Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 246, Section 21: The Heated Table and the Winter Ritual

Chapter 246, Section 21: "The Hearth Table and the Winter Ritual"

Someone was pressing down on him.

Masumi realized this almost immediately.

The reason is simple: this kind of thing has happened to him so many times that he has become indifferent to it.

Therefore, there's no need to jump out of bed in a panic.

"...So who is it?"

A warm body pressed against his abdomen through the fabric, and Masumi reached out and placed her hand on the spot closest to her own body.

It's so round, does anyone in this coffee shop have such a round head?
Her cheeks are so soft, you can't feel any bones at all.

Grasp~
"Ugh."

what happened?

This feeling...

Masumi slowly lifted her eyelids, looking sleepily at the culprit who was pressing down on her.

The rounded outline has sharp, undulating angles that cut into the hills, making it a perfectly heart-shaped shape, like a ripe, sweet apricot.

This shape and size is...

"Mio, why are you here?"

"...Ugh."

The only response he received was a soft snort.

"Hey, Mio."

Helpless, Masumi gently patted the tender, sweet apricot, the ripples of the apricot flesh looking incredibly alluring.

Half-asleep, Mio could only utter incoherent murmurs in her sleep.

"...Hmm, Masumi...Did you get pregnant like that? I'm still not entirely sure about the position, let's try again..."

It means her sleep talking is really scary.

Her long, straight legs seemed to lock something in place, putting considerable pressure on Masumi's ribs.

"Ugh! Mio, I can't breathe—"

Masumi couldn't help but let out a mournful cry.

The next moment, as if seeking warmth, Mio's body slid down, her center of gravity tilting more and more towards Masumi.

Masumi's world suddenly transformed from the dividing line between skin color and cream color into complete darkness.

"Uh-huh!"

Just when Masumi thought she was going to drown between the sutures of the sweet apricot fruit, Mio finally woke up.

"This is... Masumi's bed..."

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and Mio's eyes remained half-open and half-closed.

"Good morning, Masumi."

"When you greet someone, it's better to look them in the face."

Masumi's protests were absorbed by the soft cotton fabric, leaving only a weak, soft murmur that drifted into Mio's ears.

“What did Masumi say—um.”

All the things she wanted to say were shut down.

……

Two minutes later, the two, now awake, sat on the bed, the blankets still slightly damp.

Mio covered her mouth in disbelief, her eyes gleaming with joy like a sky full of stars.

"What I just dreamt about... could it be... that everything that happened in my dream was real!?"

"...Although I don't know what Mio dreamed about, I'm sure nothing happened."

"Oh."

Mio's eyebrows drooped, and her disappointment was clearly visible.

"How could this be... If that's the case, why am I still in Masumi's bed?"

"That's what I wanted to ask Mio."

Masumi pressed her temples as if she had a headache.

Why is Mio in my room?

"Hmm...why? I can't remember at all."

Mio feigned a troubled expression, attempting to bluff her way out.

"I only remember going to the bathroom at 23:54 p.m. last night and then going back to my room. Now that I think about it, I must have gone to the wrong room in a daze."

"If I remember correctly, I wasn't asleep at that time."

"Masumi remembered it wrong."

Mio immediately denied it: "Masumi made a snorting sound at 23:52:13 PM... Ugh!"

She covered her mouth as a last resort, her face flushed.

"Masumi, um, don't misunderstand, I just happened to come out to use the restroom around that time, and I just happened to see Masumi's door was ajar, just happened..."

The more he tried to cover up, the more hesitant and fragmented his words became.

Masumi sighed quietly.

"Whether Mio wants to explain or do something else, put this on first."

After he finished speaking, he took a neatly folded white shirt from the closet and handed it to Mio, who was sitting on the bed with her arms crossed.

At the same time, Masumi also put on her full workout clothes for her morning run.

Come to think of it, it was really dangerous: they were just sharing a bed in their underwear, and unlike the dormitory-style sleeping quarters during the trip, it was just Masumi and Mio. Thinking back on it now, it was really...

"Sigh, I was so close to accidentally sparking a romance with Masumi~"

After saying this with such regret, Mio let out a sweet sigh from her rosy lips.

"No, it's far from it," Masumi insisted.

At the very least, the direction should be reversed.

Mio pouted, reluctantly changing the subject as if to compromise.

"The weather has been getting colder lately."

"After all, it's already winter, and the weather forecast says the temperature will drop sharply today."

Mio revealed a knowing expression.

"No wonder it was so cold after I got up."

"Yeah, if you feel cold, put your shirt on first."

Masumi was already dressed perfectly, without a single flaw, while Mio was still dawdling, her eyes glistening with a seductive light as she looked at Masumi.

"Is this Masumi's shirt? It feels so warm, and... it has Masumi's scent."

"No, this is Mami's."

Masumi said expressionlessly.

"...!"

The smile on Mio's face froze, and the next moment it turned extremely gloomy.

"How did Mami-san's clothes end up with Masumi?!"

"She took it off casually when she was playing games in my room last time. It was mixed in with a bunch of clothes and I couldn't tell the difference, so I put it all away. I haven't had time to return it to her yet."

Masumi remained calm and answered without flinching.

"I see."

Mio pouted, still looking rather unhappy.

Suddenly she put down her shirt, got out of bed, revealing her shapely figure without any attempt to conceal it, and walked barefoot to the door.

"Mio?"

"I'm going back to my room to change my clothes."

"Oh."

Mio grasped the handle and opened the door from the inside.

A chilly breeze blew in from the corridor.

She got goosebumps all over her body.

"It's so cold."

◇

"so cold."

During breakfast, Ms. Mami couldn't stop complaining.

"It feels like the cold season came earlier this year than usual."

"You're wearing too little clothing."

Masumi sighed quietly.

Looking at Mami's outfit, it was still the same casual clothes: a tank top and shorts, exposing her fair thighs to the air. She always dressed like this when no one else was around.

It's just like the female protagonist in old anime who always wears the same outfit. It's like how anime with a slightly larger budget these days will draw several outfits for the female protagonist.

Masumi thought that Masumi's preference for lightweight clothing would give in to winter, but it seems that she is much more tenacious than she imagined.

This guy, even though the rest of his parts are all weaklings, this part is the only exception...

"That's part of the reason, but it's cold, isn't everyone cold?"

"It's not cold," Haiyue said calmly.

"That's because Xiao Haiyue is always fully armed."

In winter, Haiyue replaced her original black stockings, which allowed her to peek through her heels, with thicker, warmer velvet stockings.

“It’s cold, but I can bear it,” Rinne said.

"Ugh, I'm not as strong as Rinne."

"So, how do you usually spend the winter?"

Asami nodded as if she had thought of something.

"Oh, so it's time to bring it out."

"Invite what?" Masumi asked, puzzled.

"Ahem, Masumi-kun will find out soon enough."

Asami's upturned lips formed an unfathomable smile.

After dinner, Masumi, guided by Asami, moved the things she had mentioned out and put them in her room.

"Oh, I see. It's a kotatsu (heated table)." "Every winter, we girls rely on the kotatsu to keep warm."

Mami gazed at the kotatsu table with enthusiastic eyes.

"It's amazing that you were able to find something like this; it must have been unused for many years."

This kotatsu table is still an old antique from Masumi's childhood. Every winter, Masumi and her mother would curl up inside this kotatsu table to keep warm.

The father, Ken Miyazawa, firmly believed that "exposing one's upper body to the kotatsu table will cause one to catch a cold," so he never did it.

After Masumi went to the capital, this kotatsu table remained unused in the warehouse until Rinne and the others arrived.

"Alright, Masumi-kun, we can catch up with Kotatsu-kun later. Let's set this up first."

"understood."

Mio: "I'll help Masumi."

"Ah."

Setting up the stove table is effortless; you can quickly lay out the quilts and tabletop, and you're done.

Asami pressed the switch and eagerly leaped under the table, hiding her neck and below inside the kotatsu table.

"Come on! Warm breeze, please!"

She squinted, preparing to enjoy the warmth that was about to arrive.

however--

Five minutes passed.

"Huh? Why can't I feel any heat at all?"

Mami blinked in surprise.

"It's not open? Try again."

Ten minutes passed.

Mio also huddled inside the kotatsu table.

"I'm not working at all."

Only the warmth provided by the cotton quilt is effective.

"Could it be...?"

Asami, realizing a certain possibility, looked dejected.

"The kotatsu table is broken!?"

◇

"Rolling around~"

"Get here... get out..."

"Little Moon, you're going the wrong way!"

In Masumi's room on the third floor.

Rinne stared in disbelief at the two people who were wrapped in blankets, with only their heads sticking out, rolling around on the floor of the room.

"Sister Mami, what are you doing?"

"We are trying to keep warm."

"To...keep warm..."

Haiyue, a beat slower, hitched a ride with Mami to answer together.

Incidentally, the two of them crawled into the same rolled-up quilt, each peeking out from one end of the quilt and rolling around.

According to Asami, this is a two-person skill she learned while camping with Umi, hiding in a sleeping bag together.

At this, Rinne and Mio simultaneously cast killer glances at Masumi.

"I already know I was wrong."

Masumi surrendered without hesitation.

Asami's voice was languid, "Does Rinne want to come along too? It'll warm up soon."

"There's air conditioning on the first floor, right? If you feel cold, you can just go downstairs and sit for a while."

"Ugh, staying on the first floor on my day off, I feel like I'm not getting any rest at all."

"I didn't expect Mami to value formalities so much."

Rinne let out a very light and subtle sigh, almost imperceptible to anyone.

"Why is Haiyue joining Mami in this nonsense?"

"Because...it's a lot of fun..."

"Are you just going to stand by and watch them run wild?"

Rinne looked at Masumi with a sharp, scrutinizing gaze.

"Sorry, for some reasons I can't explain, it's not a good time to upset that guy right now."

Masumi looked completely exhausted and said dejectedly.

"What's that like?"

Rinne frowned, not understanding what was going on.

She turned her face toward Haiyue on the other side of the quilt.

"I just can't do anything with you. Here, Haiyue, I have some deep-steamed tea candies here."

Rinne picked up a dark green, round candy between her fingertips.

"What does Rinne think Umizuki is..."

Unable to hide her surprise, Masumi stared in disbelief.

And Haiyue, surprisingly, obediently crawled out from under the covers and accepted Rinne's feeding.

The relationship between these two seems a bit strange; it's more like a mother-daughter relationship than a friendship.

"Perhaps it's because we're both lacking in family affection," Masumi remarked.

On the other side, Mami continued to "roll around~" "roll around~"

He rolled around on the floor, then bumped his forehead against Masumi's violin case. "Ouch!"

She rolled around on the floor, then bumped her forehead on the leg of the Mio piano stand. "Ouch!"

Then Mio, with a gloomy expression, said "So annoying!" and clamped her legs between them.

"Oops, I've been caught."

No matter how much Mami rolled around, she couldn't break free from Mio's feet.

Are you kidding me? Masumi's ribs were almost broken when those legs locked her up this morning.

"Let's go buy a new fireplace table."

Rinne suddenly said.

"what?"

"good idea!"

Mami suddenly emerged from under the covers, her eyes sparkling.

"It turns out that the fireplace table was too small. Even if it's fixed, it probably won't be big enough for all of us."

"Why not just buy an electric heater with a built-in fan? That way you don't need to restrain your body—"

Masumi was interrupted halfway through her speech by Mami, who categorically retorted.

"Masumi-kun, you don't use a kotatsu table in winter? I have to question your identity as an islander. It seems you've been brainwashed by American culture!"

"Idiot, don't use that tone of an old man criticizing a young person for eating while walking."

Asami remained vehemently convinced of her point.

"The kotatsu (heated table) is a symbol of family gatherings in winter. Bringing out the kotatsu is like a 'winter ritual,' and it even enhances the deliciousness of the oranges."

Masumi made a defeated expression.

"Let's do it your way."

After all, Mami still has something on him, and it wouldn't be good to act impulsively after angering her.

"Great!"

Asami cheered, waving her hands.

Autumn is gone, and winter is already lingering at the door.

The five people, dressed in their outdoor clothes, pushed open the glass door and were immediately met with a chill.

Although the weather forecast said the temperature would be very low, I still felt cold the moment I stepped outside.

There's a technical term for this: "feeling temperature".

The coffee shop is near the sea, the air is humid, and the perceived temperature is quite different from the temperature in the weather forecast.

"It's so cold."

While waiting for the tram on the platform, Haiyue, who was wrapped in a scarf, blew a breath into her hand, but because her mouth was also covered, it was in vain.

"With all this prepared, are you still cold?"

Seeing Haiyue hunching her shoulders, looking so pitiful, Masumi couldn't help but laugh.

"……Um."

Haiyue nodded, then suddenly took off the scarf around her neck, which Masumi took from her.

"Why was Haiyue removed?"

Rinne asked with concern from the side.

"My neck... feels prickly..."

"Yeah."

Upon hearing this, Masumi noticed that the jellyfish girl's snow-white neck had turned red.

Even her skin is so sensitive.

"Masumi's hands... feel so warm..."

Haiyue turned her blue-green pupils, chasing after Masumi's palm.