As I continued praying for Juri and Satsuki’s arrival, time just continued to pass without any signs of them. We couldn’t hear any footsteps outside and no one knocked on the door yet.

Because of that, close to ten minutes had already passed in this room. We already moved from that spot where I put her in my arms and she reciprocated. At the moment, we’re sitting parallel to each other without any words being exchanged again.

This awkward silence was definitely suffocating but what else could I do to dispel it?

Being silent wasn’t going to help and neither was talking to her. Even if I brought up another topic to discuss, the conversation would dry up right away because of her short responses.

Setsuna-nee was aware of that. She even tried to recover as well but to no avail. I mean, even if we discounted the fact that she got spooked by the shadow of their bags, the few minutes of us just hugging each other was enough to derail whatever progress she made in her attempt to get me out of her head.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it became way worse than it was before. And because of that, I doubt I would be of help anymore in this issue.

Like Juri said earlier, this might or might not turn into a situation where Setsuna-nee would find another meaning about why she couldn’t get me out of her mind. Setsuna-nee has to resolve this dilemma herself.

Not long after settling my butt down on the seat and having nothing else to bring up, I looked around the room. I searched for something that I could busy myself with but like the other cabins I’ve already visited, there’s really nothing else in here.

As I was in the middle of doing that, I felt Setsuna-nee’s gaze landing on me which was soon followed by her voice, addressing me.

“Oi, shameless guy... sit here.” Setsuna-nee tapped the space next to her and continued, “I think I’ll be more at ease if you’re next to me.”

Hmm? What does that mean? Has she gotten used to me because of that minutes-long embrace?

“Are you sure, Setsuna-nee-san?”

“Yes. Stop asking questions.”

Well then, if she says it like that, what else can I do but follow her words? I might have difficulty in understanding her reason for this but if it’s going to make things better for us then so be it.

I stood up and moved over to her side.

Setsuna-nee followed me with her eyes. When she saw me sitting at the other side rather than the place she tapped, she clicked her tongue before sliding herself closer to me.

Yeah. Instead of nagging at me for not following her instructions, she skipped on that and closed in herself.

Reflexively, I stretched out my arm from her back, grabbing her waist. It was an unconscious action given that I always did it for my girls but Setsuna-nee seemed to not mind that at all.

She closed in further, just enough for her to zero the distance between our bodies. Our legs rubbed against each other and I could feel the springy softness pressing against my chest.

I looked down to check on her expression and she seemed... normal? It’s like she’s more accepting of this situation now. Furthermore, her arm also stretched from behind me. Maybe if not for her shorter reach, she’d probably grab my waist as well. In the end, all she could do was clench a part of my shirt.

In any case, even a minute after closing in like this where she’s already partly leaning against me, she never lifted her head to glance at me. On top of that, I could somehow sense that she's becoming comfortable as opposed to what happened earlier where her head was overtaken by shame.

Before long, I heard her speak in an unfaltering voice. And somehow, she sounded elated.

“I knew it. I’m more restless if you’re at a distance where I cannot stop myself from checking on you whether you’re looking at me or not...”

“Like this, it doesn’t matter anymore. I can feel your gaze on me.”

Alright. This is a development I haven’t anticipated.

Ah. Wrong. I was already anticipating this but at the same time, I was also skeptical about the possibility.

If I am reading this right, she’s more conscious of me now. Having me this close to her where she didn’t need to check me out was making her more at ease than when I was at a distance, staying within her line of sight.

“But this is wrong, Onoda-kun. No matter how many times I spin this, it will be bad if Satsu-chan sees us like this.”

“Tell me. How can I get you out of my head?”

Setsuna-nee’s words didn’t stop. From how she sounded like she was not actually waiting for me to reply, she was just unloading everything boggling her mind. And while doing so, she’s closing in further into me. My arm which was only on her waist was already resting against her navel, holding her closely. Not only that, her upper body was already twisted a bit to face my side. Then instead of just leaning against my shoulder, her head dropped on my chest as both of her arms stretched out to fully embrace me.

I shouldn’t stay silent at this point, right? But what can I say? It’s not like I can just push her away after hearing all of what she said.

Then... there’s no other choice but to respond to her words even if she’s not expecting me to do so.

“Certainly not like this, Setsuna-nee-san. You’re aware of it. Like you said, you’re not clueless or oblivious.”

Upon hearing that, Setsuna-nee’s head moved a bit to sneak a glance at me. Then, a second later, she nodded while still having her face buried in my chest.

“Un. I’m also aware of the answer all along. Having no contact with you is the best option. You’d surely fade from my head as time goes by...”

Yep. That’s the most surefire way to get me out of her head... However...

“That probably won’t be enough to completely resolve the problem of my presence residing in your head. Setsuna-nee-

san, we’re closely related because of Satsuki and maybe Juri. It’s close to impossible to not hear me from them...”

“Let’s take a step back and recall what started this... Holding you in place at that restaurant. You might have thought that you just wanted me to apologize for that affront but that’s not all, right?”

“You’re annoyed at me but at the same time, you’re adamantly refusing to acknowledge that there might be other possible meanings to why you’re annoyed at my presence – or more specifically, why I can’t seem to vacate your head.”

As I pointed all of that out, I sensed Setsuna-nee’s embrace tightened. Her fingers spread open to firmly grab onto my body instead of just holding my shirt.

Her warm breath continued to seep into my chest and even without seeing her face, her exposed ears already gave me the clue about her current state.

Listening to those words, she probably also revisited those moments and started contemplating what I said. And she found her answer.

Whatever it was... it’s still up to her whether to bring it out and let me hear it or keep it all to herself.

Using my free hand, I dropped my hand on top of her hand and the same as earlier, I started gently combing her hair with my fingers.

“Setsuna, let me put out this suggestion. Talk about what you’re feeling to Juri or Satsuki. You don’t have to worry about what their reaction will be, I guarantee you that they will listen and give their own thoughts about it.”

Yep. Although I did say she has to resolve this by herself, it doesn’t mean she needs to bottle it up completely. Talking about it to someone else should free her from the constraints of being extremely troubled by it. I brought up Juri and Satsuki because they’re the ones closest to her but that’s just to give her an illusion of choice. I mean, it’s impossible for her to talk about this to Satsuki so her only option will be Juri... Unless she subverted my expectations.

In any case, she failed to give a proper response to my suggestion. Because before she could finish processing all those, the door to the cabin opened. Juri and Satsuki finally arrived.