I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

“You ended up buying both in the end.”

“Ugh… It’s fine. One of them is for me, anyway.”
As we walked along a path lined with fully-bloomed purple wisteria, I lightly shook the two paper shopping bags I was holding in both hands, and the President blushed slightly as she snatched her bag from me.
In the end, the final gift for the Russian exchange student was settled as the yukata.

Apparently, a kimono was too formal, difficult to wear alone, and therefore unsuitable as a gift for a foreigner.
Well, in a few months festival season would come around, so a yukata wouldn’t be a bad gift either.
“More than that, let’s just enjoy the walk. A walk.”

Maybe wanting to change the subject, the President said that and quickened her pace, clutching the paper bag tightly to her chest.
I lengthened my stride slightly to keep up with her and asked,
“It looks like we’re done with everything we had to do today—what do you want to do next?”

Then the President, who was walking ahead, paused and turned around.
“Do you mean after the walk?”
“Yes. It’s a rare day off. Wouldn’t it be a waste to just go back after doing only student council errands?”

Since choosing the gift had finished earlier than expected, it was still only around 2 p.m.
Even after a bit of walking, there was plenty of time left until evening.
After hesitating for a moment, the President spoke up.

“Then… how about Nakano Broadway? I heard from Minami before that it’s a great place for young students to hang out.”
“Oh, that’s a good place. But taking the subway from Asakusa to Nakano would take a while.”
“That’s not a problem. I’ll just call the car.”

As expected of a rich young lady—her thought process was on another level compared to an ordinary student.
“Then let’s have lunch in Nakano.”
“Fufu, sounds good. I was just starting to get hungry too.”
Just as we reached a mutual agreement and were about to continue our walk—

Click!
“Hm?”
I turned my head at the sound of a camera shutter. A couple, likely lovers, were taking a selfie with a selfie stick.

Up until just a moment ago, it had been just me and the President. When had they shown up?
“Aren’t you coming?”
While I tilted my head in confusion, the President—already walking ahead—urged me, and I quickly caught up.

***
“That was close. I thought we got caught.”
“If you’re done, get off me.”

Akagi Shinjiro and Akagi Minami had been secretly following behind Kumiko and Kim Yu-seong, snapping photos.
They intended to report to the young lady later, but hadn’t expected Kim Yu-seong to suddenly turn around, so they # Nоvеlight # had hastily pretended to be a couple.
“This is why I told you not to get too close.”

“If we don’t get this close, we can’t get good shots.”
Minami responded curtly as she checked the photo she’d just taken, while Vice President Akagi Shinjiro glared at the back of Kim Yu-seong’s head as he walked away.
“That ungrateful bastard. Doesn’t even realize someone like the young lady likes him.”

“Oppa, I don’t care if you personally dislike him, but you know you can’t let it show in front of him, right?”
“…Yeah, I know.”
The two of them had been serving Saionji Kumiko since long ago.

Perhaps even since the moment they were born.
That’s why they possessed blind loyalty—willing to do anything for her.
Because that was how they had been raised from the beginning.

After checking all the photos on the camera, Minami plugged the backup memory into her smartphone and folded up the selfie stick in her right hand.
“The young lady will probably call for the limousine soon. We need to go clear the back seat in advance.”
“Then we’ll have to take a taxi.”

“Call it ahead if you can. We need to get to Nakano Broadway before they do and scout the location.”
“Got it.”
With their plans aligned, the two of them set back into motion.

Everything was for the beloved young lady.
***
The President and I took the limousine she had called and moved from Asakusa to Nakano.

If we had taken the subway, it would’ve taken about an hour, but by car it only took around forty minutes.
A long, black limousine straight out of a movie came to a stop in front of Nakano Station, and passing pedestrians naturally turned to stare.
I stepped out of the car first and, feeling oddly self-conscious, pulled my hood over my head and said,

“Shall we go?”
The President, who got out of the car right after me, gave a slight nod and replied,
“Let’s.”

Once the limousine that had dropped us off slipped off into the traffic, the President and I began walking slowly toward the red and white building in the distance.
***
Nakano Broadway.

One of the first landmarks that comes to mind when you think of Nakano, and one of the three holy sites of the otaku world.
Since it’s just a single building, it differs in scale from Akihabara’s electronics district or Ikebukuro’s Otome Road, but the depth of darkness hidden within is said to rival either.
I had never been here myself, but in the memories left by the real Kim Yu-seong, there were frequent visits to Nakano Broadway.

It seemed like there were rare items you could only get here, so he used to make time at least once a month to come treasure-hunting.
The first floor of Nakano Broadway had all sorts of stores, the main Mandarake branch famous for secondhand books, a DVD rental shop, and an arcade.
Maybe because it was Golden Week, but the entire building was bustling with people wherever you looked.

“Wow… There are so many fascinating things.”
The President seemed to be experiencing a place like this for the first time, curiously looking around.
Apparently, her ongoing "commoner life experience" project was still in effect.

“Is there anywhere you’d like to visit?”
The President folded her arms and thought for a moment, then gave her answer without hesitation.
“Let’s eat first. There’s no harm in playing after that.”

A sharp and sound decision.
Since meeting at noon, we hadn’t eaten anything except ice cream.
“Then lunch is on me. There’s a regular spot I always visit when I come here.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t mine, but a place the real Kim Yu-seong frequented.
“Oh my, very well. I’ll trust your choice today, Kim Yu-seong.”
As I stepped onto the escalator going up to the second floor, I asked the President,

“Do you like ramen, by any chance?”
***
The place I brought the President to was the ramen shop that Kim Yu-seong liked.

It was considered a bit of a hidden gem among ramen fans, and the seats inside were already full.
Left with no choice, we sat at the counter, and a server came by naturally with menus and water.
The President, who had rarely been to such a common eatery, looked around with wide eyes.

“The layout of the shop is fascinating.”
Flipping through the menu, I answered,
“It’s because the floor space is so small. They pack in as many seats as possible, so even if it’s a different type of seating, everything ends up cramped together.”

Having decided on my order, I handed the menu to the President and asked,
“What would you like to eat, President?”
The President read the items listed on the menu aloud:

“Tonkotsu ramen, miso ramen, shio ramen, tsukemen?”
“My personal recommendation is the shio ramen. It has a clean flavor, and I hear it’s popular with women.”
After some deliberation, the President made her decision.

“Then I’ll have the shio ramen.”
With the President’s order settled, I called out to the server passing by and ordered one tonkotsu and one shio ramen.
Since it looked like it would take about ten minutes for the food to come out, I excused myself and stood up.

“I’m going to the restroom for a bit.”
“All right. Go ahead.”
After receiving permission, I headed toward the restroom.

***
Gurururu—
Gasp!

Akagi Shinjiro, who had been secretly watching the young lady and Kim Yu-seong enter the ramen shop, grimaced at the sudden sensation in his stomach.
He turned to Minami, who was also keeping watch over the shop, and asked,
“C-Can I go to the bathroom real quick?”

“What? All of a sudden?”
“I think the cream bun I ate in the car earlier was bad…”
Gurururuk—

His stomachache was getting worse by the second, and his legs began to cross involuntarily.
Seeing him in such obvious distress, Minami shook her head.
“Jeez, I told you to be careful. Go quickly. It looks like it’ll be a while before the young lady and Kim Yu-seong move to the next spot.”

“Thanks…”
GURURURUK!
“Ugh!”

There was no more time to hesitate.
Having received his little sister’s permission, Akagi Shinjiro rushed to the second-floor restroom and locked himself into a stall.
About five minutes later—

Just as he finished putting out the emergency fire and was about to step out—
Shhhhhhhh—
He heard the sound of someone washing their hands outside.

Thinking it was just another customer, Shinjiro flushed the toilet and walked out of the stall casually.
‘Huh?’
But the moment he laid eyes on a familiar back, his entire body froze like stone.

Kim Yu-seong—the very target he and his sister were supposed to be secretly tailing—was standing right in front of him.
Kim Yu-seong, in the middle of washing his hands, also noticed Shinjiro’s reflection in the mirror and spoke in surprise.
“Vice President?”

Akagi Shinjiro immediately realized—
This tailing mission had just failed.