บท 275: Ch 275. A Once-in-a-Lifetime Precious Experience...
Click—!
In Hoshimi's bedroom, the bedside lamp was turned on.
The soft amber light, dimmer than candlelight, cast a hazy veil over the two people in the room.
Hoshimi lay on his side in bed, resting his head on his arm. His gentle gaze was fixed on Kasumigaoka, who was curled up in his embrace, while his free left hand softly smoothed her slightly messy hair.
"..."
Kasumigaoka's emotions were tangled like a ball of yarn a kitten had played with all day, leaving her unable to find the loose end as she looked at the dreamy and gentle Hoshimi in front of her.
She had actually managed to calm him down...
Yes, she hadn't expected it herself! In this kind of situation, she had somehow managed to talk down the heated and impulsive Hoshimi...
She hadn't resorted to heartfelt pleas or reasoning but simply blushed and mentioned her "dangerous" time and the potential impact on her upcoming college entrance exams.
She had assumed Hoshimi would ignore her and continue doing whatever he pleased...
But Hoshimi had stopped. He lay down beside her, turned on the bedside lamp, and with an unbelievably tender gaze, started gently tidying her hair.
His gentle eyes made her feel a sense of wonder. She never thought there would be a day when Hoshimi could be so tender.
"..."
As she watched him, she bit her lip and instinctively looked away.
Her persuasion had worked, the crisis was over—she should have felt relieved.
But... why did she feel a little dissatisfied?
His pause made her uneasy. She began to worry about whether she was still attractive to Hoshimi and what he thought of her deep down...
Sigh... Sigh...
The unexpected outcome left Kasumigaoka feeling flustered. After taking a few deep breaths, she buried her face in Hoshimi's chest.
"Hoshimi, what are you thinking? You... aren't doing anything... does that mean... you're not ready yet?" Kasumigaoka's voice was so soft it seemed like the wind outside might carry it away at any moment.
Hoshimi's hand paused, a soft smile playing on his lips.
Then, his hand slid down a bit, gently caressing her smooth, flawless back as he said, "Utaha, what kind of 'preparation' are you asking for? If you mean preparing to marry you, I'm ready for that."
"Then... why..." Kasumigaoka pressed, her tone now a little more urgent, her voice having dropped from its previous lightness.
"Why, you ask?" Hoshimi pinched the soft flesh at Kasumigaoka's waist with a smile and said, "Utaha, after you said all that, how could I bear to continue? No matter what, I can't ruin your youth and future—that would be as serious as robbery and murder. If I really did that, wouldn't I owe you for the rest of my life?"
"..." Hearing Hoshimi's explanation, Kasumigaoka's heart settled.
That's right, even though this guy has a wicked sense of humor and is mostly untrustworthy but when it comes to big issues, he's always reliable.
She had definitely overthought it just now...
"Mm~"
Kasumigaoka suddenly felt a little embarrassed, ashamed of her overly emotional reaction.
It was such a simple issue—why had she made it so complicated? As expected, the closer she got to Hoshimi, the more muddled her brain became...
"Utaha, there's another reason too. Do you want to hear it?"
Kasumigaoka, her face flushed, suddenly felt a sense of unease when she heard Hoshimi's teasing question.
Her instinct told her she shouldn't listen to this reason, but her curiosity as a young woman had other ideas.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice soft and filled with curiosity.
Hoshimi chuckled and casually picked up something from beside the pillow. "Utaha, take a look—what is this?"
Kasumigaoka turned to look.
In the next second, her eyes widened, her lips parted slightly in shock as she stared at the item in Hoshimi's hand.
In his hand was... the box of Okamoto 003s she had brought, just in case, from her handbag!!
"Hoshimi, no, listen to me explain..." Kasumigaoka, flustered and embarrassed, scrambled to snatch the box back from Hoshimi while trying to explain.
"No need, I understand." Hoshimi didn't resist much, easily letting her take back the box of Okamoto 003s.
But as Kasumigaoka prepared to continue explaining, he placed a finger on her soft, full lips, silencing her.
"Utaha, listen to me."
"..." Kasumigaoka quieted down, her eyes dodging his, too embarrassed to meet Hoshimi's gaze.
"Utaha, listen," Hoshimi said with a smile, "A once-in-a-lifetime precious experience shouldn't be ruined by little things like that. I want to wait until you're fully ready, so we can experience it in the most natural way, creating memories we'll cherish forever."
"That's my other reason. Utaha, do you think I'm wrong?" Hoshimi gently lifted her chin, ensuring she couldn't avoid his gaze.
"Mm~" Kasumigaoka nodded slightly, her face bright red.
Hoshimi's thoughtfulness, or perhaps his playful nature, really showed through...
But then again, was there a possibility that Hoshimi simply didn't like these "things" and chose to be rational and compromised so he wouldn't waste the opportunity?
With that thought, Kasumigaoka's eyes sparkled as she looked at him. "Hoshimi, could it be..."
"Shhh—"
Before Kasumigaoka could finish, Hoshimi once again silenced her lips.
"Utaha, let's drift into our dreams. In there, you can do whatever you want," Hoshimi said with a smile, one filled with unmistakable teasing and playfulness.
Kasumigaoka understood, reading between the lines. Her legs weakened, and she clung to Hoshimi's waist, burying her face in his chest, her voice trembling slightly as she replied.
"Okay…"
"Mm, let's drift into dreams…" Hoshimi continued to smile, though now his smile carried a sense of relief.
Finally, he had dodged the bullet—what a challenge…
After all, there were still two others waiting in the dream world. If he had gone through with it, tomorrow would surely explode in chaos.
Just because time in dreams could freeze didn't mean he could do whatever he wanted!
Suddenly losing a big chunk of time would be impossible to explain, and if the ability to freeze dream-time got exposed, it would ruin everything.
As for going into deeper dream layers to make up for lost time? Better forget about that.
The nature of deep dreams and the existence of the dream-self—he didn't want to reveal too much about either of them.
Besides, he suspected that ordinary people couldn't easily enter deeper dream layers, and even if they could, it might have lasting effects on them.
Time isn't something to be messed with lightly. He didn't mind because of his special circumstances, but for ordinary people, it might be a whole different story...
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