Chapter 6 Part 7 – Our Night and New Morning

Translator: Chaos

Editor: Riciel

I… was robbed…

I can still feel Riko’s lips on mine.

It’s a sweet and sour softness that I’ve come to know.

And I can’t… anymore…

I fell down on my back on the futon.

“Minato-kun…!?”

Riko peeked at me from directly above, and I hurriedly used my hands to cover my face.

I’m afraid to even imagine what kind of expression I have on my face right now.

I bet my muscles are pathetically loose.

I said that we should have a heart-to-heart, but the kiss we exchanged just now made me feel so happy.

… Calm down, me.

You still have to keep an appropriate distance until you get her to like you.

Don’t give in to Riko’s sweet temptation…!

The only thing that comes after that is not a happy lover’s life, but just plain pleasure.

“Hey, let’s go to bed! We’re going to bed now!”

“Y-yeah. Well, it’s getting pretty late now, isn’t it? Oh, but…”

Riko got up slowly, walked to the window and opened the curtain a little.

“Ah. No way… It’s stopped raining…”

“Yeah…”

I hurriedly got up and rushed next to Riko.

“It’s true.”

A crescent moon appeared in the murky sky, and a slightly stronger wind was chasing away the clouds. It looks like the weather won’t break again.

“There’s no point in sleeping together anymore…”

“Yeah.”

We both look back at the two sets of futons laid out side by side.

I was almost ready to say, “Do you still want to sleep like this?” but I held back and swallowed.

It’s not safe for Riko and I to sleep side by side today.

“I’ll take the futon back to my room.”

“… I’ll put sleeping together on hold for now.”

After saying this in a disappointed tone, Riko began to giggle.

“It’s funny how I used to hope that the night of thunder would never come, but now I can’t wait for it.”

“……”

Ah…!

I’m going to do whatever I can to make Riko fall in love with me so that I can hug her in a fair and honest way.

I made up my mind to do so, and clenched my hands tightly, while still wanting to stretch them out towards Riko.

◇◇◇

――That night, I couldn’t sleep well because I was thinking about how I could make Riko like me. But I’ve never been a fan of romance, and no matter how much I worry about it, there’s no way I can squeeze any wisdom out of it. By the time I came to that conclusion, the room was beginning to light up.

… I think I’ll consult with someone who knows about such things.

Sawa… doesn’t seem to be very reliable.

But I can’t think of any other candidates.

As I walked to school, groaning, I noticed something different about the way I walked past the elevator.

I felt a lot of stares. Everyone was looking at me and talking in whispers.

… What?

I’ve never experienced anything like this before.

I was puzzled, but headed for the classroom.

“… What the hell is this?”

The school newspaper was posted on the blackboard.

On it, in pink chalk, was written.

――The most beautiful girl in the school, Princess Hanae Riko, has chosen a boyfriend.

Is it the most plain guy in school!?――

The picture in the school newspaper showed Riko and me holding an eco-bag together.

“……”

As I looked around the classroom in shock, my eyes met those of my classmates who had the school newspaper in their hands.

“Shinyama…! You… What’s the deal with this…?”

Sawa, clutching the school newspaper in her right hand, rushed over to me. The quiet classroom awaits my response with curious faces.

“Uh…”

I hadn’t expected such a situation, so I couldn’t think at all.

This is not good.

Anyway, I had to cover it up somehow…

But what can I say to them after they took that picture of me?

I don’t think it will work just because we are childhood friends.

That’s when.

At the most inconvenient moment, I saw Riko, who had arrived late to school, at the entrance of the classroom.