Miyako tiptoed to the door.
She'd only just made a promise to Kushida, and now Horikita was knocking.
Something felt off.
There had to be a trick here.
Better to pretend she was already asleep.
Miyako pressed her ear to the door, listening for any sound outside.
After a few knocks, Horikita fell completely silent.
Maybe she'd given up and gone back to bed.
Finally, Miyako could relax.
Ring-ring-a-ling—!
Her phone suddenly blared to life.
"I know you're right behind the door. If you don't open up now…" Horikita left the threat hanging.
But Miyako didn't dare test what might come next.
She could only paste on an apologetic grin and open the door.
"So sorry, I was totally dead asleep—barely heard the knocking. I was just about to answer when you called, Suzune!"
Miyako scratched her head, embarrassed.
Combined with that vacantly cheerful smile of hers…
Most people might've…
Well, no one would've bought it.
"Oh, really? I hope you really were asleep. Since when do you sleep in knee-high socks, Amane?" Miyako's face froze.
Oh no.
She'd been so busy eavesdropping and chatting, she hadn't even changed out of her day clothes. She'd been completely found out!!!
The moment Horikita's hand lifted, Miyako immediately covered her forehead with both hands,
Squeezing her eyes shut, bracing for the familiar flick to the forehead.
She was all too used to Horikita's usual routine…
"Ow, ow, ow! Suzune, since when do you go for the ear? Let go! My ear's gonna tear off! Waaah!"
Horikita stared, utterly unamused, at the flailing girl before her. "Well? Trying to keep me out—what are you hiding?" Her intuition screamed that this airhead was definitely keeping something from her.
"Wha—what would I hide from you, Suzune?"
"If you've got nothing to hide, say that again while looking me in the eye." Horikita cupped Miyako's face, then gave a firm twist.
Click.
Forcing their eyes to meet.
Miyako's gaze darted wildly—up, down, left, right.
Horikita's eyes tracked hers without fail, making sure their connection held.
After a few failed attempts to evade, Miyako realized she couldn't outpace Horikita's focus. So she gave up, letting her eyes drift aimlessly.
"What… what kind of look is that? One eye left, one eye right?" Horikita was taken aback.
She promptly delivered a sharp flick to Miyako's forehead, curing her of the wandering-eye ailment.
"Oww, Suzune, you're always bullying me…" Miyako sat pitifully by the table, poured a glass of water for Horikita, and continued sniffling as she stared up at her.
"Amane, am I bullying you?"
"...No."
"That's the truth. Now, why were you avoiding me?" Horikita downed the water in one go, slammed the cup on the table, making Miyako flinch.
"Well, it's…" Miyako handed over her phone.
Curious, Horikita took it, grabbed Miyako's hand and unlocked it with her fingerprint.
She stared at the screen, paused for a moment, then a faint blush spread across her cheeks.
"You… you were in your room alone doing this?" Horikita's gaze was full of fury.
Miyako's heart sank.
What should I do?
Suzune's really mad.
Is it too late to pack up and run?
What about tomorrow's parfait?
I really want that parfait.
Hehehe…
Even in a crisis, Miyako was still dreaming about the two tall glasses of mille-feuille parfait Kushida had promised her.
"Suzune, calm down—I didn't mean it! It's my first time, my first time doing something like this!" Miyako could feel her face heating up rapidly.
She rubbed her cheeks, only to make them burn hotter.
She never expected her first time playing accomplice would end with getting caught red-handed. How was she supposed to grow her business now?
"First time? I don't believe for a second this is your first time! You're a repeat offender!!"
Last time was the same.
Horikita thought she'd taught her a lesson.
But it seemed not only had she not learned—she'd escalated. This bad habit had to be stamped out, now!
"Okay, I messed up, but… but you can't accuse me wrongly, Suzune! I really am a first-timer, look—"
"I am not looking!"
"Just take a peek!"
"No!!"
Horikita's face was red to the tips of her ears.
Heaven knows what "first time" meant, after she'd deleted the last batch, what kind of "first" had Miyako carefully hidden away this time?
"Really! It's my first time working with Kikyo-chan! Just let me explain!" Seeing that Horikita had no intention of listening, Miyako stood up decisively, moved beside her, then wrapped her arms around Horikita's waist and started sobbing.
Driven to distraction by the noise, Horikita finally agreed to hear her out.
"Hmph, I should've led with this move."
Darn it!!!
Miyako even wiped away her fake tears with a hint of pride.
Wait.
Horikita's thoughts snagged on something. "You said you were working with Kushida?"
The two of them teaming up… What did they want with her photos? It couldn't be…
"Yeah! Kikyo-chan even promised me two parfaits!"
"You sold me out for two parfaits?" Horikita gently pressed her palm against Miyako's still-warm cheek.
"I know I was wrong… I won't do it again, Suzune, please calm down…"
"Calm down? You sent someone photos of me bathing with you, and you want me to calm down?" Horikita pinched Miyako's cheek hard.
"Wait, mmph—what photos? Mmm—I only promised Kikyo-chan I'd help invite you out for coffee!"
Coffee?
Horikita's hand stilled. "You didn't mean for me to see this?" She turned the phone screen around.
It showed a private album. Beneath it were over five hundred photos of Horikita. Miyako had even bought a cloud storage membership to make more space.
"Aah! Not that, not that one! Give my phone back! That's my life savings!" Miyako lunged for the phone, but Horikita held it high above her head.
Miyako jumped and stretched, but couldn't reach.
Even on tiptoe, she fell short.
Horikita stared down at her, exasperated. "Life savings? Don't make it sound like I'm seizing your grain stores."
"That's my spiritual sustenance!!" Seeing Miyako still being stubborn, Horikita smiled a dangerously lovely smile.
"Amane, let's play a game."
"A game?" Miyako eyed her suspiciously.
Something felt off.
"The game is called 'Rapid Sleep.' If you're not asleep in ten seconds, I'll return your phone and grant you one reasonable request. If you fall asleep, you'll behave from now on. Understood?"
Hearing the name, Miyako instinctively covered her neck.
Was Horikita planning to chop her into unconsciousness?
What a ruthless woman.
But for the sake of her treasures and that one request, Miyako could only nod in agreement.
Then, Horikita's finger moved across the phone screen to a certain option.
[Delete Album.]
Thump-thump-thump-beeeeep—!!!
Miyako's heart stopped. Her vision went dark, and she collapsed into Horikita's arms. "Only three seconds. Your resilience needs work, Amane."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.