Shiraishi Shin sat back down and said, "For much the same reasons as you. By the way, congratulations on becoming the champion and the Queen. You looked very beautiful standing on the stage yesterday wearing the Queen's crown and red cape."
"Th... thank you."
Hearing Shiraishi Shin praise her beauty, Alya lowered her head in embarrassment, while whispering in russian, "Don't just praise me a little, I want to hear more~"
Shiraishi Shin stuffed his schoolbag into the desk and noticed something different about the white over-the-knee socks on Alya's left side. He asked, "How did your feet get wet?"
"A car drove through a puddle and splashed them when I was coming in this morning."
Mentioning this made Alya pout, her mood clearly turning a bit sour, but fortunately, she had spares in her locker.
"Shin, could you please help me get the spare socks from my locker?"
"Sure."
Shiraishi Shin stood up and went to the lockers against the back wall. These were storage lockers for students to keep an extra set of school uniforms and such; each student had their own private cubby. Alya's locker was right next to his. After opening it, he felt around inside and pulled out a pair of socks.
These socks didn't have a left or right, so taking any one was fine.
While Shiraishi Shin was getting the socks, Alya took off the wet over-the-knee sock from her right leg, revealing her jade-like leg and foot.
Shiraishi Shin said with a smile, "Should I help you put them on while I'm at it?"
Alya looked up at Shiraishi Shin upon hearing this. Seeing his smiling face, she recalled the last time his large hand touched her thigh, making her so shy she wanted to crawl into a hole.
She crossed her right leg over her left and crossed her arms. "If you want me to reward you, you can help me put them on."
Hearing this and seeing her face gradually turning red, Shiraishi Shin stepped forward. "Is that so? Then thank you for the reward, Alya. I'll dig in then."
"Y-you really want a reward like this?"
Shiraishi Shin asked curiously, "Why wouldn't I? I admit I'm a leg man, especially for long legs like yours. Since you're offering a reward, I naturally can't miss out."
With that, Shiraishi Shin grasped that pure, flawless jade-like foot.
"Eek~"
Alya's heart skipped a beat, and she swallowed nervously. She hadn't expected Shiraishi Shin to be able to say something so shameless; she had really underestimated him.
"Y... you better not touch anything you shouldn't."
She endured it as Shiraishi Shin held her calf and pulled the sock up. But when Shiraishi Shin's finger "accidentally" brushed against her leg, Alya let out a cry and quickly pulled her right leg back.
Afterward, her face flushed as she looked at Shiraishi Shin with eyes that seemed to be looking at a pervert, as if he had taken advantage of her.
Shiraishi Shin instinctively turned his head away and sat back in his seat. "An accident. After all, I'm not a robot; I can't have absolute control."
Alya "rewarded" him with: "You're a pervert, a leg man, a lecher. Why didn't I see this before?"
A beautiful woman's insults usually just circled around those few words.
Shiraishi Shin accepted them all, knowing that women can be unreasonable. He said, "Thanks for the compliment. A man without the 'merits' you mentioned wouldn't be a man, but a saint."
"..."
Alya was speechless. It was true; everything she just said applied to any man. Some showed it, while others were closeted perverts who acted serious.
Alya calmed herself down and asked, seemingly nonchalantly, "I heard your friend say earlier that you want to be a six-winged angel?"
"You were eavesdropping on our conversation?"
Alya got flustered and said, "Who's eavesdropping? It's just that you guys weren't exactly whispering when you spoke, okay? I was sitting so close, so naturally, I heard it."
Shiraishi Shin shrugged. "Alright, since you heard it, I'll admit it. So, are you interested in becoming one of my wings?"
After saying that, Shiraishi Shin looked at Alya with interest. Although this girl was a bit tsundere, he had already won her over about seventy to eighty percent. She probably wouldn't agree so quickly out loud.
Alya was momentarily at a loss for words. She hadn't expected Shiraishi Shin to admit it so readily, which she didn't actually mind that much.
Because her father had two wives, both of whom were from Japan, she also had a half-sister named Masha, who had flaxen hair. Both sisters were mixed-race. Currently, the two lived in the same apartment and both attended this school; her sister was in the second year.
But what she expected even less was the following sentence—making her one of his wings?
What did that mean?
A confession?
Why so sudden!
If you're going to confess, then confess, but 'wings,' and 'one of'? And in the classroom? How am I supposed to respond?
Alya wasn't mentally prepared at all. She hadn't expected Shiraishi Shin to be so direct. How should she reply? Refuse?
But Alya did indeed like Shiraishi Shin. Although they hadn't known each other long, there was the life-saving favor from Saturday night, and Shiraishi Shin's thoughtful care after she fainted from a fever.
Most importantly, it was his looks and strength. Women naturally admire the strong. So, Alya indeed already had a very good impression of him, but wasn't the progress a bit too fast?
After thinking it over, Alya took a deep breath and said, "Sorry, I'm not ready yet. Can I give you an answer later?"
Shiraishi Shin had expected this. "No problem. Answer me when you've made up your mind."
After that, the two stopped talking. Once the words were out in the open, the previous casual and relaxed atmosphere vanished.
"Good morning, Class Monitor, Kujou-san. I didn't expect you two to be here so early."
A boy walked in. He had a somewhat unsightly bowl cut, an average face, wore glasses, and was only 1.64 meters tall.
As the Class Monitor, Shiraishi Shin replied with a smile, "Morning. We only arrived a few minutes ago ourselves."
As time passed, more and more students arrived in the class. Chitoge Kirisaki, who sat to Shiraishi Shin's right, had also arrived. She glanced toward Shiina Mahiru's seat and saw she hadn't arrived yet.
After sitting down, she asked, "Class Monitor, how is Mahiru doing?"
Shiraishi Shin said, "She's fine. She used ice after getting home, and now she can walk normally."
"That's good. But aren't you neighbors? Didn't you come together?"
Chitoge Kirisaki was a bit puzzled. Logically, since they were in the same class and were neighbors, they could just go to and from school together. Could it be they agreed to walk separately to avoid misunderstandings?
That didn't seem right either. Previously, everyone knew they went to school together and even discussed whether they were a couple.
"I woke up early today and couldn't sleep, so I came first."
"I see."
Alya pricked up her ears to listen. She hadn't known that Shiina Mahiru and Shiraishi Shin were neighbors living next to each other. No wonder the two often went to school together.
Alya muttered, "In that case, is Shiina Mahiru also one of Shiraishi Shin's intended six-winged angel wings?"
She just didn't know if the two of them had succeeded, but probably not. If they had, their relationship should be even more intimate.