Stealing Spree

“Komoe? I’m entering.”

After being welcomed in by their mother, she didn’t stop me from going upstairs to get Komoe. In fact, she even urged me to do so. She also told me that her door was unlocked. I could come inside her room to wake her up.

And now, like an actor in a stage play, that’s exactly how it played out. Even after knocking thrice and not hearing a response, I was left with no choice but to put my hand on the knob and push the door open.

Like the previous times, the same scenery lay before my eyes. A room shrouded in darkness with only a small lamp being the light source. I had to narrow my eyes a bit to see the figure of the girl still lying on her bed.

After carefully closing the door behind me and walking over to the side of Komoe’s bed.

At this distance, I could finally see her clearly. Still in her yellow pajamas, she’s curled up and partly wrapped with her blanket.

Partly because at least one of her legs wasn’t covered. There’s also a pillow tucked between them while she laid down on one side.

I couldn’t see her face. But judging from her gentle snoozing and the lack of visible tension in her muscles, the girl wasn’t faking her sleep.’

Right. With how strange those two acted, I had the suspicion that they were setting me up for Komoe. But with this girl still peacefully sleeping here, it’s either Miura-senpai and her mother truly failed to wake her up for school or this girl chose not to get up when they did and while waiting for my arrival, she fell asleep again.

Even with our short time knowing each other, I’m leaning towards the latter.

I reached for the girl’s head and gently nudged her, “Komoe, it’s time for school.”

Saying that in a low voice, the girl’s first reaction was to squirm while whimpering quietly. Obviously, that wasn’t enough to wake her up.

But at the very least, it confirmed that she was still asleep.

I sat down on the side of her bed and reached for her head again, this time, I placed my palm on her cheek, letting her feel the warmth of it.

I know this is just me spoiling her again but… I can’t really be rough in waking her up, right? I can step out and leave her here but what will that accomplish if she stopped coming to school again?

That’s why I have to be a little patient and understanding.

There was already progress yesterday. She didn’t actively look for me at school. And when I checked on her during club hours, she looked rather behaved while in the Game Club.

Soon enough, she’d forget her dependence on me. But well, there’s a high chance for her to fall for me though. When that time comes, I guess I’ll just see if this interest I have in her will also bloom into liking or loving her.

For now, she’s just this interesting girl that I have to take care of.

“Komoe, how long are you going to sleep? Is this the result of being absent for more than a week? Your body clock has been adjusted to waking up late in the morning.”

Yeah. That’s probably why she also needed to be woken up yesterday.

In any case, although this felt like I was talking to the wind, my whole attention was focused on the girl. Her cheek was so soft that I was tempted to pinch it. Her hair was currently untied with most of it sprawled to her side. The pair of glasses that I saw her wearing yesterday was next to the lamp.

Well, there’s a reason for that. Her eyesight was pretty much normal. However, both her mother and Miura-senpai told me that there were instances when her eyes would turn her nearsighted, causing her to be unable to process the lessons written on the board. Wearing the glasses helped her with it.

Thinking about it, she looked great with or without glasses but her charm, in either case, was different from each other.

Without it, she’s like a cute little sister who wants to be doted on by me every minute. On the other hand, she has a rather pure and intellectual air whenever she’s wearing it. She didn’t appear strict or stuck-up like Kanzaki whenever that girl would act as the Class President, instead, she’s like your typical silent girl who’s great at studying and always ace their tests.

As for Miura-senpai… Uh. Right. She’s the same with or without it. She’s goofy and gorgeous at the same time.

Anyway, seconds ticked by and soon, half a minute passed.

My hand already warmed up her cheek and my thumb was about to reach her lips.

Thankfully, it was at this point that the girl finally moved. She slowly laid on her back and with her eyes opening slowly, she gradually focused on my face.

As soon as my presence got registered in her mind, the girl rubbed her eyes first before smiling beautifully, “Good morning, Ruki.”

I flicked her forehead before returning the same smile, “Good morning sleepy head. I’ll assume you heard what I said.”

“Uh… What is it?” Averting her gaze, the girl lied straight away.

“Never mind if you failed to hear it. Well then, I’ll wait for you outside.”

I acted like I was about to stand up. A heartbeat later, the girl quickly grabbed my arm, preventing me from leaving.

And while being subjected to her innocent-looking eyes, she said, “Wait. I heard it... You’re right. It’s because I didn't need to wake up early back then… I’ll try to crank it up back to normal starting tomorrow.”

“Hmm, is that a promise?”

“Yes!”

Answering my doubtful question right away, the girl then pulled me down completely. But with great control of my body, she only managed to put me back in my previous position.

I stared at the girl for a few seconds before lifting my butt again to stand up. “Alright, good. Then I’ll wait for you—”

But as I expected, Komoe cut me off before I could finish. The girl hugged my arm tightly, enough for my hand to be buried in the middle of her chest. And while acting like a needy girl, her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked a few times to appeal to me.

“C-can you stay here for a while? Ruki, join me?”

“Won’t that be bad?”

“Only for a bit. I actually dreamt of you… You cuddled me instead of giving me a lap pillow.”

“That’s a dream… You know it’s bad enough for me to enter your room when you’re this vulnerable.”

“… But it’s you, Ruki. I trust you.”

Yeah, right. For this girl to trust me this easily, it’d be bad if some other guys took advantage of her like this. But thinking about it, the trust that she built up towards me had only solidified after I kept up with my promises to her…

So, what should I do here? Thinking about Satsuki who was waiting for me outside and the other girls who I hadn’t greeted yet, I ought to decline here. However, I could also use this chance to make this girl realize that I wasn’t as harmless as she thought I am…

Although that might ruin my standing in her mind, it’s better than letting her believe that I am a saint.

Nonetheless, I should do this carefully and make sure that she would understand.

Upon deciding that in my mind, I took a deep breath before dropping my bag on the ground and taking my shoes off, “Alright, just a bit, let’s turn your dream into reality.”

As soon as Komoe heard my answer, she let go of my arm to lift her blanket. Using that opening as an entry point, I climbed up and gently cuddled her.

Komoe also moved accordingly. Her arms wrapped around my back, followed by pressing her head on my chest. And a few seconds later, her lower body also squirmed forward, enough for one of her legs to slip in between mine.

“Thank you, Ruki…” The girl dreamily muttered before she indulged herself at this moment.