"No."
Faced with Nijika's proposal, Fumiya Jin simply shook his head. "You go to sleep first. I'll wake you up for the second half of the night to take over for me."
"Eh? Why?" Nijika was a bit confused.
From her perspective, she definitely preferred to keep watch with Fumiya Jin.
After all, the night was long, and everyone else was a stranger. Keeping watch with them would feel awkward. It would be much better with Fumiya Jin.
Fumiya Jin thought for a moment. "Lean in."
"Er..." Nijika froze for a second, but still obediently leaned her ear closer.
Fumiya Jin leaned close to her ear and whispered, "It's because you're the only one here I trust. That's why one of us has to be resting while the other is awake. I'll take the first half of the night, so you go sleep. We'll switch for the second half."
Wisps of warm breath entered the girl's ear along with his words.
The ticklish sensation seemed to spread right to her heart.
He only trusts me...
Her cheeks instantly grew a little warm.
An indescribable feeling of joy welled up inside her.
She pulled back, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, bit her lip, and then looked back at him. "Really?"
"Why would I lie to you?" Fumiya Jin said with a frank expression.
"Do you really trust me that much?" Nijika asked seriously.
"Of course," Fumiya Jin nodded.
"Then..."
Nijika thought for a moment, then suddenly shifted her body to the right.
They had been sitting right next to each other.
Now there was about twenty centimeters of space between them.
"You lean your head over. I have a secret to tell you too."
"Huh?"
Fumiya Jin was a bit confused.
But seeing the seriousness and anticipation in the girl's eyes, he didn't ask any more questions.
He leaned his body to the right, bringing his head closer.
Nijika also reached out and placed a hand lightly on his shoulder.
And then...
With a sudden burst of strength.
She pulled Fumiya Jin's leaning upper body off balance.
Plop—
Fumiya Jin fell over, his head landing on a pair of soft thighs...
Of course, this was only because Fumiya Jin had completely let his guard down around Nijika. Otherwise, with her meager strength, she could never have succeeded in such a surprise move.
"Huh?"
Fumiya Jin was momentarily stunned, feeling the fabric of the sweatpants against his cheek, and through it, a tender warmth. The girl's fresh, rich scent quietly enveloped him...
In that moment, a slightly random thought even popped into his head: Is this scent Nijika's, or Kei-chan's?
Of course, the thought only flashed through his mind for an instant.
After all, Fumiya Jin was a respectable person.
He quickly composed himself, turned his head slightly, and looked up at the girl's downturned face. "What are you doing?"
Nijika was actually quite flustered herself at this moment. Her cheeks were burning, and she didn't know where to put her hands.
After all, more than one person was watching them... Besides the fleshy-faced woman sitting right next to her, the curly-haired man and the little fatty in the distance were also casting sour glances their way.
And to take the initiative to give a boy a lap pillow in front of several people was an exceedingly bold move for a young girl who had never even been in a relationship. She felt quite embarrassed inside.
But...
Even so.
She was still certain that this was what she had to do.
"You... you didn't sleep well last night. Today... you have to get proper sleep. So, I'll take the first watch, and you sleep."
Fumiya Jin was taken aback for a moment, then understood what she meant.
"I actually slept okay last night. You don't need to blame yourself," Fumiya Jin said.
"You're lying," Nijika pouted, looking into his eyes. "You probably haven't even noticed, but your eyes are all bloodshot..."
"Er..."
Fumiya Jin was momentarily speechless.
Although there was no mirror for him to see if his eyes were bloodshot... he could indeed feel the soreness in his eyes and a slight drowsiness in his mind.
It couldn't be helped. After all, in the past week, he had only had two good nights of sleep.
Especially during the first few days of that week, he had been thinking and running around intensely, striving to solve the death countdown. He probably only slept two or three hours a day, and his mind was constantly under extreme pressure. That had certainly taken a toll on his vitality.
Although he had slept well on Thursday and Friday nights after the first instance ended.
But anyone who has pulled an all-nighter knows that recovering from even one night can take several days. Not to mention he'd been burning the midnight oil under high pressure for the better part of a week...
On top of that, sleeping slumped over the girl's bedside last night wasn't exactly comfortable...
Having bloodshot eyes was perfectly normal.
"Actually, I'm starting to regret it a little... Last night, I should have listened to your suggestion and... rested together. That way, at least you could have rested well. As for me... even if I was a bit nervous, I probably would have fallen asleep after a while. At least that would have ensured you weren't affected."
Nijika scratched her cheek and said softly, "But now, here we are in this instance, and I'm still relying on you for everything. I haven't been much help at all... The thought that I'm just an extra burden to you doesn't sit well with me. So..."
Nijika took a deep breath, lowered her head, and looked at Fumiya Jin seriously.
Her glistening eyes reflected the flickering firelight, radiating a sense of determination.
"At the very least, please leave the night watch to me. I'll do my best to stay awake, and I promise to wake you up immediately if anything unusual happens, okay?"
Fumiya Jin looked into the girl's sparkling eyes and fell silent for a moment.
After a few seconds...
"Alright then, I'll sleep first. Wake me up for the second half of the night, and then you can sleep," Fumiya Jin said.
"Eh... does it have to be that way?" Nijika tilted her head.
"It does. Otherwise, I won't sleep at all," Fumiya Jin said.
"Okay, okay, we'll do it your way," Nijika said quickly. "So for now... sleep well. Oyasumi."
Fumiya Jin glanced at the girl's gentle face, then at the numbers above her head and his own...
Nothing had changed. It seemed the crisis was indeed tomorrow; tonight should be safe.
And he truly was getting sleepy—felling all those trees and chopping them into firewood hadn't been as effortless as he made it seem.
Especially now, resting on the girl's soft legs and smelling her scent, the sense of security became the best catalyst for his drowsiness.
A haven of tenderness is a hero's grave. How true that saying is...
"Oyasumi."
...
On the other side, the fleshy-faced woman hadn't said a word.
Or rather, she couldn't get a word in edgewise!
What the hell was with these two? It was like they were completely lost in their own little world, leaving no room for her to interfere.
At this moment, watching Fumiya Jin lying on the girl's lap pillow with his eyes closed in what looked like pure bliss... the flesh on the fleshy-faced woman's face twitched. The fires of jealousy in her heart burned hotter than the bonfire, yet she had no way to vent them.
"I'm tired, I'm going to sleep. You lot take turns keeping watch! And stay sharp!"
____
Hello! Walnut here! Or... Miku Dayo in this case heheh...
Unfortunately, I had 2 stories deleted from my main account, "Walnut-chan," and I decided to post them here on this other account... I'm counting on your support to recover what we've lost!
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