Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 326, Section 12: "Buses are not places to run wild!"

"Phew, I'm so full. I ate a lot."

"Asami's belly is all bulging."

"No, no! Chii must have seen it wrong, right? Masumi-kun, hey?"

Mami turned her head and gave him a frantic look.

"Oh, yes."

Masumi nodded.

"It's more like it's always been like this, it's never changed... It hurts!"

My calf was kicked hard.

"What kind of talk is that! Is Masumi-kun just naturally slow-witted, or is he deliberately teasing me?"

Asami's pink lips curved into a dangerous arc as she stared sharply at him.

"No, I'm just telling the truth... It hurts! I've already said it hurts!"

Masumi stepped back, her calf constantly being kicked in the same spot by this guy with his toes.

The six people left the restaurant noisily.

It was getting late, and they were about to change hotels.

The new hotel is located in Takamatsu City, the capital of Kagawa Prefecture, which is next to Ehime Prefecture.

The express bus journey from Matsuyama to Takamatsu takes about three hours, and everyone boarded the bus with their luggage.

Masumi had originally bought a bus pass online and reserved a seat in advance, but now it seems that she had worried for nothing.

"Wow! It feels like we've booked the whole place."

Asami looked around the empty carriage and said.

"It's less like booking the whole place and more like a school trip."

Qian Ai said with great interest.

The bus has a design with two seats side by side, and curtains can be drawn to separate the aisle from the outside view. However, considering the density of the space, it's only slightly better than nothing.

"Eh, in that case, Asahina-san~"

Asami approached in a pretentious manner:
"Should I sit with Mami-senpai?"

"Never!"

Chiai refused without hesitation, and her disdain was blatant.

"Sister Mami just drank alcohol. What if she throws up on me because of the bus's bumpy ride?"

"That's so mean! I would never do something so unladylike!"

"Asami-nee is clearly only female in appearance~ Her usual behavior is no different from that of a noisy old man in an izakaya!"

"how come……"

Mami stared wide-eyed in disbelief, seemingly deeply shocked.

Although Chiai felt a pang of pity for a moment, her heart hardened again as she recalled the scenes of Mami kicking her off the bed or pinning her down and causing her nightmares.

"Anyway, this time I'm not going with Asami-nee, I'm going with..."

Qian Ai grabbed the arm of the person who happened to be passing by.

"I want to sit with...Mio-neechan?! Uh, Mio-neechan."

"what?"

An unhappy voice came from in front of her, and Mio Obsidian's eyes widened, her brows furrowing in a deep frown.

It's as if they're saying, "What is this guy talking about?"

She exuded an aura of extreme displeasure, causing Chiai to shrug and fall silent for a moment before being replaced by Mami.

"Huh? Is it a combination of Chiai and Mio?"

Mami was somewhat surprised, her gaze shifting between the astonished Chiai and the displeased Mio, her expression as if she were observing rare animals.

"That's quite rare. I thought you two would both be vying for Masumi-kun's attention. Since that's the case, I'll reluctantly sit with Masumi-kun then."

Asami said this with a grin.

"Huh? Wait a minute..."

"Wait!"

Without saying a word, she pulled Masumi, who had just returned after putting down her luggage, and looked at the three of them, who were frozen in shock and tilting their heads in confusion.

Perhaps because her hands were empty and she didn't know what to do, Mami stepped forward and took Masumi's arm, her soft palm naturally gripping his left hand.

"Alright~ Masumi-kun, let's sit together."

"Eh? Oh, okay."

Masumi nodded, puzzled, and was pushed by Asami into her seat, whereupon the curtain was pulled tightly shut.

As for Rinne and Kaigetsu, they had already settled into their seats in the back row, just like a mother taking care of her daughter.

Only a dumbfounded Chiai and a dissatisfied Mio remained in the corridor.

"...How could that be? I clearly wanted to sit with Masumi-nii."

"Do you think I don't want to?"

Mio's expression remained extremely unpleasant, her radiant honey-gold hair cascading down her chest.

"Are you going to continue standing here?"

"Oh, oh."

After the last group took their seats, the seating arrangement on the bus became clear—

Window: Chiai & Mio: passageway
Window: Masumi & Asami: Corridor

Window: Haiyue & Rinne: Corridor

—This kind of arrangement.

After leaving the city, the bus began to speed up.

"Sigh, it's pitch black outside, I can't see anything."

Asami pressed her entire upper body against the glass window to observe the outside.

“The Jiangzhou Bian (dialect) has come out.”

"Does Masumi-kun have nothing else to say?"

Mami turned her head away with a displeased expression.

"Since we've come all the way to Shikoku Island, which has both mountains and sea, we should pay more attention to the scenery along the way."

Masumi follows the good and follows the flow.

"That's true. How about looking at the stars overhead?"

"Oh. Stars, the starry sky in Shikoku is beautiful too."

The spring night sky is very clear, and the Spring Triangle can be clearly found by following the arc extended by the Big Dipper.

Of course, there are many other constellations in the sky, but unfortunately, Masumi only knows a few familiar celestial bodies such as the Big Dipper, the Four Seasons Triangle, and Orion.

There are countless things visible to the naked eye, just like the people in the world, but he is only willing to invest his heart and form bonds with a few of them.

He thought Mami felt the same way.

"...Even though I can't remember a single name, she's still very pretty!"

Mami sighed in admiration to herself.

"And it feels like we're very close to the mountain peaks."

She held onto the car window and said that the highest peak of the mountain was flattened because it was pressed against the glass, as if it were looking up at a star that might fall at any moment.

"Oh, yes."

Masumi nodded and repeated.

"From Masumi-kun's position, you probably can't see the distant mountains very clearly, right?"

Yes, all we can see are your mountains.

"Then come a little closer."

Mami pressed herself against the glass window and waved to him, wanting Masumi to come closer to see.

Masumi reluctantly accepted her kindness and moved closer to her.

"How about that? Did you see it? That mountain is so majestic."

Asami's beautiful profile was right in front of me.

In order to let Masumi see the mountain she mentioned, she awkwardly twisted her voluptuous body in the narrow space, turned her face to the side, and glanced out the window, as if she were sending Masumi a flirtatious look.

"Could that mountain be Mount Ishihami? I saw it in a travel guide; it's supposedly the highest peak in Shikoku."

Mami's voice was filled with the sweet breath she exhaled.

In an unnatural and awkward posture, she exhaled, and the fair skin exposed from her neck to her chest rose and fell slowly with her breath, appearing inexplicably sensual, charming, and full of spring passion.

Is that so? This is Mount Ishichi. No wonder it's the highest peak in Shikoku...

Masumi's peak is almost here...

"Masumi-kun."

As Mami, who was about to move her body and find a comfortable position, suddenly blushed and spoke.

"what happened again?"

"You're poking me."

"..."

◇

Then, silence returned to the car.

Mami stopped admiring the scenery by the window, took off her shoes, and sat on the cramped chair with her legs bent and her knees drawn up to her chest, occasionally glancing at Masumi with a wary look.

Soft breathing came from the back row. Haiyue rested her head on Rinne's shoulder, and the mother and daughter snuggled together and fell asleep.

Masumi turned her neck to look at the row in front and found that Mio and Chia were also sleeping.

The scene was reminiscent of sitting on a bus on the way back from a school trip or field trip. The students were all exhausted from playing and had no energy left, so the whole bus fell into silence.

Masumi, however, was not too engrossed in the moment and was enjoying the view outside the window while remaining sober.

Towering mountains press against the high guardrails along the highway, and buses rise and fall between mountains and plains, surrounded by the Seto Inland Sea and the Shikoku Mountains.

Of course, the fact that all the "female classmates" in his class were his lovers is another matter entirely.

"Masumi-kun."

Mami spoke out abruptly, her voice unusually loud in the quiet car.

"Ok?"

When was the last time we sat together like this?

Asami's tone was so gentle, as if she were touching on memories.

"Let me think... it's the bus from Songshan Port to the city center."

"..."

"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?"

Her unhappy expression was vaguely reflected in the car window.

"Honestly, if Masumi-kun keeps being so clueless about romance, he'll lose me~"

"Huh, Mami, are you perhaps referring to that time you took the Shinkansen from Kusatsu to Tokyo?"

"If it's clear, then don't make me give you all sorts of hints."

Mami sighed, her long eyelashes trembling gently like butterfly wings.

"On that day, I traveled to a distant city with a guy around my age for the first time. We met for the first time at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, the editorial office... and went to a love hotel for the first time. I enjoyed many first experiences, and I transformed from 'Seno' into 'Asami.'"

"Uh, yeah. That's true, but the way you put it sounds a bit weird...?"

Masumi's expression was strange. Or rather, somewhat unsettling...

Mami glared at him unhappily.

"Isn't everything I said true?"

"That's true."

Masumi raised the white flag to surrender, and seeing him like this, Mami turned her head away without bothering to argue with him.

"I feel so nostalgic..."

She rested her chin on her knees, and under the bright orange light of the streetlamp, she murmured a sigh.

"I remember just last year when Masumi-kun and I really got to know each other, and now a year has passed..."

"yes……"

Looking back, it was just a fleeting moment, yet it was the longest year of my life.

Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that a certain thing often undergoes a decisive change only at that one moment.

"..."

Mami suddenly tugged at Masumi's sleeve.

Masumi looked at her, her brown eyes seeming to be asking for something.

Then she closed her eyelids and pouted her lips slightly at Masumi.

Huh? Is that what you mean?

"There are other people right next to you, aren't you afraid of being discovered?"

Masumi lowered her voice and said.

"Discover?"

Mami slightly opened her eyes and tilted her head slightly to show her confusion.

"What did you find? Wasn't everyone asleep?"

This time, it was Masumi's turn to be surprised.

"Huh! Mami is really bold. Well then, I'll grant your wish."

Masumi then subtly moved her face closer.

Like a gentle breeze, their lips met.

After a slight pause, Mami yielded to the perfect harmony between their bodies, squinted her eyes, and wrapped her arms around Masumi's neck, passionately returning the kiss.

A few seconds later, Masumi ended the kiss, and Mami opened her eyes in front of him, staring at him with a hint of resentment.

"...Isn't Masumi-kun a little lewd?"

"If it's just a little bit, I'd actually feel relieved."

"I can't believe it," Masumi said shamelessly.

"No, there are so many, as many as the fish in the Seto Inland Sea! As many as the mountains of Shikoku—"

After Asami raised her voice slightly to complain, Masumi extended her index finger and pressed it against her lips.

"Shh—you're shouting so loudly, you'll wake them up."

"Since that's the case, Masumi-kun, please don't do anything reckless on the bus!"

Mami pushed hard against Masumi's shoulder, her face flushed.

Masumi pressed on, gently biting the corner of her lip, and said:

"Because Mami did a great job just now, she was unusually serious about being in love, so I'm going to reward you."

"W-what reward?"

Asami sensed a hidden meaning in Masumi's words, felt a jolt in her heart, and had a bad feeling. She quickly backed away.

"Don't do anything reckless, it's easy to get caught."

Mami's concerns were not unfounded. Although the bus seats had curtains that created a little privacy, the rows in front and behind were very close together, so there were no complete blind spots.

If any extreme behavior is observed, it will definitely be discovered.

Masumi is really too bold.

Masumi made a shushing gesture and said with a smile:
"No one will notice unless Mami screams."

Mami curled her toes on the seat, desperately trying to stop Masumi.

The breathing of the girls around them came and went, creating a tranquil atmosphere, yet there were other people making noises as well.

While she was worried about her vision, there was nothing in the area that Mami could see when she opened her eyes.

Safe yet dangerous, Mami momentarily forgot how to make a judgment.

The only thing that's clear now is that Masumi is quietly preparing to feast.

"Masumi-kun, no, not here..."

If her pride allowed her to beg for mercy recklessly, she would definitely plead with Masumi to stop.

The relentless invasion is like covering someone's mouth and nose and throwing them into the deep sea; that ethereal, mind-dispersing feeling is exhilarating, yet also incredibly unsettling.

"hold me."

Masumi ordered.

He leaned down to look at Mami, his deep gaze sweeping over her, his eyes seemingly carrying heat and implications.

With just one glance, Mami revealed a submissive attitude, wrapping her arms around Masumi's neck.

Masumi lowered her head and kissed Mami, then said in a deep voice:

"I want to hear Mami's voice. If I hear it, I'll let you go."

Mami tilted her head back, pointed her toes, and glanced at Masumi with a dazed look in her eyes.

Masumi raised the corners of her mouth.

"Do as I say."

"Really, really..."

Mami's speech was incoherent, and she could only manage to speak with difficulty by grabbing Masumi's shoulder.

Masumi wasn't in a hurry at all. She leisurely pecked at Mami's lips, letting Mami's voice flow into her ears, and then commanded again:

"Call my name."

Mami bit her lower lip:
"M-Masumi-kun."

Masumi shook her head.

"Let's be more intimate."

Mami paused for a moment, then finally said:
"Masumi."

Masumi's heart skipped a beat. Mami's slightly hoarse and deep voice made Masumi feel that it was the most beautiful, melodious and pleasant voice in the world.

Asami looks the most beautiful and moving thing in the world right now.

He recalled that back then on the Tokaido Shinkansen, Asami had repeatedly asked him to call her "Asami".

It turns out that having someone hold your name in their mouth and call it out in a sticky, cuddly voice over and over again is such a wonderful thing.

"Scream again."

Masumi said, still unsatisfied.

"Masumi..."

Mami bit her lip, her voice barely audible, her face flushed red.

"Can you..."

"beg me."

Masumi, hearing the gentle breeze of spring, was not about to let her go so easily.

"Don't... don't push your luck!"

Asami tilted her head back and took a deep breath, like a drowning person whose face had surfaced.
"That's quite a boast, so there's no reward."

Masumi gave a mischievous smile.

"Now comes the punishment. Are you ready to accept it?"

(End of this chapter)