Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 151, Section 26: "Before Setting Off"

"Snoring..."

Asami gently pulled open the partition in the room, and what came into view was Masumi, wearing pajamas, lying peacefully on the bed, snoring softly.

"As expected of Masumi-kun, he sleeps so soundly even in someone else's room."

Mami muttered something under her breath, then turned to her mother and asked, "Why did you let Masumi-kun sleep in my room?"

"It's because our family doesn't have any extra dorm rooms."

When faced with her daughter's question, Seno's mother responded with a sweet smile.

"Does Mami mind? Then let your dad sleep in Yuuki's room, and you and Mom can sleep in the same room."

“No need, after all, it’s not the first time with Mami…” Mami blurted out.

Seno's mother gave a soft "Hmm?"

"No! Nothing!"

Mami was covered in sweat and frantically waved her hands in front of her face.

Seno's mother frowned slightly. "It's too loud. It will wake Mr. Masumi."

"That's not true at all," Mami said instinctively. "Masumi-kun is sleeping soundly."

This remark drew a meaningful look from Seno's mother. "Oh dear, so Asami is already with Mr. Masumi..."

"No, that time it was everyone together!"

"Everyone!? Together!?"

Seno's mother looked very shocked.

"Cough cough cough! Mom, please go out, I'm going to sleep, goodnight!"

"……Good night."

Seno's mother sighed with worry, and then added as if she was still worried, "When it really matters, you can be a little bolder. As your mother, I know my daughter's personality well."

"Okay, now get out!"

The sliding door to the room was gently closed, and darkness immediately enveloped the room.

Hearing her mother's distinct footsteps signal that she had left, Mami quietly exhaled.

"Seno..."

"Huh?" Hearing the sound from the darkness, Xiaoxiao startled Mami, causing her to unconsciously stop unbuttoning her bra.

Right, with Masumi-kun around, things can't be the same as usual.

"Masumi-kun, so you weren't asleep after all?"

"Masumi-kun?"

I called out several times, but there was no response.

She crept closer and found that Masumi's eyelids were still tightly closed, and she was only uttering incoherent mutterings in her sleep.

And he called out his own name.

"Seno..."

(Huh? No way? Masumi-kun actually dreamed about me!?)

"Hold my hand tightly..."

(Huh? Holding hands? Could it be a date, something like that...?)
"Hold my hand tight, I'll pull you ashore... I told you not to go jellyfish collecting, they're plastic bags."

Mami's forehead veins throbbed twice as she gritted her teeth.

"This guy……"

This is infuriating. Mami frowned unhappily.

Looking around the room, there was only one set of bedding and two pillows, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"Make the most of every opportunity to be alone with your partner."

...The whispers of my own mother still seemed to linger in my ears.

Determined to take the plunge, she crawled into someone's bed.

"Hmm...it's really crowded."

Unable to ignore the other person's silhouette and heat, Mami lay stiffly on the bed, staring at the ceiling with her eyes open.

Unlike that time in Kyoto, which seemed like a group retreat, this time she and Masumi-kun shared a bed, making her blush and her heart race, and making it hard to fall asleep.

Masumi suddenly turned her face toward her, but her eyes remained closed, showing no sign of waking up.

"..."

This is the first time I've smelled such a strong smell of alcohol on Masumi-kun.

Asami also turned her face away. She had been living under the same roof as Masumi-kun for almost half a year, but this was probably the first time she had seen his face so closely.

He has a high nose bridge and long eyelashes. As he himself said, he is the kind of handsome, artistic guy with delicate features and a pleasing appearance.

Poke.

Her cheeks are so soft.

Remembering what her mother had said to her at the dinner table, Mami made up her mind and reached out to pinch Masumi's chin.

Her lips were beautiful; she wondered if it had anything to do with the band's lead singer. The skin around them was very smooth; she must have shaved before coming, probably to make a good impression on her parents, Mami thought.

"..."

She slowly leaned closer to his cheek, about to kiss him, but suddenly hesitated, swallowing hard.

(Since it's your first kiss, it's best not to be so casual.)
(That's right, it's definitely not because I'm a coward.)
Mami comforted herself in her heart.

Whether it's Hitomi Seno or Masumi Miyazawa, after spending a long time together, you can carefully observe that Asami Seno, although she is verbally aggressive, is essentially a coward who turns weak when it comes to actual action.

After escaping once again, she grabbed Masumi's hand, which was peeking out from under the covers, as if to make amends.

This wasn't the first time they'd shaken hands like this, but it was the first time in this particular setting, and Mami's heart couldn't help but flutter.

Wait a minute, a similar situation just happened this morning.

Because it was so shameful, Mami desperately wanted to erase this memory.

Although Masumi's hands are already considered large for a girl, they are even wider and her fingers are longer. No wonder she can span such a long distance on the guitar fretboard and press out chords that make Asami dizzy.

Hmm... and at the Uji River Fireworks Festival, I was squatting in front of the goldfish stand and almost fell on my butt. Luckily, Masumi-kun caught me in time.

Although it was done in a way that made people feel embarrassed.

Asami knows she has a voluptuous figure and sometimes feels embarrassed about it, but she never expected that Masumi-kun could just use his hand to support it.

A hand that can play guitar and make coffee with dexterity, and also a hand that can catch itself before it falls.

“…So warm.”

Body heat traveled through her skin to her palms.

I wish I could just hold on like this forever and never let go.

Listening intently to Masumi's breathing, Mami herself grew sleepy and, unable to resist the urge to sleep, quietly closed her eyes.

◇

The ceiling was pitch black. My eyes, which had gradually adjusted to the darkness, recognized that this room was different from my own; it was an unfamiliar room.

Masumi immediately realized that she was at the Seno family home in Kusatsu.

Ugh, I drank too much at dinner and got completely drunk. I almost blacked out. It was awful.

Is this a guest room?
As his consciousness returned somewhat, Masumi suddenly felt something warm and soft in his hand. Was it Mami's hand? That was his first guess.

The reason was simple: I felt that Seno's mother's attitude was a bit off, and she was vague when arranging the guest rooms.

However, as a hand, it's a bit too slender and elongated; the shape is more like...

To verify her guess, Masumi lowered her gaze, a familiar feeling of pressure on her face, just like that morning in Kyoto.

The same goes for what you're holding in your hand.

Seno's sleeping posture is still so bad... Masumi's lips were pressed into a thin line.

He released his grip on Mami's delicate bare foot, then raised his hand to grab the foot that was pressing against his face, and gently moved it aside.

It's so soft, it gives you the illusion that your fingers are going to sink into it.

The soles of the feet are soft and tender, the arches are so slender that they can be grasped in one hand, the bones are delicate but not weak, and when you squeeze them, they have a slightly plump feel.

Could it be that I really have that kind of tendency? Even now, Masumi still refuses to believe it.

He slowly released his hand, rose from Mami's quiet breathing, and walked purposefully to the closet in the room... There should be other bedding here.

To avoid waking Mami, Masumi quietly opened the closet, but found no bedding.

It seemed that Seno had turned the room into a storage room. Light novels, manga, figurines, and other otaku items were all piled up here, neatly organized. It was only when it came to these kinds of otaku items that Seno would arrange and store them so meticulously.

There was a small nightlight on the shelf. When Masumi pressed it, it emitted a faint light, illuminating the surrounding space.

He glanced at the collection and found that the light novels and manga were almost all first-print editions with special bonuses, and the figures were clearly not cheap either.

Whether in terms of quality or quantity, it can undoubtedly be described as a "treasure trove of otaku."

Masumi's gaze moved upwards, noticing a stack of photos piled in front of the figures. The style was completely different from the surroundings, and they hadn't been organized, so they had obviously been put there recently.

My curiosity got the better of me. If it was a very private photo, I'd find another opportunity to apologize to her later.

He picked up the photo from the shelf.

A group photo of the six people from the Starry Night Cafe on their trip to Kyoto, Osaka, and Uji during the Obon holiday.

The photo on top of the stack was taken at the very beginning of the Ujikawa Fireworks Festival.

The fireworks, like overly ethereal flowers, bloomed in the indigo night sky—

A photo of six people in yukatas: smiling Asami and Chiai, Hanekawa silently licking an apple candy, a cold-faced Kamishiro, Kurokawa with his gaze fixed on Masumi and not looking at the camera, and himself with a blank expression.

Photos are containers of memories. Perhaps Seno cherishes these photos and keeps them here because she is separated from her friends.

The top row contains anime CDs: singles from the K-On! movie, an album of solitary rock, all first-edition limited editions... Wait, what's this CD in the corner?
Masumi carefully put it back in its original place.

"..."

He turned off the nightlight, his expression hidden in the darkness.

Masumi picked up the pillow, placed it near Mami's head, and then cradled her head in her arms—

"Well……"

Her long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly; even without mascara, her eyelashes were already quite long.

"Masumi-kun?"

"Did I move too much?" Masumi said softly, "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

“Look, Masumi-kun…”

"This isn't a plastic bag, it's real, a jellyfish... um... the jellyfish has turned into a little moon..."

Her voice became muffled again, drowned out by the sound of her drooling.

He was talking in his sleep.

Masumi sighed quietly, letting her rest her head on the pillow to avoid a stiff neck the next day, and then covered her with a blanket. This girl should at least wear some pajamas.

After doing all this, he turned his back to Mami and lay down next to her. The early autumn night was a bit chilly, so Masumi pulled the blanket over her a little.

A hazy drowsiness once again invaded my brain.

◇

When I woke up again, the bright morning light shone through the gap in the curtains, and the chirping of sparrows could be heard outside.

Good morning, Masumi-kun.

Asami's voice rang in her ears; her slightly hoarse voice after waking up was particularly charming. Masumi slowly opened her eyes as she woke from her dream.

"That's strange, you actually woke up earlier than me."

Her messy black hair was spread out on the sheets, and her snow-white, smooth body could be glimpsed through the gaps in the blankets... When did she take it off?

Surprisingly, Masumi was able to remain calm in this suggestive situation, provided she didn't look at Seno.

"Because Masumi-kun was next to me, I didn't sleep well."

She casually pointed the finger at herself, and Masumi couldn't help but smile wryly, "What does this have to do with me?"

"Don't you remember what happened last night?"

Asami curled her lips into a meaningful smile. "Last night, Masumi-kun was very proactive with me."

"Seno, there's something you know."

"what do you know?"

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

"Of course I know that." Mami narrowed her eyes as if she remembered something and asked, "But I'm very curious, what are my strengths and weaknesses in Masumi-kun's eyes?"

"Let me think, your strength is that you can lie without blushing or skipping a beat."

"That advantage doesn't sound happy at all," Mami pouted. "And what about the disadvantages?"

"The downside is that even so, no one will believe your lies."

With sharp eyes, Mami glared at him fiercely.

"Could it be that Masumi was secretly pretending to be asleep all night?"

"Did you do something last night that made you worried I'd wake up in the middle of the night?"

"..."

"Tch, Masumi-kun is all talk and no action."

Asami turned her face away nonchalantly, seemingly bored, and propped herself up on the bed, the blanket slipping off her body.

Masumi blinked.

"Masumi-kun, turn around!"

Mami's face flushed red as she complained and clutched the corner of the blanket to her chest.

"If you're going to be shy, then just wear your pajamas properly," Masumi sighed and turned away.

"I'm used to this kind of thing. It feels so uncomfortable and stuffy to fall asleep in the middle of the night."

"Didn't you also sleep in a yukata when you were in Kyoto?"

"That's because there are other people there."

"what about me?"

"..."

Hearing the rustling sound of clothes being put on behind her, whether out of shyness, speechlessness, or simply being too lazy to pay attention to her, she kept Masumi at bay with a sticky silence.

"so troublesome."

Facing the morning light, Masumi leaned back and stretched out a big yawn, feeling as if her muscles had been stretched.

After washing up in the restroom, Masumi walked toward the dining room.

"Good morning, Masumi."

Seno's mother greeted him cheerfully; had she perhaps shortened the way she addressed herself a little more?
"Good morning, Auntie," Masumi replied somewhat slowly, then turned to Seno's father, who was reading the newspaper, "Uncle."

"Oh, good morning, Masumi..."

Under the subtle hints from his mother, Seno's father didn't say the last part of the sentence. He said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let you drink so much yesterday."

"Uh, nothing."

Masumi sat down in her seat.

Having just washed her hair, with her black hair still slightly damp, Asami pulled out a chair and sat down at the dining table.

"Wow, what day is it today? Even breakfast is so lavish."

“Aren’t you going to Tokyo with Masumi today? I’m thinking you need to make sure you get plenty of energy,” Seno’s mother explained.

"Also, Mom has already prepared the bento box I ate on the Shinkansen at noon."

"I'm really sorry to have troubled you, Auntie," Masumi said sincerely.

"will not."

Seno's mother had a smile on her face, and it was no surprise that she would say something like "We're all family" at any time.

"Then please try this dish, 'Ben Zhu Zi,' a specialty of Lake Biwa."

"Thank you, aunt."

"Then I'll start."

Masumi put her hands together and said, then picked up a small fish that had been marinated in Nanban sauce and deep-fried with chopsticks. This type of carp, called "Honshuko," is a unique species from Lake Biwa and is said to be the most delicious of the carp species.

"There's still enough time, Masumi. You don't need to eat so fast. You should chew slowly and savor it."

Seno's mother spoke softly, her every gesture just like his mother's.

What's going on now? What's the situation?
“That’s right, that’s right.” Mami revealed a wicked smile, “Masumi-kun’s eating manners are too ugly.”

Masumi sipped her miso soup, calmly put down the bowl, reached under the table, and grabbed the playful little foot.

Please don't come over and play pranks on people while they're enjoying their food.

(End of this chapter)