You can’t judge by appearance alone. At least check the reviews first!

“So, what kind of games do you play? What genres do you like?”

“Happy Bird and Subway Suffer!”

“I usually play Candy Chris, but sometimes I open My Talking Bom too.”

Huh?

Aren’t those all mobile games? The titles they mentioned were games my mom used to play when she was bored at home.

A—Are they really gamers?

No! They’re Yuri’s friends, they must be messing with me! This is probably some kind of test… right?

“M—Me? I’m into games like the Metal Gear Solid series, Monster Hunter, and the newest one, Sekiro… Do you know them?”

“What’s that? Metal Grea… That name’s hard!”

“Sounds like some kind of magic chant when ordering at Starbugs LOL. Boys really memorize all kinds of weird names, huh.”

I don’t get it. No—they don’t get it!

How did this end up as a conversation about café names? Are these girls actually gamers!?

Suddenly, one of them linked her arm with mine.

“Heeey~ If you like Starbugs, how about we hang out there after school?”

“Our treat, no worries.”

Yep. I’m sure of it now. They’re just full-on gals pretending to be gamers.

W—Why is Yuri even friends with people like this? I thought she was on my wavelength!

Could it be that Yuri is a real gamer, and also a crazy extrovert!?

I can’t even picture myself talking to people like them… let alone becoming friends.

“Sorry, but I actually have something after school. I’m busy…”

“Ehhh? Busy with what? You’re not in any club yet, right?”

“Don’t tell me you already have a girlfriend? Better let him go quick LOL, or we’ll get attacked by a second-year.”

Why does everyone assume I’m already dating someone? Do I really look that handsome and taken?

Even Kaito was acting weird earlier because he thought I was dating Yona.

“No… I just have to go to my part-time job.”

“Seriously!? Where? Don’t tell me it’s at Starbugs!?”

“How about we swing by there later?”

I said the wrong thing. I shouldn’t have told them what I was doing. Now they’re even more fired up.

It’s like I’m facing two Hinas, but worse—because they’re actually clever.

While I was mentally scrambling for a way to escape, someone called my name from behind.

“Ren?”

“Yuri!”

Like a hostage hearing the voice of their hero coming to the rescue, I turned around with hope in my eyes.

Yuri was there. Her eyes wide open in surprise upon seeing me here.

But I was even more surprised when I saw her. Because in both of her hands… she was holding bread. Lots and lots of bread.

There’s no way she could eat all of that by herself.

Then I heard her friends talking again.

“Yuri! You’re finally back. Took you long enough—we were getting bored.”

"Here's the money for the bread. Its a bit short, but that's okay, right?"

Now I’m really unsure about everything.