Yusei knew the school must be in chaos right now. Not only would the teachers be busy, but the students wouldn't miss this rare opportunity for big news either.
So, instead of staying at school, Yusei took Utaha for a walk in the nearby park.
He was somewhat worried that Utaha might be badly shaken, so he wanted to take her to a quiet place to stroll and relax her mood.
The two walked in silence along the path, under the shade of the trees in the park… a rare, slightly cooler spot in the summer.
Suddenly, a pleasant voice tinged with hesitation spoke up.
"Just now... thank you."
"No need to thank me. I told you I'm strong… I can protect you." Yusei smiled and subtly brushed the back of his hand against the back of the girl's hand beside him.
Yusei could feel her noticeably stiffen for a moment, but then she didn't pull her hand away. How could he not recognize Utaha's tacit consent? He reached out and took hold of the soft hand.
Their hands clasped together, and breathing in the pleasant scent coming from the girl beside him, Yusei's mind briefly wandered.
It felt somewhat unreal.
'The first person I saw upon arriving in this world, who was both stunning and familiar, was Senpai.'
'But now, not long after, I was already holding her hand? Was dating not far off then?'
"Hey, Yusei-kun, can I ask you a question?" Suddenly, Utaha's cherry lips parted lightly as she spoke.
"What question?" Yusei replied instinctively.
Utaha seemed to think of something embarrassing. She stopped walking, leaned close to Yusei's shoulder, and brought her small cherry mouth next to his ear.
As her vermilion lips parted, a wave of warm breath accompanied her words, brushing against his ear, making him shiver and feel his whole body go somewhat weak.
But Utaha's next words were what truly made his blood surge.
"Yusei-kun, you saved me, so tonight... I want to repay you with myself. What do you think?"
The seductive words echoed in Yusei's ears, leaving him momentarily dazed.
'This... the legendary 'repaying with one's body'? And going straight to the 'cooking the rice' stage?'
For a moment, Yusei didn't know how to respond.
Seeing his expression, a flicker of mischief passed through Utaha's eyes, but her surface remained extremely seductive.
"Could it be... you don't like black stockings? If that's the case, while I haven't worn white ones much, I could do that too."
"Cough, if Senpai insists so much, then I..."
Before Yusei could finish his sentence, he felt his hand go empty.
Utaha beside him had already released his hand, her expression looking at him with mockery, matching the 'Senpai' he had just used.
"How old is my Kouhai-kun?"
Although unsure why Utaha suddenly asked this, Yusei answered honestly.
Both in his previous life and this one, he was sixteen years old. Calculating by this body's age, he was also sixteen.
"Sixteen, why?"
"Kouhai-kun isn't an adult yet. Thinking about H-things isn't allowed." Utaha whispered in Yusei's ear. (T/N: H means Ecchi in Japanese, which means lewd.)
The warm breath made Yusei feel that strange sensation again.
After saying this, Utaha chuckled lightly and tried to quicken her pace ahead.
But Yusei grabbed her wrist. Due to inertia, Utaha let out a surprised cry and was pulled directly into Yusei's embrace.
Ignoring the struggling and exclamations of the girl in his arms, Yusei gently leaned forward.
Watching the face getting closer and closer, Utaha panicked inside.
She had teased Yusei earlier because she saw him looking serious and distracted, as if pondering the dangerous scene from before.
So, on a whim, she wanted to change his mood.
As for herself, although she was an ordinary girl, her mindset was quite steady. She wasn't the type to just cry like a little girl.
Firstly, she hadn't been harmed earlier. Secondly, her personality was like this, relatively calm. She hadn't been scared earlier. In fact, if it weren't for Yusei, she would have taken the initiative to handle it herself, calling the police to arrest the perpetrator, not waiting for someone else to do it while she cried.
But now, she was genuinely flustered and had completely lost the intention of teasing Yusei to change his mood.
"You..." Utaha closed her eyes. Facing the increasingly near face, the usually strong-willed her actually chose not to escape, seemingly ready to accept her impending fate.