The apartment where Haruto lives isn't a fancy high-rise with an elevator but rather an old building with just three floors. Only three households occupy each floor, and the staircase is located at the side of the building.
The first reason he chose this place was that it was relatively close to Sobu High School, and the rent was cheap. Second, despite the apartment being small, it also had its own garbage disposal area.
When they arrived at the apartment stairs, a new problem arose. Hiratsuka was completely drunk, her entire body limp and powerless. If Haruto didn't drag her, she would collapse onto the ground.
At this point, if he were to take her home and do this or that, she wouldn't resist!
"Wake up!"
"Mmmh… I'm dizzy. Don't move. Let me lie down for a bit…"
Hiratsuka looked at Haruto with a blank gaze, then leaned on him again, closed her eyes, and all her weight fell on him.
Haruto said, "I'll carry her. Mafuyu-chan, go up and open the door first."
"Mhm, be careful."
Mafuyu nodded, and after giving instructions, she headed upstairs.
Haruto sighed and looked at Hiratsuka in his arms. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing steady, and her eyebrows slightly furrowed—clearly, she wasn't feeling well.
He sighed again.
Once Mafuyu had reached the second floor and disappeared from sight, he extended his hand. Not that he intended to take advantage of her, nor was he interested in measuring how big or beautiful her long legs were.
Haruto took hold of Hiratsuka's hand and activated his superpower.
Even though Mafuyu always opposed the misuse of his powers, worrying that Hiratsuka's condition might become dangerous, Mafuyu didn't know the full extent of his abilities.
For Haruto, the amount of energy he used was almost negligible.
For instance, buffing Itsuki or helping Shouko heal her illness—if he calculated the cost in terms of Mana, Haruto's Mana points were at 99,999, so using just 10 or 20 points was insignificant.
Not to mention, his power had been growing stronger by the day.
Besides, if he didn't help Hiratsuka now, what if she threw up later? The mere thought of it made him cringe!
Once the power activated, Hiratsuka's furrowed eyebrows slowly relaxed.
Because she felt so comfortable, Hiratsuka opened her eyes drowsily, glanced at Haruto with a blank expression, then reached out and hugged his waist. In a dazed voice, she said, "Kuromori, I didn't expect your arms to be this comfy, and you smell really good."
"Hmm~ You actually have abs. Let me touch them."
"Ehehe…"
Hearing Hiratsuka's playful laugh, black lines appeared on Haruto's forehead.
He straightened his face and immediately carried Hiratsuka in his arms.
"Ah~"
Being lifted suddenly, Hiratsuka let out a cute cry and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.
The shock seemed to clear her head a bit.
She opened her eyes slightly and glanced at him. When Haruto looked back at her, she quickly turned her head away, pretending she hadn't woken up.
'I want to die, I want to die, I want to die… What was I doing! I actually let out such a disgusting laugh just now…'
'Why did I have to wake up at this moment!'
Haruto could tell Hiratsuka was awake.
However, feeling her body tremble slightly in embarrassment, he decided not to expose her.
It would just be a hassle.
Haruto proceeded up the stairs, and even though he was carrying Hiratsuka, his steps were steady.
Hiratsuka obediently lay in his arms, her mood conflicted.
Was this NTR-ing Mafuyu?
No, there was no such thing!
Today was just a special and unexpected situation.
Soon, Haruto brought Hiratsuka into Mafuyu's room, glanced at her pretending to sleep, said goodbye, and left.
❀❀❀
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.
Saturday.
At 8 a.m., there was a soft knock on the door.
Outside stood Shouko.
The last time Haruto offered to help her practice speaking, Shouko hesitated but eventually agreed. The time they decided on was Saturday.
Haruto had to tutor the Nakano quintuplets on Saturdays, so naturally, he didn't have time to help Shouko alone.
So, he had already explained everything to both Mafuyu and Shouko.
"Shouko, good morning."
"Good morning."
Shouko raised her head, showing a calm and gentle smile, and greeted him in sign language.
Then, she bowed and handed a bag in her hand to Haruto: "These are cookies. I made them myself."
"Cookies? Thank you."
Haruto didn't refuse. He took the bag of cookies and said, "Come in. Kirisu-sensei will be here soon."
"Mhm."
Shouko followed Haruto inside, leaning forward with her hands behind her back, curiously looking around the apartment.
The apartment wasn't large, but it was clean and tidy.
Seeing this, Shouko looked at Haruto with surprise.
According to Yuzuru, a guy's room should be messy. Even if it wasn't cluttered, there should be posters of pretty girls all over the walls.
But what she saw before her was clean and organized.
There were no posters of pretty girls on the walls, no games piled up in front of the TV, the floor was spotless, the table was neat, and the air was filled with the faint fragrance of some unknown flowers by the window.
Of course, there were still games and such, but everything was stored neatly.
Haruto said, "Stop staring and come in."
"…"
Shouko gave an embarrassed smile and made a hand gesture.
It meant: Excuse me.
After changing shoes, Shouko entered the living room. Haruto brought her a glass of water and said, "I'll be out for a bit, and I won't be back until this afternoon."
"Mhm."
Shouko nodded slightly, looked at him with wide eyes, and made a gesture with her hands.
"Kuromori-kun, don't worry, you promised to help, so do your best!"
The girl made a cheering gesture with a happy and bright smile on her face.
Haruto sat beside her and said, "I don't care."
He glanced at the puzzled Shouko and continued, "Because it doesn't matter whether I'm here or not."
As long as the buff was applied to Shouko, she could study hard even without him around. And as for the correctional guidance, Mafuyu was clearly better at it than he was.
Shouko suddenly exclaimed loudly, "It matters!"
"Huh?"
Seeing Haruto's gaze, Shouko bit her lip hard, took a deep breath, as if gathering her courage, then reached out and grabbed his hand, placing it on her chest.
At that moment, the apartment door opened.
Mafuyu stepped inside, unconsciously glanced toward the living room, and then her eyes widened: "W-What are you doing!"