C³ Vol 13 Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Art Thou Haruaki? -Imitation of Life- Part 1

Sakuramairi s.h.i.+raho was resting her chin against her hand, elbow on the counter, staring at the man before her.

The shop's interior was dimly lit. Ever since a long time ago, this antique shop was only a decrepit and somber s.p.a.ce, even after the death of the owner—in other words, her father—the atmosphere did not change, remaining decrepit and somber. It was also filled with a sense of stagnation and tranquility like a graveyard—apart from the instant when a certain doll struck up conversation with her, the very instant when her life was changed henceforth—this was precisely the everyday state of the shop.

s.h.i.+raho temporarily s.h.i.+fted her gaze away from the nondescript middle-aged man and looked at the piece of paper on the counter where he had written words with a trembling hand. It was like the art of acting. In order to get a grasp on the other person's body and mind, judicious variation of force and tension was necessary. The instant when the other party relaxed because she took her gaze off him, she must strike at the opening, deliberately stabbing into the core of his being with ice-cold words:

"—I would like to clarify something first."

"Eeek... C-Clarify what?"

She pulled her gaze back. In contrast to the man who was beginning to show a timid att.i.tude, s.h.i.+raho continued to maintain her gaze and the coldness in her voice while she spoke:

"Do note that this shop is not a charity. We are only able to profit from the antiques we purchase after we sell them to other customers who wish to buy them. In other words... Customers who want us to purchase objects with no resale value cannot be considered customers at all in our view. They would be no different from worthless criminals who bring loss instead. In other words, beings who have no right to complain no matter what treatment they receive. Considering this principle, could you please answer this question of mine honestly."

She interspersed silent breaths within her speech. This was also one of the steps in the variation of tension. Then after several seconds, she chose the most effective point in time to break the silence.

"How much money do you expect me to squander in purchasing this—a cursed item... one that could not possibly be sold to other customers?"

"Eeek... Eeek——! S-Sorry, I'm so sorry—!"

Instantly, the man's face turned deathly white as he scrambled and ran out of the antique shop. Luckily, he did not break any utensils or pottery goods when he b.u.mped into shelves.

Peace returned to the shop. After exhaling a large breath, s.h.i.+raho turned her gaze lightly towards the object on the counter. Still with her chin against her hand, she frowned slightly with the corners of her lips and grumbled:

"Seeing the way he fled in desperation... It looks like this really is cursed. Right on target with my first guess..."

Of course, s.h.i.+raho did not possess the appraisal ability to discern cursed tools. However, she did not possess the ability to appraise other antiques either. What she did was simply sit here to tend to the shop whenever it suited her mood. When customers tried to sell goods to her, she would buy them at suitably cheap costs then put the goods out for sale in the shop with slightly higher sticker prices. Doing it this way, at least the shop was not operated at a loss. She had no intention of earning ma.s.sive profits in the first place, but was simply trying to add a little productive value to her daily habit of sitting at the shop's counter, breathing in the air filled with the smell of antiques. Rather than forest bathing therapy, this would be antique bathing.

However, regarding business practices undertaken to casually kill time, s.h.i.+raho had also established her one and only rule—it must absolutely not cause trouble for her lover. She had to pay extra attention to tools that might threaten their quiet lives. Often times, old cursed tools would invariably end up pa.s.sing between owners in the form of antiques. Seeing as she was a person who handled antiques, it definitely would not hurt to take extra care.

Hence, whenever s.h.i.+raho sensed anything unusual about the seller's att.i.tude or the object in question, she would always elicit answers from the other person in the same manner as just now. And today was the first clean hit. s.h.i.+raho could not help but think to herself that she should continue this practice even though it was not always useful.

Well then—s.h.i.+raho looked at the purchasing form on the counter, in other words, what the man had filled out earlier in a clearly furtive and timid manner. Were the name, address and telephone number on the form actually real? Confirming was a piece of cake, but was there any point?

Furthermore—there was something else on the counter.

A large trunk the man had brought. The arms and legs of a folded doll, resembling a wooden mannequin, were visible in the open trunk. Its size was almost like a child's, quite large for a doll, but its structure was quite simple, merely consisting of old-era streamlined body parts strung together. The head was only simply spherical with a slight protrusion at the nose location.

To be honest, s.h.i.+raho only felt intuitively that this mannequin-like doll was very suspicious. Since she was always together with another doll who was the most important to her in the world, perhaps her body had memorized something like the scent belonging to extraordinary dolls, then possibly sensing that scent vaguely on this mannequin.

What was this thing? And what kind of cursed tool was it? Because the man fled without saying a word, she had no way of knowing. Nevertheless, s.h.i.+raho decided that at the very least, this doll probably had yet to reach self-awareness, or in other words, the ability to take on human form. What she sensed on the doll was ultimately just the scent of an unusual but non-sentient object.

"Whatever. Anyway, since the guy fled and left this here, it means that he is selling it to us for free. In that case, I am free to do with this thing as I please..."

Simply stated, throwing it away or destroying it would be the easiest methods. However, she was unable to do that nonchalantly as soon as she recalled her beloved partner who was likewise a cursed doll as well. Suppose she threw it away—Her lover would say angrily: "If someone picked it up, it might bring them great trouble!" Suppose she destroyed it—Her lover would say sorrowfully: "We're basically kindred..." If doing either of that would cause her to be hated, s.h.i.+raho would have no choice but to commit suicide.

In that case, although it was troublesome, there was only one thing that ought to be done.

No matter what kind of ability this cursed tool possessed (it was also possible that the customer was mistaken and simply believed it was cursed), it had nothing to do with her. Just as she had told the man earlier—taking this kind of object and handling it appropriately without reward, that was something only a person running a charity would do. She had no intention of doing that at all. Someone willing to handle this kind of matter, a nice guy to a fault, would gladly do it.

s.h.i.+raho left her chair slightly and reached for the trunk on the counter.

"Seriously—Seriously, that is the only human I cannot understand. What fun is there in the safekeeping of cursed tools? And even if the curses were lifted, there is no reward at all."

While grumbling, s.h.i.+raho summoned her entire strength to shove the doll, which had half its body exposed, forcefully back into the trunk. Pus.h.i.+ng hard in concert with the pauses in her speech, she continued to murmur to herself:

"Hmm, after all, I can't possibly comprehend... the perverted thought processes of a pervert's—now all that is needed... a place where it's fine for me to send this thing without prior consent... That is all!"

Indeed, this kind of thing must not be kept at home. Shoving cursed tools onto that pervert could be described as perfectly natural and reasonable. Shoving this thing to that perverted male was fine, the one who looked harmless at first glance, but was actually biding his time for a chance to take perverted action, approaching others by all means necessary as soon as he spotted they were girls, muttering perverted words, then making inane excuses like "this was only an accident" while acting out perverted behavior in actual fact...

While thinking over these matters, s.h.i.+raho applied her entire body weight through her arms. However, she failed to notice at this time that her elbow had accidentally pressed the doll's nose.

"There!"

Even if by force, anyway, it was fine so long as the doll was shoved in. After forcing the lid shut, s.h.i.+raho fastened the metal lock. But probably because she had stuffed the doll into the trunk with full force, the old metal component looked like it might burst open any time, looking very strained indeed, but s.h.i.+raho decided to ignore it. It should last until it reached the other party's home, at least. Then what resulted next was none of her concern.

Next, s.h.i.+raho took out a courier order form from under the counter and scribbled an address while reading from her phone's contact list. Then she attached the order form onto the trunk and dialed a phone number.

"h.e.l.lo? I would like to send out a delivery, could you come pick it up right away?"

While talking to the staff at the courier service, s.h.i.+raho pondered. With this, 80% of her job was done. The remaining 20% was contacting the man who had fled to bill him appropriately for the trouble, although she could not be sure if it would work.

(Sigh... I'll call him later when I'm in a better mood. I have to threaten him a bit at least, so as to prevent similar situations from happening again. But if the phone number he wrote down is fake, then the incident ends here.)

s.h.i.+raho sighed.

Thus, she lost total interest in the contents of the trunk.

Handing the trunk over to the courier who arrived for the pickup, s.h.i.+raho was completely unaware of the dramatic change occurring inside the trunk.

—Inside, after getting elbowed in the nose, the doll had started to transform gradually.

Part 2

The next day, it was Sunday morning at the Yachi residence.

Konoha was leisurely enjoying a long-awaited sunbath on the veranda under the warm sunlight.

Since the laundry was done, the grocery shopping could wait until evening and she had finished her homework last night, there was nothing else to do at the momennt. Also, Kuroe had gone off to work while Fear was at school for supplementary lessons, so the house was very quiet. All the conditions for a great holiday were present. To be slightly greedier, it was a rare chance for her to be alone with Haruaki and she really wanted to do something together. But currently, he had gone back to his room for a nap after staying up all night. Delusionally speaking, napping together by his side would be the ideal choice, but there was no way she could actually do that. Hence, Konoha went for the second best option and decided to use this quiet and peaceful time to enjoy her sunbath to the fullest.

(Ah~ ...So warm~...)

However, this was no ordinary sunbath. One that was undertaken only once in a while—or rather, it could only be undertaken once in a while—

A fully nude sunbath.

At least that was what it felt like for Konoha.

(I knew it... I have to bathe myself in sunlight like this every now and then...)

Sheathed in its black scabbard, the j.a.panese sword was lying on the veranda, exhaling "huff~" It felt as though all the dampness and other unpleasant odors acc.u.mulating in her body were being completely purified by the sunlight. Fufufu, farewell. Since the past and into the future, I will never allow microbes or rust to take over this body. You would do best to give up~

Because it felt too comfortable, Konoha was beginning to feel sleepy, hazily closing the eyes of her senses. What to do? Should she simply fall asleep like this? But what if a visitor arrived? It would be too troublesome, so should she pretend no one was at home? Speaking of which, just earlier when she was doing the laundry, a trunk had been delivered to the house, what was that? Cash on Delivery from a rare sender. Konoha could not bear to wake him up, so she decided to leave the trunk aside for now, but she must not forget to discuss with him later... So sleepy... Yawn~

The wind caressed her body. A refres.h.i.+ng feeling enveloped a part of her that was not normally exposed. The gentle and warm sunlight also penetrated into there. So warm. Her body was feeling numb. An immoral sense of liberation. Ahhh, if only she could lie on a beach and roll around nude in human form, surely she would be able to experience this same feeling. Truly very comfortable.

A happy state, halfway between sleep and wakefulness. A paradise resembling sleep but not fully asleep. Konoha simply allowed the eyelids of her consciousness to remain shut while she floated lightly in this universe that resembled ambiguous, warm water. It felt like she was thinking of many things, yet not thinking at the same time. The sense of time vanished. The distinction between thoughts and dreams vanished. The distinction between reality and thoughts also vanished.

(Uhyuu... Mmm~ ...Haryuaki-kun... Ufufufu. A sunbath is so warm, Haruaki-kun should hug me tight as well, so warm...)

Her mood felt as though she were having a very blissful dream. Since she was aware of these feelings, it meant that her consciousness was slightly tilted towards wakefulness. Suddenly, Konoha sensed human presence. With hazy eyes, she looked over.

"Eh...?"

"Good morning, Konoha. Sorry for waking you up."

Haruaki was by her side and likewise sitting on the veranda. Wearing his usual smile, speaking in his usual voice of gentleness, dressed in his usual school uniform—But somehow, Konoha felt that something was not right. How odd?

Just as she was about to dispel the lingering drowsiness in her mind, Haruaki lifted Konoha's body lightly.

"Ah, Haruaki-kun...?"

"You're sunbathing? Let me wipe your body."

Konoha had placed a soft handkerchief under herself to serve as a cus.h.i.+on. Picking up the handerchief, haruaki began to support Konoha's body in one hand while wiping lightly with the other. T-Treated by him in this manner... How should Konoha put it? It felt like the last time was a very long time ago.

"Ah, umm, Haruaki-kun..."

"Don't speak, just leave it to me. I'll be very gentle."

"Y-Yes... Well then, umm... I am in your care..."

Although Konoha was feeling very shy, given this rare chance when he was willing to wipe her body, she was unable to refuse. Her mind grew hazy and chaotic again, her consciousness pulled back into a partial state of sleep. What was going on? Unexpected good fortune. Was this the continuation of a dream?

Concentrate. Holding the handkerchief, his hand was currently rubbing her body gently, sliding along the curves, poking with his finger as though trying to confirm the hardness. His breath blew on her body. Curling his fingers into circles, he rubbed the blade's body, flicking it lightly with his fingertips in a teasing manner.

This manner, numbing and embarra.s.sing, stimulating yet making her ticklish all over, extremely, extremely—

Comfortable—

"Ah, huff... Mmm hmm... H-Haruaki-kun... Umm... A little more..."

"A little more force would be better?"

While hearing the mischievous voice, Konoha felt some kind of powerful impact somewhere.

Instantly, an unpleasant electrical current pa.s.sed through her body.

"Eeek... Ahhhhh! I-It's the opposite, be more gentle, listen, more gentle, I beg you..."

"Haha, got it. You're so sensitive, Konoha..."

"S-Sensitive...? Nothing of that sort. I am very... very ordinary."

"Really? Oh right, I've wanted to ask you this for a while."

"Huah... W-What is it...?"

"When you transform into this state... Does the structure of the blade correspond clearly to the structure of the human form? For example—the chest. When you're looking like this, Konoha, where is your chest? Is it this round part?"

"Eek... Hyah!"

Unexpected words. Words plunging her mind into greater chaos. Then—no longer separated by fabric, no longer wiping stains off, he was purely using his hands to stroke her body. Applying perfect force at just the right amount. Neither strong nor weak, a stimulating force giving birth to pleasure.

Ahhh, that place was the chest indeed. A place that produced feelings similar to the chest. Hence, don't stroke it back and forth with your palm so frequently, and don't tap lightly with your fingertips—Konoha wanted to speak up but the stimulating electrical currents pa.s.sing through her body were causing her language center to numb slightly. And that was not all, in the next instant—

"Eh? Then where's your b.u.t.t? Is it here? Konoha, how's that?"

"Ha, ahhhhh? That's... That's...!? Ah, ah, ah mmm!"

Electrical currents were produced in a new place. His finger, finger, finger was there, her sensitive spot. She was currently twitching and trembling, right? Standing his nails up to perform something akin to play-biting, there was a strange sound. Although it hurt quite a bit, it felt very comfortable. Comfortable, right? What happened? Why was he doing such a thing? Although it felt very comfortable, due to the excessive excitement, Konoha's mind was in total disarray, but... But!

She could hear his light laughter, because they were very close together.

"Oh... Looks like you're the most sensitive here, Konoha. I can hear a wonderful sound coming from you. How exciting. I really want to hear more. So, I'm not going to use my fingers for the next part—"

Konoha predicted a new type of stimulating was coming. Something feeling like warm wind was blowing. No. This was a breath. His breath. Ah, in other words, his lips were approaching her body, his tongue extending towards her sensitive spot, h-h-e intends to lick—!?

"H-Hyawawa!! That place... That place... Not that place——!"

At this moment, it was anyone's guess how her mental circuits were connecting as a straight line das.h.i.+ng across her mind. A direct line linking her rationality with her thoughts. Her panic meter was completely going off the charts with the needle spinning a full circle to return to its original position. Originally hazy due to chaos, pleasure and having just woken up, her consciousness became clear all at once, telling her something extremely important.

—Something is absolutely wrong here!

By the time she regained her senses, Konoha discovered a strange feeling all over her body.

Shaking her body, Konoha freed herself from his palm, turning into human form in midair. Landing in the garden, she held her hand up in a karate chop, facing him who was sitting nonchalantly on the veranda.

"You—Who are you!?"

"What are you talking about? I am me."

The face and voice both belonged to Haruaki. However, something's wrong—Konoha was extremely certain.

Too careless. What an embarra.s.sment. Truly humiliating. She must reflect deeply upon this. No matter how overcome with sleepiness, she could not believe how she failed to notice until now. He was not her owner. Not Yachi Haruaki. Although very similar, he was simply another person possessing Haruaki's form.

"Answer me truthfully. Who on earth are you—"

"I've answered you truthfully already. Yeah... But speaking of which, is this really okay?"

"What are you referring to?"

Konoha kept her knife hand ready without lowering her guard, narrowing her eyes as she asked. But unfazed by her pressure, he smiled and said:

"Say—a vigorous battle stance is very good and all, but you do realize you're showing everything, y'know? Both top and bottom. Oh my, your b.o.o.bs are really awesome, Konoha. They look so soft, I can almost feel my hands sinking into them, it's unbearable, ah, maybe you're trying to seduce me? Then I'm totally fine with it. Let's pick up directly where we were just now—"

"Kyah! T-Too indecent—!"

Although Konoha desperately tried to convince herself what happened earlier was a misunderstanding, it still came as quite a shock to hear someone saying such things with Haruaki's appearance and voice. She instantly felt as though someone had smacked her hard on the head with a hammer. Instantly, her cheeks went flush red. Extremely bothered by the other person's gaze, she reflexively covered her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and crotch, then immediately looked around, searching for something to wear. Finding the laundry ahead of her, in the process of drying, she had no choice but to use it in this urgent emergency—

"...Huh? Oh no!"

Konoha came to a sudden realization. While her attention was diverted for an instant, he—an imposter of Haruaki, that she could be certain, at least—had disappeared from the veranda.

Taking a partially dried blanket from the laundry pole, she wrapped herself up before breaking into a run. Only for an instant, she sensed a presence in the entryway's direction, but by the time she arrived, there were no signs of the fake Haruaki. He had probably run away outside.

"What on earth... is going on? How incomprehensi..."

Just as Konoha narrowed her eyes and murmured, something entered her view. Something possibly related. Something evidently very suspicious.

The trunk delivered earlier, the one she had left at the entrance—It was now open. As though someone had exerted a great force from inside, the metal latch was blown apart, rolling on the floor by her feet. In addition, the trunk was empty with nothing inside it at all.

"..."

Konoha rapidly returned to her room and made a call on her cellphone. She called the person most likely to know the details. The phone rang for a long time as though the other side finally relented and picked up the call.

'...What now? Let me make this clear first of all, I'm currently at school due to supplementary lessons. It just happens to be break currently. If it's anything inane, I shall hang up immediately—'

"s.h.i.+raho-san, what was inside the case you sent over?"

Knowing time was precious, Konoha went straight to the point. She could hear s.h.i.+raho gasping. A few seconds later—

'Has something... happened?'

"It's already gone beyond the level of something happening."

Hence, Konoha explained what had just happened. The appearance of Haruaki's imposter. Although the appearance was identical to the real person, the behavior and att.i.tude were still quite different.

'Oh~ I-I see...'

"You must know something, right? Your voice clearly sounds suspicious."

After Konoha spoke coldly, s.h.i.+raho probably gave up and began to speak amidst sighs:

'I had no intention of hiding anything. Seeing as you people are the experts, I was thinking you would handle things without issue even if I didn't do anything... But now that things have come to this, it sounds like an excuse.'

Then she continued to explain. The beginning of the whole incident. The visitor at her antique shop. The man had brought a doll resembling a mannequin. After getting tricked to reveal information, the man had fled in a panic. Hence, she had concluded it to be a cursed tool and sent it to the Yachi residence.

"Then what is the mannequin's origin?"

'The man was very stupid, because the phone number he filled in the form really connected. Then regarding the information I got out of the man, well... Let me think...'

s.h.i.+raho cleared her throat then tried her best to feign calmness as she spoke:

'It's supposedly a cursed doll. Provided someone imagines a certain person engaged in a certain behavior when pressing the switch on the doll's nose, it will transform into that person with that behavior in mind as a goal. By the way, now that I think about it, I might have accidentally touched its nose when I was stuffing that thing back into the trunk... Uh, just possibly, perhaps.'

"W-What did you say? Then let me ask you, what were you thinking at the time!?"

'J-Just the usual, nothing special. At the time, I was thinking of sending the thing to your home... Hence, well, I was thinking of that perverted man doing perverted things... V-Very normal, isn't it?'

Konoha felt a great shock in her mind.

If what s.h.i.+raho said was true—

The doll had transformed into Haruaki, p.r.o.ne to doing perverted things as imagined by s.h.i.+raho... Isn't that exactly the fake Haruaki who had toyed with her body repeated, ogled her naked body nonchalantly and even displayed a happy expression on his face!

How was that normal at all!? The way Konoha saw it, s.h.i.+raho had a bad impression of Haruaki to begin with, as though it would not be surprising if he s.e.xually hara.s.sed Sovereignty no matter what time or place. And just as s.h.i.+raho said, she regarded Haruaki as a perverted man and stayed on full alert against him as such. Filtered through s.h.i.+raho's perceptions, the pervert form(!) of Haruaki... It would not be surprising for this kind of doll to engage in any amount of indecent behavior, essentially a total demon. Konoha shuddered at the thought.

"H-He must absolutely be stopped!"

'Allow me to provide more information. From what I heard from the man, there are three methods to make the doll return to its original state. One is to allow him to concretely accomplish the action inputted on activation. Right now—In other words, that would probably mean allowing him to accomplish unprecedented levels of perverted behavior to his heart's content. That said, who knows if s.e.xually hara.s.sing tens or even hundreds of people might be enough.'

"...Naturally, I cannot allow this sort of thing. The conditions are too vague. Waiting for him to fulfill them would be utterly ludicrous."

'The second is to simply wait for the pa.s.sage of time. After roughly forty-eight hours, he will turn back into the original doll. Let me state this beforehand, I activated him yesterday evening. Also, if during this time, someone else presses the transformation activation switch again, causing a new transformation, the previous condition will be overridden...'

"Even if nothing is done starting from now, it still means waiting for at least a whole day. Also, what if someone accidentally presses the reactivation switch, then who knows what could happen—Just like for the previous method, the number of victims will only increase. Too impractical. So what is the final method?"

'Apparently, there is switch to forcibly reset.'

"That's the one! I've been waiting for this kind of simple solution!"

Konoha clenched her fists, leaning forward to scream into the telephone.

If possible, she really did not want to personally destroy something bearing his appearance.

"So, where is that switch located?"

'Somewhere on the body.'

"..."

'I-I tried my best to ask that man, but it's his fault. I don't know if he was too afraid but throughout the phone call, he was stammering and stuttering, unwilling to give a straight answer. In a moment of fury, I threatened him: "Out with it now! Or else I will come over to your house immediately and set fire to it!" Then he hung up—'

Of course he'll flee for dear life—Konoha sighed in exasperation. She had idea if s.h.i.+raho noticed, but in any case, s.h.i.+raho continued without getting fl.u.s.tered at all:

'Because nothing had happened at that point, I didn't consider this information absolutely essential to know so I didn't contact him again. That's why I don't know the switch's precise location.'

"Sigh... No helping it, I guess we'll just have to find it ourselves. I hope it'll be in an obvious spot."

'But we have no idea regarding its external appearance. Perhaps it's like the nose's activation switch, which means pressing a certain body part.'

"You make a fair point... But since it's a switch after all, it should be possible to identify by touch or texture. After all, no matter what, we'll just have to capture that thing then investigate the entire body."

'I could call that customer again when I'm in a better mood, although I've no idea if he'll pick up or not.'

"I shall wait for your results without too much expectation."

No matter what, Konoha was thankful to discover a solution apart from destroying the doll. However, whether searching the entire body to locate the reset switch or s.h.i.+raho miraculously calling successfully and getting the other side to tell her the switch's location, they still needed to catch the doll and confine him first. Left alone, the number of victims would only increase, hence it was imperative to capture the fake Haruaki as quickly as possible.

"Well then, the fake Haruaki has already escaped. Do you have any idea where he might go?"

'He should be bound to the motives of his initial behavior, so I'm thinking he must have run off somewhere to perform perverted actions.'

At this time, Konoha suddenly recalled that he was dressed in school uniform. After telling s.h.i.+raho—

'It looks like he is capable of manifesting clothing to some degree. Back when I activated him, the image of the perverted man doing perverted acts in school like a pervert... Hmm, I cannot a.s.sert for certain that it did not cross my mind. This might be the cause.'

"I-Isn't that terrible—!?"

The fake Haruaki was currently heading to school with the intent to engage in indecent behavior. Left alone, goodness knows what might happen. Not only were girls going to suffer—but the real Haruaki's future was also at stake.

Keeping the cellphone pressed against her ear, Konoha frantically put on her uniform at the same time. In order to stop the fake Haruaki, she must make her way to school.

'Let me supplement the information with something that just came to mind. I was told that the doll was also used for a.s.sa.s.sinations before. In other words, he probably possess the characteristic of "accomplis.h.i.+ng" orders at any cost no matter what happens or what obstacles he encounters.'

"I don't want to know this kind of information! Argh, how distasteful, to think she would have supplementary lessons today out of all days... Fear-san is at school too!"

'I am also there.'

"Yes, please be careful as well, s.h.i.+raho-san. I will hurry over right away!"

'Rest a.s.sured, I have already prepared myself to commit suicide by biting my tongue should a critical moment come to pa.s.s. Don't worry and make haste.'

A very convoluted signal for help, very much in s.h.i.+raho's style. After this final exchange, the two girls hung up.

Having put on her uniform, Konoha rushed out of her room. Currently, the image of the real Haruaki, still sleeping in his own room, flashed across her mind. However, it would be best not to wake him up. Although he would certain pledge his full effort to help after understanding the situation, things would be troublesome if people saw two Haruakis in school.

Hence, Konoha wrote a note and left it behind in the living room: "I need to go out, please watch the house." Then rus.h.i.+ng out the door, she dashed towards the school at top speed.

Part 3

Near the school gates—

A girl dressed as a maid—Sovereignty—was humming a song, sweeping the path leading to the school building's entrance. Although it was a Sunday, she had requested on her own to work on her day off because her lover was coming to school for supplementary lessons.

Although her official t.i.tle was the superintendent's secretary's a.s.sistant-in-training, this type of janitor-like work was also part of her usual duties. She was already used to it—Only on rare occasions would she still make airheaded blunders.

"Hmmhmmmmm~♪ Hmmhmmmmm~♪"

While Sovereignty was rhythmically playing music with the broom, she suddenly noticed a student pa.s.sing through the school gates. At this time of the day, supplementary lessons had already started. It was also too late for club activities. Besides, it was Sunday today, which meant that most students would not come to school apart from the aforementioned purposes. Arriving alone to school at this unusual time, how strange. Hence, she turned to look—

"Oh, it's Haruaki-kun! Good morning~!"

She waved hard and called out with a lively greeting. Haruaki also waved his hand lightly, smiling as he made a beeline for her.

"Good morning, Sovereignty. You're very cute today as well."

"Eh? Eh? A-Ahaha~ Thank you! I can't believe you suddenly surprised me with such a greeting... Amazing! You must have planned this performance, intending to add a bit of color to this boring Sunday with a little surprise, yes? But even as flattery, I'm very happy to hear it!"

Hearing such direct praise, Sovereignty was slightly at a loss how to react. A faint sense of dissonance was also lingering in the depths of her mind. However while she was scratching her head to hide her embarra.s.sment, the feeling soon disappeared. Standing before her, Haruaki was smiling as usual, speaking with his usual voice, hence there was nothing strange—Should be.

However, after walking towards Sovereignty, Haruaki stopped but continued to stare intently at her.

"This isn't flattery. Sovereignty, you've always been very cute. It's true."

"Hyoh?"

"Actually, I've been thinking for a while now, what exactly is the secret to your cuteness? Oh right, do you have the time? I'd like to confirm something."

"Confirm something? Oh, oyoyoyo?"

Just as she tilted her head in puzzlement, Haruaki chuckled and silently grabbed her arm. Then slightly forcefully, he dragged her to the wall surrounding the school. With the wall behind her and tall trees and bushes in front and on the side, this was a s.p.a.ce completely isolated from external view.

Haruaki and Sovereignty were extremely close as he looked down towards her. Despite feeling that something was not right, Sovereignty still looked him in the eye.

"Umm, Haruaki-kun, why did you bring me to this kind of place—"

"Uh, sorry. What I want to confirm is... Umm, your chest."

"Ch-Chest? Mine?"

Even though she was dressed in her usual maid outfit, even though he looked at her usually, Sovereignty found his gaze very bothering right now. He seemed to be focusing his attention to observe her cleavage. But since they were both the same as usual, if she acted too self-conscious and covered up her chest now, it would seem too impolite. Hence, Sovereignty could only shrink her neck back awkwardly, shaking her body. As a result, she then felt that Haruaki was staring at her wobbling bosom.

"Say... You can change the size, right?"

"Y-Yeah, because that's part of my design."

"I guess you usually keep same size, right? In particular, do you decide how many centimeters roughly?"

"Uh, no, I'm a bit casual with the particulars... But because it'd be bad to arouse suspicions in people not in the know at places like school, I always make them roughly the same size every day."

"Indeed, that's exactly it. That's what I wanted to confirm!"

Haruaki took a step forward, his eyes incomparably serious. Intimidated by his forcefulness, Sovereignty took a step back. Her back b.u.mped into the wall. Subconsciously, she gripped the broom tightly that was still in her hand.

Then with an expression that could not be more serious, exuding airs like an adventurer, Haruaki said:

"I said it just now, you're very cute. But I was thinking, there must be what could be called best size for you, right? There should be a combination that makes you look the most dazzling and attractive, right? Although I've no idea if it would be bigger or smaller than the current size."

"Hoeh?"

"Ah yes... There's also the shape. Shapes can come in a unlimited variations, right? Like pendulums-shaped or bowl-shaped. Including these combinations, there must be so many types that it's impossible to count them all. But no matter what, I'm curious. No matter what, I want to confirm your best appearance. So I beg you, please let me confirm. I will help. As long as it's within my ability, I will help out—"

Haruaki closed in on Sovereignty, step by step, meanwhile staring at her bust relentlessly, staring intently at the cleavage exposed by the maid outfit. As though doing some kind of warmup exercise, he kept moving the fingers of both hands frequently.

Sovereignty pressed her back tightly against the wall behind her.

"Hold on, hold on—!"

"You're... unwilling?"

"R-Rather than unwilling—"

"I remember on a certain date before, didn't you let me touch them? You even asked me to rub them."

"That was umm... Like an accident, and it was only once, that's all. A-Anyway, now is different from that time! Right now... How should I put this? I feel a powerful aura coming from your body, Haruaki-kun! And umm—I... That's right, I am s.h.i.+raho's lover after all! She'll get mad!"

"Just treat it as a secret between the two of us... Then there's no problem."

Haruaki spoke in a gentle voice and took another step forward. So excessively bold of him. But conversely, it also implied that he was truly serious. Sovereignty could feel herself getting hot instantly deep inside her body. To think that Haruaki-kun wanted to touch my chest this much, this badly, this seriously—?

No no no!

"I should say... Right! I'm working right now! I'm only half done with my sweeping, so I can't play around! Not allowed... to disturb me!"

Holding the broom firmly in her hands, Sovereignty swung it lightly in front of Haruaki. I really don't want to use this broom for anything apart from sweeping—She thought to herself at the same time.

"...Really? You're right. I'm sorry. I get it. I'll give up on the matter of your chest. I didn't come to school because I really had something to do, so as an apology, let me help you sweep."

Sovereignty breathed a sigh of relief. As expected, communication was possible with a proper discussion.

"R-Really? That's good—"

"Oh, but excuse me. It'd be a bit shameless to call this a reward for helping you sweep, but just one, I still have another favor to ask! Could you turn into a boy for a while?"

"...?"

As much as Sovereignty was filled with doubt, this favor was completely opposite to the breast-groping request earlier. Instead, it seemed completely unrelated to indecent developments. "Then please wait a sec." Hence, Sovereignty nodded at Haruaki, then turned her back towards him. Rubbing her chest to give stimulation, she caused her bosom to deflate, turning the volume to zero. Then she swiftly reached her hand beneath her skirt, turning a necessary body part into a necessary form. Although there was little change in voice, Sovereignty still went "ah~ ah~" to perform a youth's vocal exercises, then turned around.

"Okay, transformation done. Haruaki-ku—Hyahhhhhhhh!?"

However, Sovereignty was unable to turn around at all, because Haruaki had hugged him from behind during the process. His shoulders were completely surrounded by Haruaki while he felt breathing on his neck.

"W-What? What what what—?"

"On further thought, I've seldom had contact with you as a boy. So, there's a lot of things I want to confirm."

"C-Confirm what... Didn't we... take a bath together before...?"

"Really? Oh my, what does it matter? Anyway, I just want to know. See, like the texture of your wavy hair, the reactions of your ear or the softness of your cheeks..."

"H-Hyauuuuuuu!"

Haruaki used his index finger to lift her slightly curling strands of hair, then blew into her ear that was exposed to the air and poked her cheek. During this time, Haruaki used his other arm to hug her tightly. No, this had already surpa.s.sed a simple hug.

Sovereignty had taken on male form while dressed in a maid outfit. Naturally, with disappearance of the body fat responsible for the cleavage, so did the bulge supporting the fabric, thus resulting in a large opening in front of the chest—

Then Haruaki inserted his hand whole into the opening in the loose fabric.

"H-Haruaki-kun!? Th-This isn't right? I don't think this is right!"

"Totally no problem, what are you talking about? We are both the same gender right now... So this is purely skin contact between friends. This is just for fun, a game, that's all. This doesn't count as betrayal against your lover..."

"N-No way... Mmm..."

Stroke stroke stroke, stroke stroke stroke. Sovereignty's flat chest was getting stroked back and forth, as though Haruaki was looking for something. "Ah!" Sovereignty moaned, his mind started to become hazy.

"Wait, no good, that's—!"

"I'm just confirming. This is just friendly skin contact between guys... But if I really had to be honest, I'm wavering a little."

"...Hueh?"

Sovereignty turned his head to look at Haruaki who was next to his face. Breathing a little quickly, he looked into Sovereignty's eyes up close and said:

"It's unexpectedly exciting. So, I can't help but think... Boy and boy is fine too."

"E-Ehhhhhhh!? Th-Those kinds of people exist, but I still don't think it's quite right—!?"

Sovereignty used both hands to push Haruaki's neck area, trying to push him away but could not somehow. Clearly Sovereignty was already using his true strength. Clearly Sovereignty knew that his strength was supposed to be higher than an ordinary human's. Why?

During this time, Haruaki even pressed his weight on Sovereignty.

He breathed scorching hot breath on Sovereignty's exposed neck.

Then parting his lips slightly, he extended his tongue—

Seeking more contact between mucous membranes and flesh, he approached Sovereignty's skin—

"TAKE. THIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSS——!"

A mighty shout that seemed to shake the world and split the ground asunder. A roar that made the soul tremble.

Then immediately, Sovereignty heard a dull thud.

Due to too many things happening at once, his brain's processing capacity could not keep up with the flow. Sovereignty's mental circuits instantly froze. The world began to spin. The things before his eyes, which of them were real and which belonged in dreams? Sovereignty saw his familiar lover, a flying skirt, a s.h.i.+ny metal baseball bat, Haruaki struck flying—At this moment, because Sovereignty was still pus.h.i.+ng his body with move hands, instantly, apparently due to using too much strength, Sovereignty accidentally pressed Haruaki's nose. During this time, Sovereignty's view and consciousness continued to spin chaotically while aimless thoughts continued to spill out.

(Awawa, uwawawa, hawawawa, what's with Haruaki-kun? Although I don't understand at all, this is too terrible! I must do my work. Last time at the public bath, was he looking at me with the same eyes? Say, doesn't that make public baths very problematic places? After all, the men basically don't cover up their bodies, rather, the more they worked out the more they wanted to show off. It's like when going into the female bath, women deliberately emphasize their busts the bigger their b.r.e.a.s.t.s are. So supposing Haruaki-kun is very interested in well-trained muscles, the male bath would be paradise allowing unlimited viewing, then he'll become super excited! Uwawa, the world is spinning before my eyes—)

It felt like motion sickness. Sovereignty could feel his legs suddenly losing strength.

Then his consciousness fell into darkness.

 

"Sovereignty! Hey, Sovereignty, hang in there—!"

"Kyuu..."

Sovereignty felt as though stars were spinning around his head as s.h.i.+raho supported him, limp and unable to move. s.h.i.+raho called out desperately, but due to excessive shock, Sovereignty was already close to being in a coma.

"I think I just heard a very loud sound... Oh no! Am I too late!?"

Rustling as she pushed bushes apart, Konoha emerged from behind. Finally you arrive—s.h.i.+raho went hmph.

"That's right, the situation almost developed beyond the point of no return—Although he has long entered the territory I absolutely forbid! That was historically unprecedented perverted behavior that ought to be recorded in the entire world's history books, s.e.xual war crimes that must be condemned by the collective conscience of all living beings!"

"Uh, although I don't know the details... I never would have expected to see Sovereignty-san in this kind of state... You have my condolences. As much as I'm curious about why she turned into a boy, I'd rather not pry. After all, it doesn't seem like it'll be good for my mental health."

"I agree. But anyway, where is the main object..."

At this moment, s.h.i.+raho looked around and sighed deeply.

"...I clearly smashed him with all my strength, but apparently he still escaped."

"Using that thing... You smashed him with all your strength?"

Konoha seemed to be narrowing her eyes at her. s.h.i.+raho raised the metal baseball bat she was holding in her right hand.

"That's right, smas.h.i.+ng with full strength. With a running start at maximum speed, swinging with full might, I even aimed precisely at the back of his head, but never did I expect him to be so durable. He must have escaped while I was helping Sovereignty up."

"Did it even occur to you at all what consequences there would be if he turned out to be the real person...?"

"Now that you mention it, no, it never occurred to me at all."

Breaking out in cold sweat, Konoha smiled politely, frozen on the spot.

Did I give some sort of weird reply? s.h.i.+raho wondered in puzzlement while speaking with full confidence:

"Even if it was the real person, it would not change the fact that he was perpetrating an unforgivable and historic act of perversion against Sovereignty. In other words, after seeing that, it does not change what I am duty-bound to do. After all, it's ultimately all the same. Doesn't matter."

"On the other hand, I do wish that somewhere in a corner of your mind, s.h.i.+raho-san, you could retain some slight thoughts of treasuring others' lives in a show of humanitarianism..."

"Rejected. I have never heard of a humanitarian who goes so far as to treasure the lives of pests. Besides, with this, we now know at least that there is no reset switch on the back of his head. We have taken a step forward. You ought to thank me instead."

"Oh..."

"Putting this aside—" s.h.i.+raho looked towards a direction where the imposter might have escaped.

"That guy's appearance really does resemble the perverted man's appearance to an indistinguishable degree. I think it would be best to hurry and chase him down."

"By this time, supplementary lessons are almost over. Simply because of the increase in the number of students out and about, the risk will rise correspondingly—By the way, s.h.i.+raho-san, what about your supplementary lesson?"

"Do you believe there is anything in this world more important than protecting Sovereignty's chast.i.ty?"

"...Please do your best in your next round of supplementary lessons. Well then, what needs to be done next is—Because he was born from your imagination, s.h.i.+raho-san, if we had to speculate on his next actions, surely he would prioritize people from your imagination and s.e.xually hara.s.s them. In other words, we must find Fear-san first."

"Then I'll leave it to you. Before Sovereignty wakes up, I must attend to her."

Probably expecting s.h.i.+raho's answer, Konoha did not complain and simply said "Well then, please take care" before running to the school building.

Positioning the still-dizzy Sovereignty to rest on her lap, s.h.i.+raho used her fingers to gently comb his hair—At this moment, she suddenly remembered.

Then she threw a glance in the direction where Konoha had disappeared. Although there was one thing she had forgotten to mention... It was probably no help by this point. Besides, it was just a vague feeling she had.

(Basically, I think Sovereignty might have pushed his nose just now, which means that his mode of behavior might very well be altered slightly... But whatever. After all, there's no definite evidence. It's not like it's something I need to phone her specifically to let her know. That's for sure.)

Part 4

"Phew~ It's over..."

Sitting in a chair inside the cla.s.sroom, Fear swiveled her neck left and right. She never expected she would end up forced to take supplementary lessons again. However, this was her own fault—She had been a bit too careless on the last exam. And because she had been too careless, half of a precious Sunday was gone. She really must do her best on the next exam.

Noisily packing up her notes and stationery on the desk, she suddenly heard someone open the cla.s.sroom door. Casually looking over, Fear found someone unexpected.

"Isn't this Kirika? What happened? You're not here for supplementary lessons, right?"

Kirika the honors student could not possibly have failed an exam. Of course, she was not part of club activities either. Given the case, why was she dressed in uniform as usual, carrying her schoolbag, coming to school on Sunday?

While walking to her seat, Kirika shyly made a wry smile and said:

"Just an absolutely ridiculous blunder. I left the handout due tomorrow in my desk and only found out last night when I was doing homework. I originally considered doing it in the morning tomorrow, but it seems like the homework's load isn't that easily finished—So that's why I came to school to retrieve it."

"What~? If it's something so minor, you could've just text messaged me. I could have delivered it to your home on the way back."

"I only discovered there were supplementary lessons after I arrived in school. I also had no idea that our cla.s.sroom was being used for supplementary lessons, so I ended up having to wait until the lesson ended."

"Nuhoho, that's really unlike you to make this kind of airheaded mistake, Kirika."

"That's so true." Kirika smiled and took out the handout from her desk, stuffing it into a folder and putting it into her bag.

"Then my business is done. Fear-kun, your supplementary lessons are over, right? Want to leave together?"

"Exactly what I was thinking! But the lesson just now consumed an inordinate amount of energy, my throat feels so thirsty... Let's buy some juice from the vending machine in the cafeteria and take a break before heading out, okay?"

"Sure, I don't mind at all. Oh right, are there any of our acquaintances in the supplementary lessons today?"

"Hmm~" Fear looked up at the ceiling and recalled.

"There's s.h.i.+raho... who was still here until halfway, but as soon as break arrived, she ran off to who knows where. She should be attending the Ancient j.a.panese supplementary lesson at the end, but she never came back. To dare ditch cla.s.s, that's so bold. As for others—"

Fear turned her gaze and glanced at the cla.s.sroom door. She recalled the figure of the girl who had stumbled out of the cla.s.sroom a moment before Kirika came in.

"That girl was here too. Although it's understandable, I find it quite incredible. From the organization's standpoint, is it okay for her to take supplementary lessons?"

"Oh that girl huh...? Despite the goal of seeking the unknown, that doesn't mean she'll definitely pa.s.s every school exam. Hmph, looks like this proves once again how inane and worthless the concept of seeking the unknown is. How absolutely ridiculous."

As usual, bringing up this subject made Kirika displeased. Fear deliberately tried to sound cheerful and got up from her chair.

"Okay~ I'm ready! Let's go, Kirika, juice tastes especially good after supplementary lessons!"

"Hoho, I'm sure the same goes for juice after making a trip just to get something forgotten at school."

Hence, Fear and Kirika left the cla.s.sroom together. At the same time, Fear was thinking, due to supplementary lessons taking up the majority of Sunday, she must spend the remaining part of the day more happily than usual.

 

...Of course—

Due to attending supplementary lessons, Fear had switched off her cellphone. Not once did she ever consider the anxiety Konoha felt as a result of failing to contact her.

As for Kirika, who happened to come to school to pick up something she had forgotten, she was totally unaware that Konoha was thinking: "Since today is Sunday, Ueno-san can't possibly be at school" and had given up contacting her.

Hence, walking along the corridor, the two girls simply smiled at each other.

Completely oblivious to what was happening at this time.

Neither were they aware of what was about to happen next—

Part 5

"Sorry it's so sudden, but your muscles really are great. Extremely—awesome."

"My answer: I give the response that being praised does not make me feel uncomfortable. But I am a little suspicious..."

"As expected of a warrior, this is unlike other people's flabby meat. If other people were lazy little pigs, then you must be the lion, the king of the beasts! The hunter among hunters, the one who understands nature and its unpredictability best! Ahhh, I really want to have muscles like you... Hey, can you help me investigate ways to build up muscle?"

"Although I find it suspicious... Putting that aside first, I should support your wanting to understand the unknown. Since I want to give you full a.s.sistance, I will provide a.s.sistance."

Hearing things such as "hunter among hunters" or "as expected of a warrior," Un Izoey could not help but feel a little elated, but surely this had nothing to do with mood, she was simply reaching the conclusion of a.s.sisting him based on logic. Hence, she nodded repeatedly. Smiling happily, he took her hand and led her to a cramped s.p.a.ce at the bottom of the staircase. Here, no one else would see them.

"So, to investigate how to build up muscle... I guess touching is the best?"

"My agreement: that should be correct. So, where do you want to start touching? I predict that my legs should have the most developed muscles."

Seeing her make the suggestion proactively, he stared wide-eyed for a split second before smiling.

"I'm so glad you're so understanding. Hoho, then I'll take your offer..."

"...!"

Kneeling down, he touched the muscles and tendons of her ankle with his fingers. That place was a warrior's critical vulnerability. All someone malicious needed to do was make a cut with a razor and that would mean the end of a warrior's career. But at the very least, she could tell between those who could be trusted and those who could not. He had no intention to harm. As for other intentions... Frankly speaking, although he said he wanted to investigate muscles, she still had no idea what was going on.

His fingers slowly climbed up along her leg. First he reached her calf, squeezing and kneading it. Un Izoey wondered if he found it hard or soft, quite curious about what he thought. The reason was also unknown. His hand moved further up, touching the back of her knee, rubbing up and down, he seemed to be confirming the tactile texture.

"Oh... I didn't expect it to be so soft. It feels quite nice to touch. Your muscles are very even."

"R-Really? It appeared... Mmm! A reaction I don't understand..."

Half-crouching now, he moved his hand further up, reaching her thigh. The thigh full of muscles. Perhaps for this reason, he spent the longest time there and was the most thorough, stroking and rubbing at key points. Sometimes he used the pads of his fingers, or the palm of his hand, ma.s.saging sometimes while using his fingertips to knead on others. Furthermore, he was using both hands, targeting the entire area of both thighs while investigating multiple locations simultaneously. When ma.s.saging the inner side of the thigh, he would use his thumb to stimulate the surface.

"! ...Ah... Mmm..."

"How's that?"

"How's that...?"

"Because you made a pleasured sound, I'm thinking this might have a ma.s.saging effect?"

"My answer... Unknown. This is truly unknown... An unbelievable feeling... Huah... Mmm!"

"Hoho, even though your face is expressionless as usual, you're holding back forcefully, making sounds while your body is trembling nonstop... Too amazing, it's really exciting. In other words, you don't know what's going on with your body either? I'd really like to continue, but lemme ask first—Should I stop?"

He was doing this for the sake of elucidating the unknown. If she disallowed it despite clearly also wanting to elucidate the unknown, that would be far too tyrannical, hence she really ought to a.s.sist him. Besides, she also wanted to enjoy this incredibly comfortable sensation—Correction, she wanted to investigate this unknown sensation, that's right. Probably, definitely.

"P-Please... continue..."

"Really? I'm so happy, thank you. If you've got any questions, just go ahead and let me know... Muscles, thighs, so st.u.r.dy, so st.u.r.dy, thighs, quadriceps! Wonderful! This is really wonderful!"

The movements of his hands became even more forceful. Then slowly, slowly, his fingers began to stroke up her thighs. Stroking their way beneath the skirt of her uniform that had been hiked up for ease of movement. Then from the thigh, almost about to touch the root of her thigh—

She frantically stopped him.

She had no choice but to stop him.

"My judgment... That place... should not have muscle...!'

"—You're right. Well then, I'll examine the upper body's muscles next."

Saying that, his voice sounded like he was very interested in their conversation. He swiftly straightened up and approached her, this time tracing his hands across her neck, then touching her shoulders. Simply pointing with his index finger, he slid down from her shoulder as though tracing a water droplet, then gliding down the curves of the bosom—Was that a place where men were allowed to touch casually? Did this country's culture allow this type of thing? Un Izoey had reservations but because his att.i.tude was too natural, perhaps she was mistaken. Just as she was s.p.a.cing out, thinking over these matters, his finger went past her bulging chest and continued to slide down—

"Right, speaking of the upper body's muscles, it's this place..."

Reaching this open territory below her uniform, below the chest, exposed due to her unfastened b.u.t.tons.

"Hmm..."

He traced out her abdominal muscles with his finger. This was a type of unknown that made both her body and her lungs tremble. As though unable to contain his excitement and emotional turmoil, he said in a raised voice:

"Ahhh... Too amazing, muscles are really amazing. Your muscles are awesome! Full of elasticity, this unique bouncing force is something that no type of high-tech resin can rival. Yet it's also very supple, so comfortable that it makes me want to keep touching it forever, almost like an angel! You are an angel, a muscle angel! Muscle! Move it a little more, let me feel your muscles!"

"Ah... Huff... Ah... Ah!"

As though his limiter had been removed, he kept caressing Un Izoey's abdominal muscles back and forth. Due to this unknown ticklish sensation, her back kept trembling. His fingertips rushed along the surface of her muscles, using the pads of his fingers to confirm their elasticity.

But a problem was generated at this point.

"Move it more, move your muscle a bit more! Ah, is it here? Maybe if I touch it here, you'll tremble even more intensely? Looks veyr sensitive, so I'm probably right? Hurry and tremble, come—!"

"Huff... Ah... Ah—!"

She felt a presence. No good. HIs finger was about to touch that spot. Only that spot must not be allowed!

Un Izoey suddenly regained her senses and her body moved reflexively.

Spinning around to swap positions with him, she raised her right knee high to chest-level, putting up a battle stance to defend against his hands. Then keeping her right knee raised, she prevented the other party from continuing the attack.

Un Izoey desperately controlled her breathing that had quickened without her noticing, but to prevent him from discovering it, she feigned calmness in her voice and said:

"Th-That s