Translator: Reflet
Editor: ryunakama
Moonlight and neon mixing together to create a blue light were streaming out from the window gla.s.s.
Youran slowly rised, as if floating up from the wavering bottom of water.
Underneath this stark naked, perfect figure that could be mistaken for a sculpture was a youth who was the same, stretched out.
「Today was……surprising」
Taiyou murmured, and Youran slightly stirred, looking down at him.
Sweat in the shape of a sphere trickled down from her bangs, landing "plop" on his chest.
From the moved sheets that had covered the two, a smell enough to make one cough filled the room.
「What was so surprising？」
「How amazing you are」
He brought out his hand, combing the long hair hanging down from her shoulders.
Youran shivered as his fingers ran through her silk thread-like hair.
「After that, you said you had something to discuss with the FOT chairwoman and then left, right? Afterward, everyone swooped in with awe」
「Mm……Did they hand business cards to you？」
「Enough to where I couldn"t carry them all」
He wryly smiled again.
He glanced to the side. There was a discarded suit, and there was a mountainful of things in said pockets that had been handed to him.
They were all a mountainful of business cards that had exaggerated t.i.tles on them.
「What should I do about that? Should I give a reply？」
「You"re asking my opinion？」
「Yeah. Heck, you can decide. Cause I don"t know what in the world I should do」
「Then……Just ignore them」
Youran said, once again resting her temple on his chest.
The body heat that transmitted from where she touched him seemed to be slightly warmer than when she had gotten up.
「You sure？」
「If I were in my New Moon Director mode, I"d say that"s actually better. I haven"t seen what kinds of people came, but if they were furtively trying to b.u.t.ter up to you and handing their business cards to you despite you being in high school, they"re probably second-rate anyway, so paying attention to all of that riff-raff would lower your status」
「Status……But I"m just a high school student」
Ignoring Taiyou as he wryly smiled, Youran continued, head buried.
「After a few days, I think that there will be people who"ll try to approach you like it"s a coincidence. You don"t have to ignore them per say, but you also don"t have to trust them. They"re a crafty crowd who"ll try to approach you with a strategy based on their investigation」
「……You sound like a handsome guy making advances on a girl」
「I intentionally spoke that way」
Youran continued, still not lifting her face.
「And for a brief period, "lucky" things will continue in succession around you」
「Lucky things？」
「Mhm」
「In succession?……So they devise this」
「Right, and they do it so that you don"t realize. In a few years, it really will become easier to identify if it"s a coincidence or not. And when it gets to that point there will be those who try to hide that fact even more……That"s what the first-rate people do, so you"d best remember the names of those sorts when the time comes」
「Sounds difficult……」
「And there"s also the elite」
「Whaaat？」
「Youran？」
Youran had stopped talking for some reason.
He patted her head with the tips of his fingers.
After a bit, she finally opened her mouth.
「They"re people who won"t try anything」
「Won"t try anything？」
「Yes. They know me well, and on top of understanding what I did to you, they"re the kinds of people who won"t try anything on purpose. They do not look down on you, nor do they feel envy toward you. They"re the kinds of people who will only interact naturally with you」
「I get it. I can"t put it well into words, but I pretty much get what you"re saying」
「Yeah? Then that"s good」
Youran said as she clung to him more with a squeeze.
「What, did you not wanna talk about it？」
「"Course not」
Youran lifted her face.
Still clinging to him, she lifted her face, gazing at him.
She seemed to be a little sullen for whatever reason.
「See, I went to brag about you today. There"s only one person who"ll benefit you amongst that lot, and the rest I could care less about, so I did my very best to boast」
「Boast, eh」
「And it was suuuper amazing. And it was only two or three, but people looked at me with jealous eyes. And that felt sooo amazing――and here you are talking to me with this dull topic」
「……Oh, sorry about that」
Taiyou smiled, putting his hands on her head and softly drawing her closer.
It was the same as earlier, but this time Taiyou had initiated it.
He hugged her softly, sinking his face into her chest.
The naked boy and girl hugged each other in the exquisite hotel suite room with the lights out.
Usually this was the time to be arousing themselves with pillow talk――although with a bit of a cool-down, but what with Youran lecturing Taiyou in regards to his question, it had gone to waste, or so she implied.
Having it pointed out and getting a clue, Taiyou changed the topic.
「Today felt super amazing for me too」
「You too？」
「See, after you left, I was glared at by several men. Mainly in their twenties. In an instant, I realized "Oh, they"re jealous of me"」
「But didn"t you say that you knew nothing of envy? Amazing that you got that」
「What I don"t know of――what I haven"t experienced is envy from the female side. I totally get male envy」
「Male envy？」
Youran parroted, slightly inclining her head.
「Like this」
Taiyou said, purposefully changing his expression.
In his head, he imagined the kind of maddening scene of Youran making love with other men.
「Wh-What"s up with that face」
「By your reaction, I can confirm I did it right. Welp, that"s the kind of face they glared at me with」
「But there"s no need……to make such a face」
「Hm？」
「Because I……won"t do anything to have you make such a face」
Youran said sulkily.
That face was just so cute.
「Yeah? Thanks. To tell the truth, I sometimes get in that state because of Kotone and the others, so I"m really glad you said that」
「Eh？」
Surprised, Youran rose up abruptly.
Her face showed her disbelief that those three sisters would do such a thing.
「Kotone, Suzune, and Kazane are too close, and I sometimes find myself jealous of them. When I"m amongst them, I feel like they"re connected on a spiritual level and end up feeling like an outsider」
「But I"m！」
As if throwing a small tantrum, Youran hit Taiyou"s chest repeatedly.
It was a habit of hers, hitting him repeatedly whenever something was up.
「I"m trying to have a serious talk with you」
「Ahaha, I know」
As he said that, he pulled her close and gave a smooch.
「I actually said it in the sense that I know without you having to tell me」
「Uu……」
「Oh yeah. I keep forgetting to say this, but」
「Eh？」
「You were extremely beautiful today」
「Wha――」
「Of course your appearance, but your aura as well. An aura different from before at that」
「Different from before？」
Youran tilted her head.
「The "New Moon Director" from before made me excited just by being next to her, but the current "New Moon Director" made me even more excited」
「Playing with words again……」
She pouted, pursing her lips.
She hated that, but had been pouting lately whenever he did that, so Taiyou would do that whenever something came up.
Her pouting was just so cute.
「If I were to give it to you straight, it"d be a bit erotic」
「Ero――」
「See? This is how it goes when I say things straight」
Taiyou laughed with an "Ahaha".
「That"s why every so often, it"s necessary to be roundabout」
「……you really think that？」
「Eh？」
「Do you really think that it"s that way？」
「Erotic? Yup, I"ll say」
Taiyou nodded clearly without hesitation.
「Moreso than Kohaku？」
「Well, not quite. Right now she"s the most erotic person amongst us. You"re the second-most」
「Second-most？」
「Yes, second-most. Cause Aoba and the others……don"t really feel erotic」
「……I"m good with that then」
That was the fashion in which they spoke incoherently atop the bed, bodies facing each other.
Until they both fell into sleep.