The Literary High School Girl Aims to Be Demure

Ever since I hired a private tutor, my life has changed.

"I'm home!!!"

As soon as Saturday classes were over, I rushed home and threw open the front door.

I quickly washed my hands at the sink, then dashed up the stairs and into my room.

"Hey, Shiori! Did you even wash your hands properly?"

"I washed them!"

It's 1:30 p.m.

There was about an hour and a half left before he—Masato-san—arrived.

(Today... I decided to wear casual clothes♪)

Before Masato-san started coming over, I barely had any casual clothes.

Of course I didn't. My uniform was all I needed, and I had no friends to go out with on my days off.

I hadn't even thought it was worth spending money on casual clothes.

I remembered the night of that fateful day... the day I first met Masato-san.

After I'd hurled all kinds of insults at Mom and even threatened to tell Dad on her...

I decided to calmly sort out the situation in my room.

(Th-this is a huge deal... I can't believe someone like a storybook hero is going to come to my room every week...!)

I thought he must have stepped straight out of a fairy tale.

He looked like a handsome guy with an earnest, wholesome air about him, but by the end, all I could see was a prince in shining knight's armor.

I couldn't help being grateful for the incredible luck that had fallen into my lap.

I might just give Mom credit for one thing: inviting such a wonderful person over.

(And... he said I was beautiful, right?)

I'd assumed he had a nasty personality, so I tried making a snide remark. But the response I got was unbelievable.

In other words, he'd complimented me.

Could I maybe get closer to him?

After all, I'm going to see him every week! Sure, he'll be teaching me, but... something could happen between us, you know...?

My spirits soared. My face grew unbearably hot.

To calm down, I glanced at the cover of my favorite novel on my bookshelf.

(Seriously... that guy is just like the hero in this novel...)

...But then I stopped moving.

Beside the hero on the cover was a lovely heroine.

Then I looked at the mirror in front of my closet.

I looked at myself.

And that was when I realized the shocking truth.

(...I'm not even remotely good enough for him, am I?)

Of course I wasn't. I might've been excited, but I was a potato. No, calling myself a potato would be insulting to potatoes. Sweet potatoes are delicious, after all.

I'm not even delicious.

I felt the heat draining from my body, cooling me down in an instant.

If there were a story about a super-uncool high school girl with glasses like me ending up with a fairy-tale hero like him, what would I think if I read it?

'LMAO, what a delusional, cringe fantasy. Like some ridiculously handsome guy would ever fall for a gloomy virgin loser like you. Get real!'

...Yeah, something like that.

There was a chance, smaller than a microscopic organism, that Masato-san might be incredibly into ugly girls and fall for me as I was. But I wasn't so desperate I'd cling to that hope—not yet, anyway.

So what should I do?

I looked at the novel's cover again.

I looked at the lovely heroine standing there.

(I have to become her...!)

I had to become like that heroine.

(But no matter how hard I try, I can't be a sunny, carefree heroine... So what I should aim for is... the demure, refined type!)

I stood in front of the mirror.

I let my braids down.

I took off my glasses.

(This won't do...)

I flung the door open.

I'd hide everything, no matter what. Even if it was all a façade, I'd become someone he could fall for.

"Mom, teach me how to do makeup!"

That's how my grand plan to become a demure, refined girl began!

I opened my closet to pick out an outfit.

"Maybe I'll just wear the one you picked out for me last week..."

Astonishingly, after I stopped braiding my hair and switched to contacts, I made friends in class.

You might ask if it was really that easy, and maybe not. But I think I'd been the one cutting myself off from people all along. Maybe it was all in my head.

My makeover gave them an easy conversation starter.

And once we started talking, it turned out I could actually hold a conversation.

So I decided to ask the popular girls to pick out some clothes for me.

Well, humanity advances one step at a time, right? That's how we've gotten this far. Of course I should rely on those who came before me.

"All right... I'll go with this."

I was going to win them over with a demure look. More mature clothes would probably be better, too.

I pulled out my favorite overall-style skirt.

I'd wear my hair half-up, tied with a light blue ribbon I'd bought at a variety shop.

Yeah, not bad.

I wouldn't go heavy on the makeup. I'd stick to a natural look.

Eyeliner to make my eyes look nice, and foundation to make my skin look smooth. Both were subtle, understated types.

I stood in front of the mirror.

Yeah. This'll do.

This should be enough that even if I were paired with a hero,

'Well, I guess I can let you have a little romance with someone out of your league.'

I should at least have reached that point.

"Shiori-chan? It's Katari. Can I come in?"

Huh...?

...Oh crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!!!!

I'd thought I still had plenty of time, so I'd been reading a super-raunchy erotic novel! This is bad!

It's already five minutes to three! I'm such an idiot!

At lightning speed, I slipped the book cover I'd prepared over the novel.

The cover was from a top-ranked literary novel I'd borrowed from the school library.

This'll get me through!

"Y-yes, that's fine."

Masato-san opened the door, stepped inside, and smiled.

Ah... he's dazzling...

"Hello, Shiori-chan."

Oof.

Careful. Don't lose, me. I said I was going to become demure, right?!

"Hello."

O-okay, good. This is going well.

Wasn't that greeting pretty elegant? Who knows, though.

As I breathed a sigh of relief, Masato-san's eyes widened as if he'd noticed something.

"Oh, you're not wearing your uniform today."

Aaaah, I'm so happy! An actual guy in real life who notices something this tiny exists?!

"Y-yeah, that's right. When I thought about it, wearing my uniform on my day off seemed kind of strange."

M-maybe I should show off a little.

I spun my chair around to show off what I was wearing today.

Thank you, my friends. Behold this radiance. This armor is your parting gift to me.

"Oh, nice! It suits you really well. I've only ever seen you in your uniform, so this is a nice change."

Oof, lol.

No! Careful, careful... I mean, I'm so happy I could die... I can't... I'm glad I worked so hard...

I wasn't going to just take hit after hit. Taste the attack I've been honing for today: the blade known as Demure!

"Hehe, thank you. Your casual clothes look cool too, Masato-san."

"Flattery won't get you out of your homework, you know."

Huh? What kind of comeback was that?

You're obviously handsome, so cut it out already!!

"Well... I was about to say we should get started, but there's still five minutes left."

"That's right. What should we do?"

"Since we're here, why don't we chat a little before we study?"

A considerate handsome guy is a god.

This is our fourth session, and Masato-san's handsome-guy power is still way too strong.

Even in fiction, this would be so over the top that people would call it a delusional fantasy.

"Oh, what were you reading today?"

...Oh crap. This is bad.

Wait. I've already put on the book cover—the fake cover.

He hasn't figured out that what's inside is an erotic novel.

If I show him this, he'll believe me! It's supposed to be popular, too!

Someone inside my head asked me a question.

Is that equipment—just a book cover—really enough?

I gave them a smile and a thumbs-up.

I'm fine. No problem.

"Oh, um... this one by Tasaka-san..."

"Oh, that's a fun one! 'Summer Fell from the Second Floor'... What kind of life do you have to lead to come up with an opening like that...?"

...

Hehe☆ I haven't read even a millimeter of the book under this fake cover☆

What does it mean for summer to fall? Does summer fall from the sky?

My erotic novel starts with a half-naked pretty boy falling from the sky and a lucky-pervert situation. Is that gonna be okay?☆

What the hell! This cover's no use to me at all! (Indignant)

"Ah, ha ha, exactly..."

I-I should read it. From now on, I'd better make sure to read the book whenever I put a fake cover on it...

Ah, this is the good life~.

I'm not especially fond of studying, but I love the time I spend being taught by Masato-san.

He's good at explaining things, and it's easy to understand. Honestly, at first I'd thought I wouldn't care if he was a terrible teacher, but he's actually great.

He said this was his first time teaching anyone, but I couldn't believe it.

His high-spec status was on full display.

"This part can be read another way. This symbol points over here, so the right order is..."

Hmm...?

I was studying seriously, but I was bad at Japanese. What even is classical Chinese? At least make it a Japanese language, for crying out loud.

Masato-san was an excellent teacher, so the problem was my brain.

As I thought that and desperately studied the text...

I felt something against my back.

Huh?

"Okay, Shiori-chan, I'm going to trace it with my finger. Follow along with me, and we'll go through the reading order—"

—A sweet shock suddenly raced through my whole body.

The words whispered right by my ear struck my brain like a direct hit.

W-what is this?

Has a private ASMR stream just started for me?

What exactly is he going to trace with his finger???

My body was boiling.

The gauge inside me maxed out and exploded.

"Oof."

Ah, this is bad.

I hastily covered my mouth.

I can't take it anymore.

I leaped to my feet.

"Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom..."

"Ah, sure. Okay, sorry."

Hiding my expression, I left the room and headed to the bathroom.

I quickly shut the bathroom door.

Then I slid down and crumpled to the floor.

"Haaaa... Haaaa...!"

I could still feel it against my back.

The warmth of him leaning over me. His words spoken right by my ear.

A sweet scent tickling my nostrils.

My demure façade was already beginning to crack.

Because that was just... way too unfair.

Sweat dripped down me.

This ugly lust welling up inside me... This wasn't the kind of person a heroine should be. I knew that.

But right now...

Just this once, let me put it into words. I want to tear off my mask and shout as my true self.

I'll put my mask back on properly afterward. Just for now.

"I wanna pin him downnnnn!!!!!"

I let out my utterly undemure feelings with all my might.