Chapter 361: Date
Chapter 361: Date
Himekoji was exhausted. Last night… or rather, it couldn’t be called “last night” anymore because he’d gone to bed well past midnight.
Kasumigaoka had slept at that hour too.
The girl lay curled up on the bed, catching up on sleep. Meanwhile, Himekoji could only yawn repeatedly while standing guard beside her bed.
His eyelids felt heavy as he struggled to stay awake. At the same time, he hoped Kasumigaoka would wake up soon and explain everything clearly and thoroughly.
His time wasn’t exactly generous—it took over an hour to travel back by train from the Hot Spring Inn.
He had a date planned for the afternoon.
One he’d promised days ago—
Going to the Amusement Park, with Nanami.
He’d opened his mouth several times to wake Kasumigaoka, but stopped himself each time.
Because she was sleeping so soundly.
Her eyes were closed, her lips soft and rosy. Her eyelashes fluttered lightly now and then. The sleeping Evil God-sama looked quiet, beautiful… and impossible to disturb.
So, while watching over her, Himekoji was the one who ended up dozing off right beside the bed.
He’d only slept for two or three hours before the pain of his cheek pressing against something woke him at dawn.
If he didn’t get proper rest, how could he possibly manage the afternoon at the amusement park?
That thought finally let him surrender to sleep.
…
“Ji-Ji-kun, lunch is ready.”
When he opened his eyes again, Himekoji found himself lying on a bed.
The sheets carried a familiar, pleasant scent.
“Lunch? Is it noon already?”
For a moment after opening his eyes, his mind felt sluggish. Probably an after-effect of last night’s drinking.
He saw—
Kasumigaoka leaning over the edge of the bed. One hand played with his bangs; the other propped up her cheek as she tilted her head slightly, watching him.
“Noon? Hmm, it’s… already passed? Right now it’s… 1:37:24.”
She gave the time down to the second, instantly snapping him wide awake.
“One-thirty?!”
His meeting with Nanami was at three.
If he didn’t hurry, he’d definitely be late.
There wasn’t a moment to lose.
But before leaving, there was something Himekoji absolutely had to confirm.
It decided whether he would even go to the amusement park today or not.
…
“Senpai, what you said this morning… about going to bed… meant…?”
“So you really don’t remember at all?”
Her cheek-propping hand stiffened almost imperceptibly. Kasumigaoka straightened up, shifting from leaning to sitting properly.
“Forgetting only things like this… is that just how guys are?”
“What?”
She’d mumbled the last bit quietly to herself. Himekoji hadn’t caught it.
“No—thing!”
Her tone suddenly stretched out the word distinctly, with icy clarity.
Her low mood might as well have been written across her face. Even the densest person could see it.
“Nothing? Then… last night…?”
“I just moved Yukinoshita and Yuigahama into the same bed, and took all their clothes off. Don’t thank me. Easy work!”
“Put Yukinoshita and Yuigahama into the same bed? Huh?”
“…Ah! Oh yeah!”
He finally remembered.
Himekoji scolded himself mentally. How could he have forgotten something so important?
He hastily opened his System to check the mission log.
Seeing the green [Completed] marker, he let out a long sigh of relief.
He remembered agonizing over that task before passing out last night. But after waking up… he’d totally forgotten.
At least it was done. At least it was done.
His senpai really had helped him out this time.
“So… what you said when you woke up this morning… meant this?”
Better to make doubly sure.
“What exactly are you referring to?”
Whether Kasumigaoka genuinely didn’t know or was pretending, Himekoji had to grit his teeth and repeat the words.
“U-uh… going to bed…”
“Oh? That?”
Suddenly, she yanked Himekoji’s blanket away and started climbing into his bed.
“Ah! Okay okay! I get it! Sorry! My mistake! Please just let this go! Stop teasing me!”
Outside the door, the noisy voices of the Female Teachers were clearly audible. If someone walked in now… no amount of explaining could save him.
Startled, Himekoji rolled away in panic and scrambled right off the bed.
He quickly returned the entire bed to its rightful owner, then dashed out the door.
He’d simply been teased by Kasumigaoka far too many times.
…
“Understood?”
The room belonged only to Kasumigaoka now. Only her voice remained.
“Hmph.”
“What exactly do you understand, dummy?”
“…”
“Rave nonsense from drunk people… it should be forgotten once sober. We said nothing. We did nothing. Tomorrow… will be a brand new day where nothing happened.”
“That’s for the best.”
“No, this is fine.”
…
Outside the bedroom.
Yukinoshita and Yuigahama stood there, faces red all the way to their necks.
Under everyone’s stares, they sat bolt upright, too embarrassed to lift their heads.
After getting drunk last night…
The two of them, the two of them, the two of them…
They ended up hugging each other naked in the bed!
But that wasn’t the worst part. What was even worse—
Was Hiratsuka-sensei leading the group to catch them like that this morning.
They felt so embarrassed they were almost too ashamed to live!
Alcohol really was something best avoided…
Just remembering her own drunken behavior from yesterday made Yukinoshita’s face steam. She desperately wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
“Yukino-chan… we…”
“Please stay away from me, thank you.”
Yukinoshita, who usually spoiled Yuigahama without question, strangely put on a stern face towards her.
The reason why…
Part of it was because rolling around naked together and getting caught was still super awkward.
Another part was because Yuigahama had really hurt her feelings when she first woke up this morning.
This is what happened—
Yuigahama had just woken up, her eyes too heavy to open properly.
So, when she realized someone was beside her, she got a shock. Her first reaction was to push that person away.
And wouldn’t you know it, she ended up pushing right on Yukinoshita’s chest.
Hmm…
And then, based on what she felt with her palm, Yuigahama called out Himekoji’s name…
Yeah.
She actually called out Himekoji’s name! What was that supposed to mean?!
Was she saying Yukinoshita’s chest was as flat as a guy’s?
Yukinoshita had been worrying about that very thing ever since.
Their friendship was on the rocks! So fake!
Friendship completely severed!
…
It was surprising to see Yukinoshita act in such a childish way.
Maybe her hangover just hadn’t worn off yet.
Occasional moments like this, honestly, felt kinda cute.
…
Himekoji hurriedly freshened up and rushed out.
He didn’t have time to get involved in the “Yukinoshita and Yuigahama naked misunderstanding.”
He didn’t even eat the breakfast takeout Hikigaya had ordered for him.
Honestly, Himekoji was a punctual person, except when it came to school.
Maybe it was because his appointment was with Nanami.
In any case, Himekoji didn’t want to be late.
Nanami’s time was incredibly valuable.
Time she squeezed out between work shifts and practice shouldn’t be wasted waiting around for him.