Chapter v3side3.2

She was so happy with the nice suggestion that she forgot her embarrassment.

"I'll hurry up, then."

"Yeah."

He slid his hands off her waist and released her.

Arnold stroked Rishe's head and then turned his quiet gaze straight at the students who were looking at him.

"―― ......"

"Gasp..."

A brief scream sounded behind Rishe.

It was rare for Arnold to directly glare at the mute students. She wondered what gossip the students were talking about that stimulated his reverse scale.

However, the bell rang and Arnold said, "I'm going to sleep." She saw him off with a "have a nice sleep" and went back to her seat.

Then, a girl, a close classmate, spoke to her impatiently.

"Hey, Rishe, what was that? Why were you with Arnold-senpai?!"

"Well, um, we have an appointment..."

Upon hearing Rishe's reply, the color on the classmate's face somehow changed.

"Don't tell me, you always claim you have an appointment with someone after school..."

"..."

When she nodded gently after some contemplation, her friend squealed, and the entire classroom that had been listening in buzzed.

****

Yo, I finally got a chance to shake them off.

After finishing her after-school cleaning duty, Rishe was on her way to meet Arnold when she was caught up in a bit of a commotion.

The girls who wanted to meet Arnold came to beg her to take them with her.

However, she was now heading to a secret place, so she couldn't take the girls with her.

Rishe had no choice but to sprint down the hallway, feigned to have run up the stairs, and jumped out the window into the courtyard.

After that, she scanned her surroundings cautiously with her guard up at all times and arrived right in front of the meeting place.

From here on out, I have to be quieter than ever.

She arrived at a library in an old school building.

This was where the school's collection of books was gathered. Although it was called a library, it was much larger than a normal library and was filled with a vast number of books.

There were books that the teachers of the academy brought in, and there were also a great number of specialized books. When Rishe found out about this library when she first moved to the school, she came

And then she met him.

No one probably has ever thought that the only bookshelf at the far end is a secret door...

With that in mind, she arrived at the bookshelf she was looking for.

With a little trick, she unlocked the door and slowly pushed it open, without making a sound.

It was a small room with soft sunlight shining through the trees.

There were two old sofas and a lot of books piled up on the floor. The hidden room was made up of things that should have been thrown away, but they were actually cozy.

"Excuse me..."

After closing the door, Rishe softly greeted and entered.

Normally, she would have heard a reply or the sound of paper being rolled up, but there was none today. She wondered if he was away, but the man she was meeting was there.

Asleep?

On the sofa by the window, Arnold was lying with his feet on the armrest and a book in his hand, asleep.

He was barely wearing the jacket earlier, but now he had it draped over his back. He was wearing a white shirt, and even his tie had been removed.

"..."

"Ah."

She must have approached him quickly, because his eyelids immediately opened.

Sea blue eyes looked at Rishe drowsily. His gaze was quite boundless, and he stared at her in bewilderment for a couple of seconds.

"Oh, good morning. Did I wake you?"

"...No."

Arnold raised himself up and sat back on the right side of the sofa. His languid air from having just woken up gave off a kind of sexiness that made her unable to look at him directly.

"I had a dream. You."

"..."

Rishe blinked at that unexpected information.

After that, she remembered something and gasped.

"It's a strange coincidence! I've been dreaming about you a lot lately, too."

"Huh?"

"My dream is in a world other than this one. I was wearing a dress and carrying a sword! I think it's because the books that you found for me are all about that kind of world."

Since her first encounter with Arnold, he has picked out a lot of books for her.

Arnold, who rarely attended classes and used the hidden room in the library as his bed, was surprisingly familiar with the books in the library. The reason he went to Rishe's classroom was to deliver the books he had discussed with her.

They likely spent so much time together, that was why she has been dreaming about Arnold a lot lately.

But at the end of the day, it was just a dream, so she never told Arnold about it. The current turn of events reminded her of it.

"Rishe."

"!"

Arnold patted the sofa.

She thought he was telling her to sit beside him. She obeyed and sat next to him, feeling warm in the afternoon sun.

Arnold rested his cheek on the backrest and looked at her.

"What kind of dreams did you have with me?

"W-What kind..."

It might have been a casual question, but Rishe stammered.

Arnold examined her up close, as if sensing her discomfort about the situation.

"What's with the face? Tell me..."

"Uhhh..."

The awkwardness that welled up in her made her regret blurting out having a dream.

It seems quite embarrassing to talk about the content honestly.

But she couldn't take back what she said. She read an Eastern proverb, spilt water wouldn't go back to its tray, in the book that Arnold gave her.

"――――――I dreamed about..."

"Hmm?"

"...Dream about getting married."

Arnold's eyes widened slightly.

But Rishe opened her mouth and said, aware that her face was burning.

"I dreamed that I was going to marry Arnold-senpai!! It's a hypothetical, what-if dream, in a world other than here.!!"

"―― ......"

This time, Arnold looked surprised.

I knew I shouldn't have told you this!

Would he laugh at her for having crazy dreams? Or would he think she was creepy and keep his distance?

She tied her lips in preparation, but heard a chuckle from the person next to her instead.

"...Ha."

"Huh?"

She expected ridicule, but was dumbfounded when she received none of it.

Arnold smiled that kind of gentle smile, so calm and soft.

Afterward, he gave her a mischievous look and said, "I just had the same dream as you."

"――!?"

It was Rishe's turn to be surprised.

Some things happened strangely, but Arnold refused to tell her the details. She persisted in asking for more, but he said, "Then you tell me first," so she had no choice but to give up for now.

After all, Rishe would surely be here tomorrow and the day after.

She would try to get the details of Arnold's dream out of him somehow while reading a lot of books.