Chapter 23

I was planning to ride my bike home while Yuki would take the train to her place.

I had considered offering to walk her to the station, but… no, this wasn’t even that kind of conversation. I found myself slipping into formal speech without realizing it.

“What exactly do you mean by this?”

“Well, remember during lunch? I said, ‘Let’s have a sleepover date,’ right? That was the deal for making yesterday a no-count.” [TL: the kiss]

“What? A sleepover? I didn’t agree to that.”

“You did. I said it, didn’t I? ‘Let’s have a sleepover date.’”

Yuki mumbled the word sleepover in a ridiculously quiet and rushed voice.

Maybe she did say it that way during lunch, but that didn’t mean it was something I’d actually agreed to.

“Seriously, what are you even saying?”

“It’s fine! I’ve got all my clothes and stuff ready.”

“That’s why you’re carrying that backpack? You’ve been planning this from the start?”

“What’s the big deal? Tomorrow’s a day off anyway.”

“That’s not the point! Why are you suddenly talking about staying over?”

“Hmm… well then, we can just have a rest, if that’s better. A little rest.”

“Why do you say it in such a formal way?” 

I briefly considered ditching her by riding off on my bike, but she already knew where I lived. Turning her in at a police box briefly crossed my mind, too, but that sounded like way too much trouble.

“Yuki-chan, you’re a good girl, so let’s go home now, okay?”

“Nooo, I don’t want to go home yeeeeet. It’s fine to just stop by for a bit, right?”

A kid. Well, she technically is a kid.

But why do I have to act like her guardian here? I’m supposed to be the reckless one. Thinking about it started to feel stupid.

“Seriously, I’m not responsible for anything that happens.”

I figured if I acted annoyed enough, she might change her mind.

Ignoring her pace, I started walking briskly while pushing my bike. Yuki, despite having to jog occasionally to keep up, stuck to me like glue.

“Oh, this street’s so dark… I bet it’ll be super scary on the way back when it’s completely pitch black.”

“Knight-kun, are you scared of ghooosts?Ufufu, how cute.”

Completely unfazed.

If pushing doesn’t work, maybe pulling will. Maybe if I humor her, she’ll leave.

“Well, today was… you know, surprisingly kind of fun.”

“Oh, you’re too kind. I had a lot of fun too~”

“Now, go home.”

I said it in deadpan. Yuki just smiled silently, as if bouncing the words back with some kind of invincible barrier.

By the time we’d gone back and forth like this, we had already reached my house.

Before I could stop her, Yuki had gone ahead, bounding up the stairs. She waited for me by the door, watching as I unlocked it.

The moment the door opened, she bolted inside like she owned the place.

“I’m home~!”

“What do you mean ‘I’m home’? This isn’t your house.”

Yuki strolled through the hallway without hesitation. She dropped her backpack, then plopped herself comfortably onto a cushion.

“I don’t know why, but I like it here. It’s so relaxing~.”

She spoke as she flopped her upper body down onto the table.  

There were plenty of things I wanted to say, but I decided it wasn’t worth the effort. I sat on the opposite side of the table and pulled out my school tablet. Yuki gave me an exasperated look.

“Ugh, starting to study in this situation? Really?”

“This school gives way too much homework. Math alone is a lot every single time.”

“Isn’t that just your teacher being a pain? Who teaches math? Kashiwagi?”

“No, it’s Kinoshita. Still, the tests are coming up, so I need to prep.”

“School tests aren’t that hard, though.”

“Really? They got way harder once I got into high school.”

It wasn’t just the content that had gotten tougher—the tests themselves were brutal. Math in particular had the fun tradition of making you stay after school for a retake until you got a perfect score. Yuki’s no big deal expression made no sense to me.

“What kind of scores do you get on your tests, Knight-kun?”

“I mean… I manage to hit about the average for all subjects.”

“Eh… Knight-kun? You say that like it’s impressive, but that’s not great, is it?”

“And you’re doing better?”

“I’ve never scored below the average in a test, ever.”

“…Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

So this airheaded girl was good at academics? That didn’t sit right with me. Of course, saying so out loud would get me chewed out, so I kept it to myself.

Not that I didn’t know my own shortcomings. I’d always been better at using my body than my brain. At my convenience store job, they’d praised me for being a quick learner, but this kind of stuff? Not my forte.

“…I know, okay? Cramming knowledge just isn’t my thing. That’s why I have to work twice as hard to make up for it.”

“Eh, that just means your study methods suck. Want me to be your private tutor?”

“No thanks.”

I politely declined and powered on the tablet. Yuki’s voice turned pouty.

“Ugh, boooooring. It’s not even due tomorrow, is it? You don’t have to do it now, do you?”

“Hah? Then what am I supposed to do now?”

“What do you think? Obviously… flirt?”

“Please go home.”

I shut her down firmly, focusing back on the table. Yuki grumbled and whined for a bit, but eventually:

“Ugh, fine. I’m too tired. I’m going to sleep.”

With that, she turned the cushion into a makeshift pillow and laid down.

At least she was out of my line of sight now, so I could finally focus. I dove into my homework.  

When I looked up after finishing a chunk of my assignments, the small clock on the table showed it was past eight.  

The room was completely quiet. Yuki, who had been mumbling to herself earlier, had fallen silent at some point.  

I leaned over to glance at the other side of the table.

I thought she’d be lying down while scrolling on her phone, but instead, she was fast asleep, still in her uniform. Wasn’t the carpet uncomfortable?

In any case, it was already pretty late. I couldn’t let her stay here any longer—I needed to get her to leave. Now.