Chapter 507

Sshhhh—!

The rain was pouring down harder than I could have imagined.

At this rate, the ground outside would turn into a muddy swamp.

Rumble—!

Lightning flashed outside the window, followed moments later by a deafening roar.

Thunder, too. It was bound to wake Miyuki.

“Mmn...”

Just as I thought, a troubled groan slipped from Miyuki’s lips.

The room was too dark to tell if she had opened her eyes, but from the way she squirmed and burrowed deeper into my arms, she seemed at least half-awake.

I patted Miyuki’s bottom. When her breathing returned to a soft, even rhythm, as if she had found peace again, a quiet chuckle escaped my lips.

I wanted to head out soon, but she looked so comfortable in my arms that I felt bad waking her.

Tap.

Gently resting my chin on the crown of Miyuki’s head, I listened to the relentless downpour as time slipped by.

Once hunger finally began to gnaw at me, I slipped a hand under her loose white T-shirt and stroked her back.

Her soft skin radiated a comforting warmth.

I stroked her gently, trailing my fingertips in a light, ticklish motion until she finally reacted.

“...Matsuda-kun... what are you doing...?”

Her voice was heavy with sleep.

When she was like this, she—much like Chinami—was an absolute delight to touch.

“Let’s go get some ramen.”

“Is it four o’clock already...?”

“Three thirty.”

“It’s too early...”

“It’s pouring out there. If we don’t go now, it might stop.”

At that, Miyuki slowly pushed herself up.

Listening to the distinct sound of the rain outside, she rubbed her eyes and mumbled.

“It really is pouring, huh...?”

She tried to shake off her sleepiness without a single word of complaint, as if she had developed a compulsion to visit the ramen shop whenever it rained.

That was a quirk I had deliberately instilled in her.

“Right?”

“Yeah...”

“Do you want to head out now? Or sleep a little longer?”

“I want to do both...”

“Then sleep on the way.”

“It’s only a five-minute drive. How am I supposed to sleep, you idiot...?”

Still grumbling, Miyuki slumped forward, collapsing right onto my lap as I sat up to face her.

She rubbed her face against my crotch as if washing it. I smoothed out her messy hair and asked.

“So we aren’t going?”

“We’re going...”

“Then get u—Ah!”

A sharp pinch flared up from my inner thigh, right near my groin.

Miyuki had bitten me.

She hadn’t bitten down hard, but the skin there was thin enough that it actually stung.

Flinching, I gently massaged the back of Miyuki’s neck in response to her sudden display of affection.

“What are you doing?”

“...”

Instead of answering, Miyuki simply bit my other leg.

At this rate, she was going to pull my pants down and leave marks everywhere.

“You like that?”

Miyuki nodded, then darted her tongue out to lick my inner thigh.

At first, she only used the very tip of her tongue, as if testing the waters. But the moment I shifted from the ticklish sensation, she pinned my leg down with her arm and began to lick in earnest, like she was savoring a meal.

She was acting incredibly childish today.

Did she just want to be spoiled?

Deciding that I didn’t mind this side of her either, I spoke up.

“Tastes good?”

“...”

“Did you sneak around watching porn without me yesterday? You don’t usually do this kind of stuff.”

“...”

“Stop slathering me in spit. It tickles.”

Rumble—!

Lightning flashed once again.

Miyuki curled up at the sound, burrowing entirely between my spread legs.

The strike must have been close; the thunderclap roared the very second the room lit up.

It would have been absolutely perfect if that bolt had struck Tetsuya, but sadly, the odds of that were virtually zero.

While I was lost in thought, Miyuki’s hands were growing bolder.

She had started with just her tongue, but perhaps my lackluster reaction spurred her on. Her hand slipped under my shorts, her fingers teasing my most sensitive spot.

I thought this every time we ended up like this, but Miyuki had truly turned into quite the pervert.

I half-forced Miyuki’s head up to stop her relentless fondling, earning an annoyed little sigh from her lips.

I chuckled, brushed her bangs back to plant a light kiss on her forehead, and climbed out of bed.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Finally, a proper answer.

It was as if that little stunt of hers had recharged her batteries.

Splash—!

Miyuki stomped into a puddle.

Water splashed all over our legs, but neither of us cared.

If anything, it made me laugh. I knew she had done it on purpose.

“Having fun?”

“No.”

“You’re being cute today.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you a kid?”

“Yeah.”

“Then cry like a baby.”

“What is wrong with you...!”

“What? You could at least humor me.”

“What was that? I can’t hear you over the rain.”

“Sure, we’ll go with that.”

Still bickering, we stepped inside the ramen shop and grabbed our usual table.

The atmosphere here was quiet and peaceful. I liked that it never changed.

After we ordered, Miyuki spent a moment staring at the sticky notes plastered on the wall.

It was a little ritual of hers—something she always did here while waiting for her food.

“Happy?”

“About what?”

“That your drawing is still up there.”

“Of course. But why do you keep asking me if I’m happy today?”

“Because I like you.”

“Eek...! Seriously...! Does that even make sense...?”

Miyuki jumped in her seat, quickly lowering her voice to scold me.

The unexpected display of affection had clearly caught her off guard.

She darted her eyes around the shop, checking if any of the few other customers had heard, before letting out a contented sigh.

Tap.

At the same time, I felt a light pressure against my leg.

It felt like someone had tossed a crumpled ball of paper at me. I glanced under the table to see Miyuki weakly nudging my shin with her foot.

“Amusing yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you happy?”

“Yeah.”

Honestly, I had expected Miyuki’s affection for me to cool off at least a little after I laid my ambitions bare.

What I had told her defied all common sense.

But her love for me must have run deeper than I realized; she didn’t show the slightest hint of pulling away.

She was probably hurting a little inside, sure.

But I knew she would come to enjoy it once she started spending more time with the other heroines.

At least, that was what I chose to believe right now.

The ramen arrived while we were busy flirting.

The owner quietly wished us a good meal, then retreated back to his open kitchen and went about his business.

I loved that he never tried to force any friendly banter, no matter how often we came.

It was a relationship between customer and shopkeeper, speaking only when necessary.

He perfectly understood that customers coming in at this early hour just wanted to eat in peace. It was no wonder his shop had survived this long.

“Here, have some of mine.”

I picked up two of the neatly arranged slices of chashu from my bowl and dropped them into hers. Miyuki paused with a clump of noodles in her chopsticks and tilted her head.

“You’re giving me two pieces?”

“I’ll give you three.”

“But I already have plenty.”

“Stop talking back and just eat.”

“How is that talking back? Aren’t your standards a little harsh?”

“Be quiet and eat.”

I kept my expression deadpan as I dropped a third slice of pork into her bowl. The corner of her lips quirked up into a smile.

“Then give me one more.”

“You barely even eat... Are you sure you can finish it?”

“I can.”

“Alright then.”

“I’m just kidding.”

Maybe she was trying to get back at me for waking her up so early, but she was feeling especially playful today.

She was usually such a model student that her jokes often came across as overly serious, but honestly... this was a huge improvement for her.

After polishing off our ramen, I paid the bill and we headed back outside.

Miyuki patted her stomach, looking thoroughly satisfied.

I held the umbrella over her as she climbed into the passenger seat. Once I was behind the wheel, I started the engine and asked a question.

“Do you remember what you told me the other day?”

“About what?”

“About how you’d be happy if it was me.”

Miyuki’s face turned bright red.

Her immediate reaction told me she knew exactly what I was talking about before I even finished the sentence.

“I-I remember...”

“Do you still mean it?”

“Why are you asking...?”

“I asked if you still meant it.”

“Well... yeah, I do.”

“You don’t sound very sure.”

Did my dissatisfied tone make her think I was going to force myself on her again?

Or was she just worried her true feelings weren’t getting across?

Miyuki whipped her head around and raised her voice.

“I do...! I really do...!”

“Why are you getting mad?”

“I’m not mad!”

“Anyway, so you do? Then we’re setting a date right after graduation.”

“Wh-what...?”

Miyuki’s eyes went wide.

The idea of marrying right after graduation had clearly thrown her off.

Honestly, I had no real intention of forcing her to marry me so young.

It was only natural that she’d have a lot of things she wanted to do with her youth.

But I wanted a firm answer just to put my own mind at ease. That was why I was pressing the issue.

“What? You said you wanted to marry me.”

“I-I mean, I do... but by graduation, do you mean the Academy? Or university...?”

“The former.”

“Isn’t that a little fast...?”

“We can wait until after university to have kids. Better?”

“No... you’re being so unreasonable...”

“You don’t want to?”

“I never said I didn’t want to...! It’s just that we should probably have a serious conversation about this... Not that I’d mind...”

“So you admit you wouldn’t mind?”

“Stop it...!”

Miyuki smacked my thigh.

It stung a bit, a clear scolding for my domineering attitude.

I let my excitement settle—or at least pretended to—before pulling the car over onto the shoulder and unbuckling my seatbelt.

Before Miyuki could even ask what I was doing, I pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I’m just terrified you’ll leave me.”

The fight instantly drained out of her, ending her surprised struggling.

“I won’t leave, you idiot.”

She reassured me, a warm smile hiding in her voice.

I squeezed her tighter and asked.

“Even if I keep acting the way I do?”

“What do you mean the way you... ah... you mean...?”

Miyuki trailed off, realizing I was talking about my interest in the other heroines.

But her hesitation only lasted a moment. To my surprise, she wrapped her arms under my shoulders and gently patted my back.

“I know that’s just the way you are, Matsuda-kun... I understand.”

I had expected at least a bit of pushback. She’d hesitated, sure, but she was actually accepting this?

I felt like I could fly. It felt like all the affection level I had slowly built up with Miyuki had just detonated into one massive reward.

Normally, this would be the perfect time to make sure she was truly okay with me marrying the other heroines as well.

But now wasn’t the time for that.

This wasn’t something I could force all at once. I needed to take it step by step.