Chapter 65: Unfamiliar Things (4)

After glancing once toward the entrance, Grace directed a smile at Zero Ko.

In response Zero Ko laughed "Ahaha... well, it’s nothing, really~" and averted her gaze with a slightly guilty look—what? Was she feeling bad about leaving a first-meeting guy alone with a girl?

"A-anyway! Grace-san... no, Gure-senpai! Staying in that outfit forever is a bit much, so I was thinking of lending you some of my clothes! How about it!?"

"Gure-senpai...!? Well, leaving that aside, the need for clothes—ah, I see."

Grace put on a confused expression, then glanced at me and nodded as if understanding.

As a Sacred she could transform and have her clothes decomposed by magical power, then clad herself in equipment generated by the magical power of light. Grace had probably been spending her time transformed that way, and had intended to transform and return to her homeland—Calmate.

But right now there was an ordinary person here—at least from Grace and Zero Ko’s perspective. She couldn’t transform right in front of me, and if she went home in pajamas she’d look suspicious.

For now, hand over clothes, tell the guy to get out of the girls’ dorm so she can change, and it would be perfect. Transform inside Zero Ko’s room and leave quickly.

I understood the logic, but—

"...Is the size okay?"

—I ended up making a pure, unfiltered retort.

"Huh? No no senpai, the length might be a little short, but compared to going home in pajamas it’s a hundred times better—"

"No, before length, the mass is different."

My gaze went back and forth between Grace’s chest and Zero Ko’s chest.

Zero Ko wasn’t flat-chested by any means; I thought she was on the larger side.

But this opponent was just too strong. To put it in terms, an apple and a watermelon. Between the two existed an overwhelming difference in mass—!

"——Hah? I’m about to snap."

"Calm down junior, this is pure fact."

"Haaaan!? The guy who was thoroughly enjoying the sensation while carrying Gure-senpai is saying that? Of course you can call it pure fact, huh~!"

"...Shusawa-sama?"

A second helping of accusing gazes arrived. One was already enough.

Thinking time: one second. Cover it up, or lie.

Nah, both were impossible. In this place the only guy was me, and my speaking rights were the lowest...!

"My bad, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Because I’m a guy."

Then I had no choice but to be honest. No choice at all.

In English that would be "no ginger," but right now it was super danger.

Grace hugged her chest and dyed her face bright red, then glared sharply this way.

"U—kh, a...!? ’Because I’m a guy’ is not an acceptable excuse! Shusawa-sama, what are you thinking—no, wait, I know it’s inappropriate for someone who was saved to say this, but! But—!"

"What am I thinking? At the time I was thinking it was an insane privilege—hah!?"

Desire-faithful thoughts were blurting out the truth via spinal reflex—!

What an interrogation; as expected of the best knight among the Sacred...!

"...Kh! A-ah, so that’s it. That’s what it was. Like earlier, you were trying to anger me and relieve the tension...!"

"Nooo, senpai’s thing just now was completely pure. There was zero such intention. Pure perversion, right, this guy."

"Oi oi junior, what do you know about me? I’m the famous gentleman Shusawa-san, you know?"

"...Hooon? Then what were you thinking on the way to my room? A gentleman like Shusawa-san would answer honestly, right?"

"Even though she was wearing spats, having a skirt flutter right above my head was pretty exciting—shit! You two have been playing dirty from the start!"

Apparently she hadn’t realized she herself was the target; Zero Ko froze for an instant.

Then she immediately protected her skirt and raised her voice with a gaa!

"Wh-what’s with the ’shit’! What the hell were you thinking in the middle of helping someone! And spats and a skirt are perfectly wholesome clothes, so why are you thinking that kind of thing! I’m stripping your pants and throwing you out of the room, you pervert!?"

"Eh, why does this junior want my pants so badly...? Gross, that’s lewd."

"——Yosh, Gure-senpai. For now how about we scream together, create witnesses, and then call the police?"

"Eh? Ah no, um—s-since I was helped, I don’t think I can do anything that would demean him too much."

"Well said, Grace! See junior, now it’s two against one, kneel...!"

"Shusawa-sama, please stop saying things that make me lose the desire to side with you...!"

"Well said, Gure-senpai! See Senpai Chijima, now it’s two against one~...!"

Hei hei heii, Zero Ko started shadowboxing, and Grace quietly began holding her head.

"...I’m sorry. I don’t want to take either side."

"So from now on it’s the Three Kingdoms?"

"Where’s Lü Bu? If I’m going to name a country I want one with a strong-looking person in it."

"Sorry, even though I started it I can’t even remember the names of the three countries."

"What a coincidence, same here~ Chinese-style names are hard to remember~"

"Are you two getting along!? Or not!? Which is it!?"

Looking at Grace breathing roughly fuu! fuu!, I thought the tension had loosened up.

Zero Ko seemed to think the same thing; she looked at me and grinned.

In my case ninety percent had been pure honest talk, but she had been deliberately acting the fool. She had way more communication skill than the likes of me.

Wanting to share the joy of both our goals being achieved, I stretched out a hand for a high-five—

"Leaving that aside, could you stay away, Spats-Lover Maru-senpai."

—and was fully avoided. Understandable, super understandable, but a little sad.

"Wait, calm down. It’s true I got excited, but I like raw panties more than spats. If you’re going to call me something, call me Raw-Panties-senpai."

"Aaan? You want me to really call you that? From now on in front of people I’ll call you Raw-Panties-Loving Panties-senpai, is that really okay? Aaan!?"

"I’m seriously so sorryyyyy!"

Immediate dogeza, immediate apology.

With the mood and momentum of the moment it could have been laughed off, but if I got called that forever inside the school I’d die mentally.

"Very good—honestly, the second I start thinking better of you, you immediately say this kind of thing..."

Had I ever said anything that would make her revise her opinion of me upward?

A small doubt floated up, but more importantly right now I had to go all-in on apology and escape this predicament.

Really, what the hell was I doing—

"...A-are you all right? Leas, are you keeping up with this conversation? I’m terribly anxious..."

—I glanced at Grace, who was putting on a natural expression, and thought, well, this in itself isn’t so bad.