kscans

Chapter 916 - A Celebratory Tail

I’d been forced into—ahem, spontaneously entered—other people’s rooms a few times before, but I generally don’t go visiting inside the Yotsuya dormitory. I could probably count the total number of times on one hand.

This was the third time I’d properly set foot in Nia’s room. Once when I helped her move in, once when I got an SOS because her hairdryer broke, and now.

Which is why I wasn’t used to it.

There was no way I could be, and that’s precisely why I beat a hasty retreat to the living room.

"…Nothing’s changed."

That’s because Nia, for whatever reason, barely seems to use her living room. I’d heard she’d recently started special cooking training in the kitchen, but only when Mitsueda-san comes over. In other words, she probably doesn’t use it at all otherwise.

The only things here were the same pre-installed furnishings that were in my own room.

There was little sign that the spacious area was being utilized, and therefore, the lingering presence of its owner was faint. I figured I could be at least a little calmer here—

"…………………………Nothing’s changed."

Or so I thought, but it seems the human psyche isn’t built so simply. The restlessness wouldn’t leave my body, so I gave up and plopped down onto the sofa.

I probably wouldn’t be scolded for it. Whenever Nia comes to my room, she takes over the sofa like she owns the place.

"………………………………………………………………"

For some reason, unlike the still-energetic blue-haired girl, I was a bit tired from putting my all into the cooking and preparations. Leaning my weary body back into a cushion and looking up at the ceiling, I was certain I could fall asleep the instant I closed my eyes.

So, I settled for just one eye at a time.

I tried to trick my fatigue by alternately blinking, resting the eyes that had been so busy watching over the three close friends and their affectionate display… when—

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly, as I switched my field of vision for the umpteenth time, the words came, blocking my view of the ceiling.

"Eye exercises…?"

"Eye… strain?"

"Or rather, a trick to fend off sleepiness…"

*"You know, whenever you say something I don’t quite understand, it’s usually because you’re sleepy."

Then, just as suddenly, a second interruption. Following her terminal, a face blocked my view, peering down at me.

They say most women dislike having their faces looked up at from below for aesthetic reasons, but the beautiful girl—now a beautiful woman of twenty—before me must be exceptionally confident in her looks.

"…………"

"…?"

Though I’ve been trying to be more honest for a while now, I managed to swallow the words.

Suddenly saying something like ‘you’re beautiful’ in a situation like this would be less a sincere expression of my feelings and more a straightforward pickup line.

Whether I look at her from below or from anywhere else, her face is just as stunning as the first time I saw it, to the point of making me feel inadequate… I decided to keep such thoughts to myself.

For now, at least.

"What about you? It’s way past your usual bedtime, isn’t it?"

So I kept it secret and asked a meaningless question.

"………………"

In response, she gave a silent, gentle smile.

*"Yesterday—well, the day before yesterday, I was too excited to sleep."

"Like a kid the night before a field trip?"

Her terminal’s voice was childish, but her expression and the fingers caressing my cheek were mature.

"…Happy birthday."

*"You’ve already said that so many times."

"What’s wrong with saying it as many times as I want?"

*"Besides, it’s already yesterday."

"It’s still today until you fall asleep after the date changes."

*"Haha, such strange, student-like logic."

I was sleepy. I was tired. But my mind was sharp. I could trace the sensation of her fingers on my cheek with perfect clarity, so there was no doubt about it.

In that case, I needed to take care of the main event before I got too drowsy to pull it off properly.

"…Nia."

"Hmm?"

"Sorry about this. For declining the… first party."

*"We’ve talked about that a bunch of times, too."

As she poked my cheek with her fingertip, my gaze was fixed not on the ceiling, but on her beautiful green eyes.

Now, what were we talking about—

*"You prioritized my private family time, right? I’m happy either way, you know."

The “first party”… In other words, there had been a gathering yesterday afternoon where Nia’s incredibly busy parents had both made time to see their daughter.

And I, having been invited by both her and her parents, had politely declined.

I won’t make such excuses to Nia. But it was absolutely not because I was scared to meet her parents as the bad guy who’d seduced their daughter. It was because I hesitated to take up time during a special occasion like a birthday, when a family that rarely gets to see each other was finally together.

I thought it was better to treasure your family.

Especially if you’re close.

*"I know,"

she said suddenly.

I wonder if it would have meant anything to feign ignorance and tilt my head in confusion.

*"They both said they’d love to meet you some other time. It’s okay, you didn’t make a bad impression."

"…That’s a little hard to believe…"

*"It’s true. Trust your big sister."

Shitatatatatata. The only sound in the dimly lit room was the familiar, faint tapping.

*"We ended up talking about you anyway, even though you weren’t there. Just a little, all of us."

"Please don’t, spare me. I need to be mentally prepared to hear that stuff."

*"Hiyo-chan and Hayassan were the ones praising you the most, even more than me."

"What kind of situation was that…?"

*"It just means you have a lot of allies, right? You’ve got charisma, [Acrobat]-sama."

"I told you to stop calling me by my title, [Milmarinus]-dono."

*"Right back at ya."

"Have mercy, Liliania Blueberry-jou."

"Don’t use my full name!"

We continued our deliberately playful banter.

*"It’s not about this time, but…"

"Yeah?"

*"…I do talk about you, here and there."

"Of course you do."

*"Like, ‘I’ve fallen in love with this person.’ I wanted them to know."

"…………"

*"And then, the two of them…"

At some point, the hand caressing my cheek stopped, and the finger poking me grew still.

*"When you… about my voice…"

Her eyes, watching me with calm intensity, looked so much like an adult’s that it was a little frightening.

I felt like I could be swallowed whole, unable to resist.

"When I told them how you so boldly, so matter-of-factly said you weren’t particularly interested…"

"…Were they furious?"

*"Hehe, they praised you to the high heavens. They said, ‘He’s looking at her so sincerely, without caring at all about what she’s missing.’ I think they both started to fall for you right then and there."

"…I highly doubt something like that is enough to earn their approval…"

*"Well, maybe. But I’m sure it made them acknowledge you, at least a little."

"…………"

*"It wasn’t just that story, though. They’ve probably seen lots of things about you from videos and whatnot, besides what I’ve told them. Dad said, ‘He’s quite a man.’"

"How embarrassing… What about, um, your mom?"

At that, Nia hesitated slightly.

*"…She said, ‘He’s like the protagonist of a story, isn’t he?’"

"That’s some… rather high praise."

"You’re happy, aren’t you?"

"…Well, I wouldn’t say I’m… displeased."

It was an over-the-top assessment, but I couldn’t just dismiss it with humility.

Because I have to become that—no, that’s not right.

"Happy birthday, Nia."

*"I told you, you’ve already said it so many—"

Then and now, I’m just struggling to become the person I want to be. Nothing has changed.

As I spoke, I lifted one hand. In it was a piece of paper—though to call it that would be an understatement, as it was a rather well-made card.

It wasn't anything grand. But as I held it up so Nia could see its surface, her hand, which had been about to form more words, froze, likely having caught sight of the text written there.

"I hesitated. I agonized. And after all that, I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t give it to you."

"…………"

"…A birthday present. Giving you something that would last as a physical object would be wrong, in so many ways."

"………………"

"No matter what my current feelings for Nia might be, it would be wrong. Given my stupid circumstances, where a single action could become a massive act of insincerity, I hope you can forgive me for that."

"……………………"

"But, still… you know."

I touched the card, upon which I had written its “meaning” with my own hand, to Nia’s dazed cheek.

"Because I really, really wanted to give you something."

With that, I couldn’t help but avert my gaze from her motionless form.

"…Come on. I’m always the one receiving things from you, anyway."

Her voice, which had been coming from the phone she always carries, fell silent.

"So… I prepared something like this. What do you think?"

Nia tossed the phone aside and reached out with both hands.

"…, …………"

And then, she plucked the card with her fingertips. My birthday present, a last-resort measure from someone in my delicate position, was… a childish, immature thing.

An “I’ll-Do-Anything-You-Say-(Within-Reason)-Coupon.”

Nia, who had been dazed, slowly regained her composure and reacted exactly as I’d expected. As if to say, “What is this?”, she tapped a part of the coupon.

The part that said, “Within Reason.”

Yeah, I knew it. Which is why I had my confident reply ready.

"That’s for self-preservation. It’s an important—Oof."

And just as expected,

I received the punishment I deserved for my calmly cowardly move. I readily accepted the meteor-like cushion that came flying from directly above, taking the hit square in the face.

---

To be continued shortly.