Don’t Look Back, Megumi Kato [38]

“Huh?! Yuu-kun didn’t fall for me at first sight? There's no way such a guy exists!”

Seeing Izumi Yuu remain completely unfazed, Jinno Megumi—who’d always been confident in herself—looked as if she’d suffered a devastating blow. She stumbled back several steps, nearly falling off the front steps, staring incredulously at Izumi.

“Could it be… Yuu-kun prefers traps?!”

Immediately after, as if she'd stumbled upon an incredible truth, Megumi fixed an intense, scrutinizing gaze on Izumi, looking him over from head to toe.

[The girl's penetrating gaze pierces straight through you, igniting within you a sudden urge to silence her permanently. But before that, you figure it might be refreshing to occasionally switch things up—and conveniently, the girl before you seems like an excellent candidate...]

Switch things up?! My tastes have always been girls, damn it!
I have absolutely zero interest in someone like Totsuka Saika!

Izumi felt utterly speechless and immediately blocked out the shameless narrator’s voice.

“I do not have such tastes!” Izumi flatly denied Megumi's absurd conjecture, eyeing the girl whose dramatic reaction was clearly exaggerated.

But damn it, why had Totsuka Saika’s face flashed through his mind for an instant?

At that moment, Izumi suddenly realized there was perhaps a grain of truth in what those ridiculous netizens often joked about:

“I’m attracted to beauty—it’s irrelevant whether it’s male or female.”

As it turned out, sometimes gender really wasn’t that important when it came to good looks.

Izumi hurriedly withdrew from this disturbing train of thought.

“Denying it so quickly only makes you look more suspicious, Yuu-kun,” Megumi said skeptically, staring at Izumi’s lower half with exaggerated doubt. “Besides, your little ‘Kun-kun’ showed absolutely no reaction earlier. Could it be… that Yuu-kun is impotent?!”

Megumi gasped in feigned shock, placing both hands dramatically on her cheeks, as though she'd uncovered an earth-shattering secret.

[No man can accept being called impotent! Faced with this blatant provocation of your manly dignity, you decide to demonstrate the strength of your twenty years’ worth of accumulated energy! One strike—twenty years’ worth! Can she withstand such a blow?]

Izumi briefly admired his own composure—remaining perfectly calm and stable despite being caught between this problematic girl and the shameless narrator’s combined assault.

“Let’s set aside the fact that you’re still an underdeveloped girl in my eyes. Do you really think merely standing this close would be enough to excite me? Don’t underestimate how difficult it is for a man’s dopamine to kick in.” Izumi glanced mildly at Megumi, speaking in a gentle yet detached tone.

If Megumi had made a more intimate gesture, he might've reacted differently. But as things stood, he wasn't that weak.

However, Izumi’s gentle explanation sounded like an attack to the girl.

“Hah?! I’m not some underdeveloped little girl! I’ve got B-cups, you know!” Megumi protested indignantly, clearly feeling slighted.

“I’m aware that you have B-cups,” Izumi responded dryly, his lips twitching slightly. “But… are middle school students really this precocious nowadays?”

“Isn't this perfectly normal?” Megumi shrugged naturally, as if it was common sense. “Girls my age are all about Kun-kun, after all! We’re all big fans of Kun-kun!”

Looking at the girl’s completely confident expression, Izumi raised his eyebrows slightly.

Perhaps he should reconsider his wish for Sagiri to stop being a shut-in—maybe isolation would keep her from being corrupted by the outside world?

No, wait...

Thinking of Sagiri’s identity as an R-18 illustrator, Izumi suddenly realized—it wasn’t clear who exactly would be corrupting whom.

“Judging by your reaction, Yuu-kun... You don't have a girlfriend yet, right?” Noticing Izumi’s slightly odd expression, Megumi smirked mischievously and moved closer, pressing him further. “If you ever feel the need, you can always come find me, you know?”

[Looking at this girl, obviously inexperienced and still a virgin, pretending to be a worldly expert in front of you, you inwardly scoff at her immaturity. Since she’s so eager to experience the adult world, you decide to grant her wish ahead of schedule. You can easily use her lack of experience as leverage to manipulate her—even if it’s a one-time card, you're confident she'll become hopelessly addicted afterward!]

Hearing the shameless narrator's voice, Izumi instantly understood.

So she was the kind of chuuni girl who saw physical intimacy as a sign of maturity and adulthood.

Honestly, it was such a childish idea, but perfectly fitting for delusional teenagers. They always thought that simply doing adult things automatically made them mature.

Little did they realize that in adults’ eyes, this kind of thinking was just painfully immature and silly.

Izumi glanced at Megumi’s smug face and felt genuinely amused.

Though her reasoning was childish, her acting was pretty convincing. Even he nearly bought it.

“You’re right—I don’t have a girlfriend yet.” Izumi looked at Megumi with mock earnestness, smiling gently. “So, Megumi, would you mind helping me out? Surely you wouldn't refuse my request, since you mentioned you’re such a big fan of Kun-kun.”

“Hah?! W-wait, are you serious?!” Megumi immediately froze, her eyes wide with surprise as panic began to set in. “I—I mean, I do love Kun-kun, but… but…”

Unable to come up with a good excuse, Megumi’s face flushed scarlet with embarrassment. Clearly, she hadn't anticipated Izumi playing along.

“I’m just joking.” Seeing Megumi looking so embarrassed she might implode, Izumi spoke calmly again. “Your reaction doesn't look very experienced to me at all.”

“Huh?! N-no way!” Megumi desperately tried to salvage her tough-girl persona, but upon seeing the smile tugging at Izumi’s lips, she could only mutter weakly, “I… I’m just not feeling that great lately!”

Then, leaning close to Izumi’s ear, she whispered conspiratorially, “If you don’t believe me, Yuu-kun, I can show you my sanitary pad as proof!”

Hearing Megumi’s absurd offer, Izumi’s lips twitched again as he flatly rejected her "kindness."

“No thanks, I’m good.”

He wasn't some twisted pervert interested in something like that.

“Hehe~!” Successfully managing to avoid a complete collapse of her character, Megumi swiftly regained her earlier confidence. She smiled cheekily, saying, “Then, can I get your contact info, Yuu-kun?”

“Of course,” Izumi replied smoothly.

“Great! That'll make persuading Sagiri-chan to return to school even easier!” Megumi cheerfully exchanged contacts with Izumi. “I won’t give up until Sagiri-chan goes back to school!”

“Well… actually, I might have a method,” Izumi suddenly said, beckoning Megumi to lean in closer.

“What is it?” Megumi perked up immediately, tiptoeing closer and pressing her ear toward Izumi.

“W-what? No way—that’s too embarrassing!”

In the next instant, Megumi’s face flushed deeply from ear to neck as she stared at Izumi, utterly mortified.

“But this is really the only way that might encourage Sagiri-chan to step outside,” Izumi said with a gentle smile.

---

Meanwhile, upstairs—

“What exactly are these two doing?!”

Sagiri, who had been secretly spying on them, panicked, stomping furiously on a cushion beneath her feet. “Why is that fake, hypocritical girl making such a shameless, blushing face at Nii-san?!”

Being left out like this... feels absolutely awful!!

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This is a fan translation of 加藤惠别回头，我是伦也君 by 故人归 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!