“I told you not to do that, Onoda-kun. Uhh...”

Staring at herself in a hand mirror and checking her reddened ears that had yet to subside, Shiina grumbled to me.

At the moment, we’re now inside their cabin. As soon as we arrived inside, she immediately went to her luggage and pulled out the hand mirror.

I watched her interest as she restlessly started touching her face and ears, hoping that they would return to their natural color soon. She would then sneak a glance at me then stick her tongue out when she saw how I was staring at her in amusement.

Before long, I walked over and stood behind her to also check on her face in the mirror which brought us to this present.

“Sorry, I can’t help it, Shiina-san. Especially when your reaction was that strong. It’s a priceless sight that one would not often see.”

She glared at me through the mirror which also softened up right away. Instead, she pouted her lips, looking upset. “I didn’t ask you to accompany me to be teased like that, Onoda-kun. I... want to get to know you better.”

“Alright. I promise I won’t do it again without getting your permission.” I placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it as a way to convey my sincerity.

Nevertheless, Shiina still managed to pick something from that.

“What getting my permission? You...I’m telling you not to do it, ever. My ears are that sensitive... I often protect it with my hair. If not, it will always feel ticklish.”

Still looking at me through the small mirror, Shiina touched the ear closest to my hand on her shoulder. She tucked her hair behind it, showing it to me directly before swiftly covering it back with her hair. It’s like she let me take a proper glimpse of it for my satisfaction before hiding it in plain sight again.

It goes to show that even if she doesn’t want me teasing her using her ear, she will allow me to admire it, even if it’s just a glimpse.

“I see... Sorry, Shiina-san but I’m just being honest with you there. You know how temptation works, right? It’s hard to resist it when it comes knocking. That’s why... the best I can say is to ask for your permission. If you say no then it will possibly reinforce my resistance. However, even that is uncertain.” I removed my hand from her shoulder, sliding it down her arm before it eventually settled on her hips. As I took a step forward, it gradually moved to settle on top of her navel before my chin anchored on her shoulder.

Since I wanted her to believe that it was not impossible for me to be tempted, I aimed to display it by doing this. And yep. This was totally intentional.

With how quickly it happened, Shiina was taken by surprise. Before she could react, I was already intimately linked with her through this embrace.

I could feel her body flinch and almost froze. But one glance at my face and she started heating up.

Without pushing me away, Shiina closed her eyes and took a moment to come up with a reply, “F-fair point. Temptation is hard to resist. However, Onoda-kun. Can you tell me if this is also the result of it?”

“No. This isn’t a result of temptation, Shiina-san. I simply thought, why not? Your back is wide open. This is me grabbing the opportunity to hold you.”

Although my words earlier made some little sense to her, I doubt she would buy it this time. I mean, it was pure bullshit, right? Or rather, because of my honesty, I came up with an excuse.

Sure enough, Shiina narrowed her eyes on me. It didn’t need a genius to call out my absurdity.

“Opportunity? Onoda-kun, you’re being daring here. What if I pushed you away or slapped your hand?”

“Then I will gladly back away. I can’t have you get mad at me because of my impulsiveness.” I readily answered before closing our distance further, letting her back pressed against my chest. Additionally, my other hand linked up with the one settled on her navel, fully enclosing her within my embrace.

Now, our situation has become more intimate. This was something I would normally only do with my girls... Thinking about it, with all this talk about temptation, am I actually tempted to do this? Without her prompting me to do so?

... Yeah. That seems to be the case, isn’t it?

A short silence later, Shiina lowered her hand, placing the mirror down. Her hand moved on top of my joined hands before turning her head to my side.

“Un. I believe you.” Her mouth parted open, before blowing her breath directly on my face, it was fragrant and refreshing without even a trace of the curry we’d eaten earlier. She then giggled in satisfaction. “That’s payback for teasing my ear.”

Following this, she slipped away from my grasp and left me behind as she moved to the closed window. The one that could lead us to a small balcony showing the magnificent view of the landscape outside.

Shiina parted the curtains and opened them. But before stepping out, she glanced back at me, wordlessly telling me to follow her.

I cracked a smile and moved over to the couch, picking up a few cushions that we could use. Seeing that, the woman gave me a thumbs up, seemingly pleased at my quick thinking.

When I approached her, she grabbed one of the cushions and hugged it in front of her before grabbing my hand. This time, she directly filled in the gaps in my fingers, clasping them tightly.

Together, we went out to the balcony where a long wooden seat was placed. We placed the cushions down and then sat next to each other, taking the comfort of them.

Of course, we first checked that no one was around at the other cabin’s balconies. Even though we found no one outside, there’s still a possibility that someone’s out here, right?

Thankfully, there’s no one. We’re still alone in this area.

Before long, Shiina who switched from holding my hand to snuggling at my side laid her head on my shoulder.

We both stared at the scenery in front of our eyes, occasionally sighing in amazement at how wonderful it was.

“I’m not following my plan at all but I like this development better, Onoda-kun.” Eventually, Shiina opened a conversation. The joy in her voice couldn’t be hidden.

“Mhm. Apart from my brief skepticism that you’re here to test me out, I can also say I’m satisfied with how things are going. But Shiina-san, you’re aware of what kind of guy I am... Aren’t you shooting yourself in the foot here? I should be the last guy you should associate with.”

To be honest, I still couldn’t wrap my head around why she was this interested in me. I get that my charm was off the roof. However, even on the off chance that I was right about that, aren’t I supposed to be a walking red flag to a woman living in this normal society? She has the looks and perhaps even admirers to pick from and yet... she’s showing this much interest in me.

Of course, we can say I still am someone who will not hesitate to open up about my complex relationship with the women I’m interested in. However, this girl hadn't even tried to pry deeply into that. She just jumped straight into this. Hence, I couldn’t help but feel skeptical earlier.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Onoda-kun. Like you said, since I wasn’t masking my interest, there should be a reason why. Am I correct?” Shiina replied. Perhaps it’s not enough that she’s basically hugging me already, she lifted my arm and draped it around her shoulder before continuing, “I admit. I’m not this interested in you during that hiking trip. I’ve only admired you for being that reliable and handsome. Finding you here and being surprised that you’re younger than me is also not enough to tip me over in this direction. So, what do you think tipped me over to be this bold? Wanna guess?”

Upon saying that, Shiina reached for my sideburn, rolling her finger around it. She’s dangerously close to my ear but she’s holding herself back from playing with it, perhaps in fear that I would return it to her. She’d be losing out because of her sensitive ears.

In any case, I could sense the truthfulness in her voice as well as her growing anticipation of how I would answer.