Volume 4 - CH 8

Unexpected surprises during delirium?

TL/ED/Proofreader: NaCl

"Kuze-kun, Kuze-kun, come here for a moment."

After brushing his teeth before going to bed, Masachika, who was about to return to his room, suddenly stopped when he heard Maria's voice calling her. Turning around, Masachika saw that Maria was beckoning him with her face that was slightly poking out from the room where she and Chisaki were supposed to sleep.

"What's wrong, Senpai?"

"Hmm... well, let's go into the room first?"

"Uh, but..."

Entering the room where two girls were sleeping was a little impolite .... Before he could say that, the door to her room was already opened first. The contents of the room before his eyes were not much different from Masachika and Touya's room. There were large beds on both sides and a window in front of it, then there was a small table and two chairs in front of the window.

"Come on, hurry up and get in~ get in~"

"Huh..."

While tilting his head at the fact that he could not see the whereabouts of Chisaki, who was supposed to be there for some reason, Masachika stepped into the room as she gestured. And then...

"Wha-!!!?"

Two pairs of dried swimsuits in the room caught Masachika's attention, and he hurriedly looked away. Then, when he saw Maria's figure in front of him, he backed away lightly.

(Turns out she was wearing pajamas, damnnnnn!!)

Moreover, it was pajamas for summer with thin fabric. Maria's glamorous curves could be clearly seen in her bright cherry red pajamas. Although not revealing, the extremely alluring and defenseless pajamas looked sexy in a different direction from the swimsuit she wears during the day.

(TN: No illustration of this in this chapter but it is featured on the colored illustrations in the front of the book here)

(Isn't this the kind of thing you shouldn't show to anyone other than your family or boyfriend?)

As Masachika thought that while looking at her chest area, which seemed to be a bit tight there, Maria placed both of her hands in front of her chest and shook her body uncomfortably.

"D-Don't keep looking~"

"S-Sorry."

Although he did it unconsciously, his behavior was indeed rude and disrespectful to a girl. When Masachika looked up in embarrassment, Maria said with a slightly shy face.

"I-I usually wear a night bra, you know? But I forgot to bring it today..."

"..."

Masachika didn't ask about it. He didn't care either. Or rather, please don't just say that you're not wearing a bra. I definitely won't notice if you don't tell him! Why are you so blunt about it, unlike your younger sister! (I know, it's a bit... cliffhanger, isn't it.) Masachika thought deeply while letting his gaze wander further upwards. Then, he asked while keeping the area around the top of Maria's head at the edge of the field of vision.

"So, does Senpai have any business with me?"

"Etto... I just wanted to give Chisaki-chan and the Chairman a chance to be alone together." 

"? ...... Ahh~"

And then, Masachika guessed. Now, in the room where Masachika and Touya were sleeping... Chisaki was there.

"So that's what it means huh~..."

Indeed, they had come all the way to the villa for a vacation. It was only natural for lovers to want to have some alone time. If that was the case, Masachika had no intention of doing anything insensitive to disturb them.

"Alright, I understand. Then I'll sleep on the sofa downstairs..."

He did not know whether Chisaki intended to stay in Touya's room or sleep in her own room, and he himself had no intention to pry into the matter. That would be rude to both of them. Therefore, as a respectful guy and considerate kouhai, he intended to sleep in the living room downstairs and take the attitude, 'I know the two of you chatted at night, but I don't know anything about what happened after that'. Or so Masachika thought, but...

"Why don't you just sleep here?"

"There's no way that's allowed, right?"

When his Senpai offered such an outrageous suggestion, Masachika immediately replied with a flat face. 

"It's impossible for a boy and a girl who aren't lovers to sleep in the same room, isn't it. It's possible that the good name of Masha-san will be tarnished."

"I don't really care, you know~?"

"I'm the one who cares."

When he said it without joking and in a very serious tone, Maria winked and then smiled softly.

"Fufufu, If Kuze-kun worries to this extent, I think I'll be fine~. Take it easy, really? I wouldn't even suggest this to a guy I can't trust."

Masachika was momentarily lost for words at the pure trust directed at him with an innocent smile. And then, Maria's expression became a little more serious and she wagged her index finger.

"Add-i-tio-na-lly... If the other girls catch Kuze-kun sleeping in the living room, everyone will know about Chisaki-chan's secret meeting, right~? I think it would embarrass Chisaki-chan too. It must feel awkward if all the Kouhai are paying attention to her, right?"

"But..."

"Even though they don't know it, if Kuze-kun catches a cold or can't sleep well and can't have fun tomorrow, they'll both feel that it's their fault, right? Therefore, don't worry too much about me and sleep here, got it?"

"..."

Masachika was speechless thanks to the eloquence and strong encouragement not typical of his Senpai, who always seemed to have a gentle and friendly personality. When Masachika still hesitated to nod due to his own ethical norms, Maria leaned forward and peered at him from below.

"Kuze-kun."

"Yes?

While placing her fingers on Masachika's chest, who raised her eyebrows, Maria said with an impression as if 'Don't make me say everything'.

"Plus, if Kuze-kun is already sleeping in this room, Chisaki-chan has the excuse to stay in the Chairman's room freely, right? Do you understand?"

"!!"

Masachika widened his eyes in shock upon hearing Maria's words. If you really care about those lovers, help them by cutting off their escape route. That's what Maria wanted to say. Masachika was convinced by an idea he had never thought of...

"...No. No, no, no, no."

As soon as he remembered a serious fact, he immediately shook his head, which was almost nodding.

"Although that's true, but!... Doesn't Masha-san already have a boyfriend? I can't let a girl who already has a boyfriend do something that would make her be suspected of cheating."

Masachika tried to reject the proposal because of the existence of Maria's boyfriend. Then Maria slowly got up and told Masachika, "Just a moment, yes." then walked to the bed on the right side of the entrance. She picked up the smartphone that was on the pillow, fiddled with it, and showed something to Masachika.

"Yes, this is him."

"...?"

On the smartphone screen shown to her, there was a photo of Maria hugging a giant teddy bear tightly.

"A big stuffed animal?"

When Masachika tilted his head to ask what she meant, Maria pointed to the stuffed animal in the picture and said.

"Let me introduce you. My boyfriend, Samuel III!"

"......Haa?"

Masachika was taken aback by Maria's unexpected comment. It took a few seconds for him to realize what actually happened and unconsciously touched his forehead. (TN: as in the headache pose)

"Ehh? Hmmmm? In other words... the rumor that Masha-san has a boyfriend is a lie...?"

"Hmm well, that's about it? So there's nothing for Kuze-kun to worry about, okay~?"

"...Huh"

The sudden information he received was so shocking that he couldn't follow his train of thought. When Masachika stood in a daze, Maria smiled and sat on a chair by the window, beckoning Masachika to come approach her.

"Etto... excuse me?"

"Yes, welcome~"

To answer the questions swirling around in his head, Masachika sat down on the chair as Maria invited him. Then, after organizing her thoughts a bit, she asked directly.

"Etto, in other words... Masha-san is pretending to have a boyfriend as an excuse to reject guys who .... are trying to approach you?"

Without answering Masachika's guess... Maria turned her gaze out the window.

"The stars look beautiful, huh~"

"Uh, aah... is that right?"

"I wonder if it's because the air is so clean. I can see so many stars~"

"Haa, well maybe so..."

When Maria said that, Masachika also turned his gaze to the starry sky outside the window. After a few moments of silence, Maria began to speak up.

"I believe that if the term "soul mate" exists."

She strung the words together while still looking out the window. Without looking at Masachika, she continued her sentence.

"Someone you love from the bottom of your heart... Someone who can make you want to devote your entire life, and make you want to spend the rest of your life with that person. Yes, I believe that there will always be someone who can make me think so."

"...You're saying that all the guys who approach you aren't the ones you're meant to be with?"

"Hmm... well, they aren’t."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because... if it's meant to be, you can know it when you see it." In front of Masachika who was inwardly thinking, 

"I think you're thinking that I'm saying something extraordinary, don't you?", Maria closed her eyes and placed her hands in front of her chest.

"Because it's fate... I believe that we will definitely meet."

Her words sounded like a prayer. The calm part of Masachika just clucked his tongue as he thought 'What a marvelous flower garden... No, it's more like a shoujo manga brain, huh'. But... in the face of Maria's expression that resembled that of a pious saint, he was in no mood to mock her.

"I see, yes... I hope that Senpai can meet the person in question."

As a result, Maria gave a gentle smile towards Masachika, who commented on that. Masachika gasped when he saw her mature smile and the gentle look in her eyes. Maria suddenly relaxed her expression, tilting her head as she said.

"What about Kuze-kun himself?"

"Eh?"

"On the train, Kuze-kun told me, right? There was a girl you were in love with in elementary school, but now you don't want to fall in love again."

"Ah... yes, that's..."

"Why is that?"

Masachika's mouth twitched into a wry smile at the question that dug into the deepest crevices of his heart. Then, as he tried to cover it up as usual... the look in Maria's eyes that seemed to forgive everything... naturally erased his expression.

"...it's because... my parents, they got divorced."

And then he found himself starting to speak. Until now... He had never told anyone about his emotional scars.

"They fell in love... Loved each other and even had children... But in the end they parted with hatred and avoidance... It's true that they loved each other, but."

The sound of her mother blaming his father resurfaced in his mind Masachika reflexively frowned at the unpleasant scene that scraped his brain.

"Actually, what is it that she doesn't like? Father is rarely home because of his work, but... He's always been kind, and even though he gave up his own dreams to devote himself to Mother.... But Mom always scolded him."

They thought that they had been careful not to show it in front of their child. However, Masachika, who has been smart since childhood, couldn't help but realize that his parents didn't get along with each other. Why did Mom hit Dad so hard? Did he do something wrong? Masachika had long felt curious, but he didn't dare ask the question in front of his calm mother... but one day. The day when his mother yelled at her. He began to realize. His mother was... a helpless person who returned affection with irrational hatred.

"How ridiculous..."

Without realizing it, Masachika found himself spitting it out hatefully. He hurriedly covered her mouth, but Maria did not seem surprised or frown, she just tilted her head with the same gaze.

"Ridiculous? What is it?"

"...The feeling of love."

Whether it was prompted by the look in her eyes, or out of annoyance. Masachika raised the corner of his mouth sarcastically, and like a leaky dam, he let out the words that she almost swallowed.

"After all, it's impossible to keep loving one person. No matter how much effort is put in, if the feelings have subsided, everything will end, right? Once the heart is no longer interested, how is it possible to revive it? Being serious about something like that is really ridiculous."

Having said all that so bluntly, Masachika suddenly thought that what he had just said was a direct denial of the look of love that Maria had shown him. (TN: as in what she was talking about, not that she loves him)

As Masachika's gaze fell to the floor, regretting that he had made such a careless statement, Maria rose from her chair, approached him and ...... gently wrapped her arm around Masachika's shoulders. The soft feeling of Maria's hair touching her cheek and the gentle sensation of it caressing her head... made Masachika's eyes widened. 

"Don't worry... it's okay."

"..."

Maria spoke in a calm voice to Masachika, who was stiff from such a sudden embrace.

"You're very fond of her huh... of your mother."

"!"

"Even now .... you still love your father."

"..."

In the face of that very soft voice ..... there was no way he could make a rebuttal with his remaining emotions. Masachika quietly sank into Maria's embrace.

"Don't worry... deep hatred is the opposite of deep affection. So you shouldn't worry about it."

"..."

"Kuze-kun is the kind of person who can love someone well."

The words spoken so softly, surprisingly entered Masachika's heart easily. The hand that caressed his head felt like it was caressing... The young Suou Masachika that he had sealed away deep in his subconscious.

"W-... Why....."

Why did every word touch the wound in his heart? Why did this person's hands... melt his heart so much? Thinking back, that time was the same. At that time ...... in the hallway at dusk, this person stroked his head and admitted that he had fought hard, that he had done well. That was the sentence that Masachika wanted... his mother to tell him as a child. That was what he wanted. He didn't remember saying that. After all, he himself didn't even realize it until now. However, this person… responded as he should to the cries of the heart that Masachika himself was unaware of.

"How come... you understand me so well?"

"Hmm~? Fufuu, I don't know, why?"

Maria skillfully avoided Masachika's blunt question. Then, while hugging Masachika's shoulder, she began patting his back as if calming a child.

"U-Umm..."

"You can be more spoiled, you know?~ Kuze-kun You can be spoiled even more by someone."

"..."

"I told you before, didn't I? That Kuze-kun, that you should love yourself more."

"Uh, ah... hah"

"Then, please love yourself more? Be kind to yourself and... you can pamper yourself."

As soon as he heard those words, for some reason... he couldn't hold back his emotions, and tears welled up in Masachika's eyes. 

(Eh, huh!? Uwaahh, what the hell!?)

Despite his own inner turmoil, the tears continued to flow one after another.

(Wha--Why, this is a lie right oi?)

He teased herself for crying while being hugged by his senpai, but once the tears started flowing, they wouldn't stop.

(What the heck... this is too disgusting, I...!)

As Masachika clenched his teeth and tried to hold back his tears, Maria held his head in both of her hands. She quietly pressed Masachika's face against her shoulder and waited for him to stop crying, not caring if her own her own pajamas were wet.

(Ahh... what a feeling... this...)

With her head a little fuzzy from tears, Masachika felt a sense of peace that he hadn't felt in a long time. The body heat transmitted from Maria's body as they touched each other warmed the depths of his chest. Masachika almost closed his eyes and surrendered himself to the cozy sensation of the warmth slowly spreading throughout his body, ... but as soon as he realized that his tears had stopped, he suddenly came to her senses, and hurriedly pulled away from Maria.

"──Ano, um, for some reason, I'm sorry?"

As Masachika apologized while wiping his eyes, Maria got up with a gentle smile.

"You don't have to worry about that, really~... I'm sure Kuze-kun doesn't have enough skinship~"

"Haa... skinship, huh?"

When he looked up from his awkwardness, she puffed out her chest confidently. 

"Skinship is important, you know~? Even though your hearts are connected, if your bodies don't touch each other, you will feel lonely without you realizing it."

"Haa..."

"Conveying affection through words and actions is, of course, important. But, that's not all .... making proper physical contact and letting the other party know you're there is just as important."

As Maria placed her hand on her chest and spoke those words, Masachika naturally recalled his own situation. 

(Having been told so, that's right... when was the last time I had a skinship with someone like this?)

The thing that came to mind was his younger sister, Yuki. Even now, that little sister still often hugs and rides on his body. (TN: I beg your pardon? ) But for some reason, it was Masachika himself who felt embarrassed and pushed her away, and he did not surrender his body in silence like the incident earlier. And when with anyone else but Yuki... Masachika couldn't remember it.

(Not really, if I'm not mistaken...)

There was still that girl. Masachika remembered that that girl was very fond of skinship, probably because of her nationality. She always boldly stuck close to him, and her innocent smile made even little Masachika shyly accept it.

(I see, from then on...)

In retrospect, he probably really missed the skinship. Then, feeling very shy again, Masachika tried to turn his face away... but Maria suddenly brought her face closer to her.

"That's why! Kuze-kun!"

"Uwaah, huh?"

"I think Alya-chan should do more skinship with me!"

"...Is that so?"

Masachika tilted his head with the corner of his mouth twitching from such a sudden siscon-style remark. Then, Maria's previous good-natured demeanor instantly disappeared, putting her hands on her hips and exhaling angrily.

"She was rather reluctant to give me a cheek kiss, and when I tried to hug her, she refused. ... even though I wanted to do more skinship with Alya-chan!"

"I see... good luck."

"Mou~... At this rate, I'll get Kuze-kun to cheer me up!"

"Why is that!?"

Masachika's eyes widened at the sudden hug. However, Maria quickly broke away and smiled happily at Masachika. He didn't understand the reason behind her smile, but ...... at the sight of her innocent face, somehow Masachika already didn't care about the details and naturally smiled along.

"Haha, geez .... I really don't understand Masha-san anymore."

"Ehh~? What does that mean~?"

"No, it's just that sometimes our conversation gets out of sync because you suddenly seem to want to say something to the heart of the matter. ...."

"You're so mean, you make it sound like I'm an idiot~."

"No, that's not the case... haha."

Masachika laughed at his Senpai who was sulking like a child. Then, Maria also relaxed his expression as she saw Masachika laughing out loud.

"I think it's time to go to bed."

"That's right. .... For some reason, thank you very much."

"No problem~ no problem~!"

When Masachika lowered his head, Maria waved her hand in a nonchalant manner. She then pointed to the bed where her belongings were placed below.

"Kuze-kun just sleeps on this bed?"

"Uh, but isn't that where Masha-san will sleep...?"

"That's why. I don't care, but Chisaki-chan might mind if her bed is used by a man for sleeping, right~?"

"Ah, that's true too... Then, excuse me..."

Successfully persuaded by Maria's argument, Masachika slowly climbed onto the bed. Then, Maria also closed the curtain window and climbed onto the other bed.

"Good night then~"

"Yes, good night too."

In the darkness, Masachika felt uneasy as she heard Maria's voice and was once again reminded that she was sleeping in a room with the opposite sex.

(I wonder if I can really sleep...?)

Masachika put on a thin blanket with that worry, but was it because he was still tired from the long journey and swimming in the sea? Or maybe he was tired of crying. Within minutes, Masachika's consciousness fell into a deep sleep.

...... Meanwhile on the other hand, in the girl's room next door. Three 1st year girls were having a pajama party organized by Yuki. 

"By the way, Alya-san. Why do you refuse so hard to sleep in the same room with Masha-senpai?"

Alisa frowned and answered Yuki's question asked during their chat.

"...Because I'll be used as a pillow."

"Eh?"

Yuki and Ayano's eyes blinked repeatedly at the unexpected answer.

"...Masha always sleeps with a very large bolster pillow...or rather, a large stuffed animal? When traveling and doesn't have a bolster pillow, she sometimes sleepwalks and uses anything nearby as a bolster pillow ..... she always sneaks into my futon whenever we're on a family vacation, especially at an inn..."

"Ara... Then, Sarashina-senpai is probably being used as a bolster pillow right now?"

Alisa chuckled when she heard Yuki's guess. 

"It's possible. But if it's Sarashina-senpai, she might go all out to get rid of it."

"Fufufu, that's right. Maybe she'll kick him off the bed."

"That's good. I hope she'll be discouraged and never use someone else as a bolster again."

The girls' cheerful laughter echoed in the room during the night. An hour later, when they had finished their pajama party in the next room, the omen they had triggered was about to happen.

(Hmm......?)

Masachika was slightly awakened by the feeling of something crawling all over his body.

(What...?)

While feeling slightly annoyed at being disturbed by his good night's sleep, Masachika closed his eyes and turned his attention to the sensation touching his body.

Long, slender arms wriggling over his chest and behind his neck... arms? On top of that, the slender legs that were entangling his legs..., huh? Then Masachika guessed that there was someone on his right side, toying with him. And Masachika’s otaku brain half-awake immediately understood the situation.

(What the... is that Yuki?)

A girl sneaks into bed while on a vacation trip. This is one of the most common cliché events in the 2D world. If it's in a training camp, a sleepy girl might go into the wrong room. And if it's on a school outing, the patrolling teacher will come to check on things while the girls are quietly gathered in their rooms, and they would rush to hide under the same bed. 

Well, anyway, how could anyone other than his younger sister try to implement such an event in real life. If he opened his eyes, his little sister would definitely say "I'm coming " (TN: I beg your pardon?) while putting on her usual grinning smile.

"Uhh... hmmm..."

Masachika shook his body with his eyes closed. If it was under normal circumstances, he wouldn't mind playing pranks on his cute little sister. But now, Masachika felt tired from traveling and swimming for a long time. He was physically unable to handle his little sister's mischief, nor was he in the mood to do such a thing. 

"Let go... ugh, move..."

Masachika muttered incoherently, and moved his right arm tremblingly, trying to get rid of the person on his right. He pushed gently with his elbow as if pushing something against her arm, but for some reason, he only felt that his elbow was buried in something soft, and he got no response at all. In the end, Masachika stopped resisting because he was too lazy to move his arms. 

And while thinking that when left to her own boredom she would go away... once Masachika decided that, he then fell asleep again...

◇◇◇◇ 

Early the next morning, Masachika woke up with an unusual sleeping position and heaviness and heat on the right side of his body.

"Uuuggh, hmm..."

When he opened his eyes, there was an unrecognizable ceiling. A moment later he remembered that he was at the training camp and tried to turn around...., but he could not move because there was something on top of him. In the morning when the temperature slowly began to rise, only the right side of his body, where something was touching, began to sweat profusely.

"Hmm?"

As soon as he raised his head and looked to see what was stuck on his body... Masachika's face immediately stiffened.

Right in front of his eyes, there was softly fluffy brown hair. And her sleeping face was so innocent that it was hard to believe that she was older than him, and more likely to look adorable than beautiful. Further back back, the vile existence of her twin hills, belied her innocent sleeping face.

"...Fwaaaah"

After confirming all that, Masachika laid his head back on the pillow and let out a long breath. He understood the situation. He didn't know why this had happened, but he completely understood the current situation...

Maria's head rested on his right shoulder and his right hand laid on her chest. Maria's soft plump oppai was perched around his right elbow, and Maria's legs were tightly entwined with his. However, since the area under her chest was hidden under the blanket and could not be seen, he could only guess about the legs. 

This was just a guess, but... Masachika felt that his right hand, which was being squeezed tightly by Maria's legs, was touching a very sensitive spot around the base of Maria's leg..... Wasn't this already in the unsafe category? No, he could hardly feel anything, because it was probably under prolonged pressure.

"In other words... this is the winner's morning scene, huh."

Masachika calmly summed up the situation when there was a beautiful girl fast asleep next to him in the morning. The fantasy in his brain, he seems to be a macho man with sexy chest hair, holding a beautiful blonde naked girl in his arms and puffing on a cigar. In fact, next to him was a beautiful brown-haired girl in pajamas, and the two of them were not lovers or anything like that, just Senpai and Kouhai.

(Well, if it's just Senpai and Kouhai, why are they sleeping in the same bed!?)

After throwing many tsukkomi in his brain, Masachika stopped running away from reality. However, even after, he still didn't know why this happened.

(Ah~... because of that, huh? Is it because I slept in the bed where Masha-san should have slept, because of her care for Sarashina-senpai? Then Masha-san woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or something and then walks over to the bed she's supposed to be in?)

Although Masachika could have forcefully guessed it, now it's useless to try to guess the reason. After all, if he wanted to know the reason, he could just wake up the person and ask directly...

"..."

Masachika turned his head to look up, and checked out the window. The drawn curtains only showed a dim light, indicating that the sun had not yet risen. He felt hesitant to wake up his Senpai who was fast asleep. Moreover... wasn't this situation quite embarrassing for Maria to be showing her Kouhai?

(...What can I do, I have to escape somehow)

After thinking about it for about ten seconds, Masachika came to the conclusion that he should sneak out so as not to wake Maria, and Masachika considered what procedure he should take. For now, the first thing he had to do was to take care of Maria's head resting on his shoulder. No matter which way he went, shaking her head was something Masachika had to avoid. First of all, he had to pull his shoulder out from Maria's head carefully...

"(......Excuse me, sorry.)"

With a whispered voice, Masachika raised his free left arm and gently slid his hand beneath Maria's head. He then slowly lifted Maria's head, feeling somewhat guilty about her tanned hair that felt soft when touched in his palm...

"Hm~"

"!!"

...... But at that moment, Maria shook her head as if reluctant to be moved and escaped from Masachika's hands. The difference was only about two inches, but the impact of falling from his palm to his shoulder made Maria flinch. Then, she slowly looked up and saw Masachika's face with a sleepy and somewhat dazed look.

"...G-Good morning."

"...... huwaa, Kuzye-kun..."

When Masachika greeted Maria with an uneasy smile, Maria looked at him blankly and called out his name in a delirious tone. Then, not knowing what she was thinking, Maria smiled loosely and dropped her head onto Masachika's shoulder in a semi-conscious state.

"Funyu ...... Why~? Why is Kuzye-kun here?......"

"No, that's my question..."

It seemed that she did not hear Masachika's calm tsukkomi, and Maria rubbed her head on Masachika's shoulder with a grin.

"Nfufufu, Whyy～ Whhy～ huh...."

After asking a series of questions in a sing-song tone, Maria slowly stopped moving, as if she had found a comfortable position... and unexpectedly, she began to fall asleep again just like that.

"(She even slept again!?)"

Masachika performed tsukkomi in a small voice, but Maria had already fallen into a dream world.

"...Seriously, here."

Masachika realized that his Senpai's head was getting closer every time he tried to escape, and realized that all his efforts were in vain. Then after that, Maria gracefully decided to sleep four times on Masachika's shoulders. After going back and forth to sleep waking up four times, her gaze finally came into focus...

"...... Huh?"

"......Good morning, Senpai."

"...Eh, eh, eh, eh...ehhhhh~~~!?"

Maria woke up from her sleep with messy hair, looked around to see what was going on, and once she understood the situation, she stepped back from the bed as she pulled the blanket over her body.

"...No, please don't hide your body with the blanket either. You look like a boss lady who got drunk and spent a voluptuous night with her subordinate."

Masachika threw out an otaku-style tsukkomi unintentionally, but Maria didn't seem to hear him at all and her face instantly flushed, her expression looking stunned with her eyes wide open.

"Go-Good morning."

"Yes, good morning."

As soon as he returned her Senpai's greeting, Masachika smiled a little and called out to his Senpai whose gaze was wandering around restlessly.

"Is it perhaps because I slept in Masha-san's bed? So somehow, you got in here unconsciously?"

"Uh, ah, y-yes it's possible..."

"Well, since it's Senpai's first time sleeping here, there are times when this kind of thing can happen."

"Is that so?"

When her Kouhai followed up, Maria turned her gaze towards Masachika... and noticed that the chest of Masachika's pajamas appeared wet and discolored. As soon as Maria saw that, she immediately stopped moving.

"A-Aah... umm, this..."

As Masachika's words became stuttered upon noticing her gaze, Maria immediately placed her hand over her mouth after her body had stood still for a moment. As you might have imagined, the stain on Masachika's pajamas was the saliva that Maria had drooled when she slept three times. Probably because she found a trace of drooling on the edge of her mouth, Maria's already red face became even more redder. And then, as she closed the distance with Masachika, she looked like she was about to cry and held back the stain on Masachika's pajamas with both hands.

"Don't get me wrong, don't get me wrong! I don't usually do this!"

"Oh, yes."

"Seriously! I don't usually drool like this! Please believe me~~!"

"I do, I do. I really believe so please don't sound so loud..."

Masachika nodded his head to his senpai who was clinging to his chest and looked up with a glazed look, her expression already on the verge of tears. He nodded and asked somehow to suppress her voice. 

Again, after all, it had been proven yesterday that even the slightest sound could be heard in the next room, and the occupants of the next room had no idea that Masachika was in this room. In terms of time, they could still sleep, but if a girl from the next room woke up to the sound of Maria's voice and came to visit this room, things would get messy.

"Uhhh~~... really?"

"I'm serious. Instead, it's just like a gift, so please don't think too much about it, okay?"

Masachika uttered a strange otaku tsukkomi out of impatience. After that, Maria blinked her eyes, then who knows what she was thinking as she furrowed her brows, and she quickly distanced herself from Masachika's body.

"...Kuze-kun no ecchi."

"Ah, yes. I don't mind being thought of as such."

Although it was a little unclear why she could reach that conclusion, for the time being, Maria seemed to have calmed down a bit. Then, just as Masachika was relieved....the situation she feared actually happened.

"Masha-senpai? Good morning. Did something happen?"

There was a knock on the door, and Yuki's voice could be heard from behind the door. They both turned their heads toward the knock, and immediately thought about what to do.

Masachika looked around and saw the closet near the bed, he quickly folded his legs and tried to stand up.

"(Quickly hide--!)"

At the same time ...... Maria also stood up, shouted in a whisper, and tried to put the blanket in both her hands over Masachika. They were on their respective beds and leaned forward .... then, their gazes met for a moment. They were both equally surprised by the other party's movements, and in the next moment.... Masachika lost his balance and stumbled forward. And in order to avoid a collision, Maria was forced to lean toward her back. Thanks to that incident, the result was....

"Watch out...!?"

"Kyaa..."

Masachika fell forward, his head landing on Maria's shoulder. He reflexively reached out with both hands and them on the bed, but Masachika realized that in front of him was Maria's face with her eyes wide open. Both of Maria's hands gripped the blanket firmly, and the scene fully looked as if "Masachika was attacking the sleeping Maria".

"Hah! I feel like there's a romantic comedy scene going on!?"

At that moment, Yuki sensed something and vigorously pushed the door open. Then, she looked at the two of them who were on the bed and fell silent. She slowly removed her hand from the knob with a blank expression and took out her smartphone while holding the door with her foot. She held her smartphone in front of her face and clicked a photo. After checking the picture that had been taken, Yuki then gave a thumbs up to the two of them, nodded vigorously and... left the room just like that.

"".....""

Yuki's movements were so natural that they could not move for a few seconds. He stared at the door where Yuki exited earlier in a stunned manner... then Masachika quickly stepped aside from on top of Maria.

"I'm sorry, Masha-san. Are you okay?"

"Ah, yes. I'm fine."

"Thank goodness then. Then... I'll go downstairs first, okay?"

"Y-Yes."

Seeing Maria nod, Masachika quietly got out of bed and made sure there was no one in the hallway before leaving the room. Then, upon seeing his little sister downstairs giggling, and waving her smartphone and running away to the living room...

"Don't run away, you bastard!"

Masachika ran down the stairs furiously.