Yukima Azuma replied with a smile.
He was really looking forward to seeing White Album explode across forums once its anime aired.
Even though they didn't watch much of the new season's anime
Just chatting like this was enough to make the whole group happy.
Before they knew it, time had slipped into the late night.
Although the girls were somewhat night owls
Everyone was starting to feel a little sleepy.
The most obvious one was Kato Megumi.
She wasn't used to staying up late, and now, her small head was already resting against Yukima Azuma's shoulder.
( -)
"Go wash up and get to bed."
Yukima Azuma said with a chuckle as he lightly pinched Kato Megumi's cheek.
Kato Megumi let out a soft Mmm in response, but she didn't seem eager to move.
In the end, it was still Yukima Azuma who helped this tuberose-scented girl to her feet.
The group headed downstairs together, making their way to the shared bathroom.
In front of the mirror, a row of cups and toothbrushes was neatly arranged.
The girls each took their own.
Eriri and Utaha were already fighting over who got to use the sink first.
( д)(д )
Chapter 225: When Eriri Knocks on the Door
Nighttime.
Yukima Azuma was still awake.
He had a feeling that someone would knock on his door tonight.
( ® ®)
And sure enough
Not long after, there was a soft double knock on Yukima Azuma's bedroom door.
It wasn't that he could predict the future.
It was just that Eriri had watched a horror show.
Chances were, she wouldn't be able to sleep alone.
He pulled open the door.
Standing outside was the adorable tsundere girl with golden hair.
At this moment, Eriri had let down her twin tails.
Her long, silky blonde hair cascaded behind her like a work of art.
She was wearing a light blue nightgown.
Hugging her pillow tightly to her chest, half of her face was buried behind it.
Only her shimmering emerald eyes peeked out, looking timidly ahead.
It made Yukima Azuma's heart tremble slightly.
"D-do you feel scared? I-If you do, this Great Oujou-sama can go with you to the bathroom."
(,,,,)
Eriri's voice was muffled behind the pillow, sounding a bit husky.
Even though her words sounded strong
Her eyes had already betrayed her.
The plea for help in her gaze was practically overflowing.
"Umu, I'm a little scared, could you stay with me for a while, Eriri?"
( )
Yukima Azuma held back a laugh and pulled the petite girl into his arms.
If he teased Eriri at a time like this
She might end up crying like a little kid.
"Th-thank thank you"
(,,><,,)
Eriri spoke as if she were talking to her pillow, her voice so soft it was nearly inaudible.
She knew her excuse wasn't convincing at all.
But Yukima Azuma didn't call her out on it.
Not because he was clueless, but simply because he loved her.
Holding Eriri close, Yukima Azuma led her into his room.
Then, the two of them walked up to the bathroom door inside.
Eriri looked at Yukima Azuma with pleading eyes.
(`)
The horror story she had heard tonight took place in a bathroom.
She didn't dare go in alone.
"How about I wear a blindfold?"
Yukima Azuma suggested.
Eriri's face immediately turned bright red, but after thinking it over, she eventually nodded.
At the same time, she did her best to reassure herself.
After all, they had already done thatthis was nothing in comparison!
Yukima Azuma went to his drawer and took out a blindfold.
It was a souvenir he had bought at a booth during last summer's Comiket.
The front of the blindfold had an image of Kuroneko's eyes from Oreimo.
He put on the blindfold, then took Eriri's hand, leading her into the bathroom.
In the darkness, Yukima Azuma heard rustling sounds.
But after waiting for a long while there was no further movement.
At that moment, Eriri's embarrassed voice rang out.
"C-can you turn on the faucet?"
( //>///
She needed some background noise otherwise, she really wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
Yukima Azuma could already imagine what kind of expression Eriri had right now.
Fumbling around, he followed Eriri's guidance and finally managed to turn on the faucet.
The sound of running water filled the air.
Before long
Eriri's voice rang out again:
"You can take off the blindfold now."
Yukima Azuma removed the blindfold.
In front of him was Eriri's flushed face. She stood to the side, avoiding his gaze.
(>/////<)
The two of them left the bathroom and returned to the bedroom.
Eriri looked somewhat hesitant.
Even though she had finished using the bathroom
If she simply returned to her room
Then, for the rest of the night, she would have to face the darkness alone.
Even though she was no longer in the bathroom,
The fear had not yet faded.
"If you're scared I guess I can reluctantly stay with you for a bit tonight. J-just for tonight, okay?"
(,,,,)
After much internal debate, Eriri finally spoke up.
Yukima Azuma gently pinched Eriri's cheek.
Looking into her eyes, filled with both embarrassment and expectation
He smiled softly and said:
"Umu, I'll be counting on you then."
Hearing that, Eriri immediately hugged her pillow and pounced onto Yukima Azuma's bed.
Even though she knew for sure that he wouldn't change his mind
She still had to seize the opportunity quickly!
The number of times they had slept together wasn't exactly small.
So when they lay next to each other, they were already quite used to it.
Even though the night was getting late,
After all the flustering moments just now
The lingering emotions made it impossible for Eriri to fall asleep.
At first, she lay on her back.
But at some point, she had turned to her side, facing Yukima Azuma.
She watched as he closed his eyes, his eyelashes faintly trembling.
Eriri softly called out, "Azuma, are you asleep?"
(,,><,,)
Yukima Azuma opened his eyes.
Then, he also turned to his side, facing Eriri.
"Not yet, what's wrong?"
Their eyes met.
Eriri unconsciously started fiddling with the hem of her nightgown.
"I I can't sleep. Tell me a story!"
(-)
This time, the tsundere girl didn't even bother making an excuse.
On that adorable face of hers, it practically said, "Pamper me."
( ).®
Yukima Azuma blinked.
"Alright." He agreed, a flicker of mischief in his eyes.
()
Eriri didn't notice.
Hearing Yukima Azuma agree, she immediately broke into a radiant smile.
Her tiny fang peeked out.
"Then, let me tell you the story of The Three Little Pigs." Yukima Azuma said.
Eriri was momentarily stunned but then nodded.
Everyone knew this fable.
But if Yukima Azuma was the one telling it, she was happy to listen again.
And so, he began narrating in a gentle voice, his lips curling into a faint smile:
"Once upon a time, there was a ferocious gray wolf. She wanted to eat the poor little piglets."
Eriri watched Yukima Azuma, listening to his deep, soothing voice.
Even though the story was so familiar
At this moment, what mattered wasn't the content
But the person telling it.
"The first pig hid inside his straw house."
"But the gray wolf used to be a member of the brass band, so she was really good at blowjobs."
Eriri: ( ®® ) ????
A question mark popped up in Eriri's mind. She felt like she had misheard because she wasn't paying attention.
"And so, with her expert blowing skills, the gray wolf destroyed the straw house."
Eriri: (®®) ????
Eriri was sure she hadn't misheard this time. She immediately raised her hand: "Wait, you you!"
(>/////<)
Yukima Azuma tilted his head. "What's wrong?"
Eriri bit her lip.
Thanks to years of drawing doujinshi and working with translation groups
Even though her English wasn't great, she still knew certain key vocabulary.
But if she called him out on it right nowwouldn't that just expose herself as a perverted girl?!
"Hmph, it's nothing. Azuma, just continue the story." Eriri huffed lightly.
And so, Yukima Azuma continued.
"The second pig hid inside his wooden house."
"But the gray wolf played with LEGO a lot, so her handjob skills were top-notch"
"She used her expert handjob skills to destroy the wooden house."
For the first time in her life, Eriri felt
That knowing too much wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Eriri's fair face turned bright red.
Her emerald-green eyes glared daggers at Yukima Azuma.
( ) !!!
"The third pig hid inside his ice house."
"Wait, wasn't it supposed to be a brick house?" Eriri sensed something was off.
But Yukima Azuma ignored her and continued:
"Although the gray wolf couldn't destroy the ice house on her own"
"She summoned her teammate, bigcock."
"The gray wolf commanded bigcock, launching a fierce assault on the icehole of the ice house."
(note: WTF? What am I even reading?)
Eriri could no longer hold it in.
Was this guy not even trying to hide it anymore!?
"Stop telling stories like this!!"
<( _)>
If she still had her twin tails right now
She would've unleashed a full tsundere attack!
But Yukima Azuma put on an innocent face.
"Eh? What's wrong with this story?"
><
Eriri wanted to scold him, but the words got stuck in her throat.
In the end
She simply lowered her head and bit Yukima Azuma's arm.
Of course, she didn't use any force.
She was no longer the impulsive girl of the past who would lash out recklessly.
Her small fangs only left a faint mark on his arm.
After letting go
Eriri glared at Yukima Azuma.
Her expression practically said: "Now you know how scary I am, huh!?"
( )
However
Yukima Azuma gently stroked the bite mark on his arm.
Then, in a soft voice, he said:
"Hehehe, Eriri-chan, since we can't sleep anyway, how about we do some exercise?~~"
( ® ®)
Eriri: ( ®®) !!!?
"Azuma! Hentai! Beast! Aho! Baka! Yontoryu!"
><
Eriri hurled a barrage of insults at him
But in the end, she gave up resisting.
And enjoyed it.
The Next Morning
"Sawamura-san, you look quite radiant today."
Kato Megumi studied Eriri's face intently.
This morning, on Eriri's fair cheeks
There was a healthy pink flush.
Kato Megumi: ( ).
"D-do I really?" Eriri's voice wavered slightly.
Kasumigaoka Utaha narrowed her eyes.
Last night, they had watched a horror movie.
Judging by how Eriri had acted back then
It would've been perfectly normal for her to wake up with dark circles under her eyes.
But not only did she not have any
She actually looked more energized than usual.
Suspicious.
( )
Under the table, Eriri's small hand pinched Yukima Azuma's waist hard.
"Ahem, what does everyone want for breakfast? I'll cook."
Yukima Azuma cleared his throat, diverting attention away from Eriri.
Kato Megumi shot him a doubtful glance.
Then she said, "I want dumplings."
"Wontons," Kasumigaoka Utaha had been craving them for a while.
"I'll have dumplings too."
Yukinoshita Yukino added.
"Anything is fine, as long as it's not too much trouble."
Kirisu Mafuyu didn't want to make Yukima Azuma work too hard.
(note: Eriri was super annoying in the early chapters. But lately, she's gotten kinda cute.)
Chapter 226: Izumi Sagiris Message
Chapter 226: Izumi Sagiri's Message
December 10th.
Tokyo welcomed its first snowfall.
The snow wasn't heavy, just a light flurry that settled into a thin layer on the ground.
Christmas was just over ten days away.
Japan didn't have many traditional holidays, with only fifteen legally recognized public holidays.
There wasn't much unique culture of its own
Thanks to the influence of Western consumerism, Christmas here was livelier than in many other East Asian countries.
And right after Christmas
Was New Year's.
Another year was about to pass in the blink of an eye.
After finishing his shogi tournament journey, Yukima Azuma returned to Shuchiin.
Around this time, Shuchiin Academy had begun voting on locations for their upcoming field trip.
Today was the weekend.
Yukima Azuma was enjoying a relaxing gaming session at home.
"Do you have torches? I'm heading into the mine."
( — )
"No, wait, let me smelt some charcoal first."
( )
Kasumigaoka Utaha controlled her blocky character, tossing wood into the furnace.
Meanwhile, Yukima Azuma's character was repeatedly crouching and standing next to her, looking impatient.
The script for White Album was now completely finished.
So with nothing to do, Kasumigaoka Utaha started playing Minecraft with Yukima Azuma.
But in the corner
Eriri wasn't nearly as free.
Her chronic procrastination had flared up again, and her illustration work was barely halfway done.
While clutching her drawing tablet and furiously sketching, she kept glancing over at the two, looking like she wanted to grind her teeth into dust.
( ) !!!
After smelting enough charcoal, Yukima Azuma combined it with sticks to craft torches
And immediately set off on an expedition.
Meanwhile, Kasumigaoka Utaha gathered wood
And started building a tiny, run-down box house.
Inside the house, time passed peacefully.
Down in the mine, bloodshed and chaos ensued.
With another well-timed overhead slash, yet another Skeleton was sent to its grave.
Yukima Azuma's phone vibrated.
He glanced aroundno mobs in sight.
Setting his controller down for a moment, he picked up his phone.
A new friend request had arrived on LINE.
Yukima Azuma tapped on the sender's profile.
The avatar was Meruru, a magical girl from a children's anime.
The display name was just a string of meaningless katakana.
Staring at the unfamiliar account, Yukima Azuma was puzzled.
His personal LINE account was set to be searchable only with the exact ID.
Random friend requests were extremely rare.
After a brief moment of thought,
He moved his finger and pressed "Accept."
The moment he did
Tzzzt
A sharp static noise crackled through his headset.
The sudden sound sent shivers down Yukima Azuma's spine.
He quickly grabbed his controller.
Luckily, he had just mined some iron ore
And had placed a furnace nearby to smelt a few iron ingots.
