Vol. 2 Chapter 15 – Jealousy and Leveling Up (4)

She must be annoyed that she’s the only one feeling jealous, trying to make me feel the same way, but—

“Besides, this is my first cover shoot too, so I tried my best and showed quite a bit of leg and stuff… Guys’ eyes tend to go to places like that, right~…” (Hikaru)

Is she bad at this?

“I haven’t seen the inside pages yet, but maybe they’re even more daring… And everyone all over Japan is going to see all of it~…” (Hikaru)

No way, they wouldn’t put anything that daring in a fashion magazine aimed at girls…

While I retorted internally, I didn’t say it out loud.

I wish she’d try to make me jealous a little more naturally, but I suppose I should play along here.

“…In that case, can I at least be the first one to see it before anyone else does?” (Reiya)
“Ehh~… You want to see it~…? What should I do~…” (Hikaru)
“I see~… So, I guess I’ll just have to see it later as one of the readers~… That’s a shame…” (Reiya)

What is this farce…? I thought, but continued anyway.

“Moo~… If you’re going to say that, I guess I have no choice~…” (Hikaru)

When I feigned disappointment, she seemed pleased as she turned the page.

The feature at the beginning of the magazine showcased sporty summer outfits worn by the cover models, spanning several pages.

Since I have no interest in girls’ fashion itself, my gaze was naturally drawn to Hikaru.

“…How is it?” (Hikaru)

She asked, trying to gauge my feelings.

My favorite person, dressed in clothes coordinated by professionals, with makeup and styling to match.

Honestly, I think she looks incredibly cute, beautiful, and it suits her perfectly.

There are as many words of praise as there are named parts of the body.

However, I currently don’t possess the ‘Courage’ stat required to say that directly.

To execute such a move, I wouldn’t say I need a ‘Lionheart’, but at least ‘Hardened’ resolve would be nice.

With that thought, I tried to hedge with my usual noncommittal words, but—

‘It’s fine to hesitate, but don’t forget you’re seriously taking advantage of Hikaru’s affection, okay?’

Suddenly, Ogata-san’s words crossed my mind.

The stage has been perfectly set.

Someone who still takes advantage in this situation has no right to say they’re aiming to be equals…

“It’s… cu… cute… isn’t it… maybe?” (Reiya)

Mustering all the courage I currently possessed, I launched my attack.

“Specifically, what part…?” (Hikaru)

She easily parried and countered.

“…Overall?” (Reiya)
“Moo~… That’s not specific at all.” (Hikaru)

She said, laughing merrily.

It wasn’t quite what I’d planned, but it seemed to have had some effect.

“Well then, how about the next page~…” (Hikaru)

Hikaru’s long, slender white fingers turned the vividly printed page.

The next page similarly featured the female models lined up in different fashions.

I spotted Hikaru on the upper part of the left-hand page spread.

She had a dazzling smile, making a peace sign towards the camera.

She really is unbelievably cute… I thought, then turned my attention to her clothes.

Her outfit consisted of just a thin jacket worn over a tank top.

It wasn’t exactly daring… but isn’t it a bit revealing…? I couldn’t help thinking.

Because she wore the jacket loosely, her shoulders were completely bare, and the neckline was wide open, the bare skin almost reaching her chest.

Due to the nature of the clothing, the lines, or rather, the curves of her upper body were also distinct.

Forget girls, it wouldn’t be strange for a guy looking at this to have impure thoughts.

…And just like that, I realized I was feeling thoroughly jealous.

“Hmm~… What’s wrong~…?” (Hikaru)

Noticing me staring intently at her photo, Hikaru peeked at my face with a mischievous smile.

“Nothing, just thinking how amazing recent printing technology is, the colors are so vibrant…” (Reiya)
“Is that really all~…?” (Hikaru)
“That’s all. I knew you were doing modeling work… It’s nothing new…” (Reiya)

It’s not a defeat if I don’t admit defeat.

Feigning composure, I started flipping through the magazine on the desk myself.

Every time I turned a page, a picture of Hikaru in different clothes appeared before me.

“Hmm~… Well then, maybe I should accept that swimsuit job offer I got~…” (Hikaru)
“Eh!? Sw-Swimsuit!?” (Reiya)

For some reason, I really didn’t like the sound of that.

As I hurriedly looked up, Hikaru wore a broad, mischievous grin.

“Hmm~? What’s wrong~? Getting all flustered like that~…” (Hikaru)

Seeing that face reminded me of when she’d done something similar before.

They really are siblings.

“Right, time to play some games…” (Reiya)
“Ah~… I’m sorry, okay? Don’t be mad~…!” (Hikaru)

As I tried to stand up, she grabbed the hem of my shirt to stop me.

“Just kidding, just kidding, it was a lie… I properly turned down the swimsuit offer, so don’t worry, okay?” (Hikaru)
“Not to worry… It’s not like I was—” (Reiya)
“Here, here, I’ll show you lots more, so cheer up? Okay?” (Hikaru)

Hikaru hurriedly piled on apologies.

There’s no point in arguing here, I thought, and sat back down on the bed.

“Um… this one’s from spring this year… and this one was last summer, I think~…” (Hikaru)

One after another, different magazines were pulled out from her bag.

Besides Nanateen, we sat shoulder-to-shoulder reading several years’ worth of various magazines she’d appeared in since middle school.

Spring, summer, autumn, winter—pictures of Hikaru dressed in various clothes according to the season appeared before my eyes.

In all of them, even through the paper, she shone with the same brilliance as usual.

Towards this nationally popular girl, I certainly feel anxiety and jealousy.

But the biggest emotion, no matter how you look at it, was ‘awe’.

I knew she was amazing at her main focus, tennis, but I was genuinely surprised anew that she had such achievements in her side job as a model too.

It felt like she was soaring over the high peak I was desperately trying to climb, using giant wings she was born with.

Will I ever be able to build up achievements equivalent to one volume of her work?

I want to stand proudly beside her.

Just that simple wish feels like an impossibly distant goal.

As I thought about such things while vaguely looking through the magazines—

“…Hm?” (Reiya)

On the page next to a full-body shot of Hikaru, I found something.

“Is this… Sakuramiya-san?” (Reiya)

In the street snap corner, featured as a stylish girl spotted on the street, was my classmate, Sakuramiya Kyo.