The Beautiful Girl I Accidentally Helped Who Has Somehow Become Attached To Me. - Chapter 13: Hina's Invasion.

Hina’s Invasion.

My mornings aren’t especially early, but they’re not too late either.

This apartment is close to my high school, so my commute isn’t too long. I could technically sleep in longer, but I choose to wake up with a little extra time to spare—and there’s a reason for that.

One major reason is that I can’t afford to be without backup in case something unexpected happens.

I currently live alone, away from my parents. If I were to oversleep, I’d be guaranteed to be late. There’s no option of getting a ride because I’m running late, nor is there anyone around to wake me up. Two things I can’t afford are snoozing the alarm and a second round of sleep.

So, there’s a risk in pushing the limits of sleep, even with a short commute. I push myself to get up, fighting the drowsiness, and swiftly escape the cozy warmth of my bed that tempts me back to sleep.

I wash my face, brush my teeth, and prepare my morning coffee as I wait for my senses to fully wake up.

“…Alright, I’m awake.”

I stretch, feeling that refreshing clarity that tells me I’m fully awake, and I feel a sense of relief.

Even though I wake up with plenty of time, it doesn’t mean I’m rushing out the door. I prepare myself to leave whenever I’m ready, savoring a little bit of idle time before I go.

Still, this “extra” time is strictly about avoiding lateness. It’s nowhere near enough to make a full breakfast or to make a lunchbox, like Mikami-san does.

In short, I really respect those who wake up bright and early every day. It’s impressive.

“Thanks for the meal.”

I change into my uniform and grab a quick breakfast. Sipping on coffee, biting into my toast, and reaching for the remote to maybe catch the news or something—just as the doorbell rings.

“Huh? Who would be here this early in the morning…?”

It’s rare for the doorbell to ring on a weekday morning. Thinking it might be a religious solicitor, I check the intercom with the intention of ignoring them… only to see Mikami-san’s smiling face on the monitor.

Startled, I nearly dropped my toast but managed to catch it. While I fumble, the monitor turns off.

Alright, let’s pretend I didn’t see anything.

Just as I turn to head back to my seat, the doorbell rings again, and now Mikami-san appears on the screen, looking slightly puffed up in annoyance, even closer to the camera than before.

I’m tempted to see what happens if I keep ignoring her, but she seems a little teary-eyed, so I decide to answer.

“Hang on a sec.”

Thinking it’s weird to keep talking through the intercom, I leave a quick message and head to the door.

When I open it, there’s Mikami-san, cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish, looking adorably irritated.

“Why didn’t you answer the first time?”

“Sorry, I panicked and almost dropped my toast, so I missed it.”

“Hmm, well, if that’s the case, I suppose it can’t be helped.”

The half-eaten toast in my right hand was undeniable proof.

“Oh, good morning.”

“Yeah, good morning.”

“I came as promised.”

“Promised…? Did we make a promise?”

After a slightly delayed greeting, Mikami-san proudly puffed out her chest.

Stop it. Her radiant beauty is way too much to handle this early in the morning.

But… did we actually make any sort of promise? Just in case I missed something, I check my messages to see if Mikami-san had sent anything, but there’s no notification.

What promise could she possibly be talking about?

“Did you forget? I told you I’d come again today, didn’t I?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, I remember.”

She did say that, right? She did, didn’t she? But who would think she meant in the morning?

I’d assumed she’d drop by after school and hang out, but it turns out that announcement also applied to mornings…

“Well, whatever. You’d probably camp out here until I let you in anyway, so come on in.”

“Thank you for having me. Oh, Master, may I have a morning coffee, please?”

“Coming right up.”

I stuff the rest of my toast into my mouth and start preparing her coffee. She casually called me “Master,” but I actually don’t mind it. Yesterday, I was just “the guy working here,” so I guess I got a promotion.

“Still… showing up without a heads-up. Didn’t it occur to you I might have already left?”

“Nope, I calculated it from the time you arrived at the convenience store yesterday. Plus… I already know that you usually make it to school just barely on time.”

“Got it.”

While she looked smug sharing her well-reasoned conclusion, she actually missed a possibility. Sometimes, I hang around at the convenience store instead of heading straight to school, but… I’ll keep quiet and let her have her moment.

“Here you go, one morning coffee.”

“Thank you! Hmm, this temperature…”

“Ah, yeah. Yesterday, you took your time cooling down the hot coffee, so I figured you might have a sensitive tongue and made it a bit cooler this time. Was that wrong?”

“… You’re observant. As expected of the Master. I’ll be here every day now.”

“Hey.”

“I’m not kidding, you know?”

Alright then.

It looks like Mikami-san has upgraded herself to regular customer status.

Little by little, my precious solitude is being invaded, bit by bit. She’s practically an intruder.