Not because of sudden swaying, but because of this unexpected change in position?
Shokuhou Misaki let out a sound like a delicate cry, simply because she had been on Haramura Makoto's back moments ago, but now, as if by magic, she was being carried princess-style!
A princess carry! A princess carry!
If being carried piggyback could be considered normal, this position was definitely not.
After all, the princess carry had always been a way for men and women to express affection—it represented romance.
Moreover, if both parties in a princess carry had mutual feelings, this method would make their emotions heat up rapidly.
And judging by the current situation,
At least in this atmospheric state, Haramura Makoto seemed fairly normal.
Shokuhou Misaki, however, had fallen into complete chaos. Her eyes stared blankly at Haramura Makoto's face, her hands mechanically wrapped around his neck.
(I... I... I... is this okay for me right now...)
(Maybe... I should jump down... after all... no matter what... this is progressing... way too fast.)
(But... but...)
This should be embarrassing, but what was with this warmth, this scent?
Because her arms were wrapped around Haramura Makoto's neck, her head was resting on his chest.
Therefore, she could feel it.
That strong, burning heartbeat.
And she could also smell it.
A fresh, pleasant fragrance, somewhat like the elegant scent of gardenias.
Nothing like what her faction members described—that all boys smelled like stinky sweat.
Enveloped by this scent, she now only wanted to completely immerse herself in it.
This represented a sense of security.
As if here, she no longer needed to experience the scheming between powerful adults, didn't need to think about how to maintain the faction she'd built, didn't need to be alert daily to conspiracies targeting Level 5s like her.
This was complete relaxation, from her heart outward.
"In the end, she's still just a 14-year-old girl!"
Accompanied by a thunderous flash across the sky, heavy rain poured down, and Shokuhou Misaki in his arms completely entered dreamland.
A peaceful and beautiful sleeping face!
Haramura Makoto covered Shokuhou Misaki with his jacket, leaning forward while running to avoid letting rainwater fall on her.
So!
Even with lightning and thunder outside, even with torrential rain,
Shokuhou Misaki continued sleeping soundly in Haramura Makoto's arms, undisturbed.
This was a display of complete trust—Shokuhou Misaki placed her full trust in Haramura Makoto.
Therefore, she could show such an unguarded appearance.
It was raining now.
Although Haramura Makoto had been moving at full speed, since Shokuhou Misaki had already delayed them for a long time initially, rain during their journey was inevitable.
However, in a certain sense, this rain came at quite a fortunate time.
Because of this heavy rain, there were hardly any people on the streets, allowing Haramura Makoto to run confidently on the main roads without causing a commotion.
Also because of this, a journey that should have taken at least fifty minutes was shortened to about twenty.
...
This heavy rain came quickly but ended just as fast.
The duration was exactly as Academy City's forecast predicted, ending precisely to the second.
Passing through another narrow alley between buildings, they reached a six-story modern duplex building made of white stone slabs.
Three buildings formed a concave shape, with the space below reserved as a small garden.
No matter how you looked at it, these appeared to be student apartments.
In fact, that's exactly what they were.
This was District 7!
District 7 could be said to be the most important area in all of Academy City, occupying the largest area of the entire city.
This was because it housed all of Academy City's schools and student dormitories.
For a city with students as its main body, District 7 was naturally the most important.
As for the student dormitory before them?
Don't be mistaken—this dormitory with its common atmosphere was definitely not Shokuhou Misaki's student residence.
Shokuhou Misaki was a Level 5!
The school she attended naturally couldn't be an ordinary school like Haramura Makoto's. She attended Tokiwadai Middle School, one of Academy City's top five prestigious schools.
A super-elite academy with only 180 students in the entire grade.
It exclusively admitted noble young ladies of at least Level 3 and above, showing the school's excellence.
The school's mission was to cultivate first-class, elegant young ladies.
Naturally, its rules were quite strict.
Of course, strict curfews were essential. The academy dormitory had curfews from the beginning—without special passes, students from outside the dormitory needed permits to enter or exit.
Inside the academy dormitory, rules were equally strict.
Students had to return to their rooms before 8 PM to avoid punishment.
The current time?
Obviously, they had passed that deadline.
Shokuhou Misaki was sleeping so deeply that he couldn't expect her to give directions to find her dormitory.
Therefore, he could only bring her back to his own dormitory.
Taking out his key to open the door and entering the room—it was a very ordinary studio apartment design.
"Sleeping so deeply?"
Gently placing Shokuhou Misaki on the tatami, looking at her still fast asleep with no signs of waking, Haramura Makoto couldn't help but comment.
After finishing his comment and admiring Shokuhou Misaki's sleeping face, he put down his water glass.
He walked directly to Shokuhou Misaki and removed the jacket covering her.
Shokuhou Misaki immediately curled up like a cat, shrinking into a ball.
"Hey, Miss Shokuhou Misaki, we've arrived. Time to wake up."
Without any trace of gentle consideration, though not exactly rough either, Haramura Makoto directly reached out and pushed Shokuhou Misaki's shoulder.
She lazily stretched her arms and rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"We're here already?"
Her voice was soft and sweet—any man hearing such a voice would have their psychological defenses instantly shattered.
Opening those beautiful starry eyes, her vision gradually became clear.
The surrounding objects slowly came into Shokuhou Misaki's view.
"Where is this?"
Everything around was completely unfamiliar to Shokuhou Misaki.
"This is my home."