不聊天直接约

Chapter 566 - She Sounded Like She was About to Cry

[……I can already kind of guess why, but can I ask you something? Why was I “kidnapped to the Sanctuary” as soon as dinner was over?]

[It’s my turn today.]

[H- Huhh……]

[Kuro and the others made the rule that the person who would go on a date with Kaito the next day can take a bath with him the night before. Then, of course, I should have the right to do the same.]

Before I had time to bask in the afterglow of the night before the final day, I had been kidnapped by Shiro-san, bringing me to the God Realm. Unnn, well, how should I say this…… It really was just as I had expected.

[……Well, since Kuro didn’t stop Shiro-san, that means they’ve also included you too…… I don’t have the option of refusing anyway, right?]

[Yes. That’s right.]

Alright…… but “there are some conditions”.]

[Hmm?]

Yes, I had predicted this situation. I knew that if Kuro and the others had established such a rule, there was no way that Shiro-san wouldn’t take advantage of it. So, I’ve been thinking about countermeasures for it.

Well, I didn’t expect that she would bring me to the Sanctuary rather than staying with me in the Central Tower……

[Shiro-san, do you remember the last time when we went to the beach?]

[Yes, of course.]

[Then, please “wear the bathing suit” you were wearing that time. That’s the conditions I’m offering.]

[Mhmmm…… However, no one other than Phantasmal King wore a bathing suit when bathing with Kaito. Kuro wasn’t a bathing suit either. That’s unfair.]

Shiro-san’s voice was as inflectionless as ever, but she protested in a somewhat dissatisfied manner…… which was a response I had expected.

[Yes, that may be true. However, please think about it. I don’t know how Shiro-san feels about yourself, but Shiro-san is an incredibly beautiful woman. If I were to take a bath with you while you weren’t wearing a bathing suit, I would feel nervous.]

[…………………]

[If that were the case, I don’t think I’ll have the composure to enjoy my conversation with Shiro-san. I want to enjoy this opportunity to be alone with you, Shiro-san.]

[Mhmhmhmmm……]

In response to my words, Shiro-san was unusually hesitating to say something. How should I say this…… It feels incredibly refreshing to have the upper hand against Shiro-san in a conversation.

Anyway, my point seemed to have been conveyed, and Shiro-san remained expressionless and silent for a while.

[……I understand. I’ll put on my bathing suit while we’re taking a bath.]

[Thank you! Ahh, and please don’t think of trying anything witty like “wearing your bathing suit only when you get in, and remove it after you’re in the water”.]

[………………..]

I warned her just in case, but it seems like Shiro-san really was thinking of doing that, as I saw her eyes briefly blinked twice. This is how Shiro-san reacts when she’s surprised.

For once, my advance planning and preparations paid off, as Shiro-san obediently put on her swimsuit.

Together with Shiro-san, who was wearing a bathing suit, I soaked in the onsen that I had also bathed in when I visited the God Realm before. However, hmmm…… I really think that Shiro-san is unfair. Not sure if it’s because she’s really just too beautiful or not, but even when she’s wearing a bathing suit, all the blood will gather on my face.

[……I somehow feel like I lost. I am displeased.]

[I’m not entirely sure how you decide if you won or you lost but…… if I win, would that mean this would be my first victory over Shiro-san?]

[……No, it’s your second victory.]

[Arehh?]

Huh? It’s the second time I’ve won against Shiro-san? She had always been pushing me around so much that I don’t remember ever winning against her…… Ahh, is she talking about that time when we first met?

[That’s right.]

What Shiro-san is referring to is that conversation Shiro-san and I had when we first met…… that time when I rejected Shiro-san when she told me “she would give me what she wants”.

To be honest, I don’t feel like I’ve won at that time, but it seems like from Shiro-san’s point of view, that was another loss.

[……I couldn’t prepare what you really want after all. Then, I guess I lost.]

[Is that how it is?]

[That’s right.]

After telling me this, Shiro-san made a sake cup and a tokkuri out of nowhere, handing me the sake cup without saying a word. Speaking of which, back when we were taking a bath in an onsen together, she also handed me a cup of sake like this…… Somehow, I feel strangely nostalgic, even though that shouldn’t have been that long ago.

[……It’s delicious.]

[I’m glad to hear that.]

[……By the way, Shiro-san?]

[What is it?]

[I’m sorry if I’m mistaken…… but I kind of feel like you’re “a bit depressed”……]

[Why do you think that?]

[I’m not sure. It’s just a hunch.]

[………………….]

From what I heard from Kuro, Shiro-san never lies. In other words, I could take her silence as affirmation.

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure, and just as I told Shiro-san, I had no proof. I’ve never seen Shiro-san depressed before, so it really was just a hunch.

[……Kaito-san, are you able to read my emotional changes from my facial expressions?]

[……Ehh? Y- Yes, well…… I could somehow read them.]

Shiro-san’s expression certainly hardly changed, and her voice had no inflection. However, since I had been conversing with her to some extent, I have come to understand her emotional changes to some extent.

When she’s having fun, the corners of her lips turn up a few millimeters. When she’s surprised, her eyes would quickly blink twice. When she’s sulking, her mouth would become smaller by a few millimeters, and when she is confused, her eyelids would drop a few millimeters.

I guess I’ve gotten the hang of it to some extent, and now, I can read the changes in her emotions from her facial expressions.

[……You…… really are……]

[Shiro-san?]

[No, it’s nothing.]

[…………………]

Shiro-san was about to say something, but she stopped mid-sentence and shook her head.

Then, after shifting her gaze to the skies of the God Realm…… She quietly whispered.

[……If……]

[Unnn?]

[……If I try to…… take away “your most precious thing”…… will you…… hate me?]

Dear Mom, Dad————— Was it just my imagination? Her voice was as inflectionless as usual, and her expression almost unchanged…… However, hearing Shiro-san’s voice right now, for some reason—————– She sounded like she was about to cry.

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