The Saint Next to Me Who Sometimes Comes Without Wearing Underwear Tells Me What’s Under Her Skirt in Secret - 11-12

Chapter 11

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“Come on, let’s go!”

“Ah, yeah…”

I started running while holding hands with Saotome. As we ran, I glanced sideways at Saotome’s chest. I wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t pointed it out, but now that I think about it, her chest definitely seemed to bounce more… I think.

“Hey, Saotome, about earlier…”

“Look, it’s the first obstacle!”

Did she not hear me, or did she ignore me on purpose? Saotome pointed at the huge “giant underpants” ahead of us as she said so. The first obstacle was the “Giant Underpants Race.”

For those who don’t know, it’s a race where two people get inside the legs of an oversized pair of pants (or trousers?) and run together. Think of it as a loose version of a three-legged race.

“I’ll ask you about it in detail later.”

“…Go easy on me, okay?”

We each slipped inside one leg of the pants. It was tighter than expected. We could still run, but our bodies were pressed closely together. My elbow occasionally brushed against Saotome’s chest. Maybe because I knew she wasn’t wearing a bra, I became overly conscious of it.

“Next is the caterpillar.”

Finally, I was freed from the tight contact. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

“Can I go in front?”

“Be my guest.”

The next obstacle was the Caterpillar Race. It was a game where you crawl on all fours inside a caterpillar made from cardboard. Just as we had planned, Saotome entered the cardboard tube first. And I went in after her, but…

“Mind if I go full speed?”

“Y-yeah…”

T-This girl…

It wasn’t just her chest—her butt was big too. I turned my face away as I answered.

“Can I go even faster?”

“Go ahead.”

Saotome picked up the pace. I moved forward as well, trying not to lag behind, but also careful not to bump into her butt.

Actually, why is this thing so tight on her… 

Ah, right, she did say she was wearing a smaller size.

This lewd girl…

I couldn’t help muttering that in my heart while glaring at the butt in front of me. In that moment…. I caught a glimpse of something white through the gap between her thighs and her shorts.

“Ah.”

Crap.

I hurriedly looked away.

“Himuro-kun.”

“W-What?”

My heart jumped.

“We’re here. Let’s get out and move on to the next one.”

“R-Right!”

Pulled along by Saotome, I ran to the next obstacle.

“Next is the ball pass.”

Saotome said this with a serious expression. It seemed like she was really getting into the competition.

Has she forgotten she’s not wearing a bra?

“How is it? Is it stable? Can I run?”

“I’ll match your pace, so go however you like.”

We started running while holding a ball between our backs. Well, more like speed-walking sideways than actual running. Aside from Saotome’s butt brushing against mine, there wasn’t any other contact. That part brought me a huge relief, at least. 

If I remembered correctly, the next one was… The balance beam.

“Let’s dash across it all at once.”

“Yeah.”

After we finished carrying the ball, Saotome stepped onto the balance beam. The final obstacle, the balance beam walk, was where the girl walked across the beam while the boy supported her from the side. While girls from other classes squealed and tiptoed along, Saotome wore a serious expression and sprinted across at full speed.

She said she wasn’t the competitive type, but… Maybe she hated losing?

“If you rush like that, it’s going to be dangero—”

“Kyah!”

Before I could finish warning her, Saotome slipped. I quickly caught her and held her up and almost immediately, I could feel the softness of her chest pressing against my chest.

“You okay?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Saotome nodded, her face bright red. Then, while holding her chest protectively with one hand, she began walking slowly across the beam.

It seemed she just remembered she wasn’t wearing a bra. She wobbled several more times near the end, even falling toward me a few times, but she somehow managed to get across the beam. We ended up placing third.

“S-Sorry. I dragged us down.”

Saotome scratched her flushed cheek and apologized awkwardly. It seemed like she thought we could’ve won first place if it weren’t for her mistake.

“I don’t really care about rankings at the sports festival. More importantly… Did you have fun?”

“Y-Yeah… I-I guess. …It wasn’t bad.”

Saotome nodded with a red face in response to my question.

Looks like she might’ve opened a new door today.

…Well, if she had fun, I guess that was fine.

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Chapter 12

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After the sports festival had ended….

“Pa-Pardon the intrusion…”

Saotome, acting unusually meek, stepped into my room.

“Since you’re already here, do you want something to drink?”

“Y-Yes. Umm… What do you have?”

“Black tea, green tea, coffee, kombu tea, orange juice, mineral water.”

“Juice!?”

For some reason, Saotome raised her voice at my words.

“Is juice okay?”

“…Is there a reason it wouldn’t be?”

“W-Well, it’s already four o’clock…and it’s dinner soon… Not to mention, it’s not a special occasion or anything…”

Apparently, the Saotome household had some kind of “no juice” rule, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want it. If anything, she looked like she did want it.

“…Honestly, I don’t drink juice every day either. I opened it, but there’s still a lot left. I’d appreciate it if you’d help me finish it.”

“R-Really? W-Well then… I suppose I have no choice! It would be a waste to leave it be after all!!”

“Alright, I’ll go grab some juice. Just wait a second.”

I headed to the kitchen and poured some juice into a glass. Then, a mischievous idea popped into my head.

I wonder what kind of face she’ll make.

Grinning to myself, I began prepping my little prank. I set the juice and a few other things on a tray and returned to the dining room, where Saotome was waiting.

“Ah, Himuro-kun. Um, I was thinking, maybe drinking juice at four is still a bit… Huh?”

“Something wrong?”

I set the juice down in front of both of us. Then I placed a plate of snacks in the center.

“T-Those are… S-snacks!? W-Why?”

“It’d be rude not to offer a guest something to go with their drink, right?”

That was the excuse I had prepared, but the real reason was…

If Saotome gets this worked up over drinking juice at four, what kind of face would she make if I gave her snacks too?

Since I didn’t know what she liked, I prepared a variety—sweet, salty, Japanese-style, Western-style.

“B-But it’s four o’clock… Not three…”

Is she a grade schooler?

Still, the way she struggled internally while staring at the snacks was amusing, so I decided to keep playing with her a little longer.

“If you’re not going to eat any, that’s fine by me.”

I reached for the plate, as if to take it away. But Saotome, flustered, quickly grabbed the plate.

“I-I never said I wouldn’t eat it!”

“But isn’t it against the rules to eat snacks if it’s not three o’clock?”

“T-That’s… B-but you went through the trouble of preparing them. Not eating would be rude!”

Saying that, Saotome picked up a potato chip from the plate. She brought it to her mouth and closed her eyes slightly. She looked genuinely happy.

“…I think it’s been a year since I’ve done this…”

“I-I’m glad to know you’re enjoying yourself. …Help yourself.”

“Okay!”

Once she’d taken the first bite, Saotome dove into the snacks and juice with the energy of someone ready to devour the whole plate. I had a little bit myself as well.

“By the way, about those doujinshi….”

“Eh? Ah, y-yeah! I-I remembered!”

Looked like she’d forgotten. She nodded while brushing a potato chip crumb off the corner of her mouth with her finger.

“What kind of doujinshi do you want to read?”

“Hmm, let’s see. Personally, I liked…”

Out of the ones I’d lent her, she named three titles. Their art styles varied, but the scenarios were pretty similar.

“In that case, maybe these two… They have similar stories.”

I pulled some doujinshi out of my closet and handed them to her. Saotome checked the titles and summaries, then gave a small nod.

“Yeah. Stuff like this is good.”

She looked happy as she said it, but not exactly satisfied.

“What else would you like?”

“Umm… L-Llet’s see. …How about you tell me what you like, Himuro-kun.”

“What I like?”

“Yes. Your best collection. Maybe five or so?”

Recommending your favorite stuff to someone is fun….

Or so I’d like to say, but considering the subject matter, it was a little embarrassing. It’d be fine between guys, but when it was with a girl…

Well, too late to worry about that now.

“I-It’s not like I mean anything weird by it, okay!? It’s not like I’m trying to figure out your preferences to do something about it or anything… I’m just a beginner, so…! I want to see what a pro’s picks look like!”

“Tastes differ from person to person, and there’s no guarantee everyone’s end point is the same… But, well, alright.”

I already knew about Saotome’s preferences. So it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t reveal mine too.

“Personally, I like… This one and this one. And recently, this one too…”

I picked out five of my favorites and lined them up in front of her.

“These are your best five? In order?”

“Not really ranked. More like, my favorites from each genre.”

“So it’s like a full-course meal of your life.”

“Y-Yeah…? I-I guess you could call it that.”

Looking intrigued, Saotome picked one of the doujinshi I’d chosen and started reading.

“I’ll bring a refill on the juice.”

“Okay.”

I headed to the kitchen and pulled the juice bottle from the fridge. Judging by how things were going, Saotome didn’t seem like she’d be leaving any time soon, and going back and forth to pour refills would be annoying, so I brought the whole bottle back with me.

“…”

When I returned, Saotome was completely engrossed in the doujinshi I’d lent her. Her eyes were glued to the pages, and her legs were squirming slightly. The squirming movement looked obscenely dangerous. 

“Saotome, I’m back.”

“…”

No reply. I set the juice bottle on the table. I made sure to do it loudly, but she still didn’t notice.

…There’s no helping it then…

“Saotome.”

I placed my hand on her shoulder and in that instant—

“Wah!! Eh? A-Ah, I-I wasn’t doing anything!!”

For some reason, Saotome panicked and closed the doujinshi, throwing both hands up in the air.

…Even though I hadn’t said anything yet.

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