"And that should do it for math…"
After closing the exercise book of summer homework, Masachika did a big stretch in the
living room of the Kuze residence. Sitting in the seat across from him was Alisa, who was
quietly running her red pen across her exercise book. They were once again in the middle
of doing their homework together, but eventually, Alisa also closed her exercise book and
pushed it off to the side.
"You all done?"
"Yes, I did every last problem."
"Whoa. Seriously? Good job."
She had apparently finished all her homework—unlike Masachika. She must have been
diligently working on it at home in her spare time, too. Masachika, on the other hand, did
not even touch his homework while he was home alone, so he still had to do his English
and physics homework. Having said that, he was still progressing at a far quicker pace this
year compared to last.
"Okay, then…"
"…"
Coincidentally they both glanced at the clock in the living room at the same time and
realized it was still only a little past three thirty PM. In other words, they still had a decent
amount of time before Alisa left, since she usually went home at around six PM.
So… What now…?
Masachika began to pour some barley tea into their teacups to buy time while he racked
his brain for ideas. They had technically achieved their goal, since they only met up to do
homework together, but simply blurting out, "Good job! See ya around!" seemed a bit too
curt, and it sounded like what someone who couldn't read the room would do.
Yeah… Read the room, Masachika. She's glancing at me suggestively!
Alisa was fidgeting with her hair and glancing at him with expectant eyes, as if she
wanted to say, "Oh, look at that. It looks like we still have some time before I go. Whatever
should we do?" Masachika fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) had come to a good
stopping point with his homework right around the same time as Alisa,so he couldn't pretend
he didn't notice her waiting, either. All he could do was slowly bring his teacup to his lips
to buy more time.
I mean, what else can I do?
It wasn't like he had the courage to say, "Wanna go on a date?" Maybe he could have
said it like a joke if this was before they went to the beach together, but now that he knew
how Alisa felt and he was aware of his own shortcomings, there was no way he could ever
allow himself to say something like that, even as a joke.
But…
Masachika was determined to face her and not run away anymore. Anything else would
mean betraying Maria and the courageous request she made.
…All right! I'm doing it!
While placing the teacup back on the table, Masachika lifted his head with determination.
He stared at Alisa until she looked at him as well. Facing each other like this was nothing
out of the ordinary, and yet he felt like there was something different about her usual gaze
—now that he knew she had feelings for him. It was as if there was a fire burning in those
sapphire eyes, and it made his breath catch in his throat.
"So… It's still early…," started Masachika while desperately trying to calm his racing
heart. In his mind, the angel Maria and the devil Yuki were dancing with pom-poms and
cheering him on, which surprisingly gave him the courage he needed to continue.
"So…how about…we discuss the election?"
A deep silence fell upon the living room as the twinkle in Alisa's eyes seemed to fade.
The imaginary Maria and Yuki lowered their pom-poms and glared at him coldly.
"You're such a coward, Kuze."
"You're trash."
Stop. Don't look at me like that.
Masachika mentally curled up in a ball on the ground, clutching his head as the devil
kicked his helpless body while the angel stared down at him in disappointment. However, in
the midst of his self-loathing session, Alisa looked down and let out a long exhale.
"Sigh… I suppose that is important."
"A-ain't dat da truth?"
"Why are you talking like that?"
"Oh, uh… Ha-ha-ha…"
After a dry laugh, Masachika cleared his throat and fixed his expression. He was well
aware that what he did was a pretty pathetic thing to do as a man, but this was the only way
he could reboot his mind and focus on something else.
"So, uh… One of the biggest events during the second semester has to be the school
festival in the beginning of October."
"I believe every member of the student council has to join the school festival committee,
right?"
"Exactly. The committee's basically made up of two representatives from each class,
the student council, the student disciplinary committee, the school cleanup committee, the
health committee, and the previous student council president and vice president… I think
that's all of them."
It was customary for the former student council president and vice president to take on
the roles of president and vice president of the school festival committee for Seirei
Academy's Autumn Heights Festival every year. In addition, the current members of the
student council, along with select members from each class, were assigned positions of
significant responsibility under their guidance.
"Put simply, these other members of the school festival committee are going to be
watching you and trying to decide whether they can depend on you, so be careful. Sometimes
people are forced to join the school festival committee because no one else wants to do it, but
for the most part, the students selected to be members have a lot of influence in their class.
In other words, you don't want them thinking you're worthless, because it could really hurt
your chances in the election."
"Oh… Okay…"
"But, well, you're the student council accountant, so I'm sure you'll be fine as long as
you focus on your job. If anything, Yuki, being the publicist, is more at risk than anyone else."
The student council members were usually given tasks related to their positions. The
secretary would record meetings, the accountant would manage the budget, the publicist
would make pamphlets and flyers, and so on. Although managing the budget was a behindthe-scenes role, the publicist had a very visible responsibility, so while it would be easy to
emphasize one's good points, it was also far harder to hide one's mistakes. Therefore, making
tacky flyers or messy pamphlets would destroy Yuki's reputation. On the other hand, her
rival, Alisa, did not really have too much to worry about in that regard.
With that in mind, Masachika shrugged and added:
"I'm sure she'll handle whatever her task is with ease, though. If there are any mistakes
with accounting, it's usually when the balance is calculated, and that's always after the
festival is over. Plus, I'll be there to help you, too, so there's nothing you really need to
worry about."
"Oh…"
"Seriously. Don't sweat it. If you handle it just like you do in the student council, then
you'll be fine."
Even though Masachika tried to be as optimistic as he could, Alisa still seemed a bit
concerned, frowning as if she were deep in thought.
I guess this would be awful for someone who prefers to work alone like Alya, and if she
has to give orders as a team leader, then…
Alisa was a perfectionist, but she was also aware that what she considered perfect was
far too much to ask of most people. To make matters worse, she knew she wasn't an eloquent
speaker who could encourage those around her and motivate them to push forward, which
was also why she always chose to work alone without relying on others.
Being a perfectionist isn't a bad thing for an accountant. The issue is that she isn't a
fan of working as a team, and she is going to have to learn how to lead if she ever wants to
become the student council president…
However, this wasn't an issue that could be solved in a day, and a few good words with
a pat on the back weren't going to cure her dislike for teamwork. Things were never that
easy in life.
If anything, this might end up being a really good experience for her. I'll just have to
hope that she uses this opportunity to slowly grow accustomed to teamwork.
After reaching this conclusion, Masachika cleared his throat.
"Ahem! Anyway, why don't we use this opportunity to come up with a method for
communication?"
"Hmm? What are you talking about?"
When Alisa looked up with a curious gaze, he quietly stared hard back at her.
"Wh-what?" she asked nervously.
Even though her eyes held a hint of bewilderment, Masachika continued to stare without
saying a word.
"Um… Is there something on my face? Come on—say something," Alisa begged
uncomfortably as she checked her body and face.
"Read me. Tell me what I want to say," demanded Masachika.
"Huh?"
She frowned and stared right back at him. An entire ten seconds went by before she
averted her gaze with a hint of a blush in her cheeks.
"<Wait. I'm still not ready…>"
"Hold up. What do you think I want to say?" Masachika interjected immediately after
hearing her somewhat suggestive Russian whispers. But after a brief sigh, he decided to just
tell her. "I wanted you to get that kitchen towel for me."
"What? …How was I supposed to know that? That's ridiculous."
"Is it? Oh, no. You don't really have to get me the towel. That's not the issue. I was
actually pointing at it with my eyes, and I was mouthing 'Grab it.'"
"But…"
"Hmm… All right, let's try this one more time," suggested Masachika to please her.
Once again, he began to stare hard at Alisa, who firmly stared back…but after a few seconds
went by, she averted her gaze a second time.
"<My armpit? But that's…>"
"Seriously! What do you think I'm trying to say?"
Isshe some sort of closeted pervert? Don't tell me she's actually some sort of degenerate,
thought Masachika while he glared at her strangely bashful expression. But after scratching
his head in a frustrated manner, he leaned back in his chair and relaxed into it. Although
he'd had a feeling this would happen, he wasn't expecting them to have this much trouble
communicating with their eyes. Yuki would have been able to instantly pick up on what he
was trying to say through eye contact, his gestures, and his mannerisms.
It takes time together and experience to learn how to communicate like this…so I guess
it's still a little hard for Alya to figure me out.
Other than Yuki, the only people who could at least somewhat communicate with
Masachika without saying a word were people he'd known for a long time, like Takeshi
and Hikaru. Maybe Touya in the student council as well, but they had good chemistry. Plus,
Touya was a very attentive and considerate person, which helped. Chisaki wasn't the kind
of person who could pull something like this off, and both Maria and Ayano were too laidback and were on different wavelengths than Masachika in general. Alisa, however, simply
lacked experience.
"Hmm…"
This was going to put them at a slight disadvantage during the election, since being
able to communicate quickly in a pinch could make or break their campaign. In fact, it was
being almost perfectly in tune with each other that helped Yuki and Masachika overcome
countless obstacles together, and that was why he was quite worried about not being able to
communicate with Alisa.
"If you think you're so good, you give it a try."
"Huh?"
When he lowered his gaze, he noticed Alisa was staring fixedly at him, so he adjusted
his posture and faced her.
"<This happened when we were at the beach…>"
"Wait. Hold up."
"Why? I thought you were so good that you only needed to observe my body language
to know what I'm trying to say, so it should be easy for you to guess simply by hearing my
tone when I speak in Russian, right?"
"That's not even close to being the same thing."
"<On the last day, when we were having breakfast…>"
"What? No. Stop talking in—"
"<…you accidentally started drinking from my cup.>"
Gaaaaaah?!?!
"<You didn't seem to realize it, though.>"
I had absolutely no idea!!
Masachika barely managed to keep himself from gasping when he heard the unexpected
confession. He immediately tried to think back to that morning, but he couldn't remember
that moment for the life of him. Everyone's glass had looked exactly the same, so it was
possible he'd grabbed the wrong one, but…
"<You drank every last drop before I could even say anything, so I never got the chance
to tell you…>"
Seeing Alisa somewhat embarrassed made it obvious that she wasn't lying, either.
That Time I Already Had an Indirect Kiss by Accidentally Drinking from the Same Cup.
Masachika began to stare off into space with a blank expression while Alisa's lips
bashfully yet devilishly curled.
"<It was kind of like that Japanese tradition where you exchange cups of sake together
and make a vow. Do you think this still counts?>"
Nope.
"<You'd better take responsibility for what you've done.>"
A chill just ran down my spine.
Alisa keptsaying whatever was on her mind, believing that Masachika didn't understand,
so he raised his hands as if to surrender.
"Hold on for a second. I really have no idea what you're trying to do. Like, the whole
point of secretly communicating like this is to convey ideas without talking."
"Oh, of course."
She pretentiously shrugged, then started to fan herself.
If you're going to get this embarrassed, you shouldn't even do it in the first place.
But Alisa, who seemed to be thinking about something, didn't even notice his scornful
glare.
"Then…how about I test you the same way you tested me?"
Alisa swiftly shifted her gaze to the window, faintly moved her lips, and slowly clasped
her hands together. She then slightly angled her hands as if she were begging for something,
which led Masachika to only one conclusion: "I want to go out on a date." That was what
she was trying to say.
Nghhh!!
He clenched his teeth because the agony was too much to bear. If he hadn't pinched his
leg as hard as he could under the table, he wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face.
…! There's no way I can say that!
Saying the right answer would most likely make things awkward, but giving the wrong
answer would definitely make her believe he was some overconfident, clueless idiot. The
future was bleak, no matter what he ended up going with.
"Come on. Did you figure it out? What do I want to say?"
"Errr…"
Alisa provocatively smirked and crossed her arms as if to say, "You have absolutely
no clue, do you?" She was underestimating him. Acting like there was no way he would
ever figure it out, and her expression made it clear that she believed she had the upper hand.
Masachika suddenly got the urge to see her expression painted with shock and
embarrassment, but he immediately talked himself out of it, since the risk would be far too
great. Therefore, he had no choice but to choose a bland, harmless answer, even though he
knew it was wrong.
"Uh… I'm guessing, 'Nice weather we're having today'?"
"Pfft. Hmph." Alisa snorted, and a condescending sneer twisted her lips.
Tsk!!
Even Masachika couldn't help but grimace, but she paid no heed to his annoyance.
"Not even close. See? You don't even know how to read people," she sassed, her words
brimming with a sense of superiority.
"…What was the right answer?"
"I was trying to say, 'Summer break's almost over.'"
"Uh-huh…," he replied while closely observing Alisa's expression, then casually added,
"I almost thought you were inviting me on a date. I guessit wasjust my imagination, though."
"Wh-what?! A-absolutely not. That was definitely your imagination…"
Alisa jumped as if someone had dropped an ice cube down the back of her shirt, then
she quickly looked away. Masachika observed her reaction and kept a straight face—she
couldn't have made it any more obvious.
"Oh. Yeah, I guess you would never say anything like that, even as a joke," he replied
in a matter-of-fact manner.
"…That goes without saying."
"Thought so."
He spoke in an unamused monotone. After swiftly glancing in his direction, Alisa
pouted.
"<What's your problem? Would it really be that strange if I invited you on a date?>"
Errr…
With that sulky whisper, Masachika felt a twinge of guilt, and he promptly tried to
smooth things over.
"After all, nothing like that has ever happened to me before, you know? And I know girls
never ask guys out on dates, except in comic books." He rambled a bit, hinting that he meant
being invited by a girl on a date was weird, not that being invited by Alisa was. Immediately,
confidence returned to her gaze, and she smirked arrogantly.
"Oh my. How unfortunate. I've been invited on more dates than I can count."
"Uh-huh. And have you ever accepted any of those date invitations?"
Alisa's fidgeting fingers froze. She glanced to the side and mumbled:
"…I've been on a few dates before."
"Uh-huh."
"…"
She glanced at her seemingly unimpressed classmate, began to twirl the ends of her hair
again, and muttered:
"<With you.>"
…Oof.
In other words, she had never gone on a date with anyone other than Masachika.
Although this was something he expected, there was no way to avoid taking damage when
she put it into words. So he just gritted his teeth. A few more seconds went by, and then
Alisa's expression abruptly filled with shock, and she looked at him once more.
"I—I never went on a date with any random guys who tried to pick me up, though!"
"Oh, uh… I never thought you did."
She was constantly ignoring good-looking, smart guys from well-off families at school,
so there was no way she would ever go on a date with some random jerk prowling the streets.
"I choose who I go on dates with, and I don't go with just anyone!"
"Okay…"
Masachika took 20 damage.
"I—I only go on dates with…people I li—people I trust!"
"O-oh, okay."
Masachika took 40 damage.
"A-anyway, I get it now…so you don't have to explain yourself."
He desperately tried to defend, but Alisa didn't stop!
"There's no way I'd ever go on a date with someone I didn't like!"
"…"
Masachika took 90 damage but managed to survive with 1 HP left.
"Oh! But that doesn't mean I li— Ahem. I don't dislike you, okay? That's all…"
Alisa used "Bashful"! Masachika "Fainted"!
"<Giggle. I got yelled at.>"
"<What were you thinking, trying to sneak into another school's music room?>"
"<Umm… I just wanted to hear Sah play the piano.>"
"<Hmm… Then why not invite him to the recital?>"
"<Hold on. Are you sure?>"
"<Of course… We made a promise, after all…>"
"<Thanks! I can't wait!>"
"—okay?"
"Ah!"
Masachika lifted his head the instant he regained consciousness and noticed Alisa was
leaning over the table with a skeptical gaze.
"…Oh, sorry. I lost consciousness there for a second."
"…Hmph. Right."
Out of nowhere, Alisa's gaze narrowed, and a chilling air began to gather around her.
"…?"
What isshe angry about? wondered Masachika as he raised an eyebrow. All of a sudden,
something hit his shin.
"Owww?!"
An unexpected shock went through him. Alisa had kicked his shin as she sat back down
in her seat.
"Do you feel more awake now?"
"Wh-what? I didn't doze off…!" explained Masachika, curling into a ball in pain, but
Alisa's gaze was still cold. Then again, most people would probably be upset if the person
they were talking to fell asleep mid-conversation.
This is all your fault, though!
But even if he argued that, he would only be digging his own grave, so Masachika had
no choice but to clear his throat and get them back on topic.
"Anyway…if we need to secretly communicate with each other in a pinch…"
They ended up practicing different types of eye contact after that despite Alisa's
transparent disappointment, and for better or for worse, time passed without the mood ever
resembling a rom-com.
"That should do it. Oh, by the way, I made sure to use different patterns from what I
used with Yuki for our code language. But she might be able to decipher what we're saying
if we overdo it, so we probably shouldn't use it around her."
"Okay."
"Also… Hmm… We should probably come up with something to let the other know
we're bluffing, too."
"Why?"
"You know, like when you need to bluff during a negotiation. Like telling a club that
we already got permission from the faculty adviser…or when we want to get out of a
conversation with someone who's difficult to deal with, you might want to be like, 'The
teacher asked me to meet him in the faculty room,so I have to go.' Now, if Isaid that, and you
said, 'What are you talking about?' then they'd know I was lying, and it'd ruin everything.
That's why I think we need to have a signal to let each other know when we're bluffing."
"Right…"
Masachika briefly paused to think of a signal, despite Alisa's obvious discomfort, and
soon raised his left hand.
"I've got it. How about we touch our hair with our left hand? You have a habit of
fidgeting with your hair, right? Well, how about doing it with your left hand…?"
"What about you?"
"I…guess I could scratch my head? At any rate, whenever we're touching our hair with
our left hand, that means we're bluffing. Sound good?"
"Fine… I'll probably forget, though."
"…It's not a big deal. Just keep it in the back of your mind." Masachika shrugged. He
then adjusted his posture and composed himself because the next issue made him rather
nervous. "Now, what if we can't make eye contact? One way we could communicate if we're
right next to each other is to write on each other's palm…"
"…? What?"
"We could do it like we're typing on a keyboard, but instead of a keyboard, we're using
each other's palm. Like…we could hold hands under a table or behind each other's back and
write words on each other's palm," he hesitantly explained.
"…?!"
Alisa instantly frowned, which was no real surprise.
"You're suggesting holding hands…and rubbing each other's palms?"
"Well, it's more like typing than rubbing. We could use flick-input just like when we
text on our phones. We can skip the first square, which is just symbols, but the very left—the
area closest to your wrist—can be the square for ABC, then to the right of that can be DEF…"
After explaining the 3 × 3 grid system with one blank space for omitted symbols,
Masachika held up his left hand with his right.
"On second thought, since the first square in the grid is blank, we can use that as our
backspace, so let's do one tap there equals one backspace."
He tapped the leftmost square of the invisible grid on his palm a few times with his right
index finger while explaining. Alisa listened with an unenthusiastic frown until the very end,
then revealed her skepticism and said:
"Well, I understand the system…but isn't this a little too complicated? It might be fine
for the person 'typing,' but it's not going to be easy for whoever is doing the 'reading.'"
"Yeah, that's going to take some time to get used to, but once you get used to it, you'll
be able to communicate just as easily as you can by speaking."
"Sure, but…I don't want you caressing my palm," she replied. She reacted to his
superhuman, spy-like plan with a sour expression.
"…Well, there's nothing we can do about that."
Masachika was kind of hurt by how disgusted she sounded. I thought she liked me? was
the first thought that crossed his mind, but he soon convinced himself that this was a different
issue entirely.
"Hey, uh… Alya?"
"What?"
"Are you…a germaphobe?"
Looking back, there had been several signs of Alisa being a germaphobe. Even in PE
class, she seemed to always avoid letting anyone touch her, especially her bare skin. "N-no!
I'm not a germaphobe! Unbelievable!"
And that was why her extremely adamant denial seemed to have come out of nowhere.
"Really? That's strange. I vaguely remember the president of the cleanup committee
reaching out to shake your hand and you doing thissort of half-a-second shake before quickly
pulling your hand away."
"That's because… Uh… I don't even know her."
"Sounds like something a germaphobe would say."
"I said I'm not a germaphobe! I… I just—! Imagine you had something really important
to you! You wouldn't want anyone touching it, either, right?"
"Huh?"
Masachika's gaze wandered for a few moments while he thought about the sudden
question.
"…I guess a lot of guys wouldn't want people touching their watch or their car, and
maybe some girls wouldn't want people touching their bags or jewelry. Since those are like
fingerprint magnets."
"Right! Exactly!"
Alisa firmly nodded in agreement with his vague examples, then leaned back and placed
a hand on her chest.
"And the most important thing to me is my body! That's why I don't like people touching
me!"
"…Okay?"
Masachika felt like he might be able to understand.
"How's that different from being a germaphobe?"
"It's completely different! It's not like I have to go wash my hands after shaking hands
with someone!"
"You seem very defensive for someone who's not a germaphobe…"
"Of course I'm defensive! You're making me sound like some sort of neurotic neat
freak!"
And you're not? he immediately thought, but he bit his tongue and considered her claim.
Hmm… Well, I guess it wouldn't make her a germaphobe if it's just because of her ego.
It's not like she's afraid of germs.
Masachika was persuaded after imagining how stuck-up noblewomen in fantasies say
things like, "The only one allowed to touch me is my future husband!"
She's just a real-life virtuous princess…
He half-heartedly nodded to himself.
"Hmm… Well, I guess there's not much we can do about it if you hate being touched…"
It wasn't like Masachika was going to insist on something that made her uncomfortable,
so he decided to back off.
"Wait! I never said I wouldn't do it…"
After a moment of panic, Alisa's voice slowly trailed off. Fidgeting with her hair and
avoiding eye contact, she then hesitantly asked:
"Do you really want to…touch me that badly?"
"Huh?"
"My hand…"
"Oh, uh…"
Although the discussion had gone off track, when posed with the question of whether
he wanted to touch her…
"Yes."
"…No matter what?"
"…No matter what."
"Oh…"
While still looking away, Alisa stopped fidgeting with her hair and held out her hand
to Masachika.
"Fine. Here."
Just like that?! What was all that buildup to this for, then? Give me my time back.
Masachika couldn't help but be annoyed as she held out her right hand with a cold
expression on her face. But contrary to his furious thoughts, he calmly replied:
"Can I have your left hand instead of your right?"
"Oh…! Sure!"
After a moment, she shyly bit her lips, looked away once more, and held out her left
hand. Masachika, smirking, reached out to hold her hand…but hesitated.
Alisa's slender, snow-white hand could only be described as beautiful. Even though this
wasn't their first time holding hands, it felt more difficult thistime, perhaps due to everything
that led up to it.
"…What's wrong?"
"Oh, uh… Nothing. Ahem."
But all it took was one quizzical glance to pressure him into carefully taking her soft,
somewhat chilly hand. And although slightly flustered, he took his thumb and gently pressed
it against her palm.
"So… Like this…"
I should have cut my nails a little shorter, he thought while carefully using his thumb
to type.
"Ngh…"
The faint sound made Masachika lift his head in a flash, seeing Alisa with a slightly
knitted brow as she moodily stared at their hands.
"…What?"
"Nothing…"
He lowered his eyes back to their hands and continued to move his thumb.
"For example, I'll tap three times here for C. Then if I tap on your palm with my middle
finger like this, that's a 'space.'"
After giving her a feel of how the flick-input keyboard was going to work, he looked
back up to find Alisa still in a bit of a bad mood. What bothered him the most was the fact
that she was biting her bottom lip as if something about this was unbearable.
"…You get all that?"
"…Crystal clear."
"Oh… Okay. Then let me see if I can type out a whole sentence."
Masachika then began slowly tapping and tracing his fingers across her palm.
I'll go with something easy… N.I.C.E.
"Mmm…"
W.E.A.T.H.E.R.
"Hff…!"
T.O.D.A.Y.
"Ahn…"
Gah!! Stop making weird noises like that!!
He had been pretending not to notice any of her strangely sexual moaning, but he
couldn't take it any longer. Every time he moved his finger, her hand would tremble, and
it made him feel like he was doing something dirty, even though he wasn't doing anything
shameful.
"He's fingering her! He's making her moan!"
Shut up.
Masachika kept his cool while shutting up the boisterous devil-Yuki, in his head.
"Did you figure out what I was trying to—?"
He suddenly fell silent. Who could blame him, though? After all, a faint crimson had
colored Alisa's pale cheeks, and tears were welling in her eyes as she glared at him.
"<Pervert…>"
What'd I do?!
To reiterate, Masachika was not doing anything lewd that he should be ashamed of,
and yet this was how she reacted. Perhaps she misunderstood what I wrote? wondered
Masachika, but that idea was immediately shot down.
"Did you write, 'Nice weather today'?"
"Y-yeah, good job. You got it right on your first try."
"…"
Alisa averted her displeased gaze despite his praise.
"So, uh… Did that tickle or…?"
"…A little."
"O-oh. Well, I guess we shouldn't use this method, then. We can't really communicate
secretly if your expression gives you away…"
She glanced at him once more, then softly muttered:
"<It didn't really tickle. It was more like—>"
"Don't worry about it! For the first few times, even Yuki—"
Sensing that she was about to say something in Russian that he shouldn't hear,
Masachika suddenly cut her off, but the instant he mentioned Yuki, he noticed a reaction
from her. It was at that moment, he knew he messed up.
"I'll do it."
"What…? You shouldn't force yourself to do it if you don't want to."
"It took Yuki several tries before she got used to it, correct? I can get used to it, too."
The flames of competition burned in her azure eyes as she confidently turned back to
Masachika. The moment he saw that look in her eyes, he knew there was nothing he could
say to stop her.
"All right, then… Shall we continue?"
They spent the next hour practicing until Alisa was able to read as quickly as she could
listen to normal conversation.
"Incredible… I can't believe you picked it up that quickly…"
"H-hmph. It was nothing," she claimed,smirking boldly, but her cheeks were completely
red and her bangs were glued to her forehead with sweat. Her breathing was somewhat rough
as well.
How lewd.
His brain couldn't help but make that comment in reaction to her sexy appearance. In
fact, Masachika felt like he was being given a test on self-control as he was forced to watch
her pant suggestively with flushed skin.
Well, that should do it for now… Good job, me! You passed the test!
He let go of Alisa's hand after patting himself on the back for his self-control.
"Anyway—"
Right as he let go, she fiercely grabbed his wrist. His eyes were naturally drawn toward
her, and he noticed the flames in her eyes and the menacing grin curling her lips.
"Now it's my turn to practice writing, right?"
"Uh…"
"Right?"
"…Right."
For the next hour, Masachika was used as her guinea pig until she was satisfied with
her "handwriting" skills as well.