As everyone knows, thought moves faster than the speed of light.
Though Eriri had spent what felt like ages building herself up mentally, in reality, only a few minutes had passed.
If it had taken much longer, Kanade would have grown restless and told Eriri to get a move on—after all, he still had his promise to Mahiru to fulfill later.
"Don't open your eyes, no matter what," Eriri repeated once more.
"..."
Trust between people can be surprisingly fragile.
It's like when you're watching TV with a friend and can't find the remote. You ask, "Are you sitting on it?" Even if they insist, "No, I'm not," you'll still say, "Well, get up and let me check."
It's not that you don't trust them. It's just that seeing for yourself is far more convincing.
Of course, Eriri's guilty conscience played a big part here. She was about to "do something bad." If Kanade caught her red-handed, how would she face him after that?
Unlike certain blonde antiheroes who could shout, "I reject my humanity!" and transform spectacularly, Eriri was just an ordinary, pretty girl. She couldn't afford to lose face like that.
With her mental preparation complete, she gazed at Kanade's handsome face—the one she thought about day and night. Trembling slightly, she leaned closer.
She prayed silently, Please don't notice… But at the same time, a small part of her secretly wondered, What if he does?
If Kanade caught her in the act, would he scold her gently, saying, "Don't do things that might cause misunderstandings"? Or—heaven forbid—what if he finally realized her feelings?
Surely, it wouldn't escalate like in one of her doujins, where a simple accident led to someone being pinned to the ground, right?
…
Despite the wild tangents running through her mind, Eriri kept moving forward. Slowly but surely, the distance between them shortened. Soon, Kanade could feel the warm breath from her mouth lightly brushing against his face, tickling him.
"Uh… Eriri?"
"Don't talk."
"Okay…"
"And don't open your eyes either."
"..."
He'd heard this line so many times now.
More than once, Kanade had been tempted to peek—not out of curiosity about what she was doing, but just to catch her flustered reaction.
Honestly, nothing was more entertaining than teasing a tsundere.
Before he could act, the anticipated "prank" arrived.
A soft, cool sensation lightly pressed against his forehead before quickly pulling away.
The contact was brief, but the lingering sensation was unmistakable. Something had happened.
But what? What had Eriri done to him? Surely she hadn't stamped "I'm a fool" on his forehead, right?
Curiosity burned within him, and his brow twitched in agitation. He desperately wanted to know what was going on, but Eriri's repeated warnings kept him from moving or speaking.
After a long pause, with no further actions from Eriri, Kanade started to feel restless.
"..."
I should just ask, he decided.
But before he could, Eriri spoke first.
"Aren't you going to open your eyes?"
"Uh, sure. Right away." Kanade opened his eyes and looked up at her.
Perhaps due to his extended time with his eyes closed—or maybe because night had already fallen—Eriri's face seemed hazy and indistinct.
Though she had just pulled off a "prank," she showed no signs of guilt or fear. Instead, her expression seemed calm—almost like she was relieved about something.
Maybe I'm just tired and seeing things, Kanade thought.
He hesitated, expecting her to say something, but instead, they locked eyes in silence for what felt like an eternity.
"..."
"..."
"So, you don't have anything you want to say?" Eriri finally broke the silence, unable to hold back any longer.
"Uh…" Kanade hesitated, then cautiously asked, "...Is that it?"
To Kanade, his forehead probably still bore some embarrassing mark, like "Certified Idiot" or "Mission Accomplished." But at this moment, that didn't matter to him.
What mattered was understanding why Eriri had done it—what emotions or intentions lay behind her "prank."
However, in Eriri's mind, his question took on a different meaning entirely.
"Is that it?" = "That's all you can manage?"
To her, it sounded like Kanade was comparing her actions to something he had already experienced—something far more intimate. Maybe he'd already kissed someone before—like a real kiss, lips to lips—or even something more intimate, like the scenarios from her doujins.
Had her painstakingly planned move seemed insignificant to him? Like childish play that barely made an impression?
"..."
She was going to snap.
Eriri felt her anger boiling over. She wanted to shout, to vent her frustrations. But instead, what came out was:
"Well, what else could I do? I can't do anything more…"
Her voice was laced with resentment, but also an undertone of deep vulnerability.
She felt so powerless. She'd mustered all her courage, thought everything through, and gotten so close. But at the last moment, she'd hesitated, telling herself, "This kind of thing should only happen when both people are aware of their feelings—sneaky tactics aren't pure love!"
So she'd settled for a kiss on the forehead instead.
And now, Kanade was brushing it off.
Even though she understood he probably hadn't meant to mock her, she couldn't help feeling both wronged and angry.
In the past, such a reaction would've made her fly into a rage, refusing to calm down no matter how much Kanade tried to soothe her.
This was her first time being so forward, so proactive—and yet he didn't appreciate it?
Unforgivable! Seppuku-worthy!
But the past was the past.
Now, instead of getting angrier, her emotions quickly turned to guilt.
Back then, Kanade had done so much more for her, gone out of his way countless times. And yet, she'd always responded coldly, deliberately keeping him at arm's length.
Now, the roles were reversed.
"Well, what can I do? This is just how I am… I'm a coward, okay?" Eriri sighed in resignation, giving up the fight.
Kanade blinked, thoroughly confused.
"...Huh?"