"Kazunari-san, please wake up."
I thought I heard a voice calling to me.
The feeling of someone stroking my hair was so pleasant that I just wanted to keep sleeping like this...
"Hehe... are you really not going to wake up for me?"
The sensation vanished. A wave of regret washed over me.
"Kazunari-san... Wa-ke-u-p."
A shiver ran down my spine.
"Wha!?"
Just like yesterday, a tickling sensation in my ear jolted me awake.
"Ufufufu... Good morning, Kazunari-san."
Man... she had woken me up the exact same way yesterday.
"Sa—Sara-senpai, waking me up like that is..."
"No-no!"
Her expression soured slightly, and she poked my forehead a little harder than usual.
"Kazunari-san, who am I?"
"? Sara-sen... no, Sara-san."
I realized I’d slipped up and called her "Senpai" again out of habit. So that was why she’d suddenly turned grumpy.
But saying the name "Sara-san" brought yesterday's events rushing back to me with total clarity. I really had given her a confession, and with Sara-san... um... we really had become Lovers, hadn't we?
"If you call me 'Senpai,' I won't answer you. Now, let's try that one more time."
I needed to fix Sara-san's mood while she was cutely puffing out her cheeks, but first... I had to be sure. This wasn't a dream, right?
"Sara-san. Um, this isn't a dream, right? Being able to call you 'Sara-san' like this means we're... No, I know it's not a dream. It just feels like one. Or rather, I'm just so happy it feels like one..."
God, this was embarrassing. Saying it out loud was mortifying. I knew it was real, but I was so happy that my thoughts were becoming totally incoherent.
Seeing me like that, Sara-san suddenly moved.
Chu...
!?
Her face flushed a light shade of crimson, Sara-san suddenly leaned in, gave me a gentle hug, and kissed me on the cheek.
I could feel my own face turning beet red. Even after she pulled away, Sara-san was blushing furiously.
"Do you feel like it's real now?"
"Ye—yes... thank you."
What were we even doing, looking down and turning bright red together so early in the morning?
"Aahn..."
Munch.
Chew, chew.
Usually, the sounds of Sara-san preparing breakfast would have woken me, but between getting home late yesterday and the sheer emotional exhaustion, I hadn't been able to drag myself out of bed.
By the time I'd stirred, she had already finished making breakfast and setting out my clothes. Since I still hadn't appeared, she’d come to wake me up personally.
I hurried to wash my face and took my seat at the table. Today, she had prepared a Japanese Meal.
As we ate together, Sara-san waited for the perfect moment to deploy her usual "aahn."
Right, before I forgot, I should mention what happened this morning...
"Sara-san, um... about how you woke me up yesterday and today..."
I wasn't sure how to put it into words or if I was even getting my point across, but I tried to start the conversation anyway.
"I'm sorry. Your reactions are just so cute that I can't help myself."
Apparently, she knew exactly what I wanted to say.
"Um... do you dislike it?"
Ugh... when she asked me in that sweet, pleading voice, there was no way I could say I hated it. Besides, Sara-san looked like she was having fun, and I didn't actually mind when she did it...
"Kazunari-san, you're so cute..."
She must have read the thoughts on my face, because Sara-san broke into a radiant smile.
I spent the morning trying to Clean Up some of my Summer Vacation Homework.
Since I had a Perfect Private Tutor by my side, I didn't have to waste time looking things up whenever I got stuck. I made incredible progress.
Once we’d finished lunch and taken a breather, Sara-san did something unusual: she invited me out for a walk.
She was fidgeting, her face tinted pink.
Man, she was cute. What was she about to say?
"Um... well, you see... I'd like to tell my Grandmother about you, Kazunari-san..."
That meant she wanted to give a formal report to Yukie-san, right?
How should I respond? I should probably offer a formal greeting again, shouldn't I? But wait, would it really be okay?
Mayumi-san had mentioned that we shouldn't tell her Father yet.
"I'm fine with it, but will your Father be okay with it?"
"I'll explain things to Father, so it will be fine. I want to tell Grandmother that I... that I've started dating... the—the first man I ever fell in Love with..."
Saying the words out loud seemed to make her even more self-conscious, and she turned bright red. Then, she suddenly moved closer and buried her face against my arm.
"...Please let me introduce you to Grandmother and tell her that I have a Lover..."
Sara-san was so incredibly cute as she whispered that bashfully in a tiny voice that I couldn't stop myself from pulling her into a hug.
In the end, it took quite a while for us to calm down enough to actually leave the house.