"Konuma-kun."
...I hear a whispering voice from my right ear.
"Ko-nu-ma-ku-n."
What is this top-tier ASMR?
When did I purchase this ASMR where Ichikawa Amane (CV: Ichikawa Amane) wakes me up by name...? And when did I press the play button...?
Well, in the middle of this experience, such details are trivial...
It felt so good that I was dozing off with my eyes closed, but then...
"No, seriously, wake up?"
After hearing a voice one octave lower, my nose was pinched.
...Pwah.
I woke up breathing through my mouth.
"Ah, you're awake?"
There stood an angel with a smile, wearing the Musashino International uniform.
"Ichikawa-san, were you just trying to stop my breathing?"
"Good morning, Konuma-kun."
"G-Good morning..."
And then, my question was ignored. This angel might actually be a psychopath.
"Come on, get ready! We're going to be late."
"Eh, what time is it now...?"
"Eight o'clock!"
"Eight o'clock!?"
School starts at 8:30.
It takes an hour and a half from my house to school... so it's impossible.
Alright, if I'm going to be late anyway, maybe I'll go for that Morning Mac I've always admired—just as a smile of resignation crossed my face.
"Hurry, Konuma-kun!"
My arm was pulled.
"No, even if I hurry, it's already..."
...Wait? The Ichikawa residence is in Kichijoji! If I hurry, I'll make it!
Seriously, I’m so grateful she let me sleep here... I realized this as I hurriedly changed clothes and left the house with Ichikawa, who was already in her uniform.
And then, thirty minutes later.
We dove into the classroom just as the bell rang.
No one laughed at my bedhead... but,
"Oh my, arriving together, are we...?"
There was a girl with pink-beige hair narrowing her eyes.
'Arriving together' (Doupan shukkin)—that’s the number two word on the ranking of terms high schoolers use without really knowing what they mean. Number one is 'Executive arrival' (Jouyaku shukkin). (I asked my mom about 'Executive arrival' the other day, and she said she uses it without really knowing what it means either.)
While thinking about such nonsense and listening to the voice of my homeroom teacher, I softly closed my eyes.
"Takuto-kun."
...I hear a whispering voice from my left ear.
"Ta-ku-to-ku-n."
"...Good morning."
This time, the sound wasn't quite as pleasant, so I was able to wake up without any trouble.
"You're thinking of something rude, aren't you...?"
I looked at my classmate who had a suspicious face.
"What's wrong, Erina-san...?"
"It's already lunch break, you know? Are you okay?"
"Ah, yeah..."
I replied while stretching.
Even for me, it's not like I've been sleeping continuously from morning homeroom until now. Rather, my head was clear until about the third period. I've often heard that sleeping in three-hour cycles is good, so maybe going to sleep at 5:00 and waking up at 8:00 worked out.
Still, I couldn't resist the pleasant weather before noon; during the Classical Literature class, it was 'ito okashi' so I fell asleep.
"Hey, want to go on a shop date for the first time in a while?"
...Please, stop adding those three extra characters ("date").
Without waiting for my answer, Erina-san pulled my left arm and made me stand up. When I glanced at the angel in the window seat, she seemed to be in a good mood today, wearing a smile that said, "Well, I shall forgive you."
Actually, I needed to get lunch from somewhere anyway, so I decided to take her up on the offer (though it was unspoken) and head to the shop.
"Takuto-kun, is your physical condition okay?"
Erina-san asked as we walked down the hallway.
"Ah, yeah... I just haven't slept much."
"Yeah, I heard Sakosh-shi was also up all night yesterday. It was a recording, right?"
"Oh, I see. ...What's up?"
Erina-san was looking at me with an unusually gentle and concerned expression, which made me feel suspicious instead.
"No... I'm sorry, because of Erina, right?"
"Because of Erina-san...?"
After thinking 'What is she talking about...?' for a few seconds, I finally realized the meaning.
"That's right...!"
"'That's right'...?"
That's right. 'Omamori' was a song created to be delivered to Erina-san. The whole reason for the recording was supposed to be so that Erina-san could carry it with her at all times.
"That was it...!"
How could I have forgotten such an important thing?
...And I began to realize that the reason why I had forgotten it might be the most important thing of all.
"I see, so that's why I've always...!"