It was a morning of sunlight streaming down, with the sound of sparrows singing in the air.
Even though the curtains were drawn, a gap had been left open, and the sunlight slipping through it shone in my eyes and dragged me awake.
"Ugh, shit...."
The sunlight was so bright it actually hurt my eyes. With a faint sense of annoyance, I sat up.
"Oh? You’re awake?"
"Hm? Mayuri?"
For some reason, Amamiya Mayuri was sitting in the chair beside my bed, reading a book.
I stared blankly for a moment, my brain failing to catch up with the situation, and Mayuri let out a small laugh before closing the book.
"Natsumi sneaked into your room last time, remember? I figured she might try it again, so I was keeping watch."
"Ah, I see."
Well, she had gotten younger because of that incident last time, so it wasn’t strange for Mayuri to be on guard.
Still, there was one thing I was curious about. The book she’d been reading looked weirdly familiar.
"Oh? So Hai likes this kind of thing?"
"W-wait a second!!!"
My precious Collection No. 4 was in Mayuri’s hands.
I thought I’d hidden it well, so how did she even find that...!
"Hiding it under the bed is way too obvious."
"Ghk...!"
I’d actually thought it was so obvious that no one would notice, so I’d gone with the lamp-under-the-table strategy. But she saw right through it.
"Well, I’m not planning to do anything with it. You’re a guy, after all."
"R-right?"
"Of course. I’m not exactly your girlfriend."
There was a little edge to her words, but thankfully she seemed willing to let it slide.
And it didn’t seem like she’d told anyone else either. As expected, Mayuri was the sensible one.
Relieved, I was just about to let out a breath when Mayuri gave me a bright smile and calmly dropped a little bombshell.
"Oh, right. For the record, just so you know, Natsumi saw that too."
"......"
Natsumi already had a habit of sneaking into my room with all sorts of excuses and waking me up in her adult form from time to time, and now she’d seen that too.
"And that Natsumi is under your bed right now."
"...Huh!?"
That was already shocking enough, but the fact that Natsumi was under my bed made me even more startled, so I hurriedly checked.
"H-hi?"
"...Are you insane?"
She really was there.
Natsumi, awkwardly waving from under the bed, was in her original middle-school-aged form rather than her adult one.
I guess it was hard to fit under the bed in her adult form, but wouldn’t it have been easier not to come into my room in the first place?
"Sigh.... Why are you hiding?"
"W-well...."
According to Natsumi, she’d come to wake me up again today, but heard the sound of the door opening and quickly hid under the bed.
"Wow...."
I was at a loss for words after hearing that.
Couldn’t she just wake me up normally?
"I mean, waking you up like this felt a little rude.... I thought you might hate it."
"...No, I wouldn’t. Just come out already. It’s dusty under there."
I hadn’t really cleaned under the bed, so it was full of dust. Saying that, I pulled Natsumi out.
After crawling out, Natsumi brushed herself off and avoided my eyes.
"...Y-you’re not mad, right?"
"Of course not. Just wake me up normally next time. Like I said before, I like that form of yours better."
Her adult form might be more appealing on the outside, but that was a false appearance.
More than a false appearance, I wanted to affirm her as she was.
"...Ahem."
Mayuri’s fake cough cut through the warm atmosphere.
At the sound, Natsumi and I both turned to look at her.
"Hurry up and come out, Natsumi."
She walked between us, grabbed Natsumi by the hood, and dragged her out.
"Eh? W-wah!"
Watching the two of them disappear like that left me feeling a little weird, and with the time to wash up approaching, I headed for the bathroom.
*******
After washing up, I went downstairs to the living room and found everyone waiting for breakfast.
Seeing Mayuri in an apron, it looked like she was the one cooking today.
"Oh, smells good."
"Greeting. Good morning, Hai."
"Good morning!"
"G-good morning."
"Good morning...."
"Good morning! Hai-kun!"
"Good morning, Hieta!"
"Yes, good morning, everyone."
As I greeted everyone and was about to sit down, I felt something heavy pressing against my back.
It wasn’t just heavy; it was also a little soft, giving off a sensation that made me think of something very specific.
"Dar~ling!"
"Miku!?"
"Yes! It’s your idol, Miku!"
"H-hey, get off me already! You’re touching me!"
When I turned my head to check, Miku was hugging me tightly from behind, pressing her chest against my back.
Her enormous assets were pinning me down, so of course I felt the pressure.
I hurriedly shoved her away and asked why she was here.
"Huh? Isn’t that obvious? I came to see my darling. Oh, don’t worry, I’m here for everyone else too."
"Like I’d be worried...."
At Miku’s words, the others were rubbing their arms with visibly creeped-out faces.
They’d all been on the receiving end of Miku’s antics before, so that reaction was hardly surprising.
Every time Miku showed up, she’d always be pawing at their bodies, so this was just karma.
She didn’t seem to care much herself, though.
"So when exactly did you get here?"
"Oh, that? Well~ I wanted to see my darling all sleepy and messy when he woke up, so I came late last night just in case."
"That’s illegal entry! Could you stop acting like some kind of white-haired stalker!?"
She didn’t really do that anymore, but it reminded me of a certain white-haired girl who always tried to break into Itsuka-kun’s place.
"Besides, weren’t you busy yesterday?"
Miku should have been swamped with idol work yesterday, so I was curious how she’d managed to come so late.
Being an idol must be exhausting, after all.
Maybe it was fine because she was a spirit, but mental fatigue still couldn’t be ignored.
"That’s the power of love! So, as thanks for me coming all this way despite being tired, give me a kiss!"
Saying that, Miku puckered her lips.
I blocked her mouth with my hand and flicked her on the forehead.
Thwack!
"Ow!"
"What do you mean, a kiss of thanks? If you’re tired, go home and sleep. Why are you breaking into the mansion?"
"Tch. It wouldn’t wear out from one kiss, you know! So stingy!"
"...Wouldn’t it?"
Miku puffed out her cheeks and complained, but if I really kissed her here, I had a feeling my lips would get worn right off.
Just look at the intense barrage of stares coming from behind.
Everyone was like a pack of hyenas waiting for a chance.
"Anyway, since you’re already here, let’s just eat breakfast together."
"Okay~!"
And so Miku joined us for breakfast, and the two of us sat down.
Just then, Mayuri finished the food and called everyone over one by one to serve them. Once she sat down too, everyone joined their hands and said,
"Let’s eat."
*******
After breakfast, Yoshino went out with Natsumi.
I finished the dishes with the Fire Keeper, changed into my school uniform, and headed outside.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Good morning, all."
Itsuka-kun and Rinne greeted us warmly when they saw us.
"Oh! Good morning, everyone!"
Tohka cheerfully returned their greeting and ran ahead.
Watching her from behind, she really did look like a pure little kid, and I couldn’t help but snort a laugh.
"By the way, Shido. You got up pretty early today."
"Come to think of it, for Itsuka-kun, this is practically a miracle."
Normally, we’d be the ones waiting for Itsuka-kun, but today the sun might as well have risen in the west, because he was waiting for us.
It was such a miraculous event that I said so, and Itsuka-kun’s expression turned a little strange.
"What’s that supposed to mean...."
"But it’s the truth."
"It was always a problem because he wouldn’t get up unless Kotori or I woke him."
As Rinne said that with a genuinely troubled shake of her head, Itsuka-kun flinched for a moment, stung by the words.
"S-sorry about that."
"It’s fine. Sleeping Shido’s face is nice to look at, too."
"Ugh. Flirting first thing in the morning."
Having to watch that kind of thing first thing in the morning wasn’t exactly pleasant.
[Well, from other people’s perspective, you’re no different.]
"...Can’t argue with that."
I couldn’t refute Marina’s jab from over the phone after she’d woken up at some point.
Just looking around me right now, there were plenty of beauties nearby, so to other people I probably didn’t look much different from Itsuka-kun.
"By the way, where’s Maria?"
[Wow, you’re talking to me and asking about another girl?]
"Um...."
I’d only asked because I was genuinely curious, but the way she put it made me break out in a cold sweat.
[Pfft. Just kidding. Maria’s asleep right now.]
"Sigh.... Who taught you to tease people like that?"
[You.]
"What kind of slander is that...."
"Hai! Hurry up!"
"Ah, yes!"
While I was talking with Marina, the others had already moved ahead, so I quickly chased after them and headed to school.
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