OreShura: Volume 4 Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Test for Love Points is Mayhem

Onigiri, sausages, fried eggs.

These dishes disappeared from the edge of the table into Saeko-san's stomach, and as usual she didn't properly chew.

As I continued to cook another leek miso soup, I spoke:

"If you were that hungry, couldn't you have eaten some fast food to sustain yourself?"

"But I rarely see Eita at home, and I want to eat your hand-made dishes~"

Seeing Saeko-san's smile with grains of rice stuck to her cheek, I felt quite happy. Cooking really was a worthwhile business.

I invited Masuzu and the rest of them to sit on the sofa in the living room, but because it seated only three, Chiwa kneeled on a cushion on the carpet.

Apart from Chiwa, the remaining three girls were all stunned by Saeko-san's eating manners. Well, it would scare the average person, as even her energy at devouring rice surpassed Chiwa's.

Saeko-san drank the miso soup like water, and gave a huge sigh, ｢Aaaah~｣.

"Well, that's all…… Good night!"

"Good night."

Saeko-san laid her head down on the table, and began to snore loudly. Her insane ability fall asleep anywhere was still the same.

Masuzu's eyes were round and wide as she asked:

"Has she fallen asleep yet?"

"Yeah, she's always like this after eating."

I look an unbuttoned cardigan sweater from the living room wall, and draped it over Saeko-san's shoulder.

"She says that sleeping on the table is the best, especially for short-term elimination of sleepiness."

This was an occupational disease—Saeko-san would always smile as she said so.

Hime tilted her head:

"Should we move somewhere else?"

"Don't worry about it. She'll wake up in about thirty minutes anyways."

"But I want to see Eita's room."

"No."

I flatly refused.

Because you'll definitely rummage through someone else's house! You'd try to find porn magazines!

Ever since earlier, Fuyuumi had also been looking around the living room with her hands on her knees, sometimes clenching into a fist and sometimes relaxing. She was restless.

Then it dawned on me.

"Let me say it first, this room doesn't have any official seals."

"A-are you looking for trouble? Why would I want that kind of thing?"

Of course you'd want to take it to stamp, right? You'll take it to stamp your marriage registration form, isn't that right?

When the dialogue was about to digress, Masuzu cleared her throat.

"It's about time we continued our meeting. After all, we came here for this."

"Hey, wait a minute."

Chiwa began.

"What? Aren't you already tired of seeing my room?"

"Not that! Before we start, I want to clarify one thing."

Chiwa turned her gaze directly at Masuzu:

"Earlier, what did Saeko-san mean when she mentioned, ｢fake｣"

Alarm!

……W-We've been found out, isn't that right?

"I'm also very concerned. What's going on with the president being ｢fake｣?"

"Does it mean counterfeit or something like a fraudulent product?"

Even Hime and Fuyuumi raised their doubts.

Masuzu gave a big sigh:

"I also wanted to ask her about this. It's clearly our first time meeting, but she said something so troublesome like that. I am very disturbed."

Chiwa glared at me and spoke:

"But Ei-kun also seems rather nervous?"

"W-What are you talking about?"

I originally wanted to play dumb, but my pitch went unnaturally high.

But......

Recently Chiwa really has been quite sharp, at least, with issues regarding Masuzu and me.

But Chiwa seemed unable to find any more evidence, so she dropped the subject for the time being.

"So, we have to discuss how to manage the budget for the summer training trip."

"Right, is there any way we can quickly make money?"

Hime raised her hand in response to Masuzu's question, and said:

"Can we labor towers?"

"……You don't mean working, right?"

"Correct."

When Hime said ｢working｣, it sounded like the name of some spell or weapon. It really was unfathomable.

"We won't have time. In order to work, we need to get the school's permission."

Fuyuumi said, very straitlaced.

"Hey—no one actually follows that rule, right?"

"Absolutely not! Since I'm now a club member, I won't let you break the school rules."

Phuu—Chiwa stretched out her face.

"Besides, we won't make it for next week. There aren't many opportunities for high school girls looking for part time jobs."

Chiwa shook her head and said, "That's not the case at all."

"A few days ago I saw an advertisement. It said that all you have to do is eat snacks and listen to an old man whine, and the salary is thirty thousand yen. I don't know what kind of snacks though."

"……Chiwa, please absolutely do not go there, okay?"

I firmly and unyieldingly urged her. This girl really made people worry.

"Since that's the case."

Masuzu's eyes shifted towards me.

"I guess I can only ask Eita-kun to lend us a hand."

"Eh? What do you want me to do?"

"It is said that people have two kidneys, and losing one is no big deal."

"You want me to sell my kidneys?!"

This clearly was not me lending a hand. Rather, it's me lending a kidney!

Why do I have to take this kind of risk for the sake of summer training camp......

"Enough! Can you guys only come up with these kinds of dangerous ideas? There's plenty more simple solutions!"

"Oh, like what?"

"Just have the training camp someplace nearby."

"Nearby?"

"How about the family restaurant in front of the station?"

The four of them booed when they heard this. What? Were you guys that dissatisfied with the family restaurant? It's a facility with fine air-conditioning, an unlimited supply of drinks for one hundred eighty yen, and it's also within a day's trip.

"The family restaurant is not worth talking about. When we're talking about a summer training camp, then of course we'll need to go to the beach."

Masuzu asserted, and just when the discussion was about to hit the rocks—

"—Well, I'll take all of you there then."

Saeko-san suddenly stood up.

Her eyes that were earlier shut narrow like strings were now wide open, and they looked godly. It seemed after taking a good nap, she switched to awake mode.

Masuzu, Hime, and Fuyuumi stared blankly, unable to help but be stunned.

Saeko-san lazily brushed her hair up:

"What's wrong? Didn't you all want to go to the beach? My company has a health resort facility at Funase. You can use it for two or three nights without a problem."

Fuyuumi leaned close to my ear and whispered:

"Is she definitely your aunt? Why does she seem like a different person?"

"Yeah. Earlier, she was just in ｢no-energy mode｣ after staying up all night."

The first time Chiwa and I met Saeko-san, we were also astounded in this way. Both her atmosphere and way of speaking changed like she was different person. Saeko-san in ｢awake-mode｣ could be considered quite a beautiful woman, and it was hard to imagine that this was the same person who had said ｢doki-doki｣.

Masuzu had a stiff and wary expression:

"May I ask if you are implying that you will provide us free accommodation?"

"I never said that. You will pay an equivalent compensation."

Saeko-san looked at Masuzu's sharp eyes, smiled and said:

"Hey Chihuahua, what do I do for a job?"

The sudden change of topic reached Chiwa suddenly, and she responded in a daze:

"A game producer, right?"

"No, I don't like how sophisticated that sounds."

Saeko-san banged on the table:

"I am—someone who makes lots of cute girls and hot boys appear in games, so they make people ｢squuueeeeeaaaal!｣"

"......"

Although there wasn't any need to say it very sophisticatedly, there was also no reason to say it so crudely…..

"You mean gal-games or otome-games?"

"Ah, the doll-haired girl over there seems to know."

After being praised, Hime blushed somewhat happily. After all, she liked video games. Maybe she even played a game that Saeko-san was involved in producing.

On the other hand, the stiff disciplinary committee member only furrowed her eyebrows:

"I heard these kinds of works had a lot of shameless content. You don't make X-rated games, do you?"

"My current project is appropriate for all ages. Is the tsundere over there very familiar with those kinds of games?"

"O-O-O-O-Of course I'm not familiar with them! I only know about it because of my duties as a disciplinary committee member!"

Fuyuumi denied vehemently. But that being said, shouldn't you be protesting the ｢tsundere｣ part?

With her eyes still probing, Masuzu asked:

"May I ask, how are gal-games related to the offer of accommodations?"

"Well, in short I'll let you take a look at this."

Saeko-san removed a flyer from her bag, and we all leaned forward to take a look.

★ Use your ｢Love Points｣ to Cool the Summer ❤ ｢OreDere｣ Beauty Pagent ★ Organizer: Dunk Software (Inc.) Venue: Funase Second Beach Date: X/X/XX at X o'clock. Registration begins at X o'clock rain or shine. Eligibility: a dere-dere girl between 10~20 years old

"Right now my company is making a new game called ｢My Girlfriend Loves me Too Much!｣ or ｢OreDere｣ for shot. The purpose of this event is a draw interest and publicity."

"OreDere."

This abbreviation didn't seem to reflect the ｢girlfriend｣, but rather is seemed to suggest ｢I'm｣ dere. But then again it didn't really matter.

"If you're willing to participate in this competition, then I'll offer the accommodations I mentioned earlier."

Chiwa looked up at Saeko-san's face:

"What does the ｢dere-dere girl｣ in the competition eligibility mean?"

"The competitors have to be on the stage and demonstrate ｢how dere they are｣. That's the main feature of this competition. That's why this competition is restricted to ｢girls who feel dere to someone｣ = ｢girls who are in the middle of experiencing love｣. Unfortunately, not many people have registered so it's a little bit of a problem for me—"

Saeko-san looked at Chiwa, Hime, and Fuyuumi one by one:

"You three are all very interested in Eita, right?"

"—!"

The three of them didn't make any noise, but there was an obvious change of atmosphere in the living room.

Chiwa's expression suddenly became very serious.

Hime blushed and lowered her head.

Fuyumi however… covered her face with her hands, and started to pound on the ground wildly with her feet, causing the living room floor to shake. A-chan, please stop. Do you want to destroy my house?

"Hehe, you're really maidens. Looks like you'll satisfy the competition requirements."

Saeko-san very happily nodded her head in the direction of those three.

"Please wait."

Masuzu firmly resolutely said.

"As I said before, I am Eita-kun's girlfriend. Why I am the only one you're excluding?"

"There is no reason. It's just intuition."

"Intuition......"

"Don't underestimate my instincts. I've created a massive number of all sorts of character types, and the story of how all these characters fell into love. All of this was made by me. In my experience, it's not hard at all for me to see your ｢love-points｣."

Masuzu frowned, unconvinced:

"Are you talking about games? That that's a fake reality, right?"

"Exactly because it is fake."

Saeko-san's words were full of enthusiasm:

"In order to make the fake look real, you need to ｢make the fake look more real than the real thing｣. This is the most important detail in the game industry. As a result, I am very sensitive to whether romantic feelings (dere) are real or not."

Masuzu's expression was originally very sterm, but it suddenly looked like it realized something.

At nearly the same time, I also realized it.

When my aunt mentioned ｢making the fake look more real than the real thing｣ earlier—wasn't that the same thing that Masuzu said to me once before?

"Well then, let's do a test."

Saeko-san continued and spoke.

"This is a simple psychological test that will measure your love points. It's a rare opportunity, so are Chihuahua and you all up for it?"

The four of them looked at each other in confusion.

Not caring about their reactions, Saeko-san took out her smartphone again began to read alone the questions.

Q:

There is a boy here that you hold very dear and think very well of.

Suppose that he is called ｢'''A'''-ta｣-kun. 

"That isn't a something that needs to be supposed!"

I said with a hoarse voice.

I wished at least it could be changed to B-ta or C-ta…!

If '''A'''-ta-kun said: ｢This manga here is really interesting and really good. I think a lot of people will find it very fascinating. Why don't you check it out too?｣—suppose he recommended it an absolutely annoying way.

How would you react? 

"So, let's start with Chihuahua."

Saeko-san completely ignored my protests, and continued with the subject.

Chiwa's worried ｢um~｣ came about ten seconds later:

"Ei-kun's manga interests and mine don't really match."

"No, we're not talking about me. We're talking about ｢A-ta-kun｣, right?"

Chiwa responded, ｢Oh, right｣ and nodded her head.

"Well then I guess I'd give a try reading it? But if it's really boring, I'll tell him it's boring."

It was a very ordinary response.

But the manga that I recommend definitely wouldn't be boring!

"Then the next one, the doll-head girl."

"As long as Eita was the one who recommended it, I would read it no matter how boring it was."

Oh dear, Hime was as tender as always.

…But it's quite sad that the subject is still on how boring it is.

Saeko-san tapped at the touchscreen as she nodded:

"Next up is the tsun-girl."

"Manga altogether is boring enough. I definitely won't read that kind of thing!"

"Then the dere-girl."

"But then again, maybe manga might give me an opportunity to speak with Ta-kun a little more, so I'll ~ definitely take a look at the manga Ta—wait a second, who is this dere-girl?!"

It seemed like Fuyuumi had developed a habit a Tsukkomi-ing herself, so there was no reason for me to react.

"Finally, Natsukawa Masuzu."

Masuzu was the only one who she did not call by a nickname, but that was much better than being called the ｢poisonous snake-tongued woman｣.

I casually approached Masuzu from behind, and whispered to her:

—Hey, please answer this intelligently.

—Who do you think I am? Leave it to me.

Then Masuzu responded:

"I would certainly take a look at the manga that ｢A-ta-kun｣ recommended, but I would also lend him a manga that I would recommend."

"Your reason is?"

"Although it's important to understand the preferences of the person you love, it's also important to let him get to know you. I believe that this is absolutely important in a relationship between a boy and girl."

Chiwa and the rest of them all exclaimed, ｢Wow｣. As expected of Masuzu, she always responded with the most correct answer.

Saeko-san nodded and said, ｢I see｣, as her fingers tapped away at the smartphone.

A little curious, I spoke up:

"Um, what have you been doing ever since we started?"

"This is an APP game that my company is developing, and I borrowed the question from here. This game already has more than a million users who have responded, all of whom were girls in their teens and twenties."

"Eh…?"

Certainly, girls seemed to really love psychological test problems like those.

Chiwa's body was shaking from anxiety:

"Then Saeko-san, how were the results? Who is has the most love?"

"Ah, in first place is…….. tsundere girl."

Fuyuumi's face turned alarmingly red.

"W-W-W-W-What? W-W-Why would I be interested in Eita-kun—"

No, this is A-ta-kun we're talking about.

Saeko-san couldn't help but chuckle:

"When you said, ｢maybe manga will give me an opportunity to speak with Ta-kun a little more｣, this scored a lot of points. This is love that arises despite the desire to convey vexed feeling, which is very maiden-like."

Fuyuumi shook her head forcefully, her hair disheveled:

"It's absolutely a lie lie lie lie lie—it's a lie! I definitely don't like Ta-kun! He's who I like the most!"

The air around the scene instantly froze.

Chiwa's eyes seemed to overflow with the intent to kill, Hime's eyes were in cold, and Masuzu gave a disapproving look.

Also, I was extremely surprised.

You forgot about the existence of Michel again…

"I take that back—————! What I just said doesn't count—————! Ai-chan is going to go outside for a run!"

A-chan pounded her reddened face with both hands, and quickly ran outside. She forgot her bag again, so I'll probably return it to her tomorrow in cram school.

"Then, in second place is Chihuahua."

As expected of Saeko-san, she was completely unmoved after the tsundere went berserk.

"As for why you're ranked lower than the tsundere, that's because you're too intimate. Although such sincere words signify that your relationship is very good, but if the distance between you is too close, the other party won't be able to see you in terms of love. You need to pay close attention to this."

"Ah!"

Maybe because she felt is was reasonable, Chiwa sank into silent contemplation.

"In third place is the doll-haired girl. Your situation is the opposite of Chihuahua's, so you should take a step closer to cut down the distance. Don't let your feelings lead everything. You still need to have in everyday conversations, so that Eita… no, the point is that you need to get closer to A-ta. This way you'll gradually enter a better relationship."

Hime eyes shined honestly, and she nodded repeatedly. This almost felt like this was some kind of life consultation.

Then was—Masuzu.

"I'm in last place?"

Although her tone was indifferent, one could still see the annoyance she hid.

This was maybe the first time I ever saw this expression on Masuzu.

"It's because your answer might be considered the ｢correct answer｣.

Because it's too correct, one does't sense the ｢Love｣." 

"Too correct?"

"If you were a couple going out for more than a year, then this answer is absolutely right. However—you've only gone out for three months, right? Moreover, you're 15-year-old high school freshmen, and this kind of answer is simply too beautiful."

I see.

There really was no flaw in Masuzu's response, since one's mind are filled with thoughts for each other.

But compared to the real couples around us in our environment, this actually isn't the case.

I occasionally listen to Kaoru talk about the situations of of the boys who have girlfriends in the class. The unpredictable highs and lows in their relationship were very intense. For example, the girlfriend said something very inconsiderate, or maybe the inverse when something very inconsiderate was said to the girlfriend. The net product was a ｢sunburn from love｣.

If we wanted to act like a high school couple, then we should have have responded like we were even more ｢lovestruck｣ than normal.

"When one uses a cellphone or smartphone to do this kind of test, it will ask the respondent to provide their age, sex, occupation, and the number of years they've been in a relationship, and questions like that. Thus even if the response is identical, the score may still vary."

Masuzu stared unwaveringly at Saeko-san's eyes:

"I refuse to accept it. What can this kind of test actually understand about us?"

It looked like with her attitude, she wasn't going to surrender no matter want.

"……Hmm, okay."

Saeko-san contemplated as she stroked her chin:

"That being the case, then why don't you, Natsukawa Masuzu, also participate in the competition. After all, I'm the host, so if you can win the championship, then I'll admit that you're the ｢girlfriend｣ or whatever. I pledge to this as Eita's guardian."

"Do you have any objections?"

"Of course not."

It seemed like there were invisible sparks scattering between Masuzu and Saeko-san.

Maybe because she was roused, but Chiwa also stood up:

"I'm also particpating!"

She declared, and her eyes re-ignited with that raging fire.

"Although this time we were a little careless and allowed things to get too intimate, this is an excellent opportunity to setting things with Natsukawa!"

I felt like the situation just kept growing more and more strange.

"I also want to participate."

Even Hime raised her hand.

She used her other hand to grab tightly onto my shirt:

"If I win the competition, then will my status as ex-girlfriend evolve into the current girlfriend?"

She said radically. That being said, was that a confession to me?

Saeko-san very satisfactorily nodded repeatedly:

"Since that's the case, the girl who wins the crown in this competition will be Eita's bride. I pledge to this as Eita's guardian."

"—Really? So I can stamp it?"

This voice came from the living room door. I turned my head to look, and it was A-chan sweating from head to foot, her shoulders undulating up and down as she panted. It seems like she noticed that she forgot her bag, and had turned back.

She pointed straight at us:

"There's no choice! I'm also participating!"

Haha, this was serious.

This was serious.

Ah…..

I really want to run away…… ah……

---

Notes

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