Chapter 12: Overly devoted Sora

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Translator: soafp

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Time moved on into the after-school hours. Despite their exchange that morning, Shiki remained the idol of the school as always, while Sora was left to shoulder various tasks. However, unlike usual, Sora—who was normally seen trailing behind Shiki—was nowhere to be found today. Only a few people noticed this: those in Shiki's entourage and the ones who particularly had it out for Sora.

At present, Ginji and Sora were working in the archive room next to the student council office.

“Um, are you really okay with doing stuff other than the design work?”

“Huh? It's fine, no biggie. It's just student council work, right? More importantly, why the hell is Shiki making you do the grunt work too? That's supposed to be for the student council.”

“…Here's the instruction sheet.”

Just like that morning, Sora held out a phone with IINE messages displayed on the screen. Ginji took it, read for a moment, and then let out a sigh.

“This is bad…”

The content written was full of needlessly roundabout and passive-aggressive expressions, but in summary, it said:

“Even though I went out of my way to punish you and forgive you yesterday, you repaid my kindness by prioritizing some mysterious man over my thoughtful gesture. So I've prepared an additional punishment. Do this on top of the instructions I gave this morning. Also, there's a party this weekend, so I'll send the schedule for that later.”

To make things worse, it even said that permission had already been secured for Sora to stay late into the evening—an action Ginji could only interpret as something a real psychopath would do.

“There's a computer and a printer here, but…”

“Don't worry about it—just work on the main design for the culture festival. Let's get through as much as we can.”

Ginji began typing on the keyboard with surprising ease, leaving Sora unsure how to respond. Eventually, Sora did as told and turned to her sketchbook, beginning to draw quickly with colored pencils in line with the given theme.

Two hours later, the clock struck six. At their high school, unless special permission was given, all students—including those in clubs—were supposed to leave school by six. For athletic teams, the final dismissal time was seven.

Ginji, having finished about half of the repetitive and meaningless data entry—like stacking stones in a Buddhist hell—stretched his arms. At that moment, Sora handed him a cup of coffee.

“Here. It's black… but do you want creamer?”

“No, black's fine. Thanks… I've made pretty good progress on my end.”

“That's amazing, considering how much there was.”

“I've got a Level 2 certification in computer proficiency, after all.”

“Pffft… That doesn't suit you at all!”

Sora burst into laughter at the unlikely boast, while Ginji, sipping the coffee, widened his eyes.

“Delicious!”

“Aika-chan uses her privileges to buy high-quality beans.”

“This isn't instant?”

“Of course not—it's regular coffee. I blend it myself too. I like a stronger acidity.”

“Don't offer creamer with something this good. I don't really get the details, but it tastes amazing.”

“…”

“What is it?”

Sora said nothing but began trembling slightly. Ginji looked at her suspiciously. Without answering, Sora left the room and returned shortly.

“Here, I got this from the student council fridge downstairs—my homemade cream cheese and some store-bought crackers. Try them!”

“Uh… what about the design?”

“Finished. So go on, try them. I'm really proud of this!”

“O-okay.”

Something weird's been flipped on, Ginji thought, popping a cream cheese–topped cracker into his mouth.

The rich aroma of milk and the sticky texture of the cheese hit him. Following it up with coffee, the bitterness and acidity mixed, and the aroma deepened.

“…Delicious.”

He didn't have the words for a fancy review, but his expression said everything. Clearly enjoying it, Ginji adjusted the cheese-to-cracker ratio and went in for seconds—a sure sign that he genuinely liked it. Watching this, Sora's cheeks flushed.

“This is… bad. I think I'm getting hooked.”

“What's up with you? You're acting weird today.”

“I always prepared the student council snacks and stuff, but no one ever said anything. Hearing your thoughts on it, Ginji… it really hits me. What do I do? I've never felt like this before.”

“You're… a weird one.”

Even Ginji was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.

“It's your fault, Ginji! Ugh, I want to be more prepared. I want to spoil you properly. I wanna obsess over the roast. Should I give you a massage or something?”

Sora wiggled their fingers as they approached. At that moment, some unknown kink seemed to awaken within her.

Ginji felt a chill and pulled his chair back, raising both hands in a defensive posture.

“Calm down. Well, if you're feeding me good stuff like this, I'll be looking forward to it. Anyway, how's the design coming?”

“Eh? Oh, it's decent. The theme is ‘community exchange,' so I made a design based on cute animals that Aika-chan likes. It's super simplified so others can use it easily and adapt it if needed.”

Drawn in an anime-like style, the sketch in Sora's book looked like it came straight from a girl's hand—an adorable forest of sweets and animals. The animals' expressive gestures made them endearing, and it seemed like something that would appeal to many. Ginji was impressed that Sora managed to draw something of this quality in just two hours.

“…What would it look like if you did it entirely your way?”

“There'd be a lot of robots.”

“I see. Knowing what the client wants is important.”

“Exactly.”

“Alright, back on topic. Let's finish this punishment. If we work together, we'll be done in no time.”

“Yep. If I knew this would happen, I'd have brought more stuff from home… I want Ginji to eat a lot and relax…”

“You're still on about that? Get moving, come on!”

In the end, since Sora was used to the work as well, the rest of the task was finished in about thirty minutes.