Chapter 36  : Gifts

When the lunch break started, Seiji immediately began reading through the love letters.

Seiji sat together with Mika and Chiaki in their usual spot in the courtyard before he took out the love letters and began to open them.

'Wow!' Even though he had mentally prepared himself, when Seiji saw the dainty writing of female high school students confessing their feelings for him, Seiji’s face instantly flushed red as if he had been lovestruck.

The original Seiji definitely didn’t have any similar memories, nor did he have such an experience in his past life!

All of this was far too out of the ordinary for an otaku!

After reading just the first letter, he could feel his entire face steaming up. If this had been a manga, he was certain that his face would have been releasing smoke.

So embarrassing…

By the way, was the person they were talking about in the letters really him!?

Even though Seiji knew that he was a handsome boy now, he still felt that the person the letters were describing sounded far more exaggerated… It sounded like his appearance had undergone photoshopping!

Was this the phenomenon where people would see their potential lovers as absolutely perfect?

That didn’t seem right… those girls probably just had an overly positive impression of him due to their fantasies.

That's right—teenage girls were still quite shallow; they only saw his physical appearance and thought he was quite handsome, so they imagined him as perfect in every aspect and fell in love with their fantasy version of him.

Actually, the real him wasn’t that handsome at all, and apart from his current appearance, his past life’s experience told him that he wasn’t all that popular with girls.

Reminiscing about the past caused him to feel slightly depressed, but he also felt secretly relieved.

If these girls that had written these letters actually went out with him and saw the true him, they’d surely be disappointed.

Plus, he was inept at dealing with romantic situations… Naturally, the obvious thing to do was to reject these letters politely. There was no need to be friends, and as long as they didn't get close to him, he could protect the fantasy version of him in their minds.

"Seigo, how’re you feeling?" Chiaki smiled, "Are you going to continue reading the letters? Do you need us to get out of your way?" She asked concernedly.

"Of course I’m going to continue… You guys don’t need to leave—feel free to eat here. Don’t mind me," Seiji smiled naturally.

Chiaki squinted slightly at Seiji’s expression, but she remained silent as she began eating her own lunch.

Mika was feeling slightly depressed at seeing the boy she liked read love letters from other girls right in front of her.

But, if she left, she knew she would feel even worse, so she also stayed, eating silently while observing Seiji’s expression intently.

Seiji continued reading through the letters, and his reading speed gradually increased.

After ten minutes, he had finished all five letters.

*Ding!* His system made a sound and a notification appeared in front of him—

[After receiving five love letters, the [gifts] option is now available. Every time you receive an object from a girl that indicates their love, you can receive reward points or items, as well as exchange points for information on the gifts that a girl prefers.]

‘A new option!’ Seiji instantly widened his eyes in excitement, but he forced himself to to keep his composure.

He didn’t expect that another new option would become available so soon… He decided to check it out in detail when he was alone.

According to the notification he had just received, the [gifts] option seemed to be two-way. If he received any type of gift… or objects like love letters, he would be rewarded by his system in the form of points or items.

Not only that, he could also exchange his points for information on the favorite gifts of whoever he wanted to send something to!

The first part was a nice bonus, being another method of obtaining points and items apart from his [actions]. The second part was basically a boon for him, as it allowed him to give a suitable gift to people he was unsure about!

He wasn’t 100% certain as he didn’t have a chance to verify it yet, but that should be the case.

Seiji thought deeply about his newly unlocked option as he folded the love letters carefully.

"You’re finished reading? How were they?"

"Three of them were the first type, and two were the second type."

"There weren’t any direct confessions; how boring!"

"Stop joking around—it’s a good thing there weren’t any." Seiji smiled wryly at Chiaki: "I… I’m really not used to this sort of thing."

"You’ll get used to it." Chiaki chuckled, "I… unlike Mika, I don’t know anything about what you were like before, but I can assure you that the current you is quite excellent! So have some confidence in yourself and accept your current self! Stop immersing yourself in your dark past!" The tomboy reached out and used her index finger to poke Seiji’s forehead.

Seiji eyes widened slightly.

"Are you… encouraging me?"

"What do you think, silly?" Chiaki still had a casual expression.

Mika, who was watching them, felt there was a strange atmosphere about them.

"I… I think the current Seiji is awesome as well!" She hurriedly chimed in.

Seiji looked at her and smiled gently.

"Thank you guys."

‘Wow… I made them worry about me.’

"Then… what are you going to do? How are you going to deal with those two girls that gave you their contact information?"

"I… I’ll reject them politely." Seiji smiled wryly, "I don’t have the heart to think about getting a girlfriend currently."

Chiaki nodded sagely.

She was just about to say something else, when footsteps approached in tandem with a soft voice.

"Harano-senpai!"

Seiji’s hand jerked violently.

It couldn’t be… he turned around and looked. Unfortunately, it was exactly who he thought it was: a beautiful middle school boy.

Hoshi Amami had ran all the way to the high school section, so his face was red from exertion, and his eyes were sparkling from the anticipation of meeting his idol. He carried a lunchbox in one hand, and his other hand clenched his chest as he panted lightly.

Such a pose was way too cute!

Mika was stunned at the sight.

Even Chiaki was rendered speechless.

There was no helping it—the petite "girl" that stood before them had a flushed face. This, combined with her delicate panting and the light sheen of sweat that coated her face, caused her to emit an alluring charm that was sufficient for even beautiful girls like them to feel appreciative—this "girl" had an almost unearthly aura of beauty surrounding her.

‘Well, in all honesty, this man-trap is just too attractive!!!’ Seiji felt like covering his face in embarrassment.

"Amami, what are you doing here?" He asked helplessly.

"I… I want to eat lunch together with Senpai… I want to talk more with Senpai!" Hoshi’s eyes continued to glitter as he walked over; he even failed to notice the two beauties standing beside Seiji.

He finally discovered that there were actually other people with Seiji when he neared Seiji’s position.

"Ah… sorry, Senpai, am I bothering you?"

"Yes, you’re bothering me!" Seiji retorted bluntly. However, as soon as he said this, he instantly felt remorseful as Hoshi’s expression fell pitifully. He sighed deeply and continued: "But… since you’ve come all the way here, you might as well sit down."

"Thank you, Senpai!" Hoshi instantly cheered up again.

Chiaki and Mika glanced at each other with blank expressions.

"Let me introduce you…" Seiji sighed, "This is one of my junior coworkers, Hoshi Amami, a third-year middle school student… and a boy."

"Hello, Senpais!" Hoshi greeted them politely.

"Hello…" Chiaki and Mika replied dazedly.

Boy…!?

Did Seiji make a mistake? Or was there a mistake with this world!? Both of them were currently filled with complex feelings.

"This is Mika Uehara. The other one is Chiaki Wakaba; they’re both my good friends from class."

"Oh? I thought that they were both Senpai’s girlfriends," Hoshi said innocently.

"I said before that I didn’t have a girlfriend!" Seiji exclaimed forcefully.

"Oh right, hehe~" Hoshi stuck out his tongue cutely.

"What’s with that hehe!? And stop doing such cute actions! Didn’t you decide to become manlier!?"

"Senpai’s observations are just as sharp as yesterday…" Hoshi had a delighted expression as he closed his eyes.

Seiji felt all his strength leaving him.

‘That’s why I didn’t want to meet this person at school, damn it!!!’

Nothing he said was of any use, but if he was too strict, he would hurt Hoshi’s feelings, and Hoshi held no bad intentions whatsoever or any strange romantic inclinations; he simply idolized him.

How was he supposed to deal with such a person!?

Seiji felt a sudden urge to go on the internet and ask a question—just how was he supposed to manage a trap who overly idolized him!!??