Fujimiya Sumika: "You shouldn't give your home address to someone you barely know. What if they turn out to be a bad person?"
Rei Ao: "Haha. In many ways, I don't worry about bad people. Actually, Fujimiya, you're the one who should worry about being tricked."
Right now, with Rei Ao's power, even if the entire world launched its nuclear arsenal at him, he'd remain unfazed. Anyone harboring evil intentions would likely perish before they knew what happened.
Fujimiya Sumika: "No matter what, you should still be careful. 'Don't harm others, but always guard yourself.'"
Rei Ao: "Sure. Then how would you like to give me the jacket?"
Fujimiya Sumika: "Do you have time this weekend?"
Reading Sawae's text, Sumika froze.
"Why are you asking him that? I can just bring the jacket over to his place," she whispered.
Sawae merely grinned. "Just watch."
Rei Ao: "I do."
As long as it wasn't "business" (in the sense of dealing with trades or fights), he was pretty free.
Fujimiya Sumika: "Then let's meet up this weekend. I'd like to treat you to say thanks for helping me out. Think of it asa little date, if that's okay?"
"A date???"
Before Sumika could stop her, Sawae had already pressed "send."
"What are you doing?! I never said anything about a date!" Sumika's cheeks went red.
"Heh heh."
Sawae nudged her friend's shoulder, smirking mischievously. "Sumika, you've never had a boyfriend, right? He's a bright, innocent young guygive it a try."
"Wh-what are you talking about?!"
Sumika blushed fiercely, feeling as though her friend was teasing her about being an older woman chasing after a younger man. But thenmemories of that day came flooding back: being swept up in his arms, saved from an out-of-control car, wrapped in his jacket, and escorted home. Her heart pounded at the thought.
Most importantly, Rei Ao was incredibly handsome and composed, with an unforgettable aura. Humans are, after all, emotional creatures, and in a world that values appearances, Sumika was hardly immune. In truth, she had never met a guy quite like him. Even her childhood friend, Kingwen, couldn't compare.
So, to put it bluntly, Sumika felt rather taken with Rei Ao.
"Eh?"
A tiny, expectant look flashed across her face, which Sawae picked up on immediately. She'd had a hunch, seeing how often Sumika mentioned Rei Ao lately. Now it was confirmed.
Part of her was definitely playing matchmaker, but she also wanted to see for herself what this mysterious Rei Aowho'd so captured her friend's attentionwas really like. Though she teased Sumika on the surface, she also hoped to protect her friend from any possible harm. Sumika was clueless about relationships, and Sawae wanted to be there for her.
At that moment, Rei Ao's new message grabbed their attention:
Rei Ao: "A date, huh? No problem. Let me know the details."
"!!!"
Sumika's cheeks instantly glowed red.
"He really thinks it's a date! What do I do? Should I explain that it's not?"
" "
Sawae nearly burst out laughing at her shy panic. "Look at you, blushing so hard. Gosh."
She wanted to roll her eyes at Sumika's flustered state. Before Sumika could say another word, Sawae took the phone and typed some more, then sent it:
Fujimiya Sumika: "Mm-hmm, I'm looking forward to going on a date with you, Rei Ao~"
"Eh???"
Sumika froze. She would never say something like that! It was too embarrassing, too contrived!
Sawae gave her a confident wink. "Relaxthis works great on younger guys."
"R-really?"
Sumika looked dubious.
"Ha! You're underestimating me!"
Rolling up her sleeves, Sawae said dramatically, "Just leave it to me. I'll teach you some flirtingI mean, 'seduction' tactics, okay?"
She had read piles of romance novels and was convinced she had "experience to share."
""
Sumika had no idea why, but she felt far from reassured. Nonetheless, she pretended not to be paying attention even as she secretly perked her ears to listen to Sawae's animated explanations. Who knewmaybe it would help?
Meanwhile, across town, Rei Ao examined the messages on his phone with a quizzical smile. He could tell right away there were at least two people on the other side, each typing differently. One of them seemed to be teasing about going on a date.
In any case, he was fine with ithe actually saw it as a nice perk. It was like someone handing him a pillow just when he was ready to nap. If he met this friend who was encouraging the date, he'd definitely give her the "Best Mischievous Wingman" award.
~~~
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Chapter 247: Reaction down there...?
After finishing his chat with Fujimiya Sumika,
Rei Ao headed over to Mafuyu Kirisu's place.
"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"
"Huh? Rei Ao, you're back?!"
Mafuyu Kirisu was surprised to see him.
According to what Mai had told her, Rei Ao had gone away on some errand out of town, with no clear return date.
"Mm, Miss Kirisu, Mai said you were looking for me about something, so I thought I'd drop by."
Rei Ao answered casually, his eyes falling on her apronand the spatula she was holding.
"Seems like you haven't had dinner yet. Sorry if I came at a bad time."
"Uh"
Mafuyu Kirisu's body stiffened slightly. At that moment, Rei Ao sniffed the air and, wearing a puzzled expression, said,
"Miss Kirisu, I smell something burning."
"Eh?!"
Alarmed, Mafuyu's expression changed at once. She hurriedly dug out a pair of disposable slippers.
"Come inside!"
She hurried back to her kitchen. When Rei Ao stepped in, he found Mafuyu Kirisu slumped in front of a pot of charred, unidentifiable food.
Rei Ao asked curiously, "What were you trying to make?"
"Green pepper stir-fry with shredded pork."
Ever since she'd embarrassed herself in front of Rei Ao on two separate occasions, Mafuyu Kirisu had decided to try changing. She planned to cook for herself, beginning with something as simple as "green pepper pork." But no matter what step she took, she couldn't get it right, and the end result always burned. Now, the smell was even making her wrinkle her nose.
"Sigh, maybe I really don't have any talent for domestic stuff"
Once again feeling thoroughly dejected, Mafuyu Kirisu wallowed in self-pity, on the verge of giving up again.
But right then, Rei Ao took the pot from her, dumped out the burnt mess, and looked at her firmly.
"Miss Kirisu, remember our earlier agreement?"
"Huh?"
Mafuyu's first reaction was confusionshe didn't recall such a thing.
Until Rei Ao said, "I told you I'd help you change."
"From now on, let me teach you. I'll be the teacher, showing you how to make green pepper stir-fry."
"IIs that really okay for me?"
Her lack of confidence made Mafuyu hesitate. She was afraid to try again. If she still failed, she'd be so discouraged she might never recover.
"Miss Kirisu, I believe you can do this."
Even someone like Yui could be taught, so someone like Mafuyu Kirisu was no problem at all.
"But there's a condition."
"Condition?"
"During the lesson, you have to call me 'Teacher.'"
"Ha?"
Mafuyu Kirisu was stunned. Thisthis felt too weirdlike turning the world upside down!
"It's just a tiny condition. That shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
Seeing Rei Ao's mischievous look, Mafuyu Kirisu nodded stiffly with a serious face. "Fine, I'll do it."
""
Yet even as she agreed, she found it terribly awkward to actually call Rei Aosomeone younger than her"teacher." It felt so out of place that the words got stuck in her throat.
She saw him start to set the pot aside, a look of disappointment on his face.
To make a change, she steeled herself.
"ReRei Ao-sensei!!!"
Gripping her apron, she shouted it out loud. At that moment, she felt a sort of shackle break inside her heart.
Rei Ao smiled broadly.
"Great, Mafuyu. Let's get started."
Rei Ao planned to correct every step she took from the very beginning, so he wanted to see how she did things on her own first.
"All right, let's begin."
He placed the meat on the cutting board, motioning for her to start.
"Okay!"
Mafuyu Kirisu took a deep breath, knife in hand, ready to slice. Only a moment passed before Rei Ao felt speechless.
Apparently, she wanted to cut the pork into thin stripsbut she was bent so low over the cutting board, her face practically an inch away from the meat, as if she needed a super close-up view to get it perfect. Truly pure, frame-by-frame concentration!
Even worse, she was holding the knife incorrectly, her posture for slicing was off, and the way she held the meat in place was also wrong.
After a while, Rei Ao worried she'd cut her fingers or stab herself near the eyes at this rate. He finally stepped in.
"Mafuyu, straighten your back."
He gave her a light pat, causing her to jerk upright.
"W-What are you doing?!"
"Of courseI'm going to teach you how to slice properly."
Rei Ao stood behind her, placing his hands on her wrists.
"Now, follow my movements."
He had no ulterior motives, just genuinely trying to teach her "hand to hand."
"I"
Feeling his body so close and his hands guiding her wrists, Mafuyu Kirisu's entire body began heating up. But noticing how earnest Rei Ao was about the lesson, she swallowed any complaints she had and forced herself to focus on his movements.
Moments later, her eyes lit upthis was it! Slicing felt so smooth, unlike the fumbling carefulness she'd shown before. She got really into it, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction that kept her from wanting to stop.
"How does that feelbetter?"
"Yes!"
Finally, Mafuyu Kirisu realized that at some point Rei Ao had let go of her wrists and stepped aside. Meaning
I did that all by myself just now?
Seeing the neat, uniform cutscompletely different from what she'd done beforeMafuyu Kirisu could hardly believe it was her own work.
Rei Ao smiled. "See? I told you you could do it."
"Alright, let's stop slicing therewe'll never finish it all, and we need to move on to the next step."
"Yes, Rei Ao-sensei!"
She'd practically forgotten he was younger than her; being complimented by him felt as if she'd just been praised by an older mentor, making her overjoyed.
After that, at each step, Rei Ao guided her hand by hand. She didn't mind at all, wholly focused on making the dish.
Eventually, they neared the end of the cooking process. With Rei Ao's help, she emptied the stir-fry into a plate and set the wok aside. As the aroma of perfectly-cooked green pepper pork drifted up, Mafuyu Kirisu couldn't contain her excitement, jumping up in delight.
"I did it! It's perfect!!!"
Had that been all, no problembut her sudden jump caused her soft body to bounce right against Rei Ao standing behind her. Exactlyin that spot.
"!!!"
She froze, eyes wide, her cheeks reddening as she turned to face Rei Ao, lips pressed together in disbelief.
"You You reacted to me?!"
"???"
Rei Ao stared at her blankly, bewildered.
What in the world is she talking about?
~~~
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Chapter 248: This is the normal size... (Bonus Chapter)
"Rei Ao how could you"
Mafuyu Kirisu's eyes were filled with disappointment and distress, because the relationship between the two of them absolutely should not be possible!
""
Rei Ao tugged at the corner of his mouth and spread his hands.
"Miss Kirisu, could it be you're being overly sensitive?"
"Impossible!"
Mafuyu Kirisu was certain she hadn't imagined it.
That distinct shape just now must have been Rei Ao's physical reaction!
"Sigh."
Rei Ao took a deep breath.
He had never expected to be so seriously misunderstood over something like this.
Apparently, having a superhuman body could bring some small inconveniences, too.
At that, Rei Ao raised both hands to his waist, preparing to loosen his belt.
Seeing this, Mafuyu Kirisu froze.
"Y-you what are you doing?!"
"What am I doing? Obviously, I'm going to prove my innocence to you, Miss Kirisu."
His hands kept working.
"Stop, stop, stop!!!"
Events were spiraling far beyond what Mafuyu's mind could handle. Panicking, she frantically gestured for him to stop.
He did stopthough he continued in a firm tone:
"I can't let you wrongly accuse me and tarnish my reputation. You have to let me prove myself."
"F-fine, I believe you! Okay?!"
Mafuyu Kirisu was truly worried he might do something extreme.
However, Rei Ao stepped closer, firmly removing her waving hand from in front of her face.
Meeting her eyes, he said in a low voice, "I can hear the perfunctory tone in your voice.
"This issue concerns your opinion of my character, so I must prove it. What I'm saying is that my physique is unusual, and what you sensed earlier when we, uhmade contact was just how my body normally is."
He really was telling the truth.
"Absolutely not!"
Mafuyu Kirisu refused resolutely, her cheeks bright red.
"II definitely can't look!"
"Oh?"
At her words, Rei Ao's brow shifted. He raised an insinuating smile.
"So not looking at it is fine, thenmaybe you can check it through my clothes with your hand?"
"Eh?"
Mafuyu was speechless. Thatdidn't sound okay either. But faced with Rei Ao's serious gaze, she began to doubt if she had misunderstood him. If they couldn't sort it out, this unerasable wedge might remain between them. And in accusing him unfairly, she might do psychological harm. High school students were sensitiveshe saw that in her own classes. If this affected Rei Ao's future, she'd feel guilty forever.
"All right, fine!"
In the end, she decided to accept Rei Ao's request.
So Mafuyu Kirisu really did as she was told.
But she was clearly nervous.
Rei Ao lifted an eyebrow. "Miss Kirisu, are you maybe putting too much force into your hand?"
Good thing he wasn't an ordinary person.
"Eh?"
Mafuyu Kirisu's expression changed. She said seriously, "S-sorry! Rei Ao, let me see if there's any problem!"
Right now she had to fulfill her responsibility and make sure there was no actual harm done. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to rest easy!
"No need. Even though your grip is shockingly strong, it's really not a big deal for me."
He was inclined to decline, but hearing him describe her force as "shockingly strong" only made Mafuyu more unsettled. She insisted, not allowing refusal, "Behave. This is a serious matter, and potentially dangerous. We need to be sure of everything! Even if something is wrong, I won't run from my responsibility as your teacher!"
