[T/N: I’m late but First of Happy New year everyone! Updates hasn’t been made because I have been on vacation since dec 27 but now I am back, the updates will be fast like before, so enjoy.]

───● The Bookish High School Girl Awakens ●○●

The mask of purity I wore shattered far too easily.

“Um… how was this again?”

I couldn’t tell if Masato-san was pretending not to have seen it or if he truly hadn’t, but he was trying to fix the curtain that had been covering the bookshelf.

No… there’s no way he didn’t see it. I saw it. I saw Masato-san’s eyes look directly at the bookshelf.

It was embarrassing because of what was there.

It was unbearable to look at because of what was there.

Masato-san is kind. That’s why he’s acting like nothing happened.

Realizing that, a wave of shame washed over me.

…How pathetic am I? What a mortifying person I am.

The moment I thought that, my heart began to ache terribly.

Along with the shame, something I didn’t want Masato-san to see welled up inside me.

“…Ugh!”

“Shiori-chan!?”

I ran.

I left the room and bolted down the stairs.

“Shiori? What’s wrong?!”

Ignoring my mother’s voice as she came out of the living room, I fled through the front door.

Ah, it’s all ruined. The dreamlike time is over.

I just ran. And ran.

Until this feeling cooled down. Without realizing it, tears were streaming down my face.

I can’t let Masato-san see the tears of such a filthy woman, so I guess this is what has to happen now.

Ah, everything is already over.

I thought I might be able to become the heroine of a story, but this world is just too harsh for a background character B, a mere otaku girl.

I know that just buying some nice clothes and putting on nice makeup won’t make you a heroine that easily.

I’m being crushed by reality.

Reality really sucks.

How many minutes had passed? I had run all the way to a nearby riverbank.

In the distance, the setting sun was dipping below the horizon. Ah, was it that late already? I wondered.

When that sun sets, will the time I can spend next to Masato-san end too? I laughed at myself, realizing I was still playing Cinderella.

Perhaps the exhaustion from running finally caught up, as my legs were trembling. This is what happens when a physically unfit otaku overexerts herself.

I tried to sit down on the lawn…

“Gueh.”

I lost my balance and tumbled down the grassy slope.

“…Ouch… haha… what am I even doing?”

The outfit I’d so carefully picked out was covered in grass. My knee was scraped and bleeding somewhere.

And the hairstyle I’d set was definitely a disaster.

Good thing there was no one around.

The position I’d fallen into, my ragged breathing. I felt it suited me perfectly right now.

“You’re an idiot… He was always too good for a worthless otaku like you, wasn’t he?”

I know. I know he’s someone I can’t reach, no matter how much I try to act like a grown-up.

I should know.

The reason my heart ached so much when Masato-san saw the bookshelf must have been because.

Deep down, I still saw the possibility of standing by his side.

Just because he was a little kind to me. Just because he took a few pictures with me.

I totally misunderstood.

I’m such a virgin. Seriously.

Ugh, I’m so lame.

…But even at a time like this.

The hero still comes, without fail.

“Shiori-chan!”

Ah, I guess a hero is always a hero.

I was thinking that, even though he surely had better things to do.

Masato-san, running toward me with a worried look, was still so wonderful and cool.

He was simply too dazzling for me.

“Are you okay?! Wait, you scraped your knee! Uh, let me get a handkerchief…”

Masato-san gently brushed the grass off my clothes and used his handkerchief to stop the bleeding on my knee.

Honestly, I should stop him. If I were acting like a heroine, there would be words to say and things to do, but.

I no longer have that right.

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

For the first time, I confronted Masato-san as myself, Shinomiya Shiori.

“You saw it, didn’t you? The bookshelf. I’m a super otaku. Man, you must be totally turned off, right? Like, “I Got Three Little Brothers!” We’re talking about a story where a girl’s mom remarries, and she suddenly gets three stepsons. What kind of story is that, right? Ah, but actually, they all have really great characters, you know. The oldest one usually acts super serious because he has younger siblings, but when they’re alone, he gets all clingy, and it’s so cute, you know—but you didn’t ask for any of that, did you? Aha ha”

I figured, what the hell, who cares anymore?

If I’m going to keep spending time with him, and he’ll always be thinking, ‘This girl is actually an otaku…’ then it’s better to just expose everything now.

It would be better if he was disgusted, found me “creepy,” and quit as my tutor.

So, I floored the accelerator.

Even so, it might still hurt to be rejected by the person I’m genuinely in love with.

I was speaking quickly and staring at the ground, so I couldn’t see Masato-san’s expression. I was too scared to look at him directly.

Cautiously, I glanced up at Masato-san.

“Huh? What’s that? That sounds interesting.”

“…Wha—?”

A strange sound escaped my throat.

“Huh, no, I mean it sounds interesting. So that’s what those stories are like in this world… and what about the other two? What are their characters like?”

“Ah, u-um, well, about that…”

He wasn’t rejecting me, or even looking disgusted. Nor was he merely being considerate.

He simply looked interested and was genuinely listening.

Since I’ve been an otaku for a long time, I can generally tell whether someone is truly interested based on their expression and tone.

This skill is what allowed me to get along reasonably well with my female friends.

And that skill was currently telling me that Masato-san, right in front of me, was “purely interested in what I was saying”.

…Huh? Is that even possible?

Still in a daze, I spoke.

It was almost laughable that I could still fluently explain the work I loved, even in a moment like this.

We talked for a while after that.

“Hahaha! So that’s the deal! That really sounds fun! I’ll read it before I come over next time!”

“Eh?! Ah, no, seriously?! Are you seriously serious?! Oh, if you are, I can lend you the book…”

“Oh, really?! Thanks!”

How did things turn out like this?

My confusion was visible.

While I was absolutely bewildered, Masato-san stood up and stretched.

“Alright, let’s head back now!”

“Ah, um, just a second. Not ‘Mate Tea’… I mean, could you wait for me?”

The handsome man looked at me, completely baffled.

Every time I looked at his face, I wondered if this was reality.

I just don’t get it.

I really don’t understand this person.

“Um, I’m an otaku. And a pretty serious one at that.”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“No, don’t just say ‘yeah’… I mean, you know, like, ‘Gross!’ Things like that!”

“Ehh…”

Why does he look at me like I’m the one who’s talking crazy?!

Do you have any idea what I’m feeling…?!

“I don’t know. I get that you’re an otaku, Shiori-chan, and I kind of get that you’re self-conscious about it, too.”

“Well, all otaku are self-conscious about it…!”

“Hmm, maybe my reaction is strange and wrong. But, look,”

Masato-san gently removed a piece of grass that was still stuck in my hair.

His eyes, his expression as he looked at me, were so calm and kind. He was exactly the prince I had always longed for.

My heart gave a heavy thump.

This person is, after all—

“I already know so many great things about Shinomiya Shiori. There’s no way I’d suddenly hate you or be disgusted by you just because of that.”

—the type of person who just says things like that without a second thought.

Fine. I thought. I don’t care if this person knows everything about me anymore.

I stood up impulsively.

“…Tch! That’s it! I don’t care anymore! I’m not going to pretend to be nice anymore! You’re going to have to take responsibility! You can’t get disgusted by the real me!”

“Hahaha! I’m glad you cheered up. I’ve always thought it would be nice to talk to you more honestly, Shiori-chan.”

“I’ll talk to you all you want! I’ll tell you about all the most messed up games you wish you never knew about! Just imagining your beautiful face twisted in shame gets me fired up!”

“Oh? ‘My beautiful face’? I’m happy to hear that. Thank you.”

“What the hell is wrong with your ears?!”

It’s fun… it’s fun!

I don’t have to put on an act anymore.

I can be with Masato-san just as I am.

That alone made me so happy.

I felt like my heart was clearing up.

I wiped my tears with my right index finger. I wasn’t sure why, but the temperature of the tears I wiped away felt different from before—

“Ow!!”

Lost in thought, I had completely forgotten about the cut on my knee.

“Ah, that must still hurt, huh…”

“Oh, it’s fine. This will heal if I just spit on it, heh-heh…”

“What’s with that punk move?”

My emotions were like a rollercoaster.

I didn’t even know what I was saying anymore. I felt like the words were coming out without passing through my brain.

Masato-san seemed to be thinking for a moment, then muttered, “Mmm… well, I guess it can’t be helped,”

Before walking over to me, turning his back, and crouching down.

Huh?

“Alright, hop on. I might be a little sweaty, though.”

“Huh? No, not at all. You smell totally floral! It’s the level that would make every fabric softener in the world cry and apologize…?”

“That’s kind of scary…”

Th-this is a piggyback ride?!

This is getting too intense, too fast…..

However, the fact that he truly trusts me is evident, so I can’t do anything weird.

Timidly, I got onto Masato-san’s back.

I wrapped my arms around his neck.

Then, slowly… the feeling of floating.

Masato-san’s large back.

His faint scent.

His body heat.

Everything was hopelessly dear to me.

I was embarrassed, but happy.

Oh no, it’s creepy if I get too excited; I have to cover it up.

“The history of the Universal Century, ten years in the making—”

“…Was I a space robot? And that’s a pretty short history.”

—The person who plays along with even a stupid joke like this is truly the best.

I casually turned my head back.

The sunset I had seen in the distance had already set.

…If things had ended neatly right there, I could have concluded that today was a wonderful day. Yay!

But in my case, it seems things couldn’t be that simple.

“And then that guy, Mitsuaki, was like—”

“That’s terrible!”

“I know, he’s totally trash—”

The walk home, still being carried on his back.

It was a very happy time.

That’s precisely why.

It happened in a truly fleeting moment.

In this time of day when the streetlights were beginning to turn on.

As I was being carried, intent on savoring Masato-san’s back, I stared holes into various spots.

Huh? It was on the side of his neck.

A red, oval mark.

Even though I’m a virgin, I know what that is. That’s a hickey.

“—?!”

“…? What’s wrong, Shiori-chan?”

A voiceless gasp escaped me.

Masato-san realized I had inhaled sharply and glanced back at me with only his face.

His innocent face.

His neat features… that utterly pure expression.

Yet, it was clearly etched onto his body.

A “mark” placed there by someone.

“U-um, Masato-san, your neck is red…”

“Oh, this. I noticed it had turned red. Maybe a bug bite?”

“…”

He seemed completely unaware. But this was absolutely not a bug bite.

A powerful will was radiating from this mark. A declaration that, ‘This man is mine’.

Masato-san is cool. His personality is perfect.

It wouldn’t be strange for him to have a woman or two around. In fact, I had heard him consult about it.

However, seeing it physically like this—

I felt aroused.

Huh? Why?

I should be feeling despair or jealousy, or some emotion in that direction.

But I was intensely aroused.

Because if it was true that someone other than me had pinned Masato-san down.

And completely ruined this pure, beautiful young man, even leaving a mark.

Just thinking about that passionate moment made my body feel this way—

“Ah…”

“? Shiori-chan, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry… I have a nosebleed…”

“Ehh?! Wait, let me get a tissue…”

Ah, what a deep karma I have.

But I want to see more.

I want to see Masato-san accepting the full force of a woman’s lust.

I never thought I could have such a wonderful person all to myself in the first place.

So, I want a share.

I clung tightly to Masato-san’s neck while he fumbled for a tissue in his pocket.

The person who should be the furthest from a woman’s “filthy” desires is the one accepting them.

Currently, and most likely, continually.

And this is the proof.

I stared at the spot where the “mark” had been placed.

Ah, my body was impossibly hot.

I would humbly prostrate myself for this.

If that’s what it takes to do it. I want to be allowed to.

Someday, I too. Want to ruin this cool, storybook hero, Masato-san.

Header: [ In the Case of Shinomiya Shiori ]

 < Shiori

Shiori (10:12): Masato-san, thank you for your hard work today.

Shiori (10:12): This is an invitation that has nothing to do with the tutoring, but…

Shiori (10:12): Would you happen to be free next Saturday night?

Masato (11:15) [Read]: Good work! Sorry~ I already have plans for that day.

Masato (11:15) [Read]: I can do another day if that works, should we try to reschedule?

Shiori (12:25): No! If that’s the case, please just forget I mentioned it.

Shiori (12:25): It was an invitation to an event that is only held on that specific day.

Masato (13:15) [Read]: Oh, I see! My bad.

Masato (13:15) [Read]: If you’d like, I’ll make it up to you some other time.

Shiori (14:55): Oh, I will definitely take you up on that!

Shiori (14:55): …You just said you’d do anything for me!

Masato (16:00) [Read]: I definitely didn’t say that!

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