Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 249, Section 24: "Teaching the wicked female protagonist a lesson."

Days passed by, and as December approached, winter deepened, and the room became so cold it felt like part of the refrigerator.

Kobe is currently in the dead of winter, when even a slight relaxation can cause your nose to feel cold.

After closing time, Masumi, as usual, stayed at the kotatsu with the girls, sharing the warmth.

To his left was Kurokawa Mio, elegantly sipping her coffee; to his right was Rinne, always sitting upright; and to his right was the lazy jellyfish, who had buried her neck and below in the kotatsu table and was fast asleep.

Mami sat directly opposite him, munching on potato chips as she handed him the tablet.

"...Everyone, the coffee shop's mascot has been designed."

When the mug is placed back on the tray, the ceramic pieces clink together, making a crisp sound.

Masumi carefully examined the mascot on the tablet screen, a cartoon image of an orange cat dressed in a black and white maid outfit, which looked very adorable.

The heiress standing next to her stared wide-eyed.

"Actually, I originally planned to draw a beautiful girl in a cat-eared maid outfit, but Rinne rejected it," Asami said with a shrug.

Asami had long wanted to share a story like this, which resembled an interview with a manga artist, introducing anecdotes unknown to the public before the work was officially published.

"That kind of mascot would be mistaken for a maid café, and it doesn't really fit the atmosphere of Starry Night."

If the atmosphere is too stale, it will deter many ordinary customers.

After Rinne finished speaking slowly and deliberately, Mami retorted decisively.

"That's not true at all! The saying goes, 'Heaven wouldn't create cat maids if it were above humans, and it wouldn't create humans if it were below cat maids.' Everyone likes cat maids, right, Masumi-kun?"

She suddenly turned her question to Masumi.

"Eh."

Masumi paused, glanced at Rinne discreetly, then nodded and mumbled something.

"Yes, yes, very cute."

"Rinne, look, Masumi-kun said that..."

"turn down!"

The heiress adopted the authority of a store manager, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Mami, who had been full of enthusiasm, suddenly lost her temper and lowered her head. Her dejected expression reminded people of a puppy abandoned in the rain.

"There's no need to be so harsh," Masumi said, feeling a little reluctant.

"If you saw the previous draft of Asami's work, you wouldn't think that way."

Rinne seemed to be suppressing a headache, pressing her hand to her temple.

Mami in front of him gave an embarrassed smile and said, "Hehe!"

"Anyway, it'll definitely be a very sexy image."

Mio stirred the coffee in her cup with a long, thin spoon to help the sugar cubes dissolve faster, and said softly.

"Wow! Even Ms. Mio guessed it."

Asami covered her mouth in disbelief.

"After all, Ms. Mami is unbelievably simple most of the time," Mio said casually.

Mami tilted her head to one side: "Huh? Is Mio praising me?"

"Sometimes it is."

"It's so complicated."

Asami seemed troubled, her eyebrows drooping slightly. She shrugged and took the tablet back from Rinne, examining it closely.

Her upper body leaned forward, revealing her fair skin below the neck from her neckline, and the forward-leaning posture made the curves of her chest more obvious.

“I said, Mami,” Masumi finally spoke up, unable to contain herself any longer.

"What's wrong, Masumi-kun?"

When Asami answered Masumi, her gaze did not leave the tablet screen.

"...It must be winter now."

"Isn't that obvious?"

She looked up at him with an expression as if he were an idiot. "Masumi-kun, is your desire to see girls in swimsuits so strong that you've lost your mind?"

"Are you the one who's lost your mind?" Masumi pressed her temples in exasperation. "What's the difference between your outfit and a swimsuit?"

The pure white tank top hugged her chest like the equator, making her look like she was from both the northern and southern hemispheres.

The occasional sketch of Mount Kilimanjaro's summit also made Masumi quite concerned.

“Masumi-kun, that’s your problem.”

Mami pouted in dissatisfaction and imitated Hanzawa Naoki by lightly tapping the table with her palm. However, she was stopped on the second tap by Rinne's cold gaze.

She cleared her throat meaninglessly, then said with feigned seriousness:
"Speaking of the four seasons, although we can enjoy the pleasure of dressing up nicely, when we think about it calmly, we buy clothes every year that we only wear for three months and then they pile up on the floor or in the closet. It makes us wonder what kind of silly things humans are doing."

"You're the only one who would have such doubts, aren't you?" Masumi said helplessly.

"Also, why are the clothes piled on the floor?"

"Masumi-kun's focus is too biased."

Suddenly she rubbed her arms together, "Hiss~ It's still a bit cold." She looked like an office lady who couldn't stand the air conditioning in the office.

"Sister Mami, where are you putting your feet?"

Rinne's slightly confused tone carried a hint of reproach.

However, Mami didn't seem to care at all, and kept saying to herself, "It's so warm~", before stretching her leg under Rinne's legs.

"Hehehe, I'll stretch out wherever it's warm."

Mami smiled, her eyes crinkling.

Rinne sighed, but still acquiesced to her clingy behavior.

Mami happily exclaimed "Yay~", placed her hands on the carpet, and leaned back slightly. It was clear that her legs were stretching forward from under the kotatsu table.

Speaking of which, Miss Heir... lately you've started spoiling not only Haiyue, but also your "older sister" who's four years older than you.

"Next up is decorating the coffee shop for Christmas."

Rinne took a sip of black tea and returned to work mode.

"I'll use the decorations that Asami and Yuyuko bought last week. I ordered a Christmas tree from Amazon, it should arrive today..."

"Leave this to me!"

Mami confidently took on the job.

“When I was still at home, we would put up a Christmas tree every year for Christmas.”

"The Seno family has a great sense of ritual," Mio remarked. "They seem like a happy family."

Masumi nodded in agreement: "That's probably why we raise such an idiot eldest daughter."

"Hey! Masumi-kun."

Because the coffee level on the table had dropped to less than half, Mami slapped the table slightly harder.

"You're being way too sharp-tongued with me."

Under the warm stove table, which was completely covered by a quilt, a bare foot stretched out.

Like a fish pecking at a pebble in a fish tank, Mami gently touched Masumi's toes with her toes.

Masumi looked directly at Asami and saw her pretending not to know anything, giving a slight, nonchalant smile.

This guy.

"Sigh, I also hope to receive a present from Santa Claus this year."

Asami rested her chin and cheek on one hand, hinting with the most obvious meaning.

"You're such a grown-up, and you still believe in Santa Claus? Has anyone ever told you that you're childish?"

"Stop nagging! Masumi-kun, adults should be more active in enjoying those kinds of activities, right? Children are innocent, and I even received a gift from Santa Claus last year."

"The boots my family gave me, the skincare set Chii gave me, and the 5,000 yen red envelope from Rinne."

"That last one is way too realistic," Masumi remarked instinctively.

As a gift from Santa Claus.

"...I really don't know what Christmas gift to give my friend, so..."

Rinne offered a brief explanation, her cheeks flushing slightly as she spoke.

"Don't worry about it, Rinne, I'm very happy."

Asami said to Rinne with a grin, then tickled Masumi with her toe, secretly observing Masumi's reaction out of the corner of her eye.

"Ugh, I really want a Christmas present this year!"

"Santa Claus is a foreigner, so I guess he probably can't understand Japanese."

Masumi carefully sipped her coffee; the warm beverage slightly stimulated her tongue, and it was still quite hot.

Sudden--

"Cough cough cough cough!"

"Masumi, are you alright?"

Mio quickly pulled two tissues from the tissue box and handed them to Masumi. "I'm fine."

Masumi wiped the coffee spilled from the corner of her mouth with a tissue and glared fiercely at Mami.

The soft skin on the soles of her feet, through a layer of fabric, provoked Masumi.

Perhaps seeing Masumi's reaction, Mami's face lit up with a gloating smile.

"It's because Masumi-kun laughed at me earlier that he's getting his comeuppance."

"Asami is too childish."

Rinne sighed quietly.

Seeing Masumi's disheveled appearance, Mami's mood became very pleasant, and she stretched out both legs from under the kotatsu table.

Masumi's eyebrows twitched suddenly as she frantically typed text on her phone under the table.

Masumi: "Idiot, what are you doing?"

Ryujinin Michiyo: "What? Has Masumi-kun gotten excited on his own? I'm warning you, everyone's here now."

Masumi: "You know about this too, and you still dare to act recklessly."

Ryujinin Michiyo: "Wasn't it like this when Masumi-kun was camping?! Making me hide in my sleeping bag and watch all the other girls walk into their tents was so unfair!"

Ryujinin Michiyo: "A beautiful girl stepping on you with a look of disgust.jpg"

Masumi: "That was my fault, I apologize to you."

Masumi: "A Shiba Inu lying on the ground with its head down and eyes drooping, next to which is written 'Reflection.jpg'."

Ryujinin Michiyo: "A beautiful girl who proudly raises her chin and turns her face away.jpg"

The emoticon indicated that the message had been read, and Masumi could clearly feel that Asami's strength had become gentler, slower, and softer.

But his problem wasn't about the amount of force at all, okay?

"Is Masumi cold?"

Mio looked at Masumi, whose body was trembling slightly, and asked.

"No, maybe it's because my upper body was outside the kotatsu table and I drank coffee, which caused the temperature difference."

As she said this, Masumi deliberately swayed her body, making her slightly flushed cheeks seem even more justified.

"so."

Mio nodded, then stared intently at Masumi.

Just as Masumi thought that Mio had seen through something, Mio suddenly got up and left the room.

Asami tilted her head, looking completely bewildered, and her restless feet temporarily stopped moving.

Less than two minutes later, Mio returned to the room carrying a knee blanket.

Let's cover ourselves with blankets to keep warm.

She smiled sweetly, and the two of them covered the front of their upper bodies with a blanket.

"Oh... thank you, Mio."

"Uh-huh."

Her profile looked very happy, with a bright smile on her lips.

"Although winter is cold, I've come to like this season again."

"...Huh? What is it?"

"Like this, two people huddle together to keep warm."

Because it's winter, they can naturally stick together.

"Now that you mention it, you can definitely feel a significant temperature difference."

Rinne spoke those words with her usual indifference.

She stood up, sat down next to Masumi, pulled the blanket over him a little closer, and joined him in huddling together for warmth.

"Rinne, what are you doing?" Mio asked, frowning.

"To keep warm."

"Waaah! You guys are excluding me, that's so unfair!"

Mami frowned, a displeased expression on her face.

Because the two girls were standing close to Masumi on either side, she dared not move around anymore, and Masumi finally got a chance to catch her breath.

The aroma of coffee wafted in the air.

This flavor brings peace of mind.

In a winter room, we huddle motionless around the fireplace table, shoulder to shoulder, passing the time in silence.

This must be what they call small but real happiness and contentment. I hope this kind of life can continue forever, Masumi thought to herself.

◇

After dinner, the store received the Christmas tree that had been mailed to them.

Mio and Rinne were cleaning the kitchen. Rinne was wiping the sink when she turned to Masumi and said something.

"Could you please go and ask Mami to come down and decorate the lanterns?"

"Well, I see."

Lately, this guy has almost completely turned into a bear. After eating his fill, he waddles back to Masumi's room, crawls into the kotatsu table, and begins to hibernate.

This is the scene that Masumi saw when she pushed open the door.

The ceiling light was off.

The darkness that should have enveloped the room was now relegated to a corner, and the silent room was filled with the glow of cheap colored lights.

Mami tucked half of her body into the kotatsu table, while the other half remained exposed.

The wires of the glowing LED lights were wrapped around her body.

Her delicate, supple skin was bathed in a soft glow, illuminating her peaceful sleeping face.

Even if you're looking for something to use as a cushion, you should use something better, right?

Masumi sighed helplessly and gently shook her shoulders.

"Hey! Mami, get up! It's time to decorate the Christmas tree and the coffee shop."

"Hmm... just five more minutes of sleep."

"You've already graduated, so you can't speak JK language anymore."

"Whoever graduated, it's Masumi-kun who dragged his feet, and now I'm still not graduated."

Hey, speaking of which, the girls at coffee shops are all very studious and ambitious.

"Um... um..."

After making a muffled sound, Mami rolled over, and the loosely wrapped wires around her body tightened instantly.

Upon realizing that her body was being restrained, Mami's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyelids slowly opened, revealing the colors of the colored lights reflected in her coffee-colored eyes.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Mami blinked, looking at the lights surrounding her body. Her eyes, which had been half-open, suddenly opened wide, revealing a surprised expression.

She then glanced at Masumi in front of her and finally understood her current situation.

"Masumi-kun! Why did you tie me up?!"

"Is his first sentence a suspicion?" Masumi sighed, rubbing her forehead in exasperation.

“I didn’t do anything. You should ask yourself what you did before you fell asleep.”

"I just unplugged the wires, that's all... Ugh! This is terrible, I can't move it at all."

She didn't know how she got tangled up, but the more Mami struggled and moved her limbs, the tighter the light fixture wires became, rendering her unable to move.

"If this keeps up, I'm going to become the heroine in a doujinshi! No way!"

"Shut up! Be quiet. If all the female protagonists in doujinshi were idiots like you, readers probably wouldn't be interested at all."

Masumi's sarcastic remark, along with a karate chop, slammed hard onto her head.

Mami's eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she cried out in pain.

"Ugh... Masumi-kun is so mean, he actually hit a girl... If my masochistic tendencies awaken, how are you going to explain that?"

"I will take full responsibility when the time comes."

"Huh? What does taking responsibility mean?"

Mami strained to lift her head, her gaze rising to meet a face that was incredibly serious.

"Ma-Masumi-kun? What do you want to do?"

Mami swallowed hard, shrinking back. She wasn't afraid of Masumi, but her bottom was terrified of his hands.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to teach the wicked female lead a lesson, that's all."

Masumi said those words in the same tone as usual, but to Mami, they sounded like the words of a demon.

(End of this chapter)