The Charm of the Popular Beautiful Succubus in Class Doesn't Work on Me ~ For Some Reason, This Beauty Keeps Trying to Hold My Hand ~ - 27

Chapter 27: …Thank You

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“I’m feeling a bit delirious here, so I don’t understand what’s happening right now. Could you please explain it to me for a bit?”

“…Sure.”

While pressing my hands against my head, I began to piece together each of Sarashina’s words. My condition, the school, the purpose of her visit… Of course, Sarashina didn’t provide me with any explanation why she had tried to press our foreheads together. That said, Sarashina didn’t look like her usual self. She refused to look me in the eye and she chose her words carefully. She also looked a bit lethargic compared to usual. 

“So, to sum it up, Michihito-kun’s mother mistook me for your ‘girlfriend,’ okay? Sorry about that.”

“Ah… My mom can be like that. I’m the one who should say sorry.”

“Well, I don’t really mind either way.”

“I will be sure to correct her.”

“…Yeah. Sorry.”

“You really don’t need to apologize to me so much.”

“I’m sorry…”

I turned my gaze to Sarashina, who was sitting in a seiza on the carpet. Today, Sarashina was wearing a pearl gray cardigan with the earrings she had bought when we were out at the shopping mall the other day. Her short skirt was hidden by the hem of the cardigan, but from my angle, it looked like she wasn’t wearing a skirt at all. Her exposed thighs looked plump and white. It was an incredibly alluring sight to behold. 

“…Sarashina.”

“What?”

“…I’m sorry. I can’t hold back anymore.”

“Huh?”

After I said that, I crawled closer to Sarashina. 

Yes. I’m just a healthy second year high school student who’s brimming with curiosity.

A boy and a girl alone in a room. The girl was sitting in a seiza on the carpet. For some reason, Sarashina grew quieter. 

This situation… There’s no way I can endure this situation…

“Wai-… Wait, stop… I-It hurts.”

“Don’t resist. If you move, it will hurt even more.”

“Nnh… Haa…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Ouch! My cheeks…! Stop pinching my cheeks like that!”

“Well, you’re the one who’s been making that gloomy face! I can’t stand the awkwardness! Seriously, stop acting all meek like that!”

I grabbed Sarashina’s cheek with the same force I had exerted when we played ‘rock-paper-scissors bulldog game. Yes. I pinched her cheeks repeatedly while humming “Stretch, stretchy, stretch, stretchy~” 

“I get it, I get it, so please stop pinching my cheeks already!”

With her hamster-like face, Sarashina begged me to stop with teary eyes. 

“Good grief. Seriously, that’s so unlike you, Sarashina. Why you’re not saying something like ‘You should be honored to catch a cold in my place’?”

I released my hand from Sarashina’s pale cheeks with a snap. While panting, Sarashina glared at me. Her usual fiery intensity had finally returned… For just a little though. 

“What were you doing to my adorable face?! My face is ruined now! My beauty is totally ruined!!”

“A beautiful girl is still beautiful even if she makes a weird face!”

“Wha-…?! I can’t tell if you’re complimenting me or insulting me! Just be grateful that this Kisara-chan came to visit you!”

“Don’t act so high and mighty when you’re barging on a sick person! If you’re going to visit, at least bring me some snacks!”

“Why do I need to go that far?!”

“I want to eat sweet red bean jelly from ‘toraya’!”

“I want dorayaki!”

“Why are you looking for dorayaki when you have the personality of ‘Giant’ from Doraemon?!”

“Everything that’s yours is mine. Hurry up and go buy the dorayaki!”

After we exchanged elementary school-level banter for a while, both Sarashina and I were panting, exhausted. 

I collapsed onto the bed while Sarashina lay down in my room. I decided not to comment how comfortable she was getting in my room. 

“Hey, Michihito-kun…”

“What is it, Sarashina?”

“…Thank you.”

“There are so many things you need to thank me for, so I’m afraid I don’t even know which one you’re talking about.”

“First, thank you for sharing your umbrella with me.”

“Oi, oi, are you planning to list everything?”

“Come on, it’s fine to do this every once in a while, right?”

Sarashina giggled cheerfully.

“Second, for helping me when the car was coming at me.”

“I feel like I’m being ridiculed instead.”

“Listen, I just don’t want to owe anyone anything. Isn’t it better for me to say everything I have in my heart rather than feeling all uneasy inside?”

“Well, I guess that’s very you, Sarashina…”

“Third, for putting your blazer over me..”

“I still remember the color of your bra though.”

“Please refrain from commenting on every little thing.”

“…Oi.”

“Fourth, for lending me your umbrella even though you had to get drenched in return.”

“I mean, I had a feeling I would lose my control if I kept looking at your bra, Sarashina.”

“Fifth, for cheering me up when I was about to get crushed by guilt.”

“I mean, I was just feeling a bit excited, that’s all…”

Then, Sarashina sat up and rested her arm on the edge of the bed. Our gazes met. 

“And lastly…”

“Hm? There’s more?”

“Lastly…”

Sarashina flashed me a seductive smile. 

“Hmmm~ I guess the last one is a secret.”

“What? Now you’re making me curious.”

“Fufu~ Mysterious woman feels more charming, right?”

With that, Sarashina tilted her head to the side a bit and grinned mischievously. 

Thinking back, I realized Sarashina had been smiling more in front of me lately. When we first met, her smile looked more like she was looking down on me, but recently… It seemed she was actually smiling from the bottom of her heart. Or maybe her smile appeared genuine to me because my feelings toward Sarashina had changed. That said… If I could see Sarashina smiling like this, maybe catching a cold wasn’t so bad after all. 

After that, Sarashina and I chatted about random things, and then she said it was time to go and left just like that. The blazer she returned was neatly ironed and carrying a faint, pleasant scent. My mom teased me, saying, “What a cute girlfriend you have,” but since I didn’t feel like explaining today, I just brushed it off and crawled back into my bed.

Come to think of it… I completely forgot about it because I was too busy trying to sort out my thoughts, but what was that forehead-to-forehead moment when I woke up earlier…? Why did she press her forehead close to mine…?

With those thoughts in mind, my consciousness sank into a drowsy haze.

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