Chapter 2: Punishment Game Companionship?

That morning, I was even more sleep-deprived than usual.

I’ve always been rather sleep-deprived, but today I was even more so, and the reason was completely different from usual.

Today was going to be the very first time in my life that I was going to meet up with a girl. I guess it’s no wonder I couldn’t sleep well.

Even if ‘she’ was the result of the punishment game, as far as I’m concerned, it was still the first time in my life that I was meeting up with a girl. That’s why I can’t help but be so excited.

I remember Baron-san telling me to arrive at the meeting place…by seven o’clock, but I went earlier than that.

Unable to sleep, I woke up and took the first train of the day, and it was now 6:30 a.m. It was so early in the day that I couldn’t help but yawn when I looked at the time.

I told my mum that I had some business to attend to at school. But I omitted the part where I was meeting up with a girl since it was too embarrassing for me to tell her.

At this rate, I’ll probably arrive at the meeting place an hour earlier than planned. Well, it was a lot better than being late, so I guess I’ll just kill some time playing social games.

As I was thinking about that…I was faced with a rather unexpected situation.

Even though there should be an hour left before the coordinated meeting time, she…no, Nanami-san had already arrived at the meeting place.

Standing there all by herself, she looked like a flower in full bloom…it was still the morning, so not many people were around, but every man on the street must’ve at least turned their heads to glance at her once.

Eh? Don’t tell me…d-did I get the meeting time wrong? I-It can’t be… I thought I wasn’t getting enough sleep, but…it turns out I’m late!?

No, the time on my phone shows 6:30 a.m., and the time she asked to meet was 7:30 a.m….yeah, I’m definitely not mistaken. Time and space don’t seem to be warped. The time on my phone was accurate.

Eh, wait? Then…what’s up with her arriving so early?

In spite of my confusion, I had no intention of keeping her waiting. Baron-san also said that being late would be seen as disrespectful to the other party.

In any case, by no means was I late, but now that I’ve…found her, I can’t keep her waiting any longer. Otherwise, I’d start to feel guilty.

With that thought in mind, I anxiously ran up to her.

The moment I ran up to her, she cowered, frightened by the presence that was quickly approaching her, but the moment she realized it was me, she looked relieved and let out a wry smile.

“I’m sorry…N-Nanami-san. D-Did I perhaps keep you waiting? I heard that our meeting time was at 7:30 a.m. …Did I maybe make a mistake?”

Because I’m not used to calling such a pretty girl by her name, it may sound a little awkward, but I was able to say it.

She lightly shook her head and smiled.

“Not at all. You didn’t make any mistakes. I just arrived a little early…Good morning, Youshin-kun.”

“Ah, then…good morning, Nanami-san.”

Apparently, I didn’t get the time wrong.

But when she says she arrived ‘early’…don’t you mean too early perhaps?

She smiled and gave me her morning greetings, and so I returned them.

……Never in my life did I think I would have the opportunity to greet a girl in the morning like this.

As usual, she donned her usual school attire along with her short skirt. The only difference was that she was carrying a slightly larger bag over her shoulder than yesterday. If I’m not mistaken, she was carrying a much more compact bag on her way home yesterday; I wonder if she switches them out depending on her mood?

……I was only confessed to by this girl yesterday, wasn’t I? Even though this was just a punishment game, when I looked at her again the next day, it felt unbelievable. This isn’t a dream, is it?

“But you know, I got here early, and so did Youshin-kun… I only woke up early because I had some things to do…”

Brought back to reality by her words after having fallen into a dreamlike state, I panicked. What should I do, tell her the truth? It’s not like there’s any particular point in trying to lie to her…

“Sorry…I’ve never met up with a girl before in my life, so I got nervous and woke up early…But I’m glad I didn’t keep you waiting, Nanami-san.”

“Hmm…I see. You don’t have to worry about it. But yeah, if it made you see me earlier today, then that’s good.”

Despite her cold, blunt words, there was a smile on her face.

Given how harsh her tone was, I was confused by the smile on her face that said she was happy to see me so soon.

But in all honesty, she probably isn’t too happy to see me…

If anything, why would she want to associate with me, the guy who she’s dating in a punishment game?

I really can’t understand the female mind…I thought to myself as I stared at her.

As she smiled happily, her round eyes conveyed a sense of gentleness and sweetness. With each blink of her big brown eyes, it created the illusion of stars sparkling around her.

She had a single mole around her eye, and I’m sure it’s not just my imagination that it makes her look somewhat sexy.

She truly is a beautiful girl.

Her long hair may look black at first glance, but whether it’s dyed or natural, it blended in perfectly with the surrounding light, matching well with her light blue eyes.

Only after observing her for a while, I noticed that her hairstyle was different from yesterday. Today, her long hair was braided.

That’s right, yesterday her hair was all fluffy and straight, but today, her hair was braided. It had a somewhat familiar feel, but it suited her very well, not to mention that it made her look pretty cute.

Oh yeah, now that I think about it, I remember Baron-san saying something along the lines of this:

“Listen, Canyon-Kun, whenever you see a slight change in your girlfriend, be sure to praise her. If your girlfriend is a popular woman, she must be putting in a lot of effort daily. So, instead of just saying, ‘you look cute’, go with something more specific, like, ‘your hairstyle looks good on you.’ “

“Did you get that from the internet too?”

“Why, of course. I would be offended if you didn’t notice, and in the working world, if you’re not careful, this would count as sexual harassment. Just laying it bare right now, you shouldn’t usually do this. But, since this is your girlfriend that we’re dealing with, then it should be fine.”

Yes, praise is important, no matter where it comes from.

Compliments…compliements… Unable to think of any other compliments from the back of my head, I decided to compliment her on…her hair.

Whether or not this will earn me a favourable impression is a gamble…No, this has nothing to do with gambling. I just want to praise her. After all, I believe there isn’t anyone who dislikes being praised.

More than anything, I thought she looked really cute, and that’s what I really think. So I’ll convey it to her as it is.

“N-Nanami-san, you braided your hair today, didn’t you? Well…I think that hairstyle looks really good on you…it suits you.”

Ah…I couldn’t do it.

The word ‘cute’ was too high a hurdle for me to overcome. I couldn’t say it out loud. The most I could say was that it looks good on her. Damn it. I’m such a loser.

But it can’t be helped, can it? Yeah, I wonder what kind of mental structure one must have to be able to say the word ‘cute’ so easily. I want someone to tell me. I’ll ask Baron-san about that later today.

“It…looks good on me? So, i-it looks good…it looks good on me… I’m glad. After all, I tried this hairstyle out for Youshin-kun.”

“Yeah, it looks good on you…eh? For me ……?”

“Yes. You see, Youshin-kun’s icon is a picture of a girl with this hairstyle. That’s why I thought you might like this kind of hairstyle.”

Upon hearing Nanami’s casual remark, I felt a shiver run down my spine as something cold caressed my back.

Oh god! Even though I only just exchanged contacts with her, I kept my icon as a girl! And that character was a girl from one of my favourite social games! The fact that she hasn’t realized that my character wears rather erotic clothing must be a blessing, yes?

In the first place, I didn’t mind exchanging contacts with others because there was hardly anyone for me to exchange contacts with…but in the situation that I’m in, I should probably change it to something else, just to be safe…

“Hey, don’t look so desperate all of a sudden. There’s nothing wrong with having an anime character as your icon. It’s not that unusual nowadays. I also watch anime movies and stuff. If you like it, then why not?”

Right in front of me, there was an angel. A gal-like angel.

I guess she understood me when she came to me with the hairstyle of my favourite character in the first place. She didn’t care about any of that at all. I could say that I jumped to conclusions way too quickly in my desperation.

….What a lovely girl this is.

“You like my hair, don’t you? How do you like it, pretty?”

She pinched the braided portion of her hair slightly and asked me again, tilting her head slightly.

Do I still hesitate to say even a word to her after all she’s done for me? No, I can’t do that. Even though I’m a loner, I’m still proud to be one. I have to return the favour with a proper ‘thank you.’

Doing something like this takes courage. But what if I lack the courage here? It’s okay. I just have to pretend I’m in a social chat room, not in real life.

If I’m in a chat room, I can write about how ‘kawaii’ the new characters are without any hesitation. So, just think of it as an extension of just that, then you can do it, so….say it goddamn it!!!

“….E-Er…..yeah, you look really cute, Nanami-san. It suits you. You look really pretty.”

See! I told you! You could say the words you were so hesitant to say earlier!!!

Inwardly, I made a triumphant gesture.

But alas, this tires me out way too much. Just by doing this, I feel like I’ve used up all my stamina for the day. I should probably use some recovery items to bring back my stamina as soon as possible…wait, no, no, no, this isn’t a social game; come back to reality, me!

When I came to, her face was a deep hue of red, and she flashed a smile resembling that of a flower, like the one she’d shown me yesterday.

She was squirming around quite a bit, looking visibly pleased.

Ah…I don’t need any recovery items. Just by looking at her is enough to make me feel like I have all my stamina back.

After such an exchange, the time was now seven o’clock. We were about 30 minutes earlier than we had originally planned, but we didn’t intend to waste any more time standing around talking to each other, so we started walking school together.

Just as I was about to walk out alongside her…Nanami-san

unexpectedly held out her hand towards me.

“Huh….!”

“Hmm?”

I couldn’t understand the meaning of her actions as she held out her hand to me without saying anything. Oh wait, is that it? Is she asking me to pay her?

That’s right, after everything she’s done for me, it’s only natural that I pay her. It would have made for such a heartwarming story if I didn’t have to pay her. One ten round worth of gacha-money down the drain just like that…

And, no, don’t confuse me with any of those p2w players. I’m basically F2p when it comes to social games.

After rummaging through my pockets to yank my wallet out, I looked up to find Nanami-san’s face in front of me. That was the moment our gazes intersected. Following that, there was a brief moment of silence between us. Then, she blushed a little before opening her mouth.

“S-since we’re dating, do you wanna hold my hand and go to school together…? Or…do you hate…holding hands with me?

“No, I don’t hate it.”

I gave her an immediate answer. I wonder if there was such a person who wouldn’t answer immediately.

The moment she heard my words, she looked at me with upturned eyes and tilted her head, and that’s when I rushed to grab her hands.

[………..]

…Isn’t what I’m doing just a handshake? Like the one I did yesterday? Oh no, I think I was in too much of a rush to hold her hands. Okay, let’s calm down. But I guess she found my behaviour rather funny because she blew out a puff and then started laughing.

“Hehehehe, isn’t this just the same as yesterdays handshake? I can’t go to school like this while I’m shaking hands with you, Youshin-kun.”

“Y-yeah, I guess so…so…let’s see…like this? I’ve never really held hands with a girl before, so I don’t really know.”

This time, I squeezed her hand again with my left hand. As I thought, her hand was very soft and small. Maybe it’s because she’s been waiting for me since this morning, or perhaps it’s just a little bit colder than yesterday.

“It’s kind of embarrassing, doing this kind of thing…”

Her cheeks were dyed red as she flashed me a shy smile. Surely this smile of hers wasn’t caused by the cold this morning.

It was at this point that I finally realized that I was holding hands with a girl, and my cheeks immediately flushed red. At the same time, I realized another important fact.

….What should I do, Baron-san? My goal has suddenly been accomplished.

I could only report this to Baron-san, who gave me my goal alongside the advice yesterday, in my mind. At the current moment, I still don’t know what my next goal is.

Walking, getting on and off the train, and going to school. It was all in a day’s work that needed to be done to get to school, but because I was holding hands with Nanami-san, everything around me looked different.

But I hadn’t thought much about it.

What it meant to hold hands with her on the way to school.

No, I knew what it meant; it was just that I was too excited…. and overwhelmed with emotion that I forgot what it meant.

In the past, Nanami-san had rejected all kinds of handsome men. She was a very charming and desirable girl who had been confessed to many times by the students in our school.

The sight of such a woman, holding hands with an inconspicuous, asocial nerd like me, was certainly met with many stares from the public, including that of amazement, jealousy, and hatred.

It didn’t take me long to realize this, but I didn’t want to let her hand go just yet, so I kept them connected.

Fortunately, it was still early in the morning, so only a few students were on their way to school. Nevertheless, some of them were keen on observing me.

As expected, no one dared approach, but those who knew Nanami-san were whispering about themselves.

To be honest, I don’t feel very good about all this, but…it can’t be helped. I glanced next to me to see how Nanami-san was doing, and she seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit.

“…Rumours might start to circulate, right?”

As expected…Nanami-san seemed to be enjoying herself in this kind of situation, and then…as if to make fun of me, she let out a smile that showed her bare and beautiful teeth. Her pure white teeth gleamed as if they were from a scene in a movie.

By the way, she was talking a lot on the way here, which was a huge change from yesterday.

What do you like to eat? What do you do on your days off? Are there any other girls you’ve been with before? We walked down the road, talking about such things all the time. My mind was gradually getting overwhelmed by the incessant chatter.

Yesterday, Baron-san gave me some advice『don’t talk too much too much about yourself, just listen to her. Your a pretty good listener after all』, but alas, all that soon became meaningless.

Due to certain circumstances, I decided to talk about myself instead of following his advice.

She had a really good way of communicating.

She was great at expanding the conversation…When she asked me about my hobby, and I answered that I like to play games, she realized that my icon was a character from a game, and after asking me if I was playing that game during the break/weekend, she told me that she never played a game before.

I don’t really know the right way to describe it, but the way she connected the questions during our conversation was simply amazing. Is this what it truly means to be a ‘good listener’? If so, then…I’m truly miles apart from her.

As a result of this, the whole time was spent talking about myself. I’m sorry if Nanami-san thinks I’m boring…but she seemed to be enjoying herself, so I’d like to think that I was mistaken.

Nanami-san looked like she was having fun on the way here, and she’s still having fun now, but when I recalled that particular incident, I instantly felt terrible. Unintentionally, I let out a backward response to the word ‘rumour’.

“I’m sorry…Nanami-san. I really am.”

I know I was being a little sneaky, but I couldn’t help myself. However, as soon as I said that, she puffed out her cheeks.

“Eh? That’s not the reaction I wanted, you know? We’re dating, are we not?”

I was tempted to poke her puffy cheeks.

In a situation like this, just what kind of reaction is appropriate? This wasn’t easy to do since I didn’t have a grasp of Nanami-san’s tastes and preferences…

As I was fretting over what the correct answer was, Nanami-san continued.

“And please stop referring to yourself in such a negative manner from now on. Youshin-kun is my boyfriend…he saved my life yesterday. He was so, so cool. That’s why…let’s get to know each other as equals, okay?”

…H-hey, isn’t this supposed to be a punishment game relationship?

…Ah, so that’s what it is—a relationship of equals. That was her ideal form of a relationship. That’s what she was simulating with me. Okay, I get it. I understand everything. Yeah, I didn’t make a mistake. It was a close call, though.

“Yeah, I understand…Nanami-san. I’m sorry.”

She smiled back at me in response to my answer; however…that smile of hers looked a little cloudy. The smile on her face was that of pity; it was a complete 180-degree change from the usual flowery smile that she’d shown me before.

“…I’m sorry too.”

What is the meaning behind that apology?

Was this an apology for the rumours…or was this an apology for the fact that this was a punishment game?’

If I told her that I knew this was a punishment game, how would she react? How would her face look like?

I wanted to see…I wanted to see the look on her face when I told her, but…I held back my temptation.

Instead, I poked her cheeks with my index finger. This wasn’t a matter of pride.



Her eyes widened in response to my sudden behaviour. I was just trying to play a little prank on her, but the way she reacted so unexpectedly also made my eyes widen in response.

“E-eh….h-huh…w-wa….w-what are you doing!?”

“I’m sorry…but didn’t Nanami-san say that she wanted to have an equal relationship with me? If so, why did you suddenly apologize to me… Did you perhaps, not like it? Sorry.”

“N-no…i-it’s not like I don’t like it…I-I was just surprised…y-yeah…t-that’s what it was…I-I was just surprised…”

Her face was a shade of red, and her eyes were constantly swimming as she kept repeating the words ‘surprised’. It seems that I may have startled her quite a bit..hehe, sorry about that, Nanami-san.

As it was, she remained silent for a short while, and before we knew it, we had already arrived at the school. It all happened so fast. We let go of our hands and swapped our outdoor shoes to our indoor ones.

Classes were still the same as usual, so I thought this would be the end of our hand-holding session…but she still held out her hand to me even after she had changed her shoes.

…But, holding hands only for a small amount of time. Are you sure?

“Nanami-san…isn’t this a little embarrassing?”

“Come on, it’s morning, and there aren’t many people around. ……Just a little more.”

With those words, I gave up and took her hand.