I Accidentally Sent a Love Letter to the School's Most Prestigious Young Lady Instead of My Childhood Friend, and Now She's Bowing to Me, Asking, "Please Date Me—On the Premise of Marriage!" - 23

Shion led the way ahead of me. Without a moment’s hesitation, she stepped from the main street into the back alley entertainment district.

Before I could even think “…Huh?” we had entered a deep, shady area and soon arrived in front of a mid-rise building bathed in purple, sensual lighting.

A love hotel. This was the textbook definition of what a love hotel should look like.

“Huh? This place is… Wait…!?”

“Yes. This is our destination.”

As Shion declared this definitively, I swallowed hard.

When Shion took my hand, my already sensitive body jerked in response.

“My heart is racing,” she said.

“No… I don’t know what you’re thinking, Shion, but… We can’t!? What about my promise with Haru?”

“It’s fine. We look suspicious just standing here, so let’s go inside.”

“We can’t!”

As I refused to enter, Shion looked at me with a serious expression.

“It’s alright. I’ll keep my promise. Please trust me.”

Pushed back by those sincere, devoted, honest eyes like unclouded black pearls… I wasn’t completely convinced, but I ended up entering the building together with Shion.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

Half-trembling with the thought that Shion couldn’t possibly be serious, I entered the room to find a large pink-colored bed dominating the space.

“There’s even a kitchen. I’m glad we got a nice room. Would you like some tea?”

Without waiting for my answer, Shion began making tea, then carried two mugs over and plopped down on the edge of the bed.

“Here you go.”

Urged by her calm voice, my heart pounding wildly, I sat down beside her and accepted the cup.

“It feels strange. The patterns and colors should heighten excitement, yet I feel calm.”

Shion sighed as she brought the cup to her lips and looked around the room. I found myself drawn to those pale pink lips. While I wasn’t exactly “in the mood,” my blood kept rushing at Shion’s natural sex appeal.

“Phew. That was delicious tea.”

Shion placed her cup on the table and stood up smoothly.

“I’ll take a bath first. I want to wash off the sweat.”

“…Huh!? Wait… does that mean…”

Shion walked straight into the shower room just like that… Left with no other choice, I waited for twenty minutes until creak—the bathroom door opened and Shion emerged, a pure white bath towel wrapped around her body, drying her hair while commenting on how nice the bath had been.

Her large breasts threatening to spill out from that bath towel. Her white skin tinged slightly pink. Moreover, steam rose from her skin, and just looking at her made my heart pound and my face grow hot.

“Kisaragi, please take a shower too. It’ll wash away your fatigue. The water temperature is perfect.”

Shion sat down beside me again as if it were the most natural thing. I practically fled from her, rushing into the bathroom.

I quickly took off my clothes and showered from head to toe as if to wash away my worldly desires.

Though my excitement hadn’t cooled, my rationality returned… I decided I would clearly tell Shion I wasn’t “in the mood” once I got out. If she wasn’t satisfied with that, I’d apologize but go home alone. Thinking this, I finished showering, wrapped a towel around my waist, and stepped out of the bathroom.

What met my eyes was Shion lying on her back on the bed.

“Shion… I think I should be going now…”

When I called out to her, Shion responded with her eyes closed.

“Lying like this makes me feel calm.”

“Calm… you say?”

“Yes. I’m not excited. I never intended to ‘do it’ from the beginning.”

Silence fell between Shion and me…

Eventually I understood and spoke to her.

“You were planning to keep your promise all along, weren’t you?”

“I wanted memories… Memories I could treasure for a lifetime.”

“Memories…?”

“Yes. Holding onto memories of our date, of coming here together—I think I can graduate peacefully now. Both from the academy and from you, Kisaragi.”

“Shion…”

While looking at Shion, I gently sat down beside her.

“I was wavering. Wondering if it was okay to just graduate and end things, or if… But now, I feel like my heart has been cleared.”

“……..”

I looked at Shion’s face. It didn’t look satisfied so much as resigned, as if she had given up.

“This way everyone will be satisfied—me, the people around me, Haru and the others—everything will be neatly resolved.”

Shion opened her eyes and looked at me.

“I’m perfectly content too. Even if we never meet again, I’ll always be glad I met you, Kisaragi…”

“Do you… really mean that?”

Before I knew it, I was asking this question while looking straight into Shion’s eyes.