The Absolute Speed of a Certain Comic'

You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon and I've also activated (date-to-date) subscription model on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395

"Wow! This crêpe is delicious!" 

Kurogane Ikki strolled through the food street on the mall's first floor, holding a cream-filled dessert in hand. The smooth, rich taste brought an involuntary exclamation of delight. 

"Right? The cream here is so rich and flavorful, which makes it extra tasty. But if it's ice cream you're craving, I wouldn't recommend this place. For that, try Thirteen Ice Cream on the third floor!" 

"You really know your way around." 

"Of course! I've explored this entire place already. Desserts are, after all, the very meaning of life for girls!" 

"Ahaha…" 

Kurogane Ikki let out an awkward laugh before something came to mind. He turned to Stella, trailing behind them. 

"Stella, do you want to try a crêpe?" 

"No, I don't feel like it…" 

Stella trudged at the back of the group, her energy utterly drained. Her entire demeanor radiated gloom, even her twintails drooped. 

It seemed that the earlier incident with the collar, and fainting out of embarrassment, had dealt a significant blow to her pride. 

"Ni San, let me have a bite of your crêpe!" 

"Sure." 

"Hold on! Suddenly, I feel like having some too! Let me take a bite!" 

"Stella San, are you a dog or something?" 

Stella immediately snapped to attention, her self-respect thrown aside. Without hesitation, she charged forward and took three big bites out of Kurogane Ikki's crêpe, making satisfied noises as she chewed. 

Ryoji looked on enviously at Ikki. 

'Ah, the bliss of being a dense man—completely oblivious to the brewing storm around him.' 

Ryoji couldn't pull that off himself. 

"Junior Brother, ahhh—" 

The legal loli smiled sweetly at him, opening her tiny pink lips in expectation. 

"Ahhh—" 

Ryoji smiled back, offering his crêpe to her with the gentleness of someone feeding a kitten. 

'If only I had a ton of knockout drugs right now…' 

Don't ask why not laxatives. He absolutely wasn't afraid to use them. 

"You two seem to get along so well!" 

Arisuin Nagi watched them with a radiant smile. Though he caught sparks flying between their gazes, his expression softened, taking on an almost auntie-like warmth. 

"Of course! Senior Sister and I have been close since forever," Ryoji replied, nodding sagely. 

"Hmph." 

The legal loli rolled her eyes at him, then turned her head away, her reddening ears betraying her. She waved her folding fan a little faster, seemingly trying to hide her embarrassment. 

'This mall is terrible. No air conditioning? Don't they know crowded places get hot?' 

After finishing lunch at the food street, the group got up from their long table and headed to the fourth-floor cinema via the escalator. 

"By the way, Shizuku, what movie did you pick?" 

"A simple romance film," Kurogane Shizuku answered nonchalantly when Ikki asked. 

"…Can I ask what the title is?" 

Ryoji, sensing something amiss, jumped in to assert his presence. 

Kurogane Shizuku glanced at him before replying lightly. 

"Totally not normal!" 

Kurogane Ikki's expression froze as he and Stella shouted in unison. 

"It's a completely normal pure love story." 

Shizuku's face remained composed, her tone indifferent. 

"In that case, we might as well watch 'Karna, the Desert Princess.' It's an anime about a princess stranded in the desert who falls in love with a young bandit leader…" 

"Rejected." 

"Well then, how about a compromise? Let's watch 'Men's Fallen Paradise.' It's rated 15+, after all." 

"Who said to compromise on gender?!" x2 

The three women (?) were engrossed in a heated debate. 

"Shouldn't you at least ask Ikki for his opinion on this?" Ryoji couldn't help but ask, his expression the picture of innocence. 

"Eh? You're asking me?" Kurogane Ikki froze, still oblivious to the gravity of the situation. 

"Ikki!" 

"Ni San!" 

"Ikki-kun~" 

"What do you want to watch?" x3 

Stella and Kurogane Shizuku stood toe-to-toe, glaring daggers at each other, neither willing to back down. Arisuin Nagi, ever the instigator, cheerfully joined the chaos. 

"Well, um… how about we watch both—" 

"Eh? It seems we can't watch two at the same time, though." 

"Ah, this…" 

"Ikki!" 

"Ni San!" 

Seeing Kurogane Ikki break into a cold sweat under the relentless pressure of the two girls, Ryoji's mood lifted considerably. 

As expected, happiness truly is built on the misfortune of others. 

"Haah~" 

The legal loli, completely uninterested in the drama unfolding before her, stretched lazily and let out a yawn. 

"Junior Brother, let's go." 

"First Senior Sister, have you decided which one to watch?" 

"Anything's fine. I'm sleepy." 

Her face showed a hint of weariness as she casually bought two tickets at the counter and led Ryoji to a screening room. 

Now that he thought about it, she had flown back from overseas right after finishing a match and came straight to find him. She probably hadn't gotten much sleep along the way. 

"If you're tired, you should head back to the dorm to rest." 

Ryoji almost voiced his thoughts but swallowed the words before they could escape. 

--- 

Inside the dimly lit screening room. 

"Here we go!" 

Just as Ryoji sat down, the legal loli climbed directly onto his lap and curled up in his arms. 

Her petite body tucked itself neatly against him. Lying on her side, she inhaled softly, taking in the faint scent of comfort, and her expression grew serene. 

"You go ahead and watch. I'll nap for a bit. Wake me when it's over…" 

Her voice trailed off as she spoke, her breathing growing deeper and steadier. 

Warm breaths grazed his chest, her delicate body radiating a faint, pleasant fragrance. Her waterfall-like hair spilled across his chest, and her weight was so light it was almost imperceptible. 

'What a test of willpower.' 

Ryoji took a deep breath, calming his heartbeat through sheer force of will and entering a state of 'clear mirror, still water.' 

'Activate Junk Converter's effect, discarding itself and Jet Synchron from my hand to the graveyard. Add Junk Synchron from the deck to my hand, Normal Summon Junk Synchron, activate its effect to revive Converter… Triple Star Synchro Summon— Trishula! Let's go!' 

While Ryoji entertained himself with an imaginary duel, three minutes had already passed in reality. 

On the screen, the bold title 'Men's Fallen Paradise' flashed across, accompanied by its theme song. Male actors began making their dramatic entrances one after another. 

Ryoji: (...) 

'I was careless!' 

'No wonder this screening room was so empty. I should've known better than to let the legal loli buy the tickets!' 

"Da-da-da-da-da-da!" 

Not long after the movie began, the rapid-fire sounds of machine guns echoed, growing louder and closer. 

Ryoji's expression sharpened instantly. 

(End of Chapter)