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“It’s been several days since it’s been just the two of us, hasn’t it?”
“You’re right,” replied Mika, who was wearing her pajamas.

I didn’t know if it was because Karua was worried about us, but it was really the first time in two or three days that it was just the two of us. Though I didn’t expect that to last for a whole week.

“…Ayumu.”

I had turned back into Ayumu and was currently sitting next to Mika on the couch. She nestled up close to me and leaned her head on my shoulder.

“Erm, Ayumu… I’m sorry for… asking you that strange question… back at the waterslide,” she told me in a truly apologetic tone.
“It’s fine, you know.”

I hadn’t worried about it in the first place, so let’s leave it at that. But why is she making that banzai pose again?

“By the way, why are you raising your arms again?”
“…I was able to avoid telling you until now, but… Please don’t make me say something like that, alright? It’s already late.”
“Oh…”

I wonder what I should do in such a moment. Let me think, is it like the issue of liability for what we did in bed on Mika’s birthday…? No, it’s different. That’s not it. We’re past that. On second thought, other than what we did back then… I’ve only kissed her, hugged her, or patted her head, right?

Let’s not do something lewd that might lead to us doing stuff like we did on that day, but something… lovers would do… Right, I gave Mika and Karua a lap pillow yesterday. Doing the same might be fine. Let’s avoid the other stuff as much as possible.

“Then… uhm, Mika. Can you keep your feet firm and steady?”
“Yeah…? Sure.”

Mika arranged her legs, as I had asked her to, and I laid down there.
What the, that’s better than I thought, you know. Though I get the feeling that her legs are a bit too thin…

“I see! Yesterday, you gave us lap pillows as Alim, so today it’s my turn, right?”
“Hm~, well, that’s about it.”
“So… How does it feel? The lap pillow… just for you, Ayumu?” Mika asked bashfully.

Occasionally, she ends up blurting out weird phrases like “Just for you, Ayumu” or “You’re mine”, but I guess that’s because she cares for me. For the record, it’s cute.

“Hm… Your legs are a bit thin, but it feels just fine.”
“Thin…? I can put on weight for you, Ayumu, you know?”
“Nah, please don’t do that.”
“Well, it was only a joke… somewhat.”

Now, I wonder what I should do next. Mika didn’t give me any requests today, like she usually does. Though to be honest, simply fulfilling her wishes would be much easier.

That’s right… we couldn’t do much in front of Karua and the others, so I wonder if she’d like me to whisper her the words a… l-lover would say.

“Say, Mika.”
“What is it, Ayumu?”

I intently looked up at her face.
I’ll simply tell her how fond I am of her. How cute she is. From now on, I’ll be completely honest.

“Mika… you’re incredibly cute.”
“Eh!? Ah… Eh-heh, Eh-heh-heh… I-Is that so?”
“Yep. I think that I’m super lucky… to have such an adorable girl as my childhood friend, girlfriend, and now fiancée.”

When I told her that, her face turned bright red. She was clearly embarrassed. Moreover, it looked like her mouth relaxed.

“Uh-heh-heh… R-Really?”
“Yes.”
“Eh-heh-heh, Eh-heh-heh-heh-heh.”

Oh, that put her in a good mood. Great, it looks like I managed to make her happy, didn’t I?

“That’s why, Mika.”
“Wh-, what is it?”
“I love you more than anything.”
“Eh-heh-heh-heh, I know that!”

This also seemed to make her incredibly happy.
She also told me “I know that” when I wrote her that letter on her birthday, but…

While I mused about that, Mika haltingly started to say something while looking bashful.

“Ayumu, erm, I… this time, I was planning to do anything you wanted me to do, right?”
“Y-Yes.”
“I am so happy… I-Is just this really enough? Are you fine loving me? If that’s what you want, I wouldn’t mind if we… did that again now, you know?”

Recently, I’ve been thinking that it should be “I want you to” instead of “I wouldn’t mind if you”¹.

If I’m guessing correctly what she means, I’m sorry for being such a coward. I think we should take the safe route, after all. Well, if my guess is wrong, that means I’m simply conceited.

For now, she’s currently giving me a lap pillow, so… I guess ear cleaning would be the go-to choice. That’s how it was in those girls’ mangas I borrowed from Mika in the past.

“Then… Could you clean my ears like this?”
“Huh… Grr… Well, I guess that’d the first thing you’d do in such a situation. Alright, I’ll do it. Give me an earpick and turn to your side.”
“Hm.”

I turned to look away from Mika, presenting to her my right ear. Then, I created a legend grade earpick and handed it to her.

“Then let’s get to… Huh, there’s no earwax?”
“Right, about that. It probably disappeared because of the cleaning functions of various items we use.”
“Eh, then is there, is there something else you want me to do?”

Well… Just doing something would be easier than having me request it, I mean… I’m not sure what to do as a boyfriend… I’m drawing a blank right now…

Besides, if I word it poorly, it might make me look like a pervert² . If she refused my request, it’d only make me sad… I mean, it’s Mika… she’ll probably do what she says, based on her personality, won’t she? But I’m a coward, so I don’t know if I have the guts for that…

For now, let’s take the opposite approach.

“On the other hand, is there anything you’d like me to do, Mika?”
“Wouldn’t that be the same as what we always do?”
“That would be fine for me, you know.”
“Is that so? Hm… You wouldn’t happen to think that it’s too much of a bother or too embarrassing to come up with something, would you?”

Damn, she got me. She is my childhood friend after all!

“From your face, it looks like I hit the mark…”
“Ah-ha-ha… sorry.”
“Pff.”

Mika puffed out her cheeks. I got up and lightly poked her puffed out cheeks with both my hands. My cheeks as Alim were certainly soft, but hers were also pretty smooth. After I poked them a few times, they deflated.

“Phew~… Erm, Ayumu. It’s embarrassing for me… to ask you to kiss me, you know? At least a bit.”
“Yeah, sorry.”
“Look, if you understand that, act on it!”

Maybe it’d be less embarrassing for me if I didn’t put these statements into words³? In that case… that’s right… For the time being, I guess I’ll hug her and kiss her like always. Without saying anything. Though I said “like always”… until a few months ago, even that was hard, wasn’t it? Now I’m completely used to it.

Without declaring anything special, I hugged her while kissing her. After a while we separated.

“Hah… Eh-heh-heh. That was sudden…”
“Kinda… I thought it’d be more embarrassing if I said it out loud.”
“I… I see! But if you don’t say anything, how will I prepare my heart…?”
“Then I’ll make no more statements today. Just prepare yourself, that I won’t say anything in advance⁴, alright?”
“Huh!? Ah… yeah, gotcha.”

Now, having said that, what will I do…? I guess I’ll pat her head. If I did anything on top of suddenly kissing her, neither she nor I might be able to calm down.

“Mika, please lie down here for a bit,” I patted my thigh.
“Oh, do you perhaps want to give me a lap pillow this time?”
“You’re right, that’s what I was planning.”
“Understood, then put up with me for a bit… Yeah, they’re more muscular than Alim’s, aren’t they?”
“I guess.”

Now, let’s start stroking her head. She’ll probably tell me if I’m stroking her weirdly or if it feels bad, right…? Well, if she does, I simply won’t do the same thing again from now on.

At first, I tried patting her head normally, at a gentle, slow pace that should feel good.

“You’re petting me? Eh-heh-heh.”
“I sure am.”
“Should I have also stroked your head earlier?”
“You can do that another time.”
“Yeah.”

Then, I tried to stroke her forcefully.

“Wha-!? You’re messing up my hair, Ayumu!”

Then next… while patting her head normally, let’s try stroking her forehead with my other hand. For some reason, this is getting kinda fun, isn’t it?

“Wah, you’re using both hands?”
“I wanted to try stroking your forehead, but how does it feel?”
“I’m not sure.”

I gradually shifted the hand that was stroking her forehead. I gently covered Mika’s eyes with the palm of my hand.

“Ah! My eyes, watch the eyes!”

Next, I tried pinching her nose.

“Gah, blease stob dhad.”
“Ah, sorry.”
“You don’t have to stop.”
“Make up your mind…”

Next… I tried scratching her on her cheeks and under her chin, like you would a cat or a dog.

“Wah… this makes me feel… like I’m some small animal.”
“Right?”
“Exactly, meow~… how’s that… mew!” she said, while holding her hands like the paws of a cat and striking a rather flirtatious pose.
“You’re adorable…”
“Eh-heh, right? Should I do more? If you want to, you could make cat-ears and a tail, and I can put them on, Ayumu, you know?”
“Right…”

I shot a glimpse at the clock. It was currently 11 pm… Mika and I spent an hour just with the two of us. So, if we did cosplay now, it’d probably get later than our usual bedtime.

“We can do that another time.”
“Grr… Understood. But in exchange, you’ll also wear cat-ears and a tail as Alim, will you?”
“Erm… alright.”

Hrm, I guess we should go to bed already. Mika is probably also satisfied, because I sure am.

“Let’s finish the lap pillow then, Mika.”
“Hm! What will we do next?”
“Nothing, let’s go to bed already.”
“Huh?” Mika’s face showed unmitigated disappointment. She wasn’t satisfied at all. “You want to go to bed already?”
“Well… yeah.”
“Humph… Good night, then.”

I went to the bed, but unlike usual, Mika didn’t join me. Moreover, she glared at me with a scary-looking expression.
I haven’t seen her make this scary face since we had an argument back on Earth. Why did I end up making her angry!? What’s the reason…?

Come to think of it, when we were physically intimate yesterday morning, she was also somewhat unsatisfied. Moreover, she repeatedly talked and acted in a suggestive manner today…
…There can only be one answer.

When I reached that conclusion, Mika turned off the light in the living room area and came my way.

“Ah, Mika…”
“Ayumu, I’m not attractive, am I? I’m sorry. I wonder, would it be better if my breasts were as large as Miss Lilo’s? …Good night,” she said, dove under the blanket and turned away from me.

Gah… This isn’t good. I’m pretty sure, if I don’t do something now, it’ll put a strain on our relationship. In the first place, why do I tend to avoid these things? Bringing up our age… that probably just sounds like some excuse at this point, right? We’ve already done it once. So, I’m the good-for-nothing here, right? …I should accept my fate.

“Mika…”
“…What?”
“Erm… could you turn my way?”
“Nope. I don’t want to see you right now, Ayumu.”

Even though she said that, I could see her shooting me glances. But it looked like words alone were not enough to have her turn my way completely.
What should I do now? I guess I’ll try hugging her from behind…

“Phew…”

No good, that wasn’t a satisfying reaction. She still seems to be in a bad mood. In that case, I might have to do something a bit naughty.

What can I do in this situation? Well, I certainly did the deed with her once, that’s for sure. But still… how should I put it, I’m not used to it…

I wonder how stuff like that works in mangas for adults and such. Come to think of it, could there be a book where something like that is written down among the ones from the country’s library the king let me visit? There are 1 million books, so there should be at least one among them. There might even be something blatant, like the original Grimm fairy tales for example⁵.

I used the zone, looked for such books on the Tozumaho, and read several of them in a hurry. There was everything from things I didn’t want to know about up to stuff I had tried already. I wonder what they were thinking when they put these books in the library. For the time being, I decided on something to try.

____
__
_

“…Eh-heh-heh-heh, ah… finally…!”
“…Ah… uhm, sorry?”
“No, it’s fine. Please be careful from now on, alright?”
“Yes, I shall be taking proper measures.”

It took only a few actions, and everything was resolved as smoothly as flowing water.
I’ll definitely be exhausted when I wake up tomorrow.

TL notes:
So, I guess Alim looked up the Anazumu version of the Kamasutra to get some ideas? It’s good that he managed to avoid relationship trouble, but this is another good example of how poor communication leads to issues in their relationship. Sure, talking about this stuff is embarrassing, especially for 16/17-year-old kids, but it’s still something you want to do, if you want things to work out in the long term.

1. Probably the most meaningful thing he thinks in this side story. Too bad he only thinks it and doesn’t tell her.
2. I’m pretty sure Mika’s the bigger pervert among the two of them, from all the stuff she pulls in the bath.
3. Bad Alim! Didn’t you learn in chapter 186 how important communication is?
4. Yeah, that’s a big no.
5. That sounded weird, so I checked it, but turns out there were sex scenes in the original versions of several fairy tales. The more you know…