Chapter 33

“Alright, stop right there! Yuki-chan has here~!”  

As light poured into the room, a high-pitched voice rang out.  

This wasn’t Miki imitating the voice—it was undoubtedly Yuki’s voice.  

With a click, the room’s lights flicked on.  

“Huh—wha—eh? Y-Yuki!?”  

The face that had been so close to mine jerked away, and my vision was filled with sudden brightness.  

Miki flailed awkwardly for a moment before scrambling off me and standing up. She turned to face someone who looked exactly like her, now approaching.  

“A-Ah, uh, Yuki, weren’t you going to the salon today…?”  

“Hmm? Guess not~.”  

“W-what is this…?”  

Miki’s face twisted into an expression of sheer terror, as if she’d just seen something horrifying.  

In contrast, Yuki wore an unbroken smile—eerily unsettling in its calmness. Miki had every right to be scared; Yuki looked terrifying.  

“Let me explain~. Yuki-chan timed her return perfectly after Miki left. She hid in her own room, kept her phone on standby near the door, and listened in to your entire conversation~.”  

Yuki raised the phone in her hand triumphantly.  

Actually, I’d been giving her periodic updates throughout the day. Ever since arriving at this place, my phone had remained in call mode—Yuki’s plan from the very beginning.  

Though the reveal was done, Miki was too overwhelmed to process it. She turned to me with a face that screamed disbelief.  

“S-So, wait… What does this mean…?”  

“It means Miki asked for something so ridiculous, I told Yuki everything.”  

“Wha—WHAT!? I told you over the phone it was an absolute secret! I made you promise!”  

[TL: Knight-kun, how could you betray your princess??!]

“Yeah, but seriously? Asking me out of nowhere to have s*x with you? That’s definitely something I had to tell Yuki. And then she wanted to find out exactly what was going on in your head.”  

Not only had I confided in Yuki beforehand, we had even coordinated some of this plan together.  

Though, to be fair, I’d been reluctant. Yuki, however, found the idea of letting it play out far too entertaining to resist.  

“Still, Yuki, you waited way too long to step in. Couldn’t you have come earlier?”  

“There was a lot of rustling around, and it was hard to hear. But the more I listened, the more intrigued I got. Honestly, it was so wild, it almost opened a weird door.”  

“Could you not, please?”  

Would she have even come in at all if I hadn’t called out for her?  

In that case, things could’ve really gone south fast.  

Finally catching up with what was happening, Miki’s eyes widened, and she shouted at the top of her lungs.  

“So what you’re saying is… You set me up!?”  [TL: Traitor!! Hang HIM!!]

“No, no one ‘set you up.’”  

“You totally set me up!”  

She kept saying set me up, but that wasn’t the case—just for the record.  

“W-Why would you even do something like this…?”  

“Hmm, I figured if we all aired out our secrets and weaknesses a little, maybe we’d get along better or something.”  

It wasn’t great that Miki was trying to act all high-and-mighty.  

Though she had let slip earlier that she might actually envy Yuki—that was a promising sign of self-awareness.  

“Honestly, though, Yuki-chan is completely creeped out. The whole ‘lose your virginity to boost confidence’ spiel? That’s peak nerdy virgin logic.”  

Unfortunately, that sentiment didn’t seem to resonate with Yuki, given how extreme things had gotten.  

Somewhere along the way, her grin had vanished.  

Her tone turned frosty, devoid of humor or warmth.  

“If gaining confidence were that easy, life wouldn’t be so hard.”  

“You don’t know unless you try. Besides, it’s not like you’ve experienced it either. Haven’t you heard stories about people who called an escort service and it changed their lives or something?”  

“Never heard of that! That’s obviously made up! And for someone who acts like they have no interest, Miki, you’re clearly super curious about it!”  

“S-shut up! You barged into his house, planning to do it too, didn’t you?!”  

“And what if I did?”  

“Don’t just admit it like that!”  

At this point, I had to step in and give Miki a warning.  

“By the way, cuffing someone and trying to force them is way too extreme.”  

“It wasn’t forced—it was consensual. I bet Hoshi-kun was internally thinking, ‘Yes, lucky me!’ He was totally excited earlier, and deep down, I know he wants it.”  

…Wait, this conversation is veering in a strange direction. I need to straighten this out.  

Yuki turned her gaze toward me, sharp enough to practically make a slash sound.  

“…Knight-kun? Is that true?”  

“Hold on, let’s calm down. I mean… look, wouldn’t it be weird if nothing happened after the so-called ‘princess of the school’ came at me in a sexy outfit, kissed me, and made a move on me? If that didn’t stir anything, don’t you think that’d be a problem in its own right?”  

“So what are you saying? That Knight Jr. is all fired up and ready?”  

“Exactly!”  

Miki answered in my place, betraying me. She knew it was true.  

“Eh? Wait, you two kissed? Why?”  

Yuki’s tone was completely flat as pressed the question.  

Apparently, that part hadn’t been obvious from the call she’d heard earlier. I’d unnecessarily let it slip.  

“We kissed. Got a problem with that?”  

Once again, Miki answered without hesitation. Why is she competing now? And why is Yuki so intensely glaring at me like that?  

Yuki turned her gaze from me, sitting restrained on the bed, to Miki standing across from her. The tension in the room thickened.  

Maybe it was the invisible pressure, but Miki seemed to falter slightly. Then, in a swift motion, Yuki grabbed Miki’s arm and pulled her close.  

“H-Hey, Yuki…!”  

Miki yelped, her voice tinged with panic.  

This was headed somewhere bad. I tried to step in, but my hands were still cuffed behind my back, and I couldn’t move forward. In fact, I couldn’t move at all.  

“Yuki, stop… wait, what?”  

I froze mid-sentence at the sight unfolding in front of me.  

For some reason, Yuki was holding Miki’s face and pressing her lips against hers. Miki, losing her balance, wrapped her arms around Yuki’s back for support.  

To an outside observer, it looked like the two of them were locked in a passionate kiss.  

This was bad—for entirely different reasons.  

“Haaah… That cancels it out. It’s no-count now.”  

Yuki pulled back, exhaling triumphantly. Miki staggered slightly, her face flushed bright red.  

Apparently, stealing Miki’s kiss was meant to invalidate what had happened before.  

I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d just witnessed.  [TL: ooohhh, peak Yuriiiiii action]

But with my arms still cuffed and trembling a little, being unable to intervene, I said.