Chapter 288: Something Went Wrong?

If Kasumigaoka lost, then that was Yukinoshita’s victory.

Using a provocation against her?

Such insolence deserved payback!

Yukinoshita walked out of the hospital room and left triumphantly.

“Yukino-chan, where are you going?”

Yuigahama asked curiously.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Facing Yuigahama’s question, Yukinoshita didn’t explain further, only leaving behind a cool figure.

Yuigahama stared blankly at the direction Yukinoshita left.

“It’s your turn.”

Kasumigaoka poked Yuigahama. Seeing the other didn’t respond, thoughts stirred in her mind.

“Should I go first?”

When drawing lots, she had accidentally gotten the last turn.

Being the last turn, it might sound really great, but it was actually nothing like that at all.

Think about it; when it was her turn, the game with Akito would be used leftovers. By then, it might not even work properly.

Especially now, seeing Yukinoshita coming out after just five minutes of playtime made her worry more.

Was Himekoji already worn out? Otherwise, why did it end early?

“Oh? Ah! No way!”

Yuigahama snapped back to the present when hearing Kasumigaoka trying to cut in line. She shook her head repeatedly.

She looked warily at that black-haired, straight-haired Senpai for a moment, then darted into the hospital room like a flash.

When Yukinoshita hit Himekoji, she did it carefully.

She struck places that made Himekoji hurt without easily injuring him or leaving marks.

The perfect girl, Yukinoshita, didn’t need lessons in hitting others either.

Because of this, Yuigahama couldn’t tell that Himekoji had just been beaten badly by Yukinoshita.

The girl quietly pulled a chair and sat down by Himekoji’s bed.

This time, was it Eriri, Kasumigaoka, or Yuigahama?

Himekoji pretended to sleep with eyes closed. He couldn’t see, but his ears were sharp. In his mind, he guessed who had come.

But, whoever it was, asking them to help remove the tape should be fine, right?

Oh, right, as long as it wasn’t Kasumigaoka!

His mouth was sealed with tape, so he couldn’t speak, making him really miserable.

So Himekoji stopped pretending to sleep. He opened his blind eyes and started communicating.

“Mfhmm.”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Akito?”

It was Yuigahama, judging by the voice.

Good, thank heavens it wasn’t the Senpai this round. Otherwise, he might not even scream for help.

“Mfhmm!”

“What are you saying?”

Well, everything had pros and cons. The downside of it being Yuigahama appeared right away—

She was well-built but not the smartest, making talking hard.

Damnit! If you want to know what I’m saying, just help me peel off the tape!

Lucky, Himekoji was prepared, or he might’ve died from anger.

“Is Akito needing to go to the bathroom again?”

“Mfhmm!”

Not a chance!

Himekoji rolled his eyes and grumbled, still frustrated.

But the language barrier remained.

Hearing Himekoji’s loud “mfhmm,” Yuigahama thought he was holding back urine for a long time, desperate. So she quickly offered help.

“I’ll sing for Akito to ease the urge to pee!”

Singing to ease the need to pee? Seriously?

Then, Yuigahama actually started humming a little tune.

Himekoji was stunned!

As he listened, he suddenly felt a bit like he had to pee now when he didn’t before.

It wasn’t that Yuigahama sang badly; actually, truth be told, she sang pretty well.

After all, she often went to karaoke spots as a normie, so her singing skills were great.

But Himekoji still had to interrupt her with “mfhmm” sounds.

He feared Yuigahama would get excited with singing, run two or three songs, and finish the ten-minute visit.

Then, with his mouth taped shut, unable to scream for help, if caught by that voracious Kasumigaoka Senpai, he’d be lucky to leave even a bone behind?

“Mfhmm!”

After trying to communicate with that fool who put all her smarts into her chest for a few more minutes, through sheer hard work, she finally had a flash of insight and peeled the tape off Himekoji.

“Akito, want some fruit?”

Struggling so long over something small left Yuigahama feeling sorry. To make up for it, she tried to be extra helpful.

“No…”

Himekoji was so mad at Yuigahama he couldn’t care less about fruit. He readied a sharp refusal.

But halfway through, he thought of something—

“Yes!”

He suddenly changed his mind.

“Well, my hands are still… cough, still inconvenient because of that… uh, from Yukinoshita. So please help me cut it into small pieces.”

“No trouble at all.”

Yuigahama seemed happy to help Himekoji and waved her hands repeatedly.

The girl seemed clumsy at first glance, but she was surprisingly good at peeling apples.

In a flash, she handled it smoothly, cutting a whole apple into neat little chunks.

“Ah—”

Himekoji couldn’t see, so Yuigahama used her voice to signal him to open his mouth.

Fresh, glistening fruit was placed near Himekoji’s mouth by her hand.

Nice!

Now!

Himekoji opened his mouth and bit!

“Huh?!”

Yuigahama cried out in surprise.

Himekoji’s mouth opened way too wide!

What got pulled into Himekoji’s mouth wasn’t just the apple… but her hand too!

Yuigahama’s face instantly turned bright red, flushing all the way down to her neck.

“Slurp~”

Himekoji brazenly sucked the fruit flesh into his mouth while giving a lick to Yuigahama’s smooth fingertip.

Hmm, not bad. Would’ve been nicer if it was medium-well.

Oh right, did Yuigahama wash her hands before peeling the apple?

Strange thoughts flickered through Himekoji’s mind in that moment.

[Ding!]

[Collection successful!]

[Taste of Yuigahama’s hand, get!]

[Task progress—1/18!]

[Remaining task time—28 days!]

Indeed! Without Yukinoshita messing things up, the task was going much smoother!

Himekoji felt a little cheered inside.

Although he was cheered up, thinking that he’d only finished one eighteenth of the task made his head ache.

Besides, the remaining 17/18 were definitely harder than “Yuigahama’s hand”.

“Here, ah—”

While Himekoji was agonizing over this, a still-flushed Yuigahama pushed the next piece of fruit near his mouth.

Without thinking, Himekoji opened his mouth.

Then, without thinking, he gave another lick.

The fruit flesh was fragrant and delicious, but Yuigahama’s fingertip wasn’t bad either.

[Ding!]

[Collection successful!]

[Taste of Yuigahama’s mouth, get!]

[Taste of Yuigahama’s tongue, get!]

[Taste of Yuigahama’s saliva, get!]

[Task progress—4/18!]

[Remaining task time—28 days!]

“Huh? Wait!”

What was happening?

Hearing the System’s robotic announcement, Himekoji was stunned…

Seriously, the System must have malfunctioned!

He’d just accidentally licked Yuigahama’s finger again, so why had it collected the taste of her mouth, tongue, and saliva all at once?