Transmigrated into a World of Reversed Roles
Chap 20

"I only helped her wash the dishes."

It was a bit surprising that Alice suddenly thanked me like this. But it's not like I did anything special. If the manager hadn't told me to help, I probably would've stayed away from Hina.

"That alone is enough. I'm more surprised you were able to help her at all. When she got back from work that day, I thought she was depressed because she got fired. But then she came home grinning like an idiot and went on and on about you."

"Why couldn't she do something simple like washing dishes in the first place?"

"Maybe her brain's broken? I don't even know. I've been teaching her badminton for ages, and the only thing she ever got down is the serve. That’s why I was so shocked someone could actually teach her anything. Even the teachers at school have basically given up on her."

Hearing this, I became even more curious how she’s still able to attend school and move up grades.

Still, I didn’t really care, even if she was trying to thank me now. Because whenever I'm near this delinquent blonde, I always feel like my virginity is at risk of being forcibly taken.

On top of that, I was still curious about something.

"Why did you and Hina try to follow me after we first met at the restaurant?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Alice tilted her head, looking confused. That made me a little confused too.

"Are you pretending to be dumb? I clearly saw you with Hina waiting outside the restaurant right after I got off work."

"Wait, wait. I don’t get this. What time did you get off work again?"

"... Eight o'clock."

For some reason, I got a bad feeling right after I answered—Alice paused for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.

"I swear, this is hilarious!"

"W—Why?"

"You said I was stalking you, but… did you even feel like you were being followed after work?"

W—Well, she didn't really follow me after I left the restaurant. They just glanced in my direction once.

"B—But isn’t that because I went home with a coworker? You changed your mind about following me, didn’t you?"

"Look. I only saw you once when I was heading home. I had no idea you were walking with someone afterward."

"Then why did you say weird stuff when I was serving you at the restaurant!? You made it sound like you were going to do something to me afterward!"

"Hm? I remember saying that just to mess with you. Don’t tell me you actually took it seriously?"

Of course I took it seriously! I got excited thinking you two were going to rap—never mind.

Alice continued.

"Anyway, I had no plans involving you that night. I just went back to the restaurant to help Hina apply for a job."

"So it was all just a misunderstanding?"

"Looks like it."

Hot. I felt hot. The evening breeze was blowing, yet my face was burning—as if all the blood in my body had rushed to it.

Why… do I always get the wrong idea about such weird things?

Hina, now completely soaked (I don’t know why), came over with a bright, eager expression.

"Hey, hey! What’s going on here? I heard Alice Sis laughing so loud! Was something funny? I wanna join in too!"

"Hehe. So, Hina. Actually, Ren—"

"Nothing's going on here!"

I quickly covered Alice’s mouth before she could spill anything.

Remember your own words back then, Ren!

Dark memories are meant only for those who experienced and witnessed them!

---

And with that, Friday passed just like that.

The next day, Saturday, nothing much happened. Still, since it was my day off—when I got home, Alice and Hina stopped me again to play badminton together.

…Then, on Sunday morning, I woke up.

"I'm going on a date with Yona today."

I knew my original invitation wasn’t meant to be a date. I just wanted to help her relax from her club activities. But she’s the one who called it a date, right?

Then, without thinking, I walked to the window—looking at Yona’s house, which was right next to mine. No sign of her, obviously.

"It’s only six in the morning."

Even though I stayed up all night playing games, the anticipation for today still made me wake up early. Since we agreed to meet at nine, I still had a lot of time.

Forcing my eyes to stay open, I casually walked to the bathroom. There was no need to rush, but I wanted to avoid being late just in case.

After all, this was my first date ever.

About two hours later.

I looked into the mirror, checking my appearance.

"This should be good enough?"

The outfit I wore consisted of an open brown shirt with a white T-shirt underneath and black jeans.

I may not be experienced, but when it comes to choosing clothes, I shouldn’t be that bad, right? Especially since my wardrobe now had a lot more clothes—unlike my old one in the previous world, which mostly had game merchandise T-shirts.

Looking at the clock, I saw it was still only 8:30.

"Waiting for her for thirty minutes should be fine, right?"

After all, Yona and I hadn’t decided to meet in front of our houses—even though we’re neighbors. I mean, it’d be pretty embarrassing if our parents saw us going on a date together. Besides, I read online that showing up early on a date could earn some good points.

Going downstairs, I was greeted by my mom, who was reading the newspaper after breakfast. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Hm? All dressed up on a Sunday? Hee~ I smell something. Dear—our son’s going on a date!"

"Ugh, Mom? Why are you calling Dad over!?"

Not wanting Dad to find out and cause more chaos, I hurried to the door, put on my shoes—and bolted outside.

I sighed.

"This is exactly why I didn’t tell them about today. They’re way too noisy…"

Out of reflex, I glanced next door at Yona’s house. Still no sign of her.

"Better head out before she does."

The place we agreed to meet was the train station. It wasn’t far from my house, and since I walked fast, I got there quickly.

At first, I thought about sitting at the fountain and playing my PSP while waiting for her—but Yona was already there.

"Even though I came 30 minutes early..."

Sitting at the fountain, Yona was on her phone. But when she heard me mutter, the black-haired girl with a ponytail blinked, looking surprised.

"Ren?"

Looking at the clothes Yona was wearing, my heart skipped a beat. I had a feeling she’d wear something a bit tomboyish, but... she looked way too cool.

No, I don’t even know if “cool” is the right word for her. But honestly, that was my first impression when I saw her outfit.

Black shirt, white T-shirt, black pants, and a cap on her head. More or less, her outfit was the same as mine. And yet—why does it look so good on her!?