Chapter 305: Going, I Must Go
Chapter 305: Going, I Must Go
“The phone number for the job place? I’ll contact them.”
“Don’t… I’ll do it myself…”
Nanami’s exhaled breaths were scorching and her eyes were too heavy to open. Even so, defiantly refusing Himekoji’s help, she reached for the phone mounted near the Genkan.
Nanami’s phone had been disconnected last month.
She claimed students could live without a phone, though Himekoji found that hard to believe.
Himekoji himself would feel like dying after just one day without his.
“This is Aoyama… Yes, apologies, but I feel unwell with a fever… Yes… Yes, thank you… Truly, I’m sorry. Thank you…”
Between coughs, Nanami hung up.
Those few actions drained her completely. Unsteadily, she collapsed to the floor, lacking any strength to rise.
“Get to the hospital.”
Before she could protest, Himekoji decisively hoisted her onto his back.
Her body felt like fire; hot breaths hitting the nape of his neck made him frown as he forcefully lifted her higher.
His palm accidentally pressed firmly against Nanami’s bottom, separated only by her thin summer skirt.
“Akito, sexual harassment.”
Though worried for Nanami, Mashiro, standing nearby, still puffed her cheeks angrily at Himekoji.
“Not the time for this!”
“S-Stop groping…”
Perhaps startled awake by Mashiro’s words, Nanami’s fever-flushed face grew hotter as she protested with acute embarrassment.
“I-I’m not groping! Emergencies call for action!”
Himekoji argued frantically—
[Ding!]
[Please choose!]
[A: Definitely grope Nanami! Slide beneath her skirt!]
[B: Don’t neglect Mashiro nearby! Slide beneath her skirt!]
[Reward: 5,000 2D Points!]
Huh?!
Reading the choices surprised Himekoji. He wasn’t shocked by the system’s ill timing—that was usual for him—but instead, by the absence of punishments!
Plus, the reward was 5,000 2D Points, which he hadn’t seen in ages.
No punishments? Why pick anything?
But he still had to select something since skipping caused headaches. He’d just fail later!
Yet his eyes lingered greedily on:
[5,000 2D Points!]
“Gulp.”
Himekoji stared hard at the reward, swallowing dryly.
Upgrading the System to Version 3.0 required 1 million 2D Points.
Just 200 missions at this payout would do it!
No… if lucky, maybe fewer.
Upgrade meant change. Change meant hope…
He struggled for two endless seconds.
Forgive me, Nanami… just this once, I must exploit misery!
Himekoji’s trembling but determined hand slid resolutely beneath Nanami’s skirt. No inner conflict now.
This perverted act added to countless others!
Compared to a future without perversion, what was one more misdeed?
That hand firmly supported Nanami’s bottom beneath her skirt, freeing his other hand.
“Huh? Stop! What are you—? Is this… not groping?! Your… emergency action?!”
The fever made her skin scalding, so Himekoji’s sudden Sexual Harassment Hand brought brief, chilling relief.
Though delirious from fever, the violation woke her completely.
“L-Let go!”
Ignoring her cry, Himekoji felt unfinished. He wasn’t neglecting Mashiro either this time.
Forgive me, Mashiro!
He pulled Mashiro close and flipped her skirt. Experienced and skilled!
[Ding!]
[Quest Completed!]
[Reward: 5,000 2D Points!]
[Ding!]
[Quest Completed!]
[Reward: 5,000 2D Points!]
Two chimes!
10,000 total!
Combined with his leftover 233, only 989,767 remained for 1 million…
“Akito is truly fair.”
Foolish Mashiro, just fondled and teased, stood praising him…
Dang it, my heart ached!
Her trusting eyes after being violated felt even worse than a sore neck!
Wait, no—the neck hurt badly!
“Aoyama! L-Let go! Is your brain fried? Why bite me?”
Too weak to resist, yet unable to bear Himekoji groping beneath her skirt, Nanami resorted to her sole destructive option:
BITE.
She bit down hard on Himekoji’s neck.
“Hiss…”
“Let go, let go! My hand is out of your skirt already! That was just an accident—it doesn’t count!”
Even though Himekoji shouted like that, Nanami on his back showed no response at all.
“Huh?”
But as Himekoji froze for a second, the bite on his neck suddenly stopped.
Nanami finally let go, and the girl’s head fell weakly onto Himekoji’s shoulder, cold sweat pouring from her forehead.
“Hey, are you okay?”
He got no answer.
Heat from Nanami’s body, fierce and burning, seeped into Himekoji from his back, filling him with unease all over.
Damn, Nanami was burning up like this, and he was wasting no time?
Himekoji finally remembered the main thing—the top priority now was to get Nanami to the hospital!
“Shiina, you and Akiko watch the house.”
After saying that, without waiting for Mashiro to respond, Himekoji rushed to put on his shoes and dashed out the door.
At seven in the evening, it was rush hour in the neighborhood, with crowded streets, heavy traffic, and constant car horns.
Himekoji gave up on hailing a taxi and ran all the way with Nanami on his back, reaching the Machida Hospital near the shopping district in the shortest time.
Emergency ward.
The diagnosis showed that overworking had weakened her immunity, leading to summer flu.
After prescribing fever-reducing medicine and vitamin supplements, the doctor also scolded Himekoji harshly.
The doctor said he should never have let Nanami push herself so much.
Himekoji stood there quietly, not daring to speak, just listening.
He felt regret and guilt inside.
“If only I’d known…”
He started to say something, but after thinking about it, he swallowed his words.
It was too late for those words to help now.
Besides, even if he had warned her earlier, Nanami might not have listened to him; Himekoji knew all too well how stubborn she was.
Just last month, wasn’t there an incident like that? He had meant to show care, and they ended up in a huge fight.
“She must rest well these next few days. Even though she’s young and heals quickly, she needs at least three or four days of bed rest.”
“Yes, absolutely, I will make sure of it.”
Himekoji nodded and agreed repeatedly.
…
When Himekoji returned home with Nanami on his back, Akiko and Mashiro were sitting in the living room, looking very worried, waiting for them both.
“Onii-chan, is Nanami okay? What happened? What did the doctor say?”
The moment she saw Himekoji back, Akiko jumped up from the sofa, ran over rapidly, and asked questions one after another.
Even though she wished every day for Nanami to move out to reduce a rival, the worry on her face was real now.
“Akito, what about Nanami? What about tomorrow…”
Mashiro followed close behind her.
“Shh—”
Himekoji made a gesture for them to be a bit quieter, signaling that Nanami was asleep on his back now.
He quickly explained the situation to them, then carried Nanami into the room.
Carefully settling Nanami onto the bed, she woke up partway, but only opened her eyes halfway and let Himekoji do as he pleased.
Seeing this, Himekoji thought to himself it was “just right,” or else he would have had to wake her again later for her medicine.
“I’ll go get the medicine now.”
As Himekoji started to stand up, his wrist was suddenly grabbed by Nanami.
Nanami’s palm was very hot and covered in sweat.
“What is it?”
Himekoji turned to her and asked in the gentlest voice he could manage.
“I need to go… tomorrow…”
Her lips moved painfully, opening and closing, as Nanami kept mumbling.
“I must go… I have to…”
Her brow was painfully scrunched, and she could barely open her eyes; likely, she didn’t even know what she was saying—like it was just a dream.
“Yeah, I know.”
Himekoji promised her.
As soon as she heard the answer, Nanami’s grip on Himekoji’s hand went limp.
Her hand dropped onto the bed, and after a brief moment of being awake, she lost consciousness again, falling deeply asleep.
Himekoji came out of Nanami’s room and ran into Akiko and Mashiro’s worried gazes.
“What should we do tomorrow?”
Everyone there knew Nanami had a very important Midterm Performance Showcase tomorrow.
However slow they might be, they could all sense Nanami’s tension and focus these past few days; sometimes at night, when any of them went to the bathroom and passed Nanami’s room, they could hear her practicing from inside.
“Sigh, she was even saying in her sleep that she must go tomorrow.”
Himekoji shook his head and sighed like that.
She could skip her part-time job tonight, but tomorrow was impossible.
For Nanami, tomorrow’s Midterm Performance Showcase was the most special and important day of the year; hadn’t she worked nonstop all year for that very tomorrow?
“But in this condition, she can’t do it, right?”
Akiko, frowning deeply, felt a lot of concern for Nanami.
“That’s exactly it.”
Himekoji agreed without thinking.
The doctor had also specifically warned him to make Nanami rest well these next few days.
“Akito, you just promised Nanami.”
Hearing that, Mashiro suddenly reached out to grab Himekoji’s collar, her little face tense as she looked up.
“I said that just to help her sleep peacefully…”
“You want to break your promise?”
“No, it’s not that simple.”
With Mashiro staring straight at him, Himekoji felt confused and stuck, not knowing what to do—he was completely unsure now.
Seriously! Why did Nanami’s fever have to happen right at Midterm Performance Showcase time?
“Let Nanami go, please.”
Mashiro spoke again.
Although it was a pleading tone, her eyes seemed to say—if Himekoji didn’t agree, Mashiro would take Nanami herself.
Usually, she was a fool who couldn’t even take care of herself, but at this time, she was surprisingly firm.
“Please.”
Himekoji was hesitating, so Mashiro kept saying it again and again.
Himekoji looked more and more troubled.
Himekoji couldn’t forget Nanami grabbing his hand and saying she wanted to go, that persistence, that determination. He certainly hoped all the efforts Nanami had made would be rewarded.
But what he also remembered clearly was the burning heat from Nanami’s hand at that time, and her pale face with a forehead covered in sweat.
The doctor had stressed it many times: Nanami could only rest in bed these two days; she must not go anywhere, anywhere!
“What good is asking me? Of course, I want Nanami to go too, and I want her to do what she wants to do, but…”
“Akito, please, Nanami works hard every day, every day, until very late.”
“That sort of thing, of course I know it! I’ve been seeing it too!”
Himekoji suddenly felt annoyed, and his voice quickly got louder.
He even wished he could use the “Voice Mimicry” skill to go to Nanami’s assessment in her place.
Of course, it was just a thought.
Nanami definitely wouldn’t allow that, and if he really did it, there would be many other problems.
“Huff—”
He let out a heavy sigh, thought about it for several minutes, and finally Himekoji made a decision.
“If Nanami insists on going tomorrow, then I’ll go with her!”
“I’ll come too!”
Akiko raised her hand to volunteer.
Since she and Nanami were both girls, if there was help that Himekoji couldn’t provide, it would be much better for her to step in.
“Akito, thank you.”
“What are you thanking me for?”
Himekoji smiled wryly and shook his head, looking sort of helpless.
“Actually, I should be the one apologizing to you.”
“Huh?”
Mashiro tilted her head, not understanding.
“Tomorrow, I might not be able to go to the bookstore with you.”
“That sort of thing doesn’t matter… not compared to Nanami.”
Mashiro’s hands moved behind her back without notice, her fingers twisting together.
“Eh, wait, these two things don’t seem to conflict…”
Suddenly, Himekoji remembered it, thinking to himself that he was worrying so much about Nanami he got silly.
“In the afternoon, after Nanami’s Midterm Performance Showcase ends, I’ll go to the editorial department to find you.”
Mashiro had said that tomorrow morning Iida Ayano would come to get her, and Himekoji was originally going to go to the editorial department with Mashiro in the morning.
He had strangely won a big prize for “One-Punch Man”, and he needed to talk about the publishing details with Iida Ayano there.
But now that this happened, the original plan for the morning had to wait.
“Mm, okay.”