The Beautiful Senpai from the Archery Club Is Sleeping in My Room with Her Stomach Exposed. - Chapter 27: A Sweet Yet Bittersweet Weekend Afternoon. Part- 2.

A Sweet Yet Bittersweet Weekend Afternoon. Part- 2.

A soft rustling sound gently echoed in my left ear.

It seemed that my senior was being careful not to hurt my ear canal, as the ear cleaning proceeded at a slow and deliberate pace.

“How does it feel, Amemoto-kun? Is there any itchiness? If there is, please raise your right hand, and I’ll stop immediately.”

A dentist, perhaps?

“Ah, well… If anything, it’s more ticklish than itchy.”

The combination of being cradled on Watanuki-senpai’s lap and having my ears examined made me feel incredibly self-conscious.

Adding to the situation, Mei had excused herself, saying, “I’m just grabbing a drink real quick!” leaving the two of us alone.

“Thank you for your honest feedback. If it’s neither painful nor itchy, I’ll continue.”

Wait, how did I end up getting my ears cleaned just because I was invited? This turn of events was unfolding too quickly for me to process.

Should I retreat and regroup? (Gaming mindset.)

Ultimately deciding that I should call for a halt, I attempted to raise my right hand as instructed—only to realize that I was lying on my right arm.

Raising this hand was impossible.

Sensing my struggle, my senior’s amused voice reached my ear, accompanied by a soft rustling sound.

“Fufu, too bad. Since you’re resting on my lap, you can’t even move. If it’s just a little ticklish, I’ll keep going.”

“Even a dentist would let me move my hands, Senpai…”

The undeniable advantage of being the one doing the ear cleaning had led to this playful remark. She was a mischievous one—every now and then, this side of her would appear.

If I were to look up now, she’d probably have a teasing smile on her face. She seemed quite at ease.

“You seem quite skilled at this. Have you had experience cleaning someone else’s ears before?”

“Yes. I used to do it regularly since elementary school—my little sister would always beg me. Though, I haven’t done it in the past few years.”

“Ah, that explains it.”

Shion’s hidden older-sister tendencies had honed her ear-cleaning skills to perfection.

She also had a dexterity that suggested a history of learning various crafts. Honestly, this felt good enough to be on par with professional ear-cleaning services. Not that I’d ever been to one, so I couldn’t compare.

If I were to be completely honest, I wouldn’t mind staying like this for an hour—

“Hmm… Amemoto-kun, you were squirming earlier, but now you’ve settled down. This makes it easier to clean. You endured the ticklish sensation well—good job, good job.”

With a soft pat, my temple was gently pressed down, causing my right ear to sink into the warmth of her thigh.

The smooth texture of her black tights directly touched my earlobe, and I could feel my ear heating up in response.

“Uh, um… There’s only a one-year age gap between us, so treating me like a child is a bit…”

“Oh, was that too much? Hmm, it’s tricky to gauge the right balance when providing relaxation.”

Despite sounding as if she was reflecting on it, her hand continued to pat my head.

…Yeah, there’s no way I could last an hour like this. I should have stopped this earlier.

Someone, please help. At this rate, I’ll regress into childhood—!

“Sorry for the wait~! I got your favorite drink, Touya! It took a bit longer than expected!”

“M-Mei…!”

At last, my gal-like older sister had returned—perhaps my savior from this infantilizing treatment.

Surely, seeing her younger brother being pampered like a child would make her question the situation. Surely, she’d react with a “Whoa, what is going on here?”

“Here you go! This is the drink you’ve been obsessed with lately, right? You’ve been buying it so much that I made sure to remember!”

Mei pulled an energy drink from her eco-bag—the very one that my senior had been taking care of earlier.

With a soft pop, the tab was lifted, and a straw was inserted into the opening.

“Oh, with this, you can drink while lying on my lap. That was quite a considerate move, Mei-san.”

“Right? Now, drink up! ☆ I’ll even feed you a chocolate cookie. Say ahh~.”

Not only did she not question my position, but my childlike treatment was escalating—there was no hope left.

I gave up and took a bite of the homemade cookie she offered.

“…Huh? This isn’t very sweet. It has a rather bitter taste.”

“I consulted Mei-san on the recipe. You usually just go along with my tastes, but you’re not actually that fond of sweets, are you?”

Lately, I had been eating sweets more frequently and had developed a bit of a liking for them.

But still, the bitterness was pleasant in its own right. Knowing it had been made with my preferences in mind made me happy.

“I appreciate the thoughtfulness, but… this was supposed to be a midterm exam celebration, right? I feel like I’m the only one relaxing here.”

“No need to worry about that. Later, I’ll have you clean my ears, and Mei-san will pat my head.”

“So we’re taking turns pampering each other? In that case, I’d love for Rino-chan to clean my ears too! I wanna experience it from someone other than Touya!”

Both my senior and sister cheerfully voiced their desires.

Well, if I was only the center of attention for now, that was fine… Besides, I was better at giving than receiving.

“Alright then, I’ll just go along with this for now. Let’s consider this my turn.”

“Yes. This is the perfect opportunity for me to return the favor, so just relax. Fufu… I can’t believe such a convenient event idea actually worked out. I’d love to send some of these chocolate cookies to the original idea poster.”

“Right? That’s a great idea! Oh, speaking of, wasn’t the person from that video Meloril? It’s been ages since we last talked to them.”

Mei’s voice drifted into nostalgia as she reminisced about something from two years ago.

“Huh…? Mei-san, do you know him?”

“We played a game together once with Touya! As part of his rehab! Wait, don’t tell me you haven’t mentioned this to Rino-chan?”

My sister shot me a questioning look, but putting it into words felt like too much trouble.

I was about to shake my head—until I realized that would mean rubbing my cheek against my senior’s thigh, making me look like a completely inappropriate junior.

I had no choice but to speak.

“My middle school days… I doubt Senpai would be interested. It’s not exactly a cheerful story, either. No need to bring it up.”

“I’d love to hear it, though.”

“Meloril-san and I were connected as fellow streamers.”

A gentle whisper was all it took for the words to slip out.

Well, whatever. It’s not like it was worth the effort to keep it hidden, especially when I was feeling this comfortable…

“Back then, I wanted to go pro in battle royale FPS games. To gain recognition, I started streaming.”

I used to have around 200 viewers even on weekday afternoons. For a middle schooler with clumsy commentary, that was more than enough.

“I also participated in online tournaments… and once, I teamed up with Meloril-san in an invite-only tournament for streamers. Even though I was practically unknown, we managed to rack up points and placed third.”

“Wow, that’s amazing! A bronze medal! Tournaments where you perform well really stay with you.”

Just as Watanuki-senpai spoke from her own experience, that tournament was etched into my memory as well.

It was the event that triggered my slump.

I still remember how it all unfolded—I’ve replayed it in my head countless times.

Lacking both popularity and skill, we somehow managed to take down prominent streamers and top players in consecutive matches. We got lucky.

As a result, our ranking climbed… and my stream turned into a mess.

The usual viewers who always left comments were drowned out by messages like:
“Stay in your lane, nobody.”
“This kid’s just a brat.”
“Desperate much, no-name?”

Even though the hate was fleeting, back then, I was just an immature middle schooler.

During the final match, I lost my composure completely.

I let my anger show, and it made me the subject of ridicule for a lot of people.

“It was definitely a memorable experience. After that tournament, I was determined to prove them wrong—to take first place next time. So I pushed myself even harder… until I completely burned out.”

Right now, I feel like my self-control is as light as a feather.

Words I never intended to say keep spilling out.

Maybe it’s because I feel at ease.

Somewhere deep down, I trust that I can share this with Watanuki-senpai.

“For a while, even looking at games became exhausting… That’s when I started researching ways to heal. This room, covered in green, was part of that recovery process.”

“Choosing furniture and redecorating was fun, wasn’t it?”

Mei, who had helped me, handed me a drink with a straw.

As I took a sip, the familiar, artificially sweet taste filled my mouth. I’d drunk so much of this stuff back then that I’d grown sick of it. But now, it was starting to overwrite those bitter memories.

“For me, middle school was a dark time. Compared to back then, my high school life is much more peaceful.”

“I see… so that’s how it was.”

As she spoke, Watanuki-senpai playfully poked my cheek.

“I feel like I finally got a glimpse into who Amemoto-kun really is.”

Well, no, I don’t exactly store my past in my cheeks. I’m not a squirrel…

But I didn’t feel like making a joking remark to cover my embarrassment.

This playful interaction was probably her way of responding to the lack of energy in my voice.

“Heh… The more I learn about you, the more I understand what you’ve done for me. And it makes me cherish you even more… You know, in my personal history, you’re the most adorable junior I’ve ever had. Did you know that?”

“I-It’s the first I’m hearing of it.”

“I thought so. You should really be more aware of your own charm. One day, a scary girl might just take advantage of you.”

She then pinched my cheeks with both hands, stretching them slightly.

S-Senpai… this playful act is dragging on for quite a while now…

I wonder what I look like to my family right now, lying on Senpai’s lap while she’s pinching my cheeks.

When I glanced over at Mei, she was fidgeting.

She wasn’t just watching—she looked like she was eager to join in.

“Ugh! For me, Touya is the absolute cutest little brother ever! I’ll give you a hug instead of a gold medal!”

“I’m your only brother, so that’s a given. And I don’t need the hug—”

Before I could finish, Mei tackled me into a tight embrace, her expression full of emotion.

Ugh, it’s suffocating… My sister has never been one to hold back…

Caught up in Mei’s embrace, Senpai, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed and continued squishing my cheeks.

“S-Senpai, how much longer is this going to last? You can leave my other ear alone. Can we end my turn now?”

“Nope. Just a little longer.”

She denied my plea with a calm yet firm voice.

Her fingers poked at my cheeks once more—no, wait, now she’s put down the ear-cleaning stick and is using both hands…

Mei, still giggling, showed no signs of letting go either. Her hug only tightened.

With the mood the way it was, there was no way I could bring up the topic of our agreement…

And so, despite having the perfect opportunity during this Saturday visit, I failed to say the words that would bring our relationship to an end.