Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 212, Section 14: "The Visitor from Wakayama"

Back in the recording studio "Kirakira".

"Miyazawa-senpai, I've brought the first-aid kit."

Aimi Toyama approached carrying a first-aid kit, and Masumi and the short-haired girl got up at the same time to take it.

Eye contact.

"I'll take care of Haiyue's wounds."

The short-haired girl said in a way that left no room for argument.

Masumi nodded: "Oh, then..."

“…Shoot.” Haiyue, who was sitting in a chair to the side, spoke up.

"What's wrong, Haiyue?" The girl called "Sho" immediately turned her head. "Does your foot hurt? I'll treat your wound right now."

"No." Haiyue quietly shook her head and murmured:
"I want...Masumi to help me..."

"Eh?"

Shao was stunned.

Was it just my imagination? Her posture, which had been upright, now appeared somewhat hunched over.

There was no time to think about these things; Masumi took the first-aid kit and squatted down.

Haiyue's slender feet, encased in white socks, were visible, stained with blood and dust in colors she had never seen before, and both soles of her feet had wounds.

The clear water flowing over his feet was stained with blood, and he frowned deeply.

As the hot water became clear, Masumi gently rubbed away the congealed blood from the soles of her feet with her fingertips.

After drying off, I disinfected the skin with medical alcohol and then wiped it with a cotton swab, making a soft rubbing sound.

Throughout the entire process, Haiyue gritted her teeth and kept her head down, letting out soft moans from between her slightly distorted lips, which were contorted with pain.

She clenched her fists tightly, watching everything unfold.

After taking care of everything, Masumi took the bandages from the first-aid kit and carefully applied them to each wound.

The tightness in my chest finally eased.

"Are you alright, Haiyue?"

Masumi stood up carrying the first-aid kit, and Kozue immediately stepped forward without hesitation and grabbed Kaigetsu's shoulders.

"What did that person do to you that made you run away?"

Before Haiyue could speak, Kurokawa Mio said with an unfriendly expression, "Masumi has never bullied her; on the contrary, she has been extremely gentle with her."

It even reached the point where she would be jealous, although Mio would be equally jealous of Masumi's relationships with all the girls around her.

"That's right! Masumi-nii takes good care of Kaigetsu." Chiai said with a dissatisfied expression.

Asami chimed in, "That's right, that's right. Masumi-kun is a gentleman. Even if a girl is completely naked in front of him, he'll at most flick her bra strap and won't do anything else."

Masumi felt that the last sentence was a bit redundant.

"..."

The waves of discontent, like the sound equipment in a recording studio, stirred up trouble in the room.

The girl named "Sho" simply stared straight ahead calmly, as if they were talking about unrelated people.

After enduring each word with difficulty, she slowly began to speak:

"I'm sorry, my wording was incorrect and caused you to misunderstand."

"I was saved by Mr. Miyazawa at the convenience store, so I have no doubts about his character..."

"—Robbers? What's going on?" Chiai looked at Masumi curiously.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you about it later."

Because the robbers were caught quickly, Masumi didn't mention it to Chiai, fearing she would worry.

"That's so perfunctory." Qian Ai pouted, looking helpless.

With a calm expression, as if she had completely purged her emotions, she continued speaking:

“I just want to say that Haiyue is a very incredible girl, so she’ll be more difficult to get along with than others,” she said bluntly.

Masumi thinks that Masumi is the opposite of herself in that she is frank about "trouble" and doesn't see trouble as trouble.

After finishing her sentence, the short-haired girl said seriously:
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Amamiya Kozue. I am Kaigetsu's childhood friend. Thank you all so much for taking care of Kaigetsu during this time."

She said this and bowed respectfully.

"Oh……"

Masumi returned the favor.

Previously, Haiyue often mentioned that her only friend, "Shō," was this girl.

"I will definitely find an opportunity to repay everyone later. I will also pay off Haiyue's room and board expenses for staying at the coffee shop during this period in one go."

“That won’t be necessary. Haiyue is paying off her rent by working at a coffee shop,” Masumi replied.

"So, Ms. Amamiya, this time you've come..."

"Shoot".

"Eh?"

"Just call me Koto," said Koto Amamiya casually.

"Just call me by my name!?" Kurokawa Mio's eyes widened, then she tied a knot between her brows.

Masumi: "No, calling you by your name directly is a bit..."

"Shoot".

"Ok."

Masumi compromised; it wasn't anything too difficult, except for the piercing gazes of the girls nearby.

"Did Miss Kozuki come here specifically to see Haiyue?"

"Ah."

She nodded slightly. "I've come here to take Kaigetsu back to Wakayama."

◇

“…Little Sea Moon, so you’re from Wakayama.”

That night in Masumi's room, Mami straightened up and said, panting.

"Mmm." Masumi grabbed her ankle, which was trying to escape, and held it in her palm.

"It's even farther than Kusatsu, how did she manage to get there all by herself?"

Starting from Wakayama City, you need to take the Nankai Limited Express first, and then the Hanshin Main Line. It takes two hours to get to Kobe.

Asami stood up, and what appeared before Masumi was the dividing line between her skin and the purple lace.

Is it not a good idea for residents of the Northern Hemisphere to see the Southern Hemisphere?

"Miss Kozuki said that Haiyue stayed in Osaka for two days before coming to Kobe."

However, it has already traveled a long way.

It's fair to say that Haiyue wanted to get as far away from her living environment as possible.

"Is that so? Waaah—"

Mami's voice had lost all its composure: "So tired..."

Perhaps unable to withstand the prolonged battle, her face flushed, and her eyes became increasingly moist.

Finally, after lying down with my back bent, I couldn't straighten up anymore and let out a sound of utter exhaustion.

"Ugh, I can't take it anymore! I can't do this anymore!"

"Masumi-kun, how many sit-ups did I do in total?" Mami asked.

That evening, this girl suddenly had a whim and insisted on doing sit-ups to burn off the fat in her belly, and she even asked Masumi to help her hold her feet down.

"Nine times, not even ten times." Masumi sighed, "Your stamina is terrible."

"It's common knowledge that I'm physically weak."

Mami has absolutely no shame about this; she's completely given up on herself.

"Besides, I didn't specify the number of times. It should be calculated by time. The one who persists the longest is the winner," she argued confidently.

Masumi sighed, "Sit-ups are a solo exercise; there are no winners."

"One person does sit-ups while the other holds their feet down. Isn't this clearly a partner exercise?"

This girl is clearly a homebody, but she has a unique understanding of sports.

Even by the time limit, you only lasted for less than a minute.

"Huh? Only one minute?! I thought it had been ten minutes." Asami said in disbelief, then stared blankly at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry, I misunderstood Masumi-kun," she suddenly said.

"What are you blaming?"

"So a minute is actually this long. I was really carried away just now. I shouldn't have laughed at Masumi-kun."

"..."

Masumi sighed again: "I can do 20 minutes of your slow, sluggish sit-up routine, which is less than 10 per minute."

"Sigh~"

You could tell that Mami gasped: "That's way too dangerous! Can a human body really withstand that?"

"Even if Mio isn't good at sports, she can still be with me."

Although Mio didn't look much better: her fair skin flushed red, beads of sweat appeared, her eyes were glazed, and hot breath escaped from her luscious lips.

—The above reaction only occurred the instant Masumi grabbed her ankle.

But in the end, they persevered to the end.

"Ew, am I really the worst guy in the coffee shop?" Mami was unwilling and helpless.

"—You two seem to be having a lot of fun."

Pushing open the door to the room, Rinne spoke with her usual indifferent expression.

Masumi immediately released her grip on Asami's ankle, distancing herself from the situation, saying, "It's just that she insisted on making me do sit-ups."

Asami, lying on the floor, puffed out her cheeks as if she were being difficult.

"Masumi-kun, you look exactly like a 'scumbag who gets caught cheating by his girlfriend and then frantically tries to deny it.'"

"I'm not the only target of this statement."

Asami said nonchalantly, "I just wanted to do something to cheer up Masumi-kun, who's been feeling down since coming back from the recording studio."

She acted very innocent.

Masumi sighed, "Who told you that I get motivated when I see girls doing sit-ups?"

"Huh? Isn't that how it is?" Mami gave a meaningful smile. "Masumi-kun just likes to see girls looking disheveled, doesn't he?"

Rinne watched the two perform manzai (a type of stand-up comedy) with a blank expression. (Note: Manzai is a two-person stand-up comedy performance in the Kansai region, similar to a crosstalk routine.)
"Although I don't mind, if Mio comes upstairs after her bath and sees this scene, she might not accept this explanation."

As she spoke, she looked at Mami and frowned slightly: "Mami-nee, your bra is flipped up quite a bit."

"At least let me cool off for a bit."

Asami lay on the yoga mat, fanning her face with her hands. Her open armpits were smooth and soft, reflecting a slight sheen due to a thin layer of sweat.

"And the shorts, why are they left aside?"

"It's really uncomfortable to have your waist constricted when doing sit-ups."

"You should get dressed now that you're done."

"No rush, let me lie down for a while longer."

Mami's voice sounded slightly lazy, like a student procrastinating on their homework.

"Put them on now," Rinne said decisively, like a teacher urging students to finish their homework.

"Uh-huh! I understand."

Even in front of girls four years younger than her, Mami now shows no seniority whatsoever.

She shakily propped herself up, picked up the shorts that were lying to the side, but instead of grabbing the waistband and pulling them up in one go, she slowly put on one leg at a time.

It's as if you take the strokes of the words "lazy" and "unwilling" and draw tally marks on their thighs.

Perhaps it was itchy from drawing tally marks, because her knees touched together, her fleshy thighs rubbed against each other, and she pointed her toes toward Masumi, creating a subtle sense of allure.

Seeing this, even Rinne couldn't help but become suspicious:
"...Is Mami-nee really just doing sit-ups like this?"

“Eh, yeah.” Mami tilted her head, puzzled. “Just doing sit-ups has used up all my strength, and I have no energy left to do anything else.”

"Ah~ does Rinne mean—"

"It's nothing, just a casual question."

Rinne turned her face away, avoiding the main point, and then stared at Masumi with a stern gaze: "You just let Mami-nee do this every day?"

“Of course I talked to her,” he said, his head aching. “But whether she listens or not is another matter.”

"Let's put that aside for now, how is Haiyue?" Masumi asked with concern.

"After Miss Shao went back, she stayed in her room."

Rinne acted like a mother whose daughter had locked herself in her room because of something on her mind, and she couldn't stop worrying.

"Does Haiyue not want to go back?" Masumi asked.

"Hmm...that's what she told me."

"I'm not going back."

A girl with blue-green eyes appeared from behind Rinne.

"Xiao Haiyue?"

Asami, now dressed in shorts, looked at the girl with concern, leaning her upper body forward towards Umizuki.

"Are you alright? You startled me when you ran out of the recording studio."

Isn't her reaction time a bit too long?

"Of course I'm also worried about that Miss Kozue," Mami said, giving him a disapproving look.

"Say we're going to take Mizuki back to Wakayama or something, that's like going to a foreign country. I feel so lonely just thinking about not being able to see Mizuki."

As she spoke, she pressed her cheek against the smooth, soft face of the jellyfish girl.

"……Well."

Haiyue squinted one eye, but did not resist Mami's puppy-dog-like rubbing, perhaps because she was also uneasy about "separation".

"That's just outside the county."

For some reason, Masumi felt a little irritated.

If we follow the ancient division of Kobe belonging to Settsu Province and Wakayama belonging to Kii Province, then it could barely be considered a foreign country.

"That's not the point at all. Masumi-kun is focusing on something completely off-topic."

With sharp eyes, Mami glared at him fiercely.

"Little Haiyue is going to be taken home. Won't Masumi-kun feel sad? Won't you want Little Haiyue to leave?"

“Of course.” Masumi answered without hesitation, quietly lowering her eyelashes: “After all, we’ve been living together for so long.”

"However, if someone from the family comes and says they want to take Haiyue away, there's not much we can do about it."

Ultimately, his identity as a "guardian" was nothing more than self-proclaimed.

"Masumi-kun, show me the same courage you had when you chased after me in Kusatsu."

Mami stared at him with a look of utter disappointment.

"Speaking of which, it's already strange that Xiao Haiyue has been away for half a year before her family came out to look for her."

"And strictly speaking, they weren't actually 'family members visiting,' but rather Xiao Haiyue's childhood playmates."

As Mami said this, she slightly furrowed her brows, seemingly lost in thought.

"During Haiyue's time at the coffee shop, did she also keep in touch with this Ms. Kozue?" Rinne asked.

"Ah."

Haiyue nodded.

"Sho... contacts me by phone from time to time... to make sure I'm safe..."

"But... two weeks ago... she suddenly said... I've been away long enough... it's time to go back to Wakayama..."

So that explains Haiyue's previous desperate attempts to prove her worth.

She aspires to be an irreplaceable figure in the coffee shop.

This includes those who volunteered to be the lead singer for the account.

All actions lead to one sentence—

"I...don't want to go back..."

Haiyue murmured, her azure eyes like the sea shrouded in mist.

Only the words uttered from her cherry lips carried the unwavering determination of a ship braving the wind and waves:
"I'd rather... stay in the coffee shop than there..."

(End of this chapter)