5. The devil's goodnight

Opening the front door, I entered the house.

"..."

There was no need to greet anyone since I lived alone.

Turning on the light, I headed to my room to grab a change of clothes.

I took a quick shower and realized that it was already midnight.

My stomach wasn't rumbling since I had eaten before starting my shift as a waiter and I wasn't very sleepy after having rested for a few hours at Shibata's house.

"I really collapsed..."

Although I knew that my daily schedule was overly taxing on my body, I couldn't help myself.

Without outside help, I could rely only on myself.

Opening my textbooks, I did my assigned homework for the day and did some revision.

Although I didn't have a problem with tomorrow's homework, it was mandatory that I had to do daily review in order to maintain the valedictorian title of the school.

Even though there was some break time while working at the bookstore where I could do quick reviews, I was still at work.

After an hour in the books, I felt sleep take over my body.

Staying awake longer than usual and with my body needing more rest than normal, I decided to break for the night and head to the bedroom.

It was at that moment that I realized I had received a message.

Immersed in my studies, I hadn't noticed that it had been delivered half an hour ago.

Sender: Girlfriend <3

"..."

I need to change the contact name...

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier. This is to apologize ( ･ω･)☞ "

Attached to Shibata's message there was a picture.

Shibata was hugging the giant teddy bear in her room and doing a cutesy pose.

Given the late hour, I didn't know if I should answer her, but I received a text from her at that same time.

"Are you done studying? (๑-﹏-) "

Are you an esper!!!?

Holding back from asking the question, I answered her.

"I just finished. What is this image you sent me for?"

"You can use it as the background of your cell phone（；^ω^） "

"Why would I use a picture of you as the background of my cell phone!"?

"That's what I would have done if you had let me keep your picture（；^ω^） "

"..."

Shibara is scary.

Note to self: don't collapse in front of the door anymore.

"Are you about to go to sleep?"

Noticing that Shibata had changed the subject, I didn't know if her previous statement was a joke or not.

"Yes."

Sending a dry reply, Shibata did not respond.

I waited a minute, but it didn't look like the conversation would continue.

So I can go to sleep...?

Sighing, I added a sentence.

"Isn't it late for you too? You should go to sleep if you want to wake up for tomorrow."

"I can't sleep (๑-﹏-) "

"?"

I had a bad feeling about this.

"I'm on my bed and I'm enveloped in your smell! I can't fall asleep! ♡(ӦｖӦ｡) "

"Change those sheets now!"

Note to self: I must not sleep in Shibata's bed again. Ever.

"Just kidding. I don't use the same sheets as a sick person. For now. (；^ω^） "

"Take that 'for now' out! You should never do that!"

Feeling my strength dwindle, I had a feeling that talking to Shibata was worse than the restaurant rush hour.

"So, go to sleep early. I wish you a good night! (；^ω^） "

Unexpectedly, the conversation ended there.

"Good night."

I didn't make the mistake from before of adding another sentence.

Leaving the cell phone away from me, I made sure that I couldn't notice any further messages.

Stepping under the sheets of my bed, I noticed that it was cold.

It was nothing new, but they were especially cold today.

Suddenly, Shibata's smile appeared in my mind.

"Good night."

My body temperature seemed to rise and my posture became more relaxed.

Without realizing it, my mind was already in dreamland.