The Pure-Hearted Beauty Who Only Dotes on Me Despite Not Being in a Relationship—And How She Became Even Sweeter After We Started Dating - Chapter 32: It's okay... I'm not going anywhere.

It’s okay… I’m not going anywhere.

It’s been a week since summer vacation started. Mizuki came over to my house, and we were doing our summer homework together.

It all started with the idea of doing our summer homework together, which led me to invite her to my place. And that’s how we ended up here.

Our goal was to finish our summer homework. So, unfortunately, there were no romantic developments or exciting events. Time just kept passing by.

If I kept having these unrealistic expectations, Mizuki would probably get mad at me later. I wondered if she had any similar thoughts.

By the way, my mom was out, and my dad was at work. So, it was just the two of us. In this situation, with no one around to see whatever we might do… Was it okay for time to just pass by like this?

“Ao-kun, are you focused?” Mizuki asked, poking my cheek with her index finger while she diligently worked on her homework.

“Y-Yeah, I am…” I stammered.

“Good. If you stay focused, I’ll give you a reward,” she said with a smile.

“A reward?”

“If I tell you what it is, you probably won’t concentrate, so I’m not saying now,” she teased.

Wait, isn’t that backwards? Not knowing what the reward is makes it hard to concentrate. But if I don’t stay focused, I’ll never find out what the reward is.

Alright, let’s get this done.

After about two hours of concentrated effort, I stretched my arms high. Sitting in the same position for so long made my body ache.

“Are you finished?”

“Well, all that’s left is English. This is the first time I’ve finished my summer homework this early,” I said, feeling a bit proud.

Usually, I wouldn’t touch my homework until the very last day. I just never felt motivated…

“If you finish early, you can enjoy your summer vacation freely. By the way, I finished all of mine just a little while ago,” Mizuki said nonchalantly.

“Seriously…? You’re amazing,” I replied, genuinely impressed.

When I gently stroked her head, she responded with a happy expression.

“Ao-kun, you did a great job too.”

With her small hands, Mizuki gently stroked my head. Wanting this to continue forever, I closed my eyes and drowsiness began to overwhelm me.

“You look sleepy though…”

“Well, I woke up early today.”

Whenever Mizuki came over, mornings started earlier than usual.

“Shall we sleep together then? As a reward, I’ll cuddle with you right now.”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. As long as you promise not to do anything weird.”

“I would never do anything that would make you uncomfortable, Mizuki. Absolutely.”

“In that case, it’s okay.”

Since it wasn’t practical to sleep on the living room’s first floor, I spread out a futon in the Japanese-style room, and Mizuki lay down there first.

“Ao-kun, are you okay?”

It’s not every day that such a situation arises. If I miss this chance, it might never happen again. But I feel nervous when it actually comes to doing it.

She was so defenseless that each gesture was too cute for me to remain calm. I promised not to do anything weird, but…

1As an angel and a devil appeared in my mind, I was paralyzed.

“I can’t just do nothing in front of such a defenseless girl! That’s impossible. I should kiss her right now, and then we should do something naughty afterwards.”

“I remember Mizuki-chan saying, ‘If Ao-kun wants that, just tell me,’ didn’t she?” Hasekura-san’s devil whispered.

“‘No, Ao. Mi-chan told you to take things slow with her. Kissing is fine, but nothing beyond that,’ said the angel, Kana.

Is kissing okay…? Yeah, that’s right. We’ve been dating for two months. It feels like it’s okay.

“Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

“Is that so…? Aren’t you a bit distant?”

I lay down but felt like I couldn’t keep my composure if I stayed too close to Mizuki, so I positioned myself a little further away from her.

“Is that so? It would be hard to sleep if we were too close.”

“That’s true, but this distance is good for me.”

Saying that, Mizuki hugged me from behind.

Huh!? A hug from behind out of nowhere!? There’s no way I could sleep like this!

“Can you sleep like this, Mizuki?”

“I can sleep. I feel safe when I’m by your side, Ao-kun.”

Although Mizuki said so, I couldn’t help but be distracted by what was pressing against my back since earlier.

“Mizuki, I’d rather you didn’t do that.”

“You’d rather I didn’t? By the way, Ao-kun, why haven’t you been facing this way since earlier?”

“…Because it’s impossible to sleep peacefully when looking at the adorable Mizuki.”

“…Then, may I hold your hand while we sleep? I’ll lie down facing away from you.”

I thought that would be fine, so I lay down facing up. Mizuki then tightly grasped my hand.

“Ao-kun, please stay by my side until you wake up.”

“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere.”

***

An hour had passed since I woke up, as confirmed by the clock. Thinking it was about time to get up, I turned towards Mizuki, who was sleeping peacefully with her face turned to the side.

“Mizuki, it’s about time—!”

Her sleeping face was too adorable. I wondered if I could gently poke her cheek without her noticing, and lightly flicked her cheek with my finger.

So soft! This could become a dangerous habit.

Just as I thought I shouldn’t overdo it to avoid waking her up and getting scolded, Mizuki squeezed the hand she was holding a bit tighter.

Was she worried that I might leave somewhere?

“It’s okay… I’m not going anywhere.”

Saying that, I gently stroked her head with the hand that wasn’t holding hers, and Mizuki smiled faintly.

TL: Where is the Mizuki of my life…