Like a Press Conference

"Everyone, it's nice to meet you. I'm Izumi Shouya… I look forward to getting along with you all."

I bowed my head after introducing myself, and the whole classroom welcomed me with applause.

But with only just over a month having passed since my reincarnation, I had nothing to draw on for self-introduction material.

I turned quickly to Kaede beside me and whispered for help.

"Kaede, what should I do after this?"

"In that case, leave it to me! ♡"

With that, Kaede called out to the rest of the classroom.

"Hey everyone! To make it easier for Shouya to introduce himself, I'd love for you all to ask him questions!"

I see. If I couldn't come up with material on my own, I could just let the other side give me an opening.

"Hmm… but the first one's nerve-wracking for everyone, right… So let me go first! Shouya, got a favorite food?"

"A food I like…"

The "What's your favorite ___?" question is one I'm currently bad with. I've only just been discharged, and I've barely touched anything outside, so even when asked what I like, I can't really answer.

I was about to waste the lifeline Kaede had thrown me when I remembered the discharge party from the other day. The braised pork belly Ushijima-san had specially prepared was incredibly delicious.

"The most delicious thing I've had recently was the braised pork belly the maid made…"

"Ah～ I know, right! ♡ That was super tasty, wasn't it! ♡ Actually, my question was a bad one… You see, Shouya is still figuring out what he likes and what his hobbies are! So even if he can't answer, it doesn't mean he dislikes you, so don't worry, okay!"

Kaede said the things that were hard for me to say on my behalf. Her follow-up was perfect too. If I'd said 'I can't answer,' the asker might have misread it as me being in a bad mood.

The fact that I couldn't answer was my problem, not the questioner's fault.

"Yes, yes～! I know Shouya's favorite sport～! Hey, Shouya, what's your favorite sport again? ♡"

Arisa raised her hand to grab attention, then asked me about my favorite sport with sparkling eyes. She probably wanted me to say volleyball.

"My favorite sport is volleyball. I've never actually played it or watched a real match, but… thanks to Arisa, I've been watching all sorts of videos online. I'm also planning to go see one of Arisa's matches sometime…"

The moment I mentioned going to watch Arisa's match, the classroom started buzzing.

"Hehe ♡ He's gonna cheer for me～ ♡"

Arisa laughed as if to show off to everyone in the classroom.

In this world, it's probably rare for a man to take interest in a woman's sport and go cheer for her. From everyone's reactions, I could roughly guess that was the case.

"U-um! Are you a dog person? Or a cat person?"

Once the chatter settled, one of the girls asked a question. A surprisingly tricky one. Easier than free-response since it was multiple choice, but harder in its own way.

"Um, I like both, but… dog… I guess…"

At my answer, about half the class brightened up while the other half drooped a little. Was this class evenly split between dog people and cat people? Or rather, was nobody an 'either is fine'?

"Um, are you interested in anime or games?"

While I was caught up in unnecessary thoughts, the next question came flying in, from a quiet-looking girl with purple hair and glasses. Anime and games, huh… I'd never touched either in this world, but I was interested. Though the competitive ones didn't really seem to suit me.

"I'm interested… If it's all right, please tell me some recommendations."

The student who'd asked nodded happily in quick little jerks at my reply.

"Yes."

This time the girl raised her hand crisply and neatly to signal she wanted to ask. Her platinum blonde was beautifully braided, and her breasts were even bigger than Arisa's.

When I prompted her with "Please go ahead," she began her question.

"Izumi-sama… Shouya-sama, do you prefer the sea or the mountains?"

The girl had started to call me by my surname, then switched to my given name. After all, "Izumi" could mean either me or Kaede.

"Everyone, since 'Izumi' could be confusing for both me and Kaede, feel free to use my given name…"

When I invited everyone to use my given name, the classroom buzzed again. Did being called by your given name carry some special meaning?

"Mhm, mhm. That's a help for me too～"

Or so I thought, but going by Kaede's reaction, there didn't seem to be any deeper significance. It probably just felt like the distance had shrunk a bit through given-name address. But we were twins, so calling each other by given name hardly meant we'd suddenly grown closer. I really hoped no one would read into it.

"Um, mountains or the sea, huh… Hmm, I like fish, and I'd like to try camping too…"

"I-if you really can't choose, it's all right to say you like both!"

As I was agonizing, the asker threw me a lifeline.

"Then, I like both. And I like both dogs and cats too."

When I added that I also liked cats, the dejected half brightened up as well. Even though it was a vague answer, the girl who'd asked smiled, somehow satisfied too.

After that, the question-and-answer session continued so they could get to know me.

"Um… what do you look for in the woman you'll marry?"

The questions had been harmless up until then, but suddenly a serious one came up.

"What I look for…"

"Maybe the question's a little too broad… Hmm, like, for instance, do you prefer the cute type or the beautiful type… that kind of thing?"

Kaede made eye contact with the asker and broke down the question to make it easier to answer.

"Um… sorry. Honestly, both…"

I ended up glancing back and forth at Kaede and Arisa on either side of me. The question felt like being asked to choose between Kaede and Arisa, and the only answer I could come up with was 'I like both.'

"The two of you… I mean! I like both."

I'd nearly said I liked the two of them, and hurriedly rephrased. But the two beside me seemed to catch what I'd almost said, and their cheeks went red.

"Ahem! Sh-Shouya is the type who isn't very picky about women! So nobody needs to feel anxious, okay!"

Kaede raised her voice to settle everyone who was getting fidgety, and to cover up her own embarrassment.

"By・the・way! As for the thing everyone's dying to know about, breasts… Shouya, you say it! ♡"

I'd thought Kaede was going to handle everything, but she tossed the crucial part to me. To think I had to expose my preferences yet again… and in front of this many people…

"Um… I'm fine with breasts whether they're big or small… I can come to like either… so please don't worry that it'll put me in a bad mood."

Most of the class looked relieved by my preference confession, but a few still seemed unconvinced. What to do…

"Me being here is the best proof, isn't it? Proof that Shouya doesn't mind busty either! ♡"

Arisa puffed out her chest proudly to drive the point home. With the motion, her chest swayed inside her blouse. The panties I'd accidentally glimpsed earlier had been pale green, and now I was wondering if her bra was the same color, all kinds of fantasies running through my head.

"Small ones too… it's okay! Right!"

Arisa was busty, and Kaede, while not as much as Arisa, had a decent size of her own, so this didn't really prove I had no issue with small breasts.

"If anyone still doubts it… here!"

Arisa suddenly hugged me from the side, her soft, large breasts pressed against me.

"See! Even something like this is okay!"

As she said it, Arisa rubbed her chest against me even more. Each time she moved, her chest shifted shape dramatically, and a nice scent wafted from her swaying hair. I was using every bit of willpower I had to hide my erection under the lecture podium.

"A-Arisa, I think everyone understands now, so get off!"

While I was wondering what to do, Kaede forcibly pried Arisa off.

"Um, so I'm fine with that sort of thing…"

When I said for the umpteenth time that I was fine, the classroom buzzed in surprise. I could hear voices murmuring 'if we get closer, then maybe I could too…' and 'I wonder how he feels about flat…' but on the whole, you could say it had gone well.

"Do you still have an opening in your minimum marriage quota?"

The next question came, but how was I supposed to handle this one? Neither Kaede nor Arisa could answer for me here.

"Um… well, two spots are kind of already decided… maybe… or rather, reserved…"

When I said 'two,' Kaede and Arisa widened their eyes and stared at each other. The only ones for whom marriage had come up so far were these two and my sisters. As for my sisters, no matter how many of them I married, it counted as one slot, so combined with Arisa that made two.

"But if it's a good person, I might want to marry them regardless of the minimum quota… maybe."

For men in this world, marriage didn't come with many restrictions, so it wasn't all that heavy a thing. That much I'd vaguely come to understand over the past month or so.

So I was speaking from the somewhat simplistic thought of 'why not just marry everyone I like?'

The classroom got noisy again at my words. For men, marriage was treated like a tiresome quota, so framing it as a means to happiness the way I did was apparently strange. But even if it looked odd to a normal person, I figured that as long as I and the people around me were happy, that was enough.

"I-I see…"

The student who'd asked seemed a little dumbfounded by my answer.

"In other words, if you can get Shouya to like you, everyone has a chance! And Shouya isn't scared of girls, and he isn't very picky either… even setting aside family bias, you won't find a catch as good as him!"

Kaede seized her chance to hard-sell me.

"Um, so that's how it is. I'd be happy if you didn't worry too much and just got along with me."

Since no more hands went up after that last question, I closed out my self-introduction with a generic greeting. The applause that met me was leagues louder than when I'd first greeted them, and I felt like I'd manage just fine as a member of this class too.