Don't let your guard down! - 16
I'm tired...
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I couldn't sleep at all last night, I'm dying of sleepiness.
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Why couldn't I sleep?
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'Aaaaaaah!'
'Bang-! Bang-!'
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Well... something like that happened.
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Today I'm going to class.
I'm tired from yesterday's events, but I can't skip it, so I have to go.
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I don't know what might happen if I skip.
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"Ugh..."
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The nightmare of 8 hours of continuous classes is still vivid in my mind.
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Never... never again should something like that happen.
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I got dressed and headed to Schale.
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The thought of meeting Sensei at Schale and suffering more psychological pain made me drag my feet.
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But despite that, I eventually arrived at Schale.
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However... there was no one inside.
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Whew...!
That's a relief.
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Then, even if it's just for a little while, I can enjoy some time without Sensei-
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"Hello, Nito."
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"Eek?!"
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I was startled by Sensei, who suddenly popped up from behind me and spoke.
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"O-oh, hello..."
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Sensei smiled brightly as I responded to his greeting.
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Then he returned to his seat.
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Isn't he going to teach...?
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"Um, about the lesson..."
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"Ah, right... let's do it in a little while."
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Fine by me.
I need to rest a bit.
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I sat on the sofa.
Honestly, it's so soft that I'm practically lying down, but it doesn't matter.
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"Whew~."
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Not being able to sit comfortably on such a comfortable sofa, Sensei seems a bit pitiful.
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Click-clack-
Tap-
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The sound of typing on a keyboard.
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"Arona, how much work do I have today?"
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-Hmm... as much as usual...
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"...what about the lesson with Nito...?"
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-If you work hard, I'm sure it's possible!
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"Right... thanks, Arona."
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-Hehe...
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This is the first time I've heard Arona's voice like this, has it changed?
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It's cute.
Is it because I don't have to pull gacha anymore?
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Listening to the sound of Sensei's pen scratching and the keyboard clicking makes me feel at ease.
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But I can't let my guard down too much.
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Relaxing in front of Sensei? That can't happen.
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Yeah...
It can't...
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I did my best to finish my work.
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Lately, there seem to be a lot more incidents happening in Gehenna and Millennium.
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Is it because the entrance ceremony (start of the school year) is coming soon, and the devils acting up and the engineers panicking because they'll soon be overwhelmed with assignments and work?
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I like that they're active, but there's no need for them to go out of their way to increase my workload...
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"Keuu-"
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Crack-
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That sounded like my joint making a sound it shouldn't...
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I glanced across the desk and couldn't see Nito's head, which was visible before.
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Hmm...?
Where did she go...?
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Snore- Snore-
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Oh...
No way...
Again?
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Nito is sleeping again.
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The blue halo resembling Saturn had long since disappeared.
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Shake-
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"Nito~ wake up~."
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"Mng... I'm up..."
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...Her halo isn't on...?
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No matter how much I shook her, Nito's halo didn't appear.
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Hmm...
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Pinch-
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"Eek!"
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Only after I pinched her cheek did the halo appear.
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...It's squishy.
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"What the h...! S-Sir?!"
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"Nito, it's 5 o'clock now."
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Nito's eyes spun in confusion.
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"F-five o'clock? Then how many hours did I sleep...?"
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Probably about 8 hours.
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"It's okay, Nito, we can start the lesson now. And..."
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"And...?"
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Her questioning look was so cute that I suddenly wanted to tease her.
So I said something different from what I originally intended.
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"And... they say sleeping beauties sleep a lot, right? So it's okay, Nito."
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"Huh?"
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Nito malfunctioned, as if she didn't properly process what I just said.
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Her face started turning red, like it was loading.
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"...Creepy pedo Sensei... seriously..."
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Nito muttered something.
Her voice was so quiet that I couldn't hear it properly.
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Well, it probably wasn't anything important.
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"Okay! Shall we start the lesson?"
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"...Okay."
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And so we began the lesson.
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My mind was a bit tired, but it was bearable.
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But apparently, it wasn't for Nito.
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"So, here... Nito?"
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"Hrk! Yes! No, yes!"
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Nito started dozing off.
She slept that long and she's still sleepy...
What did she do yesterday?
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"Let's focus a little more. It'll be over soon."
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"Y-yes..."
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Nito answered, opening her eyes as wide as possible.
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I could see her black pupils filling with the light of the room.
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I continued the lesson, feeling relieved.
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But despite Nito's best efforts, her eyes kept closing.
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Eventually, Nito started nodding off.
Her halo would turn on and off.
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And finally,
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Thump-
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Nito's body tilted, her head resting on my shoulder, and her halo disappeared completely.
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Hmm... what should I do about this?
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Honestly, I don't know how to handle this.
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If Nito is constantly tired, no matter how much I wake her up, she'll try to resist and end up collapsing again like this.
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Should I just let her sleep?
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It might not be a bad idea.
Studying is important, but rest is just as important, so letting her sleep might be okay.
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Then...
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"Oops..."
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Being careful not to wake Nito, I laid her down.
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This is the first time I've given someone a lap pillow.
Her head is light, so my legs probably won't get numb.
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Nito's expression scrunched up, as if she didn't like something.
Like a child sulking.
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Stroke-
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"Heh..."
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When I stroked her head once, her expression relaxed.
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...This is the first time I've seen her make that expression.
Does she like being stroked?
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Hmm...
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Stroke- Stroke-
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"Heeeh..."
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I think she does.
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Doing this, Nito finally looks like a child her age.
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Normally, she's wary of me, like a hedgehog raising its quills or a cat hissing, making it hard to approach her.
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But lately, she's been less like that.
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Right, was it after I took Nito out?
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That was fun too.
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When we were eating ramen in the shop, I had a hard time hiding Nito from other people.
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Her clothes were pajamas, so they were loose, and even the size was a bit oversized... so... well...
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If I think about it any more, I'll feel like a criminal, so I'll stop.
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"Uuuu..."
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Nito stirred.
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Is she waking up now?
Ah, her halo appeared.
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Nito rubbed her sleepy eyes.
She's still not fully awake.
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After a little while, Nito finally opened her eyes properly and looked ahead.
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"Are you awake?"
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Her eyes widened in surprise.
She looked so startled that I thought if she had animal ears, they would have perked up.
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"Aaaaaaah!"
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Bonk-!
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"Kuhuk!"
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Nito, who had suddenly sat up, bumped her head against mine.
It hit hard enough to make me see stars.
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"H-huh? W-what were you doing?!"
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Well... how should I put it...
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"Um... admiring cute Nito-chan's sleeping face?"
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"Hiiik?! Die!!!"
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And that's how we ended up playing tag until late at night.
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