On the day I decided to become the Student Council President and expressed my intention to stand in the sky, I had been staying at D.U. ever since.
Naturally, I settled my sleep nearby. It wasn’t anything special; just a hotel less than ten minutes away from the Student Council building.
Not that it’s particularly necessary to commute from Trinity…
Going to and from school…?
I think I might have pondered this topic before. To be precise, it’s closer to commuting, so let’s go with that for now.
Anyway, there was no particular reason why Nagisa and I couldn’t commute from where we live together to the Student Council.
Even considering the time it takes to ride the train, spending time with Nagisa and finding stability alongside her holds special meaning for me in many ways.
Nevertheless, I chose to stay at a hotel near D.U. solely because of the seriousness of the matter at hand. Since an emergency could arise at any moment, walking ten minutes from here was definitely preferable to the train ride, given my current situation.
For these reasons, while both of us felt a bit disappointed, I went to bed in the hotel.
Uhe~.
Hmm… what a nice smell.
…
It’s kind of like a scene that reminds me of something that happened in the past♪
But how on earth did things turn out this way…?
I thought to myself as I turned my head to the side. Just then, Noa, with her usual charming smile, subtly flashed a seductive eye-smile at me, trying to charm me.
I don’t even need to emphasize the power of that effect. Yeah.
By the way, speaking of the past… remembering what Noa mentioned made my face heat up.
The day when desires clashed openly at a hotel in Millennium and bore fruit. Reflecting on that moment, I glanced around with a bitter smile.
On one side of the room, Rion was seated, tapping away at her tablet PC. I guessed she was probably discussing the current issue with Himari…
Well, I suppose that’s possible, but considering how unexpectedly close the two became after the Ark incident, there’s definitely a chance.
As for me, I was occupying one of the two beds in the room. Dressed in a bathrobe, I leaned back against the headrest and pretended to pay attention to the news coming from the TV…
But honestly, I wasn’t really focused on that news at all.
To my right, Hoshino lay with her eyes closed. She didn’t seem to be asleep yet but could drift off at any moment.
To my left, Noa, also in a bathrobe, sat gracefully.
… Leaning towards me and naturally intertwining our fingers feels a bit unfair. If it was just the two of us, I would surely be devoured.
Finally, in front of me—or rather, above me—was Shiroko.
Shiroko, sitting between my legs with her back to me, didn’t seem to be in a particularly good mood. The way her ears perked up at random times suggested as much. Yup.
…She really is adorably cute.
Once again, I questioned how I ended up in this situation.
After the meeting ended, the five of us finished dinner at a nearby restaurant. When I checked the time, it was a bit late for Noa and Rion to head back to Millennium.
When asked if it was too late to return, while it’s not like they couldn’t, the fact that my hotel room was large for just one person made me feel a bit lonely about sleeping alone.
…So I remember subtly suggesting to Noa and Rion that maybe they should stay in my hotel room tonight.
It wasn’t like I invited them for anything improper, and I’m sure the two understood that well.
If it were just Noa, the two of them would have made the bed a mess, but things obviously changed with Rion joining the mix.
Once I cross the line, I don’t put the brakes on afterward, but before crossing it, I prefer to take things slowly.
Especially since Rion still had a somewhat bad impression of Nagisa, I planned to take my time resolving things with her. Rion seemed to agree with that understanding.
…So up until this point, there shouldn’t have been any issues.
Just as it seemed somewhat certain that the two from Abydos would return, Shiroko silently approached and hugged me, which was the trigger.
Caught off guard by her attitude, which felt different from before the meeting, I could only respond with surprise.
Uhe… Mika-chan, you’re not leaving me out, right? I believe you wouldn’t do that~.
Ultimately, I ended up bringing these two to the hotel room without meaning to.
I then mused if I should have just booked another room instead, but upon realizing that it was pointless if Shiroko decided to attach herself to me, I learned the reality of the matter all over again.
So, Shiroko-chan.
…?
When I called Shiroko, her reaction was amusing. As if to answer my call, one of her ears perked up and folded.
…Wow.
Seriously, seriously cute. To think this adorable girl is actually a wolf filled with intentions to devour me. Isn’t this a dangerously cute kind of gap moe…?
Why did you ignore me earlier? Huh? I was totally sad.
…I didn’t ignore you.
But, no matter how you look at it, it felt like you were ignoring me.
Hmm. I didn’t.
As I brought up my curiosity from earlier, Shiroko’s firm response came back.
It was so adamant that I almost wondered if I had genuinely misinterpreted her actions…
But that’s ridiculous. No way. Shiroko definitely chose to ignore me on purpose.
Shiroko-chan, to say you didn’t ignore me… after saying hello at the beginning, you hadn’t spoken a word until earlier, right?
…That’s…
And yet you kept glancing at me throughout the meeting. If you weren’t going to say anything, there was no reason for you to come here…
My eyes widened as I continued speaking. I might have been making a Ding! expression that wouldn’t seem out of place at that moment.
Heueng…
Finally, a smile spread across my lips. It turned out I had caught on to our cute little wolf’s true feelings all at once.
Aha! Shiroko-chan, you’re super cute. Yep, everything about you, both looks and thoughts, is adorable.
…
To be honest, I somewhat anticipated this reaction. I was particularly defenseless against Shiroko, who knew how to utilize her strengths.
Predator, and prey.
Well, if we were to fight one-on-one, I’d definitely come out on top… but that’s not the point.
I knew I couldn’t push Shiroko away on my own. This was akin to human compatibility.
So…
Ah, is this what they call a push-and-pull?
Yep, exactly that.
Now that I understood Shiroko’s heart and knew I couldn’t help but fall for her, I felt that pushing her away any further would be unkind to both of us.
That thought crossed my mind.
Watching this unfold from the side, Noa’s eyes sparkled as if she were seeing something fun.
Come to think of it, Noa’s usual demeanor towards me has been quite distant from jealousy. Is it due to the nature of our relationship, or is it simply because Noa has such a good-natured character…?
Ah. That’s not what’s important right now.
Shiroko-chan, when this is all over, how about you meeting Nagisa just once?
Hmm. I mean, that is…
The anticipation of ‘possibly?’ shimmered in Shiroko’s voice. She must have picked up on my willingness to accept her.
Yeah, that statement was undeniably direct on many levels.
After silently thanking Noa, who had sensed my intentions and gracefully released my hand, I wrapped my arm around Shiroko’s waist. Then normally proceeded to her back—
Huh?
Wait, what? When did she turn her body…? Ugh!
When I snapped back to reality, we found ourselves in a rather compromising position. This position was typically called sitting face-to-face… No, that’s not the issue right now?!
Mika.
Wait, wait, stop! That’s enough!
The choice is for the strong—
No, I’m the stronger one here… Heh?!
At that moment, a shiver ran through me, prickling all over my body.
The cause of this was Noa, who had subtly leaned close and blown softly into my ear, Hoo…♡.
It wasn’t just a Hoo, it was Hoo…♡. There was a significant difference there.
But Mika-chan… claiming to be strong with that kind of preference just sounds overly cute, you know? Hehe.
…Ugh.
After hearing Noa’s words, I was at a loss for any rebuttal. I clearly had a preference for submissive-type tendencies, even if I wasn’t a masochist.
While I may be strong, the reality is that I’m endlessly weak when it comes to my relationships with those I care about.
In a situation where a wolf was in front of me, with a literary girl to my left who knew all my weaknesses, I found myself under threat from nonexistent chastity…
Yawn… Shiroko-chan, I know what you mean, but, you see, Mika-chan is really busy, right? I think letting her rest properly right now would be the best for her.
…Tch.
Hmm… this is unexpected. I would have thought Rion would be the one to interrupt if anyone would…
A helping hand reached out.
Occupying my right side, I had thought Hoshino would be asleep by now.
…So, someone who knows that well has followed all the way here?
To her, I naturally muttered without a care.
Hmm. That said, if I lay down with Mika-chan, I sleep really well, you know~? So this uncle missing out on a chance to sleep with Mika-chan is just nonsense.
Ah… yeah.
It’s a bit much to stare at me like that…
In truth, Hoshino’s intentions or how she came to be here were not significant matters.
What truly mattered right now was that thanks to her, I was able to evade being devoured unilaterally. Thus, the heated atmosphere that had been building was doused with cold water.
Restoring a sense of peace, I silently patted Shiroko’s head. By now, I had once again intertwined my fingers with Noa’s, and my savior Hoshino had finally set off on her journey to dreamland.
And there was one person silently observing all this.
…
Turning my gaze toward Rion, who was still hard at work with her tablet PC, I thought about how she had noticed something.
At that moment, when I saw Rion’s lips bloom into a smile, my own lips mirrored hers without me even realizing.
Where had the old Rion gone? Was the woman over there now in love, looking positively at whatever I did?
Honestly, I didn’t mind that at all. It’s okay to be a little lost in love. Sure.
After all, the fact that the target of that love is me felt overwhelming, considering I was already receiving such abundant love. I don’t think it’s something to boast about, but…
Even the tiniest bit of love that makes up that feeling becomes a treasure far too precious for me, leaving me with more gratitude than burden.
The peaceful time granted to us was gradually drawing to an end.
