Karuizawa Kei: Damn Green Tea*!!! / Hoshino's Three Questions

He knew this road very well; he knew how to walk without attracting attention and which way to get back to the dormitory building as quickly as possible.

He even knew exactly where and who would appear, and how they would act and behave.

He could even slip through the street unnoticed—with perfect stealth.

"No matter how many times I watch it, it still seems so exaggerated. How did you do it?"

"After you've pestered me for it so many times, it's hard not to feel familiar with me, right?"

"Also, don't talk, you'll bite your tongue."

"Oh oh."

Similar inquiries and replies have been repeated more than once. Each time, Karuizawa Kei would ask the same question tirelessly, and Hoshino En would always give the same answer—"Nothing more than practice makes perfect."

It all turned out this way because of a certain person: a month ago, during a workout, Karuizawa Kei forced her body to push herself to the limit and eventually fainted from the exertion; out of humanitarian concern, Hoshino En carried her into the shower and helped her wash her body.

However, during the washing process, the girl, who had been unconscious, suddenly woke up and became excited about the act of [having her body washed by Hoshino En].

[You can just tell me if you want it, no need to be so secretive~]

What is this guy saying? Hoshino En couldn't understand a word he was saying.

He could say with his hand on his heart that during the washing process, he had no improper thoughts about her body; he treated her sweat and grime as if he were cleaning a piece of pork.

But ever since then, Karuizawa Kei has been intentionally or unintentionally exposing her body during workouts, and she would wink at him from time to time, which was undoubtedly a provocation to his dignity.

Is Hoshino En the kind of person who would be tempted by beauty? This is simply disregarding him!!

So he increased the intensity of her training.

Karuizawa's thoughts must stem from insufficient training intensity; if she were subjected to physical agony, her mind would be unable to process such matters.

But when he made her faint for the second time, Hoshino En suddenly realized—since she had fainted, wouldn't he have to clean her body again? Wouldn't that mean she had succeeded?!

Moreover, she not only satisfied her own desires, but also saw a visible improvement in her fighting skills and physical fitness due to the high-intensity training, which aligned with her original intention of seeking him out for physical training.

Having figured this out, Hoshino En smiled with satisfaction.

Although it seems like he got a free ride, Karuizawa Kei has grown, that's an undeniable fact!!

She stepped out of her comfort zone and grew, which is much more pleasing to the eye than Kushida Kikyo —that girl clearly received his unconditional help from the beginning, but she didn't improve at all afterward and was still as clumsy as she was at the beginning of the school year.

After that, Hoshino En stopped caring about it—as long as Karuizawa Kei could keep improving, he wouldn't mind satisfying her desires.

Then, this seemed to become a routine, happening every two or three days—even though Karuizawa Kei, whose physical condition had gradually improved, no longer fainted, she would still continue to demand it, citing reasons such as "I can't muster the strength" or "I'm too weak."

Occasionally, she would use the excuse that she had come in her workout clothes without bringing a change of clothes to ask him to carry her back to her dorm—like today.

However, this is the first time she has threatened to go to his room.

Soon, Hoshino En brought Karuizawa Kei to the dormitory building.

To avoid being seen by others, he didn't take the elevator, but instead led Karuizawa Kei to the stairwell.

Are you sure you want to go to my room? I don't have any clothes for you to change into.

"What do you mean, 'no'? Don't you still have your white shirt?"

White shirt?

Hoshino En glanced at the girl in his arms; she was considerably shorter than him, and a simple white shirt seemed to fit her perfectly?

OK.

"After you shower, I'll help you wash and dry this outfit. By then, you should be able to move around a bit more. You can change back into your workout clothes and then I'll take you back to your room."

"What about the white shirt?"

Why is she so concerned about the white shirt?

"My white shirt... of course you should take it off and give it back to me! You don't expect to take it back with you, do you?"

"Don't worry, I won't smell anything. I'm not the kind of pervert who gets horny from smells."

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 84, Section 79: Karuizawa Kei: That damn green tea b*tch!!

Following the stairs, Hoshino En carried Karuizawa Kei and quickly climbed to the 4th floor.

The journey was uneventful, showing that even students living on the 2nd and 3rd floors wouldn't forgo taking the elevator just to save a little time.

However, upon reaching the stairwell on the fourth floor, they encountered an uninvited guest: while her appearance was expected by Hoshino En, logically speaking, she should be in a good mood today, so why was she here?

"Yo, good evening, Kushida."

But he still greeted Kushida Kikyo, who was looking down at her phone and seemed completely unconcerned about being passed around by passersby.

Hearing the familiar voice, the voluptuous young woman looked up, a signature smile on her face, and responded.

"Hoshino -kun, tonight..."

However, when she saw the golden retriever puppy in Hoshino En's arms, her voice stopped abruptly, and her expression became very subtle.

"Huh? Karuizawa? What are you doing here?"

Especially when she saw the other person staring at her with icy eyes, alarm bells went off in her mind, and the beeping sound of danger almost burst through her head.

Why? Why is Karuizawa looking at me like that? What did I do to offend her?

Karuizawa Kei: "..."

Although that kind of thing was an unspoken agreement between her and Hoshino-kun, she knew that he was actually very resistant to the idea that if they were discovered, it would [affect their reputation but not be fatal], [not fatal, but it would be like a leech sticking to them and disgusting them].

If no one else had seen them, Hoshino-kun would probably have reluctantly admitted it, but now that he's met Kushida Kikyo, he'll definitely use that as an excuse to get out of it.

Ugh--I finally managed to wear down Ibuki and won a reward that allowed me to push my luck a little, Kushida, you Little Green Tea b*tch, why did you have to get in my way?!

I never noticed you going to Hoshino-kun's room and bothering him from time to time!!

"Kushida, I don't know what brings you here, but you've come at the perfect time."

Then, Karuizawa Kei's prediction came true.

Hoshino En Yukino pushed the still-weak girl into Kushida Kikyo's arms, and then pushed the three of them together into his room.

"Come and lend a hand, help Karuizawa take a bath, she can't muster any strength right now."

Kushida Kikyo: "..."

With Kushida Kikyo's intervention, the cleanup process for Karuizawa Kei went very smoothly, at least for Hoshino En.

He no longer needed to get his clothes wet; with Kushida there, he didn't need to sacrifice his white shirt—she could just let her give Karuizawa a few of her clothes to wear; and afterwards, he didn't need to wash Karuizawa's sportswear—she could wash it herself when she got home... All the trouble was suddenly reduced.

He sat leisurely at his desk, spread out the chessboard, and enjoyed playing the game at his own pace.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom--

"Kushida, what brings you here to see Hoshino-kun?"

Karuizawa Kei has been washed clean and is now resting in a bathtub that can barely fit one person, or two people.

Kushida Kikyo, who was being questioned, was sweating profusely from helping with the bath and was currently taking a shower.

Concerned that her clothes might get wet, she had already taken off all her clothes before helping Karuizawa Kei take a bath. Those clothes were still clean, and she could change back into them after showering.

As for Karuizawa's gym clothes, they were soaked with her own sweat and unwearable, so they were in the laundry basket.

"Well... because Hoshino -kun did me a huge favor, so I wanted to thank him properly."

"Huh? Just because she wanted to thank him, Qi deliberately waited in front of his room? You really are a [little angel]!"

"No, no..."

In front of outsiders, Kushida Kikyo still had to wear that mask of "pure and kind" angel. Even though she could clearly hear the questioning and sarcasm in Karuizawa Kei's words, she couldn't show any negative emotions. She could only pretend not to understand and accept all the "praises".

Therefore, although she was smiling and chatting with Karuizawa Kei on the surface, she was actually cursing her out in her heart.

Ugh, is Karuizawa Kei on fire today? Her tone is so aggressive!

Could this damn bitch really be Hoshino En?

The pressure is mounting again, and all the good mood I had earlier is gone.

Moreover, given Karuizawa Kei's current state of exhaustion, she won't be able to leave Hoshino En's room anytime soon, Kushida Kikyo can't vent her stress to Hoshino En.

So, being pure and kind, she pretended not to understand and began her counterattack.

"But compared to me, Karuizawa's situation is more intriguing, isn't it? Why were you carried back by Hoshino, covered in sweat and feeling weak? Did you two do something naughty in the school building?"

However, her attacks were like scratching an itch through Karuizawa Kei, having no effect whatsoever.

"Yes, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to eat today."

Karuizawa Kei let out a soft sigh, her undisguised gaze growing even colder.

Kushida Kikyo: "..."

This reaction is wrong! How can she not be ashamed at all? And she even admitted it directly? Where is her sense of shame?

... She's such a simp!

Although she could understand what the other person meant, she, being [pure and kind], simply couldn't respond to those words.

So she could only give an awkward laugh and then swayed out of the bathroom.

After drying her body, blow-drying her hair, and changing her clothes, she rushed excitedly to Hoshino En as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom. Her expression and tone of voice clearly showed her breakdown.

"Hoshino, what's going on with that Karuizawa guy? What kind of spell did you cast on her?"

"What [what kind of love potion]? There's nothing between her and me, just like you and Horikita, we were just middle school classmates."

Perhaps because she hadn't been under much pressure today, aside from what had just happened, even after hearing Horikita's name, Kushida Kikyo didn't put on a dramatic change of expression. However, her devastated expression immediately transformed into one of curious onlookers after hearing Hoshino En's explanation.

"... Is she your ex-girlfriend?"

"No."

Hoshino En vehemently denied it.

"I never spoke to her in junior high school. We were just in the same class in the third year of junior high, so I vaguely remembered her face."

His leisurely enjoyment was interrupted, and he was a little impatient, but he always had a forgiving and understanding heart towards the Kushida the Little Fool, so he didn't hold it against him.

"So, what brings you here? Everything that happened today must have been good for you, right?"

Upon hearing his question, Kushida Kikyo finally remembered why she had been waiting at the stairwell so early.

Then, her cheeks flushed pink, she clasped her hands together in front of her abdomen, and lowered her head slightly, looking shy.

"Um, it's just... today in class... thank you, and thank you so much for helping me release my stress before... thank you so much."

This is something she realized only today as she was surrounded by people: although she had become a close friend to many and built a vast [Kushida Empire], because the people she knew were not the real her, she seemed to have no true confidants—except for Hoshino En, who knew her true nature and had always helped her.

Although he held leverage over her, it was something she had brought upon herself, she admitted; but she also had to admit that Hoshino En hadn't used that leverage to threaten her, but had been quietly helping her all along, just as he had said at the beginning of that day.

Although he's a bit neurotic, she felt... he might be able to become her [true friend].

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 85, Chapter 80: Hoshino's Three Questions

Oh ho, are you here to express your gratitude?

Looking at Kushida Kikyo's expression and movements, Hoshino En suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment. It wasn't the [pure and kind] she usually acted out, nor was it the cold and irritable one she was when releasing stress. Instead, it was a more natural, more harmonious, more alluring, and sweeter smile.

If she hadn't been blinded by being number one, and hadn't been so obsessed with being better than others, perhaps she would have become a charming woman with that kind of smile.

... but it only lit up briefly. (It seemed...)

Damn it, what's your gratitude worth?!

If you really want to repay me, then show me some progress and make me happy!

Just as he was about to deliver a sarcastic remark to her, Hoshino En suddenly noticed her current posture.

Out of shyness, Kushida Kikyo bent down slightly, her upper body leaning forward a little, her chest directly facing his cheek.

Hoshino En: "..."

So he silently withdrew his thought of criticizing.

... Well, at least Kushida did a good job, and she now knows to thank those who have helped her, which is progress. (Neighbor)

However, looking at Kushida Kikyo like this, Hoshino En suddenly had a new question.