Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 338, Section 6: "Immersed in Summer"

After the plum blossoms faded, the world was greeted by the unexpected arrival of summer.

The endless chirping of cicadas was like a fountain flowing outdoors. The summer heat was still stinging, making people want to clear their minds as much as possible, become lazy and lethargic, and do nothing.

Just like Mami and Umi lying on the beanbag chair on their days off.

That's why I always feel that if I don't pay attention, time will just slip away unnoticed, like the summer heat making my head feel dizzy.

In this way, by the end of summer, all that will be left is regret.

What was truly special was the first summer we spent together after confirming our mutual love for each other.

Masumi didn't want to waste her summers like she had before high school, when she spent them doing nothing.

So he carefully chose his words and spoke during a break in the cicadas' chirping:

Let's go somewhere fun together!

"...Huh? No way~"

"...It's so hot...no..."

Their voices were like eyelids still heavy with sleep, even so...

"That was a very decisive refusal."

Masumi sighed in exasperation:

"Don't you feel like you're wasting your time by just staying at home and not moving around all summer?"

"Even if Masumi-kun says that..."

Asami spoke wearily, pausing briefly at this point.

"...There's nothing I can do. In this heat, just stepping outside and standing there takes all my energy."

"Your stamina bar is way too short."

Masumi made a sarcastic remark, then turned to look at the jellyfish-like girl lying face down on the table, her features soft and delicate.

Where is Haiyue?

"It will cause...heat dehydration...so...I don't want to go out..."

"Oh."

Almost forgot, there's also a marine creature here that's afraid of direct sunlight.

Masumi closed the curtains, which were slightly ajar to let in a little sunlight.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be outdoors. There are plenty of activities to do indoors, such as bowling and baseball."

"You'll still sweat, so please allow me to refuse."

"Like last summer, go to the beach and play in the water?"

"No way I'm going to play in the water under such a blazing sun! Besides, Masumi-kun, don't you think swimsuits are just a complete self-deception? They're no different from underwear, how could I possibly wear one out?"

"...Just this time last year, someone was still talking about 'the magic of the summer beach.'"

"Hmph, Lady Mami's magic performances are not open to the public. Masumi-kun should be secretly glad that he had the honor of seeing it last year."

She said it with great pride.

"But I'd rather not squeeze into public beaches or swimming pools."

"Yes, yes, I wasn't planning on going to a public beach or swimming pool anyway... How about we go to Miyako Island again?"

Masumi made this suggestion.

"Another long trip, I'm feeling a bit listless."

"Hey, weren't you always so excited when you talked about traveling?"

"That's how it should be, logically speaking."

Mami sighed:
"Well, we've been to Kyoto, Miyakojima, Gunma, and Shikoku, and so on. We feel like we've suddenly lost some of our goals."

"Don't you have anything you want to do, or any dreams you want to realize?"

"I'm doing it right now."

Mami gave her answer without much thought.

"Spending time lazily like this has been my dream since I was a child!"

When she talked about laziness, her tone unusually became a little more animated.

"Where are the comics?"

"These two things don't conflict; when I put down my pen, I feel this lazy."

"Right."

"Ah."

The topic ends abruptly.

The warm indoor air robbed Masumi of her motivation to expand on the topic.

Even after becoming lovers, their lives didn't seem to change much, except for certain things that were exclusive to lovers.

Although Masumi wanted to protect this unchanging daily routine, there were also more things that made her stop and think more often than before.

Masumi asked again about Mami, who looked limp and very idle.

Don't you often wonder, "Is it really okay not to do more?"

Masumi asked a casual question, and Mami opened her sleepy eyes wide.

Then, the limp and mushy Asami slowly slid off the beanbag chair.

"I see."

Mami lay on the cold floor, squinting her eyes.

"What is it that is like this?"

"So that's why Masumi-kun felt lonely."

Mami lifted her arm, which was slumped on the floor.

"I just can't do anything with you, so let's play games together then~ Little Moon, do you want to play with me?"

"...Mami...her skills are too bad...I'm not playing..."

"Oops! How rude of me!"

Entering lazy mode somewhat diminished Mami's resentment.

"Masumi-kun, could you please find the controller and hand it to me? The floor feels so cool and comfortable, I don't want to move at all~"

"I don't want to play video games. Think about it, in order to be able to stay by each other's side for a long time, we should do something special every year, right?"

"Oh, right? Then Masumi-kun, you'd better do your best!"

"This is something that two people need to work on together, so Mami should do her best too."

"I see."

"This guy is hopeless; he actually answered 'I see' twice in a row."

In this state, Asami is almost completely oblivious to what anyone is saying.

"No, no, I've been listening~ Come on, Masumi-kun, what kind of plan have you come up with?"

"Don't use that workplace tone, okay... Besides, you've never been to a proper workplace before."

"...That being said, wouldn't it be exhausting to have to come up with new ideas every year? I feel like there will come a day when I can't think of any new ideas."

"Mami has a point. It's hard to keep things fresh, and if you put too much effort into preparing the first time, it's difficult to maintain the same quality next time. Sigh, it feels so difficult..."

Masumi's tone unconsciously became very much like she was rambling.

Because if he's the only one worrying about this... wouldn't that make people furious?
As he expected, Mami only briefly showed signs of thinking, seemingly not bothered by the matter at all.

"Masumi-kun is so heavy, so troublesome."

"Your boyfriend will be very hurt by what you're saying."

"Sorry, sorry, what I actually wanted to say was that having worries is a good thing."

"Is that right?"

"Yes, if you don't take something seriously, you won't be bothered."

She finally said something that sounded quite reasonable.

"Because right now, I'm seriously thinking about what to eat for lunch today."

"...Give me back the emotion I felt just now."

"alright."

She said in a weak and listless tone:

"Anyway, Masumi-kun already exhausted me last night, so let me just relax for a bit now~"

"Nothing...anything at all..."

Haiyue answered the question while hitching a ride with Mami.

Masumi sighed, looking utterly dejected as if she had collapsed.

These two guys are completely impervious to reason.

"...Never mind, just pretend I never said anything."

"I'm so disheartened," Masumi said.

Not long after, a piece of music with lyrics that sounded like an anime theme song started playing in the room.

"Mami, your phone is ringing."

"Huh? That's clearly Masumi-kun's phone ringing."

"How could I possibly use such a ringtone... It's actually real? When did you change it?"

"Humph."

Mami happily swung her legs up and down.

Masumi looked at Mami with a "I'll settle this with you later" expression as she picked up her phone.

It was a call from my senior, Rugu.

Masumi answered the phone.

"Hey, senior."

"Ah, hi, Masumi." It's been a long time since I've heard my senior's voice. The last time I heard it was when she said she was going to the aquarium in Hawaii for a short-term study.

As a result, two months passed in an instant.

Upon hearing that it was me, Rugu, Mami suddenly sat up from the floor and swayed back and forth next to Masumi's head.

Masumi chased her away, feeling that she was like a cat that was very attached to the place.

When she waved to shoo her away, she even tried to imitate a cat's meow, but she didn't do it very well and was far from being like Rinne.

To be honest, it sounded more like a bullfrog's croak than a cat's meow. It would be rude to say that, so Masumi only thought about it briefly in her mind.

Whether she was satisfied after calling out for a while or not, she sat down on the spot, stretching out her toes and skillfully controlling the electric fan.

She seemed quite used to doing this, and her toe movements were quite agile.

Three blue leaves, depicting cool color blocks, swirl around.

I also saw this electric fan this summer. How many years has this electric fan been used?
"...It's so lively over there at Masumi's place. I can hear bullfrogs croaking too."

"Senior, we're on the same wavelength."

"Huh, you're starting to express your love like this right away. I'm a little surprised. Is Masumi, who hasn't called me for two months, really so eager for me?"

"No, you misunderstand, senior. But I am very happy to hear your voice again."

As soon as Masumi said that, we saw that not only Mami, but also Kaizuki brought her face closer.

too close.

Masumi held the phone between her shoulder and ear, placed her palms on their foreheads, and pushed their heads forward.

"After finishing my busy work, I can hear my boyfriend's loving confession, and all my fatigue just disappears."

"Little boyfriend?"

Masumi raised her voice slightly in protest.

"Masumi, don't misunderstand, when I said 'little,' I meant age."

"I never misunderstood anything."

Masumi pressed her forehead and sighed, clearly annoyed.

Even though it was over the phone, Masumi could easily imagine the hibiscus-like smile blooming on my stunningly beautiful face.

Its brilliance shines in the sun.

"Alright, alright~ Well then, as an apology, I'll tell Masumi some good news."

Her words sounded gentler than usual, as if she were softly caressing a hazy dream.

The hidden joy within was like a ping-pong ball, bouncing gently on the floor through the phone's speaker.

"...Senior, you wouldn't be saying that now that you've finished your studies and have some free time, you're planning to come to Kobe to see me, would you?"

"Hey! We really are on the same wavelength."

"It's because the senior is too easy to understand."

"It's because Masumi doesn't come to Miyako Island often."

The senior reproached him playfully:

"Then I'll have to go find Masumi."

"I would be very happy if you could come, no matter what."

"...What a cunning answer! Although as a strategist I'm pleased to hear it, as a lover..."

As the old master said, he suddenly paused here, deliberately keeping us in suspense.

"What's it like being lovers...?"

Masumi's heart tightened.

"As lovers... I can't help but feel my heart flutter."

"Isn't that great?"

Masumi was a little dumbfounded by my senior's mischievous personality.

"hehe."

I smiled from the bottom of my heart, like a thousand-year-old ancient man.

"I'll stop here now, I'm about to board the plane, so please look forward to my arrival, Masumi."

"You're always so decisive, senior."

Immediately after Masumi hung up the phone, a single sentence filled the brief silence that had ensued.

"I see."

Ms. Asami gave her third "I see" explanation today.

"I see……"

Haiyue followed slowly.

Two large heat sources approached from the left and right, squeezing Masumi between them, and the high temperature slowly spread through her skin.

"You two... why are you suddenly acting so affectionately?"

"Is it not good?"

After Masumi said that, Mami gave a somewhat awkward reply.

"It won't be bad~"

Masumi was helpless.

However, doing this in a closed room can be a bit hot.

But they probably just like it here.

In peaceful moments, we lean on each other and pop the bubbles in each other's soda water, bringing topics to the surface.

Yet it can also bring a sense of bliss, like taking a nap on a holiday.

Because they found their sense of belonging in Masumi.

When Masumi used this analogy, Asami openly expressed her disdain.

"Huh? That description sounds a bit vulgar."

"It's your thinking that's so flawed."

"What do you think, Little Moon?"

"Masumi... wants to do...?"

"Do not want to."

Masumi held down Kaigetsu's restless little hand, inserted her fingers between hers, palms facing each other, fingers interlocked, and used gentle strength to stop the jellyfish girl's invasion.

Then slowly pulled out Haiyue's hand that had been inside her T-shirt.

I just can't do anything with you.

Masumi scratched her hair, but her hand was grabbed.

It was Mami who held his hand tightly.

Why are you suddenly doing this?

"I caught a pale red pufferfish."

Mami grabbed his hand and raised it high with a "Yay!"

"What the heck is this pale red inkfish?"

"Doesn't Masumi-kun think his habits are similar to those of this fish?"

Mami gave a meaningful smile.

Masumi retorted flatly:

"I'm not a foot fetishist...it's just an appreciation of beauty...besides, you've been using your feet to seduce me before..."

"The purpose of this seduction is to lure out Masumi-kun's true colors!"

Asami smiled with narrowed eyes.

"It was a great success."

"Where did this great success come from?"

Masumi sighed.

"I want to...hold hands too..."

Haiyue raised her hand high.

"Sure, but you two aren't allowed to do anything bad."

After receiving permission, she held Masumi's hand tightly.

They are inextricably linked.

The curtains that Masumi had just closed tightly were suddenly opened a little by the wind.

The intense summer sunlight streamed into the room, shining perfectly on the arms of Mami and Haizuki as they reached out to hold hands.

Let their arms be like a bright bridge between him and them.

"Holding hands is great, isn't it? It's so heartwarming."

Mami smiled sweetly at him.

"It's very hot."

It will take some time for the room, which has been warmed by the strong sunlight, to cool down.

Holding hands until then was a bit too warm.

"It's good that it's hot."

After Mami finished speaking, she laughed again.

Where is it good? -- Masumi's thought only lasted for a moment.

"...Yeah, that's true."

As Masumi said this, she felt a warmth flowing down the two women's slender fingertips.

It was a very gentle warmth that wouldn't get too hot even in the heat of summer.

(End of this chapter)