CH 40

With Momoi’s birthday coming up tomorrow, I’m in a bit of a pickle…

It’s not just that I still haven’t decided on a gift for Momoi or some other dumb reason.

That’s the kind of thing I can handle.

…I felt like I was in the right place at the right time. The truth is, I went through so much pain that I don’t even want to think about it anymore…

Originally, it was a good idea to go to the store that Kisaragi-sensei told me about, but when I actually entered the store, I found out that the only staff and customers were women.

And then― all I got was a lot of unpleasant stares…

On the other hand, I don’t know of any other place where I could buy a gift for Momoi, and I couldn’t just pick one at random, so I did my best to withstand the stares of the women and get the gift.

Fortunately, Kisaragi-sensei, whose only claim to fame is her fashion sense, was able to teach me and I was able to find a good one.

Also, I was able to find out about a spot with a beautiful night view in the town where she lives, which she told me I should definitely go to if I wanted to give her a present.

I thought I was all set for tomorrow, but reality was not so easy…

―Rather, because “Sabbat of the Witch” was finished, I had to prepare a new erotic game― but apparently it was not to her liking. It seems that Momoi is sulking next to me with her cheeks puffed out.

It’s very easy to see why these sisters puff up their cheeks when they sulk…

In the case of Sakura-chan, if you go past that and make her angry even more, you’ll get a smiling face with sound effects…

…Why do you think Momoi is sulking?

…I also want to know!

In the first place, the eroge that caused Momoi to become like this was a game called “Golden Angel”, which will soon release the long-awaited FD… (TLN: FD = Fan Disc)

I wanted to play it as soon as the FD was released, so I decided to play it with Momoi while I still could.

Also, this game has a lot of different characters to choose from depending on one’s taste, but on the contrary, all the heroines are cute enough to have their own fans.

And the scenarios are well done, with the grand route bringing tears to the eyes of almost everyone who played it.

…I’ve said this line before…

Well, that aside, I actually couldn’t get anything else done after I cleared the grand route.

That’s why I recommended it to Momoi in a normal way, but when she saw the title screen, she asked me,

“Why do they all have blond hair?”

I replied, “Because one of the selling points of this game is that all the main heroines have blond hair.

Then Momoi muttered, “I knew blondes were…” and turned away and puffed out her cheeks.

I didn’t understand what was going on, so I asked Momoi why, but she only ignored me…

I’m supposed to go out with Momoi tomorrow, but I don’t want to face her tomorrow in such an awkward situation…

…Could it actually be that?

She doesn’t like the blonde hair itself?

Looking back, there was a similar sort of reaction to Byodoin Aria on TV last time…

Maybe the blonde hair reminds her of Saijo and because of that, she doesn’t like it…?

If so, I’ve done something wrong to Momoi…

I was insensitive…

I regret my mistake in choosing that eroge.

…What’s up with this fatal mistake of mine in choosing eroge…

I ran into a word in my brain that didn’t really fit this atmosphere.

While I was thinking to myself like this, Momoi suddenly turned around.

In a high-pitched voice―

“I’m going to have blonde hair tomorrow after school!”

―She declared so.

“Haa!? What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

Naturally, I was surprised.

I mean, who wouldn’t be surprised by this?

“I’ve already decided! I’m going to be a blonde!”

“No, you idiot! If you do that, the whole school will be in an uproar!”

I said this to Momoi, who for some reason even struck a gut pose to solidify her decision.

In fact, if Momoi dyes her hair blonde, the next day everyone from the first to the third grade will be talking about her.

It’s really not funny to see a serious honor student with beautiful black hair, who’s also a very talented woman, suddenly have blonde hair.

I’m sure all the students will try to figure out why.

And surely when they do, they’ll be bewildered that it was just because of an eroge.

“I have no choice but to go blonde now!”

Momoi responded to my words with another incomprehensible reply.

Just what on earth could be the reason that you suddenly want to have blonde hair…

“Calm down for now! First of all… what made you decide to go blonde?”

I decided to find out why Momoi had come to that conclusion.

If I didn’t know the reason, I wouldn’t be able to persuade her.

“…It’s because of UmiKai-kun…”

I’m not sure why Momoi looked so sulky at my question, but she said the reason was me.

…Could it be because of that?

Is it because I was trying to get you to play a game that only has blonde main heroines…?

“Look… No matter how much you want to, I don’t think you should be influenced by erotic games, you know…?”

I made a dumbfounded face and told Momoi so.

No, I’m not making fun of erotic games, okay?

It’s just that I couldn’t think of anything else to say to convince you for so many reasons…

“Then Umi-kun, who do you like the most out of all the girls in this game?”

Momoi said so with a stern look on her face.

…Hmmm, I see what you mean― I don’t really understand what you mean at all!!!

How did things even happen leading to this point!?

I told you already, you should not be influenced by eroge and try to make your hair blonde!?

But for some reason― I don’t feel like Momoi will listen to me, who has a desperate expression on her face with her cheeks puffed out, even if I told her that.

For now, I think it would be wise to answer this question and then try to convince her to retract her decision on having blonde hair…

“Who is your favorite heroine in this game?” Huh…

Then I’d have to say―

“This chairperson with long black hair?”

―I opened the homepage of the eroge and answered honestly.

“Eh?”

Momoi looked surprised at my answer.

“What’s wrong?

“Well, because …… Isn’t that girl a sub heroine?”

Momoi tilted her head as she read the description of the girl on the homepage screen.

“Momoi, you said that she is the heroine of this game. That girl may be a sub heroine, but she’s still a heroine, and I like her best.”

“…Umi-kun, could it be that you’re an M? Should I be as cold to you as I was before?”

“Why is that!?”

Why do Saijo, Momoi, and the rest of them keep giving me weird sexual habits?

“Because it says here that she’s an S and has a poisonous tongue, and it also says that she hates the main character. I get it, just be honest with me! I’ll abuse you if you want me to, Umi-kun!”

I held my head in my hands as Momoi said those words with a smile.

She’s already got all sorts of crazy things going on in her head…

How can you say such a thing with a smile on your face…

I was disgusted with the way Momoi interpreted things, but I couldn’t stand the thought of people thinking I had some weird sexual proclivities, so I decided to explain it to Momoi, even though it would be a bit of a spoiler.

“In the heroine’s route, the distance between the hero and the girl shortens rapidly. Well, there were times when the distance between the heroine and the heroine got too close at once, but the process of becoming friends with a heroine who was originally disliked is what I like the most. Also, I like the look of this character the best. I think it’s nice to have a neat and tidy girl with long black hair.”

…Huh?

With the words I just said, something suddenly came to my mind.

The relationship between me and Momoi is a situation that I like…?

People who originally disliked each other become friends with one another…

In addition, Momoi has very beautiful long black hair and looks neat and clean.

That’s what I like most about it―.

“―!”

I hurriedly blew away the thought that had just crossed my mind.

Momoi, just what was I even thinking of her…

Momoi is a family member, you know?

Besides, Momoi would hate me if I looked at her like that.

When I had a fight with Momoi before, Hanahime-chan asked me about what I thought of Momoi, and I said that I was a little curious about her, but I knew I shouldn’t have that thought on her.

That’s because it will lead to the destruction of our current relationship…

“I see, I see, Umi-kun likes this character…”

Momoi seemed to be smiling happily as I admonished myself.

…Oh, her mood is getting better…?

Is it because I said I liked the black haired chairwoman the best?

Ah, so you’re happy that the character I praised is similar to you?

Come to think of it, she was happy when I complimented a character that looked like Momoi before…

“Yeah, that character is actually not as cold as she sounds. The things she says are pretty awful, but if you play the game, you’ll understand how good she is, so why don’t you try it?”

When I said that, Momoi nodded happily.

“Then, we should do this character’s route as the first one!”

―She also said something out of line…

“No, that character is a sub heroine, so she doesn’t have a route…”

“Mouu~”

When I said that, Momoi sulked again and puffed up her cheeks.

…Just what’s up with this loop…

I thought about it and said something that would get me out of this loop.

“But in the FD that’s coming out soon, they’re going to add that girl’s route.”

“Well, then, she’ll still be the first one! Considering that, we have to play this game as soon as possible!”

When Momoi found out that the black-haired committee chairwoman’s route would be added as I had predicted, she happily sat down on a special seat (next to me in front of the computer) and clicked on the word “Start” in the title.