Chapter 143: Hearing Committee (Defendant Absent)
I was on my way to a family restaurant to meet up with Yuna and the others. I had parted ways with Souta in front of the apartment, so I was alone. After discussing things, we had decided that it would be best for Souta not to see the girls just yet.
When I told the staff I was meeting someone and entered the restaurant, I immediately spotted Yuna waving at me with a big smile.
Feeling a bit embarrassed from the attention it drew, I jogged over to the table to make her stop.
"Geez, Yuna..."
Grumbling a little, I slid into the seat next to her.
And then—she pulled me into a hug.
"Wh—Yuna!?"
I lightly struggled in her arms. Normally, that would be enough for her to let go, but this time, Yuna didn’t release me.
"Alice. You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? It must’ve been tough... You did good."
"Y-Yeah...?"
Her unusually emotional demeanor caught me off guard.
Sure, a lot had happened... but wasn’t this a little over the top?
"I’m just glad... that you’re safe, Alice..."
Hearing the pure relief in Yuna’s voice, I stopped moving in her embrace.
"I was worried that things didn’t go well with Souta and you ended up acting recklessly. Like you stormed out of your room, wandered around town, got approached by some creepy old guy looking for compensated dating, and after everything was over, ended up crying alone in a hotel room full of regret..."
"I-I’d never do something like that, okay!?"
I raised my voice to deny it outright.
The atmosphere in the restaurant got a bit tense—so please don’t drop disturbing terms like compensated dating out of nowhere!
Still, that imagination of hers... wow.
Well, it just means she was that worried about me, so I won’t tease her over it.
"...Sorry, Yuna. I made you worry."
"Yeah, I was really worried... But I’m so glad you’re okay."
She hugged me tighter.
The softness of her body and the familiar sweet scent made me feel at ease.
Yeah... if I had to be physically close to someone, girls really were better...
As I was thinking that—
"I was worried too."
A dissatisfied voice came from across the table.
When I looked up, I saw Hisui staring at us with half-lidded eyes, her cheeks puffed out.
"Hisui, I’m sorry, too."
I tried apologizing, but she still didn’t look pleased.
"Why’d you sit next to Yuna? Comforting you with a hug—that’s supposed to be the job of your girlfriend, isn’t it?"
Hisui puffed out her cheeks in protest.
She wasn’t wrong, so I hurriedly apologized.
"It’s just... out of habit, I guess? I’m sorry. I’ll move to your side, okay? Uh... Yuna?"
I couldn’t move with her holding me this tightly...
But Yuna didn’t loosen her arms at all.
"I’m Alice’s big sister, remember? Even if Hisui-nee is her girlfriend now, this role is non-negotiable."
She said proudly while still holding me tight.
Did she really have to say it like that...?
"That’s fine. I’ll just come over there."
Hisui stood up smoothly, moved our bags from the opposite side of the table, and sat down right next to me.
"W-Wait, Hisui!?"
Even though it was a three-person booth, sitting this close made it a little cramped.
Not wanting to lose to Yuna, Hisui gently pulled my head against her chest and hugged me tightly.
"You did well, Alice."
Her soft chest wrapped around me, and a nice soap scent drifted through the air.
Then, not wanting to be outdone, Yuna leaned in even closer too.
"Wait, you two—!?"
“We're standing out—seriously, we’re standing out! Come on!?”
Three girls squeezed into one side of a booth, hugging each other at a family restaurant—it was not a normal sight. Given the season, maybe onlookers would assume it was a wholesome farewell between graduates... I could only hope.
“Fufu, surrounded by flowers,”
Yuna said cheerfully.
“C-Can you at least let me go…?”
“I really was worried about you.”
Which was Hisui’s silent way of saying so deal with it.
I gave up and decided to stay put until the two of them were satisfied.
“U-Um… excuse me, customers? May I take your order…?”
Maybe she had been waiting for the chaos to settle—our waitress approached us hesitantly.
“Uh…”
It was already well past sundown.
If I ate too much now, I might not be able to manage dinner later… What should I do?
“We already had dinner while we were waiting for you, Alice. When we talked to Mom, she said we should just eat out tonight. So I don’t think there’s anything to eat back home.”
…Well then.
In that case, I might as well go all in without holding back.
I skimmed the menu and quickly ordered the hamburger set that caught my eye. The waitress, entering the order while reading it back, bowed to us—with a curious glance at the three of us still clinging together—then walked away.
『…So? Did it go well?』
Yuna asked via telepathy, switching mental gears.
I thought maybe she wouldn’t ask—since it was kind of a sensitive topic—but of course she would. It was something important for saving Alicia, after all.
『Y-Yeah. Somehow… Ah.』
『What’s wrong?』
『…No, it’s nothing.』
…It’s started.
That heavy, viscous feeling leaking out from inside me.
Thanks to the napkin I was wearing, it wasn’t a problem… but the memory of what happened earlier came rushing back, and my face burned.
『Still, it took quite a long time, didn’t it? Was your first time really that tough?』
『That’s part of it… but also, it didn’t just end after once…』
『Eh!? You did it twice your first time!?』
『No… actually…』
I folded in my thumb and quietly raised the rest of my hand in front of me.
『F-Four!? Are you kidding me!?』
『What the hell was he thinking!? I’m going to kill him. No—seriously, I will kill him…!』
『First time with a girl and he went four rounds… Is Souta secretly a sadist?』
Hisui was absolutely furious. Yuna looked horrified. Just as I expected. If I didn’t clear up this misunderstanding fast, Souta was going to die. I didn’t know if it’d be a social death or a physical one—but either way, it was guaranteed.
『N-No! Souta didn’t do anything wrong, okay!? I was the one who wanted it!』
『Wait… from you, Alice?』
Yuna’s face turned bright red.
She was probably picturing me begging Souta for it in her head.
『T-That’s not it, okay!? It wasn’t like that… I just wanted to increase Alicia’s chances of being saved, even just a little, so—』
『And? How was it, actually?』
『…It hurt, but not so much that I couldn’t take it.』
『Um… did it… feel good at all?』
『...I don’t really know. It was tight when it went in, and honestly, it just felt kind of gross. After that, I was just trying to endure it the whole time.』
『Even so, you still did it four times…?』
『I told you, this was something I asked Souta for.』
『Still, that just means Souta was the only one who got to feel good. Isn’t that kinda... I don’t know, unfair?』
『I’m fine with it. I wanted his seed, and he got to feel good. That’s a fair trade—give and take. I don’t have any complaints about that.』
Even after all that, Yuna still looked unconvinced.
So I added:
『And… Souta was really gentle with me.』
...At least, up to a certain point.
I averted my eyes as I said it.
『He was trying to be careful. So much so that, well… it kinda... made him lose his edge, you know? So… um…』
What am I even saying? This is seriously embarrassing…
『…I see. So he was gentle with you.』
Hearing that, Yuna finally smiled a little.
『No way a guy who goes four rounds with a virgin is “gentle.” That’s impossible.』
Hisui cut it down cold.
『…You’ve got a point.』
Yuna agreed without hesitation.
Looks like that was as far as I could push the damage control. The fact that it was four times wasn’t going anywhere—and honestly, that part was kinda Souta’s fault, so… yeah, I get it.
『So—what exactly did you do, anyway?』
Yuna’s eyes sparkled as she asked.
『T-That’s…』
I hesitated.
The “what we did” part wasn’t really relevant to saving Alicia.
It was personal. And I didn’t feel right talking about it behind Souta’s back.
Besides—
『I mean… I don’t think it’s something Hisui should be hearing...』
Talking about what I did with someone else in front of my girlfriend? That’s definitely not okay.
That’s how I felt.
『I want to hear it too. I want to know what happened to you, Alice. If remembering it is too painful, I won’t push—but if you can…』
But Hisui said that, gently.
Hearing her ask like that made it hard to refuse. And maybe, as her girlfriend, I owed her the truth.
『Okay.』
Just as I gave in, the waitress returned with our meals and placed the plates on the table.
As I ate, I used telepathy to summarize what Souta had done to me.
Yuna blushed bright red, letting out weird little squeals like “hyaa” and “faa” while she listened. Hisui, on the other hand, didn’t flinch—she listened in complete silence, without even a twitch of her expression. That made it all the more terrifying.
…The hamburger was supposed to be really good, but I honestly couldn’t taste it at all.
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