Keita quickly prepared the curry ingredients, then washed the rice and poured it into the rice cooker.
While pouring water, he used a finger to estimate if the water level was correct, then pressed the button for the rice cooking function.
Only then did Keita wipe his hands and turn around, preparing to see what Anna was up to.
According to his estimation, Anna definitely wouldn't be obediently sitting there reading a light novel...
He pushed open the slightly ajar bedroom door and poked his head in.
"Hey, Anna-chan, dinner..."
He stopped halfway through his sentence, having already prepared a plan for what to do if he caught Anna rummaging through his things.
He would certainly use such an offensive act as an excuse to make a scene, and as long as he used the right method...
Wouldn't Anna be at his mercy...
By then, even if she screamed her head off...
These thoughts flashed through Keita's mind, but he found the room was a bit different from what he had expected.
The chair in front of the desk was indeed empty, and the computer screen was still on, but the document clearly hadn't been scrolled through much.
Anna was lying on her side on his bed, hugging his pillow, sleeping soundly.
A few strands of hair clung to her smooth cheeks, trembling slightly with her steady breathing, giving her whole being a defenseless, soft aura.
Looking at her like this, Keita couldn't help but find it amusing.
He had just reminded her earlier to behave herself in the room.
In the end, this girl was quite something; she'd climbed onto his bed in the blink of an eye.
She was indeed being very 'behaved,' so much so that a sense of affection for her couldn't help but arise in his heart...
Really...
Anna's charm when she's still is truly enough to make one's heart flutter...
Keita originally wanted to go forward immediately and shake her awake, then tease her about how she didn't read the novel and instead climbed onto his bed.
But just as he was about to walk over, he subconsciously raised his arm and sniffed, his brow furrowing imperceptibly.
There was a smell of cooking fumes on him from preparing the meal...
Although the smell wasn't unpleasant, approaching her with such a smell of grease felt... not quite right...
Especially when facing a soundly sleeping beautiful girl.
And...
The scene that had happened earlier in the seawater flashed through his mind, along with that sweet scent on Yanami that left him wanting more.
The impression a scent gives the other person is actually quite important...
So,
He couldn't just go over like this.
Besides, being cleaner would also make the things he wanted to do later more convenient...
At the very least, it would prevent Anna from using the excuse of him showering to sneak away...
Keita thought silently to himself, turned around, gently closed the door, and left the bedroom.
He walked into the bathroom, turned on the shower, let the warm water wash away the smell of cooking fumes, and scrubbed his body clean.
After changing into a clean, fresh T-shirt and shorts, he returned to the bedroom door.
The room was still very quiet, with only Yanami's steady and faint breathing.
He lightened his steps, took off his slippers, silently climbed onto the bed, and lay down on his side next to her.
The mattress sank slightly under his weight, but the sleeping Yanami didn't feel a thing.
She remained in that position, lying on her side and hugging the pillow, her mouth slightly pouting, who knows what sweet dream she was having.
Keita propped his head up with one hand, watching her quietly.
Watching her eyelashes cast a small shadow below her eyelids, watching the contours of her face which looked exceptionally soft because she was fast asleep.
He reached out and poked Yanami's nose with the tip of his index finger.
"Mmh..."
The sensation on the tip of her nose seemed to disturb her sweet dream.
Anna's brow furrowed slightly, and she muttered something like a sleep-talk.
"...Keita... don't..."
"It'll... hurt a lot..."
Keita's movements paused, a look of surprise appearing on his face.
What on earth is this woman thinking about in her dreams?
And from her tone, why does it sound like she's being bullied by him in her dream?
Honestly.
He hadn't even started anything yet, and she was already acting it out in her dreams.
This is simply... too unfair, isn't it?
Thinking this, Keita directly reached out and pinched Yanami's still-twitching nose.
"Mmh... nngh..."
With her breathing blocked, Anna's brow furrowed even tighter.
She struggled a few times in her sleep, trying to escape the suffocating restraint, but finally opened those bleary eyes still filled with sleepiness.
Her hazy vision, after focusing for a few seconds, finally saw the face before her wearing a mischievous smile.
Eh?
Keita?
How did he...
Anna's brain stalled at this moment.
She blinked once, then blinked again.
It took her nearly ten seconds to finally sort out the current situation.
This is Keita's room.
This is Keita's bed.
And she was just lying on his bed sleeping.
Then, she was caught red-handed by him.
A rush of heat instantly surged to her brain, and her cheeks quickly heated up, turning a deep crimson.
"I, I I I..."
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something to explain, but her mind was a complete blank, and she ended up blurting out a greeting for some reason.
"...Good evening."
Hearing this somewhat familiar greeting, Keita only found it funny.
This sounded exactly like a modified version of the "Good morning" she had said to him when she just woke up in the Infirmary.
Looking at Anna's ashamed appearance, and considering she didn't use an unreasonable outburst to ease the awkwardness, he didn't want to make things harder for her.
However, letting her off so easily felt a bit unsatisfying.
"Good evening, Anna-chan."
He nodded, responding to her greeting, and then changed the subject.
"But before you answer me, can I ask you a question first?"
"W-What question?"
"The moment you opened your eyes and saw me lying next to you, what were you thinking?"
He paused for a moment and added, "I want the truth."
"Do you even need to ask! I was embarrassed, of course!"
Anna answered without even thinking, her voice rising a pitch due to her shy annoyance.
"Keita, you jerk, what kind of answer were you expecting!"
"Oh? Just embarrassed?"
Keita raised an eyebrow, a slightly disappointed expression appearing on his face.
"Wasn't there any... sense of security, waking up to find the person you like lying quietly beside you?"
A sense of security...
Anna looked into Imaizumi's eyes, which held a hint of expectation, and the feeling of lying on this bed surfaced in her mind.
It was very warm and comfortable, as if the whole world had become quiet.
That feeling, indeed...
It was very reassuring.
She hesitated for a moment, and finally, under Keita's gaze, she nodded somewhat reluctantly.
Seeing her cute appearance—stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside—Keita's mood inexplicably became even better.
"Hmph."
Anna let out a soft snort from her nose, as if to hide her momentary wavering.
She leaped up from the bed, turned around, and changed the subject:
"Speaking of which, Keita, why did you come in so suddenly? Is dinner ready?"
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