Chapter 4: Kuchinashi Yume!

“Huff, huff…”

How long has it been since I ran like this?

No, even if I’m used to running, I think this is the first time I’ve run like this in a place that’s all desert.

“Aaaagh! Seriously…!”

Why am I doing this…?

It shouldn’t matter what happens to the student council president.

“If I meet that student council president, I’ll give her a good punch…!”

No matter how dense she is, she should be able to find her way back to school within the Abydos district.

But the fact that she hasn’t returned by this time means she went to the middle of the desert and got lost.

Getting lost in the desert is a pretty serious matter.

It’s very difficult to find your way without a compass in the desert, and if you’re not careful, you could suffer from dehydration or starve.

Even a strong Kivotosian body can’t prevent dehydration or starvation.

So, I have to find her as quickly as possible.

“Cough, cough!”

I wandered around for several hours.

Around the time I started to feel dizzy, someone collapsed in the distance.

“……!!!”

Without thinking, I ran towards the person who was collapsed.

As I got closer, the figure became clearer.

Familiar mint hair.

The ahoge drooping more than usual.

A ridiculously large chest.

A shield dropped nearby.

I hastily check if she’s breathing and if her heart is beating.

Fortunately, she was alive.

“Y, you…!”

I don’t know why, but tears came out.

Was it because I was angry at the student council president for causing me this hardship, or because I was relieved she was alive?

I didn’t know.

I’ve never been honest with my feelings.

So I fed her water slowly without saying anything, then carried her on my back.

It’s a bit uncomfortable because of her overly large chest, but I can bear it.

Yeah, I can bear this much.

Her suffering must have been much worse.

Let’s go back.

I should go to sleep.

The stars were unusually bright that night.

As if celebrating our meeting, or perhaps mourning.

Yeah, if I hadn’t saved Yume that day, it wouldn’t have come to this.

Yes.

No.

I have no regrets.

As always.

“Haaaah…!!!”

“W-what’s wrong.?!”

I was startled awake by a sudden scream.

Then the student council president, glaring at me and clutching her body, came into view.

“Student council president? What are you doing…?”

The student council president looked at me with tear-filled eyes…

“P-pervert…! What did you do while I was sleeping…!”

Huh?

Me?

I?

I stayed with her all night taking care of her, but I didn’t do anything other than care for her…?

“What do you mean….”

“Huuuuh… I trusted Black Cat-chan, why….”

The student council president then burst into tears. I was so dumbfounded that I let out a hollow laugh.

Ugh.

“Stop it!”

I finally punched the student council president’s head, and she finally listened to me.

“T-thank you, Black Cat-chan!!!”

The student council president bowed her head in gratitude. Her chest jiggled with each bow, making me frown.

Maybe it’s because it’s so different from mine.

No, no.

Why do I care about that?

I’m a guy.

“You don’t have to thank me, just go.”

“Yeah! Thank you so much!”

I waved my hand, as if to tell her to go, and turned to head back into the house.

Then, something suddenly occurred to me, and I ran to the student council president, who was walking away in the distance.

“Hey! Student council president!!!”

“U, uh…?”

Did she hear my voice from far away? She looked back at me with a flustered expression.

I ran to her with all my might and handed her my phone, panting.

“Phone, phone number.”

She stared blankly at the phone I handed her, as if she didn’t understand what I meant.

But it was only for a moment. Her eyes widened, and her expression brightened.

“T-this, is it? Exchanging phone numbers between friends!!!”

The student council president shouted at me, still panting.

I was about to say something, but I stopped when I saw her bright smile and just smiled.

“Yeah, exchanging phone numbers between friends.”

“Huff!”

She seemed overwhelmed with emotion, trembling and shaking my hands.

“Friend! Are we really friends?”

“Y, yeah…! Since we’re friends, stop it…!”

“Ah, ah! Yeah…!”

“Haa…”

I wondered if I should have done this. But seeing her happy face, those thoughts disappeared.

“Tenno Hime.”

“Huh?”

“That’s my name. Don’t forget to save it.”

“Tenno Hime…! Black Cat-chan’s name…!”

“So I’m not a cat…”

“Aha, sorry, Hime-chan. It’s a habit, I couldn’t help it…”

I looked away as she said, laughing awkwardly, and asked.

“So, what’s your name?”

She smiled brightly and said.

“Kuchinashi Yume!”

Her name I’ll never forget.

Her smile.