"Well then, everyone, thank you for your hard work."
"""Thank you very much!"""
With a closing greeting from Sara-san, the cooking class somehow reached a safe conclusion.
Since everyone had technically achieved their objectives, I suppose it could be considered a general success.
"Alright, let's call it a day here."
The atmosphere suggested everyone was ready to depart immediately, so I made the executive decision to give the signal for dismissal. We wanted to drop by the Student Council Room anyway, so it worked out for the best.
The other members were likely still working, and the Former President was currently filling in for Sara-san. We couldn't just head straight home and leave them hanging.
"Wife, are we just making a quick appearance today?"
"Yes. It's too late to start anything substantial now. If the boys had worked with more sincerity, we might have finished a bit earlier."
"Eh? Is... is that so?"
Hanako-san looked at me with a slightly strained expression. I had a vague idea of what she wanted to say, but I felt differently.
The root cause of the delay was my own blunder and mistake; therefore, I felt responsible for the late finish.
"W-Well, fine. More importantly, about Kazunari's finger..."
"Yes, I know. Later, I'll attend to it again with my mouth—"
"S-Sara-san!?"
"Fufu... just a joke. There is a medicine box in the Student Council Room, so let us disinfect it properly there."
Phew... she startled me.
For a second, I thought she was actually going to do that again, and I almost felt hap—no, I was surprised.
If she did something like that repeatedly, things would get very difficult for me in a variety of ways.
As for what "difficult" entails, well, that remains a secret, naturally.
"Kazunari..."
Hanako-san stared into my eyes with a deadpan expression.
I really wished she'd stop that; that look of hers made it feel like she was peering directly into my thoughts.
"Kazunari-san, I am willing to do it for you anytime, you know?"
But as for Sara-san, she had already seen through to my true feelings.
Seriously, I can't hide anything from these two, which makes things awkward at times like this.
…………… ……… …
"Good work."
"Good work, everyone."
"Hey, good work."
Greeting the room as we entered, we found only three people inside, including the Former President.
Todo-san wasn't around either, so it seemed the patrols hadn't finished yet.
"I imagine the others will return shortly. Why don't you have some tea and take a breather?"
"Understood."
"Then I shall prepare the tea... ah, but..."
"I'll brew the tea. Wife, you look after Kazunari."
"Ugh... I-I suppose I have no choice. I'll leave it to you."
It was rare for Sara-san to concede tea duty to someone else.
Until now, she had never let anyone else prepare tea, especially mine.
I suppose that just demonstrated how much she was prioritizing my finger, though personally, I felt perfectly fine. I wasn't about to butt in with unnecessary comments, though.
There was a risk of digging myself into a hole, and it would be rude to Sara-san. The correct move here was to stay quiet and honestly indulge in her kindness.
"Oh, that's rare. Satsukawa-san letting someone else make Takanashi-kun's tea—"
"I've heard that people who say unnecessary things don't live very long, you know?"
"I-I'm terribly sorry..."
Pierced by Sara-san's cold gaze, Uesaka-san shrank into himself.
Truly, the mouth is the gate of disaster.
……………
"Good work!"
"Welcome back."
Just as Sara-san removed the adhesive bandage from my finger, the members who had been out on patrol returned. Todo-san was with them; it seemed everyone had gone together today.
"...Oh, what happened, Takanashi-kun?"
"Kazunari cut his finger during the cooking class."
"Eh!? Takanashi-kun, are you okay?"
Todo-san wore a surprised expression and hurriedly turned her gaze toward my hand.
However, since Sara-san was firmly securing my hand, Todo-san likely couldn't see it from her vantage point.
I felt bad for making her worry over a wound that could barely be called an injury, but the one I felt most apologetic toward was Sara-san, who was treating me.
"I'm fine. It's really just a tiny cut; I could have just left it alone—"
"Honestly, Kazunari-san, that is a no-no, okay?"
"I-I'm sorry..."
Dammit!
I accidentally said something unnecessary again.
I ended up getting a cute scolding from Sara-san. She was going out of her way to treat me, and saying something like that was just disrespectful to her. I'm an idiot.
Besides, I had just decided not to say unnecessary things a moment ago.
"Ahaha, you can't do that, Takanashi-kun. At times like this, you have to do exactly as Satsukawa-senpai says."
"Y-Yeah, you're right."
Todo-san seemed to realize the injury was minor after seeing my reaction. Or perhaps she was just reading the room for Sara-san's sake.
"Kazunari-san, I am almost finished."
"Okay."
Sara-san disinfected the cut skillfully as she spoke. Finally, she applied a fresh adhesive bandage.
This should really be enough. To be honest, it was a wound that didn't even require disinfecting, so if I just left it like this—
"There, that should be fine. Please let me know if you feel any pain. Also, please show it to me again tonight after the bath—"
"""AFTER THE BATH!!!???"""
Almost everyone... no, I didn't hear Hanako-san or Todo-san's voices. The ones who shouted were the original Student Council members.
Sara-san only mentioned checking it after the bath; was that really something to be so shocked about?
"W-W-Wait a minute!!"
"Hey, Satsukawa-san, did you just say 'after the bath'!?"
"Eh? Yes, I certainly did, but is something the matter?"
"No, it's not just 'something'!!"
"Takanashi-kun's 'after the bath'... are you two alone together that late every day!?"
"T-Takanashi-kun, w-w-w-what does this mean!?"
"S-S-S-Surely you're not showing your post-bath self to Satsukawa-san, are you!?"
...Hm?
Ah, dammit, that's what it was!
This kind of thing has been happening so much lately that I completely forgot. Right, we hadn't told everyone in the Student Council about our cohabitation yet!
What should I do? Should I stop Sara-san from talking right now?
But since it's the Student Council members, they probably won't go around spreading rumors, and they might even be able to help us if something happens.
No, but this sort of thing probably shouldn't be told to others so lightly—
"Even if you say 'late,' we are living together after all... oh, had we not discussed this? I was under the impression the explanation had already been handled."
Ah... well, of course it turned out like this.
I knew it would.
It seemed Sara-san, like me, had mistakenly assumed the explanation was already out of the way.
But this meant I no longer had to worry about it, and I think it's better for everyone to know anyway. So this was probably for the best, maybe.
Besides, the Student Council members already know all sorts of things, so adding one more detail shouldn't be that surprising—
"""........."""
Not that surprising...
"""EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH!!!!????"""
I thought so!
Of course it would turn out like this!
Geez, I wonder how many times I've heard this kind of screaming today.
Well, naturally, people would be shocked by cohabitation. They already knew that Sara-san does housework at my place every day, so I thought their reaction would be something within the range of "as expected."
But I guess it's impossible not to be shocked.
"C-C-C-C-Cohabitation!?"
"Wait, hold on, that's definitely going too far!!!!"
"T-T-This is bad! If it gets out that the Student Council President and Vice President are living together, what are you going to do!?"
"Uwaaaaaa, I definitely didn't want to hear that, no matter what!!!"
"Aaaaaah, this is the toughest blow yet!!"
And so, the recently established tradition—I mean, development—began.
Though for my part, regardless of our positions as President and Vice President, I was aware that it would be bad if the cohabitation became public knowledge. There are several potential issues, but the biggest problem would be the school authorities interfering.
If it ended up affecting our future paths, it could be a real problem. That's why we've been careful not to mention it casually.
"W-Wait a minute. Takanashi-kun, are you two really living together!?"
The usually calm Uesaka-san pressed me, looking frantic.
It seemed that this time, there wasn't a twist where he'd already heard about it from Natsumi-senpai.
"Yes... well, we are living together."
When I honestly admitted it, Uesaka-san placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose in a "this is a problem" pose.
I think we were definitely in the wrong for forgetting to mention it, but that was a strangely heavy reaction. Did the Former President have some other reason for concern?
"It is fine, we are fiancé and fiancée after all," Sara-san stated, offering the answer that was also becoming a staple.
But to be honest, I intended to push through with that justification if anything happened, too. Both the engagement and the cohabitation were officially recognized by our parents, and there was nothing shameful about it at all.
Really! Not one thing! (Important, so I said it twice.)
So, I don't think the school has any right to complain.
"Well, certainly, if you're engaged, I'm sure you have permission from your parents to live together, and I agree that outsiders have no right to meddle, but..."
"Naturally. In that case, there shouldn't be—"
"Ah, don't worry about it. It's more like something on our end... I suppose we'll have to have another meeting later..."
The President muttered something at the end, but I couldn't quite catch it. Still, it felt strangely meaningful; perhaps there's something else we haven't noticed.
"S-Satsukawa-san, are you really living together!!??"
But before I could worry about that, the Female Officers crowded around Sara-san.
"Y-Yes, it's true."
"What if you get caught!?"
"I won't do anything special. I have permission from my parents, and for the outside world, it's like a pre-marital rehearsal. In the first place, I have no intention of letting other people or the school interfere in our affairs."
"You're as bold as ever..."
"But what is this? I'm surprised, but if I think about it carefully, it kind of feels like 'now you tell us'..."
"Ah, I thought so too. For these two, it would actually be weirder if they weren't living together..."
"I agree, but we're also pretty far gone if we're thinking that..."
"...It might be better if you're at least self-aware."
"H-Hanako-san, shush!"
Hanako-san's calm retort was painful in many ways... or rather, it pierced me directly, too. Does that mean we've messed up so much that everyone has just become accustomed to our antics!?
"Takanashi-kun!!!???"
"Don't tell me... don't tell me... you've already!!!!????"
And this part was also the usual. The Male Officers were crowding around me.
It's been nothing but this lately. I mean, what do you even mean by "already"!?
……………… ………… …
Kapon.
Well... there's no way that sound would actually be heard in my home bath.
But whenever I enter the bath, that's always the quintessential image that comes to mind. In reality, it feels more like being at a hot spring... or perhaps a public bath? Well, it's bath-related, so the vibe isn't wrong.
Speaking of hot springs, after that one incident, we had talked about all of us going on a hot spring trip together.
We haven't discussed any specifics yet, and I don't know if we can actually go, but it might be time to start talking about it. We need to select a location, and adjusting everyone's schedules is better done sooner than later.
After all, there are a lot of people involved... so it might be difficult. Since everyone will be gathered for the School Festival, that'll be a good time to bring it up.
The most difficult one to schedule would probably be Nishikawa-san.
"Kazunari-san, how is your health condition?"
...Yeah.
I know it's about time I stopped escaping from reality. As for why I can hear Sara-san's voice even though I'm in the middle of a bath, well, there's only one reason for that, isn't there?
It's because Sara-san is here with me!
That's strange, how did it come to this? To begin with, when we started living together, I was supposed to have persuaded Sara-san to stop joining me in the bath for various reasons.
By the way... how I persuaded her is, of course, a secret. That's for after we're married... ahem, never mind, that's a secret.
Anyway...
Even though we hadn't made any such promise, Sara-san had suddenly joined me.
"Fufu... it has been a while since I have washed your body like this, hasn't it, Kazunari-san?"
"Y-Yeah..."
Sara-san was in an exceptionally good mood, currently washing my back with care.
In truth, considering the potential risks, I had a strong desire to decline... but there was no way I could say "Please stop" to Sara-san when she looked so happy. If I said that, she would be disappointed, and besides, deep down, I was happy about it, too.
Now, stop escaping reality and pull yourself together!
"Kazunari-san... will you let me wash your hair as well?"
"Y-Yeth!"
Gah, when she asks like she's pleading, my resolve vanishes in an instant—
"Fufu... I am so happy♪"
But Sara-san really did look delighted. For me, it was a mix of half happiness and half fear. Regardless, I have to pull myself together to accept this situation. Don't lose, me!
"Alright, I shall rinse your back now."
Ignoring my internal conflict, Sara-san applied the shower to my back while rinsing it thoroughly and gently with her bare hands. That's a spot I usually can't wash perfectly on my own, so it felt very refreshing.
I didn't exactly not want to give Sara-san this same comfort... but that would be dangerous... no, it's just too impossible.
Sara-san would probably allow it if I asked, but if I did that, my Adamantite Sanity (Reinforced) protected by Phase Shift Armor would shatter in an instant.
"Alright, next let's wash your hair."
"Y-Yes..."
The time had finally come.
In a sense, washing my back was just the opening skirmish. As long as it was just normal washing, the chances of trouble were low, and it wasn't that big a deal if I was careful.
But washing my head was a bit different. Because Sara-san would lean her body close, which naturally meant—
"Then, I shall begin."
I could tell from her presence that Sara-san had closed the distance.
So, to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, I pulled myself together even more. At that exact moment, a slightly cold sensation spread across my head. That must be the shampoo.
Sara-san began moving her hands busily to spread it all over. She continued to wash my hair carefully, occasionally pressing my head as if giving a massage. This, too, felt wonderful...
Shaka shaka...
Perhaps because we both fell silent, only the sound of Sara-san washing my hair echoed in the bathroom. Seriously... what are we doing?
"Alright, I shall rinse it now."
In the end, nothing in particular happened until Sara-san finished washing my hair. Then, after rinsing the shampoo with the shower, she continued on to the conditioner.
Since nothing happened from start to finish, I felt embarrassed for having been so overly self-conscious and on guard.
"There, all finished."
"Phew... thank you very much."
That said, it was a relief that it ended without incident. I might be overthinking it, but there's no changing the fact that this situation is high-risk.
I should probably try to persuade Sara-san again when the time is right. Well, I think this was an irregular case because she was thinking about my finger.
"............"
"............Sara-san?"
She should have finished washing and have nothing left to do, but Sara-san wasn't leaving the bathroom. I wondered what was wrong; usually, she'd leave right away.
Snug.
"Whuaaaa!?"
W-W-W-W-W-What's going on!?
Sara-san... Sara-san hugged me from behind!? Wait, wait a minute, this is bad, this is too bad!!!
"Kazunari-san..."
P-Please don't make such a sorrowful voice! Or rather, the soft sensation on my back is heavenly... no, it's too dangerous!!!!
The bath garment is thin, and I'm not wearing anything! So it's soft... no, stop thinking unnecessary things, me!
"S-S-S-Sara-san!?"
"Kazunari-san."
"Y-Y-Y-Yes?"
"Um... it doesn't have to be every day, but once in a while, I would like to do this..."
Sara-san's voice, tinged with a spoiled tone, was too tough for me right now in many ways.
I had a feeling she had felt that way for a while, but it was still problematic. Of course I'm happy about it, but I want to avoid the risk of losing control of myself as much as possible.
"Is it... no?"
Guh, that's a Killer Phrase... how could I possibly say it's absolutely no when she says it like that!?
But how is it, really? If I can endure it... and it would have been fine today if not for this... but...
"Kazunari-san..."
Squish.
!!!!!?????
Aaaah, Sara-san's spoiled voice and the softness on my back are increasing!
Following the cooking class, this is the second Heaven & Hell of the day!
"Kazunari-san... I want to make you happy in any way I can..."
I understand that too. Sara-san consistently just wants to do things that make me happy and has no ulterior motives. So this is entirely my own problem.
But what should I do? If I give permission here, Sara-san will definitely be happy. And in the sense of the few things I can do to reciprocate her, which I thought about during the cooking class, would this technically count?
"Kazunari-san... how about it?"
Yeah...
Either way, I can't and don't want to refuse a request from Sara-san. When she acts spoiled with me, I feel nothing but happiness. And deep down, I'm actually happy she's doing this for me. I'm sure she realized that, which is why she's asking.
Right, it'll be fine. Since Sara-san has no ulterior motives, it's just a matter of me working hard. Why wouldn't I accept such a happy effort on my part?
Besides, I decided that I would accept all of Sara-san, didn't I? Then I just have to accept this, too!
"A-Alright... as long as it's really just once in a while..."
"Fufu... I am so happy."
Sara-san's voice sounded truly delighted. I knew this was the right choice.
It's fine. If it's just my own problem, then I just have to work hard. I'm a man... no, a real Man who can overcome any hardship for Sara-san's sake.
"Thank you for listening to my selfishness."
"No, it's not selfish at all. I'm the one who should be thanking you, as always."
"I am the one who should be saying thank you. Don't you always listen to my selfishness, Kazunari-san?"
Sara-san is amazing because she truly believes that. But from my perspective, every one of her actions is for my sake, and they are absolutely not selfish. So when she thanks me, I actually feel apologetic.
"Sara-san, that's not right. That's not selfishness. So I'm the one who should be thanking you."
"Kazunari-san..."
With a squeeze, Sara-san pressed her body against mine. Her voice sounded joyful and happy. She whispered my name in my ear.
Truly... I'm a lucky man. Since I can be with such an incredible woman forever from now on, there's absolutely no other man as happy as I am. I could even declare it with certainty.
"Kazunari-san... I love you."
"I love you too."
Answering feelings with feelings. This is something I also re-decided for myself today. I was able to say it surprisingly naturally, so I want to give myself a little praise.
"From now on and forever, I will make you happy with my full power. Darling..."
"I-I'll make you just as happy, Sara..."
I said it. It's still incredibly embarrassing, but I think I managed to say it naturally. I'm still not used to addressing her without honorifics, but—
Chu.
A warm, soft sensation on my cheek. Of course, it was a kiss from Sara.
"Fufu... that is your reward♪"
"Sara-san..."
Chu.
!?
A second sensation on my cheek. Why!?
"That is your punishment. Please call me Sara again... Darling."
"I-I got it."
T-This has become a bit of a problem. In the bathroom, I'm shirtless, and Sara is in a thin bath garment. Moreover, she's probably doing it unconsciously, but the strength with which she's been hugging my back has been getting a bit stronger.
For some reason, her voice sounds like it's becoming even more spoiled, and in this situation, that's unfair... no, too dangerous!!
I'm fine for now, but flirting like this is a little scary for me.
"Is something the matter?"
"No, it's nothing... it's nothing."
First, maintain your composure. Don't let Sara notice anything more... You can do this.
"Ah!?"
!!!!!
What!? What was she surprised by? What did she notice!? She couldn't have noticed, right!?
"I-I am terribly sorry, you will catch a cold if we stay like this. My apologies."
"Eh!? A-Ah, y-you're right, I should get in the bathtub soon..."
Of course, I knew that. But honestly, this turn of events was a lifesaver.
"Then I shall head outside, so please take your time soaking in the bathtub."
"Okay. Thank you."
"No, I am the one who was happy. ...Please do not forget our promise. If you forget, that's a no-no, okay?"
"Y-Yes."
I couldn't see Sara's face, but just hearing her voice, I could picture her smiling happily.
Thinking of that, I don't consider this a hardship in the least. As long as Sara feels happy, I should be able to endure any amount of it.
So it's fine... I'm absolutely fine.