Nino's plan successfully stopped Yotsuba in her tracks, but something about that voice felt off to her...
Yotsuba turned around upon hearing the sound, then slowly stood up.
And what she saw nearly scared the soul out of her.
Because she realized that Hakuto had woken up at some point and was sitting on the sofa, facing in her direction.
…
Hakuto didn't expect that sleep deprivation combined with the aftereffects of his supercomputer-like calculations would hit him this hard!
During those past few hours, he had tried multiple times to force himself awake through sheer willpower, but each attempt failed—even opening his eyes was impossible!
He wanted to wake up, but his body simply wouldn't allow it!
It was like being drugged with a powerful sedative—your body succumbs to the effects, sinking into deep sleep, but external stimuli make you want to wake up. Yet, you just can't!
That was exactly what Hakuto had been experiencing.
But the worst part wasn't even that.
Fine, if he couldn't wake up, then he couldn't wake up. A deep sleep wasn't the worst thing in the world.
But who the hell turned off the air conditioning?!
He was practically melting!
Fortunately, someone later turned it back on and even removed the blanket covering him.
Hakuto, still sound asleep, had no idea who had done all this, but he was immensely grateful to them!
Just as he thought he could finally sleep in peace, someone beside him seemed to lean in and whisper something in his ear.
Hakuto couldn't process the words, but it didn't matter—as long as they didn't disturb his sleep.
However, at that moment, in his dream, he was happily swimming through a sea of gold coins—until a blunt object suddenly smacked him on the head with a loud thud!
That impact shocked Hakuto awake in an instant! He sat up straight, scanning his surroundings.
"…Where's my sea of gold coins?"
Awoken so abruptly, Hakuto was gasping for breath, one hand covering his eye, still in a dazed state.
"Sh-Shiratori-sensei… you're awake…"
Hearing Yotsuba's voice by the window, Hakuto finally snapped back to reality and focused on her.
"…Shiratori-sensei?"
Seeing that Hakuto wasn't responding for a long time, Yotsuba took a step closer and waved her hand in front of his face.
"I'm fine…"
Hakuto grabbed Yotsuba's hand. Right now, his head was pounding, and even his reaction speed felt sluggish.
"What time is it?"
It was the classic question asked by someone who had just woken up.
"It's three in the morning…"
"Sunday?"
"Yeah… why?"
Yotsuba found Hakuto's behavior a little odd. He had only slept for a few hours, yet he was asking if today was Sunday.
And judging by his expression, he didn't seem to be in a groggy, half-asleep state—if anything, he was incredibly alert.
Hearing Yotsuba's response, Hakuto sighed in relief. He had worried that he might have slept through all of Sunday again.
Then, letting go of Yotsuba's hand, he looked down at the object that had just hit his head.
"…Huh? Isn't this the air conditioning remote I've been looking for?"
"The air conditioning remote? Who threw it?"
Hakuto and Yotsuba exchanged glances, then simultaneously turned their eyes toward the ceiling.
Meanwhile, the true culprit was hiding behind the curtains, avoiding Hakuto's gaze.
Nino hadn't expected her casual toss to land so precisely on Hakuto's head, waking him up in the process.
Miku, too, was hiding—she was afraid Hakuto would notice her.
Staring at the remote in his hand, an unexplainable fury began to rise within Hakuto. He had suffered enough because of this damn thing today.
First, some idiot turned off the air conditioning, practically cooking him alive. Then, another idiot (or maybe the same one?) decided to chuck the remote at his head!
"…By the way, Yotsuba, why are you here?"
"Hehe, I thought I had turned off the air conditioning but wasn't sure, so I came down to check. But looking at things now, I guess my worries were unnecessary."
Yotsuba scratched her head, smiling innocently.
But Hakuto had a very different reaction to what she just said.
?! Wait… so you were the one who turned off my air conditioning?!
Clenching the remote tightly in his hand, Hakuto's grip tightened even more, veins appearing on his forehead.
His expression was like someone experiencing severe constipation.
At first, he had assumed that Yotsuba was the one who turned the AC back on and removed his blanket.
But now, it was clear that wasn't the case!
"Uh, Shiratori-sensei, you're about to break the remote."
"Oh, you noticed? Well, if I don't squeeze the remote, the one getting squeezed might just be you, Yotsuba."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Remote: Is nobody going to stand up for me? (┯_┯)
After a while, Hakuto let out a deep sigh and tossed the remote to Yotsuba.
"I caught it! I caught it!"
Seeing Yotsuba's bright and cheerful expression, Hakuto couldn't even muster the energy to blame her.
He was just… frustrated.
"Yotsuba… I need a shower…"
After sweating so much, Hakuto felt utterly gross. A shower was non-negotiable.
"Okay! I'll go run the hot water for you, Shiratori-sensei!"
With that, Yotsuba hopped happily toward the bathroom.
Watching her enthusiasm, Hakuto felt a sudden wave of emotion. If only his clients could be this obedient…
Sob… (┯_┯)
"Wait! Yotsuba! Stop right there!"
"Yotsuba!!"
Huh? What's happening?
Still caught up in Yotsuba's unexpectedly considerate behavior, Hakuto hadn't fully processed what was happening when—
Two pink blurs shot out from behind the curtains, racing straight toward the bathroom.
What the hell? A pink-haired girl gang?!
"Wha—Nino? Miku? Where did you two come from?!"
Nino and Miku each grabbed one of Yotsuba's arms, lifting her out of the bathroom before she could even react.
Hakuto stared at the utterly nonsensical scene before him, beginning to wonder if he was actually still dreaming.
"Nino, Miku, why are you dragging me?"
Yotsuba, still confused, was carried right in front of Hakuto.
"…Ow, that hurt… so I'm not dreaming, huh…"
Hakuto gave himself a slap and confirmed the pain was real—meaning he was, in fact, awake.
"But I still need to run the hot water for Shiratori-sensei…"
"Forget the hot water for now…" Hakuto stepped forward, separating the three of them, then smiled slightly.
"Now then… would someone care to explain?"
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