In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

Leaving aside the situation inside the room, let's shift our focus to the living room outside.

The sudden question from Chiya Minamoto in the quiet night startled Eriri, who was lurking outside the door.

When she was so focused, Eriri almost cried out "Ugh!"

Fortunately, in that moment of fright, my hand moved faster than my voice to tightly cover my mouth, preventing any sound from escaping.

But I still have to answer, even though I don't know how Chiya found me outside the room.

"Yes, it's me, Chiyo. You're still awake so late?" Eriri pressed herself against the door, trying her best to act nonchalant. Because she was afraid of disturbing others, she spoke very softly, but it was enough for Chiyo inside the room to hear her reply.

"Well!"

Saeko, what are you doing?!

"Well?"

Eriri frowned in confusion at the strange humming coming from inside the room.

"Ugh—" Yuan Qianye immediately pretended that he was stretching and yawning, justifying the sound he had just made.

Eriri's doubts subsided somewhat, but she still felt something was off. However, at that moment, Chiyo didn't give her time to think: "Eri, aren't you asleep yet this late?"

You didn't sleep either.

"Um, I drank too much water last night and had to get up to use the restroom. By the way, Qianye, I think I vaguely heard you talking to someone just now."

"I was watching a movie, maybe the volume was a bit too loud, you must have misheard me."

"I see..."

"Get some rest. We're going to spend the whole day exploring the area tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Um... Goodnight."

Having said all that, Eriri, even if she still had doubts, didn't say anything more and frowned as she walked towards the bathroom.

Seeing her walk away from his door, Yuan Qianye breathed a slight sigh of relief.

I never expected you to be like this, Saeko, crawling into other people's clothes without warning.

Did I buy you these loose-fitting pajamas for you to wear like this?!

It does feel quite comfortable...

Saeko pulled her head out, breathing shallowly with her lips slightly parted. She was cunning yet incredibly timid, making it impossible to associate her with the Yamato Nadeshiko image she usually projected.

Nowadays, there is no trace of elegance, gentleness, and restraint left. Proper speech and behavior have also disappeared. She is just like a cat that has successfully stolen a fish and is full of grease!

Having tasted the incredibly delicious food, I broke the hole and felt I couldn't bear it any longer.

"Eri probably hasn't noticed, right?"

"If you're worried about that, then don't do it now."

"I couldn't help it... but I didn't expect Qianye to lose control."

Refers to sound.

While they lack experience in other areas, it's not to the point that they've embarrassed themselves so quickly.

"So you mean it's my fault?" Yuan Qianye pinched her mouth, his tone more of pampering than blaming.

“I’m sorry…” Saeko lay down and hugged him again, burying her face in his neck: “…I don’t want to go back like this.”

Yuan Qianye understood what she meant: "Let's wait for Eriri to go back to her room."

"Um……"

But Eriri, who had just arrived at the bathroom, found it increasingly strange, not to mention Chiya's somewhat eerie groan.

When she first approached the door, she did hear Qianye's voice, followed by a rustling sound, like soft plastic.

Based on her status as Qianye's childhood friend, it's certain that it wasn't a sound from a movie.

Arriving at the toilet, Eriri rolled up her yukata, pulled down her pure white panties to her ankles, and looked worriedly at something.

A moment later, after wiping herself clean, she stood up, and her small panties slapped against her soft flesh.

She pressed the flush button, and with the sound of the swirling water, she made a decision.

After coming out of the bathroom, she saw that the faint light was no longer coming from the gap under Qianye's door, indicating that the lights inside were turned off.

Eriri hesitated upon seeing this situation.

Qianye is resting now; it doesn't seem appropriate to disturb him...

She was very conflicted and stood quietly in the living room for a long time.

During this time, she did not hear any more sounds coming from Qianye's room.

A moment later, she turned and walked towards her room.

But when she got to her own door and her hand was already on the doorknob, she suddenly shook her head violently.

No, she felt she wouldn't be able to sleep all night if she didn't figure it out.

At that moment, a very clever idea suddenly popped into her little head.

Whether the situation I was worried about actually happened or not, there was no need to go to Qianye's room to confirm.

I could have used a different approach, employing the process of elimination...

Eriri turned her head to look to one side, about three or five steps away.

It's Saeko's and Kasumigaoka Utaha's room. If you open the door carefully and take a quick look, the truth will be revealed.

Was it just my imagination, or... did it actually happen?

"Gurgle."

Eriri swallowed hard, then cautiously approached Saeko and Utaha's room.

We're all girls, it's okay...

Besides, I had no other intentions or malicious intent...

This is also for the sake of my sleep quality...

After mentally giving yourself a series of reasons to convince yourself.

Eriri placed her hand on the doorknob and slowly pressed it down.

"Bah-"

Suddenly, the faint sound of a door hinge opening could be heard in the quiet space.

But it wasn't the door that stood before Eriri.

The sound came from behind her.

It was at this very moment.

"Eriri?" Chiya Minamoto asked, puzzled, as she opened her bedroom door. "You haven't gone to rest yet?"

Eh? !

Feeling guilty, Eriri appeared extremely flustered after being caught red-handed for the second time in a short period of time. She immediately stopped and turned away.

The dim nightlight that was always on in the living room at night cast a warm yellow light, illuminating Yuan Qianye's handsome face.

"Ah... I... I'm going to rest now!"

"Is that so?" He smiled, his expression as gentle as ever, which made Eriri relax a lot.

Her instinctive reaction was to keep looking into his room, but because of the poor lighting, she couldn't see the details of the room behind him.

Because her focus had shifted, she didn't notice that Yuan Qianye's posture was somewhat strange, with his upper body hunched forward, like an elderly person, or like one of those slow-moving zombies in a horror movie.

"I'm a little thirsty, so I came out to get a bottle of mineral water."

Gen Chiya walked out of his room with a slight bow, heading towards the small refrigerator in the living room. When his back was to Eriri, he resumed his normal upright posture.

"oh oh."

"By the way, I'm also having trouble sleeping. Eriri, you're awake too. Shall we have a chat? It seems like it's been a long time since we last had a private conversation."

After taking the water, Chiya suddenly turned to Eriri and made this suggestion.

This sudden suggestion completely stunned Eriri.

"Okay, okay."

"Then come to my room. Talking in the living room might disturb other people."

"Ok!"

Eriri left the doorway of Saeko and Utaha's room.

Someone let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The door was closed.

Following the gentle patting motion of Gen Chiya beside her, Eriri sat down properly on the bed next to him.

Using the gesture of scratching her head, Eriri quickly and warily surveyed her surroundings.

There was no sign of anyone, nor any suspicious activity.

So it turns out I was overthinking things...

Eriri breathed a sigh of relief the moment the crisis was averted.

And then, in that moment of relaxation, naturally...

hiss--

call--

Take a deep breath, then slowly exhale.

The smell in Qianye's room is so nice...

As always, the tsundere and shy Eriri, although she has a clear affection for her childhood friend, never dares to make any overly obvious or ambiguous words or actions to flirt with him.

But even now, this kind of quiet, self-satisfied behavior still shows the courage to put it into practice.