Hoshino Miru hadn't been to the library in a while. Only a sparse few students were here. The teacher usually responsible for this place wasn't at the service desk - probably left during lunch break.
Row after row of bookshelves stretched along the long corridor. Hoshino Miru passing through these shelves was like traversing a giant forest. Sunlight from outside the windows penetrated in, beams of light casting clear shadows between the shelves. Occasionally he could feel the refreshing wind blowing through the slightly opened windows, carrying a few parts of early spring floral fragrance.
Hoshino Miru's gaze wandered between the bookshelves, from Yukio Mishima to Shuntaro Tanikawa. He finally saw the girl's figure.
Mikazuki Fuka was organizing bookshelves. Beside her sat a small cart piled with books students had returned. She needed to return them one by one to their original places.
Because her height was somewhat regrettable, Mikazuki Fuka was standing on tiptoes trying to shove the book in her hands onto the upper shelf. Hoshino Miru walked over, took the book from her hands, and helped place it on the shelf.
Mikazuki Fuka seemed startled. Seeing it was Hoshino Miru helping her, her cheeks immediately turned mostly red. She hastily withdrew her fingers that had just touched his, instinctively grabbing her skirt hem, not knowing where to put her gaze.
"I shouldn't look scary today, right?" Hoshino Miru blinked.
"A little... just a tiny bit." Saying this, Mikazuki Fuka immediately changed her words. "I don't mean that. I mean... I think..."
The girl's face was completely red, stammering and unable to speak. Actually, it wasn't hard to understand her reaction - she was really too nervous.
"I understand. It's my fault." Hoshino Miru didn't take it to heart. He picked up the remaining books. "Calling me over today - did you want me to help you put these books away?"
Though calling Hoshino Miru over today would seem very deliberate, Mikazuki Fuka had indeed prepared a decent excuse.
Therefore, hearing Hoshino Miru ask, Mikazuki Fuka, as if having rehearsed many times, immediately said: "Last semester, someone borrowed books for two months and still hasn't returned them."
"You want me to help ask them?" Hoshino Miru didn't doubt it at all, because he was indeed one of the students with better connections at school.
Mikazuki Fuka somewhat guiltily lowered her head, softly hummed in agreement, then said quietly: "Sorry... I don't know the other party and don't really dare go find them."
"No need to apologize for such small matters. We're good friends - next time just tell me directly."
Hoshino Miru considering them good friends made Mikazuki Fuka feel very happy, but she also felt somewhat guilty because she didn't want to always be just good friends.
The more she saw Eriri clinging to Hoshino Miru, able to eat lunch with him, go home together, the more Mikazuki Fuka didn't want to be just good friends.
"Let me help you put these books away." Hoshino Miru had no idea about the girl's wolfish ambitions.
"No, no need!" Mikazuki Fuka hastily refused. "I-I-I... I'll do it myself. No need to trouble Hoshino-kun!"
Hoshino Miru felt somewhat strange. This reaction wasn't quite like the usual girl.
"I'll show you the borrowing record right now!" Mikazuki Fuka hurriedly tried to get around Hoshino Miru, but accidentally bumped into the cart beside her.
In an instant, with a thud, the girl immediately felt pain and crouched down covering her knee with tears in her eyes.
Hoshino Miru was stunned, then somewhat helplessly crouched down too.
"Where did you hit?"
Just as he spoke, Hoshino Miru realized he shouldn't have crouched down with her.
Because the skirt hem that should have blocked his view now exposed the girl's inner thighs. Though she wore thick black pantyhose today, it preserved that tender smoothness unique to girls. Her round, plump little bottom was tightly wrapped inside.
Hoshino Miru wanted to look away but seemed unable to. Such a sudden spring view was particularly rare.
His gaze was too obvious. Mikazuki Fuka quickly realized what he was looking at, face completely red, reaching out to pull her skirt hem to cover herself below.
However, this action made something in her pocket accidentally fall out.
Hoshino Miru instinctively looked over and saw a pink remote control, leaving him frozen in place.
"I-I'm fine. Just accidentally bumped into it." Mikazuki Fuka didn't know what she'd dropped and hurriedly tried to stand up.
When she stood up and found Hoshino Miru hadn't moved but was staring at her feet, her gaze followed downward.
With an "ah," Mikazuki Fuka quickly crouched down again.
However, this time her cheeks turned even redder. Like grabbing a hot potato, she tried to grab the remote but accidentally knocked it to Hoshino Miru's feet.
Hoshino Miru looked at the remote, then at the girl before him.
Facing his gaze, Mikazuki Fuka's cheeks instantly turned red to her ears - not pretending, but truly ashamed to the extreme, not knowing what Hoshino Miru's reaction would be next.
As Hoshino Miru picked up the remote, the girl became increasingly nervous. The phrases her group members had told her repeatedly flashed through her mind.
"H-Hoshino-kun, it's not what you think!" Mikazuki Fuka almost blurted out. "This is an air conditioner remote the school just purchased, definitely not anything strange!"
First, play a dumb beautiful girl to make Hoshino Miru lower his guard, make him think she was panicking now, make him feel he'd caught her weakness.
Guu... though she really was very panicked. Doing this was too shameful.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this." Hoshino Miru came to his senses and found the girl kept staring at the remote in his hands.
He didn't plan to press it but planned to help conceal it for her, making Mikazuki Fuka somewhat shy, her heart pounding.
"However, it's best not to do such things at school." Hoshino Miru said quietly. Actually, he was very surprised now, never having thought the normally pure and cute girl would have such hobbies.
Bringing a remote to school easily made people imagine whether the girl often secretly did strange things in the library when no one was around.
Mikazuki Fuka blushed. She'd never done such things at school. Today was the first time, and it was for Hoshino Miru alone.
"Hoshino-kun, will you hate me?" The girl lowered her head slightly, as if admitting to Hoshino Miru's suspicions.
"Everyone has their own desires. It's normal for Mikazuki-san to have her own hobbies. I won't hate you for this." Hoshino Miru paused. "But this is somewhat bold. Try to do such things privately in secret."
"Hoshino-kun doesn't dislike lewd girls?" Mikazuki Fuka said quietly. "Won't you think I'm strange, that I'm a bad child?"
"Though it's a bit unexpected, I wouldn't be friends with a truly bad child."
"Are we good friends?"
"Of course."
"If we're good friends, why hasn't Hoshino-kun returned the remote to me yet?"
Hoshino Miru was stunned. He saw Mikazuki Fuka slowly approaching. She crawled toward him like a kitten, the two's gazes meeting. He could see her pretty face was incredibly red, yet she leaned close with an extremely small voice.
"Hey, is Hoshino-kun planning to press it?"