"I'm home!"
Amane seemed especially cheerful today, all because of an unexpected little win. Not only had she managed to get a photo of Sakura-san, but she'd also scored her contact info.
This meant…
There would be loads more photos in the future!!
So, true to form, Amane was already learning the art of playing the long game—letting a big fish run with the line a bit.
"You're back so late? Was the pool really that difficult to clean?" Horikita stood up and took the uniform from Amane's hands.
Just as she was about to hang it on the rack, her eyes narrowed slightly.
"The pool is huge, you know? It took me forever to clean. You should reward me!" Amane moved in for her usual hug, but this time, Horikita caught her by the ear.
"Ow, ow, ow! Suzune, what was that for?" Tears welled up in Amane's eyes from the sting.
But Horikita showed no sign of letting go.
"Dear Amane, care to explain this?" From the shoulder of Amane's uniform, Horikita plucked a single, long red hair.
Amane's gaze began to dart around nervously.
"The pool is huge, Amane. Are you sure it was the pool you were cleaning?"
Horikita cupped Amane's face in both hands, staring at her with a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"Okay, okay, I'll talk! Just stop squeezing!"
Seeing Amane ready to confess, Horikita finally released her.
Amane's eyes shifted rapidly left and right, as though she were carefully arranging her words.
"After I finished cleaning the pool tonight, I realized one student had been left behind in the swimming building. So I kept searching and searching…"
"Get to the point." Horikita made a light chopping motion with her hand, her fingertips tracing gently over Amane's stomach.
Gulp.
Amane swallowed hard.
"And then I found… a student had climbed up to the rooftop of the swimming building. That place is seriously dangerous! I was worried she might hurt herself, so I rushed up after her… but it turned out she was just taking photos."
Amane spoke very slowly, making sure everything she said was technically true, while carefully keeping the key details vague.
But clearly, she had underestimated Horikita's intuition.
"So you held her in your arms and comforted her, didn't you?"
A smile played on Horikita's lips.
Her fingertip gently traced Amane's cheek, then tapped lightly on her lips.
"I'll let it slide this time. The moment you hid her name, I guessed there might be things you couldn't tell me. But that doesn't mean you're off the hook. You can take your bath alone tonight."
No sooner had Horikita spoken than Amane wrapped her arms around Horikita's waist.
"No way, no way! We promised we'd bathe together— Wah!"
Sanction.
Amane's whining came to an abrupt halt.
She went limp, slumping against Horikita's shoulder.
Horikita smoothly scooped her up and tossed her onto the bed, the movement practiced and seamless.
"Honestly, must you choose such awkward times to act cute?" Though she'd said she'd let it go, Horikita still felt a lingering discomfort.
Finding the other girl's hair on Amane's shoulder could only mean they had gotten fairly close.
And Amane had chosen to hide it.
Hmph.
"Suzune, are you jealous?" Amane seemed to realize something, peeking over from the bed with just her head visible.
"D-don't be ridiculous! Why would I be jealous of someone like you?" A blush began to creep across Horikita's cheeks.
"Suzune, you're blushing~"
"…"
Horikita could feel the heat rushing to her face.
She quickly raised her hands to cover her cheeks.
Was she really… jealous?
No way.
That idiot Amane—no matter who she hugged, there was no way Horikita Suzune would ever…
But then an image flashed in her mind: a red-haired girl resting her head on Amane's shoulder, whispering sweet, clingy words.
Crack.
A sharp, shattering sound cut the air.
Amane, who had been about to tease Horikita further, stared in stunned silence.
Horikita had just crushed a teacup in her hand.
Amane wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
Yeah.
Now probably wasn't the best time to speak.
Horikita looked down blankly at the broken pieces in her hand, then glanced at Amane, who was lying on the bed doing her best impression of a well-behaved child.
Maybe… she was a little jealous.
Just a tiny, tiny bit.
"By the way, didn't you say you were cooking tonight? What were you planning to make?"
Hearing Horikita's question, Amane suddenly remembered—Horikita had indeed asked her to handle dinner tonight.
Oh no!!!
She'd forgotten the most important thing.
"I'll go buy groceries now!"
Just as Amane was about to dash out, Horikita caught her by the hand.
"Let's just have something simple." Horikita's tone was unusually soft.
Faced with this sudden shift, Amane grew curious. She thought about probing further, but after a quick glance at the unfortunate remains of the teacup, she decided silence was safer.
It wasn't that she was scared.
She just didn't want Horikita to hurt her hands if things got physical.
"Let me see what we have."
Amane opened the fridge and began rummaging for ingredients.
Just then, her phone chimed with a new message.
"Someone texted you." Horikita only glanced briefly, not looking too closely.
Everyone was entitled to their privacy.
It wasn't her place to pry.
But that one glance was enough.
She spotted a familiar name.
Horikita Manabu.
That name sounded familiar.
Wasn't that her older brother?
"Who is it? For me? I found carrots, onions, potatoes, and chicken… How about curry rice for dinner?"
Amane held the chicken and carrots in her left hand, potatoes in her right, and even balanced an onion on her head as a little performance for Horikita.
"It's from my brother." Horikita brought the phone over to Amane.
"Oh, President Horikita? What did he say?"
"'Points have been transferred. Please confirm.'"
That one sentence left Amane and Horikita with very different expressions.
Amane had no idea what these points were for.
Hadn't the points for that performance they put on in front of Horikita been paid in full already?
Why was he sending more?
Suddenly, a strand of Amane's hair shot upright, sending the onion tumbling off her head.
That snake Horikita Manabu!
Was he really so stingy about those 200,000 points that he'd sell out his own teammate?
If Suzune found out that last time, Amane had only been acting under Horikita Manabu's direction—all to push Horikita to change—she'd probably be rolled up in a blanket and thrown right out of the dorm.
No way!!!
Meanwhile, Horikita felt a growing unease.
Horikita Manabu was quite a bit older than her. And they hadn't known each other that long.
Surely, they wouldn't be thinking that way about each other.
Dating… also seemed pretty unlikely.
Horikita tapped the screen. When she saw the huge figure of 200,000 points, she froze completely.
"Amane… what are these points from my brother for?"
That number was clearly unusual.
And when Horikita scrolled up a bit, she found another transfer of 200,000 points.
From last month.
So Horikita Manabu had been sending Amane 200,000 points every month.
This… no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like…Horikita's eyes fixed on Amane.
She wanted Amane to give her a denial, something to ease her mind.
But what Amane said next only sent her spiraling further.
Because Amane herself didn't know the reason for this transfer either.
All she could do was answer as vaguely as possible.
"They're… support points… maybe?"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.