“Then I’ll wake up first. Work hard.”
“Are you leaving already?”
“I’m going to finish the rest in the dormitory. If I stay here any longer, I think I’ll get too caught up in the conversation.”
Emily smiled back at Mary, who was grinning.
“Then you won’t be bullying Ken anymore, right?”
“Y-Yeah, I mean it! It was just… I was a bit dumb for a moment there.”
Mary teased Emily until the end, causing her to blush and wave her hands.
Then Mary waved goodbye to her.
‘We’ve somehow gotten really close.’
I was surprised at how well the conversation flowed. Originally, I planned to chat briefly and then focus on studying, but maybe it was because we understood each other well.
We talked for quite a while. In the library.
“By the way, Ken is late.”
It had been a while, and Ken still hadn’t arrived.
Mary tilted her head, looking at the clock hanging in the library.
The sun hadn’t set yet, but it was starting to get late, and she felt a bit worried.
“…What is this Wish Right anyway?”
Why did I feel a chill, even though it wasn’t Mary?
I didn’t know when she had learned such a unique skill, but a cold sweat ran down my spine.
Is this some kind of curse-type skill?
No, it was just that Raphne’s gaze was terrifying.
“Well, um, you see, the student council president suddenly decided to hold some weird event…”
In front of Raphne’s eyes, I couldn’t bear to lie.
Lying could make the trust I had just built drop like a rock.
Trust is important.
Especially with Raphne, whose philosophy is ‘dropped trust = imprisonment’, which is a scary mindset.
“Hmph…”
At my answer, Raphne closely examined the content of the parchment.
“Anyway, Ken.”
Then she brightened up and cuddled against me.
Her arms wrapped around my waist as she leaned closer, looking up at me.
Squish.
‘Ugh…’
While at the Tower, she usually wore light, frilly underwear, and the sensation was quite tingling.
But I shook my head to stay focused.
This was Raphne’s trick.
She was trying to create a gap in me, distracted by the physical contact, to drag out an answer.
The reason being, Raphne’s smiling eyes were still dark.
“This Wish Right… It gives anything to the person who takes it, right?”
“No, no! Not anything! No way I would give that for something so trivial!”
At that, Raphne tilted her head.
“Then? How far does it go?”
Answer me.
Though I didn’t say it, her eyes were demanding that.
“… Date.”
“I can’t hear you, Ken.”
“D-Date right… from the student council president.”
Crunch.
“AHHH━! IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTS━! MY WAIST IS SO PAINFUL, RAPHNE━!”
“Ah! I-I’m sorry, Ken! Are you okay?!”
It seemed she didn’t mean to, as Raphne quickly released her arms from my waist, startled.
The pain was immense, but fortunately, it appeared my body was unharmed.
Truly, long live dieting.
“I’m sorry, sob, I’m sorry, Ken…”
However, thanks to my pain, Raphne calmed down a bit.
The terrifying atmosphere dissipated, and she returned to her usual guilt-ridden state as she rubbed my waist.
In this state, I might be able to explain things well.
“Anyway, it’s just a passing event, so don’t think too much about it.”
“…But.”
As Raphne was rubbing my waist, she turned back to me and hugged me again.
Fortunately, this time, her eyes looking up at me weren’t scary but rather teary.
“It’s with the person who comes in first place.”
“It’s not like it’s set in stone that a girl will get first place! And besides, I’m going to try hard for first place too!”
Raphne didn’t seem satisfied with my answer.
She had calmed down from the angry state she was in a moment ago.
But it seemed she’d have to stay in the Tower for a while longer.
I wondered if she might explode at some point.
“And didn’t you have good grades, Raphne? You could get first place this time.”
“Uh, …Can I do that?”
“Of course! You just have to take the practical test, just like everyone else.”
At my words, Raphne’s eyes lit up again.
“Well, then… I want Ken’s Wish Right.”
“No, no! Let me say it again, the Wish Right is strictly limited to dates!”
“Uh-heh, uh-heh, Ken’s Wish Right…”
I explained the limitations of the Wish Right to Raphne, but it seemed the switch was already flipped.
“I’ll work hard! Ken! I’ll definitely get that Wish Right!”
“Uh, okay.”
I was worried about what she might ask for.
But if she really intends to go after the Wish Right, she wouldn’t sulk too much over this test event.
But now there was one more reason I had to make sure to get first place in this exam.
‘Guess I’ll have to study hard enough to bleed from my nose.’
Of course, I could do quite a lot with Raphne’s requests.
Even without a Wish Right, I might help her a lot.
But those eyes are dangerous.
They looked just like the ones Raphne had when she bet my ownership a while ago.
“Well then, I’ll head to the library.”
“Yeah! Work hard!”
After finishing dinner, I managed to get out of the Tower safely.
“I’m sorry, Mary. I’m really late.”
“No, it’s fine. Was something up?”
“Ha ha, just a little…”
I couldn’t just come out and be honest about Raphne, so I fumbled through my words.
There were more people in the library than I expected.
‘Everyone’s really working hard.’
Was it because of the event regarding the Wish Right, or were these always studious students?
In any case, there was only one empty seat left – right next to Mary.
She seemed to have saved it for me.
Scrape.
I pulled out a chair and sat down.
‘Alright, I need to study hard from now on to get first place….’
Scrape.
And then I felt a strange sense of closeness.
“Uh, Mary? Isn’t this a bit too close?”
“Is it? I thought this distance would be nice if we’re studying together.”
As I looked at Mary, who had pulled her chair closer until our shoulders touched, her expression remained unchanged as she stared at me.
I wondered if it was really for studying purposes….
But still, did we need to be this close?
Besides, with the overwhelming scent of Mary, I felt it would be hard to concentrate on my studies.
‘But if I shift away, she might get hurt….’
After living as chubby Ken, I knew how painful it could be when someone avoids you.
Most importantly, unless they genuinely dislike you, it’s troublesome to be misunderstood.
“This part, right? You substitute this into the formula for magic….”
“Ohh…!”
Still, it was definitely comfortable to study together, just as Mary said.
We were close enough that we could easily see each other’s materials without having to lean over too much.
But perhaps because we were too close, whenever Mary leaned over to write in my notebook…
Squish.
Her arm would often touch my arm in strange places.
‘…Hmm.’
It must be a mistake, right?
Maybe since I felt comfortable, I was letting down my boundaries with her as a woman.
Like how you would cuddle and kiss a pet.
‘No, but I don’t look like a pet right now.’
When I looked in the mirror, I thought I looked pretty good.
I certainly didn’t look like some beast with a pet vibe.
‘Maybe it doesn’t matter to Mary.’
Her attitude had been quite similar even when I was overweight.
She was weirdly wiggly and even sat on my lap occasionally.
Perhaps my appearance didn’t cause a significant change in her attitude.
“Ken, can I ask you something this time?”
“Oh, sure. If it’s something I know about, just ask me.”
As we studied together, we supplemented each other’s knowledge.
Reviewing the estimated test topics helped us easily share what we knew.
Of course, while I learned a lot, Mary knew even more, so I often felt like I was the one learning from her.
But occasionally, I would explain things to Mary too.
‘Alright, I’ll pay her back this time.’
I decided I had to make sure not to be the only one profiting.
“What’s your question? Just let me know!”
At my confident shout, Mary paused for a moment.
She seemed to hesitate as she gazed at her notebook.
Then, after a while, she looked up at me and asked,
“What type does Ken like?”
“Ah, well if it’s that, I like someone kind and… Huh?”
Just what did I just hear…?
“U-Um… I mean… we’re talking about studying for the exam, right?”
If I answered wrong, I’d land in a pretty embarrassing situation, so I needed to clarify.
At that, Mary looked directly at me, slightly blushing as she replied,
“I’m curious about the type of woman Ken likes.”
I hadn’t misheard.
“Would asking be… a problem?”
Mary usually had a poker face where feelings didn’t easily show, but for some reason, her eyes trembled with shyness now.
Was it because of her moist eyes or her flushed cheeks?
I sensed that the atmosphere felt different than usual.
‘Maybe it’s just genuine curiosity….’
I tried to interpret Mary’s reaction as I always did, but.
‘…No, but I’m not overweight anymore.’
And I certainly wasn’t ugly.
Though Mary’s attitude towards me hadn’t changed at all,
With my new good looks, I couldn’t help but fantasize positively about Mary’s demeanor.
Mary likes me….
“I don’t know well, but… I think I’m attracted to kind people who like me.”
“Wow, that sounds quite the playboy type of ideal.”
“T-That’s not what I meant!”
As I stammered my way through an explanation after Mary’s sudden question, she surprisingly smiled at me.
Giggling adorably, she raised her hand to her mouth as she laughed.
‘Ah, she was just joking around.’
It was her way of teasing me.
As I awkwardly scratched my cheek, Mary looked at me with a peculiar gaze, a light smile on her lips.
“I also like kind people.”
“…Huh?”
Caught off guard by her sudden statement, I stared blankly at her, and Mary returned to her expressionless state, tapping her pen on her notebook.
“I’m curious about this next question, can you help me with it?”
“Ah, yes. This is….”
Then she immediately focused back on her studies, and I couldn’t properly consider her words.
After that, we studied together in the library until the sun had set and it turned late into the night.
“There are so many stars in the sky tonight.”
There was a refreshing feeling after pouring out effort.
Mary seemed to share the feeling as she gazed at the sky and spoke about the stars.
“But why is Ken studying so hard? There isn’t any reward for coming in first place.”
Then, suddenly curious, Mary asked.
“It’s just that I think it would be better for me to get first place rather than someone I don’t know.”
“Are you really trying for first place without any reward?”
“…It seems so?”
Now that I thought about it, it was true.
If others come in first place, they’d get to ask me one favor.
But I was aiming for first place just to block those requests.
When I simply thought about it, I hadn’t realized how unreasonable that was.
Well, being the overall top student was a big reward in itself, but still, it seemed a bit unfair that I wouldn’t get any additional reward.
“So if Ken comes in first….”
Bump.
Mary walked right next to me and bumped her shoulder against mine.
As she did, she pressed her arm against mine and looked up at me.
“Shall I grant you a wish?”
Though she always appeared expressionless, I strangely felt different emotions each time.
But it was hard to pinpoint exactly what those feelings were.
‘…Mary is going to grant my wish.’
In that moment, I almost had a garbage-level thought, so I shook my head to clear my mind.
“More importantly, what about you? Didn’t you say you wanted something from me?”
I quickly changed the subject, fearing it would unintentionally turn into something strange.
This whole exam event had actually started with Mary and Emily too.
I was somewhat curious about what they presumably wanted.
In that sense, I casually asked.
Stopping in her tracks.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Oh, you’re right.”
We had arrived at the girls’ dormitory while chatting and walking.
“Well then, see you tomorrow, Mary.”
Since Mary was going into the dorm, I had to return to the boys’ dormitory, so I waved goodbye.
But Mary wasn’t moving at all.
She just stared at the dormitory.
Then she looked back at me.
“A date…”
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, she opened her mouth to respond.
“I’ll ask Ken out if I come in first.”
Her usual expressionless face showed no change, but her eyes were trembling, revealing her hidden feelings.
Those moist eyes seemed to plead with me, conveying sincerity.
“…Alright. See you tomorrow.”
So I stood there, feeling her ambiguous feelings towards me as she abruptly turned and went into the dormitory.
“…Huh?”
Caught off guard by her sudden action.
I stood there, feeling my face grow warm while I dumbly remained rooted in place.
