Cheering her up?
Kiyoharu did not think that, as a man, he could truly make her happy. This was nothing more than the nasty pleasure of bullying someone.
Airi's sweet, rosy lips murmured like a demon beside his ear.
Yet after trembling a few times on instinct, Kiyoharu steadied himself. Without changing expression, he pulled back slightly and faced Chihaya Airi.
Unlike those spoiled, willful "young ladies," Airi possessed the pride of a lion pride's leader. She had been capable of overcoming difficult challenges since childhood, so whenever she wanted to hold something in her grasp—and that something happened to be a person—the one being controlled could feel overwhelming pressure bearing down on them.
Though Airi sat before Kiyoharu, she carried herself as if looking down at him.
Kiyoharu had picked out her outfit today. When she had mentioned this to Ayano, Airi had been brimming with delight, because she could tell Ayano approved of the outfit's taste while being reluctant to admit it. In any case, she had managed to irritate her.
Airi lifted her fitted one-piece skirt to her waist, revealing the full length of her black pantyhose and the faintly visible lace fabric beneath.
With a smile that was not quite a smile, she looked at Kiyoharu and slowly rolled down her pantyhose to the upper part of her thighs.
"Help me take off the rest, Kiyoharu-kun." Airi paused, then added, "And don't let me see that happen, understood?"
She had actually already noticed that Kiyoharu did not look too good. She said it deliberately, intending to completely break through his psychological defenses.
Sure enough, Kiyoharu showed a helpless expression and said aggrievedly, "Young Lady, do you remember the first time we changed clothes together?"
"Oh? That must have been a wonderful memory for Kiyoharu-kun, then?"
"I wouldn't call it wonderful. Because right before my eyes is the most beautiful thing worth admiring in the world, yet I have to forcibly suppress my instincts and cannot admire it openly. That is rather painful." Kiyoharu wore an expression of utter resignation. "If the Young Lady wants to punish me with this, then please go ahead. Since I will be punished anyway, I might as well take the chance to look my fill."
So Kiyoharu stared unblinkingly at Airi's plump thighs, her full calves, and delicate ankles. As his gaze slid along them, he rolled down the pantyhose and helped her put on the biker shorts.
In his previous life, some female influencers liked to wear these things for suggestive content, so they had been stigmatized to some extent.
But on a girl like Airi, who exercised diligently and radiated vitality, yoga pants looked as crisp and refreshing as a summer breeze.
Kiyoharu merely feasted his eyes and made no unnecessary movements as he helped her put on the shorts.
"What is with that perverted expression? Are you satisfied?"
"Yeah. Even if I get punished, it was worth it."
Airi suddenly wanted to laugh. That strange feeling welled up in her chest again, but this time it was not particularly unpleasant. Instead, the man before her looked rather pleasing to the eye.
Honest yet cunning Kiyoharu-kun...
"I'll let you off this time, little pig."
"...Who are you calling little pig?"
"You. You always carried a backpack with a little pig pattern in high school." Airi suddenly grew indignant. "And every time you found a spare moment at a banquet, all you knew how to do was eat, eat, eat!"
What else was I supposed to do at a banquet besides fucking eat?
You upper-class people love putting on airs and will not touch all that good food. Why not let this commoner son-in-law enjoy himself? Kiyoharu thought.
Forget it. Though little pig sounded a bit odd, at least it was not too derogatory. It was better than being seen as some little dog.
He had heard that some young ladies liked training dogs.
Airi turned before the mirror. She seemed both satisfied and dissatisfied, and Kiyoharu instantly understood. He prompted, "Your top is a dress with a short outer layer, so it does not really go with the biker shorts. When you get home, change into a zip-up sports jacket. It will definitely look good. Next time, wear it to a tea party and do yoga with those relatives..."
"What I wear to a tea party is none of your business."
"Yes, meow."
Rather than a little pig, Airi felt Kiyoharu was more like a combination of a piglet and a cat—lazy and mysterious.
It seemed people were used to calling round, chubby cats piggies.
But "piggy" sounded far too intimate, as though Airi were acting cute with him. That was absolutely unacceptable.
Little pig would do.
After looking at herself in the mirror long enough, Airi ordered Kiyoharu to help her put the black pantyhose back on.
Her smooth, tender thighs carried a fragrant warmth.
Only a few minutes after calming down, Kiyoharu had to endure another bout of painful swelling.
Fortunately, Airi did not blame him. No, perhaps Airi wanted to watch him endure it bitterly and took pleasure in it.
Damn Red-Eyed Devil!
After leaving the fitting room, Kiyoharu wiped away some sweat.
He absolutely could not entertain any positive fantasies about Airi.
Watching Kiyoharu emerge from the fitting room with Airi, looking utterly exhausted, Shimaura Hitomi felt as if a huge, heavy iron weight hung from her heart, swaying as it sank.
As she imagined what they had done inside, her whole body felt awful.
Pain stabbed through her chest, and her vision blurred slightly. Shimaura Hitomi knew her old problem was acting up again. Whenever she saw intimacy between her senior and Airi, the jealousy in her bones stabbed at her rationality again and again. With so much frustration piling up, she was practically going mad.
Then she had to steal the dream catalyst to steady herself.
All these years, Shimaura Hitomi had relied on erotic things to fight this old problem.
The Dream Wanderer was a hundred times more satisfying than stealing clothes and doing it herself.
It left Shimaura Hitomi with no mind to pick out clothes. She did not buy anything from this store, while Airi and Ayano had both found things they liked.
But it did not matter. Shimaura Hitomi did not dress up in the first place. Setting aside her psychological issues, looking drab and unkempt made it less likely for the Young Lady to regard her as a threat, allowing her to remain by Kiyoharu-kun's side as a little mouse who stole bites.
Getting this hairstyle done today had already been her limit.
"Senior, this place sells phone cases. It looks like your phone case is pretty old."
As they passed a small shop selling men's business accessories, Shimaura Hitomi suddenly said this.
That reminded Kiyoharu that he had indeed not changed his phone case in quite some time. The accessories in the store happened to be in a simple, mature style that suited him, so he quickly bought one, put it on, and casually tossed the old case into a roadside trash can.
Shimaura Hitomi firmly memorized the location of that trash can from the corner of her eye.
Only after they had walked some distance did Shimaura Hitomi's expression suddenly change. "Oh no, I think I left something behind! Um, I-I'll go back and look for it. You two keep shopping, don't wait for me!"
With that, she hurriedly ran away.
Ayano watched Shimaura Hitomi run off into the distance, narrowed her eyes, and said, "I'm going to check out some things I reserved at a members-only boutique. Airi, you can spend some time alone with Chihaya-sensei first."
"Tch, who wants to spend time alone with this guy?" Though she said that, Airi accepted the suggestion and temporarily went her separate way from Kitahara Ayano.
"Why not get a membership at that boutique your best friend likes?" Kiyoharu asked.
Airi rolled her eyes. "Her tastes are all weird and strange. I do not want her nagging at me and looking down on my taste."
Meanwhile, Shimaura Hitomi hurried back to the trash can. Looking around guiltily, she confirmed that no one was watching, swiftly reached inside, pulled out Kiyoharu's old phone case, and stuffed it into her shoulder bag in one smooth motion.
Heh, that technique was the real deal.
However, Ayano's voice suddenly rang out behind her like thunder from a clear sky. "Hmm, let me see. What is Hitomi doing?"
Before you continue