Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 265, Section 2: "The rest stops along the way can only provide rest, but cannot make people stop their journey."

February 4th, Saturday, the weather is sunny turning cloudy.

Masumi was preparing to leave her room on the third floor.

"Haiyue, are you done yet?"

"Um... I'm sorry to have kept Masumi waiting..."

"I'm glad Haiyue has learned to use honorifics, but aren't you cold dressed like that?"

The girl was wearing a thin knitted sweater that I had never seen her wear before. The color of the fabric was a watery blue, mimicking the ocean, and the design was full of what could be described as cute jellyfish patterns.

"Your top looks a bit thin, should I wear a jacket?"

"Ah."

Haiyue nodded quietly.

Masumi took out a white wool cardigan from the closet; she forgot which girl's personal item it belonged to.

They spent the entire winter at his place, and Masumi's room ended up with quite a few of the girls' things. Besides clothes, there were also hand cream, makeup remover, and the like.

Beneath the short skirt of her winter coat, Haiyue's long, beautiful legs were right in front of her. Masumi glanced at the soft curves encased in velvet pantyhose, then immediately looked away.

"The buttons... won't close..."

Haiyue watched as Masumi diligently buttoned her clothes and murmured softly.

"Hmm, this should be Mio's jacket."

Logically speaking, Mio is a bit bigger and has a larger frame than Kaigetsu, so the only reason she can't button her clothes is...

"That's good..."

As Haiyue tilted her head, the jellyfish on the chest of the knitted sweater were all pitifully squeezed to one side.

After all, mountains in the sea are still mountains; there's no room for these fragile creatures to float around.

"Buttoning it up... will make it hot..."

"Keeping warm is very important, it would be terrible if you caught a cold. This is Mami, you should be able to fit into it."

If Mio saw Kaigetsu wearing her coat, she would be furious.

"Oh, and wrap the scarf around your neck too."

The jellyfish girl obediently let him wrap the scarf around her.

After getting dressed, Masumi looked Haiyue up and down, and for some reason, sighed.

"Masumi?"

Haiyue tilted her head, unaware of what was going on. Her blue pupils held an unusual color, as if they were absorbing everything, and deep within them flickered a melancholy like that of a mermaid.

"Nothing, let's go."

"Ah."

Upon reaching the first floor, one sees Rinne staring at Haiyue with a worried look, Mio glancing warily at Masumi and Haiyue, and Mami looking listless and drowsy.

"Mami-nee, shouldn't you wake up by now? Don't you feel guilty for wasting a whole day by sleeping in so late?"

Rinne said helplessly to Mami.

"Hmm~ there will be a little bit."

Asami swallowed a yawn: "But when I think about how I slept until evening on Thursday, which was a complete waste of the whole day, I actually feel like I made a good deal."

Rinne was a little dumbfounded by Mami's statement, and shrugged with a helpless expression.

"Any day off is fine, but at least during business hours, please be energetic, Mami-nee."

"Okay, okay, I'll be on my best when the guests arrive."

Mami glanced lazily at Masumi, who was about to leave.

"Masumi-kun, don't forget to bring me some gin from the roadside station and some bonito flakes from Kanei~"

"understood."

"Oh, and I also heard that there are Chinese restaurants in Osawa. If they sell Shaoxing wine, please bring me a bottle as well. I have long admired the reputation of Shaoxing wine."

As Mami finally perked up a bit, her pink tongue gently licking the corner of her lips, her eyes gleaming.

Masumi sighed quietly.

This girl, despite being a homebody, knows everything about where to buy famous wines. What kind of alcoholic monster is she?

"...If I had one, I would buy it."

"Yes, thank you for your help, Masumi-kun."

"Be careful on the road~"

The three watched their figures disappear into the coffee shop.

Today is a business day, and Masumi and Kaigetsu are in charge of making purchases at Osawamichi Station in Kita-Kobe.

Although taking the train would have been convenient, Masumi decided to drive because she needed to buy some things.

Osawa Road Station sells local Kobe specialties and ingredients. It is said to be the largest rest stop in western Japan, with a theme of flowers and fruits.

In addition to basic facilities such as parking lots, restaurants, and souvenir shops, Osawa's Michi no Eki also features amusement parks, hot springs, food courts, exhibition greenhouses, and dog parks.

In the summer, they even open a water park.

Therefore, in addition to drivers taking a break along the way, many local residents also use this place as a weekend leisure spot.

After parking the car, Masumi gently shook the sleeping girl in the passenger seat awake.

"Haiyue, we've arrived."

"Well."

Her fine, delicate hair, with each strand distinct, is braided together as meticulously as a child's; with a gentle touch, it slips smoothly through her fingers.

The girl's demeanor was as adorable as a sleepy kitten in the afternoon.

"Haiyue really does feel sleepy as soon as she gets in a car."

"Because... it's wobbly..."

"Like a baby's cradle?"

"..."

Haiyue stared at him blankly, her face expressionless.

"W-what's wrong?" Masumi felt a little uneasy under her gaze.

"Masumi thinks... I'm a child...?"

"Uh, it's not like that. I'm sorry, Haiyue must be unhappy to be called a child."

Judging from Qian'ai's previous reaction, no one would be happy to be treated like a child.

"without……"

Haiyue gently shook her head.

“I don’t hate being treated like a child by Masumi… but… a child… can’t be a bride…”

Yes, yes.

Masumi was a little dumbfounded by Kaigetsu's reason. As expected of the jellyfish girl, her lines were so unexpected.

Stepping out of the parking lot, a world transformed into a silvery-white expanse by the fresh snow unfolded before them.

Kobe faces the Seto Inland Sea and Osaka Bay, and snow is rare on the seaside. Snow can only be seen in the Rokko area, which is the northern part of Kobe, covering 40% of the city.

"It's really cold."

Masumi huddled her neck inside her scarf and rubbed her hands together.

"Is it because it's in the mountains? It's much colder than when I left the coffee shop."

"Hmm...it's cold..."

Haiyue lowered her head as if biting her scarf, echoing Masumi's words.

After passing through the main entrance, he and she walked toward a row of white triangular-roofed buildings.

The direct sales outlet is called "FARM CIRCUS MARKET" and offers fresh local ingredients and carefully selected groceries.

Masumi bought everything according to the ingredient list given by Rinne, and added the red wine and bonito flakes that Asami wanted, loading everything into the car.

It must have snowed last night, because the roads are a bit slippery. There are very few tourists at the roadside station today.

Thanks to this, there was no need to queue at the direct sales outlets, and the efficiency was much higher than he had expected.

As he loaded the last box of greenhouse vegetables into the trunk, a half-eaten dessert was handed to him from the side.

Masumi reflexively opened her mouth to take it, and the cool sweetness spread across her tongue.

"Hmm, this is quite delicious."

It's a stick-shaped ice crepe sold in stores, banana flavor, 350 yen a stick, perfect for eating while taking a walk along the roadside.

"Are you going back?"

Haiyue also took a bite of the iced banana crepe and asked expressionlessly.

"Hmm, Haiyue wants to stroll around a bit longer?"

Haiyue nodded. Her cheeks, bulging from the food, looked like a hamster's. Suddenly, I wanted to gently poke them or pull her cheeks to the sides.

The thought of acting like an elementary school student made Masumi feel a little embarrassed.

"If it's just for a little while... let's go for a stroll around the Way Station."

The roadside station in Osawa is really big. Since it's a rare opportunity to come here, and we still have some time, it's perfectly reasonable to stroll around the rest area. Masumi kept trying to find excuses to convince herself.

Yes, it's definitely not that he wanted to continue spending time alone with Haiyue for a while longer.

"hand……"

"hand?"

Masumi looked at the jellyfish girl with a puzzled expression as she grabbed his index finger.

The jellyfish girl's fingertips were incredibly slender and warm. "I want... to hold hands..."

"Oh, wow..."

Haiyue's loyalty to her own thoughts and desires is quite similar to Rinne's.

Masumi used to think it was silly for men and women to hold hands outdoors in winter, but now she finds herself among them.

Holding hands like a couple, they walked together into the rest area of ​​the roadside station.

Passing through the souvenir shop, the greenhouse on your left is a display area.

During the summer and autumn seasons, there is a large orchard nearby where visitors can experience the joy of picking fruit by hand, but in winter only the greenhouse remains.

"Go and see?"

"Ah."

Entering the greenhouse from the outside, it's as if the concentrated air of winter is blocked outside the door, but a continuous source of heat is transmitted to your palms.

Masumi instinctively tried to let go, but Kaigetsu gripped her hand even tighter.

"Won't you feel hot like this?"

"will not."

The jellyfish girl, whose tone was always weak, answered with remarkable determination at this moment.

"Yeah."

Masumi smiled and said, "I wish spring would come sooner."

"why?"

Haiyue tilted her head with a curious look.

"In winter, probably because the days are short and the body is more sensitive to the cold, I always feel a bit lonely when I'm alone..."

"Even in other seasons, without Masumi... I'll still feel lonely!"

Masumi was speaking casually when she was interrupted by Kaigetsu in a voice several octaves higher than usual.

Masumi blinked repeatedly, staring blankly at the girl's delicate, doll-like face.

"Yes, yes, no matter what season it is, we can't be apart. I'm sorry, Haiyue."

"Ah."

As if to cover up her slip of the tongue, Haiyue turned her face to the side, and her snow-white ears, peeking out from between her flaxen hair, turned bright red.

It's so exaggerated! The process of turning red is like an erosion, with the bright red color resembling the tentacles of a jellyfish leaping up.

Bright red jellyfish... I think I've heard Haiyue mention this kind of jellyfish before. Indeed, there are many things that cannot be discovered without getting close, just like Haiyue now.

"Haiyue? Are you alright? Did something happen?"

Masumi asked with concern.

"Well."

The heat accumulating on her skin made her head and ears feel so hot they were almost steaming.

Seeing this, Masumi spoke up.

"Let's get out of the greenhouse first."

After saying that, he pulled the silent girl and walked out.

"Watch your step carefully, don't slip."

Masumi gripped her hand more tightly than ever before, to prevent her from falling.

However, when they reached a snowy area, Haiyue's feet inevitably slipped, and she ended up leaning against Masumi.

The scent of Haiyue wafted over along with the aroma of iced crepes, stimulating the nasal passages.

The girl's head rested against Masumi's chest.

However, in the end, it seemed as if Masumi had taken the initiative to hug her.

"Are you alright, Haiyue?"

"Um... I almost slipped and fell in the snowy area..."

Perhaps it was the chilly air that cooled her brain, but Haiyue seemed to calm down a bit and her attitude became more peaceful.

Under Masumi's gaze, she finally slowly opened her heavy lips.

"Ten days... until Valentine's Day..."

"Um, so?"

Valentine's Day...is a day when men and women become lovers...

That's not true.

"Masumi has been getting very close to Rinne lately..."

"Huh? Huh? Is that true?"

"Have."

Haiyue nodded in affirmation without hesitation.

"I've said it before... I'm very sensitive..."

"I'd say your senses are very sharp," Masumi corrected her.

"Recently... Rinne has been carrying... a scent I don't recognize... that of Masumi..."

"What is this? Unfamiliar? My scent?"

"Although I can smell...it's Masumi's scent...but...I've never smelled it on Masumi before..."

Hearing this awkwardly combined phrase, Masumi couldn't help but be surprised.

Haiyue confidently asserted that she was just a jellyfish... no! Just a human, not a police dog, how could she possibly smell the difference in scent?

This means that even though Masumi was the most wary, Mio, whom she was most worried about, didn't notice. How scary.

Ignoring his confusion, Haiyue continued speaking.

"Masumi...why...did you hide this from me?"

"Uh, that—"

"stare--"

"No, how should I put this..."

Huh? What's going on? This is bad, no, it's really bad.

Masumi knows the answer—it's normal for Kaigetsu to feel unfamiliar with it because she did that kind of thing with Rinne—just say it naturally.

Although Masumi could never do that.

"Masumi...it's something I'm too embarrassed to talk about..."

A sudden remark startled him.

Haiyue stared intently at Masumi, as if she could see something that didn't exist.

"I...I'm very unhappy..."

"Then, would you like me to pat your head?" Masumi asked tentatively.

Haiyue seemed to whisper something, but because she was hunched over, it was hard to hear clearly.

Only a faint "no" could be heard.

don't want?

Her face clearly showed dissatisfaction. Although that's what she said, Haiyue probably felt that her head was very heavy, so she tilted it to the side.

So Masumi reached out and touched the back of Mizuki's head, then hugged her tightly, letting the girl's small head rest on her shoulder.

Haiyue's forehead was pressed against Masumi's shoulder.

Even through her coat, she could feel the heat accumulating, and her weak murmur reached Masumi's ears at that moment.

"……not enough."

The whispers, so close yet so far, sounded like moans.

The softest part of Haiyue's heart poured out onto the ground with a sigh.

Because she remained in that position, the two of them looked like a couple cuddling together regardless of the occasion, which made Masumi very worried about what to do.

"I want to... feel everything Masumi feels, just like Rinne..."

"Eh? This is..."

It's not very sound.

It is very incomplete.

"This is...my wish..."

A wish? Masumi belatedly recalled Kaigetsu's "unique" Christmas gift.

"No, using that here would be too cunning."

"I also want to...spend Valentine's Day with Masumi..."

"Um……"

What should I do? Should I grant her wish?

Masumi reflected on herself and realized that she was completely unable to put up any decent resistance.

What's going on? He has a feeling that there's some kind of torrent, something beyond the flow of daily life, stirring up trouble and waiting for him soon.

In ten days, it will be Valentine's Day.

These days, which Masumi used to take for granted, now feel like the Seto Inland Sea under the cover of night.

He was like a small boat that had strayed into the whirlpool of Naruto, destined to be swallowed by that torrent.

(End of this chapter)