Kuroba Akira glanced around and found Shion right next to him, asleep with her head resting on the table, breathing softly.
Her sleeping face is still as captivating as ever…though that defenseless, drooling expression from this morning was definitely cuter.
Considering how late it was, Shion must've completely exhausted her stamina and mental strength after spending the entire day pulling weeds and then practicing voice acting all evening.
But sleeping slumped over like this wasn't healthy—her body would ache, and her arms would probably go numb by the time she woke up.
After pondering it briefly, Akira decided it would be best to carry her back to the room.
As he moved to pick Shion up from her chair, Akira noticed a sheet of paper beneath her arm.
He took the paper and glanced at it, finding it covered in notes detailing the issues she encountered during her voice-acting practice and potential solutions. Her notes were meticulous, covering everything from intonation to emotional nuances.
She really had followed his instructions diligently, working to address her shortcomings without needing much guidance.
Akira had promised he would listen and offer feedback, but in the end, he'd been so absorbed in writing his novel that he'd completely neglected her practice.
Yet Shion had discovered so many issues herself, even identifying clear directions for improvement.
Like people born with perfect pitch who could easily transcribe music into a complete and accurate score just by hearing it once, she naturally knew exactly what to do to improve.
A true genius—someone naturally endowed with extraordinary talent—didn't need a guide. They instinctively knew the correct path, never wandering or losing their way.
Even without me, Shion would definitely become a top-tier voice actress. Now that I think about it… I really am quite the scammer.
Taking advantage of her ignorance, he'd audaciously proposed a fifty-fifty split. Normally, even top-tier talent managers could only claim 30%, with the industry standard around 10%-15%. A split this generous was practically robbery.
Of course, it depended heavily on the power dynamic between talent and manager, or whether the manager was privately hired or appointed by an agency.
In Japan's harsh entertainment industry, some agencies could go as far as a 90-10 split, leaving talent with just a pitiful tenth—a genuine sweatshop arrangement.
So when the time came for Shion to select a voice-acting agency, Akira had to carefully choose, just like he'd done today with publishers.
For most aspiring voice actors, finding an agency willing to sign them was already a stroke of luck. But given Shion's talent, she had every right to choose from the very best.
However, once Shion fully understood the realities of this industry, she might realize, "Akira-kun is just dead weight," and end their partnership.
Thus, before that happened, he needed to invest more "capital," ensuring she'd owe him enough gratitude to hesitate before cutting him off.
Like now—carrying her back to the room and carefully tucking her into bed would surely earn him more points.
With this thought, Akira gently slipped his arms under her shoulders and legs, lifting her into a princess carry and carrying her back to his bedroom. Since Shion was taking his bed tonight, he'd just have to trade sleeping spots.
However, just as Akira was about to cover her with a thin blanket, his eyes lingered on her slender legs wrapped tightly in white thigh-high stockings, and an odd thought came to him.
Don't misunderstand.
He simply wondered if she could actually sleep comfortably wearing stockings this tight.
After all, sleeping with socks on was uncomfortable. Even in his past life, no matter how exhausted Akira had been, he always took off his socks before collapsing into bed.
If regular socks were already uncomfortable, thigh-high stockings would be even worse.
Women who disliked wearing stockings typically hated their restrictive feel. Men might enjoy looking or touching them for their sex appeal, but comfort mattered more to women.
On the other hand, tights felt similar to leggings, provided warmth, and were understandably popular among women.
Tights truly are the best!
Anyway, for Shion's comfort, Akira decided to help her remove the stockings. There absolutely were no perverted thoughts involved! He definitely wasn't going to do anything weird with them afterward!
Akira knelt on the bed, approaching Shion's thighs carefully. Rather than roughly tugging at the stockings, he slid his fingers under the tight band pressing into her skin, gently rolling the fabric downward like removing a pillowcase.
Maybe it was because Shion's thighs were soft and smooth, but the stockings slid off effortlessly, curling into a neat little white donut—like an oversized condom.
Repeating the process on her other leg, Akira calmly removed both stockings.
A pure heart meant pure actions.
Once finished, Akira placed the rolled-up stockings aside, covered her with the blanket, switched off the lights, and quietly left the room.
After Akira left, from the lower bunk bed came the faint rustle of sheets as Shion curled up, clutching her knees tightly.
Unbeknownst to Akira, Shion had actually woken up back in the living room. She had merely pretended to sleep the whole time.
Her newfound acting skill had allowed her to fool Akira perfectly.
When he carried her in his arms, her heart raced so fast she'd worried he might hear it. Fortunately, her breathing had remained steady, successfully concealing her awakened state.
Then came the moment when Akira personally removed her stockings—she had nearly cried out in shock.
She knew Akira only meant well, simply wanting her to sleep comfortably. But she'd never imagined that having her stockings taken off could be so…stimulating.
Eyes closed, her senses entirely concentrated on her thighs, she vividly felt his fingertips brush against her skin.
As the stockings slid down, exposing her bare legs to the cool air again, an intense sensation of liberation overcame her—revealing the true appeal of stockings.
Earlier, when she'd worn them, she'd hardly noticed, except feeling slightly awkward about their tightness. But who knew removing them could feel so thrilling…
Previously, Shion had held a prejudice against stockings. Though her mother wore them often, Shion had always considered them something designed solely to please men—a kind of "leg armor" crafted explicitly to captivate male attention.
Ironically, stockings were originally invented for men to wear in the first place.
Yet, just by wearing stockings, Akira would pay more attention to her legs, even giving her massages. Being touched like that felt incredible, and the sensation of having them slowly removed was unparalleled.
Now, Shion had utterly fallen for this type of socks, which she'd never tried before.
But…the "side effects" were quite noticeable.
Although not as exaggerated as this morning, she could clearly feel the dampness.
Fortunately, she was wearing a new pair she'd purchased earlier. The one borrowed from Akira had already been washed.
Yet, this new pair was already dirty… Twice in one day.
"Uu…"
Under the blanket, Shion softly moaned in embarrassment.
What should I do…? I feel like I'm becoming more and more perverted…
Would Akira-kun dislike a lewd girl…?