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Volume 1(ep 7) : Me and the Punishment Game Girlfriend
Episode 7: “First Meeting”
On that day, I was more sleep-deprived than usual. I tend to be somewhat sleep-deprived most of the time, but today was exceptionally worse, and the reason was entirely different.
Today, I was having my first-ever meeting with a girl.
Even if it was the result of a punishment game, it was still my first meeting with a girl. It was natural for me to be excited about it.
Baron-san had told me to arrive by 7 o’clock, but I was trying to get to the meeting place even earlier. I couldn’t sleep and ended up taking the first train. The current time was 6:30 AM.
I casually told my mom that I had some business at school and left, feeling too embarrassed to mention that I had a meeting with a girl.
At this rate, I would arrive at the meeting place one hour earlier than planned. Well, it was much better than being late, and I could pass the time by playing a mobile game while waiting.
I was thinking about such things when I encountered an unexpected situation, which left me bewildered.
She
 Nanami-san had arrived at the meeting place even earlier, despite the meeting time being one hour away. She stood there alone, excluding a certain elegance. Although it was still early in the morning, the men passing by couldn’t help but cast glances her way.
Huh? Did I get the meeting time wrong?

No, my smartphone showed 6:30, and her message stated 7:30. I’m not mistaken, and the flow of time hasn’t gone awry. The timing is correct.
Why is she here so early?
Although I was puzzled, I didn’t want to keep her waiting. Baron-san also mentioned that being late would make the other person feel slighted.
No, this wasn’t exactly being late
 But since I had already spotted her, it would be inconsiderate to make her wait.
In a rush, I hurried towards her.
As I approached, she momentarily flinched, as if startled by someone getting closer, but when she realized it was me, she let out a relieved smile and directed it towards me.
“Nanami-san, sorry to keep you waiting. Did I make you wait? I heard the meeting time was 7:30, but
 maybe I got it wrong?”
“No, it’s fine. I arrived a little early
 Good morning, Youshin.”
“Ah
 Good morning, Nanami-san.”
It seemed I didn’t make a mistake with the timing. I arrived too early
 Maybe too early. I returned her morning greeting with a smile.

I never thought that my life would come to a point where I would exchange greetings with a girl like this.
She was wearing her usual school uniform, but today she had a slightly larger shoulder bag compared to yesterday. I think she had a more compact bag when we met yesterday. Perhaps she changed it on a whim, wanting to feel more feminine?

Right, she confessed to me yesterday. Even though it was part of a punishment game
 A day has passed, and seeing her again, I still can’t believe it.
“But even though I arrived early, Youshin, you’re also early. I had something to take care of, so I woke up early
 But it’s okay. Thanks to that, we could meet earlier today.”
However, with her words, I was brought back to reality. What should I do? Should I honestly explain the situation? Actually, there’s no point in coming up with weird excuses here.
“I’m sorry
 It’s my first time meeting a girl, so I was nervous and couldn’t sleep well
 I ended up waking up early
 But it’s good that I didn’t make you wait, Nanami.”
“Hmm
 Is that so? You don’t have to worry about it. But yeah, it’s good that we could meet early thanks to that.”
Despite her somewhat indifferent words, she had a smile on her face. I was a bit puzzled by her smile, as if she was happy to meet me early. Well, I’m also happy to meet her early

Maybe she doesn’t really want to spend a lot of time with someone like me, whom she ended up dating as a punishment?
I can’t understand a woman’s heart
 I thought that while looking at her face
 I noticed that her hairstyle was different from yesterday. Yesterday, she had straight hair, but today she had it braided.
Come to think of it, Baron-san mentioned something

“You see, Canyon-kun, if there are any slight changes in your girlfriend, be sure to compliment her on them. If your girlfriend is an attractive woman, then she must be making efforts every day. So instead of just saying she’s cute, you should use specific compliments like ‘That hairstyle suits you well.'”
“Is that also something you read on the internet?”
“Of course. I’m the type who wouldn’t notice unless I’m told, and as a working adult, it could even be considered sexual harassment, you know. But you can get away with it when it’s your girlfriend, even if it’s just for show.”
Well, even if it’s something I read on the internet, giving compliments is important. I can’t come up with any compliments about her bag
 so at least I should compliment her hairstyle.

Will this help improve my favorability
? It’s a gamble
 But, I should compliment her. I believe that no one would dislike receiving compliments. I should ask Baron-san about this later.
“Nanami, you have your hair braided today. Um
 it suits you
 I mean, it looks
 good on you.”

I failed. I couldn’t bring myself to say the word “cute.” Saying that it suits her is the limit for me.
It can’t be helped, right? Yeah
 I wonder what kind of mental structure those who can casually say “cute” have. I want someone to teach me. I’ll ask Baron-san about it today.
“Does it suit me? Well
 that’s good. I’m glad it suits me
 I tried this hairstyle for you, Youshin.”
“Yeah, it suits you
 Huh? For me
?”
“Well, you had this hairstyle for the character of a girl with the same hairstyle as your message app icon, right? So, I thought you might like this kind of hairstyle.”
I felt a chill down my spine when she said that.
Oh no! Even though I exchanged contact information with a girl, I still had a character as my app icon! And the character is a girl from a mobile game I like!
In the first place, I don’t have many contacts, and they are all guys, so I didn’t really care about it
 If I had known, I should have changed it to something more ordinary

“Hey, don’t make such a despairing face all of a sudden. It’s just an anime icon. It’s not unusual these days. I go to see anime movies too. It’s fine if you like it.”
There was an angel in front of me.
At the point when she styled her hair in the same way as my favorite character, she must have understood my preferences. I was jumping to conclusions and feeling hopeless for no reason. She doesn’t mind at all.
What a wonderful girl she is.
“Do you like it? This hairstyle. How about it? Cute, right?”
She lightly pinched the braided part and tilted her head, asking me with a curious expression.
In response to her efforts, I hesitate to say those words out loud here. But no, I can’t back down. Despite being an introvert, I have my pride. I need to reciprocate her gesture with words of praise.
Imagine this isn’t reality, but a chat in a mobile game. In a chat, I can easily say, “The new character is cute, right?” This situation is an extension of that. So
 I’ll say it!
“
Y-Yeah
 You look cute, Nanami-san. That hairstyle suits you and it’s cute.”
I said it!! I actually said the words I hesitated to say earlier! But it feels so exhausting. It’s as if all my stamina for the day has been drained. I need to recover quickly, like using an in-game item
 No, wait. I’m not in a game. Snap out of it, me.
As I returned to reality, I saw her smiling brightly in front of me, blushing just like yesterday. She seemed happy. And in that moment, I felt a surge of energy, as if my stamina had been instantly replenished.
Engaged in this exchange, it was already 7 o’clock. We were about 30 minutes early, but since there was no point in continuing to chat, we decided to walk to school together.
Just as I was about to start walking with her
 She extended her right hand towards me.
“Hmm?”
“Huh?”
She held out her hand and said only one word, leaving me puzzled about its meaning.
Oh, is this
 is she asking me to pay for something? Well, considering all she has done for me, it’s only natural that there would be some in-app purchase involved. It’s unrealistic to enjoy everything without spending money. Maybe the equivalent of a ten-pull gacha
 No, wait. I’m getting confused with the game again. Besides, I’m mostly a free-to-play player.
As I fumbled around in my pocket, preparing to take out my wallet, I regained my senses and looked into her eyes. When our gazes met, she blushed slightly and then spoke.
“We’re dating, right? Let’s hold hands on our way to school. Unless
 you don’t want to hold hands with me?”
“I don’t mind.”
I responded immediately. Who wouldn’t give an instant answer to that?
She tilted her head and looked up at me with upturned eyes, then I instinctively took her right hand in my right hand.

Hmm, this is a handshake, right? We did it yesterday too. I panicked.
Did my action seem strange? She burst into laughter and then started laughing.
“Hahaha, this is the same as yesterday’s handshake. We can’t go to school like this. It’s impossible while holding hands.”
“Yeah, you’re right
 um
 maybe this way.”
I took her hand again, this time with my left hand. I thought so yesterday, but her hand is so soft and small. Perhaps it’s slightly colder than yesterday, maybe because she had been waiting since morning.
“It’s embarrassing, isn’t it, holding hands like this?”
I once again held her hand with my left hand. Just as I thought yesterday, her hand was soft and small. Maybe because she had been waiting since morning, it was slightl
She directed a shy smile towards me, her face turning red. It was at that moment that I finally realized I was holding hands with a girl, and I blushed too.

What should I do, Baron? My goal has been unexpectedly achieved.
I silently reported to Baron, who had given me advice and set this goal for me yesterday.
Interlude : Nanami’s Feelings at That Moment
(Oh my gosh!! Why did I suddenly suggest holding hands?! Just because he called me cute?!)
While feeling the warmth of Youshin’s hand holding mine
 I was getting excited about this new experience.

I hope I’m not sweating or anything weird like that!
TL notes: Well if the relationship is same,I don’t mind a punishment game confession myself