Night fell.
Sato sat at the computer desk in his bedroom, looking over the data, when he suddenly heard Fujimiya Konomi calling for him.
"Sato-kun!"
The girl's voice sounded faint and hazy, reaching him through several barriers. If he wasn't paying attention, it would have been easy to overlook, but to Sato, whose five senses were unusually sharp, the seemingly weak voice sounded almost as though it had been spoken right beside his ear.
He left the bedroom, passed through the living room, and walked to the bathroom door.
The bathroom door was opaque, but there were still some frosted glass panels to let in light. They were decorated with little flowers made up of green and pink.
Through the frosted glass, he could see the bright light inside and the hazy steam.
At that moment, the sound of rushing water could be heard from within.
"Knock, knock!"
He knocked on the bathroom door and asked, "What's wrong?"
It wasn't long before he saw a hazy figure appear behind the door through the frosted glass. The glass did a good job of blocking his view, leaving only a vague black silhouette cast against it.
"Don't you have any bath towels?"
Fujimiya Konomi's somewhat troubled voice came from behind the door.
"No. If you want to dry yourself, you can use the pink towel on the far left. I only opened that one yesterday, and I washed it with hot water first."
"No!"
A hint of embarrassment suddenly appeared in the girl's voice, which had also become much quieter than before.
"I only brought a pair of panties in with me..."
As if afraid Sato would misunderstand something, she hurriedly added, "I thought you had bathrobes here."
"You wouldn't have brought a bra even if there were bathrobes."
Sato froze outside the door for a moment before he couldn't help laughing.
"What's wrong with not wearing one if there is a bathrobe!"
Fujimiya Konomi retorted from inside the bathroom. Sato immediately found it amusing and said, "In that case, why did you bring panties?"
"Not wearing panties just feels too... Hmph, why are you asking so many questions?!"
"You're my girlfriend. I have to know what kind of preferences you have, don't I?"
"Pervert!"
"Aren't you the one who isn't wearing a bra?"
"You're still the pervert!"
"Fine, I'm a pervert. Now tell me what you want me to do."
In the end, Sato chose not to continue bickering with Fujimiya Konomi and instead asked why she had called him over.
"Go get me... And bring my pajamas while you're at it."
"Got it."
...
Sato walked into the other bedroom.
This had always been Kanna's room. Kobayashi was going back to his hometown during Golden Week, so Sato had asked him to look after Kanna.
After all, Sato would be busy throughout Golden Week, so it was better to let Kanna go out and have fun with Kobayashi and Tohru.
A pile of clothes Fujimiya Konomi had brought with her was sitting in the corner of the room.
They were inside a handbag.
Sato walked over and opened it, then pulled out a change of clothes, a set of pajamas, and a pure white bra.
His expression became somewhat peculiar as he looked at the things in his hands.
She really did bring a change of clothes with her... But wouldn't bringing this kind of thing over feel awkward? And somehow, it seemed much smaller than Kasumizawa Shizuko's.
Tsk!
He couldn't help clicking his tongue before picking up Fujimiya Konomi's clothes and walking to the bathroom door.
"I brought them."
"Why did you take so long? You didn't do anything strange with my things, did you?"
Fujimiya Konomi's voice came from inside the bathroom, followed by a giggle as though she couldn't help herself.
Sato was covered in black lines.
"You really think I'm a pervert?"
"Hehe!"
The girl inside the bathroom giggled, then there was a click as she opened the bathroom door. The opening wasn't very wide. A fair arm reached through the gap, looking like a section of white jade lotus root fresh from the water, with crystalline droplets clinging to its surface.
It was difficult to imagine what kind of beauty the girl must have looked like inside the bathroom at that moment.
Sato handed the things in his hands to Fujimiya Konomi. After taking them, the girl quickly withdrew her arm.
"Hey, hey! I'm your boyfriend, you know. Can't you give me a little something?"
Sato grumbled as though he was somewhat dissatisfied.
However, he was only saying it. He knew that every girl had a different personality.
Although Konomi usually appeared lively and playful, she was actually a very traditional and conservative girl. Even though the two of them had already established their relationship, she would still need some time to get used to it.
In contrast, there was Kasumigaoka Shiyu. Although Kasumigaoka Shiyu looked like a quiet literary girl, only Sato knew what kind of passionate heart was hidden beneath that quiet exterior.
"Sato-kun, you've really become more and more of a pervert."
"What's wrong with a man being a pervert?"
"Didn't I give you some benefits before?"
"When?"
"Back then."
Sato was speechless.
There had been times when Konomi had been quite close to him before, but as she gradually grew older and more mature, such things had naturally disappeared.
"That time span is way too long. Does that really count as a benefit?"
"Why wouldn't it?"
"I think you definitely have some misunderstanding about the word 'benefit'... Forget it, I'm going back to my bedroom."
After returning to his bedroom, Sato continued looking at some of the data on the website.
On the balcony, the fat cat Chocola had already grown so round that it looked like a ball rolling around, meowing continuously. He just didn't know where Vanilla, the other cat who had somehow managed to maintain her elegant feline figure, had gone.
Someone approached from behind.
Sato sensed it, but he also noticed that the other person was deliberately lowering her footsteps.
Suddenly, two fair arms wrapped around his neck like water snakes. Sato could feel the delicate texture of the girl's skin against his neck, as smooth as the finest white jade in the world.
The faint fragrance of lavender body wash lingered around his nose. The girl gently leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek...
"For now, this is all I can do..."