Kuroha Akira had long anticipated that Shinomiyia would choose the top.
This was like a child taking their first airplane ride wanting a window seat, or someone sleeping in a bunk bed for the first time choosing the top bunk, simply because of the novelty.
However, the price to pay for this novelty was convenience!
If you sit by the window on a plane, going to the bathroom is troublesome. Similarly, if you sleep on the top bunk, getting up and down is troublesome.
Hmph hmph! Shionomiya Shion! Just wait until you call me Daddy! Only when you call me Daddy will I get things for you!
"Then, let's get ready for bed."
"Mm, but before bed, I need to drink this first."
Shinomiyia took out the bottle of milk from her jacket pocket.
Most of it had been poured for Kuroo, but she had still saved a mouthful.
After all, it was milk obtained by exchanging half a life, so she still had to taste the flavor of life (laughs).
Moreover, it was said that drinking milk after a bath had a unique flavor, so when going to public bathhouses, people often saw others chugging a bottle of chilled milk after their bath, letting out sounds of satisfaction.
Shinomiyia had always wanted to experience what that felt like.
She remembered the last time she went to a public bathhouse was in elementary school. At that time, Shinomiyia wasn't yet named Shinomiyia, and her family was still struggling. Her mother's money was only enough to pay for the bathhouse entrance fee, and they couldn't afford milk.
So, every time, Miss Shion could only enviously watch other children drink milk, drooling from the side.
Later, as she grew up, she gradually forgot about this matter…
It wasn't until just now, after her bath, when she wrapped herself in a towel and saw the milk bottle she had placed on the washing machine in the changing room, that Shinomiyia remembered this matter again.
Now, she could finally taste it.
Shinomiyia twisted open the cap and tilted her head back, drinking the last mouthful of milk.
Although it wasn't chilled milk and didn't give a refreshing feeling, perhaps because she had eaten super spicy curry for dinner, this mouthful of milk made Shinomiyia feel a sweetness she had never experienced before.
It felt sweet all the way to her heart.
"So sweet… It's this sweet, huh…"
"Is that so? I wish I had known, I would've tasted a bit too."
"…"
Hearing this, Shinomiyia's first thought was: I wish I hadn't swallowed it all.
Then she immediately realized how embarrassing that thought was.
There's no way I'd let him drink the milk from my mouth, right?
Ugh, ugh…! What am I even thinking!
"I-I'll go wash the bottle…"
As if to hide her inner thoughts, Shinomiyia quickly left the room.
Then, while Shinomiyia went to the bathroom to wash the milk bottle, Kuroha Akira took out the class president's underwear from his school uniform pocket.
So, where should this valuable item be hidden?
Well, actually, there weren't that many places to choose from, after all, Kuroha Akira's room had nothing in it, literally nothing.
Now, there was just a bunk bed, but it was still very empty, without even a desk.
However, precisely because there was nothing, although it was a small room, it looked quite spacious.
After thinking about it, Kuroha Akira decided to stuff the class president's underwear into the pillow. This was the only place where he could hide underwear.
Sleeping with the class president's underwear as a pillow, perhaps he could dream of a glimpse under the class president's skirt.
However, there were two pillows on the bed at this time, and since they looked identical, Kuroha Akira couldn't tell which one was his.
Just as Kuroha Akira picked up both pillows, trying to figure out which one he had used, he heard Shinomiyia's footsteps. So he randomly picked one pillow, quickly stuffed the class president's underwear into the inner lining, and then pulled his hand out at lightning speed.
Just as Shinomiyia entered the room, she saw Kuroha Akira holding two pillows and asked.
"Is there something wrong with the pillows?"
"No problem! I was just testing the softness…"
Oops… Which pillow did I stuff the class president's underwear into? Since it was stuffed into the pillow core, I can't feel it from the outside…
Shinomiyia tilted her head, puzzled.
"So, which pillow is softer?"
"Uh… they're about the same."
"I see. Then I'll take this one."
Shinomiyia carefully placed the milk bottle in the cupboard, then casually picked up the pillow on her right, and then climbed onto the bed.
After she got into bed, Kuroha Akira reached in and felt inside the pillow core, but found nothing… It seemed it was in the other pillow, but it would be strange to ask to switch pillows now. Thinking that it probably wouldn't be discovered in just one night, he simply decided to leave it, and would find an opportunity to switch it back later to be safe.
So he got up and turned off the light, and the two prepared to sleep.
…
Approaching midnight.
Shinomiyia lay flat on the bed, still without any sleepiness.
The boy downstairs also seemed to be awake; she could see a light below, and he seemed to be playing on his phone.
"Akira-kun… are you asleep?"
"Not yet, but I'm about to. I have school tomorrow, and I don't want to be late on the first day."
"I see… Then, before you fall asleep, can we talk a bit?"
"Sure, I don't mind. What do you want to talk about?"
"How do I put it… I don't feel sleepy at all right now. It feels like I'm dreaming…"
Kuroha Akira could understand her feelings.
On his first day of transmigration, when he came to this house with Granny Kobayashi and slept in this room, he felt much the same way… a sense of unreal disorientation.
He had experienced similar feelings many times before, when changing jobs, moving to a new city, and re-familiarizing himself with new surroundings…
Rushing around in different cities made people feel displaced, let alone transmigrating to a different world.
For a high school girl, being forced to leave home at this age must have been quite painful for her.
However, Kuroha Akira was completely wrong. At this moment, Shinomiyia was not only not sad, but even a little excited.
She was clearly no longer an elementary school student looking forward to amusement parks or excursions… but what was this bubbling excitement in her heart?
Kuroha Akira thought about it, and with his adult mindset, he figured that money was truly the only thing that could comfort people. So he pulled out the 10,000 yen bill, folded into a vertical strip, from his pocket, then got up and handed it over from the edge of the top bunk.
"Hey, Shion."
"Yes?"
"I'm going to school tomorrow. You take this 10,000 yen and buy your daily necessities, like a toothbrush, cup, towel, and you'll need clean underwear too, and cosmetics… Uh, you definitely can't afford expensive ones, so see if there are cheaper ones, just make do for now."
"Ah…"
Shinomiyia tilted her head to look at Kuroha Akira's hand and the banknote that appeared before her, a sound escaping her lips.
Just now, when Granny Kobayashi wanted to take back this money, he had been so reluctant, but now he handed it over so readily.
Actually, Shinomiyia wasn't very interested in money. Compared to her peers, her material desires were pitifully low. Perhaps only when she was little, seeing other children buy cheap snacks and small toys at the candy store, did she feel envious.