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Dating a girl always followed the same basic pattern.
First dinner, then shopping. When shopping tired them out, they'd grab some ice-cold drinks from a roadside bubble tea shop to cool down and quench their thirst.
As for movies—that was essentially about creating an intimate atmosphere in a relatively dark environment to hold hands and such. But Bokue Keikain and Asagi Aiba had long passed that stage, so it wasn't necessary.
Of course, the main reason was that summer blockbusters were all garbage anyway.
Even so, by the time they finished playing around downtown and headed home, it was already past ten at night.
Because of this, when Bokue and Asagi returned home, all the living room lights were off, with only a small nightlight by the entrance still glowing.
"Are you hungry, Asagi?"
Flipping on the living room lights with practiced ease, Bokue turned to ask.
After all, they'd eaten dinner three hours ago. After walking around downtown shopping for so long, even a big meal would've been digested by now.
But Asagi just shook her head.
"I'm fine, not really hungry. Why, are you hungry, Bokue? If you are, I can order delivery. What do you want..."
She actually stopped changing her shoes and picked up her phone to start ordering.
Bokue waved his hand. "Ah, no need. I'm not hungry either."
He'd just been checking. Since Asagi wasn't hungry, that was fine.
Besides, in Japan and Western countries, delivery was far from cheap. The delivery fee alone was substantial and slow. Getting express delivery cost even more. Only this little rich girl could unhesitatingly order express delivery in the middle of the night.
"Since we're not hungry, let's take a bath."
Bokue continued.
"Oh..."
Asagi had just put down her phone to continue changing shoes, her brain not quite processing as she automatically responded.
"Perfect timing, the bathroom should be empty. Do you want to go first or should I—ah!"
Before she could finish, the girl's suppressed exclamation echoed through the living room.
Bokue had swept her up in his arms. It happened so fast that Asagi didn't even realize her body was already suspended horizontally in the air, cradled princess-style in the youth's embrace.
It was so sudden that her house slippers hadn't even been properly put on, dangling precariously from her pale toes as if about to fall off any second.
Bokue's voice came from above.
"What's this 'you first, me first' nonsense? Obviously we're bathing together."
"Idiot... together my ass!"
Though they'd already done everything that should and shouldn't be done, Asagi still couldn't help blushing at times like this, her small fists gently pounding his chest.
"Don't mess around! Put me down! Even if Dad's not back from work yet, Mom's home. And she's already asleep. If you do anything in the bathroom..."
"Got it, got it. I'll definitely set up a soundproof barrier this time."
Ignoring the blonde girl's remaining protests, Bokue carried her directly into the bathroom and shut the door behind them.
Soon, the bathroom lights came on. Through the frosted glass door, no sounds emerged—only graceful silhouettes moving within.
❁❁❁❁
Asagi's appetite actually wasn't that large.
Though dinner had been over three hours ago and mostly digested after their shopping date, she'd returned to a "full" state after their bath at home.
Only this time, what filled her stomach was something else entirely.
Scene shift—
The second-floor bedroom's air conditioner blades swayed gently, sending cool breezes throughout the room.
On the bed, the freshly bathed pair lay facing each other on their sides.
A faint blush still lingered on Asagi's face. Her golden hair—which usually took half an hour to blow-dry after washing—had been completely dried by Bokue's efforts, but her deep rose-colored eyes still brimmed with moisture.
She hadn't put on pajamas as usual for bed. The thin summer air-conditioning blanket barely covered below her collarbone, leaving her pale shoulders exposed to the air.
Under the blanket, Bokue's hand rested on the girl's waist, skin against skin, an ambiguous atmosphere permeating the air.
"Idiot, you only know how to bully me the moment you get back..."
Feeling the youth's presence at such close range, Asagi pouted with a red face, mumbling softly.
"Hey Bokue, let me discuss something with you. Can you come with me to school tomorrow?"
"School? Why?"
Bokue's voice rose questioningly as he pulled the blonde girl in his arms even closer.
It was indeed strange. This was summer vacation—why suddenly go to school? Did she fail some finals and need to take makeup exams?
"Ugh... what's with that look? How rude."
Asagi's body trembled slightly as she glared unhappily.
"It's summer homework! The school requires us to submit a life drawing after vacation. I haven't done it yet, and we don't have art supplies at home. So I'm planning to borrow the art room's equipment tomorrow, with you as my model."
"Model? Can't you just draw any random tree for life drawing?"
Bokue said dismissively.
The next second, the girl in his arms bit his neck.
No bite marks, just some saliva left behind.
"Of course that's not how it works!"
Asagi huffed indignantly.
"You think life drawing is just about making it look good or realistic? It's about creative desire and inspiration! How am I supposed to find creative inspiration from some motionless tree?!"
"Anyway, just be my model tomorrow, Bokue!"
The blonde girl paused here, then raised the corner of her mouth in a proud smile.
"By the way, I have keys to the drama club. I can borrow lots of pretty clothes from there. Just be mentally prepared, Bokue!"
Bokue: "..."
From that description, tomorrow sounded like it would be exhausting.
"Alright, alright, more importantly, grab me some tissues first."
Asagi suddenly shifted her legs under the blanket, urging him.
"They're on your nightstand behind you."
Tissues?
Bokue turned to look behind him. There really was a half-used pack of tissues on the nightstand.
He casually pulled out two and handed them over. "Here, but what do you need tissues for..."
"To wipe, obviously."
Asagi took them with a red face, rolling her eyes.
"You put so much in the bathroom earlier, then held me like that. It all got squeezed out. I'm starting to think you did it on purpose... Okay, done wiping. Throw it in the trash."
"Oh."
Bokue took the used tissue ball from the girl, about to turn and toss it in the trash can beside the nightstand.
But just then, spatial magic fluctuations suddenly appeared in the room's air.
The next second, a teleportation magic circle with chain patterns opened in mid-air, and a gothic-dressed girl's figure slowly descended.
"Bokue Keikain, I need your help with something. Tomorrow night..."
As they say, the voice arrives before the person. Natsuki Minamiya's upper body was still in the teleportation circle, but her voice had already emerged.
Then when she finally descended completely and opened her eyes to see the scene before her, her words cut off abruptly mid-sentence.
"...Why is it that every time I see you, you're doing this kind of thing?"
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