After Lo-sensei left, Anri Hitomi stepped into the curtained-off space and sat down on the companion's chair by the bed, smiling wryly.
Who would've thought there was someone in this world who could actually leave the class rep speechless? Lo-sensei's level was just too high—so high that even Kuroba Akira, who prided himself on having skin as thick as a city wall, had to admit he couldn't compare.
"So… according to Oono-sensei, I looked in the drawer and found this."
Anri Hitomi held up a square packet containing a ring-shaped, raised "accessory." It was the very same item Kobayashi-obaasan had once given Akira money to buy—a great invention that had done much to lower humanity's birth rate.
"You really went and looked for it?"
"Mm. So… should we use it?"
"…Hah?!"
Class rep, you're joking, right? Please—please say you're joking!
Otherwise… Akira might have to conclude her understanding of friendship was warped beyond hope, and start seriously reconsidering whether to keep dealing with her.
Fortunately, upon seeing Akira's shocked expression, Anri Hitomi chuckled softly.
"Just kidding. We're only good friends—there's no way we'd do something like that."
"Y-yeah! Hahaha…"
Akira laughed dryly, still rattled. Looks like the class rep's worldview wasn't that far gone…
"If we really rushed into that kind of relationship, our friendship would change. I don't want to change what we have just yet—after all, we still have our promise for when we're thirty, right?"
"Mm-hm… So you took this thing out to… test me?"
"I did want to see if Kuroba-kun had that sort of intention."
"I knew it…"
There would never be an end to the class rep's "tests." Akira had the feeling that the moment he showed even the tiniest trace of interest toward her—or toward any of the other female members of the literature club—she would immediately cut ties.
"And also, I've never actually touched one of these before, so I was curious."
With that, Anri Hitomi tore open the packet and took out the latex item inside.
"So this is the shape… rolled up, but you can stretch it… Wow, it's long. Can it really go all the way to the bottom?"
"…"
"No wonder Oono-sensei called it a balloon—it's so elastic. Looks like it could hold a lot of water… Ah, I get it now. This way, no matter how much comes out, it stays in, no leaking."
"…"
"But if it's this slippery, it won't slip off during… movement? Is it tight like stockings? Or is the side against the skin less slippery… Mm, as I thought—my guess was right. That makes it easy to tell inside from outside, though I suppose it's hard to mix them up anyway. Pretty obvious."
"…"
"It's kind of amazing, really. Such a small thing can prevent pregnancy… But I've heard that the pill has an even higher success rate, and it doesn't affect the experience either. Though they say the pill can have side effects… Are you listening, Kuroba-kun?"
"Uh…"
Akira's brain felt like it had short-circuited. He was speechless.
What exactly was he looking at right now?
Was he really watching the class rep—top student in the grade, school beauty—casually playing with a condom and seriously analyzing its structure and function?
What the hell?!
"Class rep, I'm going to sleep now. If you've got nothing else to do, you should head back to class."
Akira rolled onto his side, turning his back to Anri Hitomi, wanting to just shut his brain down.
But then she suddenly stood, grabbed his shoulder, and forced him back into a face-up position.
"Kuroba-kun, do you realize you're terrible at managing personal distance?"
"That's my line to you, Class Rep…"
From this angle, his gaze was level with her snowball-like chest—his entire field of view filled with her cleavage. If he lifted his head just slightly, he could touch it.
Today's rei-rei energy levels were a bit over the limit… Think about Shiginomiya's white-stockinged legs! A man must not forget his true faith!
"I'm not like this with everyone. Only with friends."
"Somehow, being your friend sounds exhausting…"
"Too bad—you've already been marked by me as my most important friend. So don't even think about running away, alright?"
"Uh…"
Terrifying… Was this a yandere line?
If he ever actually dated the class rep, he'd probably never be allowed to speak more than three sentences to another woman for the rest of his life. She was definitely the type to keep a boyfriend on a tight leash.
Just imagining that ultimate wife-control lifestyle was suffocating.
"You might think I suddenly got close to you out of nowhere, Kuroba-kun, but I told you before—I've been secretly observing you for a long time. I only approached you after confirming what kind of person you are. I actually know you very well."
Anri Hitomi never did anything without certainty.
And she had reliable sources to learn what kind of person Kuroba Akira was.
It was just that, after actually talking to him, she'd found him even more interesting and dependable than she'd imagined—so she'd wanted to be his friend even more.
"I get it, okay? So please let me go. It's hard to sleep like this."
Right now, Akira just wanted her to go back to class and stop discussing proper condom usage with him.
But suddenly, Anri Hitomi lowered her head, bringing her cheek close to his collar.
At first glance, it might've looked like she was going to kiss him—but Akira already knew the class rep wouldn't spring that kind of attack, and she had no reason to, so he wasn't fazed at all.
Her hair brushed against his nose, tickling, carrying a faint floral scent.
The kind of scent that could stir a teenage boy's heart—often mistaken for a girl's natural fragrance, but really just shampoo.
And then, Anri Hitomi caught a whiff of the scent on Akira, and frowned.
"…There's a smell of alcohol. Kuroba-kun, have you been drinking?"
"Minors aren't allowed to drink."
"Even if you did, I wouldn't tell anyone. So just be honest."
"Honestly, last night, one of the onee-san in my host family drank too much. I only got the smell on me from helping her home."
After all, having been held tightly by Tashiro-san for half the night, it would've been stranger if he hadn't picked up some of her alcohol smell.
But so much time had passed since then that any lingering scent should've faded. He'd even checked himself—no trace of alcohol smell, so no risk of a teacher suspecting anything.
How the class rep had noticed was beyond him—though maybe it was just that you don't notice your own smell, while others do. Like people with body odor or foot odor who never realize it.
"I see… You had it rough, then."
She didn't press him for details about his host family, which actually surprised Akira. He'd half-expected her to pry into his family situation, since with how much she valued her friends, she'd likely want to help them solve any home problems.
Maybe her own family situation was complicated too—so she avoided asking about others' families.
"…There's another scent."
"Hm?"
"A really nice smell… Did you change body wash, Kuroba-kun?"
"No…"
Akira was puzzled. What other smell?
Thinking about who he'd been in contact with, the most suspicious was Shiginomiya—she'd just bought a new body wash yesterday. Girls tended to use more of it when bathing, and yesterday he'd noticed the nice scent on her.
But honestly, all he'd done yesterday was massage her legs and feet… ah, right, he'd also carried her back to his room after she fell asleep. Was that when the scent rubbed off on him?
But so much time had passed… and she could still smell it?
The class rep's sense of smell was way too sharp!
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