Chapter 18

“So it’s finally happened…”

I’d been dreading this for a while now, but the moment had finally come.

I looked down at the clothes in my hands.

There was a fairly large hole near the shoulder. It might be possible to patch it up, but doing so would make it pretty noticeable. And since there was a hole, that meant the fabric was already worn out—it looked tired all over.

“I figured this day would come eventually…”

I never had that many clothes to begin with.

Everything I’d been wearing up until now were the clothes I brought with me when I returned to this world.

So all I originally had was what could fit into a single bag.

I’d been stretching that wardrobe as best I could, but now that one piece had become unwearable, things were going to get tight.

“If I go around wearing worn-out clothes here, I’ll stand out…”

In that other world, a hole like this wouldn’t have been a big deal. I could’ve patched it up and no one would have thought twice about it.

But here, wearing something like this would probably draw attention in all the wrong ways.

If people were to talk badly about me, I could live with that. But if they started saying things about Shin, who lives with me… that’s what I wanted to avoid.

“I guess I’ll have to ask him to buy me some…”

I didn’t have any money, so if I wanted new clothes, I had no choice but to ask him.

I felt reluctant, but there weren’t any other options.

“I think Shin would probably buy them for me…”

A month ago, he did tell me to let him know if there was anything I needed.

So if I asked, he’d most likely say yes.

…Still, I just couldn’t help feeling hesitant.

Sure, I do all the housework, but it still feels like I’m already taking too much—being supported by him and asking him to buy me clothes?

If I were his wife or girlfriend, it might be a different story. In the other world, it was normal for a man to support his wife or mistress.

But I’m neither his wife nor his girlfriend.

And back there, supporting someone like that wasn’t exactly the norm.

I don’t know what’s considered normal in this world, but my values are still rooted in that other world I spent six years in. So this makes me uneasy.

“Maybe I should just try being his girlfriend? …Yeah, right.”

I ended up laughing at myself. That’s a bit much.

Even though I look like this now, I used to be a guy. No matter how kind Shin is, romance with a man… that’s still a stretch for me.

“…Well, can’t be helped. I’ll ask him later.”

Even if I feel guilty, it’s something I genuinely need. There’s no getting around it.

I made up my mind to ask Shin to buy me clothes sometime later.

For now, I headed to the living room to finish up the housework.

…What in the world is he doing?

That was a while after I’d started tidying up the living room.

Something strange had begun happening.

I kept my hands busy while casually glancing out of the corner of my eye so he wouldn’t notice.

Shin was watching me.

Half-hidden behind the door, he was peeking in my direction.

On top of that, he was sighing, holding his head, pacing around—clearly agitated.

…Did something happen?

He’d been normal this morning, so whatever it is, it must’ve happened in the past few hours.

I tried to think back on anything that could’ve happened during that time.

…No use. I had no idea.

Nothing came to mind.

Tilting my head, I walked back to the kitchen to rinse out the cloth I’d been using.

On the way, Shin looked at me with a stunned expression—that left an impression.

After finishing up with the cloth, I walked over to Shin and decided to get to the point.

“I need to talk to you about something… um, I don’t really have many clothes.”

“Clothes?”

“Yeah, so… I was wondering if you could maybe buy me some?”

At first, he looked flustered for some reason, but when I said I wanted new clothes, he thankfully agreed without much fuss.

“Sure. Let’s go this afternoon.”

“Okay, thanks.”

I was relieved everything went smoothly.

Even though I expected he’d say yes, seeing his kind expression put me at ease.

“This afternoon, huh… I should get ready.”

I went back to my room to prepare for going out.

…By the way, when I later asked him about that weird behavior, he dodged the question.

Seriously, what was that all about?