kscans

Chapter 758 - Bedtime for Good Kids

────────Laevateinn!!!

"────Whoa... so you're saying this is still a work-in-progress?"

"...This is?"

"What an idiot."

"That's amazing..."

"Well, yeah. It's less a work-in-progress and more like Ver. 0 instead of Ver. 1."

Though dinner was over, the party was not.

The lavish dishes on the table had been replaced with snacks we brought ourselves, and for a while, the viewing party continued, with everyone ceaselessly asking for my commentary and Sora's thoughts.

"At the end of the day, it was just an uncontrolled, simple blast, which is why────huh?"

Just as the day was about to bleed into the next, I turned my gaze toward a weight that had fallen onto my side...

"Oh my."

"...Fufu."

"So cu..."

Receiving warm gazes from the three college girls who had been doting on her all this time was a single girl who seemed to have finally succumbed to her sleepiness and collapsed.

I knew it. Sora-san was a good girl, unaccustomed to the late-night hours. While she might manage a rare late night at home, it was inevitable after a tiring day of travel.

I had noticed her nodding off for a while, but she seemed to want to stay here, so Itsuki-san and I had just left her be.

"Did we make her stay up too late...?"

"Nah, she looked like she was having fun. Don't worry about it."

I replied to a slightly apologetic-looking Toshiki while catching her body as it slid from my shoulder. Even though I was used to physical contact in the virtual world, I couldn't help but feel a certain hesitation from her body heat and everything else in the real world.

But if I let it show on my face, I'd definitely be teased.

So, I put on my best poker face... and without needing a word from the maid smiling at my side, I set about my mission.

Then, with practiced ease, I lifted my partner into my arms. Itsuki-san, seeing this, nodded in satisfaction, then stood and gave a small bow to my friends.

"Well then, we will be retiring for the night. Goodnight."

""""Goodnight~""""

They whispered their goodnights, mindful of the girl who showed no signs of opening her eyes even as I held her. The maid, her yukata-clad form perfectly composed, maintained a pleasant expression towards the good-natured youths and prompted me to follow her out of the room...────

"Take your time."

"See you tomorrow."

"You too, Haru-kun, goodnight."

"I don't mind taking a room by myself, you know!"

"These guys..."

In the end, after receiving a final round of teasing from my friends, I followed Itsuki-san with a sigh.

◇◆◇◆◇

"────Hold on a second, you damn maid."

And so, ten-odd seconds later, in front of the Natsume sisters' room, stood a liberal-minded maid with her usual mischievous smile and a victim (me) being toyed with as usual.

So, what exactly was happening...

"Rest assured. You need not worry; I may not look it, but I am quite strong."

"That's not what I'm worried about. I mean, a woman walking alone late at night isn't something I approve of, but there's a much, much bigger problem here."

"Oh, how sad. So you are not worried about your maid at all, Kasuga-san."

"Make up your mind whether you want me to worry or not! That's not the point!"

"It will be fine. I will return in just a couple of hours."

"You know full well that nothing about that is fine—hey, wait, hold on...!"

And with that, the yukata-clad maid briskly walked away. Her destination, of course, was not inside the room, but the night town far, far down the corridor and outside the inn.

In other words, that's what this was about.

"I get it now. That woman's an idiot."

There was no way I could catch up to her brisk pace while carrying Sora, so all I could do was watch her go, dumbfounded, and mutter a truth I had just realized.

I looked down into my arms. The lovely girl was sleeping soundly.

"............................................Haaaaaah..."

Standing here forever wouldn't solve anything, leaving me with only one option. I told myself that, and carried my silent partner into the sisters' room.

The room's layout was, of course, identical to the boys' room. But the atmosphere was completely different, due to the different luggage placed in the corner and the fact that the futons had already been laid out.

As expected of a high-class inn, the sheets were pulled perfectly taut—the work of a true artisan.

....................................Now then.

"Sora-san, you're quite good at playing possum."

"────...!"

Probably startled at being addressed so casually, her amber eyes snapped open. Her gaze met mine, and the girl blinked several times before...

"Yeah, that's not gonna work."

She tried to feign ignorance by turning her face away and closing her eyes again, but I wasn't about to let that happen. Look, I know what I'm doing; when it comes to carrying people, I'm a pro.

There's a world of difference in the load and everything when someone is conscious versus unconscious.

"........................"

"Honestly, this young lady..."

I couldn't very well set her down on the futon, so I sat on the floor beside it.

I couldn't just toss my partner aside, so I kept holding her as she continued... or rather, stubbornly kept her eyes shut in a determined effort to play possum.

My four friends might have been fooled, but Itsuki-san had probably, no, definitely noticed. Which meant they were both in on it.

Sora probably didn't intend to conspire, but the maid was undoubtedly providing support fire. She really goes out of her way to do the most unnecessary things.

"Hey, wake up."

"..."

"If you don't, I'll drop you and leave. Don't worry, the door's an auto-lock."

The maid took the key, but security is not an issue────

"........................You're going to leave me... alone?"

──And just like that, the flimsy threat made her soft defiance crumble. Looking guilty, almost pouting, she slowly lifted her eyelids, and her amber eyes met mine.

"...Itsuki-san said it, didn't she? That as long as Haru is with me, everything will be okay."

"That's right. But that was about going out and whatnot."

"You're going to leave me... alone?"

She repeated the words. Her amber eyes stared.

Still in my arms, she refused to move away, her fingers pinching the fabric of my yukata.

────Give me a break. I think I'm going to lose it.

"...You could've just asked instead of resorting to tricks like this."

"..."

"You always do. When it comes to you, Sora, I'm pretty much a yes-man, you know."

"...Lately, I feel like it's not just when it comes to me, though."

"You just had to stab me with that. Ah, well... no, even so, it's like..."

"...I know. Still, I know that you treat me as the most special."

"It's embarrassing when you say it yourself—"

"Haru."

At the end of our teasing banter, I didn't miss the emotion that surfaced in her eyes.

"I'm such a child, aren't I?"

It wasn't self-deprecation, nor self-blame. It was the sound of someone simply stating a fact, frustrated with an unchangeable reality────which is precisely why, at this moment.

There was only one thing for me to say.

"...It's not that I forgot to say it, I was just looking for the right timing, but..."

"Yes...?"

Reading the room, I figured this was probably the best move.

"That yukata... it looks unbelievably good on you. You're beautiful."

"────..."

In the unlit darkness of the night, her amber eyes reflected the moonlight pouring through the window, shimmering and swaying.

I had a feeling that, for now, 'beautiful' would make her happier than 'cute'. And that feeling turned out to be, more than I expected────or, to be honest, just as I had hoped.

"...Tch... tch..."

I succeeded in drawing out an embarrassed, utterly adorable expression. And so, the gentle taps on my chest, which held no pain whatsoever...

Well, I'll just consider that my payment.