Welcome to Paradise of Freedom

He opened the door and saw that it was actually Airi.

"Airi? What's going on—hurry up and get inside!"

Airi stood at the door, drenched from head to toe. Her long hair clung to her cheeks, and her eyes carried a hint of shyness and helplessness.

Residual droplets of water slid down Airi's slender frame, seeping into her clothes. Her pink undergarments, barely concealing her ample curves, showed through the translucent fabric.

Her casual outfit clung tightly to her body, outlining Airi's graceful figure. Beads of water trickled slowly down her thighs, dripping onto the floor beneath her feet. Despite her disheveled state, Airi's hand remained firmly clenched around a bag, refusing to let go.

Kiyotaka pulled her into the room, grabbed a towel, and started drying her hair, his tone turning serious as he asked.

"What happened to you? Why were you out in such heavy rain, ending up like this?"

Perhaps because Kiyotaka's voice was stern and a bit loud.

Airi's mouth immediately puckered in grievance, tears welling up in her eyes. She tightened her grip on the bag in her hand and said.

"I... I noticed you really hate the heat, and today you looked so listless, so I went to the store to buy some popsicles you liked last time and some snacks to cool you down. But I didn't expect it to start pouring halfway. Kiyotaka... I'm sorry..."

Kiyotaka froze on the spot upon hearing this. He draped the towel over Airi's head and gently pulled her into his arms.

"Don't—I'm soaking wet."

Airi let out a small gasp, struggling and resisting.

But Kiyotaka ignored her resistance entirely and hugged her tightly.

"You don't need to apologize. There's no need for it. I'm the one who should apologize. I scolded you harshly without knowing the reason. I'm sorry."

Kiyotaka spoke to Airi with a tenderness he had never shown before.

The water on Airi's body had slowly seeped into Kiyotaka's clothes, but strangely, instead of feeling cold, he sensed a faint warmth.

He gently lifted Airi's chin with his hand and found that she had already started crying silently.

"Why are you crying? Do you think my apology wasn't sincere enough?"

Kiyotaka asked, feeling at a loss for the first time.

Airi immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum.

"No, it's not that. I just feel so clumsy, like I can't help you with anything. Even something as small as buying things, I ended up making you angry. I'm so useless."

The more Airi spoke, the more uncontrollably her tears flowed. Her pitiful, helpless look was enough to stir anyone's sympathy.

Kiyotaka gently wiped away Airi's streaming tears and said softly.

"What are you talking about? Airi is so gentle and considerate—how could you be useless? Every time I'm tired or irritable, aren't you the one by my side? I think you're someone I can't do without."

"Really? You don't think I'm useless?"

Airi looked up at Kiyotaka with tear-filled eyes.

Kiyotaka affectionately pinched her cute nose and said.

"Have I ever lied to you?"

Airi shook her head again.

"Alright, you're soaked through. Take a shower here first."

With that, Kiyotaka took the bag from Airi's hand, pushed her into the bathroom, and closed the door before leaving.

Soon, the sound of running water echoed from the bathroom.

About half an hour later, Airi poked her little head out first. When she saw Kiyotaka looking at her with a strange expression, her face instantly flushed red like a monkey's rear, and she shuffled out awkwardly.

Airi shyly wrapped herself in a towel as she stepped out of the bathroom, her cheeks slightly flushed. Though she had been intimate with Kiyotaka many times, her eyes still held a hint of barely concealed shyness. Her small hands clutched the towel tightly around her body, revealing her soft skin and slender figure, but she dared not meet Kiyotaka's gaze. She carefully avoided his eyes, trying to hide her exposed state, yet it all seemed futile. Even without looking, she could feel Kiyotaka's burning stare, as if it could see right through her.

But when she noticed the bag still sitting on the table, she forgot everything else. With a small cry, she hurried over to the table.

"Wah, after sitting out so long, have these popsicles melted?"

Airi carefully opened one package and handed it to Kiyotaka.

"Kiyotaka, this is your favorite flavor!"

As she said this, a hint of pride showed on Airi's face, as if to say, "See how well I know you."

Kiyotaka took it with a smile.

Then Airi opened one for herself. Since it had been sitting out for a while, it had softened a bit.

Airi eagerly took a bite, tilting her head back to keep the melted liquid from dripping, and hastily cleaned off the top layer.

"Mmph!"

Maybe she was eating too fast, causing some icy water to drip down the popsicle, which was caught squarely by Airi's generous softness.

The startling chill made Airi let out an involuntary yelp, but with the popsicle still in her mouth, the sound came out muffled and alluring.

"Airi, is it good?"

Kiyotaka couldn't help but ask at the sight before him.

"Mm-hmm."

Airi, not quite understanding, nodded vaguely with a dazed expression.

Airi had always been an innocent and considerate girl, and Kiyotaka knew full well that she meant no harm.

Or rather, she herself had no idea just how alluring and provocative her current actions were.

Unable to bear it any longer, Kiyotaka stood up and walked over to Airi, reaching out to pull the popsicle away. But Airi thought he was trying to steal her treat, so she clamped down on the popsicle and refused to let go, her face taking on an adorable, kittenish expression as she guarded her food, looking both fierce and cute.

Kiyotaka was amused by her expression. He took the popsicle from her mouth and moved it up and down like he was swishing it in hot pot, asking with a grin.

"So, is it good?"

At that moment, even Airi, innocent as she was, could figure out what he was implying. Her ears immediately turned red.

But what Kiyotaka didn't expect was that instead of letting go of the popsicle, she put on a show right in front of him, demonstrating exactly how to suck on one.

Her soft, nimble little tongue danced across the popsicle, wrapping around it with licks and swirls. In no time, the entire popsicle was gone under Airi's performance. Having watched the whole thing, Kiyotaka couldn't help but laugh.

"Airi, you've learned some bad habits."

Chapter 61: The Dispute Between Horikita and Karuizawa

After finishing the popsicle, Airi shot Kiyotaka a challenging look, then smacked her lips with lingering satisfaction.

Seeing the adorable Airi doing something so out of character, Kiyotaka smiled and waved her over.

"Airi, come here. Don't learn so many useless things from Kikyo. Just being yourself is the cutest."

Airi was stunned for a moment, then moved closer to Kiyotaka, pouting with a hint of grievance.

"Kiyotaka, you big meanie. You see right through everything. I just wanted to learn more so I could take better care of you."

"Learn what? Airi's gentleness is one of a kind. You don't need to imitate anyone."

As he spoke, Kiyotaka's sneaky hand slipped under her towel and wreaked havoc on her slime-like softness.

Airi shot him a coquettish glare, then, with her lips still cold from the popsicle, went to cool him down.

A moment of spring night was worth a thousand gold. In that blend of ice and fire, Kiyotaka and Airi slept soundly through the night.

For the sports festival, the school turned the weekly homeroom time into free time for students to discuss.

Chabashira was happy to take it easy, sitting in the back and watching them argue heatedly.

Hirata stood at the podium as the representative and addressed the class.

"Everyone, I think before we decide the order of events, we should first confirm who will participate. I have two ideas on this.

One is (self-nomination), and the other is (merit-based)."

As he spoke, Hirata wrote the words on the blackboard.

To secure better rankings for the class, ability should be the priority. The capable should do more—that principle applies everywhere.

"But some students might want to participate in certain events themselves, so there's also the option of self-nomination. What do you all think?"

"It's gotta be merit-based. I'll just take on all the events myself. When I win, the whole class scores big. Everyone's happy."

Sudo stood up and declared arrogantly.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Sudo has a point. His physical ability is definitely the highest."

"Yeah, if Sudo's confident he can handle it, we're all for it."

Sudo's words quickly won over most of the girls and some students who wanted Class A but weren't good at sports.

"Alright, it's settled. I'll participate in all the optional events!"

Sudo made the decision with high spirits.

"If no one has any objections, then we'll go with the merit-based system..."

Just as Hirata was about to conclude, Horikita stood up and said.

"I do. I agree with the merit-based distribution up to a point, but I don't think it's stable enough. Before assigning the order, we should separate the students with strong athletic abilities to optimize the rankings."

Horikita hadn't given up on her original idea. Her words consistently revealed an attitude of sacrificing the weak to protect the strong. After hearing her, Kiyotaka shifted his gaze to his terminal, scrolled through it for a while, then put it down.

"Ah, well, can I say something? I'm against it. Why should students who aren't as strong in other areas give up their hopes to protect the strong? Does that really make the class united? Are you sure the ones left behind will still have their hearts in this class?"

Karuizawa stood up and said casually.

"Exactly. Someone as arrogant as you could never truly understand what unity means."

After Karuizawa spoke, Shinohara, who was on her side, immediately stood up and added.

"Can you two stop arguing? Let's discuss this and try to find a form that accommodates both opinions. Like a plan that both the first-place winner and the last-place finisher can agree on?"

Seeing this, Kikyo stood up to mediate.

But the two paid no attention to Kikyo's attempts to stop them and continued their debate on that premise. Now, the situation was that a portion of the students with strong athletic abilities supported Horikita's choice, while Karuizawa, who coordinated the girls' side, had a deeply influential voice, directly blocking the development of Horikita's faction's ability-first, class-victory-priority approach.

"If neither side can reach a consensus, how about we settle it with a show of hands?"

Hirata spoke up when he saw they couldn't decide.

"I have no objections."

Horikita snorted coldly.

"If Hirata says so, then I'm in favor~"

Karuizawa also glanced up at Horikita before speaking.

Horikita sat down with a dissatisfied expression and glared at Kiyotaka.

"Did you put her up to this? Can't you make her shut up?"

"What power do I have to put her up to anything or make her shut up?"

Kiyotaka replied with a calm expression.

"Don't think I don't know you two have been in contact lately. That's why she's been getting so full of herself, isn't it?"

"She's always been the type to do whatever she wants, hasn't she?"

Kiyotaka looked at Horikita speechlessly.

"...True."

Horikita thought it over and realized that, as Kiyotaka said, Karuizawa was indeed that kind of person, so she nodded in agreement and stopped pressing the issue.

"Then, let's start the vote. Horikita's side prioritizes class victory in the selection and allocation, while Karuizawa's side fully considers each person's wishes. Vote for whichever side suits you better, and of course, we'll also accept abstentions from those who can't decide."

Hirata straightforwardly summarized the gist of both sides.

"Now, please raise your hand if you agree with Horikita's proposal."

"I'm definitely in favor. Isn't class victory good for everyone?"

Sudo was the first to raise his hand, and the students in the class who had no hope for their athletic abilities also chimed in with their agreement.

"Alright, that's 16 votes. You can put your hands down now."

Hirata counted them up and signaled for everyone to lower their hands.

"Kiyotaka, you're not going to side with Karuizawa's proposal, are you?"