Don't let your guard down! - 16

I'm tired...

 

 

 

I couldn't sleep at all last night, I'm dying of sleepiness.

 

 

 

Why couldn't I sleep?

 

 

 

'Aaaaaaah!'

'Bang-! Bang-!'

 

 

 

Well... something like that happened.

 

 

 

Today I'm going to class.

I'm tired from yesterday's events, but I can't skip it, so I have to go.

 

 

 

I don't know what might happen if I skip.

 

 

 

"Ugh..."

 

 

 

The nightmare of 8 hours of continuous classes is still vivid in my mind.

 

 

 

Never... never again should something like that happen.

 

 

 

I got dressed and headed to Schale.

 

 

 

The thought of meeting Sensei at Schale and suffering more psychological pain made me drag my feet.

 

 

 

But despite that, I eventually arrived at Schale.

 

 

 

However... there was no one inside.

 

 

 

Whew...!

That's a relief.

 

 

 

Then, even if it's just for a little while, I can enjoy some time without Sensei-

 

 

 

"Hello, Nito."

 

 

 

"Eek?!"

 

 

 

I was startled by Sensei, who suddenly popped up from behind me and spoke.

 

 

 

"O-oh, hello..."

 

 

 

Sensei smiled brightly as I responded to his greeting.

 

 

 

Then he returned to his seat.

 

 

 

Isn't he going to teach...?

 

 

 

"Um, about the lesson..."

 

 

 

"Ah, right... let's do it in a little while."

 

 

 

Fine by me.

I need to rest a bit.

 

 

 

I sat on the sofa.

Honestly, it's so soft that I'm practically lying down, but it doesn't matter.

 

 

 

"Whew~."

 

 

 

Not being able to sit comfortably on such a comfortable sofa, Sensei seems a bit pitiful.

 

 

 

Click-clack-

Tap-

 

 

 

The sound of typing on a keyboard.

 

 

 

"Arona, how much work do I have today?"

 

 

 

-Hmm... as much as usual...

 

 

 

"...what about the lesson with Nito...?"

 

 

 

-If you work hard, I'm sure it's possible!

 

 

 

"Right... thanks, Arona."

 

 

 

-Hehe...

 

 

 

This is the first time I've heard Arona's voice like this, has it changed?

 

 

 

It's cute.

Is it because I don't have to pull gacha anymore?

 

 

 

Listening to the sound of Sensei's pen scratching and the keyboard clicking makes me feel at ease.

 

 

 

But I can't let my guard down too much.

 

 

 

Relaxing in front of Sensei? That can't happen.

 

 

 

Yeah...

It can't...

 

 

 

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

 

 

 

I did my best to finish my work.

 

 

 

Lately, there seem to be a lot more incidents happening in Gehenna and Millennium.

 

 

 

Is it because the entrance ceremony (start of the school year) is coming soon, and the devils acting up and the engineers panicking because they'll soon be overwhelmed with assignments and work?

 

 

 

I like that they're active, but there's no need for them to go out of their way to increase my workload...

 

 

 

"Keuu-"

 

 

 

Crack-

 

 

 

That sounded like my joint making a sound it shouldn't...

 

 

 

I glanced across the desk and couldn't see Nito's head, which was visible before.

 

 

 

Hmm...?

Where did she go...?

 

 

 

Snore- Snore-

 

 

 

Oh...

No way...

Again?

 

 

 

Nito is sleeping again.

 

 

 

The blue halo resembling Saturn had long since disappeared.

 

 

 

Shake-

 

 

 

"Nito~ wake up~."

 

 

 

"Mng... I'm up..."

 

 

 

...Her halo isn't on...?

 

 

 

No matter how much I shook her, Nito's halo didn't appear.

 

 

 

Hmm...

 

 

 

Pinch-

 

 

 

"Eek!"

 

 

 

Only after I pinched her cheek did the halo appear.

 

 

 

...It's squishy.

 

 

 

"What the h...! S-Sir?!"

 

 

 

"Nito, it's 5 o'clock now."

 

 

 

Nito's eyes spun in confusion.

 

 

 

"F-five o'clock? Then how many hours did I sleep...?"

 

 

 

Probably about 8 hours.

 

 

 

"It's okay, Nito, we can start the lesson now. And..."

 

 

 

"And...?"

 

 

 

Her questioning look was so cute that I suddenly wanted to tease her.

So I said something different from what I originally intended.

 

 

 

"And... they say sleeping beauties sleep a lot, right? So it's okay, Nito."

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

Nito malfunctioned, as if she didn't properly process what I just said.

 

 

 

Her face started turning red, like it was loading.

 

 

 

"...Creepy pedo Sensei... seriously..."

 

 

 

Nito muttered something.

Her voice was so quiet that I couldn't hear it properly.

 

 

 

Well, it probably wasn't anything important.

 

 

 

"Okay! Shall we start the lesson?"

 

 

 

"...Okay."

 

 

 

And so we began the lesson.

 

 

 

My mind was a bit tired, but it was bearable.

 

 

 

But apparently, it wasn't for Nito.

 

 

 

"So, here... Nito?"

 

 

 

"Hrk! Yes! No, yes!"

 

 

 

Nito started dozing off.

She slept that long and she's still sleepy...

What did she do yesterday?

 

 

 

"Let's focus a little more. It'll be over soon."

 

 

 

"Y-yes..."

 

 

 

Nito answered, opening her eyes as wide as possible.

 

 

 

I could see her black pupils filling with the light of the room.

 

 

 

I continued the lesson, feeling relieved.

 

 

 

But despite Nito's best efforts, her eyes kept closing.

 

 

 

Eventually, Nito started nodding off.

Her halo would turn on and off.

 

 

 

And finally,

 

 

 

Thump-

 

 

 

Nito's body tilted, her head resting on my shoulder, and her halo disappeared completely.

 

 

 

Hmm... what should I do about this?

 

 

 

Honestly, I don't know how to handle this.

 

 

 

If Nito is constantly tired, no matter how much I wake her up, she'll try to resist and end up collapsing again like this.

 

 

 

Should I just let her sleep?

 

 

 

It might not be a bad idea.

Studying is important, but rest is just as important, so letting her sleep might be okay.

 

 

 

Then...

 

 

 

"Oops..."

 

 

 

Being careful not to wake Nito, I laid her down.

 

 

 

This is the first time I've given someone a lap pillow.

Her head is light, so my legs probably won't get numb.

 

 

 

Nito's expression scrunched up, as if she didn't like something.

Like a child sulking.

 

 

 

Stroke-

 

 

 

"Heh..."

 

 

 

When I stroked her head once, her expression relaxed.

 

 

 

...This is the first time I've seen her make that expression.

Does she like being stroked?

 

 

 

Hmm...

 

 

 

Stroke- Stroke-

 

 

 

"Heeeh..."

 

 

 

I think she does.

 

 

 

Doing this, Nito finally looks like a child her age.

 

 

 

Normally, she's wary of me, like a hedgehog raising its quills or a cat hissing, making it hard to approach her.

 

 

 

But lately, she's been less like that.

 

 

 

Right, was it after I took Nito out?

 

 

 

That was fun too.

 

 

 

When we were eating ramen in the shop, I had a hard time hiding Nito from other people.

 

 

 

Her clothes were pajamas, so they were loose, and even the size was a bit oversized... so... well...

 

 

 

If I think about it any more, I'll feel like a criminal, so I'll stop.

 

 

 

"Uuuu..."

 

 

 

Nito stirred.

 

 

 

Is she waking up now?

Ah, her halo appeared.

 

 

 

Nito rubbed her sleepy eyes.

She's still not fully awake.

 

 

 

After a little while, Nito finally opened her eyes properly and looked ahead.

 

 

 

"Are you awake?"

 

 

 

Her eyes widened in surprise.

She looked so startled that I thought if she had animal ears, they would have perked up.

 

 

 

"Aaaaaaah!"

 

 

 

Bonk-!

 

 

 

"Kuhuk!"

 

 

 

Nito, who had suddenly sat up, bumped her head against mine.

It hit hard enough to make me see stars.

 

 

 

"H-huh? W-what were you doing?!"

 

 

 

Well... how should I put it...

 

 

 

"Um... admiring cute Nito-chan's sleeping face?"

 

 

 

"Hiiik?! Die!!!"

 

 

 

And that's how we ended up playing tag until late at night.