"Mahiru-san, this is not a dream."
Rei Ao's voice held a trace of teasing amusement as he glanced at the crimson‑faced Tsuruyama Shirahi.
"Shirahi-san is standing right over there watching, you know."
"???"
The air froze.
Mahiru's movements stopped short and she stiffly turned her head.
When her eyes met Shirahi's shocked gaze, the cheeks that had been flushed with heat just moments ago went deathly pale.
"Uh …"
She frantically snatched up a bath towel to wrap herself and shrank into a corner, a far cry from the boldness she'd shown only seconds earlier.
…
Half an hour later
The three of them sat on the living‑room sofa.
Anekōji Mahiru was bundled in a thick knit sweater, earlobes red enough to bleed as her fingers twisted the hem of her skirt.
Tsuruyama Shirahi stared down at her own toes, hardly daring to breathe.
Rei Ao, by contrast, lounged comfortably, savoring hot tea as though nothing steamy had occurred at all.
"I… I really thought I was dreaming," Mahiru stammered, unable to meet Rei Ao's eyes.
"I must have dozed off in the bath because I was exhausted, and when I woke up I just… "
Her voice dwindled until it vanished into the awkward silence.
"No harm done,"
Rei Ao set his teacup down.
"What matters is that the strange noises in Miracle Garden are taken care of."
He slid a small box—found in a hidden compartment—into the center of the coffee table. Runes on its surface glimmered faintly in the moonlight.
"Everything started with what's inside this."
Mahiru's gaze landed on the box, and a thought struck her.
"Is it… some kind of toy?"
She had assumed a mischievous toy was behind the racket.
"Whatever it is, as long as it won't scare the children anymore, that's good."
Rising to her feet, gratitude flashed in her eyes.
"And… thank you for saving me."
"No thanks necessary—just something I could do along the way,"
Rei Ao replied.
Outside, the moon drifted west. As Rei Ao stood, his robe rustled softly.
"It's late. Shirahi-san, Mahiru-san, you should rest too."
With that, he headed for the guest room Mahiru had prepared.
Tsuruyama Shirahi also slipped away, head bowed, leaving Mahiru staring after Rei Ao's back, fists clenching.
She murmured:
"Is that really… a man's…?"
As a physician, she knew anatomy well—making Rei Ao's physique all the more astonishing.
…
Tsuruyama Shirahi lay on her bed, blankly watching the ceiling. Scenes from the bathroom replayed inescapably: Mahiru's flushed cheeks, Rei Ao's barely restrained expression…
There were bigger supernatural problems at hand, yet her mind was filled with those two.
Ugh, Shirahi, what are you even thinking!
She rolled over, burying her burning face in the quilt—when soft footsteps sounded in the hallway.
"Who's there?"
Holding her breath, she rose and quietly cracked open her door.
In the moonlight she saw Mahiru, clad in a silk nightdress, long legs half hidden by shifting shadows.
In the dead of night Mahiru stood before Rei Ao's door, fingers poised above the panel, hesitating. Her chest heaved as though she were making a momentous decision.
"Mahiru‑nee?"
Shirahi bit her lip, watching as Mahiru drew a deep breath and knocked.
Almost at once the door swung open. Rei Ao's tall figure loomed over her; before she could utter a word he swept her up by the waist, flashed a devil‑may‑care smile, and carried her inside.
"Wa—"
The door slammed shut.
For an instant Shirahi thought she heard fabric tear—
and right afterward the eerie noises in Miracle Garden started up again.
"Mahiru‑nee…"
She collapsed onto the bed, heart hammering.
In the darkness she rubbed her feverish cheeks, Rei Ao's voice echoing in her ears. Moonlight spilled through the curtains, casting a hazy glow over her blushing face, while the renewed commotion outside made the night feel unbearably long.
…
Dawn
Sunlight filtered through gauzy drapes, scattering flecks of gold across rumpled bedding.
Anekōji Mahiru slowly opened her eyes, brow furrowed. A dull ache flooded every limb.
"Ugh… so sore…"
Instinctively she tried to move—only to find herself pressed against a furnace‑hot body.
A man's arm was wrapped possessively around her waist, his palm still warm.
Memories surged like a tide: her own hand knocking on his door, the flustered moment Rei Ao scooped her up, those utterly mortifying scenes…
Unbelievable! She had actually, driven by some inexplicable restlessness, seduced a man several years younger than herself—
even letting herself be "forced" to say things she could hardly believe had come out of her own mouth.
At the thought, Mahiru's face went scarlet; mortification threatened to swallow her whole.
"Ahhh—what on earth did I do?!"
~~~
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