Although She's a Beautiful Student Council President Who Maintains Her Coolness Towards Everyone, She Wants to Act Spoiled and Lovesick Around Him, Who is Misunderstood by Everyone as a Delinquent - Chapter 29: Lap Pillow (2)

“Ah, it’s weird for me to say this first, but can you say something…?”

– In the student council room, there had been countless moments of silence in the space where the two of them were alone.

It was because Shizuku would ignore… or rather, couldn’t help but ignore the topics Riku brought up.

“It’s not because you didn’t give me time to prepare my heart… Baka…”

Indeed, Shizuku couldn’t be blamed. If anyone was to be blamed, it should be Riku. This was happening because he didn’t give her time to prepare her heart, just as she said.

Shizuku, who was already overwhelmed, couldn’t continue the conversation even if she wanted to. That was her current state.

“Well, I apologize for that, but it’s not like I’m not nervous either…?”

“L-Liar. You seemed so experienced…”

“That’s just your imagination. You are the only one I’ve ever given a lap pillow to…”

“…That’s probably true.”

“Well, there’s no point in lying about something like this… I don’t have any romantic experience either…”

Shizuku still hadn’t faced Riku. No, it would be more accurate to say she couldn’t face him due to embarrassment. She was lying on Riku’s lap, facing away from him with her body curled up.

“…”

“…”

And then, once again, the silence enveloped them.

“Um… should we stop now? Hey… Shizuku, your jealousy must be gone by now, right?”

“There’s no way… it’s gone.”

“Uh… so, how can we make it go away…?”

“…The lap pillow we used to do.”

After a short pause, Shizuku murmured softly. Her voice was so faint that it seemed to vanish in an instant. However, in this quiet space, it reached Riku clearly.

“Back then, while we did the lap pillow, you used to stroke my head…”

“…Ah, ahem!”

[That was a long time ago, wasn’t it?!]

Riku managed to hold back his retort with a cough.

…Riku couldn’t escape anymore. He had to make a move.

“…”

“Say something…” Shizuku said,

“It’s fine if you don’t look at me…”

It took quite a while, but Riku came up with the best answer he could. Like Shizuku, Riku had never been in a relationship, nor had he ever made a move on the opposite sex. He was already reaching his limit.

“I can’t… look. It’s embarrassing for me to say something like this too!”

“…Is this good enough?”

Without waiting for Shizuku to give the go-ahead, Riku gently touched her soft, cotton-like silver hair.

The reason he did this was that he knew the longer time passed, the more his resolve would wane. This was the result of preventing that from happening.

“Ah… ah…~~~~~~!”

“Shizuku…?”

However, this was a huge surprise attack for Shizuku.

This time, there was no time to say “I need some mental leeway,” or a moment to prepare herself, because Riku moved without warning.

In such a situation, Shizuku writhed as if she had been shot while lying on Riku’s lap.

“Um… did you not like it?”

“… No… it’s… fine.”

“Huh?”

“If I didn’t like it… I wouldn’t ask for something like this…”

“If that’s the case, it’s fine, but you moved as if you didn’t like it…”

“I just… felt good…”

“Is that so…”

The hands moved naturally, gently stroking Shizuku’s silver hair along its strands. The soft, cotton-like hair was evidence of proper care.

“Shizuku, you haven’t changed much since the past, have you?”

“W-what do you mean by that?”

“Your spoiled nature hasn’t changed, has it? I don’t think anyone could imagine the current Shizuku.”

This was something only Riku, who had known her for a long time, could say. Indeed, the current Shizuku was acting spoiled. If someone only knew her as the student council president, they would imagine her to be:

Cool and able to solve anything on her own.

Never indulging in being spoiled.

Maintaining a certain distance from others.

Thus, imagining the current Shizuku would be quite difficult.

“This appearance… I won’t show it to anyone but you, Riku-kun.”

“Well… that’s fine, but…”

Unconsciously, Riku responded in such a way. This was because he saw her as more than a friend.

“Riku-kun, I want you to do this only for me…”

“Even if you say that, I’m not as popular as you, Shizuku. I don’t think there’s any need to worry.”

“Promise me.”

Although Riku had a low self-esteem and responded in that manner, Shizuku did not feel reassured. It was her sense of crisis that prompted her to make such a promise.

“Alright. If I break the promise, I’ll do whatever Shizuku says.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. I have no intention of breaking it, and even if I tried, I probably couldn’t.”

“If you promise to do whatever I say, I’ll overlook it just this once.”

“That doesn’t really count as a promise, does it?”

Riku probably didn’t know that having someone she liked do “anything” for her was what Shizuku wanted most.

However, it was still too early to consider that. It would only start once Riku broke the promise.

“Riku-kun… your hand stopped.”

“About that… shouldn’t we stop soon? Lunch break is almost over.”

“…”

“You really haven’t changed.”

Ignoring him abruptly was her way of saying, “I’m not satisfied yet. I want more.” Understanding Shizuku’s feelings was easy. Riku resumed stroking her soft hair gently.

“Riku-kun… if you don’t like this side of me, tell me. If I become your girlfriend, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself. I want to fix this while I still can.”

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t dislike the spoiled Shizuku.”

“Thank you…”

Afterwards, Shizuku closed her eyes and savored the head pats she hadn’t received in years.

A few minutes later, Shizuku placed both hands on Riku’s thigh, slowly stood up, and put on her loafers.

“Are you done?”

“Yes… if I keep indulging in your attention, you won’t have time to eat your lunch.”

Seemingly satisfied with the lap pillow she had experienced long ago, Shizuku blushed and showed a small smile. However, she appeared to be somewhat reluctant. She was restraining herself for Riku’s sake.

“Shizuku… do you want to go home together today?”

Riku asked this question without thinking, after seeing her expression.

“Is it okay?”

“Sorry for asking so suddenly.”

“But today, I have student council work, so I’ll be late…”

“I’ll wait for you.”

“Okay, thank you. Let’s meet at the main gate then…”

“Understood.”

And so, Riku promised for the first time with his own words to go home with Shizuku. At that moment, Riku felt a genuine sense of happiness. Along with that feeling, he realized something else – that he might actually have feelings for Shizuku.