Chapter 7

“High School Boys and the Convex Mirror Girl” is the 7th chapter of the manga.

Cover Page
A still of a thin girl wearing a dark skirt and bow-tie. Her face is partially hidden.

Detailed Summary
Tadakuni is revealed to work twice a week as a pizza delivery guy. He is seen working with a boy and a girl, both his age. The day is a slow one, so he tells the girl (whom he addresses as Nago-san) that he wants to ask her something. She tells him to go on, and he asks her what high school girls find attractive about high school boys. Her initial response is their faces, but realizing that it was obvious, she says that they sometimes like boys who are rumoured to like them. The boys find this odd, but Nago adds that they will turn them down if they don’t like their faces anyway, which seems to aggrieve Tadakuni.

Nago then asks Tadakuni if he wanted to be popular, but he claims he already is. He turns to the other boy, whom he addresses as Yasunori, and questions him about his popularity. When Yasunori responds that he is well-liked, Tadakuni rubbishes the claim, and brags that he is popular enough to be punched by a girl at a riverbank. Yasunori finds this interesting, but Nago thinks it’s violent. She then asks the two why high school boys tend to spontaneously talk about themselves.

She follows this up by saying it looked like they were begging for a compliment, at which the boys apologize and promise not to repeat that behavior. As they prepare to leave for the delivery, Tadakuni points out Nago’s own appearance, and Yasunori chimes in. They both express the view that she needed to work on her appearance more than either of them, which annoys her.

Taking off her glasses, she asks Yasunori for a convex mirror and he brings it to her, which puzzles Tadakuni as to why they had one in the pizzeria. As she poses in front of the mirror with eyes wide open, the boys see an entirely different Nago in the mirror – a girl who is much more slim and attractive, with a charming smile to boot. They are completely speechless, and as Nago ‘reverts’, Tadakuni demands an explanation for the cheerful pose and the transformation. Yasunori doubles back and states that looks don’t really matter, but is cut off by an irritated Nago, who asks them to get on with the delivery.

The boys leave with pizza boxes in hand, but pause at the doorway. Yasunori asks Tadakuni if they’ll ever see the girl in the mirror again, and Tadakuni responds that it seemed doubtful. He says he wouldn’t give up hope, though. An embarrassed Nago orders them to move along.

Characters
In order of appearance:
 * Nago
 * Tadakuni
 * Yasunori