Volume 1 Chapter 23
by Golden DragonVolume 1 + Chapter 23: The Second Embrace
Let me state upfront, I am not a masochist.
It’s just that, in this game, the more detestable my presence, the more at ease I feel.
The frustration of the day was healed by the guarded looks of the girls and their expressions as if they were facing a villain.
Having regained that familiar feeling, I walked off in high spirits.
I didn’t even pay attention to the small matter of standing too close to Yuna, which caused those blue-white specks of light to pop out and bounce around in front of me.
[Companion, companion…]
Their discontented thoughts reached me.
Not hearing you, not hearing you.
Ignoring them, I moved away from Yuna and headed to where my underlings were.
The boys were tense in a way completely different from usual. Respectful, yes, but they kept stealing furtive glances at me.
What should have been a comfortable environment now felt awkward.
[Come here.]
I beckoned for one of my underlings to approach.
[What’s up, boss?]
The underling came over obediently, looking ready to follow any order.
[Take care of their little issue.]
I raised an eyebrow meaningfully.
Though my underling was a fool when it came to dealing with girls, he understood boys’ minds perfectly.
[Ah, that.]
As if it were no big deal, he gave me an OK sign.
Then he had the boys join hands and form a circle around me.
Without any explanation, the boys obediently closed in, making a small ring.
I stood inside that circle, waiting along with the other boys for him to explain.
[Alright! Now, go ahead and try your moves! Whoever can take the boss down will get half a year’s worth of his snacks!]
That sudden announcement successfully fired up the boys.
Without a second thought, they charged at me, faces full of excitement, eagerness, and some inexplicable silly grins.
Hmph.
It had been a long time since I’d played this game. Calmly, I settled into my stance.
With shifts of my feet, I tripped, side-swept, and flung them aside.
It was a game of making them lose their balance. Before long, the boys were utterly defeated.
Three years had passed, yet not only had they made no progress, they had actually regressed.
Resuming my original posture, I saw that the boys hadn’t even touched a corner of my clothes. They finally seemed to recall the terror of that period when they had been dominated.
The respect in their eyes immediately returned.
So that was the plan.
Understanding why my underling had done this, I took the water bottle he handed me.
He had been sharp enough to bring it over, and now his face was full of excitement.
[The boss is still the boss! So awesome!]
He praised me with a thumbs-up, trying to gloss over that earlier matter.
[Why did you set the bet as half a year’s worth of my snacks?]
I smiled at my underling, who looked like he was about to break into a sweat.
[Ahaha…]
His eyes darted left and right, flustered.
[Well, whatever. I had fun anyway. Forget your half-year of snacks.]
Patting my underling on the shoulder, I slipped away.
The PE teacher, who had rushed over in a panic, had no idea what had just happened.
The “mastermind” and the “accomplices” had already sneaked off, having a great time together.
The boys from the neighboring class who had witnessed everything finally looked at me with normal eyes again.
All in all, my underling handled the problem well.
Drinking water while sitting on the horizontal bar, with my underling chattering away at my feet.
He was talking about turning that half-year of snacks into a cake for me.
[Various flavored cream puffs, strawberry crepes, and that small cake from near the school.]
As his descriptions grew more and more exaggerated, who could finish a ten-inch cake? I capped my water bottle and made a direct request.
That way, it would save money and I wouldn’t get sick of the taste.
[Got it, boss! I’ll bring it for you tomorrow!]
He looked up with a silly grin. Though he wasn’t bad-looking, he gave off the feeling of a little dog.
Not the type that girls his age would like, plus his total lack of tact when speaking to girls.
Yeah, he seemed destined to be a bachelor for life.
I jumped off the horizontal bar. If the PE teacher had seen that move, a scolding would have been unavoidable.
Too bad, he was still being run ragged by a bunch of boys rolling around on the ground, too exhausted to pay attention to me or witness this.
[Boss, it’s almost break time. Do you have any plans?]
Bringing this up suddenly, my underling seemed to have something in mind.
[No plans.]
[Then how about we go to the shrine together for the New Year’s visit?]
He was very excited, his bright yellow eyes sparkling.
[That’s fine, I suppose.]
My parents would be at some group meeting that day anyway. After a moment’s thought, I agreed without hesitation.
[Yes!]
He jumped up in joy, stomping his feet with excitement.
—————-
It was peaceful until school let out, with no unexpected incidents.
Just as I thought I could go home and practice the piano, Yuna grabbed the hem of my clothes.
[Can you not tug at my clothes, Yuna? They’ll wrinkle.]
I stopped helplessly.
Hearing that, Yuna silently switched to holding my hand.
Looking at our tightly clasped hands, I sensed trouble.
[Big Sister has a follow-up appointment today. She wants to see you.]
So it was about Hina again. I massaged my forehead in frustration.
[I need to go practice.]
[It was largely thanks to us that Tomoya-nii got you to meet the teacher so quickly!]
Yuna said, dissatisfied.
Thinking she had a point, I nodded and agreed.
I sent a message to Shimizu-sensei, got a “no problem” reply, and followed Yuna to the same hospital as last time.
The room number had changed, but it was still a luxurious ward.
Hina, who had been undergoing an examination, spotted me, and her sky-blue eyes immediately lit up with joy.
What the hell is that guy Tomoya doing?
I cursed inwardly at his unreliability.
It had been several days, why hadn’t he restored this girl’s sight?
Why hadn’t her illness improved?
And she still liked a scumbag like me? Wasn’t that sick in itself????
Yuna and I sat to the side while the nurse finished the checkup. When the nurse wheeled the equipment out, Yuna inexplicably followed her out and thoughtfully closed the door behind her.
Hmm… déjà vu…
It seemed just like the time at their house.
But too bad!
This time there was no leverage to make me give in!
Hina and Yuna had miscalculated!
Watching Hina’s increasingly intense gaze, I remained completely unruffled.
After all, the heroines were all physically weak. They couldn’t do anything to me.
[Do you still remember what happened in the dream?]
Hina’s puzzling words made me frown.
[Dream?]
A blush crept over Hina’s pale face.
[Yes, the dream.]
Was she talking about some strange wet dream and telling me about it as if it were real?
[………]
Seeing me silent, Hina once again flashed that strange, “satisfied” smile.
It reminded me of the last time, inside Hina’s spirit world.
[So you don’t know, what a pity.]
Though she said “what a pity,” her expression was one of extraordinary satisfaction. I raised an eyebrow.
[Can I go back now?]
If she had called me here just to say such cryptic things, I’d rather go home and practice piano.
[Yuu.]
It was the first time I’d heard Hina say my name in the real world.
[Yeah?]
I looked up at her. Hina smiled and reached out both arms, as if asking for a hug.
[I have no reason to agree to your request this time.]
I said coldly, making no move to approach.
[I have books related to ‘Spirit Users’ at home, rare editions you won’t find anywhere else.]
Hina dropped the bait, confident I would agree.
Wasn’t it a bit much for someone so young to use tactics like this?
Complaints aside, I still slowly approached her.
[Just one hug?]
I began confirming the terms.
[For a while.]
[How long is a while?]
[Fifteen minutes.]
[Too long.]
I stopped, dissatisfied, and looked at Hina, who was now right in front of me, ready to bargain.
[The rare editions.]
Hina said this with a grin, her outstretched arms slowly rising, waiting for the embrace.
After hesitating for a moment, I finally gave in.
Slowly, reluctantly, I reached out and hugged Hina.
[Scumbag.]
Hina’s voice was soft, tinged with laughter.
Her breath by my ear sent a familiar wave of heat through it once more.
I remained calm.
[If you know I’m a scumbag, then don’t like me.]
[No, I like you. Even if you are a scumbag.]
Hina nuzzled against my head with what seemed like a mix of cherishing and affection.
A girl’s body is slender and soft, with a pleasant scent.
Shifting Hina around, I sat on the bed and settled her onto my lap.
I grabbed the soft blanket from the bed and wrapped it around both of us.
Then I looked up at the clock on the wall and began counting the time.
[Hey, do you really not remember at all?]
Hina whispered softly by my ear, and oddly, it felt as if a kitten were clawing at my heart.
I tilted my head slightly away.
[You shouldn’t mistake your delusional dreams for reality.]
[Hehe… dreams…]
Amused by what I said, Hina buried her face in my neck and laughed out loud.
I had no idea what was so funny.
Figuring there was no point in arguing with a child, I ignored the laughing Hina and kept my eyes on the clock.
[It’s a dream~ it’s a dream~]
With each phrase, Hina bobbed her head.
[Can you stop moving your head? It’s annoying.]
I pressed down on Hina’s head to keep her still. She quieted down for a few minutes.
[It’s so warm.]
Hina murmured, sounding very comfortable, and held me a little tighter.
Our hearts pressed closely together again. Slowly, slowly, they seemed to synchronize.
Thump-thump, thump-thump, perfectly in time.
A strange feeling.
Neither in my previous life nor this one had I ever been this close to anyone.
Male or female, no one.
And both times I had been this close were with this girl in my arms. It felt… complicated.
[Hey, why do you like me?]
I asked the question that had always puzzled me, right in front of the person herself.
[Because you’re a scumbag.]
Hina answered that way, then laughed at her own words, hugging me and chuckling softly.
[So you’d fall for any scumbag?]
I followed up on her answer.
[Of course not. It has to be a scumbag like you.]
Hina raised her head and looked at me intently with those sky-blue eyes.
[Too close…]
I looked back at her with sharp eyes, but Hina wasn’t afraid at all. Instead, she seemed quite interested in studying my eyes.
Her nose almost touched mine, I leaned back slightly to create some distance.
[Why do you act like that? Isn’t it me who loses out?]
Hina frowned, not understanding.
[You lose out?]
I was so annoyed by that claim that I laughed mirthlessly.
[Of course I lose out. Your personality isn’t one that can accept being on the bottom. Won’t I have to be on the bottom later?]
We hadn’t even gotten together yet, but Hina was already thinking about what it would be like.
She really was the type to dream big.
[Keep your dreams for the night. Don’t talk nonsense in broad daylight.]
I sneered.
Hina just stared at me with her sky-blue eyes and slowly drew closer.
[My looks and eyes are very similar to Yuna’s. You can treat me as a substitute for her.]
For someone so young to say such things.
I had no idea where she got all these messy ideas. My head was starting to ache faintly.
[You are you. You can never become Yuna.]
[Hmph, scumbag.]
Though she cursed me, Hina looked very happy as she hugged me again, glancing at the clock, only five minutes had passed.
I sighed, wondering why time could pass so slowly and why this felt so hard to endure.
Watching Hina smile as brightly as a blooming flower, I sighed inwardly.
It seemed that today, once again, Hina had won.
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