"Nii-san, leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist." Sagiri put her hands on her hips, tilted her small face up, her cheeks puffed out high.
"Hurry up and confess what you and Elf did behind my back!"
Hearing this, Sora subconsciously quipped:
"Leniency for those who confess, sit in jail until you die; severity for those who resist, go home for the New Year?"
"Ugh—"
Sagiri tensed her small face, raised her delicate foot, and stomped on Sora's instep.
"Idiot Nii-san, so infuriating!"
"Ouch, please show mercy."
"Don't even think about me taking my foot off until Nii-san confesses honestly."
"..."
"It's actually very simple..."
Sora cooperatively raised his hands. He didn't hide the truth and quickly explained the situation clearly:
"That's what happened. Elf is already staying temporarily at Mahiru's house. If Sagiri doesn't believe me, you can message them and ask yourself."
"Eh?"
Sagiri jumped in fright, nervously hugging Sora's arm:
"Terrifying demon bugs appeared in Elf's house, we don't have such terrifying creatures here too, do we?"
"Just cockroaches..."
"Nii-san, don't say such a scary name!"
"Alright." Sora spread his hands.
"So far, we haven't had any roaches appear in the house... But if Sagiri eats snacks in her room from now on, you have to clean it up quickly when you're done, otherwise it's hard to say."
"N-Nii-san, don't try to scare me!" Sagiri's small face turned slightly pale, though she put up a brave front.
"Every time I finish my snacks, I clean it up immediately!"
Sora complained:
"Liars will never grow up."
"Ugh—"
Sagiri looked down at her chest. Her small face quickly puffed up. Clenching her small fists, she pounded Sora's knee:
"Nii-san is dirty now, hurry up and go take a shower."
"Yes, yes."
"..."
After washing up.
Sora returned to his room, rested briefly, and then continued to grind his skills.
The night passed without words.
The next day.
Sora woke up on time, washed up, prepared bento boxes, said goodbye to Sagiri, and then headed out to school.
Arriving at the train station.
He didn't need to deliberately search; his gaze was involuntarily drawn to a sparkling presence. He quickly spotted Angel-sama standing quietly in the corner, holding her schoolbag with both hands.
Mahiru seemingly noticed him and looked up.
Their eyes met.
A faint blush quickly surged onto the girl's fair, jade-like pretty face, and she swiftly averted her gaze.
Clearly, Angel-sama's sense of shame still hadn't cooled down.
"Mahiru, good morning."
Sora stepped forward and gently greeted her.
"...Good morning."
Mahiru kept her eyes downcast, looking at her toes, refusing to lift her head and meet his eyes.
A closer look would reveal that the tips of the girl's ears were already tinged with crimson.
"Elf didn't disturb your rest last night, did she?" Sora asked casually.
"No." Mahiru raised her right hand, her slender, white fingers gently tucking the stray hair by her ear, her voice soft.
"Elf slept in the guest room. She hadn't woken up yet when I left."
"Now that it's May, the weather is gradually getting warmer." Sora sighed.
"If you don't pay attention to hygiene, you really will get cockroaches."
"Indeed..."
After breaking the initial awkwardness, Angel-sama was no longer silent, softly talking about matters inside and outside the house.
"When I got up to make bentos this morning, I specifically saved some breakfast for Elf..."
"Later when we get to school, I have to message Elf to remind her to go to the convenience store to buy insect repellent."
"Before leaving the house just now, I also sent a message to Ruri-san. Ruri-san said she didn't have any more nightmares last night. Anna's 'stimulation therapy' was quite effective."
Angel-sama, acting like the true head of the household, worried endlessly about everyone else.
Sora: "..."
I'm sorry.
So much happened yesterday that after waking up this morning, I completely forgot about Kuroneko's nightmare.
"It's good that she didn't have nightmares." Sora coughed lightly twice.
"A cause for celebration."
As they spoke, the train wobbled its way into the station.
Sora and Mahiru boarded the crowded morning train, squeezing towards a corner.
Seeing Angel-sama unable to stand steadily as she was pushed by other passengers, Sora decisively reached out, firmly grasping Angel-sama's soft hand, rescuing the girl from the throng.
"Phew..."
Mahiru quietly breathed a sigh of relief, tilted up her pretty face to look at Sora, and said softly:
"Thank you, Sora-kun."
"You're welcome..."
Sora's gaze shifted downward, involuntarily landing on the girl's pink, moist, and crystal-clear tender lips. He didn't know what brand of lip balm Angel-sama used, but her lips looked pink and tender, exceptionally moist, like the highest quality jelly, making one's heart flutter.
The kissing scenes from the amusement park yesterday surged into his mind again, quietly accelerating Sora's heartbeat.
Cute.
Want to...
Sensing the change in Sora's gaze, a blush rapidly surged onto Angel-sama's face, and she hurriedly lowered her head to look at her toes.
The two fell completely silent; only the train continued wobbling its way forward.
The journey was silent.
The train soon arrived at the station in front of the school.
After getting off the train, Sora and Mahiru tacitly put some distance between them, and then entered the school grounds separately.
"Sora, good morning!"
As soon as he sat down in the classroom, the girl's crisp, bright, and energetic shout rang out.
Anna, just like usual, sat at the desk in front of Sora, smiling and starting to chat as if nothing had happened yesterday. But a closer look would reveal that the tips of Anna's ears were noticeably somewhat red.
When their eyes met, 'Inmate Eight' evasively averted her gaze.
"Ahem..."
Anna made a fist with her right hand, brought it to her mouth, and coughed lightly twice. She slightly turned her pretty face away, searching for a topic:
"Sora, did you watch the news when you woke up this morning?"
Sora was curious: "What news?"
Anna clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling brightly:
"That hall-of-fame level light novel, 'Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle', has finally officially announced its anime adaptation!"
The so-called "hall-of-fame level" means that in the "Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!" (This Light Novel is Amazing!) competition, it maintained a top-three ranking for three consecutive years and won first place at least once. Chitose currently doesn't have the boost of an anime adaptation. Earning the hall-of-fame title solely based on the light novel, one can imagine the value it holds.
"I actually hadn't seen that news." Sora couldn't help but sigh. "It seems the 'Four Kings of School' will be gaining another member soon."
"Eh?" Anna tilted her head in confusion. "Who are the Four Kings of School?"
Sora replied complainingly:
"I was just saying that casually. It's like the legendary 'Four Great Villains', anyone can be added to the list."
"Okay then." Anna didn't dwell on such a minor detail. Her eyes sparkled, and she leaned forward, continuing to gossip.
"There's another piece of news Sora will definitely be very interested in too!"
"What is it?"
"The third season of the 'One-Punch Man' anime has been officially announced and scheduled! It's airing next season! Sora liked watching it before, right?"
"I did like it a lot, it's just that the manga got a bit messy later on, the author even frequently scrapped and redrew chapters..." Sora nodded upon hearing this.
"Hopefully the production team can step up their game."
Anna rested her chin on her hands, swaying her head left and right, her smile bright:
"I wonder if my work will ever get an anime adaptation."
Sora took out his books and couldn't resist complaining:
"The child hasn't even been born yet, and you're already thinking about them getting into Tokyo University. Try to be a bit more grounded."
"C-Child?"
Anna didn't know what she thought of, but her pretty face quickly flushed red. She quietly covered her lower abdomen with both hands, stammering shyly:
"Kissing doesn't make babies..."
Nonsense, everyone knows that common sense!
"I'm talking about 'Dungeon Meal'." Sora looked over speechlessly, getting down to business.
"After you went home last night, how much did you write?"
"Eh?"
The smile on Anna's face quietly froze. She silently stood up, turned, and started to walk away:
"Sorry, my stomach suddenly hurts a bit... excuse me."
To actually turn and run away, as expected, you forgot to write again!
Class time soon arrived.
The bespectacled math teacher was explaining trigonometric functions on the podium. His low voice had a built-in hypnotic effect, and many of the students below were listening as if it were a foreign language, feeling drowsy. Anna rested her chin on her left hand, a pen in her mouth, secretly glancing at Sora:
Speaking of which... what wish should I make today?