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Chapter 20: I Think I’ve Fallen for Yuuka
🕑 Added 2025-09-23 14:42:00 +0000 UTCAfter finishing discussions with the Engineering Department and signing the contract, I was about to leave.
Out of curiosity, just before heading off, I asked why exactly their budget had been cut. The answer was…
"Well, you see, we innovatively invented a scale that displays a much higher weight than the actual number. When Yuuka tried it, she fainted on the spot after seeing '100 kg' on the screen."
"After she learned it was designed that way, she really let us have it. Said things like, spending money on completely useless inventions must mean we had too much funding to begin with. Then she slashed our budget by ten percent!"
"That was obviously personal revenge!"
So that was the story.
The three engineers looked to me for sympathy. As the hypocritical adult, I put on the proper look of indignation at their plight.
But in my heart, there was only one verdict: serves you right.
After saying goodbye to the Engineering Department, I headed to the family restaurant where I was supposed to meet Yuuka.
Since I had arrived well before our meeting time, I ordered a coffee and began working remotely through the Shittim Chest.
My current tasks would soon be completed. Once they were, I would have the Engineering Department move into Schale for renovation work. During the days when Schale would be uninhabitable, I planned to accept a longer-term business trip assignment.
Anything but the requests from Gehenna and Red Winter.
Perhaps I could consider the one from the Training Support Department of Shanhaijing Secondary School, the Plum Blossom Garden, to serve as a temporary instructor.
That was a fairly normal request. I had declined before because it required staying there for three to four days, but now it could be put on the list.
I worked on my current tasks while idly thinking about future ones, not even realizing how quickly I was sinking into the sad, work-obsessed life of a corporate drone.
Time flew, and night fell. By then I had ordered three more coffees and finished most of my work. Yuuka finally arrived, fashionably late.
A few days apart, yet Yuuka was still as youthful and radiant as ever.
Her face was flushed, a few beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and her chest rose and fell with quick breaths, clearly from rushing over. She sat across from me, caught her breath, and said,
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Sensei. There was traffic on the way, so I had to run here."
I was surprised and moved, realizing my earlier judgment had indeed been wrong.
How could someone who treated me so sincerely ever hate me? I had let baseless worry get the better of me.
So after a few pleasantries, and after ordering food from a cat-eared waitress who looked oddly familiar (like I'd seen her working in another shop before). I asked Yuuka directly about the thing weighing on my heart.
"Yuuka, before you left school last time, you said something. I didn't quite catch it.
"So, could you say it again, from the beginning?"
Maybe it was the warm lighting, but Yuuka's face seemed even redder. Her eyes shifted nervously, and her voice was tinged with guilt.
"L-last time? I… I didn't say anything! Really, I didn't say a word! Sensei, don't look at me with that grin! Mouuu!"
From this unbearably cute reaction alone, it was clear that my current guess was right.
That was, Yuuka not only didn't dislike me, she even held a certain affection for me.
This was, without doubt, the best news I had received in a long time.
Smiling from the heart the entire time, I enjoyed the meal with her, which tasted all the better for my good mood. We parted reluctantly in front of the station.
Nothing particularly dramatic had happened, yet in that ordinary, warm daily moment, I felt a small but real happiness.
I think, perhaps, I've fallen for Yuuka.
On the way back to Schale, I happened to spot some familiar students.
Five days ago, when I thought Yuuka hated me and had just survived Wakamo's attack, I had also passed by a group of four students on my way home. They were playing Russian roulette on the roadside.
Their "game" had left such a strong impression on me in my unstable state that I remembered their faces as well.
This time, I encountered them again, in a park. The four of them were crowded around a single supermarket bento of bean sprouts (the cheapest kind) and even then, they were sharing it.
Such miserable circumstances, compared to the terror their "game" had given me days before…
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Perhaps, this was Kivotos.
I realized I was adapting to this strange city far faster than I had imagined.
Out of a bit of kindness, I went to a nearby supermarket, bought four decent bentos, placed them nearby, and left without saying anything.
Maybe it was because I had done a good deed, but that night I slept unusually well.
I even dreamed of burying my hands in Wakamo's fluffy fox ears, rubbing them to my heart's content.
Then...
The first thing I felt upon waking was the real sensation of soft fluff in my hand. Something heavy was pressing down on me too…
Looking down, I saw the serene and beautiful sleeping face of someone lying across my chest.
If not for the pool of drool glistening on me, I might have been completely smitten.
Half an hour later
Freshly washed, I sat across from Wakamo, who sat formally and demurely, her face the very picture of obedience. Nothing like a dangerous member of the Seven Prisoners. I let out a helpless sigh.
"Wakamo… when exactly did you sneak in here…"
"Didn't you tell me to come do my duty at Schale today?" she replied with perfect innocence. "So, as soon as it became 'today,' I came to fulfill our agreement~"
Ha, sure. Best if you really didn't just use that as an excuse to take advantage of me.
"While I'm working, don't disturb me," I reminded her.
Wakamo smiled sweetly. "As you command~"
A moment later~
At my desk, breathing in the faint fragrance coming from Wakamo, who was sitting on my lap, I fell into thought.
First of all, holding Wakamo in my arms felt amazing.
Soft, fragrant, obedient (even if it was an act), with fluffy ears and tail as this fox-eared girl was simply too good to be true.
Of course, I didn't let myself be completely lost in her charms. With firm willpower, I managed to pet the fox while still finishing my work.
Only then did I allow myself to indulge.
As long as she didn't show that frighteningly heavy emotion of hers, or laugh maniacally while tearing through the city, Wakamo was actually a very cute girl.
And beyond being cute, her cooking skills were excellent. She was bound to make a fine wife someday. For the first time, the Schale kitchen was actually put to good use.
I think… I might have fallen for Wakamo.
All in all, it had been a fulfilling and joyful day spent with her.
The next morning
After packing a light bag and notifying the Engineering Department to begin renovations, I headed to the station with Kirino.
I had accepted a new assignment, not the Plum Garden request I had been leaning toward before, but a new urgent email I had received the night before.
The sender read:
[Foreclosure Task Force]
—
At last, after more than fifty thousand words, Vol. 1 has finally reached the main storyline!
