Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 223, Section 25: "This creator has always been a death row warrior."

"Help! Someone please save me!"

Like the quiet night scene at the beginning of an American comic book, a piercing cry for help rang out on the streets of Suma Ward in Kobe.

The voice, tinged with panic, sounded terrified.

Masumi fled frantically through the streets, his growing weariness relentlessly eroding his increasingly heavy body, like a turbid, cold, and hollow current threatening to engulf him entirely.

"Someone, please help me!"

However, no matter how much Masumi called for help, she didn't see a single person.

Only the dark-colored high-rise buildings, reflected in the swaying view, seemed to undulate as if they were alive, with intermittent "knock-knock" footsteps echoing on the asphalt road.

From the moment she started walking, Masumi heard a jumble of chaotic footsteps chasing after her.

No matter how far or how long he ran, these footsteps always followed him like a shadow, like maggots clinging to his bones, and they were getting closer and closer.

We need to get to a safer place right away!

Thinking this, Masumi stumbled slightly due to her nervousness.

Suddenly, a soft, fluffy sensation—like the tender texture of char siu made from pork tenderloin—came from the soles of my feet.

He seemed to have stepped on something, and upon realizing it, he tripped over the force and fell to the ground with a "thud".

A familiar voice came from beside my ear.

"Ah~ I caught Masumi-kun while waiting for him to come to me."

"Asami!?"

The silly beauty grinned and hugged Masumi's leg, yelling at the top of her lungs, "The credit for 'First Shot' belongs to me! Everyone, come here!"

"Wait, Mami, let me go!" Masumi struggled desperately, "We're being caught—"

"Well done, Asami-nee."

"Finally caught up with Masumi."

Two chilling voices came from above.

"Seriously, Masumi-nii, you can't run away! You made it so hard for us to chase you."

"Indecisive guys aren't popular, Masumi~ Even though everyone likes you so much."

Rinne, Mio, Chiai, and even my senior, Ruko, who should have been on Miyako Island.

Four girls surrounded him, looking down at him from above.

"W-what's wrong, everyone?" Masumi asked, her voice trembling.

I, like a thousand-year-old ancient being, looked apologetic:
"I'm so sorry, Masumi, our secret plan has been leaked."

"I'm very disappointed in you, Masumi." The heiress said this with her usual indifferent expression, her tone as cold as ice.

"That's right, Masumi."

Despite the dim lighting around them, Masumi noticed even the detail that Kurokawa Mio's eyes lost focus.

"How wicked you are, Masumi. I always thought our hearts were connected, so I relaxed the physical bond."

"It seems that if we want to correct Masumi, we will have to resort to some extreme measures."

"Sigh~"

Masumi quickly heard herself gasp, a chill running down her spine.

It's really scary...

The fact that Mio spoke so quickly and in such a calm tone made it even more frightening.

"A Thousand Loves".

"—That's too much, Masumi-nii!" Chiai said, tears welling in her eyes. "You should just accept the rehabilitation and become a useful member of society again!"

I've always been contributing delicious coffee to society.

"Asami."

"—Masumi-kun, not using the wood-chopping knife on you is the last act of kindness we can show you," Mami said earnestly.

The line between gentleness and cruelty is far too blurred!
"Come on, let's go, Masumi."

Kurokawa Mio stretched out her slender, fair arm to him.

"It is also my responsibility as your heir to correct your distorted future."

Rinne said this.

"Wait, wait a minute... Why is this happening..."

"I don't want to hurt you, Masumi, come with me."

"In order to achieve the goal, necessary coercive measures can be taken... such as breaking struggling limbs."

Kurokawa Mio smiled broadly, while Rinne made a startling statement with a cold expression.

"senior……"

"Give up, Masumi." I said, my expression as gloomy as Chitose Kogoro's.

No, I don't want to give up!
"How willful," Rinne sighed quietly, then uttered a few simple words: "Sea Moon, go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Masumi felt a smooth touch on his back—the jellyfish girl had wrapped herself around him from behind.

"Haiyue!? It's too tight, I can't breathe, cough cough cough!"

“Accept your fate, Masumi-kun.” Asami sighed, “This is the ultimate destiny of the six-ship admiral.”

No! This is just a bad ending in a bishoujo game! Masumi absolutely refuses to accept this fate.

Even knowing it was useless, he still shouted as loudly as possible—
◇

"Give me another chance! I'll definitely achieve a perfect ending!"

Masumi suddenly opened her eyes.

The familiar room layout came into view.

...It was just a dream.

Oh, thank goodness, we're saved.

"Did you have a nightmare? Are you okay?"

Rinne, one of the main characters in the dream, sends a caring greeting.

"Uh, um, I had a bad dream... but it's okay."

"Yeah."

Rinne nodded seemingly indifferently, while Masumi perked up and stared intently at the laptop screen in front of her.

The LCD screen displays the Cubase music production software interface, while Rinne is editing a video on another computer.

Today is a day off, and also the day that Kaigetsu goes to the recording studio "Kirakira" to record a song.

Nothing much happened; perhaps because her mind had relaxed a bit, Haiyue's trip went very smoothly this time.

There were no exaggerated stage setups that suddenly appeared like in music animations; the entire song was recorded simply using the colorless and transparent atmosphere that Umi-zuki usually has.

After listening to her unadorned, complete voice, it felt as if a huge weight had finally been lifted from her heart. Masumi couldn't help but take a deep breath, swallowing back the overflowing emotions in her throat.

Mio, Miss Miyagi, and Toyama, who was working part-time, all smiled knowingly.

"That's wonderful, Ms. Hanekawa. Let's continue with this feeling."

"Ah."

Asami, an outsider, commented: "Although this should be a very touching scene, I still want to say that it's not sparkly or heartwarming at all."

"After all, it's just a dry vocal track, so it's fine to mix it with the accompaniment. Haiyue's voice is very nice."

Mami nodded in agreement, "Indeed, it's a very pleasant voice."

"Next comes the post-production of the song and music video."

Because of this sentence, the four girls gathered in Masumi's room late at night.

Normally, Masumi wouldn't dare let them in, especially Mio and Rinne. When these two get together, they usually start a fierce cat-and-dog war.

But now is the time for everyone to work together.

In order to finish the music video before Amamiya Kozue's "deadline," the five of them stayed up all night in Masumi's room.

"Where's Mami?" Masumi asked, trying to fight off sleepiness.

"Fell asleep."

Rinne casually pointed to the idiot beauty sleeping soundly on Masumi's bed.

She said she adheres to the principle of not staying up late.

"what?"

Who would believe that? It's probably plagiarized from some animation.

Masumi glanced at the bed and sighed in exasperation: Even when sleeping, you don't have to take your clothes off so completely.

A large section of the pure white tank top flipped up, clinging tightly to Asami's chest like the equator, her southern hemispheres seemingly about to burst out, emphasizing their presence.

Before I knew it, I had been looking at her for a little too long when suddenly a slender and beautiful figure blocked my view.

Kurokawa Mio, expressionless and silent, covered Mami with the blanket, her honey-gold hair framed by the headphones.

Then she yawned lazily and sat down at the folding table in front of the MIDI keyboard.

"Mio? Are you alright?"

Kurokawa Mio's eyelids were almost half closed, making it difficult to tell whether she was even watching the screen. Masumi asked worriedly.

"Um... I'm fine, Masumi."

She tried to stay awake and answered, "Are you really okay? I feel like I might fall asleep at any moment."

But I'm incredibly sleepy right now.

Returning our attention to this, Rinne continued:
"It's okay. I made sure Mami finished all the illustrations before letting her sleep."

That's very much in line with the style of a young lady who is an heir.

"I see." "Yeah, she was complaining non-stop just now, saying that she absolutely couldn't do it tonight, but under my pressure, she finished in two hours." Rinne sighed as she spoke.

"So this is the 'Deathline Warrior'."

Masumi said sarcastically, tears welling up in her eyes as she yawned.

"Are you alright?" Rinne asked again, still worried. "It's better not to push yourself too hard."

Through her eyes and voice, Masumi could sense that she was genuinely worried about her.

Her left hand, which was originally resting on the keyboard, subtly moved closer to Masumi's right wrist.

"……It doesn't matter."

Masumi shook her head, trying to shake off her sleepiness. The faint scent of shampoo and shower gel wafted to her nose, making her want to sink into a gentle embrace even more.

"How much work is left in the later stages?" Rinne asked.

"Almost finished, next up is... music video editing..."

Masumi's tone became a little soft and weak, like a jellyfish.

Incidentally, the real jellyfish is now lying on the carpet, fast asleep.

"Leave the editing to me," the heiress said in an unquestionable tone.

“That won’t do.” Masumi rejected the idea without even thinking. “The editing work is so demanding, you’ll have to stay up all night to do it all.”

"You don't need to worry about that, I'm used to staying up late," Rinne said earnestly.

But the more she acted this way, the harder it became for Masumi to bear.

Rinne is busier than him. She has a lot of work to do at the store, and she also has to take care of her studies. She also occasionally helps out at the orphanage, and now she's helping him with the production of his music video.

Rinne had mentioned to him before that she would take over the barista's job for him, and she wasn't just saying that.

The heiress's coffee-making skills are indeed steadily improving. While Masumi's careful guidance is indispensable, her own efforts are equally crucial.

If this continues... I'll completely become a gigolo kept by the beautiful heiress!
"It's really okay, let's work together and finish it as soon as possible."

Masumi smiled as if to reassure her, and Rinne nodded, seemingly absorbed in his warmth.

"Ah."

"Rinne said she's used to staying up late. Does that mean she's been staying up late every night lately?"

"Fortunately, I got back to my normal routine after watching the tutorial videos I edited," Rinne replied casually.

So you're saying it's your own fault?

Masumi sighed and said, "I'm sorry."

"Ok?"

Rinne stopped dragging the mouse and tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"I made you stay up all night because of me," Masumi said guiltily. "Last time you caught a cold after getting caught in the rain, it was probably because staying up late for a long time lowered your immunity."

"Huh? No... that's not true."

For some reason, an embarrassed blush appeared on Rinne's face.

Huh? Masumi was taken aback, belatedly realizing that she had just brought up the "cold incident." Oh no, she should have completely forgotten about it.

However, seeing Rinne's shy expression, he couldn't help but recall how Rinne had clung to him while wearing cat-themed underwear. No normal man could forget that!

Hmm, Rinne's like this, could it be...? Masumi suddenly had a sudden thought, and in her drowsy state, blurted out the question without thinking:
"...Rinne, you're remembering what happened that time?"

“Mm.” Rinne nodded.

Hiss~ Masumi felt a sensation of ice pressing against the back of her head.

According to the setting of light novels, shouldn't the female protagonist forget everything after the fever subsides?

Moreover, given that she recalled her incredibly emotional and shameful state at the time, why was she still so calm?
Is this the demeanor of a great general? Remaining calm at all times.

The awkward topic made it impossible for Masumi to look directly at her face, and she couldn't help but look away.

The beautiful black-haired girl sat upright with her back straight, and a tight-fitting turtleneck sweater clung to her beautiful body lines.

Her waist was exceptionally slender, but her buttocks, pressed against the carpet, were full and perky, like an apple when standing and a peach when sitting.

Despite her adorable duck-like sitting posture, Rinne's unique aura lends it an air of dignified elegance and sophistication, almost like a formal sitting posture.

Yes, back then I sat in the same position, sucking on his fingertips.

Masumi instantly broke out in a cold sweat, waving her hands frantically in front of her face, trying to explain, "Huh? Um, listen to me! I didn't mean to—"

“…That matter, it can’t be blamed on you either,” she suddenly said.

"Eh?"

Rinne bit her lip, lowered her gaze, and said softly, "After all, you weren't fully conscious at that time either."

Wait, what is she saying?
Masumi blinked, puzzled.

She should be the one who's confused, right? I've been perfectly conscious the whole time, and there's no way I could be confused.

"What are you talking about? It's not about applying the medicine!" Masumi blurted out, then immediately realized her mistake.

Because the girl's expression changed instantly.

"Medicine?! You really did use that..."

Rinne bit her lip, feeling embarrassed to speak.

"I'm sorry! After all, Haiyue only gave me this medicine at the time."

Masumi put her hands together and apologized.

However, Rinne's face turned even redder. "Kaizuki knows about this too?!"

"Uh, that's right."

What's going on? The more they try to explain, the worse it gets. On the heiress's face, the more they try to explain, the more red she becomes.

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere became very subtle.

That's not what I was talking about.

Rinne said embarrassedly, her voice barely audible.

"Huh? What's that?"

"After my fever broke and I woke up, I saw you and me lying in the same bed."

"Ah! He accidentally fell asleep."

"Hmm." Rinne seemed to accept this statement very easily.

Just as Masumi was about to breathe a sigh of relief, her next words made Masumi's heart jump again.

"Her hands are very restless."

!

"Touching everything indiscriminately!"

! !
"And also..."

!!!

“…Uh, I have absolutely no recollection of that.” Masumi said truthfully.

It's true, after all, feeding Rinne fever-reducing medicine was exciting enough.

"Now you understand?"

Rinne asked calmly.

Masumi forced a sound out of her throat: "I understand."

After exchanging information, the CG of the illness incident was fully unlocked in each of their minds.

"..."

"..."

There was another moment of silence.

"Let's get back to work," Rinne said.

"Oh, oh..."

Thanks to this, my drowsiness has vanished without a trace.

I could hear Mio's soft breathing nearby... Thankfully, Mio was sleeping.

"..."

The sounds of mice and keyboards filled the night air.

As a result, Masumi and Rinne still stayed up all night.

As the sky began to lighten and the sounds of sparrows and pigeons filled the air, signaling the city's imminent awakening, Masumi followed the lyrics on the screen with drowsy eyes.

"Is that all?" He asked Rinne, rubbing his sleepy eyes, for a final confirmation.

"Yeah, that's right."

Rinne answered in a voice equally weary.

After receiving affirmation, the last bit of strength I had been holding onto seemed to dissipate completely.

"finally……"

Masumi's cheers were weak and feeble, sounding more like feeble wails. Her consciousness sank into thin gaps, and her body slumped down.

Rinne was the same; she lost her usual composure and collapsed without any of her usual icy beauty demeanor... It doesn't matter if it happens just this once.

However, neither of them noticed the direction or posture in which they fell.

The two exhausted people leaned against each other almost intimately.

The morning light streamed into the room through the gap in the curtains. Someone's eyelids were touched by the sunlight, their thick, long eyelashes fluttered, and they opened their eyes—

(End of this chapter)