Chapter 158 Shy
The morning, a sleepy young girl in a loose, oversized uniform walked out from the stairwell. Her messy hair and a face with a hint of otherworldly charm proved that her sleep the previous day hadn’t been the best.
After all, so many significant intertwined events had happened during that time. With Kazumi’s personality of meticulously planning everything, she had to sort out all the matters and create countermeasures before she could sleep soundly.
Especially when she was halfway through researching Little Black, the Ghoul, who had just completed its advancement, immediately fell into hibernation due to a lack of Death Aura within its body. This forced Kazumi to halt her research plan and stuff it into the Black Coffin to absorb Death Aura to compensate for the energy depletion caused by the advancement.
Coincidentally, Sato Shinichi seemed to be very busy with matters at home due to the recent attack, even shortening their pre-sleep chat time, which was annoying.
Therefore, the young girl, having extra free time and clear tasks to attend to, naturally utilized her programmer’s qualities. She had a trial run, staying up all night to write dozens of pages of deductions, speculations, and counter-measures, and also caught up on the latest two episodes of “Izakaya Log” in her spare time.
“Ah, if only I had this physique in my past life, I wouldn’t have died of overwork!”
Exhaling a wisp of ethereal energy, Kazumi slowly walked out from the stairwell, unable to help but lament with regret.
This gradually undead body was simply too convenient for the young girl, like a programmer’s special tool for staying up late. Even pulling an all-nighter with such intense concentration today only made her feel as drowsy as skipping a nap; there was no floating sensation of being about to ascend to heaven, like after coding all night.
Of course, this body might not have experienced something like this that only adults would do. At dawn, she couldn’t quite hold on and dozed off at her desk. Otherwise, Kazumi wouldn’t have rushed out in such a hurry after being woken by the alarm clock this morning.
After tidying her slightly messy hair, Kazumi composed herself, confirmed that there was nothing strange stuck to her face, and adjusted her skirt before heading towards the corner of the hallway.
“Good morning, Kazumi!”
“Morning.”
Casually tossing her schoolbag into Sato Shinichi’s hands, who was full of energy even in the early morning, she naturally accepted the bread and milk handed over by the young boy, habitually greeting him. The young girl, with bread in her mouth, walked towards the exit of the residential area.
Yes, that’s right. This overly enthusiastic and top-tier simp had gradually shifted his stakeout for Kazumi from the convenience store on her usual route to school to the garden downstairs from her apartment.
In his words, it was to walk a bit longer with her in the morning.
What could Kazumi say to the young boy’s statement? She’d just let him have it. As long as he didn’t push his luck and come to her house, waiting downstairs was fine.
After all, the rich and varied breakfasts the “dog” carefully prepared every day were quite good, enough for Kazumi to reluctantly sacrifice a little bit of her nonexistent integrity and accompany him for that distance.
“Ka… Kazumi, let me help you!”
The young boy, with two bags hanging from his arms, waved his hands comically while looking at Kazumi who had bread in her mouth, and said eagerly.
“Hm?”
The young girl turned her head, and the bread in her mouth swayed with her movement. Looking at the boy’s action, Kazumi remembered what he was referring to.
She then casually handed over the milk with a straw already inserted and took the bread out of her mouth.
“Thanks~”
She thanked the young boy, who looked as if he had received a treasure, with a hint of teasing. Seeing the boy visibly happy, Kazumi’s mood inexplicably improved.
This kind of meticulous care in every aspect, perhaps only pure boys of this age could do it.
Even helping her insert a straw made him seem as happy as if he owned the whole world. Such genuine feelings were indeed quite nostalgic…
“Ka… Kazumi, the milk!”
Staring at the boy’s handsome face, Kazumi was lost in thought. It should be a sequela of staying up late. Her unfocused mind was recalling past events. Perhaps it’s natural to recall the past when one reaches a certain age?
After an unknown amount of time, a stuttering, nervous voice interrupted Kazumi’s thoughts. Snapping back to reality, the young girl looked up and saw the boy, his face flushed but still firmly holding the milk out to her.
“Sorry, I zoned out.”
Taking the milk from the boy, Kazumi didn’t hesitate to take a gentle sip. The milky flavor, mixed with sweet chocolate, melted in her mouth. Although she didn’t know the brand, the texture and taste alone indicated it wasn’t ordinary convenience store milk.
She took a small bite of the torn bread. However, perhaps because it tasted too good, she accidentally bit off a larger piece. The young girl underestimated the capacity of her mouth and chewed the bread filling it to fullness, like a hamster, wanting to swallow the food quickly.
“What’s wrong?”
But the young girl, who was chewing her food, seemed to sense a different gaze. The hand holding the milk stopped mid-air. She tilted her head and turned back, looking at Sato Shinichi, who had stopped in place.
“I… Kazumi, I’m sorry, I’m going to get something!!”
The young boy was staring blankly at the girl in front of him. The moment Kazumi turned towards him, he looked as if he had been hit by a critical blow. His flushed cheeks, like a cooked red-skinned duck, seemed to emit steam. He covered his mouth with his right hand, mumbled incoherently, and without waiting for Kazumi’s reply, he quickly ran out of the residential area.
“?”
Kazumi stared blankly at the inexplicably behaving boy, forgetting to chew the food in her mouth. It wasn’t until she saw the boy’s figure running out of the residential area that Kazumi belatedly swallowed the bread in her mouth. She reached out and wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth, stared blankly in the direction the boy had gone, and finally couldn’t help but let out a giggle.
“You look quite cute when you’re shy.”
