← The Studious Boy and the Secret Account Girl
Volume 3
Chapter 32: The Beauty Contest Queen Is in My Bathroom!
Chapter 32: The Beauty Contest Queen Is in My Bathroom!
The sound of the door opening shook the air and struck Tsutomu’s ears. His body jumped with a start.
He swallowed hard before turning around—and there, in his line of sight, was Matsurika.
Only her head and shoulders were visible. Most of her was hidden behind the door, which was fitted with frosted glass.
Most of her figure was barely visible through a blur, yet only her peach-tinted shoulders traced a clear outline.
Drops of water fell from her bangs, ran down her soft-looking skin, and dripped onto the floor.
An overwhelming sensation that far surpassed anything his imagination could conjure was there. In an instant, his consciousness was bleached white.
“…Ah.”
No words came out.
A shock too simple and too intense for words.
Matsurika’s nude body carried that much destructive force.
And yet—she still hadn’t shown him all of it.
Is this a dream?
He seriously entertained such an absurd thought.
“Kariya-kun, do you have a moment?”
“W-What?”
It wasn’t a dream. It was reality. If it weren’t, it would be a hallucination accompanied by auditory delusions.
No—the chain of events leading to this moment was far too clear. This was reality beyond excuse.
He forced his overheated brain to reboot and squeezed words out from the back of his throat.
The encroachment of a reality too lacking in realism was seriously bad.
“Um, it’s about my clothes.”
“Clothes?”
“Yeah. I got soaked on the way here, didn’t I?”
“…That’s true.”
“So doesn’t that mean I don’t have anything to wear?”
“…That’s true.”
The Kariya household had no dryer. Up until now, he’d never once felt inconvenienced by that.
When he’d started living alone, his parents had repeatedly asked him, “Don’t you think you need one?” but it was Tsutomu himself who’d shaken his head.
He’d figured laundry just needed to be hung out to dry normally. That was how they’d always done it back when it was just him and his mother.
…He never could have imagined a future like this—it was completely beyond the scope of his imagination. If he could have foreseen today, he would have bought a dryer even if it meant going into debt.
“Just ‘that’s true’…? Are you telling me to stay naked until my clothes dry?”
“No, no, no, no. That’s not what I said.”
He mentally visualized the scenario in which Matsurika’s nude body—now hidden behind the wall—was revealed in full detail.
There she was, covering only her important parts with her hands, in his home. Nothing to hide her skin, warmed and tinted cherry-blossom pink.
Her cheeks flushed crimson with embarrassment, her eyes glistening. She looked like she might cry at any moment, and yet she turned a beckoning gaze toward Tsutomu.
And from her slightly parted lips——
Just imagining it was enough to make his nose bleed. He even felt like collapsing and losing consciousness right then and there would be easier.
He resented his own reason for trying too hard.
“So, what exactly are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying, lend me some clothes! Read between the lines!”
“…Ah, that’s what you meant.”
Isn’t it a bit much to expect me to read between the lines?
He stopped himself from voicing that thought.
Even if she’d warmed herself up in the bath, she would catch a cold without anything to wear.
There was nothing strange about her asking for clothes.
“I don’t have any women’s clothes here.”
“Ehh, why not?”
“Why not? There was obviously no plan to invite any women over.”
“…I see. Sorry, I asked something weird.”
“No, I mean, it’s not like I know what to do when you apologize that seriously.”
Is it me who’s the weird one?
Did a high school boy living alone normally keep spare clothes on hand for the girl who might one day visit his home?
If he couldn’t figure it out himself, he could ask someone—but luckily or unluckily, there was no one to ask.
“Just pick out anything that looks okay, thanks!”
With that, Matsurika retreated back into the bathroom.
Tsutomu stood there for a while, slowly, slowly chewing over her words, then nodded.
A vertical motion of the neck that could hardly be called affirmation or denial. What it meant was unclear.
In his entire life, he had no memory of ever making such an incomprehensible reaction.
Even if she says “pick out anything”…
He pressed a hand to his forehead with clumsy movements, then adjusted his glasses, that had slipped down.
Tsutomu wasn’t the type to care much about fashion.
Even the money he’d saved from his part-time job was rarely spent on clothes.
He couldn’t even imagine what would qualify as “anything” in Matsurika’s book.
Still, not preparing anything wasn’t an option either.
He couldn’t force her to stay naked—and if she actually went naked, Tsutomu’s Tsutomu would get too excited and get him arrested.
“…Guess there’s no helping it.”
He expelled the breath that had pooled in his chest.
It was a hot, hot breath. He let it out as long and hard as he could.
The desire to “see all of Matsurika” was far too great.
He took deep breaths again and again, and still it showed no sign of subsiding.
He looked out the window. Cold rain was falling from the dark sky.
He seriously considered dousing his head in it to cool off…
Calm down. Tachibana trusts me. Don’t do anything to betray that trust.
He pressed both palms against his cheeks. He felt like he’d regained a little of his sanity.
He had to get this done before his reason wavered again.
He returned to his room, picked out some clothes that might work, and knocked on the changing-room door.
A muffled “go ahead” came from the bathroom, so he stepped inside.
On the other side of the frosted glass, a white-glowing nude form squirmed.
Could you at least stay in the bath?!
He groaned inwardly.
Precisely because no outline was revealed, a strange vividness pressed in on him with everything it had.
The fantastical, bewitching sound of water dissolved his reason. His mouth was bone dry.
He felt the blood racing through his body. His instincts were at full throttle, and his heart felt like it was about to explode.
“I-I can’t tell which one would work, so just pick whatever you want, Tachibana.”
“…So that’s your move.”
He couldn’t discern the feeling behind the voice that came from the bathroom.
It sounded like she was exasperated, but that was surely his imagination.
“A-Anyway, the clothes are ready. I’m heading back, so… uh, take your time.”
“I’ll be out in a second. You want to take a shower too, right, Kariya-kun?”
“No, I’m fine, I—sniff”
“See? Don’t hold it in.”
“W-We can’t! Please, don’t come out right away! Absolutely don’t come out!”
Knowing that Matsurika was naked just one thin wall away, there was no way he could stay calm.
The exchange just now was probably her idea of a joke, but… he couldn’t entirely rule out the possibility that she’d actually appear from the bathroom.
He had some doubts about the chastity values of the girl named “Tachibana Matsurika.”
She wouldn’t bare herself to Tsutomu under the guise of a “thank-you”… he was certain she wouldn’t, but he couldn’t swear she absolutely wouldn’t.
As he fled from the changing room, he thought he heard quiet, teasing laughter at his back.
“Hah… I can’t take this.”
And she’d only just arrived and taken a shower.
He’d only promised to let her stay the night.
Already, things were like this. He didn’t think his reason would hold out until morning.
“Haaa, that was a good bath. Sorry to keep you waiting, Kariya-kun.”
Matsurika’s voice.
When had she come out of the changing room?
There should have been the sound of the door opening, but he hadn’t noticed at all.
“Hey~, turn around~”
“…Sorry, I need a moment to prepare myself… sniffle”
“Come on, you’ll catch a cold if you don’t hurry.”
Damn it!
Whose fault do you think this is?
He held back the urge to shout that, and turned around.
His heart nearly stopped.
Matsurika was standing there.
Wiping her waist-length black hair with a towel.
Thanks to the warmth of the bath, her skin was tinted cherry-blossom pink. Exactly as he’d pictured.
What floated on her faultlessly arranged face was an expression no different from usual—no, there was a teasing glint in her eyes now.
All she wore was a white dress shirt. Her long, lithe bare legs were exposed almost to their roots.
…The very tops of her thighs were hidden beneath the shirt’s hem, out of sight.