kscans

Chapter 510 - Mansion Exploration

"Oh."

"Ah."

Some time after exchanging greetings with the not-so-little Heavy Tank, Uni.

Goldow's group and one other were scheduled to arrive in the evening, and my next 'lesson' was also likely in the evening, leaving me with some free time after four o'clock.

I was exploring the inside of the building, trusting the host's words that we were free to enter or use any room that wasn't a private bedroom or locked. Just as I rounded a corner, I bumped into a small figure.

"Um…"

"Okay. Let's say what we were doing on the count of three. Ready, set…"

"Ex-" "Exploring…"

I’d caught a glimpse of her excited face before the surprise set in, so it was a foregone conclusion, but just as I expected, Sora-san had come out of her room, led by her own curiosity. She joined in, her voice slightly embarrassed.

She's apparently being educated as a ‘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 bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside?"

"Oh, I thought so too. I was wondering just how many rooms there are…"

"Right? Honestly, if I wasn't carefully mapping it 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 just average here in the real world."

Having met, it was only natural we'd start walking side-by-side while we talked, rather than just saying, “See you later.”

Just by walking next to her, my partner's face instantly broke into a grin. It was truly endearing and adorable—but that, too, aside.

"F-fufu… heh."

"Oh, what's this? You look less like you're overflowing with the joy of mansion exploration and more like you just laughed at my face, Lady Sora."

Perhaps she disliked the name I tacked on at the end. Just as she had done countless times before, she bumped her shoulder against mine as if to complain.

However, it didn't seem like her good mood had swung in the opposite direction.

"No, it's nothing. It's just… no, it's nothing."

"Hey, now. Pulling a move like that to pique my curiosity is a dirty trick. Come on, tell me. I won't get mad, whatever it is—hey, don't you try to run away!"

I chased after Sora, who tried to evade me by quickening her pace, and fell in step beside her again. The expression I could see out of the corner of my eye was a one-hundred-percent smug grin she wasn't even trying to hide.

Considering it was an intentional act, it was a rare sight, but now that I knew her true self could be childish and age-appropriate, it didn't feel out of place.

It was just plain cute… and for that reason, just plain powerful.

"It's better for you if you don't hear it. You'll surely curl up in embarrassment, Haru."

"Don't those kinds of things usually end with you self-destructing and taking us both down?"

"Th-that's why I'm not telling you. If I just realize it myself, it's a happy thing, so I'll treasure it and keep it all to myself."

"Well, I guess that's fine, but… hmmm."

It wasn't a problem if that was the case. But with this vibe…

…it felt like pressing her was the right answer. Or rather, it looked like she wanted me to.

"…Alright, I get it. Let's make a deal."

"Excuse me?—Ah…! Tch!"

What I offered wasn't words, but a hand.

She turned to me, tilted her head, her gaze shifting from my face downwards, and as soon as she recognized my outstretched right hand—she practically pounced on it with almost no hesitation, earning a wry smile from me.

"I-I'm not going to count this, you know?"

"I'm not going to pull a scam like that, come on."

Doing this so openly meant there was a high chance of being seen, but… well, I'd cross that bridge when I came to it. I'd just have to work hard to make it up to her later.

Still, it was too embarrassing to just stand there holding hands, so I started walking to distract myself, and the girl followed in a fluster.

Her steps became clearly clumsy as she got noticeably nervous, which was adorable—wait, have I only been saying ‘adorable’ this whole time?

Well, I haven't been saying it out loud repeatedly. Anyway.

"So?"

"Wh-what is it…"

"Oh, no you don't, the deal has been struck. Stop this futile resistance and just confess the reason for your 'ufufu' earlier."

"I-I wasn't laughing strangely like that!"

Wait, that's weird. The sound should have been exactly the same, at least on paper.

"…Are you sure about this? It's definitely going to end up just like always. I'm not taking any responsibility."

"Just say it. It's not fair that I'm the only one getting worked up over this. If we're going down, let's go down together in a blaze of glory."

"Haru, is being suddenly reckless a habit of yours…?"

While we walked down the corridor, idly enjoying our adventure and wondering what was behind this door or that one, Sora-san, who was now freely squeezing my hand, suddenly turned timid and hesitant now that she was on the defensive. Her combat power plummeted.

That part of her is also… ugh, I'm thinking about that too much.

"Fine, I'm really not taking responsibility, you know. I was just…—I was just happy because it seemed like you were so obviously conscious of me."

And so, that was the secret behind the ‘ufufu’ that Sora-san had tried to keep to herself.

"Aah, uhm… wait, was it that obvious on my face again?"

"N-not your face, but your atmosphere, I guess… I mean, when you stood next to me, and walked, and stared at me… you seemed to get a little bit awkward."

I see. So she had perfectly read the fact that I was mentally chanting ‘cute, cute’ like a broken record while simultaneously bracing myself so I wouldn't be flustered if that ‘cuteness’ suddenly pounced on me.

Ahaha, oh man—that's soooooooooo embarrassing.

"…W-well, yeah. I mean, I know you're super conscious of me, so it'd be rude of me to act totally unfazed, or something."

"I-I see, yes. Um, yes… uh… Haru."

And just as Sora could read my mood, I could also read that kind of mood from her—so here it comes, brace yourself.

"Like I said, I'm happy, so… um—please be very, very conscious of me."

Not just the left hand holding my right, but her other free hand came to rest on my arm as well. The words she whispered while looking down reached my ears clearly.

Embarrassingly, my mind wasn't working well enough to come up with a witty reply, and Sora probably wasn't looking for one anyway. Thus, we ended up becoming our usual selves, turning our faces away from each other as we continued down the corridor—

"—…Haha, I'd heard about it, but you two are reeeeally close, huh."

At some point, it seemed we had done a full lap of the building.

We ended up bumping into Uni, who poked his head out of the kitchen we'd arrived at. The moment he saw us, he flashed a wonderfully amused grin.

"Wha—h…! E-excuse me…!"

My partner let go of my hand, took a step back, and then dashed away. After watching her go…

"……………………Oh, if you're starting to cook, can I watch?"

"I knew that too, but you're fundamentally pretty gutsy, aren't you?"

Fortunately, he didn't seem to have noticed my blush, so my attempt to hide my embarrassment seemed to have worked. After getting permission from the chuckling chef, I stepped into his sacred domain.

I say Sora's defenses are like paper and all that…

…but in the end, whether it's here in the real world or over there in the virtual one, I'm the one with the flimsiest defenses of all—I thought, swallowing down my self-deprecating thoughts.