“I-I’m sorry. I was in such a hurry, I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you hurt?”
“Ah, I was the one in a hurry. Hurt… now that you mention it, my rear does feel a little sore.”
“!”
Kent seemed to have bumped into a female student dressed in her school uniform. Thanks to the woman acting as a cushion, Kent didn’t hit anything and remained unharmed. In fact, his head felt quite comfortable nestled between two soft cushions.
“By the way, what could these soft things be?”
*Squish*
Kent grabbed the two cushions that had protected his head with each hand, feeling their texture.
“Ahh!”
“Fwah!”
The soft sensation was the distinctive fullness of a woman’s chest. Hearing the woman’s pained cry, Kent realized he had unconsciously started to grope her.
“I-I’m sorry. They were so soft, I unconsciously tried to feel them… what am I saying?”
Kent knew he was about to become a criminal if he continued like this, so he tried to emphasize that it was an unavoidable accident and to not upset her. However, he was flustered by the suddenness of it all and couldn’t think of anything clever to say.
“Excuse me, I’m quite heavy, so it would be a great help if you could move away.”
“Th-that voice, is that Prim?”
“Huh? Could it be, Kent?”
Kent, with his face buried in her chest, hadn’t recognized the woman he bumped into. But upon hearing her voice, he realized it was Prim. Both of them recognized each other by their voices.
“Prim.”
“Kent.”
Kent lifted his head and looked at her face. Prim’s beautifully sculpted face was mere inches away, so close that their lips would have touched if they had moved any closer. He could feel the air she exhaled against his face.
“…”
“…”
Kent and Prim stared at each other’s faces from an extremely close distance for a while. Prim’s face was faintly flushed, and she appeared to be growing increasingly embarrassed.
“Ah, my apologies. I’ll get off right away.”
“Ahh!”
“A-again, I apologize!”
As Kent tried to stand up, he placed his hands on Prim’s chest. Her slightly modest chest supported his upper body as he attempted to rise. He realized his hands were on her chest, but to avoid pressing against her again if he removed them, he stood up with his hands still on her chest, feeling apologetic.
“Kk, black?”
Kent stood up and then thought about helping Prim up. However, his gaze was drawn to a particular spot. Prim’s skirt had ridden up, revealing her black underwear. Whenever such an incident occurred, one expected underwear to be white, pink, polka-dotted, or striped, but black underwear was quite rare. Kent found himself thinking about such trivial matters.
“D-did you see?”
“Sorry, I did.”
“Th-that’s not it. I usually wear brighter colors! It’s just that today, I happened to not have any others to wear…”
Prim realized her skirt was up and, having been seen by Kent, started to make excuses about the color of her underwear.
“It, it’ll be alright. Everyone has their color preferences. Ah, that’s right. Grab my hand.”
“Ah, s-sorry. Thank you. Alright.”
Prim grabbed Kent’s outstretched hand and stood up.
“Prim, I’m sorry about earlier.”
“You didn’t have to say anything. I understand it was an unavoidable accident, despite being touched on the chest and having my skirt seen.”
“Thank you. It helps that you say that.”
Thanks to Prim overlooking his previous mistake, Kent was able to avoid becoming a criminal and let out a sigh of relief.
“By the way, Prim, why were you in such a hurry?”
“You were too, though.”
“That’s right. I was busy with today’s event preparations and was working right up until the last minute before school started.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Mine is similar. The various shops handling the boxes for this event adopted a cautious approach and only procured a limited amount, so they sold out quickly. The repercussions of that fell on my shop. Because of that, I also had to work until the very last minute.”
When Kent and Prim explained why they were in a hurry, they found that their reasons were quite similar.
“This event, which you planned as the person in charge, seems to be receiving a very good reception. I could feel it myself while working at the shop.”
“Yes. To be honest, I never expected it to become this large. It truly is thanks to the royalty and the Duke’s family’s involvement in the promotion.”
“Ah, we’ll be late if we keep standing here talking. Shall we walk and talk?”
“Hmm, based on the time, we should be able to make it to school at a walking pace. Let’s do that.”
Kent and Prim had been chatting while standing, but realizing they would be late for school if they stopped, they decided to talk while walking. Kent had been running earlier, so he had a bit of time to spare. This meant he had enough time to reach school even by walking.
“By the way, aren’t you usually with Bobby?”
“Yes. These past few days, I’ve been very busy with event preparations, and often end up working right up until classes begin. He’s not from a merchant family, so he still needs to gain knowledge and experience. Lately, he hasn’t seemed very interested in getting involved. Someone who lacks motivation is just a hindrance when you’re busy, even if they are your partner. So, we discussed that we would travel to school separately until the event ends.”
“I-is that so?”
Kent was curious about why Prim wasn’t attending school with her partner, Bobby, and decided to ask. She replied that they had agreed to go to school separately until the event was over. Hearing this, Kent felt it was a rather business-minded approach.
“Speaking of which, are you and Bobby getting along well?”
“Ah, you’re worried about me based on how I phrased that, aren’t you? Please rest assured. Thanks to you, Kent, we’re doing fine.”
Kent had asked, concerned that Prim and Bobby might not be on good terms, but seeing her blush as she answered, he felt relieved that their relationship seemed to be going well.
“Weren’t Rachel and Caro assisting with this event?”
“Yes, they were. Is there something you need?”
As they walked towards school, chatting casually, Kent decided to ask Prim about something that had been on his mind.
“The name of this event is ‘Love Thanks Day,’ right? How was that name decided? I thought Rachel would have pushed for a different name.”
“Ah, about that. You’re right, Kent. Rachel was indeed advocating for other names. I recall she seemed to have a particular attachment to the name ‘Valentine.'”
“So that’s how it was.”
The current event was named “Love Thanks Day.” This name easily conveyed the purpose of the day. However, given Rachel’s significant role in the planning meetings, Kent had expected an event title more akin to a foreign word. The fact that they settled on such a safe name was somewhat puzzling to him. He had missed the opportunity to ask Rachel directly and the matter had remained unresolved. However, since he rarely had the chance to speak with Prim alone, Kent decided to bring up the event’s name as a topic of conversation.
“However, since this is the first city-wide event, we needed a name that anyone could understand. I patiently explained this to Rachel, and she eventually agreed and conceded.”
“Wow. Prim, you managed to persuade Rachel, who never backs down once she sets her mind to something? That’s incredible.”
“As a merchant, I couldn’t compromise on this matter, so it was a bit difficult, but I worked hard to persuade her.”
“You must be exhausted.”
“Ah!”
“I-I’m sorry. I just instinctively patted your head.”
Kent, as he often did with Rachel and Caro, instinctively patted Prim’s head. It was something he did unconsciously, and Prim was startled by the sudden gesture.
“I’ve never had my head patted before, so I was surprised, but it doesn’t feel bad. I don’t mind, so it’s alright. Honestly, I wish you’d pat it a little longer… what am I saying?”
“Then, just a little longer.”
“Ah, thank you, Kent.”
Kent obliged Prim’s request and gently patted her head. She bashfully lowered her gaze and accepted it.
