Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 209, Section 11: "Regarding the Singer's Account"

"What do you want from me?"

As Mami walked into the room, Masumi asked.

"By the way, don't you feel cold wearing that?"

Even in this season, this guy's style of dressing remains unreserved.

"You underestimate girls, Masumi-kun."

Asami squinted: "I guess it's because the girls' school uniforms in Kobe are particularly long, which is why you don't know about girls' uniforms in other regions."

"...The length of the skirt makes one think, 'Huh? Above the knee? Calculating the crotch length would be much faster, wouldn't it?' Even so, in winter, pantyhose are not allowed, not even calf socks or even knee-high socks; the sock cuffs can only cover the ankles."

"Wearing this kind of outfit in winter will make you incredibly cold."

As Mami stomped her foot, and her thigh, which was tightly bound by the edge of her short hot pants that were so short they exposed her buttocks, bounced back three times from the force of the impact.

“Well, I can understand it too,” Masumi said.

The island nation is a peculiar country. In school, there are strict requirements on skirt length and sock size, but in the workplace, etiquette changes to "the top of the sock must cover the skirt".

"Is Kusatsu's high school uniform a short skirt?"

"No, it's a skirt that goes past the knees." Mami smiled, revealing her teeth. "But I get cold a lot in winter too."

"Looking at you now, I can't imagine it at all."

"That's because there's something to keep warm," Mami said as she walked closer to Masumi.

"Your fat?"

"It's a kotatsu!"

Mami made a displeased expression and kicked Masumi, but the latter quickly grabbed her ankle.

Then, Masumi gained a deeper understanding of this statement—

"The more you fear trouble, the more likely you are to get entangled in trouble, until you stop seeing trouble as trouble."

"Uh huh?"

Miss Mami leaned forward and fell onto him.

So soft, the thought of wanting to immerse myself in this tenderness only flashed through my mind for a moment, followed by the suffocating pain.

"Phew—I almost couldn't breathe."

Masumi blushed, like a monkey released from its mountain shackles, breathing in the air of freedom. To be honest, she had been a little distracted just now.

Is this what they mean by "the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it is"?

"Masumi-kun, what are you doing, being so sentimental!"

Enraged, Mami straddled him, and the beauty, who was already prone to heart problems, now directly harmed his health as well.

“…Sometimes I wonder if you fall down too easily?” Masumi sighed.

"Are you trying to say I did it on purpose?"

“I didn’t intentionally lead you to say that.”

"Masumi-kun thinks I'm too naive and too cunning," Mami said, wrapping her ample thighs around his waist.

"These two words are contradictory in nature."

"Really, Masumi-kun, just ask Umizuki or Rinne and you'll find out."

Asami indignantly defended herself: "Girls like us have it harder than ordinary people to maintain our balance while walking, okay? I'm carrying a heavy burden all the time."

"Yes, yes, I understand now." Masumi sighed, "Besides, how could I possibly ask such a question?"

◇

"Sea Moon/Rinne, do you have time?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask you..."

"Ah, I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to say that if you find it too hard, I can help you out."

"How can I offer help? It's as simple as lending a hand..."

◇

—Won't this spark a Me Too movement in coffee shops?
"Hey Masumi-kun, are you even listening to me?!"

"Ok?"

"You really weren't listening."

Mami puffed out her cheeks in a huff and began to torment Masumi even more severely.

She not only shook Masumi's shoulders forcefully, but also slightly raised her hips, bumping into the most embarrassing part of Masumi's body. This girl had become the enemy of reason and the goddess who controlled desire.

"I just said: Rinne is a pomelo, Umi is a pineapple, and I am a honeydew melon. That's why Rinne doesn't like strenuous activities, Umi walks unsteadily, and I sometimes accidentally fall down. Do you understand now?"

"I understand, I understand."

With teachers explaining and exhibits displaying real objects, even a hot girl could understand such a lively class.

"As long as you know."

Mami stopped torturing him, which finally relieved Masumi.

"In the end, it's because Masumi-kun always goes against me. If Masumi-kun always obediently goes along with me, things wouldn't be like this."

Her tone sounded like she was complaining about her boyfriend, who had no sense of humor and couldn't hold a conversation.

"In that case, I'll be bullied by you in another form."

"Eh? Masumi-kun is being bullied by me right now."

Mami's face now wore her usual mischievous smile.

"I'm sorry, Masumi, Ms. Asami, I was tidying up, so I'm late..."

...Pushing open the door, a figure with long, honey-gold hair gracefully entered.

"Hey, what are you two doing!"

"Huh?!"

Mami, like an orange cat caught stealing dried fish, straightened her back and meowed.

"Wait, Mami! Don't sit down suddenly, my back... it hurts so much."

"Masumi said...her back hurts?!"

Upon hearing this, Kurokawa Mio realized there was some misunderstanding and began to tremble all over.

"Don't misunderstand, Mio, it's just that my movements were too exaggerated just now," Masumi explained, seemingly making things worse.

"Movement...range..."

Kurokawa Mio repeated the word to herself, "Just riding... what were you two doing while I was away?!"

She glared fiercely at Mami, who was still straddling Masumi after she pushed open the door (actually, her legs were weak with fear).

Then, his chest heaved, he took several deep breaths, patted his cheeks with his palms, and murmured repeatedly:

"No problem, there's definitely no problem, there's absolutely no problem..."

...That doesn't seem like there's anything wrong at all, does it? They're clearly panicking.

"I heard you making a lot of noise from the second floor. Please be quiet."

Rinne, annoyed and with a cold expression, appeared in Masumi's room one after the other, along with Kaigetsu.

Then, upon seeing Mami and Masumi standing side by side, the frost on his face deepened.

"Are you planning to stay in that position forever?"

These words were spoken to Masumi, and Rinne, with a frosty smile, glanced down at her with a sharp gaze.

Even though she had tasted the softest bite of the heir's food while she was sick, Masumi still felt like she was being pricked by a thorn in her side.

Hmm, wait a minute, my back is indeed being poked by Mami's tablet.

"Sorry, my back hurts a lot right now, I can't get up."

"I'm so ashamed," Masumi said. After all, injuring her back at such a young age makes people question her usefulness.

Fortunately, the heiress was very considerate, or perhaps she had seen Masumi's useful side from elsewhere, so she sighed as if she would stop arguing with him.

"Where's Mami-nee? It's time for her to leave Masumi."

"Sorry, Rinne, my legs are too weak."

Asami said, "You're such a loser."

◇

Even after the farce ended, Kurokawa Mio remained resentful.

"I can't stand it. Whether it's Ms. Mami or that seemingly innocent but actually scheming jellyfish, all the women around Masumi are incredibly promiscuous. They want to cling to Masumi as soon as they see her."

"...I think at least on this point, Mio has no right to stand on moral high ground and criticize the two of them," Rinne said calmly.

"And that position just now was really too dangerous, plus Ms. Mami's completely unprepared attire. With their overly aggressive movements, it wouldn't be surprising if something went wrong and a small part of it got stuck—hmm."

Rinne reached out and covered her mouth with her palm.

"Let's get down to business."

"Uh-huh……"

With an unnatural blush still on her cheeks, Mami picked up the tablet.

"What do you all think of this?"

"It's the result of discussions between me and Chia, and it's still just a draft."

Masumi approached the tablet and saw a beautiful girl sketched with clean lines, yet to be colored.

“Oh, I think it’s cute,” Masumi said.

"I knew Masumi-kun would like it, so I designed it specifically to target Masumi-kun's strike zone."

Asami looked smug, raising the corners of her lips high.

Masumi asked, puzzled, "Did I tell you that I like girls with a melancholic air?"

"No, I was referring to the design below."

Asami drags the animation cloth to show Masumi the lines of the girl's feet on the screen.

With delicate bare feet, slender ankles, and beautiful arches, she truly lives up to the reputation of Ryujinin Michiyo, who excels at depicting the limbs of beautiful girls.

In addition, she was wearing a pearl-shaped anklet. Hmm? That looks familiar.

Asami explained, "I originally only planned to draw bare feet, but since the design was based on marine life, Chiai suggested that I add some decorations to make it less monotonous."

I see. No wonder they're childhood friends. Masumi's feelings are a bit complicated right now.

"How is it? Does Masumi-kun like it?" Mami smiled, her eyes narrowing.

Although I was very unwilling, but—

"like……"

Masumi forced a sound out of her throat, then added at the end, "Character art design."

"That's not a very honest reaction, Masumi-kun."

Asami's lips curved into a happy smile, and she let out a hearty laugh.

She had completely outmaneuvered him, and Melon was quite pleased with herself.

"This hair accessory... is it a jellyfish?" Haiyue asked.

"Yes." Mami nodded: "It was directly based on the jellyfish hair accessory that Little Moon had."

"Her breasts are too big," Kurokawa Mio said succinctly.

"Huh? Really? I finalized the size by averaging the five clothing sizes that Chihiro gave me and adding the sizes that Ms. Ruko gave me," Mami said subconsciously.

"Because it's an account that everyone runs together, I think we should balance everyone's style."

No, when some people's brilliance shines too brightly, others' radiance is overshadowed, Masumi thought.

"The mean is a very irresponsible data point," Kurokawa Mio said seriously. "The median would be more reasonable... No, wait!"

However, halfway through her sentence, she immediately contradicted herself.

"Even the median is really... After all, if those few people are around, ahh~ what should we do!"

Seeing that Mio's attitude was becoming increasingly withdrawn, Masumi sighed quietly, deciding it was best not to disturb her for the time being.

"Although it's just a sketch, it's very well-made." Rinne nodded in approval.

"Hmph, if you praise me a few more times, I'll accept it without hesitation." Mami curled her lips smugly.

"After all, this is the result of my week of abstinence."

"What kind of desires are you trying to abstain from?"

"Your gaming and anime watching desires... didn't you notice, Masumi-kun, that I haven't been playing games in your room this week?"

"I only realized it after you said that."

"Masumi-kun doesn't pay much attention to me usually," Mami pouted unhappily.

"Because I've been working on songs with Mio and my seniors this week."

Masumi answered matter-of-factly.

"How far along is the piece?" Rinne asked.

"Already done."

"So fast, only a week?" Mami exclaimed in surprise.

"Because the sheet music is the one my senior gave me before, I only need to consider the orchestration and arrange the music," Masumi explained.

"Moreover, even when composing, there are real-life examples of pieces being completed at an incredibly fast pace."

Anyway, let's listen to it first.

Kurokawa Mio took out a voice recorder, pressed the button, and music flowed from the recorder's speaker.

The delicate piano sounds weave together a bright and lively rhythm.

"Wow, this sounds so professional."

Asami made this assessment.

"Looking at it this way, doesn't the part about Asami Chia's group seem a bit too plain?" She rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

“Really? I don’t think so,” Masumi said. “Even though it hasn’t been colored yet, all the elements already look gorgeous.”

"I'm not talking about the persona."

She shook her head: "Originally, I was thinking that I would just draw an illustration and add some motion effects to match the song, just like some producers' first videos."

"Now it seems that we really need to make a music video to match this song."

She suddenly felt a greater sense of responsibility.

"Huh? Isn't it too much to suddenly add so much workload?"

"Giving a girl encouragement and support at times like these will definitely earn you points!"

Masumi sighed, "Rather than cheering you on, I want to do my part to make things less tiring for you."

Both verbal encouragement and concrete behavioral support are essential.

Beside her, Kurokawa Mio blinked.

“No problem, I’m also learning Premiere Pro and After Effects this week,” Rinne said softly.

The heiress has been staying up all night lately watching videos to learn video editing, and she's watching the same one as Masumi.

"I've mastered most of the minimum skills that you need to learn in the videos."

"...You watched the whole thing, it was such a long video?" Masumi asked incredulously.

"I also watch videos at double speed to learn from some unimportant courses at school."

Rinne said nonchalantly.

"No wonder he's a top student who got into the prestigious university; his learning ability is first-rate," Masumi exclaimed.

No, Rinne's deviation score was supposedly high enough to guarantee admission to Kyoto University, but she chose to stay in Kobe because she was attached to the orphanage and the coffee shop.

Thinking about it this way, the responsibility seems even heavier.

Masumi nodded: "In that case, let's work together to finish it."

"On our days off, we'll go out together to film locations for the music video and then record the song."

"Should we go to a professional recording studio?"

"Yes, I want the sound quality to sound a bit more refined."

"Wow, everything feels so professional."

“Ms. Asami, we’re just making professional performance songs and then releasing them on video websites as anonymous singers,” Mio said earnestly.

"Oh, that's true."

Masumi's gaze fell on the jellyfish-like girl who had been silent since earlier, and she spoke gently:

"Is it alright, Haiyue?"

"Ah."

Haiyue nodded quietly.

(End of this chapter)