In the end, the solution was pretty simple.
I didn’t linger outside for too long. After going to the store and buying exactly what I needed, I went straight back to Miyagi’s place. However, that alone managed to change my mood.
The scorching weather outside actually heated up my mind instead of providing relief, but it didn’t matter because I had accomplished my initial goal of dispelling my impure thoughts.
「I bought what I needed.」
I said as I returned to Miyagi’s room, where she was engrossed in reading manga.
「I didn’t ask you to do that.」
Without looking up from her book, Miyagi replied in a displeased voice.
「I know you didn’t, but let’s just take a break from studying for now.」
「What do you think I’m doing?」
She was right.
She wasn’t just immersed in a manga; she was sprawled on her bed, embodying the very definition of “taking a break”.
「I can see that, but that’s not what I meant. I was thinking more along the lines of stopping for a snack.」
Miyagi didn’t budge despite my suggestion.
In that case, it seemed like it was time to resort to force.
I placed my shopping bag on the floor and snatched the book that Miyagi was reading out of her hands. It was my first time seeing this title.
When she said she went shopping, was she talking about this?
Perhaps one of the things she and Utsunomiya had gone shopping for yesterday was manga.
「Why don’t you just go and eat it by yourself, Sendai-san?」
Miyagi said as she reclaimed the manga from me and laid back down on her bed. Her apparent lack of motivation and her indifferent attitude made it evident that she wasn’t in a good mood.
「Oh, I get what this is about. I’m guessing you don’t really like French toast?」
Earlier, I had chosen to go shopping for ingredients by myself, ignoring Miyagi’s words when she strictly told me not to go.
I knew this was likely the reason for her bad mood, but I pretended not to and instead, came up with some other random reason.
「…」
Miyagi didn’t even bother sparing a glance at me.
「Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?」
「… I’ve never had it before, so I wouldn’t know.」
「Oh, so there really are people like that, huh.」
I wasn’t trying to make fun of her.
I was genuinely surprised.
However, Miyagi didn’t seem to take it that way, and she replied in a subdued voice.
「I’m not going to eat any.」
「Don’t be like that. Look, I’ll teach you how to make it, so come lend me a hand.」
「Go make it yourself, Sendai-san.」
「Just consider it as an extracurricular lesson.」
「You’re always so quick to come up with such random, thoughtless excuses.」
Miyagi remarked as she rose from the bed, wearing a displeased expression.
「Fine, then I’ll bring it over to you when it’s finished, so just wait here. I’m going to borrow your kitchen.」
I wasn’t going to push it any further.
I had no problems with making French toast even without Miyagi’s help. In fact, I’d probably get it done faster on my own.
As I turned away from her and tried to leave the room, I felt her tugging at the hem of my t-shirt.
「What is it?」
「I’ll come with you.」
I didn’t know how she acted around other people, but when she was with me, Miyagi was never completely honest. She threw her usual tantrum today, but eventually agreed to join me in the kitchen. Despite saying she wouldn’t eat any earlier, it was likely she’d end up having some.
If things were going to turn out like this anyway, you should’ve just come with me without arguing.
Seriously, she could be such a pain sometimes.
But whenever we talked like this, it felt like both of us were being our usual selves again. It felt more genuine than when we were studying together.
We walked down the hallway towards the kitchen. However, instead of entering the kitchen with me, Miyagi went to take a seat at the counter table in the living room.
「Over here, Miyagi.」
I called out to Miyagi, who seemed to have no intention of helping me.
「Why?」
「Didn’t you come to help?」
「No. Go do everything yourself, Sendai-san.」
「Come on, lend me a hand here. Even if you can’t cook, you can at least whisk some eggs, right? Or do you not know how to do that either?」
While grabbing the milk and eggs from the shopping bag, I noticed a frown on Miyagi’s face as I glanced at her.
「That’s all you need me to do, right?」
Miyagi replied in a rude tone before coming over to the kitchen.
「Can I use your kitchenware?」
「Yeah, use whatever you want.」
I took out whatever I needed and cracked an egg into a bowl.
「Can you whisk this for me?」
I asked as I handed Miyagi the bowl and a pair of chopsticks. As I did so, I suddenly realized something important.
I forgot to buy the butter needed for baking the bread.
I went over to her fridge and gave it a quick look. Inside, I found a block of discolored butter that appeared to be on its last legs. When I asked about when she had bought it, Miyagi responded vaguely, saying, “I got it a while back.” However, despite it being “just a while ago,” the butter didn’t seem to have much life left in it.
Nonetheless, I chose to trust Miyagi’s words and provided her with the following instructions:
「Add a tablespoon of sugar and then mix it with the milk.」
I handed Miyagi the container of sugar and a pre-measured cup of milk, then proceeded to lay out the slices of bread on the cutting board.
I guess I could just split each of the slices in half.
Normally, it would have been more convenient to eat if the slices were cut into four quarters, but today I chose to halve them, and I reached for the knife. As I began cutting the first slice of bread, I glanced over at Miyagi, who was in the process of adding sugar to the mix.
「Miyagi, stop right there.」
「What?」
「Aren’t you adding way too much sugar? How many tablespoons did you put in?」
「About three?」
「Didn’t I tell you to put only one in?」
「Well, the sweeter the better, right?」
「No, not at all. It needs to be in proportion to the serving size.」
Two tablespoons could’ve been tolerable, but three was too much.
However, as there was no way to remove the sugar that had already been added, I decided to increase the number of eggs to balance it out and cracked another one into the bowl. When I doubled the amount of milk to blend it with the egg mixture, Miyagi attempted to add more sugar.
「Hey, Miyagi.」
I grabbed her wrist to prevent her from adding more sugar. It looked like she was about to add so much sugar that it might give me heartburn.
「Look, you can give me some orders later, but for the time being, I need you to follow my instructions.」
「I don’t have anything to order you to do.」
「I’m sure you can think of something.」
「Okay, in that case, drink that.」
Miyagi said as she pointed towards the egg mixture that was filled with sugar.
「Are you stupid?」
Even if I was okay with the amount of sugar in it, the egg mixture was used for baking bread, not for drinking as it is.
「See? I told you, I don’t have anything to order you to do. How about you give me an order for a change, Sendai-san? I’ll let you do it as a token of gratitude making us French toast.」
「So you’re saying I should order you to add the correct amount of sugar, and that’s it? Where’s the point in that?」
「Fine, then I’ll let you issue me three orders. With this, you’ll be able to make your French toast in peace, right?」
So you were planning to continue getting in the way?
If Miyagi wasn’t going to listen to me unless I issued her an order, then it was probably better to handle everything on my own instead of getting her to help.
「Three orders, huh. What are you, some kind of genie?」
I took the bowl from Miyagi’s hands and started whisking the egg mixture.
「Are you stupid, Sendai-san? Genies don’t take orders, they grant wishes.」
Just as I thought, Miyagi really was quite the idiot.
Despite her offer to grant me the authority to issue three orders, I highly doubted that Miyagi would truly regard them as orders. I didn’t have much confidence that she would obediently follow my commands, so my “orders” would likely be more like requests.
Moreover, while genies granted wishes, with Miyagi, my wishes might not necessarily be fulfilled.
「Look, if you actually want to lend me a hand, then stop beating around the bush and just help me already. If you don’t want to help, then go sit over there.」
Although it might have been considered impolite, I used my chopsticks to point towards the living room.
However, Miyagi did not move.
「You make up new rules all the time, don’t you, Sendai-san?」
「Yeah, and?」
「So hurry up and give me an order.」
Miyagi said as she turned towards me, her words sounding like she was the one giving me an order.
I wasn’t convinced.
Why was Miyagi acting so bossy?
Besides, even if I had the power to give her three orders, all I really wanted from Miyagi was to accurately measure the sugar and milk, and then bake the bread on low heat. However, I wasn’t eager to entrust those tasks to her either.
Well then, what else can I order her to do?
I looked down at the egg mixture.
What do I want Miyagi to do?
What do I want to do with Miyagi?
A few things came to mind, but they weren’t the kind of orders I should be issuing at a time like this.
Is there anything else?
I put my chopsticks down and turned to face Miyagi.
「Can I order you to do anything?」
「Yeah.」
「In that case, don’t move.」
「Huh?」
「I said don’t move.」
「Okay, but what’s next?」
Miyagi stared at me with a puzzled expression on her face. She likely assumed I was going to give orders related to assisting me in making French toast.
「Now, close your eyes.」
「… What are you planning to do?」
Miyagi took half a step back even though I had ordered her not to move.
「Shut up and do as I say.」
「Is that also an order?」
「Yeah, it is. You said you’d follow three of my orders, didn’t you?」
Miyagi frowned and shot me a glare. It appeared she was on the verge of complaining or saying something as she called my name, but she abruptly silenced herself and slowly closed her eyes.
‘There’s no way Miyagi would do as I say.’
At least, that was what I had thought, so I was a little surprised. Considering it should’ve been obvious what would come next, I had assumed she would respond with more aggression.
I brushed my hand against Miyagi’s cheek, who was unusually obedient.
Even as I caressed her with my fingers, she didn’t move.
My impure thoughts, which should have been scorched away by the midsummer sun, continued to burn fiercely, and I couldn’t restrain myself any longer.
I drew my face closer to hers. With my eyes shut, I leaned in to kiss her, and strangely, it felt like I could see her, which shouldn’t have been possible. Then, I firmly pressed my lips against hers.
My heart was beating faster than usual.
I wasn’t used to kissing Miyagi to the extent where I could do it without hesitation. Nevertheless, our second – or more precisely, third – kiss still felt incredibly pleasant. The mere sensation of her soft lips was enough to weaken my self-control, like melting butter.
I didn’t hate kissing her.
If anything, I wanted to touch her even more.
It was nice being able to do something like this over summer break.
I tried to fool myself into thinking that kissing wasn’t really a big deal.
I brushed Miyagi’s lips with the tip of my tongue. As I extended my tongue to part her closed lips, Miyagi pressed her hand firmly against my shoulder.
She pushed me more forcefully than I anticipated, separating our lips, but despite that, I leaned in for another kiss.
I gently touched and licked her lips with the tip of my tongue once again.
I didn’t go further than that, but Miyagi suddenly bit my lips without warning. This time, I was the one to push her away in response to the pain.
It hurt.
When I touched my lips with my fingertips, they felt wet. Looking at my fingers, I saw something red on them.
「It’s not like this is the first time we’ve kissed or anything. You didn’t have to go that far.」
「It doesn’t matter if it was our first kiss or not. I only granted you the right to issue three orders, so don’t be selfish.」
Miyagi said with a displeased tone in her voice.
When she mentioned “selfish,” I wasn’t sure if she meant when I attempted to slide my tongue into her mouth or when I licked her lips. Nonetheless, she didn’t resist when I kissed her, so at least the act of kissing itself shouldn’t be deemed “selfish.”
「And you need to learn how to hold back a little.」
I said, being careful to say only what was necessary. There were many things on my mind, but if I expressed them, I knew Miyagi would just respond with complaints.
「Do you have a mirror anywhere?」
I asked, concerned about how deep the wound was, all the while not knowing what might trigger the volatile Miyagi.
There didn’t seem to be much blood, but my lips felt sore. Miyagi must’ve been out of her mind to bite me as hard as she did.
「I’ll take a look at it for you.」
「It’s okay, I just want to see it for myself.」
「Well, there aren’t any mirrors in here.」
Miyagi said as she brought her face closer to mine.
Very close.
In fact, she was way too close for merely examining my wound. Just as I was about to ask what she was doing, Miyagi licked my lips like a dog or a cat would.
It was so sudden, I reflexively pushed Miyagi away.
「I disinfected it for you.」
Miyagi offered an excuse as she backed away from me.
「Blood doesn’t really taste that great.」
「Well, of course it doesn’t. Also, like I said before, licking a wound isn’t going to disinfect it, you know.」
I had licked Miyagi’s blood before, so I was familiar with its taste.
Miyagi’s blood was no more palatable than mine, and I’m sure she knew that even before she licked my lips. It wasn’t hygienic, and it wasn’t something she particularly liked doing. So, I was confused as to why she had licked my blood, and why she was drawing closer once again.
「Wait, Miyagi.」
I stopped Miyagi from getting any closer, preventing our lips from coming together.
Why did I stop her?
I found myself unable to answer that question as I held onto Miyagi’s shoulder.
「Even though you’re the one who invited me first, Sendai-san.」
If I invite her, then I should also be prepared for her to accept.
I was surprised that Miyagi’s words implied that.
While it was true I had been trying to tempt Miyagi, I never thought she would say something like that.
「… Does that mean you want me to kiss you again?」
I asked, but was met with no response.
When I tried to close the distance between us, Miyagi softly said, “I’ll do it,” before pressing her lips against mine.
I could feel the vivid sensation of Miyagi’s lips against mine, accompanied by a slight sensation of pain.
They felt soft, warm, and pleasant.
Miyagi was more compliant when it came to simply pressing our lips together, and our kiss lasted a bit longer than the previous ones before she parted her lips.
「… You’re quite erotic, aren’t you, Sendai-san?」
Miyagi grumbled as she glared at me with a look of resentment in her eyes.
「You wanted to kiss me too, didn’t you, Miyagi? We’re the same.」
「We’re not the same.」
Miyagi retorted, but she didn’t deny the fact that she wanted to kiss me. Then, she reached her hand out towards me and stroked the wound on my lips with her fingertip.
「That kind of hurts.」
In response to my words, Miyagi applied more pressure to the wound with her fingertip, causing me to wince from the stinging pain.
In terms of physical distance, Miyagi and I were closer than ever before. However, there was a distance between us that could never be bridged.
Was Miyagi still interested in seeing my disgusted expression?
She continued to trace my lips with her finger.
I couldn’t help but think that she was, as she continued to cause me discomfort.
WOW, this was probably the longest part to date, though I know there are EVEN LONGER parts ahead. Was this the reason why I skipped this update yesterday? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Instead, I spent my Canadian Thanksgiving (yes, Canadian Thanksgiving takes place a month before American Thanksgiving) … sleeping. In fact, I slept so much and so terribly that I actually need even more sleep. I make myself sound like a sleep goblin, but trust me, it’s not because of any physical ailments or anything – it’s actually because I feel like there’s not enough time in one day, so I stay up way longer than I reasonably should.
I swear, I need someone to tell me to get off Discord and force me to work on the next ShuuKura part or something, HAH.
Ave Lilium Translations 