Transmigrated into a World of Reversed Roles
Chapter 25

Touching the phone screen, my fingers typed out a reply to Yuri's message.

[Really? When?]

[Next Monday (⁠｡⁠ﾉ⁠ω⁠＼⁠｡⁠)]

So, that’s still a while away. But maybe that’s a good thing? It gives us more time to find members. There’s a chance Ms. Mizu will change her mind if we don’t have enough people. The problem is... who should I ask? My old gamer friends in this world don’t really like games anymore.

I looked at Kaito, who was still playing on his phone in front of me.

“Hey Kaito… You’re not in any clubs, right?”

“Hm? Nah. Why?”

“No reason.”

With that, we just need one more person to make the Game Club official.

---

Lunch break, midday.

Walking through the school hallway filled with students, I stopped in front of a classroom. I opened the door and scanned every person inside, but the one I was looking for wasn’t there.

Turning to a student sitting near the door, I asked,

“Do you know where Yona is?”

“Yona? She just stepped out a moment ago.”

“…Do you know where she might’ve gone?”

“No clue. She left the classroom alone. Usually, if she’s with her friends, she heads to the cafeteria. Try checking there.”

“Thanks.”

I started walking again. Opening the cafeteria door, I walked past each table, but still couldn’t find her.

I stopped one of the students who had just finished eating.

“Excuse me, do you know where Yona is?”

“Yona…? Ah, the ace from the Track Club? Hmm, she comes here a lot, but I don’t think I saw her today. Probably with her clubmates. They’ve got a tournament coming up soon, right?”

“…Okay, thanks.”

Leaving the cafeteria, I went down the stairs to the first floor. Through the window, I could see the track field outside was empty. So, I headed to the small building next to it. If I remember right, that’s the Track Club room.

As I expected, no one was inside, even after I knocked a few times.

“Seriously, what am I even doing?”

Running around looking for my neighbor—whose house is literally next to mine. If only she replied to my message. Or maybe her phone’s broken or something?

“… What am I gonna do with this lunch I brought for her?”

I looked at the blue cloth-wrapped lunchbox in my hand and sighed. It was heavier than usual. Obviously, this was because of my dad. He wanted to thank Yona for taking care of me while I was in the hospital yesterday, so he cooked two portions and told me to eat lunch with her.

“Am I really going to eat all this by myself…? I could save it for later, but Dad will probably cook something again tonight.”

I really don’t want to waste food. I’ve been scolded enough by my dad back then for not finishing my meals. As a kid, I wasn’t ready to hear lectures about how some people in the world don’t even have enough to eat while we live in comfort.

Then, as I walked back into the school building and headed for the stairs, I saw a girl with long black hair and bangs covering her eyes standing in front of me.

Looks like my lunch problem is about to be solved.

“Ren…?”

“Yuri, you haven’t eaten lunch yet, right? Want to eat with me? My dad made too much today.”

“H-Huh?”

Not giving her time to react, I grabbed her hand and led her to the bench outside to have lunch. At first, she seemed confused about what was happening, but once I gave her a portion, Yuri started eating—with a blank look on her face like a computer that had frozen.

A few minutes later, after swallowing her last bite, Yuri seemed to reconnect to the internet. Her eyes trembled as she looked at me.

“W-Was it really okay for me to eat this!? Why were there two sets of utensils and containers… it looked like it was meant for someone else? Ren, didn’t you say your dad just made too much today…?”

“It’s fine, right? You finished it all anyway.”

“S-Sorry, I was really hungry… a-and it was delicious! So…”

Unfortunately, I didn’t help make it at all today. I had just gotten back from the hospital. All the credit goes to my dad this time.

“…By the way, what about Ms. Mizu?”

“Um, like I said in my message this morning… M-Ms. Mizu will be back next Monday. Hopefully we can find another member by then so the Game Club can be approved…”

Kaito came to mind. He’s not in any club right now. If I push him a little, maybe he’d join, but we’d still need one more. I had considered Yona, since she once said she liked games too—but she’s already in the Track Club, so it’s unlikely she could join us. Not to mention, I haven’t even seen her all day.

Looking up, I noticed the clouds turning gray as the sunlight dimmed. Looks like it’s going to rain later…

“As for finding members, I think we’ll manage one way or another, but… Yuri, once the Game Club becomes official, what do you actually want to do?”

As for me, I’d just play my PSP during every break. While saving up money from my part-time job, I’d eventually buy a console and set it up in the clubroom. J-Just imagining playing PS5 at school made me shiver. Though, I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford it that quickly…

“…Maybe continue working on the game I’m making?”

Eh? Did she just say she’s making a game?

My hands trembled as I held the lunchbox. If there were still food inside, it probably would’ve gone flying from the shock.

“Yuri… You never told me you were making a game.”

“D-Didn’t I? But… shouldn’t Ren have known already?”

“I didn’t know anything. When you invited me to join the Game Club, I thought it was a club where we play games, not make them.”

“…A club like that wouldn’t get approved at our school. Um, you need enough members, a faculty advisor… and a clear purpose and activities. I-I thought just playing games would be considered lazy…”

Yuri, are you trying to insult me? Sorry if I just wanted to be lazy. But seriously, I had no idea! No wonder I had such a hard time finding a club advisor. When they asked what the purpose of the club was, I just gave an honest answer!

Though … I didn’t expect Yuri to be not just a gamer, but someone who wanted to be a developer too. I fidgeted with my fingers. I couldn’t bring myself to look her in the eyes. My heart was pounding in my chest.

I opened my mouth:

“Y-Yuri… can I help you with the game you’re making?”

“Of course?”