Glasses Fetish

Noon, the cafeteria.

"Hey, U Amakusa, what exactly did you say to make Majima stop and get curious? Tell us."

"Honestly, I'm curious too."

Both of them fixed their gazes on U Amakusa, but he ignored them, simply shoveling food into his mouth.

Naoki Shimizu and Satoshi Satonaka didn't want to let it go and kept pressing, but U Amakusa remained tight-lipped.

Kamuro was nowhere to be seen in the cafeteria; then again, there was more than one cafeteria in this school, and even if she did come here, she would have scurried off the moment she saw U Amakusa.

Conversely, things weren't much easier for Kamuro; the girls on her side were far more difficult to deal with than the ones on U Amakusa's side.

"Just eat your food, you two. Can't you keep your mouths shut?"

Faced with their relentless questioning, U Amakusa's strategy of silence crumbled.

"Sigh, it must be nice. U Amakusa, how do you manage to be so bold when expressing your feelings?"

Naoki Shimizu felt a surge of frustration thinking back to himself at the bus stop; if only he had been a little bolder back then.

Satoshi Satonaka twirled some spaghetti from his bowl, popped it into his mouth, and replied to Naoki Shimizu with a look of disdain.

"Isn't that obvious? If you meet a girl you like and don't pursue her, are you just going to wait until graduation to go your separate ways?"

"True, that's a fair point."

U Amakusa thought about it and decided Satoshi Satonaka was right, even though he had no experience with romance himself.

Taking a deep breath, Naoki Shimizu took a massive gulp of his meal, then pulled a bitter face.

"I know that... but I always freeze up at the critical moment..."

"You chicken out?"

"Yeah... I've been single since birth. When will I ever get to have a sweet romance..."

Seeing Naoki Shimizu start to sigh and mope, Satoshi Satonaka and U Amakusa exchanged a look, both left speechless.

Satoshi Satonaka signaled with his eyes.

You go.

U Amakusa responded with his own gaze.

Why don't you go?

Satoshi Satonaka: When a handsome guy tries to comfort someone in this situation, it backfires.

U Amakusa: You're really that confident you're as handsome as me?!

Satoshi Satonaka: Obviously.

U Amakusa: ...

Without a word, U Amakusa sighed and patted Naoki Shimizu on the shoulder.

"Shimizu, you have to realize that confidence is a man's best cosmetic. Believe in yourself, you can do it. Besides, I've been single since birth too."

Upon hearing the latter part, Naoki Shimizu finally reacted, looking at U Amakusa with a sense of camaraderie.

"Really?"

"Really."

Not having a confirmed relationship and being in an ambiguous state—that counts as being single since birth, right?

Yeah, it should count.

"Bro—"

"By the way, Shimizu, is that girl with the glasses your target? What kind of type do you like?"

Satoshi Satonaka recalled the girl at the bus stop; she seemed to be wearing glasses.

"Yeah, isn't Student Nishikawa cute?!"

"Well... she's average, I guess."

"What did you say?! It's just that you have no taste! Student Nishikawa is super adorable, okay! Especially when she pushes up her glasses when they slide down!"

Thinking about it carefully, U Amakusa felt they both had a point; Ryoko Nishikawa could probably be considered the class beauty anywhere else.

Satoshi Satonaka's standards were a bit high, but he had the capital for it—he was a handsome guy himself.

Moreover, the quality of girls at Advanced Nurturing was so high that it was only natural to become obsessed with appearances in such an environment.

"Don't tell me... you kid... are one of those?" Satoshi Satonaka looked at Naoki Shimizu suspiciously, feeling he had guessed correctly.

U Amakusa added from the side: "A glasses fetishist."

"Right, right, that's exactly what I meant."

"No way!!"

Naoki Shimizu, as if his secret had been exposed, retorted urgently, his cheeks flushing slightly as he imagined it.

"That's not it! I'm... I only think glasses are great because Student Nishikawa wears them! I don't like Student Nishikawa because I have a glasses fetish!"

This kid... he's completely head over heels...

They'd known each other for less than two days, and U Amakusa couldn't fathom it; even if he were a lifelong bachelor himself, he wouldn't be like this.

"Don't talk about me, why not talk about U Amakusa? And Satoshi Satonaka, don't you plan on finding a girlfriend?"

Naoki Shimizu blushed as he tried to deflect the topic, looking exactly like a pure, innocent boy.

"Me?" Satoshi Satonaka pointed at himself, then waved his hand dismissively. "Forget about me, I don't have much interest in that sort of thing for the time being."

Suddenly, Naoki Shimizu's pupils constricted sharply, and he hurriedly retreated away from Satoshi Satonaka.

"Kisa-sama! You wouldn't be eyeing me, would you!"

"Huh!?"

Seeing Satoshi Satonaka's confused expression, U Amakusa felt like he was the only one who could keep up with both of their trains of thought at the same time.

"He means, you aren't gay, are you?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Satoshi Satonaka lost all color, replying with an expression of absolute certainty: "Impossible. Even if the Earth exploded and the solar system was annihilated, it would still be impossible."

Naoki Shimizu let out a long sigh of relief and sat back down.

"There's no need to be so absolute."

"Anyway, rest assured, it's absolutely impossible. Besides, with U Amakusa here, even if I did like men, I'd definitely choose U Amakusa."

?????

Wait, no? What is wrong with you?

U Amakusa silently scooted his chair back half an inch. I'm talking about brotherly friendship, and my brother wants to plow my back door.

"Let's stop discussing this. U Amakusa, you and Kamuro should have a shot, I'm rooting for you."

Fine, talk if you want, root for me if you want, but you're practically shoving that thumb into my face.

Things with Kamuro could be considered expected, or perhaps a helpless turn of events.

The words he said to Kamuro back then were the truth, but the helpless part was that U Amakusa just liked teasing Kamuro; he hadn't intended for things to develop like this.

He did indeed like how Kamuro was somewhat mature yet silly, a contrast that was quite cute.

But if it turned out they didn't end up together, then...

He would likely be branded a scumbag; no, he definitely would be.

"Let's go back to you, Naoki Shimizu. How exactly did you fall for Student Nishikawa?"

Sorry, but U Amakusa was also capable of pulling the conversation in a different direction.

"Eh—well... how do I put it... I just think she's very cute, and then... naturally, I wanted to date her."

Naoki Shimizu said this while fidgeting, scratching his cheek in embarrassment.

"Then just go confess," Satoshi Satonaka goaded, his intentions less than pure.

"How could I possibly do something like that!"

Watching the two of them interact, U Amakusa couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Isn't that just lust at first sight?

Since they were friends, U Amakusa felt he should offer some useful advice, even if it really was just lust at first sight.

Ability, Super Deduction.

"Naoki Shimizu, I think you might as well give it a try. If you confess, Student Nishikawa will have to pay attention to you. Then, if you act like nothing happened, she'll pay even more attention to you, and then...

No, never mind what I said."

Just as U Amakusa had expected, as long as the person involved had the intention, his glasses could see it.

For a split second, Naoki Shimizu felt that what U Amakusa said was feasible and wanted to give it a try.

However, the answer U Amakusa received was—Naoki Shimizu would be rejected.

"Why? Godfather." Naoki Shimizu said anxiously.

"I think you should get to know Student Nishikawa better, Naoki Shimizu. Her strengths, her likes, things like that. For example, ask her questions about the subjects she excels in to slowly close the distance before making any plans."

"Godfather!"

Since he's already calling me Godfather, what else can I do? Your old man will help you with this favor!