Chapter 97

Slide.

I carefully pushed open the sliding door and offered an awkward smile when the professor paused his lecture to look my way.

"I'm sorry. Something came up... I submitted my absence slip to the Faculty Office."

"...I wondered if you were finally skipping class for once, but you actually showed up. Take a seat."

Normally, he would have asked why I was actually attending class for a change.

Hearing that completely flipped assessment straight from his mouth felt strangely refreshing.

I dipped my head in apology and stepped into the classroom, spotting Miyuki sitting at her desk by the window.

Crossing the back of the room, I gave Tetsuya a light pat on the back before taking my seat. Miyuki immediately showed me a message she had written in her notebook.

[Good job.]

She seemed to be praising me for obediently following her instruction to stagger our arrivals.

I let out a soft snort, exchanged a nod with Bread Girl in the seat ahead of me, and opened my book.

Glancing at the empty desk between us, I noticed Tetsuya stealing looks at me while keeping his eyes cast down at his textbook.

‘Does the plum scent seem stronger today?’

‘That's because I used Miyuki's favorite body wash.’

Tap, tap.

While I was mulling over how best to humiliate Tetsuya, Miyuki lightly tapped my arm, drawing my attention.

She was scribbling something in the corner of her notebook.

In her endlessly pretty handwriting, she wrote, [Focus on the class.]

I answered by pulling my chair practically flush against my desk and resting my hand on Miyuki's thigh.

In response, Miyuki jotted a new sentence right below the last one.

[Stop for today. If you try to do anything more, I'm going to scold you. I mean it.]

I could practically feel the frost radiating from the letters.

Smacking my lips in mild disappointment, I obediently placed both hands back on my desk.

When that agonizingly dull class finally ended and break time began, Miyuki chatted briefly with the Vice Representative before standing up.

On her way out of the classroom, she sneakily stroked the back of my neck, making sure no one else noticed.

She was starting to show affection even when other people were around. I loved it.

"Matsuda."

Tetsuya called out, approaching me just as I was about to talk to Bread Girl.

I looked at him and jerked my chin.

"What."

"By any chance... what body wash do you use?"

He was actually asking about that? He beat around the bush, but it was still unexpected.

Normally, he would have played dumb, but it seemed he couldn't just let it slide today.

Pushing my chair back and propping both feet up on my desk, I clasped my hands behind my head and gave him a bored look.

"Whatever Miyuki tells me to buy."

"The one from Hikari no Shio?"

"I don't know the company name."

"That has to be it. I use the one Miyuki recommended, too."

Tetsuya puffed out his chest, his complexion brightening slightly.

He seemed to mistakenly believe that I was also just using a body wash Miyuki had recommended to me.

Laughing at him endlessly on the inside, I spoke up.

"How's Kendo going these days?"

"I'm just starting to understand what Kendo is."

"Cool. Keep at it."

"You too. By the way, it's a big deal that Miyuki is sick. She was definitely fine when we met up to come to school today... Did she suddenly catch a bug or something?"

‘You two met up and walked to school together?’

‘Miyuki must have been bored out of her mind thanks to your pathetic conversation skills.’

"Hard to say. She looked fine during second period."

"Yeah...? Still, I should probably go buy some Kakkonto just in case."

He grabbed his wallet and hurried out of the classroom.

‘What a clueless bastard.’

‘Will he finally back off if I show him just how intimately close Miyuki and I are?’

‘When was the school trip again?’

"Yaaawn..."

Chinami let out a deep yawn with her back turned to me.

Watching her stretch her arms high into the air was adorable.

Sweeping the floor of the Storage Room with my Broom, I stepped up behind Chinami and poked her shoulder.

"Myaa!?"

Chinami flinched, freezing with her arms still raised, before spinning around.

"What is it? Did you finish sweeping the floor?"

"No. You were just yawning pretty hard."

I leaned the Broom against the corner, then grabbed both of Chinami's arms and gently lowered them for her.

Then I continued.

"Did you stay up late last night?"

"I ended up falling asleep at dawn while looking for Momo-nim Merchandise."

"That limited-edition doll?"

"No. Something else."

"Were you scouring secondhand sites again?"

"Yes. If I end up making a transaction, could you help me with it?"

‘Our sweet Chinami... You actually remembered what I said.’

"Of course I can help."

"Thank you, Junior. You're so reliable."

"It's only natural that I do it for my Master."

She beamed, clearly pleased by the sweet talk.

I stepped closer to Chinami, bending my knees slightly to meet her eyes, and carefully examined every inch of her face.

"Wh-what are you doing...?"

Watching her duck her head and squirm in place made me want to pull her into a tight hug.

Swallowing that urge, I spoke.

"Looking closely, the bags under your eyes are pretty bad. What time did you go to sleep last night?"

"Four..."

"Four? Isn't that way too late?"

"...That's just the baseline if you want to get Momo-nim Merchandise..."

"Your eyes look like discolored peaches."

"Huuuh...?"

Chinami's eyes went wide.

Comparing her to a peach seemed to have given her quite a shock.

She touched the corners of her eyes, her words stuttering.

"I-is it really that bad...?"

"It means they'll end up like that if you just leave them be."

"I should go to the Changing Room for a second..."

She was probably planning to cover them up with makeup.

‘Tsk tsk. You shouldn't spray the pesticide of makeup on a perfectly ripe, organic peach.’

‘That's deceiving the consumer. I'll take care of this.’

"I'll massage it away for you."

Chinami's eyes darted around.

The doorknob of the Storage Room, the Bogu display rack, the shinai storage box...

After glancing at each item in turn, her gaze finally landed on my face.

"How...?"

"Just hold still."

Finishing my sentence, I cupped Chinami's tiny face in both hands and gently massaged the areas under her eyes with my thumbs.

Startled by my out-of-nowhere action, Chinami's eyes went perfectly round.

"J-Junior...! What are you doing...!?"

She interrogated me in a voice softer than a mosquito's buzzing.

Quietly continuing the massage, I spoke in a soothing tone.

"I wanted to relieve your fatigue. I'd really appreciate it if you thought of this as a sort of preview—is that okay?"

"A preview...?"

"You agreed to get a massage from me, didn't you? Just think of it as receiving a simple facial massage."

"...Is a facial massage included in that...?"

"Of course. How's the pressure?"

"Ngh... I-I think it's a bit strong..."

"Is this much better?"

"Ah...! Yes... Mmm... It's just right..."

Completely swept up in my pace, Chinami's expression slackened more and more as I kept massaging the skin under her eyes.

Seeing her wide eyes slowly lose focus meant she was starting to feel good.

"Your skin is really clear."

With our foreheads practically touching, my compliment brought a flush to Chinami's cheeks.

"Y-Your shkin is nish too, Junior..."

Her words slurred because my palms were squishing her cheeks.

Her lips pouting out like a goldfish as they moved were both funny and pretty.

‘How can a person look this cute?’

‘I thought the same thing when I played Doki-Aka, but the more I look at her in person, the stronger that feeling gets.’

Blink, blink.

Chinami's eyelids fluttered, repeatedly drifting shut and opening again.

Her body gave a slight shiver and swayed from side to side. Receiving a silent massage in the quiet Storage Room seemed to have summoned the sleep demon.

‘No matter how sleep-deprived someone is, I've never seen anyone do that while standing up.’

‘I guess that's just so like Chinami? Eccentric and fascinating.’

"Is it relaxing?"

"Junior's hands... are warm..."

"I'm glad. Are you really sleepy right now?"

"Yeess..."

Her brows trembled faintly above her half-closed eyes.

Originally, I planned to start with a facial massage and move on to her body, but seeing her sway like she was about to doze off, I figured it would be pointless.

‘She'd probably just fall sound asleep no matter where I touched her.’

Nodding in understanding, I kept my hands on Chinami's face and took a step back, gently pulling her along.

Shuffling her feet with glazed-over eyes, she followed me like someone under hypnosis.

I carefully guided Chinami to a corner of the Storage Room, stopped the massage, and stood next to her.

Then, when she looked up at me with questioning eyes, I offered a gentle smile and spoke.

"Have a seat."

"Mmh..."

Letting out a sleep-drenched hum, Chinami obediently followed my instruction.

She took a fairly comfortable posture, sitting on the floor and leaning her back against the wall.

Plopping down next to her, I reached out, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close.

"Eh...?"

As she let out a weak gasp of bewilderment, I patted her arm in a steady, soothing rhythm.

It was to make her feel cozy and relaxed.

My intention must have worked, because all the tension left Chinami's body completely.

I gave a soft smile to the girl practically glued to my side.

"Get some shut-eye."

"I can't... I have so much to do..."

"You already finished all the important stuff. You can just take a short nap and finish the rest later."

"...That's true, but..."

"Our Master is a good girl, right? Listen to me. Just take a nice, deep nap."

"Theeen... just a little bit..."

"Right. Just sleep a little bit. Lean your head on my shoulder."

"Okaaay..."

Chinami gave a nasal reply and rested her head on my shoulder.

Normally, she would have turned me down in a flustered panic. Seeing her act like this, her desire to sleep must have completely overpowered her reason.

Soon, soft, rhythmic breathing began escaping her nose.

I peeked at Chinami, who had cast aside all caution and drifted off to sleep. I thought about poking her nose, but quickly shook my head.

‘How much time passed like that?’

Just as a cold breeze blew in through the Storage Room window, prompting Chinami to press even closer against my side from the chill, knock, knock.

A knock rang out from outside the door, and then, clack!

The Storage Room door swung open with a fair amount of force.

"Chinami, you looked sleepy today, so I bought some coffe—"

The person who walked in was Renka.

She had opened the door with two canned coffees in one hand, but her jaw dropped the moment she spotted the sleeping Chinami.

Her pupils shook as if a major earthquake had just struck.

Seeing us glued together clearly threw her off completely.

It was only natural.

After all, to anyone watching, the pose Chinami and I were in looked exactly like a couple overflowing with affection.

"What are you doing..."

Before Renka could voice her question, I put on a serious face and raised an index finger to my lips in a "shh" gesture.

At that, Renka clamped her lips shut.

"..."

Suppressed by my momentum for a brief moment, her brows furrowed.

She looked as if her pride had been wounded.

I smirked at her and spoke very quietly.

"If you need something, come back later."

Renka's lips twitched.

It looked like she wanted to demand to know why we were sleeping so close together, but she was holding back because Chinami was fast asleep.

"It's noisy out there, so could you close the door?"

Renka flinched at my follow-up remark.

She looked back and forth between Chinami and me with conflicted eyes before deciding to back off for now, shutting the door behind her.