Chapter 14

Finally, we arrived at my place. It had taken almost twice the usual time.  

I parked my bike in the small lot and climbed the stairs. There wasn’t anything fancy like an auto-lock system.  

My apartment was on the second floor of a two-story building. It was a cheap place I’d gotten into through a connection my grandfather had. It seemed like no one had rented the unit next to mine, as it appeared vacant.  

The building was in a quiet residential area, a moderate distance from the train station. With no universities or other facilities nearby, the type of tenants living here was a mystery.  

Walking along the exterior corridor, I reached my door, unlocked it, and stepped inside. Without hesitation, Yuki followed me in and began curiously peering around the place.  

“Heh~ you keep it pretty tidy. Oh, the bath and toilet are combined.”  

The inside was a simple one-room setup. Seven or eight tatami mats in size—I’d forgotten exactly—but there wasn’t much worth noting.  

During the latter half of my suspension, with nothing better to do, I’d cleaned the place.  

Not that there was much to clean. I hadn’t planned to stay here long, so my furnishings were minimal.  

As Yuki moved past the entryway into the main living space, she stopped to take in the room.  

“It’s clean, but… there’s nothing here, huh?”  

She wasn’t wrong. The only things in the room were a small TV, a table, and my futon.  

“That’s why I told you there’s nothing. Did you think there’d be a merry-go-round or something?”  

“What’s that? Some kind of dirty joke?”  

“No, I meant there’s nothing fun here.”  

“Oh? That’s confusing. Anyway, I’m going to take a shower first, then.”  

“Don’t be stupid.”  

“Don’t want me to wash up? Gross, perv.”  

She giggled to herself.  

Tossing my bag aside, I stepped in front of her, trying to put some pressure on her to leave.  

“You’ve seen enough, haven’t you? Time to go home.”  

“I’m tired. Let me rest a bit.”  

Sliding deftly past me, Yuki plopped herself down on the cushion by the table.  

That was my spot. She’d taken my home base, leaving me standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.  

“What’s wrong? Don’t just stand there. Sit down.”  

Yuki patted the carpet in front of her, motioning for me to sit.  

Now that I thought about it, no one other than relatives had ever been inside this room.

Seeing a girl in a school uniform sitting there like she owned the place was surreal.  

Unsure of what to do, I reluctantly sat down as Yuki had suggested. Across from me, she was sitting cross-legged, seemingly unfazed by how precariously the hem of her skirt rested.  

I vaguely remembered her once saying she wore something underneath that was “okay to be seen.” I had caught a glimpse before, and while it was a bit anticlimactic, there wasn’t really anything wrong with it.   

“Hey, about your skirt… Even if you don’t mind it being seen, it’s still kinda…”  

“Hm? Oh, today I’m wearing something that shouldn’t be seen.”  

“So it’s not okay at all”  

Noticing where my eyes had wandered, Yuki pinched the edge of her skirt and playfully lifted it slightly.  

“Peek-a-boo.”  

“What the hell are you doing? Are you a sl*t?”  

“Pfft, what’s this? Acting all high and mighty, but you’re flustered over a glimpse of underwear? How cute.”  

She reached out to pat my head, but I swatted her hand away.  

Despite claiming she wanted to rest, Yuki’s grin never faded as she shifted to her knees and started poking around my room.  

“Oh, you’ve got a bookshelf.”  

Her attention fell on the small black cubby shelf by the wall—hardly a proper bookshelf. It was a simple three-tiered unit with dividers, where I kept my limited collection of items, mostly school textbooks and reference books.  

I didn’t think there was anything particularly embarrassing there, but it was still uncomfortable to have someone rummaging through my space.  

Yuki crawled on her knees across the carpet, leaning forward to inspect the shelves. Inevitably, my gaze was drawn to her legs extending from her skirt and the curves above them. I hated myself for it, but that’s just how guys are, I guess.  

“Oh, so you read novels like these?”  

She picked up a book with a ridiculously long title about the strongest knight in another world and showed it to me.

“I don’t really. I just thought throwing it away might be a waste.”  

“Was it not interesting?”  

“Uh, I only skimmed through it, so I can’t really say.”  

“You didn’t read it? There’s a first and second volume here.”  

Yuki pulled out another book. This one was the second volume.  

I hadn’t bought them, and they weren’t really mine. Now that she mentioned it, I remembered stuffing them there.  

“They’re more like lost items. Someone who liked that kind of stuff left them.”  

“Huh? Did you keep them to give back someday?”  

“Who knows. I doubt they’d want them anymore. I don’t think I’ll see them again anyway.”  

Yuki tilted her head curiously.  

Seeing that I had no intention of continuing the topic, she placed the books back on the shelf. She returned to the cushion and, with a fresh start, asked again:  

“You don’t have any decorations or anything. Do you, like, have any hobbies?”  

Since I don’t really have any hobbies to speak of, her question left me at a loss for an answer.  

If I had posters of artists or anime on the walls, it might give some sense of who I am, but…  

“Don’t you have any games or something?”  

“I left all that stuff at my parents’ house.”  

“I would’ve brought some over myself.”  

It’s not that I’m completely uninterested in things like that. I listen to music and play games too.  

But thinking of this place as somewhere I’m just borrowing temporarily, I don’t feel like bringing in a bunch of stuff. It would just get in the way when I move out. Besides, I tend to lose interest quickly.  

“What do you always do?”  

“Well, I just kind of browse my phone? Watch videos or read manga and stuff.”  

“What kind of videos?”  

“Uh, all sorts? I just watch short ones or whatever casually.”  

“Hmm, so your only hobby is watching p*rn videos.”  

She follows up with a joke, probably because of my earlier slip.  

But honestly, it’s a lot more essential than gaming. Not that she’d understand if I explained it.  

“Well, I won’t deny being a bored person. I was just thinking about what to do now that I’ve quit my job. But I’ve decided.”  

“You’re gonna become Yuki-chan’s servant?”  

“Study. I didn’t do much of it in the first half, so I’m thinking of turning over a new leaf and taking it seriously.”  

Now that I’ve started living alone, worked part-time, and earned my own money, I’ve realized I might be able to manage on my own.  

But still, working full-time for that kind of wage feels… not great. My dad’s job took up a ton of time, yet he didn’t earn much either.  

In the end, studying is the main duty of a student.  

The school we attend has a pretty decent reputation in this area, with an above-average academic level.  

I can’t speak for the ones who got in on sports scholarships, though. There are a few weirdos, but that’s true anywhere.  

Believe it or not, I was diligent in my studies. Paper tests reflect the effort you put in with clear results.  

Compared to being judged on vague criteria like personality or communication skills, I think it’s much fairer.  

“While I was out, math progressed so much it doesn’t make sense anymore.”  

The notes I borrowed from Sumahiko were practically blank. He’s probably too busy messing around on his phone during class to take proper notes.  

I pulled out the school-provided tablet and textbook from my bag and started on today’s homework.  

Yuki slid closer to me, sitting with her knees touching mine. A faint, unique scent drifted over.  

“Then, how about this senpai helps you with studying?”  

“Senpai? …Oh, right, you’re in your second year. I keep forgetting that.”  

“What did you just say, you punk.”  

She smacked my shoulder. Yuki propped her elbow on the table and leaned unnecessarily close.  

“So, which one? What don’t you understand?”  

I narrowed my eyes at her, and she responded with a smug look, as if to say, “Ask me anything.” Ignoring her, I dropped my gaze back to the desk.  

But I could feel her stare burning into me. Yuki was resting her chin in her hand, seemingly focused on my profile.  

When I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, our eyes met as expected.