Chapter 103: Umbrella? Umbrella? Umbrella!

…

Himekoji Akito led Takanashi Rikka, who had her eyes covered, to the entrance of the restroom.

Himekoji stopped and looked around.

After confirming no one else was in sight, he let out a long sigh of relief. “Whew—”

Lucky it was still class time, right?

Huh, speaking of class, it seemed Himekoji had already openly skipped two periods…

Of course, none of that mattered to him right now.

Dealing with this girl in front of him was the main priority!

…

“Akito, you are not allowed to enter the Men’s Restroom.”

Just as Himekoji was about to step forward, Takanashi Rikka, still blindfolded, suddenly lifted her hand to stop him.

“Huh?”

Not allowed to enter the Men’s Restroom?

That was ridiculous! He was a strong, upright man! Why shouldn’t he be allowed in the Men’s Restroom?

Besides, there was no one else around right now…

“The contract sealed by the Evil Eye of the Wicked Lord, rights and obligations are mutual. Rikka and Akito must both follow the rules after swapping bodies.”

Takanashi Rikka, currently possessing Himekoji’s body, was several heads taller than the current Himekoji Akito. Himekoji had to crane his neck uncomfortably just to see Rikka’s face, which looked absurdly serious, solemn, and handsome right now.

Damn, he looked like such a handsome guy!

Just looking for a bit made his own cheeks feel hot. Himekoji quickly shifted his gaze away.

Then, thinking it over seriously, he suddenly realized that although what Rikka said was a bit Chuunibyou, it actually made sense upon closer thought.

While he made all those fussy, complicated, and even demanding requests of Takanashi, he should be equally strict with himself.

To outsiders right now, he looked like a girl.

Even though there was currently no one around, who if there was an accident later?

For instance, what if someone skipped out of class needing the restroom?

Himekoji had done that himself before.

Getting caught in the act would be incredibly awkward.

The scandal of Takanashi Rikka and Himekoji going in and out of the Men’s Restroom together would absolutely get exposed and spread everywhere…

“Th-then, alright, we won’t go in.”

Himekoji compromised.

“By the way, are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”

Her eyes covered, Rikka was now feeling her way ahead, one hand slowly tracing the wall as she inched her way inside the restroom.

Hearing Himekoji’s worried question, Rikka turned her head back toward him. With a swift, cool movement, she thrust out a confident thumb.

“Of course! You think who you’re talking to? I am the Evil Eye of the Wicked Lord, the strongest!”

“How many times do I have to say this? Right now your Evil Eye of the Wicked Lord is with me, hello!”

Seeing his own body looking this smug triggered Himekoji’s urge to complain every time.

“Oh? Then Akito can be the Evil Eye of the Wicked Lord the Second.”

Rikka immediately came up with a solution.

She seemed super pleased with this new addition to her setting; her face flushed bright red.

It felt incredibly awkward and disheartening to see his own, extremely familiar body suddenly being used to act out some Chuunibyou role…

A wave of discomfort and helplessness washed over Himekoji.

“Enough! Just focus on walking, the floor’s slippery!”

Himekoji snapped impatiently.

“Hmph! Merely the Corridor of Sighs cursed with a [Slip] spell! The Evil Eye of the Wicked Lord would never… Aaah!””

“POOOONG—”

Her cool moment ended abruptly as she tripped, plummeting forward to land face-first on the tiles…

See? That’s why you shouldn’t make bold declarations like that!

Hearing the terrifying, earthquake-like crash from inside, Himekoji Akito, still at the restroom entrance, quickly covered his eyes. He couldn’t bear to look.

Argh, that was his body getting busted!

“Tch! Th-this [Gravity Spell]… is nothing much!”

Rikka wobbled as she pushed herself up, using the wall for support.

“The Evil Eye of the Wicked Lord, never stays down!”

Whoa, this absolute commitment to her own world, this peak Chuunibyou vibe…

It was strangely intense and super cool!

Not!

Himekoji rolled his eyes hard.

Takanashi Rikka shuffled a few more steps deeper in, and soon vanished from Himekoji’s sight at the doorway.

She was out of his surveillance range now.

Would she pull off the eyepatch? Would she take off the gloves? There was no way for Himekoji to know anymore.

But, if he’d agreed to stay at the entrance, would he have overlooked this?

Of course not!

That’s why he had a backup plan!

He had specifically smeared a layer of bright red paint onto the inside of the gloves.

That way, after they swapped bodies back, he could just check… a certain part… for red stains. That would tell him if Rikka had actually kept the contract, or rather…

Huh? Wait, contract?

Pffft! Forget contract! He almost got infected by her Chuunibyou! It was a promise!

Chuunibyou was seriously terrifying!

…

Himekoji bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet, waiting at the entrance.

About five minutes later, Takanashi Rikka finally emerged from the Men’s Restroom, inching her way out slowly and carefully.

Maybe because of her earlier fall, she seemed more cautious this time, taking tiny, shuffling steps, slower than a snail.

As soon as Rikka reappeared in his line of sight, Himekoji’s eyes instinctively snapped straight to her pants.

Huh?

Just a bit dirty from the tumble earlier… but no sign of pee stains anywhere…

Covering her eyes and wearing gloves, yet she could control the bat so well?

And this was her first time ever playing!

Natural talent? Or… cheating?!

Himekoji Akito couldn’t be sure.

The eye patch wasn’t stained with red paint, but what if she’d taken off the gloves before removing the patch?

Himekoji’s suspicion grew, but he couldn’t confront Rikka directly. Without doubt, she would deny it flat out.

Seemed he had to keep this question bottled up until after they swapped bodies back. Then he’d check the truth himself.

…

“Can you take off my eye patch now, Akito?”

Takanashi Rikka stretched her arms out, swiping wildly at the air like she was searching for him.

Stuck at 150cm post-swap, Himekoji watched her hands swing uselessly above his head—not bothering a single hair.

“Akito… Akito? Where are you?”

Right below your hands! In front of you! The height difference… hopeless.

“Over here,” he called out, raising a hand to tap her elbow.

“Huh? Oh, you’re down there.”

Rikka’s hand descended instantly, her expression curious and intrigued—a novelty for someone now taller.

But Himekoji just felt neck-strain having to always look up.

…

Rikka’s small hand… no, big hand now… reached out again.

Himekoji smacked it away. Gloves coated in paint? No way.

“Aren’t you taking off my eye patch?”

“Yeah!” Rikka bobbed her head like a chick.

“Akito, hurry! Break this visual seal with the Evil Eye of the Wicked Lord!”

“I told you, I don’t do that stuff!”

Himekoji jumped, straining on tiptoes to grasp her eye patch… and missed. Dark-faced, he snapped:

“If you want it off, bend down!”

“Whoa! So you admit it!” Rikka practically shimmered.

“Admit what?”

“The seal!”

“Forget that! Bend. Down. Now, or no eye patch!”

“Why bend?”

“Because. I. Can’t. Reach!”

“Haha, Akito, you’re so short!”

“What are you grinning about? You’re the short one!”

“Eh? Me? H-how?” Confusion, then shock lit Rikka’s face as the logic clicked. “Oh! Yeah!”

“Hmph! Doesn’t matter. Those tall guys in battle? Weak fighters! The Evil Eye traded bulky deadweight for this agile, small stature!” Instantly self-convinced, she puffed out her chest, radiating superiority.

Stop redefining reality! Himekoji felt a sweatdrop forming.

“Down! Just bending won’t cut it!”

“You’re picky.” Rikka pouted but sank into a low squat.

“I wouldn’t have to be if you unclipped it yourself!”

“I tried! Your knot’s impossible!” The slip escaped her lips.

“Oh? So you did try?”

“N-nope!” A frantic denial.

“You tried!”

“Nu-uh! Didn’t try!”

Still denying? Whatever—it failed, that’s what mattered.

Eh? Did it fail? Probably. The eye patch looked untouched.

…

“The vision… IS MINE!”

Eye patch off, Rikka struck a dramatic pose using Himekoji’s body—

Right hand clamped her covered eye while the left whipped three frantic circles in the air and snapped straight back.

“Cut it out! Don’t drag my body into your chuuni drama!”

Himekoji bounced, reaching even wildly… and only slapped her shoulder. Gone was that sweet satisfaction of smacking her forehead.

“Aaaaakito~” Rikka shoved. Casual. Effortless.

Ugh!

Totally outmatched!

“Akito? Why are your gloves so grimy? Covered in paint…”

The gloves were thrown on the ground by Rikka with disgust.

“From the warehouse… got them from the school warehouse.”

Himekoji gave an evasive reply.

Actually, the System had given them for free, and it made Himekoji wonder for a long if the System could be that kind.

But in the end, he decided to take the gift, thinking why say no to free stuff.

After all, the idea from the System, checking his privates for paint to see if Takanashi Rikka had touched them with hands, seemed very clever and doable.

…

“Alright, let’s go back to class now.”

With everything done, Himekoji suggested.

“Huh? Aren’t you supposed to help me with the makeup exam?”

“It’s finished already.”

“That quick?”

Rikka got a big shock.

She had been passed out for over an hour, so she thought it was only a bit past two.

“What time is it now? What time?”

She said this while pulling out the phone; it was Himekoji’s.

“Whoa, school’s already over!”

Rikka shouted.

School over?

Right after Takanashi said that, the school bell rang right after.

High schools in Japan finish early because they only have three afternoon classes for club activities.

Wait a minute! If that’s so…

Himekoji suddenly thought of a question.

Had he skipped all his afternoon classes?

Damn, it was true!

Oh no, he had a bad feeling something bad would happen!

When was the last time he skipped classes for half a day?

It went back to last semester, right?

And, if he remembered right, after skipping, Hiratsuka-sensei tortured him in all kinds of ways for a whole week!

In his mind, a bad memory woke up…

Just as Himekoji was almost trapped in pain from that old memory and couldn’t escape, a cry of pain suddenly brought him back to the present.

“Ah! Akito! It’s happening, it’s happening again! Like… like it’s gonna snap… ugh… so painful!”

Somehow, Rikka was clamping her lower body and shaking again, breathing sharply from pain, her handsome face all wrinkled up.

Again?

No way?! Wasn’t the umbrella hidden behind the curtain in that empty Classroom?

Could it be…

Suddenly, Himekoji thought of a terrifying possibility, he got scared and sprinted off.

“Wait a bit, I’ll be back soon, hold on!”

…

There was no holding on…

“I’m… I’m dying… being a man hurts so much… change, change our bodies back! Wah… I, I don’t wanna be a man anymore…”

Rikka’s pain nearly brought tears, her legs went weak, she couldn’t stand up, and with a thud, she flopped on the ground, curling up in pain like a fried shrimp.

Pain, pain, pain! She was in so much agony she might pass out!

…

“Huh, A-Akito?! Why are you collapsed here? Sick? Are you okay? Can you stand? I’ll help you to the Nurse’s Office?”

“Never mind, I’ll carry you on my back! Come on, get up!”

In a daze, Rikka heard this voice.

Then, she felt soft hands and a thin but warm back and shoulders.

She was being carried on that back.

“No wonder, you were missing all afternoon! Say something if something happens! Hiding everything alone, that personality is the worst!”

“Huh? Wait… hold on, what’s that weird thing poking me like that?”

…

Himekoji had run to the Classroom as fast as possible, but it was no use.

When he got there, the windowsill behind the curtain was empty.

Himekoji froze in place.