Ch.8787. The Next Day, Another Magical Girl

“Haah… Really. I told you to wake up. Today is your day, isn’t it, Yuri?”

“Uuuugh… Let me sleep a little more… Just five more minutes…”

“What happened to the plan you made yesterday… Get up. Now.”

A pink-haired girl hugging a carrot plushie almost as big as her body.

She must not have slept well, as she looked tired and whiny, making it quite difficult to wake her up.

She’s a grown adult, yet waking her up is such a struggle. Every morning.

That’s why when I asked Yuri before, she told me to let her wake up on her own during the day without disturbing her.

But today, she specifically asked me to wake her up.

What am I supposed to do now?

“Mmnya… Just a little more… Ku…”

“Yuri, you asked me to wake you up. And yet you insist on being called by your name instead of ‘unemployed.’ Get up now…!”

“Mmm, I… got… it, ku…”

Haah. Really.

If she was going to be like this, she should have gone to bed early yesterday…

* * *

“I’m home~”

When Hyewon opened the door and entered, the unemployed one who was rolling around on the sofa slightly lifted her head to greet her.

“Oh, you’re back? Did you have fun, Hyewon?”

“Yeah, sis. Oh, right. Is tomorrow your turn?”

“That’s right. We agreed to switch at 12 o’clock, right…?”

“I think that’s what we decided.”

“My memory must be correct. Oh, Vine… Could you call me by my name too?”

The unemployed one says while calling out to me.

Why is everyone making such a fuss about me not calling them by their names? Is there something special about names?

“Hmm… Looking at your current behavior, ‘unemployed’ seems like the perfect description. Well, if you insist… Oh, Hyewon, will you go back to the usual way of addressing me tomorrow?”

“Eh… Was that supposed to rotate too…?”

“I find ‘crybaby’ suits my tongue better. Since you’ve inherited your sister’s proud nickname, why don’t you take pride in it as well?”

“No… but from my perspective, being called by my name feels better.”

“Are you saying this despite knowing that I only call people by their names when I haven’t acknowledged them as my enemies? You should work harder to be called Blanc instead of asking to be called by your name.”

“Hmm… No, I don’t want to be called Citrus either. I just want to be called by my name.”

“You’re really unpredictable, aren’t you? Anyway, you must be tired too. Go wash up first. I’ll organize what I brought today.”

“Organization… You already had more than half of the stuff from the department store delivered home. It can wait. Besides, there’s nowhere to put it anyway.”

“Well, it’s still better to organize things sooner rather than later, isn’t it?”

“It can wait. Let’s wash up together and then organize.”

“What do you mean wash up together… Haah. Fine. Then I’ll go upstairs first and fill the bathtub. Give me those shopping bags too. We need to take them upstairs anyway.”

“Come on, let’s go up together. They’re heavy.”

Even though they weren’t particularly heavy, Hyewon took half of the shopping bags I was holding and went upstairs first.

But why does she want to bathe together?

“Haah… Really, Hyewon is too much. Being so stubborn about everything…”

As I voiced my slight complaint, the unemployed one who had been watching us from the sofa answered softly.

“What’s the problem… Good things are good… Right?”

“Haah… What does bathing together even mean?”

“It’s about bonding… People do that normally. We used to bathe together too, remember…?”

“What…? Haah… But we don’t normally suggest bathing together out of the blue…”

“Well… We used to come back covered in monster blood… at the association… But even without that, we bathed together plenty of times. So it’s not a big deal. Yeah.”

“Well, I’ll think about that later. You do remember that tomorrow is your day with me, right?”

“Yeah. Of course. I’ve planned everything already, so Vine just needs to follow along. Got it?”

“I find that very dubious… but I understand for now. I’ll head upstairs first.”

Really, that person… so unpredictable…

“Haah… What should I do… We’ve already done so many things with Hyewon today… To make it memorable…”

I thought I heard her contemplating something, but it was drowned out by the sound of Hyewon filling the bathtub, so I couldn’t hear clearly.

Geez, why do both Hyewon and Arin love bathtubs so much?

A quick shower is faster and uses less water.

Well… I suppose on special days, using the bathtub… is acceptable.

I think she took a bath bomb earlier. Maybe she wanted a bubble bath.

…It’ll be annoying to clean up.

Well, if that’s what she wants, what can I do?

* * *

“Wake up! Seriously…! Are we skipping Yuri’s turn?”

“Hueeee… I’m sleepy… Vine… Come here for a moment…”

Vine’s voice is the first thing I hear as I wake up.

When someone wakes you up, their voice usually sounds unpleasant no matter how nice it normally is, but why does Vine’s voice sound so good to me?

…I briefly considered asking her to record an alarm for me, but with her right here, it seems unnecessary.

It would be inefficient to use a recording when the real person is available.

…Still, I should ask her. I could listen to it whenever I get sleepy while working.

And now.

“Yes, what is it—Kyah?!”

“Vine… Hehe.”

Having such a small, warm, and huggable dakimakura… feels so nice…

It’s like all my fatigue is disappearing…

“W-wait! What are you doing…! Let me go, Yuri…!”

“Hehe… Let’s stay like this a little longer… Today’s goal was to relax anyway…”

“It’s hot! Yuri…!”

Smaller than me and warm—it feels nice.

I wonder if Vine would get angry if I told her my original plan was to ask her to wake me up and then hug her until lunchtime.

…If it were the others, they’d probably get angry.

Maybe they’d be jealous and get mad.

But, they all disliked me when we first met.

Hmm. I guess I can’t really complain about that.

Still, Hyewon rushed at me like she was going to kill me…

Now she just says “good things are good” and lets it slide…

…I can’t say Vine doesn’t have her own grievances.

Yet some of those were resolved in that short time.

Plus minus zero.

No, there are more pluses. I like it.

In the end, the calculation shows that I do have feelings for Vine.

“Let me go… And wake up…!”

“Vine… Let’s stay like this today… Just until lunch… Okay? You must be tired from yesterday too…”

“No… This situation is making me even more tired…!”

As Vine struggles to break free, I hug her even tighter.

“Hmm…? Vine… Please… Let’s stay like this… Hehe… It feels good…”

“Really…”

After struggling for a while, either realizing she couldn’t win against my strength or remembering that today was the day to grant my requests, she gave up and let herself be hugged.

“Haah… I don’t care anymore. I’m not going to wake you up again! Even if you regret it by evening, it’s too late! I’m going to sleep too!”

“That’s right… Good thinking. Let’s go sleepy-sleep…?”

“I’m not a baby, what’s with ‘sleepy-sleep’…! Ugh…! Why does everyone act like this on their day…!”

“That’s… because Vine is cute…? Hehe… Sleep tight…”

“Ugh…! What’s cute about me! I’m not cu— urk.”

“Yes, yes…”

With that, I surrender to the drowsiness that’s washing over me again, still hugging Vine.

Vine also relaxes and breathes in and out.

With this condition, we should be able to move around after a late lunch.

My calculations were perfect.

Well, Vine fell asleep a bit earlier than expected…

Her chest moves rhythmically.

Hssss… Hssss… She’s asleep.

“Soft, soft… cheeks… Hehe… Vine smells nice…”

Let me be a little greedier…

I’ll hug her properly while sleeping.

Sorry, Vine.

* * *

…It’s stifling.

Something is squeezing me tightly…

What is it…

This is the unemployed one’s room…

…Ah.

That’s right.

“What… time is it. Yuri… Yuri…? What time is it now, Yuri.”

“Mmm… Vine. You’re… awake…?”

“Ugh… How many hours… Let, let me go now…!”

“…Just a little more…”

“No. Absolutely not, let me go right now!”

“Tch… Fine…”

Yuri finally releases her arms that were hugging me.

“Kugh…! Phew… How tightly were you hugging me… For my body to feel like this…”

“I enjoyed it… Hehe. Thank you…?”

“Enough. Just tell me the time.”

“Come on… You’ve gotten even more rigid… The time… It’s 1 o’clock…?”

“Eek, 1 o’clock…? We’ve completely missed lunch. Is it okay to waste your time like this…?”

“I enjoyed it, so I’m satisfied. Satisfied. Hehe… What do you want to eat…?”

“That’s something you should decide, isn’t it…?”

“Hmm… That’s troublesome… What did you eat yesterday…?”

“It wasn’t simple… but we had Western food and beef… Ah, by beef I mean grilled meat.”

“Hmm… Is that so…? Then… let’s just eat something simple… I’ll make ramen for you… Sit down.”

“No, I’ll make it. You want ramen, right?”

“What I want is for Vine to sit down while I make ramen. So, sit down, okay?”

“No, but…”

“It’s fine. Vine should rest properly, okay?”

“Ugh… Why does everyone treat me like this…”

“Just rest. I’ll be quick. Hehe…”

“Ugh… You’re determined not to listen to me… It’s your day, you should have me work for you instead.”

“It’s fine. Just sit down.”

With those words, Yuri stretched and left her room.

Ugh… I’d rather be put to work…

This makes me uncomfortable.