Chapter 537: Fear of Men?

With that question from me, it finally clicked to Serizawa-senpai that she was sticking close to me.

Her eyes went wide from surprise and her mouth hung open.

Before my eyes, I watched how she almost turned green from extreme fright. This was probably some kind of phobia now rather than just normal fear of men or I was missing more information

A few seconds later, the grip she had on my shoulder loosened and her legs lost their strength, her balance collapsing.

Ah. No. That’s her reflexive reaction. Her body wanted to pull away from me even if it meant hurting herself.

However, I also had no time to think about what I had to do. Seeing that she’s about to fall, I braced myself for hits that I would possibly receive as I chased after her falling body, enclosing my arm to her waist and grabbing one of her hands before pulling it to prevent her from hurting her back.

It was a split-second decision that even if she fears or hates me, my body already moved to catch her even before my mind completely processed it.

Although a somewhat similar occurrence also happened earlier at lunch, the major difference was that I ended up holding her and quite tightly at that.

It might be wrong to call it an accident but what happened already happened.

I lifted her body and tried to stand her up on her feet. However, there’s still no strength on her foot.

From a distance away, Haruko saw that occurrence but she’s just smiling there, clearly wanting me to take care of the girl. As for the other girls, although it also reached their attention, none of them moved. It was as if this was something they already agreed on seeing.

Or Haruko already told them not to disturb whatever she was hoping for me to accomplish here.

“Senpai...” I called out to the silver-haired senpai to at least wake her consciousness up but all it did was just for her to end up putting all her weight on me.

And with her face still stricken with fear, the hits that I thought would come didn’t arrive.

Instead, I felt how the girl’s temperature gradually fell down before she began to shiver from the cold.

At this point, I already slumped down to the floor with Serizawa-senpai’s chin resting on my shoulder and one of her arms slung behind me.

She’s conscious but not to what’s currently happening.

Even if I could only see the side of her face, the girl was in her own mind, perhaps relieving whatever it was that’s making her shiver at the moment.

“Senpai...” I called out to her once more but still no reaction.

When I sat down to support her strengthless body, I loosened my hold on her as soon as I carefully settled her down, making sure that she wouldn’t just slide down to the ground.

But with Serizawa-senpai holding me like this while still shivering, I’m beginning to doubt her fear of men or how she’s scared of me.

Normally, she should do her best to stay away from me after feeling the fear, right?

True. How she pulled away was a reflex but now that we looked like we’re embracing each other tightly, that’s not in line with her fear.

She’s indeed shivering and her skin directly touching me also felt cold to the touch. However, her heartbeat sounded stable.

Truthfully, I could end this mental struggle to seek answers by pushing her away and letting her lie down on the floor but... that was most likely going to be a wrong move.

That’s why instead of that, I lifted my arm and began rubbing her back, her flawless back that had begun perspiring cold sweat.

Transferring my heat through this, I observed the changes in her while waiting for her to wake up from her trance.

She could hear me. I was sure of that. Moreover, it was being proven from how her ears twitched whenever I would whisper to it.

“Honestly, I have no idea what kind of situation you are in. And it’s only you who can clear this confusion that’s starting to fill my mind.” I continued while keeping up with my back rubs and eventually head rubs from my other hand to expel away the cold.

Moreover, I slipped my hand beneath her long and beautiful silver hair for ease of access.

However, that’s only a patchwork remedy. Her body was still too cold that even I was beginning to be affected by it.

And surprisingly, no matter how alluring this girl’s beauty is... my inner perversion wasn’t kicking off, ignoring the softness of her body and how she’s firmly pressed on me.

Well, considering this situation... it was just inappropriate when she’s this cold. If this was from fear or anything else, I had no idea.

We’re already at the entrance of that enclosed space but that would surely not be used anymore.

And with the girls already finishing up with crushing those eggs, the lesson for today would be over as soon as we’re done here or when Serizawa-senpai calmed down and gathered her strength back to stand up and separate herself from me.

“... I.”

After a few minutes of silence with me just rubbing her head and back, I finally heard her faint voice reaching my ears.

On top of that, Serizawa-senpai, whose expression was pale and grim earlier, regained its previous color as she slowly lifted her head to meet my gaze.

Looking into her ice-blue eyes and her lush eyelashes, I could confidently attest that Serizawa-senpai was a true foreign beauty. Even if she doesn’t say or do anything, she will always surely get an admirer anywhere.

However, the shakiness of her eyes could still be observed. And only after a few seconds of eye contact, Serizawa-senpai began to explore my face, stopping at each part as if she’s trying to memorize the make of my face.

And since we’re in the same position, I couldn’t help but copy what she’s doing.

Starting from her forehead that was slightly covered by her fringes, her pure white and unblemished face that her blush would surely be easy to see if that ever happened, her exquisite straight nose and her slightly pale lips that were seemingly in need of a good suck to get a bright color.

She’s truly a western beauty with a simple touch of her being half-Japanese.

She’s like one of those celebrity or anime characters that would look good in a yukata despite being of western descent.

Seconds passed and before we knew it, we’re now staring at each other for a few minutes. Moreover, I had no idea if Haruko and the others were still watching but at this very moment, I somehow found my focus completely on this girl.

No. I probably felt that if I turned my face away from her gaze, she would return to her previous state. Her body temperature had begun to stabilize and her shaking had already stopped.

“Can I ask you a question, senpai?” Because the silence was deafening, I broke it once more.

Earlier, she only managed to utter one word and it didn’t answer anything.

Now, I wanted to hear answers from her.

What exactly happened to her? She’s scared, she almost fell down and lastly, she powerlessly clung to me while shaking from a cold sensation that filled her body.

“...”

With my question, she once more met my gaze. And this time, she nodded slightly.

“Are you still scared of me?”

Considering she’s not even trying to remove herself from me at the moment, it’s highly unlikely.

Without breaking eye contact, Serizawa-senpai started thinking of an answer to my question.

And it took a minute before she managed to deliver it. “... No.”

It’s only one word. But with her admittance, it was like she suddenly did a 180 compared to her words just a few minutes earlier.

In any case, the reason why that happened could only be answered by her. So... I followed up with another question.

“Then... are you still afraid of men?”

This time, her expression froze. No. Her whole body suddenly felt like it suddenly stopped. My hand that was already stationary at her back felt her temperature going down once more. She’s reacting to the word ‘men’ or just the thought of that.

Taking that reaction as an answer to my question. I continued.

“I see. Noted. Then did I become an exception?”

And with this question, Serizawa-senpai fell into contemplation once more as she tried to find the answer.

A few seconds later, she stutteringly answered.

“No... I just... I feel safe at this moment... Only at this moment. If I... stand up and leave... I will definitely feel scared again.”

“That’s too vague of a description, senpai. So basically, you’re not afraid that I’m holding you closely this time but if we ever separated, the fear will return. Am I right?”

This time, I said all of that in a normal tone instead of the gentle tone that I used when I began calling out to her and asking my question.

Nonetheless, even if that’s the case, Serizawa-senpai nodded her head in acknowledgment.

That instantly crossed out that she was being taken in by how I talked to her.

... Then what’s really happening here? Even if I put down a guess, I, myself, was rejecting them.

There’s no choice. Two people can only answer this, Serizawa-senpai herself and none other than our lover, Haruko.

When I reached this line I thought, I immediately raised my head and there she was, smiling contentedly while watching us.

“Do you need help, hubby?”