Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 272: Cooking Class, Finished.

Cooking Class, Finished.

“Then, everyone, thank you for your hard work today.”

“““Thank you so much~!”””

With Sara-senpai’s closing words, the cooking class somehow managed to reach its end without further catastrophe.

Since everyone had more or less achieved what they came for, I think it’s fair to call it a success.

“Well then, dismissed.”

The mood had already shifted toward breaking up on the spot, so I gave the official signal.

We still needed to show our faces in the student council room, and it was easier for everyone this way.

The others were probably still working, and the former president was covering for Sara-senpai’s absence. We couldn’t just head straight home and leave her hanging.

“Dear, are you just stopping by today?”

“Yes. Starting anything new at this hour would only end half-finished. If the boys had been a little more serious, we could’ve wrapped up much sooner.”

“Eh? I-is that so…?”

Hanako-san glanced at me with a strained smile.

I sort of understood what she was implying, but I didn’t agree.

Everything—every delay—had stemmed from my own screw-ups. The blame was mine alone.

“W-well, whatever. More importantly, about Kazunari’s finger…”

“Yes, I know. Later I’ll do it again with my mo—”

“S-Sara-senpai!?”

“Fufu… just kidding. There’s a first-aid kit in the student council room. Let’s disinfect it properly.”

Phew… she scared me.

For a second I thought she was really going to do that again, and I felt a brief surge of joy—no, shock.

If she kept doing things like that, it would be seriously bad for my self-control.

(What exactly would be bad is, of course, a secret.)

“Kazunari…”

Hanako-san fixed me with a flat, knowing stare.

Please stop looking at me like you can see straight through my skull.

“Kazunari-san, I’m always ready whenever you need me♪”

And Sara-senpai had already seen right through to my true thoughts.

Honestly, hiding anything from these two is impossible…

……………

………

…

“Good work today.”

“Gooood work~”

“Nice job~”

We exchanged greetings as we entered the student council room.

Only three people were inside, including the former president.

Toudou-san wasn’t back yet; the patrol must still be going.

“Everyone should be returning soon. Have some tea and relax in the meantime.”

“Roger that.”

“Then I’ll brew the tea… ah, but…”

“I’ll make the tea, so you take care of Kazunari, dear.”

“Ugh… fine, I’ll leave it to you.”

It was rare for Sara-senpai to yield tea duty.

Especially my tea—she had never once let anyone else handle it before.

That just showed how worried she was about my finger… though really, it was already fine.

But I kept my mouth shut. Saying anything unnecessary would only dig my own grave, and it would be rude to her kindness.

The correct choice here was to quietly let her spoil me.

“Oh? That’s unusual. Sara-san letting someone else make Takanashi-kun’s tea…”

“People who say unnecessary things apparently don’t live very long.”

“M-my apologies…”

Pierced by Sara-senpai’s icy glare, Uesaka-san shrank like a scolded puppy.

The mouth truly is the source of disaster…

……………

“Good work today~”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Perfect timing—the patrol group returned just as Sara-senpai finished removing my old bandage.

Toudou-san was with them; it seemed the whole team had gone together today.

“…Huh? Takanashi-kun, what happened?”

“Kazunari cut his finger in cooking class.”

“Eh!? Takanashi-kun, are you okay!?”

Toudou-san’s eyes widened in alarm and darted toward my hand.

But Sara-senpai was firmly holding it, so from Toudou-san’s angle she probably couldn’t see anything.

Making her worry over such a tiny scratch felt bad… though the one I felt worst toward was still the girl currently treating it.

“I’m fine, really. It’s just a little nick. Even if I left it alone it would—”

“Kazunari-san, no♡”

“S-sorry…”

Damn it!

I said the unnecessary thing again.

She scolded me so adorably it hurt.

Here she was kindly taking care of me, and I went and downplayed it. Idiot.

“Ahaha, you can’t do that, Takanashi-kun. When Sara-senpai says something, you have to listen♪”

“Y-yeah, you’re right.”

Toudou-san had noticed from my reaction that it wasn’t serious.

Or maybe she was just reading the room because of Sara-senpai.

“Kazunari-san, almost done.”

“Yes.”

With practiced movements she finished disinfecting and stuck on a fresh bandage.

Now it really was fine. Honestly, it hadn’t even needed disinfecting in the first place…

“There. All better. If it starts hurting, tell me right away, okay? And tonight after your bath, let me check it aga—”

“““After his bath!?!?”””

Not everyone—Hanako-san and Toudou-san stayed silent. So the ones shouting were the original council members.

All she said was she’d check it after my bath. Was that really so shocking?

“W-wait just a second!!”

“Sara-san, you just said after his bath!?”

“Yes, I did. Is something wrong?”

“That’s not the issue!!”

“You’re alone with Takanashi-kun that late every night!?”

“Takanashi-kun, wh-what’s going on!?”

“You’re not… you’re not showing Sara-san your post-bath body, are you!?”

…Ah.

Right. Damn it, that’s what they meant!

I’d grown used to it lately and completely forgotten—we still hadn’t told the student council we were living together!!

What now…? Should I stop Sara-senpai before she—

But the council wouldn’t spread it around, and they might even help cover for us if needed.

Still, something like this shouldn’t be revealed so casually…

“‘That late,’ you say? We live together, so… Ah, I suppose we never mentioned that? I assumed the explanation had already been given.”

…Yeah, that’s about what I expected.

Apparently Sara-senpai had been under the same misunderstanding as me.

Well, this saved me the trouble of deciding. And honestly, it was probably better they knew.

They already knew plenty of other things about us; one more bombshell wouldn’t change much…

“““…………”””

Or so I thought.

“““EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!???”””

Of course it would blow up like this!!

How many times today have I heard that scream… No, that’s not the point!!

Living together is obviously shocking, I get it.

They knew she did all the housework at my place every day, so I figured they’d react with mild surprise at most.

But yeah… no one could stay calm after that.

“L-L-L-L-L-LIVING TOGETHER!?”

“Wai— That’s way too far!!”

“If anyone finds out the president and vice-president are cohabitating, we’re screwed!”

“Uooooh, there are some things I didn’t need to know!!”

“Aaaaaah, this one hurts the most!!”

And so the now-traditional chaos unfolded once more.

I knew revealing we lived together could be trouble—especially the president/vice-president part.

The worst case would be the school finding out and it affecting our future plans. That’s why we’d kept it quiet.

“J-just a minute. Takanashi-kun—are you two really living together!?”

Even the perpetually calm Uesaka-san rushed over in a panic.

No prior warning from Natsumi-senpai this time, it seemed.

“…Yeah. We are.”

When I admitted it, Uesaka-san pressed a finger to his brow in a classic “this is troubling” pose.

I did feel bad for not mentioning it sooner, but his reaction felt oddly meaningful. Was there something else the former president knew?

“It’s fine,” Sara-senpai said airily. “We’re engaged.”

The now-standard follow-up.

Honestly, that was my backup plan too if things got dicey.

Both the engagement and the cohabitation had parental approval—nothing shameful about it at all.

Really!!

Nothing at all!! (Important, so I said it twice)

So the school had no right to complain.

“Well, since you’re engaged and have permission from both sets of parents, no one else has any business interfering… I agree with that, but…”

“Naturally. So there’s no problem—”

“Ah, don’t mind me. This is an internal matter… We’ll need another meeting later…”

I couldn’t catch the former president’s last mutter, but it definitely sounded loaded. Maybe there really was something going on we didn’t know about.

“S-Sara-san, you’re seriously living together!?”

Before I could dwell on it, the girls swarmed Sara-senpai.

“Yes, it’s true.”

“What if someone finds out!?”

“Nothing will happen. We have permission from our parents, and publicly it’s just premarital practice. In the first place, I have no intention of letting outsiders or the school butt into our affairs.”

“As strong-willed as ever…”

“But you know… now that the shock’s settling, it almost feels like ‘well, yeah, of course they are’…”

“I was just thinking the same. With these two, it’d be weirder if they weren’t living together.”

“I agree… though the fact we think that way probably says a lot about us too…”

“…At least you’re self-aware.”

“Hanako-san, shhh!”

Hanako-san’s cool jab hurt in multiple ways—it stabbed me right through the chest too.

So we’ve caused so many incidents that everyone’s numb to it now!?

“Takanashi-kuuuun!!!???”

“No way… no way… you’ve already…!?!?”

And on cue, the boys descended on me.

This keeps happening lately.

What do you mean “already”!?

………………

…………

…

ka-po~n

Of course no such sound echoes in my own bathroom at home.

Yet every time I take a bath, that onsen-like image pops into my head.

More accurately, it feels closer to a public bathhouse, but same difference.

Speaking of onsen, after that whole incident everyone talked about going on a group trip together.

We haven’t made any concrete plans yet, and I’m not even sure it’ll happen, but maybe we should bring it up again soon.

We need to choose a place and coordinate schedules—the more people, the harder it gets.

The cultural festival would be a good chance to discuss it when everyone’s together.

“Kazunari-san, how is the finger feeling?”

…Yeah.

I know this isn’t the time to be escaping reality.

There’s only one reason Sara-senpai’s voice reaches me while I’m in the bath.

Because she’s in here with me!!!

This is weird. How did it come to this again?

When we started living together, I begged her—using various persuasive methods (top secret, marriage-only edition)—to at least stay out of the bathroom.

Yet here we were, with her barging in without warning.

“Fufu… It’s been a while since I’ve washed your body like this, Kazunari-san.”

“Y-yeah…”

Sara-senpai sounded utterly delighted as she gently scrubbed my back.

Logically, I wanted to refuse for safety reasons.

But how could I say no when she looked this happy?

It would disappoint her—and deep down, I was happy too.

Time to steel myself!!

“Kazunari-san… may I wash your hair as well?”

“Y-yes, ma’am!”

The way she asked so sweetly instantly melted my resolve.

“Fufu… I’m so happy♪”

She really was overjoyed.

I, on the other hand, was fifty-fifty between bliss and terror.

I had to re-steel myself. Don’t lose, me!!

“All right, I’ll rinse your back now.”

While my inner monologue raged, Sara-senpai showered warm water over my skin and gently washed with her bare hands.

It felt refreshingly clean in a spot I could never quite reach myself.

I did think about returning the favor… but that was far too dangerous—no, impossible.

If I asked, she’d probably allow it, but my Adamantite-reinforced rationality (upgraded edition) protected by Fellatio Site armor would shatter in an instant.

“Okay, hair next.”

“Y-yes…”

Here it came.

Washing my back had been the prelude—relatively safe if I stayed vigilant.

But washing hair was different. She’d have to lean in close, and then…

“I’m starting.”

I felt her presence draw near and braced myself harder than ever.

At that exact moment, a cool sensation spread across my scalp—shampoo.

Her fingers danced busily, working it through every strand, occasionally massaging my scalp in the most heavenly way…

shaka shaka…

Silence fell between us; only the sound of her washing my hair echoed in the steamy room.

What on earth were we doing?

“Okay, rinsing now.”

In the end, nothing dramatic happened.

She rinsed out the shampoo and followed with conditioner.

Since everything stayed perfectly normal, I felt a little embarrassed for being so on edge…

“There, all done.”

“Phew… thank you.”

Relief washed over me.

Maybe I was overthinking things. The situation was still dangerous, of course, but perhaps I needed to convince her again later.

This was probably just a special case because of my finger.

“…………”

“…Sara-senpai?”

She’d finished, yet she wasn’t leaving the bathroom.

That wasn’t like her.

pitoh…

“Fwaaa!?”

Wh-what the—!?

Sara-senpai had suddenly wrapped her arms around me from behind!?

W-wait, this was bad—this was way too bad!!!

“Kazunari-san…”

D-don’t use that needy voice!!

And the soft sensation pressing against my back… no, dangerous, way too dangerous!!!

Her thin yukata was soaked and clinging, and I was completely naked!!

Soft… no, stop thinking unnecessary thoughts!!

“S-S-S-Sara-senpai!?”

“Kazunari-san.”

“Y-yes!?”

“Um… it doesn’t have to be every day, but… once in a while, like this…”

Her sweetly pleading tone was lethal in so many ways right now!!

I’d vaguely known she felt this way for a while, but still—it put me in a difficult position.

Of course I was happy, but I really wanted to avoid the risk of losing control.

“Is it… no good?”

Guuh… that was a killer line.

There was no way I could say no when she asked like that!

But could I actually endure it…? Today had been fine until now, but…

“Kazunari-san…”

funyu

!!!!???

Her pleading voice plus increased softness against my back—

This was the second Heaven & Hell of the day, right after cooking class!!

“I want to make you happy with everything I can possibly do…”

I knew.

She genuinely just wanted to make me happy—there was never any ulterior motive with her.

So the problem was entirely on my side.

But what should I do? If I gave permission, she’d be overjoyed.

And in the same way I’d thought earlier—returning the few things I could do for her—this might count as one, right?

“Kazunari-san… is it all right?”

Yeah…

Either way, I could never refuse a request from her. I didn’t want to.

Being spoiled by her made me nothing but happy.

And honestly, deep down, I loved when she did these things for me.

She probably knew that, and that’s why she asked.

Yeah… it’ll be fine.

As long as her intentions were pure, all I had to do was work hard and endure.

Why would I turn down such blissful effort?

Hadn’t I decided to accept everything about her?

Then I’d accept this too!!

“O-okay… really just once in a while is fine, but…”

“Fufu… thank you.”

Her voice was pure joy.

This had definitely been the right choice…

It would be okay. If the only issue was mine, then I just had to tough it out.

I was the kind of man—no, the kind of guy—who could overcome anything for Sara’s sake.

“Thank you for indulging my selfishness.”

“No, it’s not selfish at all. I’m the one who should be thanking you—always.”

“No, I’m the one who should thank you. You always let me have my way, don’t you?”

That she truly believed that was what made Sara amazing.

But to me, everything she did was for my sake—never selfish.

When she thanked me, it only made me feel like I was the one imposing.

“Sara, that’s not true. What you do is never selfish. So I’m the one who should thank you.”

“Kazunari-san…”

She pressed herself closer, arms tightening happily.

Her whisper of my name against my ear was drenched in bliss.

I really was the luckiest man alive.

To be with this perfect woman forever—no one else could claim greater happiness. I’d swear it on anything.

“Kazunari-san… I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Returning feelings with feelings—I’d reaffirmed that resolve today.

The words came out surprisingly naturally. Small victory.

“I’ll keep making you happy with everything I have… my darling.”

“I-I’ll make you just as happy, Sara…”

I managed it. Still embarrassingly shy, but I think it sounded natural.

Calling her just “Sara” still felt strange, but…

chu

Warm, soft lips brushed my cheek.

“Fufu… a reward♪”

“Sara…”

chu

!?

Another one!?

“That was punishment. You still have to call me Sara… darling.”

“O-okay…”

This was getting dangerous…

In the bathroom, me half-naked, her in a clinging thin yukata, hugging me tighter without seeming to realize it.

Her voice had taken on a spoiled, sweet lilt—this combination was unfair… no, lethal!!

I was still holding on, but continuing to flirt like this was starting to scare me…

“Is something wrong?”

“N-no, nothing… really.”

Keep calm. Don’t let her notice anything more… You can do this.

“Ah!?”

!!!!!

What!?

What did she notice!?

She couldn’t have noticed, right!? (For mysterious reasons)

“I’m so sorry—this will cool your body down. Please excuse me.”

“Eh!? Ah, y-yeah, time to get in the tub…”

Exactly as expected.

But honestly, the interruption might have saved me…

“Then I’ll step out. Please enjoy your soak.”

“Thank you.”

“No—I’m the one who’s happy. …Don’t forget our promise, okay? If you do, I’ll have to punish you♪”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

I couldn’t see her face, but I could perfectly picture the beaming smile that matched her voice.

Just imagining it erased any thought of hardship.

If it made her happy, I could endure anything.

So I’d be fine… absolutely fine.