Chapter 23

"Really... I'm really serious."

She was dead serious.

She fixed her intense gaze without a moment's break, and her tense expression relaxed slightly.

This was a performance so convincing, it was truly the real deal.

But for Yuki, there was no need for her to formally reiterate it.

(Of course she's serious. It's a 100% win streak on the line.)

Still, the shock was real.

This was the true power of the "seatmate killer." The skirmishes up until now were just a warm-up.

With this, she could make the other person misunderstand... and in that, one could sense her strong will to make the boy in the next seat fall for her.

(This is really serious...)

"Hehe..."

Her refined, bashful smile captivated even Yuki.

Indeed, Keitaro and Sonoda had no chance against this.

Yumei fidgeted, her cheeks flushed, and hesitantly began to speak.

"So, um... if possible, I want to get along better with Yuki-kun..."

As she started to say this, a sudden gust of wind blew, accompanied by a metallic creak.

Instantly, the wind tousled Yumei's hair and lifted her skirt with force.

"Ah!?"

Yumei, focused on speaking, hurriedly tried to hold down her skirt, but it was too late. Her underwear was fully exposed.

Letting out a strange cry, Yumei crouched down, desperately holding her skirt with both hands, her face redder than ever, and glared at Yuki with intense eyes.

Though Yuki had done nothing wrong, her glare seemed to blame him entirely.

On the other hand, Yuki, standing in the direction of the wind, was relatively fine. Yumei, suddenly facing the wind, was somewhat self-inflicted.

The wind subsided, but Yumei remained crouched.

Feeling a bit awkward for having seen, Yuki hesitated but decided to say something to ease the situation.

"...Cute panties, huh?"

If it were Rina, it might be different, but he had just been accused of harassment, so touching on such a topic might not be the best.

Yuki thought this as he spoke, but girls are complicated, and he still didn't understand.

After a moment, Yumei stood up silently.

Though her expression was calm, her lips were trembling slightly, and her face was still red.

Without a word, she turned and ran away from the scene.

(So, it didn't work...)

Left alone, Yuki tilted his head.

Her back seemed to say, "Don't follow me," so he didn't.

In any case, her darkness ran deeper than he thought.

What could drive her to such lengths to achieve absolute victory...?

(She's a good girl, I think...)

Like how his sister Rina had become withdrawn after losing their mother, Yumei must have experienced something in the past that made her this way.

Perhaps her neighbor's boy had killed someone close to her... a promise with a distant friend... a born warrior... a white panty with a small ribbon...

Yuki's mind raced with various possibilities, but he found no answer.

In any case, she was a pitiful girl.

Being seated next to such a girl must be some kind of fate.

If possible, he wanted to help her.

The most important thing was to be patient, observe her warmly over time, and not rush.

This approach had worked with Rina, who had improved dramatically. Reflecting on it, they did share some similarities.

(From now on, I'll be kinder to her.)

Yuki decided this in his heart.

On the other hand, Yumei, who had barely made it home, rushed straight to her room and, without changing, buried her head in her pillow, kicking her legs.

(Oh no, what do I do, what do I do!)

Her panties were seen.

...No, that's not the point. She had finally said it.

She had planned to observe more and didn't intend to say it at this moment, but it was a matter of words.

She hadn't expected him to suddenly say, in such a serious tone, to stop the silly behavior.

(But I said it. I said it!)

She wasn't playing the "make him fall in love" game.

That meant all her previous actions were genuine attempts to make him fall in love.

In other words, it was as if she was saying, "I really wanted to catch your attention."

In a sense, it was almost a confession.

(My panties were seen...)

Confessing and showing her panties at the same time.

Even if it was just bad luck, it looked pretty bad from an objective standpoint.

Feeling unable to bear it, she ran home without a word.

She stumbled and lightly scraped her knee on the way. Someone else might have seen her panties. She wanted to die.

But by now, he must be at home, calmly recalling her words and thinking about them.

A message might come any moment. A call was also possible.

"Does that mean..."

"You were really trying to make me fall in love?"

If such a message came, what would she do? Say it again? Or say it once more?

While her mind was in turmoil, holding her phone face down, it vibrated.

A message from Yuki.

"It's okay, don't worry."

A cryptic message without a subject.

It could be interpreted as everything being fine, but she held back her excitement and probed further.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think anyone else saw."

"Of course, that's it!"

She sat up and threw her phone on the bed.

He had said something about her cute panties, but maybe she should have snapped at him.

Deciding to ignore it and go to sleep, she lay down again, but the door suddenly opened, and her sister Maki barged in.

"Hey! Knock first!"

"What are you shouting about? You're being noisy."

The walls between their rooms were too thin.

Sitting up, Yumei tried to change the subject as Maki looked at her suspiciously.

"Hey, sis, did you go to university today?"

"I finished in the morning."

"That's nice, so relaxed..."

"It just seems that way. Anyway, Yumei, make dinner. I want meat."

"Do it yourself."

"If you don't, there won't be any food."

As usual, she didn't listen.

Maki was already in low-effort loungewear, with no intention of going shopping.

"Where's Mom today?"

"She's having dinner with other part-time housewives. Didn't you know?"

"Again?"

Her mother often slacked off on housework, or being a housewife, or being a mother.

Maybe Maki was similar in this way.

"I just don't feel like doing anything today."

"Really? Oh, you have a message."

"Hmm?"

She casually looked and saw Maki, who had somehow taken her phone, scrolling through it with her finger, making her eyes bulge.

She quickly snatched the phone.

"Who does that, looking at their sister's phone without permission!"

"It says, 'Sorry, are you angry?' He seems nice."

"Stop reading it out loud."

"Naoki Yuki... I'll remember that."

"You don't need to remember his full name."

In an instant, Maki had gathered a lot of information.

There was no room for carelessness or mistakes.

"So, is he the rumored guy..."

"There's no rumor. It's nothing like that."

"Want to talk about it...?"

"No. Shoo, shoo."

Forcing her sister out of the room, Yumei sat back on the bed.

She stared at her phone, unsure how to reply, but eventually sent, "I'm not angry. Sorry for leaving without a word."

His reply, "That's good to hear," was unusually quick and polite, which slightly bothered her, but in any case, she felt awkward about seeing him tomorrow.

She was even prepared to summon a typhoon to lift her skirt again.

The next part will probably continue from Yumei's perspective.