Transmigrated into a World of Reversed Roles
Cjapt 47

"R-Ren!?"

Is this a punishment directly from the heavens?

A punishment for planning to tease Yuri with those indecent words I almost said earlier?

Just walking around in the rain had already made me cold. And now I got splashed?

My back is wet, and I can feel every drop of dirty water, possibly mixed with who knows what kind of bacteria, running down the skin of my back.

"Are you okay!?"

What a stupid question to ask, Yuri. Isn't the answer obvious?

"L-Let's take shelter at the convenience store over there."

---

I’ve hung my uniform on a chair. Dirty brown water drips from the fabric that used to be pure white.

Luckily I had a shirt underneath, because otherwise, I might've been forced to wear it while it’s still soaking wet.

"The problem is my pants..."

Miss Mizu lent me this from the infirmary and said I didn’t have to bother washing it. But with how dirty it is now... I don’t really have a choice.

Especially since this is the wettest part and I can’t take it off.

My butt itchy...

Sitting down just made it worse. So all I could do was stand there, waiting for Yuri to return from the convenience store.

The shy girl approached me, holding a new towel and a can of warm coffee in both hands.

"Here’s what you asked for, R-Ren."

"Thanks. The money I gave you was the exact amount, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Then I’ll go wash my hair first."

I took the towel from Yuri’s hand, unwrapped it, and walked toward the faucet near the store.

Because that splash hit my hair too, I lowered my head under the faucet and let the water run over it.

A bit cold, but at least it felt refreshing.

It didn’t even take thirty seconds for my hair to be completely rinsed. The texture of the dry towel I used to wipe my head gave me the sensation of just having taken a shower.

Well, I guess you could call it that, since most of my body had been drenched.

I grabbed the warm coffee, opened the lid, and sipped it slowly.

The world may have changed a lot, but thank you... for keeping this product the same.

Glancing at Yuri, I noticed her gaze had been on me for a while. So, I offered her the coffee in my hand.

"Do you want some?"

"N-No..."

Yuri raised both hands in refusal. Then, lowering her head, a mumble came from her lips.

"Um... sorry. If I hadn’t asked you to come out, you wouldn’t have gotten soaked like this..."

"Don't worry. This isn’t your fault."

If anything, it’s my own fault for being overly dramatic earlier.

Although... I do feel a bit suspicious of the driver. It was weird how they passed right behind me at that exact moment.

Yuri shook her head. Since she’d also been hit by the rain, the droplets in her hair flung off and hit my eye.

It stings, Yuri.

But yeah, this might be a problem. Should I call my manager to explain?

It’s kind of disappointing, though. I really wanted to see how Hina would do on her first day as a waitress.

Will she be okay?

"My manager’s an understanding person. I’m sure he’ll get it if I explain. Besides, there’s no way I could leave behind a cute junior of mine."

"C-Cute? Me?"

"Who else?"

Before Yuri could say anything else, I placed the towel on her head and started drying her hair.

Then, without thinking, my hand moved to brush aside her bangs.

Her face became fully visible. Her eyes wide open, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

...Maybe I went too far.

"Sorry. I’ll stop—"

"I don’t mind."

Yuri spoke quickly. Her gaze turned to the side as she played with the edge of her uniform.

"...P-Please keep going."

"Alright."

If I had to choose between a cat or a dog, my answer would be Yuri.

Because really, what creature could be cuter than her?

The sound of rain hitting the ground grew louder. The wind blew, and the convenience store had become empty of customers.

It was just the two of us now, filling this quiet scene.

I pulled back the towel once all the water had been absorbed from her hair.

"All done."

"Thank you..."

"It’s nothing. But is it okay if we go home a little later? My back’s still wet."

Yuri nodded, letting silence fall between us again, only broken by the worsening itch on my butt.

It was bad enough that I felt tempted to take off my pants and go naked. But since I was still sane, I held back.

So all I could do was wipe the back of my body, trying to get rid of the stickiness and discomfort.

At first, the lower part was easy to reach and the towel cleaned it off just fine. But once I moved higher, no matter how I twisted my arms, I just couldn’t reach.

...Maybe I should just give up.

Most of it’s already clean anyway, and forcing my arm any more hurts.

Just as I was about to stop moving, I heard Yuri’s voice.

"I-I’ll help!"

Seems like she’s been watching me this whole time.

"Are you sure?"

"Um. As thanks... for earlier."

I smiled.

"In that case, I’ll gladly accept your offer."

I handed the towel to Yuri, turned around to face away from her, and lifted my shirt.

But then I heard Yuri gasp.

"Eh?"

"What’s wrong?"

A guy’s chest is considered indecent in this world. But I didn’t lift my shirt high enough to show that part.

I only exposed my back to her. This should be fine... right?

"N-Nothing! I-I’ll start now."

Maybe I’m overthinking this. Because right after Yuri said that, she placed the towel on my back and began wiping.

So rough, yet somehow gentle. Her small palms, oddly strong, could be felt clearly through the fabric of the towel.

Unlike me, who couldn’t see my own back, Yuri accurately cleaned the parts that were dirty.

"You know, Yuri..."

"W-What is it?"

Yuri’s movements paused for a moment, but she resumed right away.

"When I was little, I really wanted a younger sibling."

"..."

"I’m an only child. At home, it was always quiet. I played games alone, watched TV alone, and sometimes even played outside alone. I thought, if I had a younger sibling, maybe my days would be more fun."

I stared at the coffee can on the table for no reason, letting my childhood memories flow.

"I once asked my parents about it. But they just laughed and didn’t say anything. I didn’t get it back then... but looking back now, maybe they were already overwhelmed raising one naughty kid like me."

"R-Ren’s not naughty!"

Yuri interrupted, making me chuckle softly.

"Thanks. Though, if you’d seen how I acted as a kid, you might think twice before defending me."

I exhaled from my nose, cold air turning into visible mist.

"More precisely, I wanted a little sister. Someone I could protect if she got bullied. Someone I could play games with, if she wanted to. Or someone who could scold me when I did something wrong."

The towel in Yuri’s hands slowed, until it finally stopped, as if she was now more focused on listening.

"But over time, I forgot about that wish. Life offered so many things, and I got too caught up to enjoy it all. Until... I met you."

I turned my head slightly to catch a glimpse of Yuri’s face. She blinked, saying nothing.

"You reminded me of my wish to have a younger sister, because of how much you resemble the image I had in my head."

"... I—"

"So thanks again, Yuri. For being my friend. With you, I feel like... I’ve finally met the person I once dreamed of."

The wind blew again, and with my back exposed, I nearly shivered.

Quickly, I lowered my shirt and sipped the can of coffee that had almost gone cold.

"Sorry for bringing up something weird all of a sudden. Let’s go home. You’re probably getting cold too... Yuri?"

Turning to Yuri, I found her still silent. When she finally raised her head, her face was bright red like a tomato.

Her lips slowly parted, and she muttered a word.

"...Ren, naughty."

"W-Why!?"