Chapter 510 - Mansion Exploration
"Oh."
"Ah."
Sometime after exchanging greetings with the Heavy Tank who wasn't so small after all, Uni.
It was a little past four in the afternoon. Goldow and the other guest were scheduled to arrive at night, and my next 'lesson' was probably also at night, which left me with a bit of free time.
Trusting our host's words that we were free to enter or use any room that wasn't a private bedroom or locked, I was exploring the building when I rounded a corner and bumped right into a small figure.
"Um…"
"Okay. Let's say what we were doing at the same time. Ready? Go."
"Ex… 'Exploring'…"
I'd already seen the excited look on her face just before the surprise set in, so I didn't even need to ask. Just as I'd expected, Sora-san, who had likely left her room guided by the same curiosity as me, joined in, her voice a little embarrassed.
She's apparently being educated as a 'proper young lady' by Itsuki-san, after all.
It was entirely possible she thought wandering around someone else's house without permission was "improper" or something along those lines.
Well, that aside.
"Doesn't it feel even bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside?"
"Ah, I was thinking the same thing. I wonder how many rooms there are…"
"Right? Honestly, if I wasn't carefully mapping this place out in my head, I might have actually gotten lost."
"I understand, but… wouldn't you be able to remember it without doing that, Haru?"
"I've told you a million times, my memory is perfectly normal here in the real world."
Having met up, it was only natural that we'd start walking together side-by-side as we talked, rather than just saying, "See you later."
Just walking next to me—that simple act was enough to make my partner's face instantly light up in a way that was truly sweet and endearing. But, that aside as well.
"Hee, heheh…"
"Oh? What's so funny? That wasn't a 'mansion exploration is so fun' laugh, that was a 'you just looked at my face and laughed' laugh, wasn't it, Milady Sora?"
She must have taken offense to the title I tacked onto her name. Just as she'd done countless times before, she gave me a light body check with her shoulder as if to show her displeasure.
Even so, the needle on her mood didn't seem to have swung away from 'good-natured' in the slightest.
"No, it's nothing. It's just… well, it's nothing."
"Hey now. Piquing my curiosity like that is a dirty trick, you know. Spit it out. C'mon, I won't get mad no matter what you say—hey, don't try to run away!"
I chased after Sora as she tried to slip away by quickening her pace, falling in step beside her again. The expression I could see out of the corner of my eye was one hundred percent pure, unadulterated glee.
It was rare for her to behave this way intentionally, but now that I knew her true personality was more that of a child her age, it didn't feel out of place.
It was simply adorable… which, in turn, made it simply devastating.
"It's better for you if you don't ask. You'd probably curl up in a ball from embarrassment, Haru."
"Isn't that the kind of thing where you end up taking yourself out in a blaze of mutual destruction?"
"Th-That's why I'm not telling you. If I'm the only one who notices, it's just a happy little thing, so I'll treasure it and keep it all to myself."
"I mean, that's fine, but… hmm."
If she really felt that way, I wouldn't push it. But something about this situation…
…made it feel like pressing the issue was the right move. Like that was what she wanted me to do.
"…Alright, I get it. Let's make a deal."
"A deal?—Ah…!"
What I offered wasn't words, but a hand.
She turned to me, tilted her head, and her gaze traveled down until she registered my outstretched right hand. And then—with almost no hesitation, Sora-san pounced on it, making me chuckle.
"Y-You're not going to count this, are you?"
"I'm not gonna pull a scam like that."
Doing this so openly meant there was a high chance we'd be seen… but oh well. If that happened, I'd just have to deal with it then. I'd do my best to make up for it or something.
In any case, just standing there holding hands was excruciatingly embarrassing, so I started walking to distract myself. The girl beside me followed in a fluster.
It was adorable how she was so obviously nervous that her steps had become clumsy—Wait, have I only been thinking 'adorable' this whole time?
Well, I haven't been saying it out loud on repeat, so it's fine. Anyway.
"So?"
"S-So, what…?"
"Whoa there, the deal's been struck. Stop with the useless resistance and just confess the reason for that little 'heheh' from earlier."
"I-I didn't laugh like that!"
Wait, really? I'm pretty sure the sound, at least, was identical.
"…You're sure about this? It's definitely going to end up just like always. Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Just say it. It's not fair that I'm the only one stewing over this. If we're going down, let's go down together in a blaze of glory."
"Haru, is this habit of suddenly becoming self-destructive a quirk of yours…?"
As we wandered the hallways, casually enjoying our adventure by wondering what was behind this door or that one, Sora-san, who was now freely squeezing my hand, suddenly turned timid and hesitant. Her combat power always plummets when she's on the defensive.
That part of her is also… Man, I'm really overthinking this.
"Fine, but you can't say I didn't warn you. I was just…—I was just happy because I could tell you were so clearly aware of me."
And that was the secret behind Sora-san's 'heheh' that she'd tried to keep to herself.
"Aah, ugh… Wait, was it that obvious on my face again?"
"N-Not your face, exactly, more like your atmosphere… I mean, when you stood next to me, and walked with me, and you were staring at me… you got just a little bit, well, clumsy."
I see. So she'd completely read me as I was mentally chanting 'adorable, adorable' like a fool, trying to brace myself so I wouldn't be flustered when that 'adorable' inevitably pounced on me again.
Hahaha, ahhh—so, so, so, SO embarrassing.
"…W-Well, yeah. I mean, I know how incredibly aware of me you are, so it'd be rude for me to be totally unfazed, or something."
"I-I see, yes. Um, yes… Uh… Haru."
And just as Sora could read my mood, I could read her 'mood' as well. Here it comes. Brace for impact.
"Like I said, it makes me happy, so… um…—Please, be aware of me… a lot."
It wasn't just her left hand gripping my right; her other hand came to rest on my arm as she looked down and whispered those words, which reached my ears with perfect clarity.
Embarrassingly, my brain wasn't working well enough to come up with a witty reply, and I doubted Sora was expecting one anyway. And so, we fell into our usual routine, turning away from each other as we walked down the hallway in a haze of mutual mortification—
"—…Haha, I'd heard about it, but… you two really are close, aren't you?"
Apparently, we'd lapped the entire building without realizing it.
We'd ended up back at the kitchen, where we bumped into Uni, who peeked his head out. The moment he saw us, a wonderfully amused grin spread across his face.
"Wh-Ah…! Ex-Excuse me…—!"
After seeing my partner let go of my hand, take a step back, and dash away…
"……………………..Oh, if you're starting to cook, mind if I watch?"
"I figured you might say that, but you've got some serious nerve, you know?"
Luckily, he didn't seem to have noticed my blush, so my attempt to play it cool worked. With a cheerful laugh from him as permission, I entered the chef's sanctuary.
I can go on about Sora's defenses being paper-thin and all that, but…
…at the end of the day, whether it's here in the real world or in the virtual one, I'm the most fragile one of all. I thought, biting back a self-deprecating comment.