The Perils of the Library and the Sanctuary of Sound

After confirming the desk drawers inside were empty, I exited the room, with Takagi following close behind me, the red imprints on his face stubbornly lingering.

Ahead, I spotted a girl with long, straight pink hair standing with her back to me. Ah… it was the sharp-tongued, tsundere Amemiya Wakaba.

“…Is that Amemiya?”

She offered no response, remaining motionless with her back to me, seemingly engrossed in something.

Curiosity piqued, I craned my neck to peer over and was utterly taken aback: she was, unbelievably, reading… explicit Boys’ Love manga?!?!

A glance revealed two burly, well-built men, their bodies intertwined, engaged in an indescribably explicit and intimate embrace!

“Hm? Oh, it’s you… And why is there a little pseudo-girl Takagi here…?”

“P-pseudo-girl?! What are you talking about?!” Takagi’s face instantly changed color.

“Oh, just kidding~ I just wanted to tease you since you have such delicate features~” Amemiya smiled with an innocent air.

“Speaking of which… where did you… get this book…?”

“Eh? Aren’t there plenty right next to me? See, this entire shelf is full of them! Pretty sharp eyes I have, wouldn’t you say?!”

“Uh…”

Indeed, as she claimed, this shelf was laden not only with Boys’ Love and heterosexual romance manga, but also Girls’ Love… and doujinshi.

I randomly pulled out a volume titled ‘The Happy Life with My Stepmothers’… Driven by an intense curiosity, I casually flipped through it.

Oh my goodness! What kind of outrageous ‘cheese’ (TL Note: A Chinese internet slang term, ‘zhīshì,’ used humorously to refer to surprising or explicit content/knowledge.) is this?! And… and they can *do* it like this?! This, this… this is too explosive?! Wow! The male lead can play it so wildly?!

A restless heat began to surge through my body. My brain screamed at me to stop, yet my hands, defying all reason, kept flipping the pages! Stop flipping, hands! This… this is some truly incredible ‘cheese’!

“Ah… Th-that… Kamimura…?” Takagi’s face had, at some point, become so alarmingly clear that I could even see the mole at the corner of his eye.

“Wh-what is it?! What do you want?!” In less than a second, I snapped the manga shut and instinctively took a few steps back.

“So, so Kamimura… l-likes… to read this kind of… ah.” He suggestively covered his mouth with a hand, his cheeks once again flushing crimson as his eyes darted away.

“Ahem, who, who likes… to read this kind of thing…?” With the fastest hand speed possible, I returned the manga to its original spot.

“You two are really quite innocent, aren’t you?” Amemiya, seeing our embarrassed expressions, was momentarily surprised.

“Oh, right! Shall I guide you to the new continent of Boys’ Love?! I don’t mind if we read it together, you know?”

“Boys’ Love… what is that?” Takagi asked, brimming with curiosity.

“It’s mmph mmph mmph?!” I instinctively clapped a hand over Amemiya’s mouth to prevent her from speaking.

“Ahaha… Um… Takagi… why don’t you go out first? Amemiya and I have some important private matters to discuss…”

“Oh, oh… I’ll be going then…”

Once he had left the library, I released my hand from Amemiya’s mouth.

“Why wouldn’t you let me speak?! Seriously… my first kiss was stolen by your palm!” Amemiya frowned, complaining to me with a disgruntled air.

“He’s still an innocent boy, you know… Don’t you feel any guilt?” I sighed, pressing a hand to my forehead.

“What’s there to feel guilty about…? Oh~ I get it now~ You mean good things should be shared among good sisters, right?” Her sudden realization only gave me a headache.

“You should’ve said so sooner~ Here, come watch with me?”

“Ah, no! Uh… what I mean is… I have no interest in that! You, you should… just watch by yourself!” I frantically waved my hands in a desperate, yet polite, refusal.

“…What’s wrong…? You’re really not interested, are you?” Amemiya’s face fell instantly.

“You, you couldn’t possibly… like Girls’ Love manga, could you?!” Amemiya covered her mouth with one hand, feigning a lady-like surprise.

“Uh… not exac—”

“If, if you want to… with me… it’s, it’s not… impossible, you know? But on one condition… I’ll be the ‘top’ in any of my relationships, okay?” A mysterious blush inexplicably bloomed on her cheeks, and her eyes held a hazy, intoxicating gleam.

“?” Her words sent my heart churning with a tumultuous unease, like a stormy sea. In that instant, my mind raced through countless possibilities, searching for a way to gracefully resolve the situation.

Just as I was about to make a decision, she suddenly took a step closer to me, and I felt an intangible, yet palpable, pressure bearing down. The closer she came, the further I retreated, and the distance between us steadily shortened. With the ‘orange situation’ (TL Note: A Chinese internet slang pun, ‘júshì yǐ dìng,’ where ‘橘’ (jú, orange) sounds like ‘局’ (jú, situation), implying a yuri/girls’ love (GL) romance is imminent or established.) seemingly sealed, I noticed I was drenched in sweat.

“Ahaha… Amemiya, you’ve completely misunderstood… what I meant…” A sudden gust of wind swept through, sending a chilling sensation through my lower body. My fear intensified, and now only one thought filled my mind: Run!!!

“Right!! I just remembered I have something very important I forgot to do! Amemiya, I can’t chat anymore, bye-bye!” I quickly conjured up some flimsy excuse, then dashed out of the library door.

Finally, I had escaped the clutches of a devil… First the perverted Suzuki Minoru, now the devilish Amemiya Wakaba! Why must I endure such torment, wuwuwu… Takagi, please share half your luck with me, waaaah 😭… C-could it be?! Is my ability actually Ultimate ‘Succubus’?

I leaned against a pillar, my gaze vacant, contemplating the meaning of life: Who am I? Where am I? And where do I go from here?

If this world I inhabit is merely a game in another, then I must surely be the most tragic character.

Huff… Having finally sorted through my tumultuous emotions, I walked alone to the room next to the library, “Studio”…? I suppose it means a recording studio? I just hope I don’t encounter anything like that again… Please, please.

I gently pushed open the door and quietly stepped inside.

The moment I entered the room, the first thing I noticed wasn’t a sight, but a rhythmic drumbeat that immediately reached my ears.

The person playing the drums was none other than the Ultimate ‘Rock Star,’ Akahira Yuusuke. With an exhilarated expression, he struck the drum kit with fervent passion. Takagi and Osakabe Nanase stood watching his performance.

Just then, Yuusuke, with incredible speed, struck the snare drum, then the three tom-toms in rapid succession, before finally tapping the crash cymbal repeatedly to signal the end of his solo.

Takagi, Osakabe Nanase, and I all clapped for him. “How was it?! Pretty impressive, right?!”

“While I don’t quite understand it, it sounds amazing!” Osakabe Nanase replied honestly.

“Huh…? When did Kamimura come in…?” Takagi asked me.

“I just came in a little while ago. Speaking of which, there are so many instruments here…”

“Right?! The first time I came in, I was bouncing with excitement at the sight! This is truly my dream sanctuary!” Yuusuke’s passionate mood had swelled to its absolute peak; perhaps this is what it truly looks like when someone reaches their dream destination.

All sorts of fascinating instruments were arrayed before me: a thumb piano, violin, waterphone, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, shamisen, bass guitar, marimba, shakuhachi, triangle, electronic keyboard, accordion, and a drum kit, among many others. While I knew the names of most of these instruments, when it came to music theory, I was utterly clueless.