Chapter 17: Ta-het-☆

The next morning.

The sky, as if nothing had happened, now showed only clear weather without a single cloud.

Wearing crushed-down sneakers, I left the hotel with Alicia.

It feels awkward.

Is this what it feels like to wake up the next day and face a one-night stand partner?

Of course, we didn’t do anything like that… Just a figure of speech.

“Alicia.”

“Oh.”

Trying to shake off the awkwardness, I attempted to start any kind of conversation,

But she didn’t answer.

Since last night, Alicia had been deep in thought.

Exactly when did it start? I’m not sure. But it was definitely after I declared myself a masochist.

Whatever she’s thinking about must be really intense—she was groaning in bed until just before falling asleep.

And it’s still continuing now.

“Should I hit her, or should I cherish her…?”

She looked like a mathematician facing a world-class unsolvable problem.

Except for the part where she kept scanning my body like a pervert.

Wait, calling a girl as pretty as a flower a pervert?

Reflect on yourself, me.

“Alicia?”

“Ah. What?”

“No, it’s nothing. Just wondering what you were thinking.”

“Hmm? You.”

“Sigh.”

That’s enough. What a sly little brat.

I didn’t hate it though.

It made it easier to imagine Alicia throwing flirty comments at other girls.

And with a thought like, “Hope she grows up to be a proper les@ Casanova,” I ended up walking to school with Alicia.

And I felt it.

I’d had a vague idea, but—

She had a presence that naturally drew attention.

It wasn’t just because of her pretty face.

She carried both admiration and envy.

Like when people whisper, “Isn’t that so-and-so from that noble family?”

I had a feeling, but I guess she really is from a prestigious household.

Not that I cared much at this point.

That kind of background doesn’t matter. Not when it comes to yuri.

To me, Alicia is just a pretty, rich, slightly arrogant, and possibly very touchy-feely girl. Nothing more, nothing less.

“I like that about you.”

“Huh?”

“Hehe.”

While I was puzzled by her cryptic words, we had already entered the school gate.

As I was changing into my indoor shoes at the shoe rack, Alicia suddenly spoke with a mysterious smile.

“What’s your type?”

“What do you mean? Out of nowhere?”

“Just curious. What kind of person does Lily want to date?”

“Date—?”

What dating.

I don’t even plan to, and more importantly, I have no one to date.

Just because I have this kind of body, does that mean I could date a guy? That’s physiologically impossible.

I’ve always been very averse to men.

You could even call me a misandrist and I wouldn’t argue.

How do guys even date other guys? Am I supposed to be gay now?

Then what about dating girls? That’s even more absurd.

I’ve said this a hundred, no, a thousand times: don’t mix yuri and TS girls.

Just watching cute girls rub their b○○bs is enough for me. Major secondhand satisfaction.

Even if I haven’t seen it yet…

Besides, I don’t have time for that.

Three short years to legally reside in an all-girls school is not enough to waste on romance.

Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I even thought about this topic.

I’ve always hated complicated things, so I gave up on thinking altogether—and that hasn’t changed.

I’ll just live alone and grow old, whatever.

When I didn’t respond for a while, Alicia seemed to think I was seriously considering the question and asked again.

“If someone confessed to you, what kind would you prefer?”

“I’m not planning to date anyone.”

“But you can still think about it, right?”

Even though I tried to avoid the topic, Alicia clung to me persistently.

She seemed like she wouldn’t back down unless I gave some kind of answer.

Why is she like this.

Annoyed, I just blurted out whatever came to mind.

“I don’t know. Maybe a love letter? Getting confessed to outright feels kind of embarrassing. I’d need time to mentally prepare.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

And the conversation ended there.

From the shoe rack to the classroom, Alicia didn’t say a word.

As if all the chatting earlier had been a lie.

I thought it was a little odd, but there’s not much you can do when someone just doesn’t feel like talking.

So I didn’t think much of it and opened the classroom door.

“……”

“……”

And immediately ran into her.

A girl with black hair and black eyes.

Her slightly slanted eyes spotted me and grew even sharper,

Like she was about to growl, glaring intensely.

It was Dana.

“Uh. Good morning…?”

“Where were you yesterday.”

“Huh? Oh. Because of the rain.”

“I was worried…!”

Huh?

You know how to do that?

I was about to tease her, surprised, but quickly realized this wasn’t the mood for it and shut my mouth.

She looked visibly exhausted.

Dark circles under her eyes made it seem like she’d stayed up all night.

It wasn’t hard to guess why.

I hadn’t come back to the dorm yesterday.

As a friend, she must have been really worried.

Meanwhile, I was at a hotel with Alicia, taking a bath, wearing nothing but a bathrobe, hugging, touching, stroking, and even making a masochist declaration…

Ah. Let’s not think about that. My conscience is stabbing me too hard.

“Hahaha…”

“…Whatever.”

Dana said coolly.

As if saying she was just relieved that I was safe.

My conscience, already full of holes, was now like a skewered kebab.

And what made it worse was Alicia watching all this from behind with great interest.

But could that expression really be described as “interest” alone?

It looked like she was hiding some mischievous intent not suited to her usual self…?

“Oh. Lily and I were together ye—”

“Alicia!”

No! Don’t say that!

I don’t know what exactly is not okay, but it’s definitely not okay!

I barely managed to shut her mouth, and then this crazy girl licked my palm with her tongue.

Aaaah, I was so startled I had to let go.

Thankfully, Alicia didn’t seem to want to continue talking.

Unluckily, Dana wasn’t the type to miss such cues.

She wasn’t dumb enough to not guess what was being said just because the sentence was cut off.

Which meant…

“You were together?”

“HUUEEEEK….”

Y-you’re scary.

That aura behind you… It’s pitch black…!

“Last night?”

“W-well, um?”

“Say it properly.”

“Awawawawa…”

The most infuriating part?

Alicia was humming smugly like she’d won something.

I couldn’t even open my mouth.

I gave her a glare like, You started this, so clean it up, but…

“Oh. I have something to do.”

And she just coolly walked away?!

Hey! You can’t just run away alone!

“Lily.”

“Y-yeah?”

“…Come with me.”

Just like that time before, my wrist was grabbed.

Before I could even protest, she dragged me somewhere quiet.

We ended up behind the school building.

Is she going to bury me here or something?

That dumb thought actually crossed my mind, her face was so serious.

Come on, it’s just one night out.

What’s with this reaction—as if she’s my girlfriend or something.

As if that would ever happen.

Dana looked like she wanted to devour me whole.

Not metaphorically—literally. Her eyes were terrifying…!

“Were you with Alicia yesterday?”

“U-uhhh…”

“At her place? You should’ve told me. I didn’t even know…”

“H-hotel, actually.”

“What?”

“We went to a hotel.”

I said it with what might’ve been my best attempt at acting cute.

All I did was stick out my tongue and wink with one eye.

Like, “Tehe~☆”

And then, silence.

……Wait. Listen. It’s better to be honest here.

If I start lying now and get caught later, it’ll be way worse.

Alicia doesn’t even seem like she’d bother hiding it.

Rather than living in constant fear it’ll come up—better to take the hit now, right?

“….”

“…”

“Lily.”

“Y-yes?”

“Do you remember?”

“Remember what…?”

“The promise.”

Hmm.

What promise was that again?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Dana’s pupils widened instantly,

And with a grind, she clenched her teeth.

“You said, to no one, you’d ever, give your—heart.”

“H-hey, your teeth are gonna break. Let’s calm down, okay…?”

“…If you don’t give it, then I won’t cross the line either…!”

I scratched the back of my head.

Uh… Did I say that?

Hmm, maybe I did.

“Uh. Well. Sorry. Honestly, I don’t really remember—”

“What?”

“I-I remember. I remember everything~”

No, obviously a joke.

There’s no way I’d forget.

Probably not for the rest of my life.

Even if you forget, I never will…

Wait. Dana. Why are you clenching your fist?

Hey. Don’t come any closer. Lily’s scared!

“Die!”

“KUUEEEH?!”

Today’s diary:

Today, Lily-chan got a gut punch first thing in the morning.

It hurt soooo much I rolled around on the floor…