On the way back, Kaoru had originally wanted to spend some time alone with Hasebe Haruka, but Sakura Airi gently tugged at his sleeve.
Seeing the girl's flushed face, Kaoru had no choice but to abandon his original plan and bid farewell to Hasebe Haruka and Yamamura Miki.
"Does Airi have something to tell me?"
"Um... thank you... it seems I've troubled you again this time."
"Don't say that. They were targeting me to begin with. I should be the one apologizing for involving you all."
After saying this, Kaoru suddenly realized his own problem - how many similar conversations had he already had?
However, unexpectedly, Sakura Airi mustered her courage and took his hand.
Raising her beautiful eyes as if summoning the greatest courage of her life, she cautiously asked.
"C-could you... come to my room?"
Kaoru was stunned for a moment.
The warmth from her small hand transmitted to him.
Beneath his non-prescription glasses, he could see her eyes sparkling with faint, vivid light.
As if suddenly realizing what she was doing, she released his hand as if startled, her cheeks blushing faintly.
The moment she lowered her head, her reddened earlobes were exposed.
Two braids fell over her chest, and the girl's full chest rose and fell.
Though so young and innocent, she gave off an incredibly alluring feeling.
Recalling her original appearance, he now only felt his eyes light up. She radiated a treasure-like glow that made it hard to look away.
"Nothing would please me more."
Kaoru couldn't help but laugh. "As a qualified fan, of course I'd want to see my idol's room."
Perhaps his teasing helped ease some of Sakura Airi's embarrassment.
She subconsciously pouted her lips and said in a small complaining voice, "Not at all, you're making fun of me again... You've already seen it last time..."
Actually, the girl had already realized she might have misunderstood Kaoru.
His behavior didn't resemble that of her fan at all, except when he used his alt account to harass her.
Kaoru pretended not to hear.
Though he didn't know what Sakura Airi was thinking, her room wasn't some kind of hell anyway - there was no harm in visiting.
Thus, the two silently walked back to the student dormitory.
Male students rarely appeared on the girls' floor since it was too conspicuous, let alone him going to Sakura Airi's room.
This child probably only had Hasebe Haruka and Yamamura Miki as visitors, not to mention male guests.
Just as he was about to enter Sakura Airi's room after so long, the latter suddenly remembered something and flusteredly stopped him, saying she needed to tidy up first.
When Kaoru entered the living room, he discovered several cardboard boxes that hadn't been there before, seemingly containing many items.
Sakura Airi had stuffed them full and tried to hide them in the corner.
Probably the girl's little secrets. Kaoru wasn't interested in these - everyone had their own little secrets.
"It seems cleaner than before."
Kaoru carelessly said something quite rude to a girl.
Sure enough, Sakura Airi's expression became subtle, somewhat dejected.
Her lips moved slightly as she murmured, "I-I've been cleaning up... The secretly taken photos... I hid them all..."
"What?" Kaoru asked in confusion.
"Never mind that!" Sakura Airi realized she had said something wrong.
Blushing crimson, she handed a bundle to Kaoru.
"Actually, I really want to thank you for doing so much for me. I never found the right moment to say it. If possible, I'd like to help you too. Please accept this!"
When he saw what she handed him, Kaoru nearly spat out his barley tea.
"Wait, why are you giving me your shoes?"
Indeed, Sakura Airi had inexplicably forced the little leather shoes she just took off into Kaoru's hands.
"I know!" Airi's voice rose several pitches. "This is something that will make you happy! Several times, you mentioned having indecent thoughts about my shoes and wanting me to wear them to class."
Kaoru stood frozen as if struck by lightning.
"Hold on, I don't remember saying anything like that!"
He panicked. Was he evolving from a foot fetishist to some next-level pervert? Ever since agreeing to that wish-granting machine, he felt his image was crumbling beyond repair.
He admitted his tastes were unconventional, but that didn't justify labeling him a foot fetishist!
"You did say it!" Despite her embarrassment, Airi was determined to speak her mind now. "You kept harassing me with your alt account about having ideas about my shoes!"
Kaoru remembered what he'd done and quickly backtracked. "No, I might be a bit lecherous, but..."
Before he could finish, Airi's expression fell, her head drooping in dejection.
"You didn't want my stockings last time either... I don't understand... Though it's perverted, I don't mind... After all, you're the pervert, and I don't dislike it... I want to help you too... Actually, I often use your photos..."
Since learning the truth, Airi sometimes—well, almost every night—would lie in bed looking at secretly taken photos of Kaoru while unable to resist moving her hand downward, softly moaning.
Sometimes she'd moan for half an hour, other times she'd toss and turn all night.
Each time she came to her senses, Airi would blush fiercely and hit her head with a pillow, wondering what she was doing!
But the more experience she gained, the more she understood why Kaoru acted crazy around her—it was about losing control of emotions.
Just as Kaoru used his alt account to harass her, Airi would bully Kaoru in her fantasies too, especially as more rumors about him surfaced, making her fantasies more intense.
She sometimes imagined confronting him with the alt account chat logs, threatening him, only to be overpowered by Kaoru.
No matter how much she cried or pleaded, he wouldn't let her go, pressing her against...
"I'm a useless good-for-nothing, waaah!"
Airi lay on the floor, covering her flushed face with both hands, rolling back and forth.
"Forget everything I just said, please! Pretend I never said anything!"
Kaoru watched silently as she rolled several times before saying, "So Airi already knows that was my alt account back then?"
Hearing this, Airi stopped rolling and mumbled sulkily, "Kaoru's a bad guy... a liar... a pervert who only bullies girls."
"Are you angry?"
Kaoru casually pushed aside her little leather shoes.
He wasn't actually a pervert - in some people's eyes, those shoes might as well be lunch boxes.
"O-of course I'm angry! I'm at the point where I want to say 'drop dead'!"
Sakura Airi didn't notice his action. "But you could have just told me. I was really scared at that time."
"The reason is complicated. Honestly, I didn't want to do it either."
Kaoru didn't know how to explain his behavior.
Back then, he hadn't anticipated today's situation - he was just focused on fulfilling his wish.
"Who... who cares... If Kaoru did it, there must be Kaoru's reason, right?"
Sakura Airi sat up, the lingering blush on her face proving how embarrassed she had been moments before.
She stared intently at Kaoru. "What I want to know is, do you actually have feelings for me?"
Kaoru froze.
Her glasses were gone, revealing a pair of exceptionally beautiful, moving eyes that reflected a single person's figure.
Just as this person was about to answer, the girl shrank back, emitting a particularly gloomy aura.
"I'm... I'm sorry... I got carried away... Recently, my alt account has been saying all these strange things to me, and my mind is all confused... I don't even know what I'm thinking anymore..."
Perhaps frightened by the possibility of being expelled, Sakura Airi was feeling somewhat insecure.
This insecurity connected to her feelings for Kaoru - she noticed more and more women around him while she had no place, not even able to advance their relationship.
"Airi."
Kaoru said, "I need to tell you two things."
Sakura Airi watched him anxiously, perhaps expecting him to say he already had a girlfriend.
"First, I'm not the person Airi imagines me to be. Like the messages I sent you from my alt account before, the real me is much darker and more despicable. For example, I've already slept with multiple girls."
It was completely scum-like talk. Sakura Airi whispered, "At least I know that much about you."
"Second, what you just did was dangerous."
Kaoru said, "I might think you're intentionally tempting me, and then I'd pin you to the ground."
Sakura Airi blinked in surprise, then heard him continue.
"Have you considered consequences you might not be able to handle?"
Whether considering Ichinose Honami and the others, or following his own conscience, Kaoru now had to take proper responsibility for this girl.
If this were before, he would have just pinned Sakura Airi to the ground and focused only on fulfilling his wish.
Sakura Airi tilted her head, seemingly realizing the seriousness of the situation. Her eyes widened slightly.
Just as Kaoru sighed inwardly, he saw the girl pick up her little leather shoes and hold them up before him again, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"So that means you really do have feelings for me, right!"
Sakura Airi acted as if she hadn't heard what he just said, a smile spreading across her face.
"Since that's the case, let's hurry up!"
Kaoru fell silent.
"Did you hear anything I just said?"
"Hiks... I know... this is really embarrassing... But the fact that you're saying these things means you've already considered the consequences for me... Don't look at me with that expression... I've been thinking seriously about this all along, and I realized I can't hold back anymore!"
"You're getting a bit worked up, Airi. Calm down."
"C-calm, I am calm, but you never came looking for me hiks... I've seen it... They often go to the second floor..."
Since long ago, Kaoru had noticed that Sakura Airi tended to let her guard down in relaxed environments, which was exactly why she had brought Kaoru back to her room.
Some words and actions couldn't be done outside, but in her own territory, she became completely uninhibited.
Now, the young girl was pressing closer, holding her little leather shoes while threatening Kaoru fiercely.
"Hurry up and finish! I'll definitely fulfill your wish!"
There's no saving her - this idol would definitely end up exploiting her fans in the future.
---------
Read 50 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator