Life In The Reverse World

New Event: Global Dungeons Daily Releases

Fuyuno: Remember to do proper foreplay for your first time, okay~ [Pink Bunny Wink] — Read

Fuyuno: If you don’t know how, you can always kneel down and ask Fuyuno-sama for guidance~ — Read

Fuyuno: So zako Harutaki reads but doesn’t reply, huh? That’s fine. I, Fuyuno-sama, am magnanimous. For the sake of my poor virgin brother having a good first experience, I’ll personally teach you how to make a girl feel good! — Read

Fuyuno: First you start by kissing and licking, then aim for that spot…… — Read

【Forward this conversation to [Ayaka]?】

【Yes】

Unable to hold back a snort of laughter, Harutaki, who had the habit of checking his messages before bed, put his phone away.

By the time he finished washing up, it was already half past ten. He returned to the bedroom and, in a joking tone, asked Chouko,

“Should I go sleep on the sofa?”

“I’m not that cold-blooded…… Besides, come to think of it, didn’t you already take my first time sleeping with a boy long ago, Hoshikawa? And now you’re asking me something like that?”

“Don’t make me sound like a scumbag.”

Even though Chouko did not explicitly say yes, there was no way he could miss the meaning between the lines. He immediately took the phone from his pocket and set it on the desk, preparing to get into bed and rest. However, just as he slipped off his slippers, he suddenly realized that he was still wearing his school uniform, clothes he had worn outside. Getting straight into bed like this would be pretty unhygienic.

At the very least, putting himself in someone else’s shoes, he absolutely would not want someone wearing outdoor clothes lying on his bed.

Especially when he thought about how he had previously left Chouko lying on the coffee table, he felt even more embarrassed about acting like a double standard.

“Hm? What are you dawdling for, Hoshikawa? Don’t tell me you’re scared I’ll eat you up?”

“I just don’t want to dirty the bed with clothes I wore outside.”

After that, the bedroom fell into silence.

Harutaki was considering whether he should just make do with the sofa for the night, while Chouko was thinking about something far more embarrassing.

“I guess I’ll……”

Just as he finally started to say he would go sleep on the sofa, Chouko cut him off directly.

“Y-You…… you can just take off the outer clothes……”

“If I do that, I’ll only be left in my shorts.”

“I-It’s fine! I’m still running a fever, so you don’t need to worry about being cold!”

Her brain really was fried from the fever, wasn’t it?!

Was that even the issue here?!

Harutaki had no idea where to begin complaining, and for a moment, he was completely at a loss for words.

A beat later, Chouko, finally realizing how badly she had phrased it, hurriedly explained in a fluster.

“I…… um…… I mean, Harutaki…… Hoshikawa, you don’t need to worry about catching a chill…… no, that’s not it…… I meant that I trust you won’t do anything weird……”

“I’m more worried you’ll do something weird to me.”

As he spoke, he took off his jacket, lifted the blanket, and slipped inside. Just like last time, he lay at the edge of the bed with his back to Chouko.

Click.

When the ceiling light was switched off, the room was instantly plunged into darkness, filled with an awkward silence.

Even though this was not the first time, under the covers he could feel the warmth Chouko had left behind. The scent the girl had left on the bed also kept flooding his senses with every breath. With all these factors combined, no matter how hard he tried to empty his mind, he simply could not calm down.

His whole body felt restless. He kept shifting his position on his side, and Chouko seemed to notice, mustering her courage to ask,

“Hoshikawa, do you…… have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds?”

“…Huff…… The bed’s full of your scent, Shihou. I’m not really used to it.”

“Is it sweat? D-Does it…… does it smell strange?”

“If anything, it smells really nice.”

Harutaki’s words were like a dry powder fire extinguisher, instantly smothering the conversation between him and the girl. The silence spread through the bedroom like choking dust, making it hard for either of them to speak.

Rustle, rustle.

The sound of fabric rubbing together suddenly rang out. What followed was pressure against Harutaki’s back, and a wave of scorching breath landing on his skin.

What the hell…… He grit his teeth and cursed inwardly again and again, thinking that girls’ minds really were unfathomable.

With Chouko suddenly hugging him like this, what was he supposed to do?

…

A broad, dependable back, a comforting scent. Chouko could not help but rest her forehead against him.

She vaguely remembered being held to sleep by her mother when she was little, but that was a very, very long time ago. The memories were already blurred. The warmth of an embrace, the peace of being protected, she could not recall any of it clearly.

If only this could stay like this forever, she prayed silently, wishing that this kind of life could continue on.

After a moment, a pair of hands covered the back of her hands. They were larger, warmer hands, almost like a father’s or a mother’s. And yet, the slight rubbing motion made her acutely aware of the situation she was in now.

No…… not now……

“I’m sorry…… Hoshikawa……”

Chouko swallowed hard, moistening her throat that burned with dryness and pain, forcing out words from a voice that felt stuck.

“I’m sorry…… please…… can we just stay like this…… I’m sorry……”

She knew all too well how difficult and painful it was to suppress desire. She had once lost control in a school restroom. But…… but she simply could not accept it.

Their relationship was best left here, and could only be left here.

In a few days, her mother would come to Tokyo to take her home. She did not want to hurt her mother, her great-grandmother, or her father whom she had not seen in years. She had to go back. She could not resist.

She knew that Harutaki, despite his usually flippant appearance, never shirked responsibility. In fact, he always quietly took responsibility onto himself. Precisely because of that, she did not want him to shoulder an even heavier burden.

If things continued, she was certain that Harutaki would try to stop it. He would offend her mother and the family, and might even provoke that terrifying great-grandmother.

Besides, Harutaki was not someone who absolutely needed her, right? Without her, he could naturally start dating Izumi, couldn’t he? And Izumi trusted both her and Harutaki so much. How could she possibly betray a friend’s trust?

Sensing Harutaki loosening his hands, Chouko whispered another apology.

“I’m sorry……”

If she could, she wanted to be like an ordinary girl. To confess properly, to go on happy, sweet dates, and at the end of the day, to walk into a room hand in hand with the one she loved, eventually entangling themselves together on the bed, pouring out their feelings to each other……

“If you have something on your mind, it’s better to say it out loud. Holding it in feels awful, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t……”

Hearing him say that, she forced the corners of her lips up, trying to put on a carefree expression and brush it off. But then she suddenly realized that the bedroom was pitch-black, and Harutaki was lying on his side with his back to her. No one could see her expression or her act at all.

Understanding that, Chouko smiled faintly in loneliness.

“I…… before long, I’ll be returning to the palace on the moon……”

“Huh? What about the trials? Aren’t I supposed to first find you things like the Fire-Rat’s Robe and the Dragon’s Jewel?”

Fire-Rat’s Robe, Dragon’s Jewel, what are you even talking about…… I’m being serious here!

She could not help but smile, and went along with the joke.

“Then please bring me the LV bag that won’t be released until next year, Hoshikawa.”

“I think we should just fast-forward to you leaving me the elixir of immortality, Princess Shihou.”

“If I had an elixir of immortality, I’d definitely leave it to you, Hoshikawa, so…… don’t think about fighting the heavenly soldiers……”

Powerless before the celestial beings, the princess leaving the impure earth to return to the Moon Palace. Perhaps this was the predetermined fate of her, Shihou Chouko.

“Even if it’s heavenly soldiers……”

“Sorry, I’m already sleepy. Good night.”

“……Good night.”