Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 19 Shiina Maki Feels Guilty
Once Shiina Maki had turned around, Akizuki Makoto relaxed, letting the passengers who had been pushed aside shove him back against Shiina Maki.

Fortunately, they were no longer face-to-face, so the situation was no longer so romantic and ambiguous, and Shiina Maki no longer couldn't help but moan when she was squeezed.

but……

This peaceful period was soon disrupted.

Looking at Shiina Maki, who was facing away from him, with her body pressed against the car window and her hand bracing against the glass, Akizuki felt that her current posture was not quite right.

He didn't know why, but he felt that the scene he was in now overlapped with some scenes in the book.

"Oh no, I can't control it like this!"

As Akizuki felt the sensation of his body pressed tightly against Shiina Maki's, he secretly thought to himself that something was wrong.

As luck would have it, someone bumped into him from behind, and in anticipation, he instinctively leaned forward.

Shiina Maki didn't feel anything, except that Akizuki Makoto bumped her butt.

She pursed her lips, secretly pleased with herself.

Surprisingly, having my back to Akizuki Makoto felt quite nice.

When Akizuki Makoto held her in his arms, their bodies were pressed tightly together, but due to the size of her chest, there was still a small gap between them except for their chests.

But now that they were facing away from each other, their bodies were pressed together completely. Shiina Maki could feel the bruises all over her body, which would be touched by Akizuki Makoto from time to time, causing a series of stinging pains.

She didn't dislike the pain; in fact, she found it fascinating.

The stinging sensation was almost irresistible to her, because it was inflicted on her by Akizuki Makoto!
This made her feel that Akizuki Makoto was ravaging her.

The pain transformed into a tingling electric current, surging throughout her body and causing her to tremble involuntarily.

"No, child, is this the right thing to do?"

Makoto Akizuki felt Shiina Maki's body trembling slightly, and she even started to twist the drum restlessly, which made him unable to hold back any longer.

After such a long tug-of-war, it couldn't help but raise its proud head and have a close encounter with Shiina Maki's pert drum!
Even though he tried his best to bend over and silently recite the Three Character Classic, as long as he didn't separate his body from Shiina Maki's close embrace for even a second, Akizuki wouldn't lower her proud head for even a second.

"Hmm? What's this..."

Gradually, Shiina Maki also noticed the strangeness behind her and couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

At first, she didn't pay much attention to the stiffness coming from her buttocks, and was unable to extricate herself from the pain caused by Akizuki Makoto touching the bruises on her body.

But gradually, she sensed something was wrong, because this stiffness not only wouldn't go away, but it was getting stronger and stronger!

"what is it……"

Shiina Maki thought to herself, wanting to turn around and look at the source of the strange feeling behind her.

Behind her, Akizuki Makoto, who had been hunched over in fear, noticed her intention to turn around and immediately said, "Shiina-san, don't turn around!"

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this, Shiina Maki was taken aback, not expecting that Akizuki Makoto would know that she wanted to turn her head away.

Then she became puzzled, wondering why Akizuki Makoto wouldn't let her turn back.

I tried not to turn around, but then I felt something sticking out of my butt...

"Um?!"

As Shiina Maki pondered this, her eyes suddenly widened, and she instantly understood everything.

"Could it be that, Akizuki-kun, you—"

Her voice trembled, and she seemed incredulous, not daring to finish her sentence.

But everyone understood what that meant, and Akizuki Makoto certainly did, his face filled with embarrassment and awkwardness.

"This...this isn't my fault, it's just human nature..."

Akizuki Makoto spoke in a low voice, but as he spoke, he couldn't continue and finally chose to remain silent.

In this situation, there's no point in saying anything; let's just get started.

"Yes, yes! It's okay!"

Shiina Maki tried hard to suppress her excitement and responded softly.

then……

Her body swayed more dramatically.

"???" Akizuki Makoto couldn't hold back any longer. He kept taking deep breaths and hunching over, trying to squeeze back, but the dense crowd was so big that it seemed like there wasn't even room for air to be packed in, so there was no space for him to shrink back!

So, he could only silently suffer under Shiina Maki's influence the whole way until the train finally arrived at Hakusan Station in Bunkyo Ward after twelve stops.

When he got off the bus, Akizuki Makoto was completely numb, and his steps were unsteady as if he were walking on clouds.

Walking beside him, Shiina Maki had flushed cheeks, lowered her head, and pursed her lips, feeling embarrassed as well.

Of course, it wasn't out of shyness, but rather out of guilt towards Akizuki Makoto.

She knew that doing so would make him feel bad, but she still did it.

"I'm so sorry, Akizuki-kun, I didn't mean to..."

She apologized softly, no longer daring to face Akizuki Makoto.

"Yes, you didn't do it on purpose, you did it intentionally."

After silently complaining to himself, Akizuki Makoto pretended to be nonchalant and forced a smile, saying, "It's nothing, it was just an accident, let's not talk about it."

After forcefully putting the matter of what happened on the train behind them, the two silently walked towards Hakusan Ichicho.

On the way, Akizuki Makoto went into the self-service ATM counter and wired 100,000 yen to Mrs. Shiina.

He is a man of his word; once he has made a promise, he will never go back on it.

After remitting the money, I went to the post office and sent photocopies of "Snow Country" to three publishing houses.

The reason why Akizuki Makoto applied to three companies was based on the principle of comparing prices and options to see which company offered the best terms and had the most solid foundation.

"Eh, is that a novel that Akizuki-kun wrote himself?"

After leaving the post office, Shiina Maki was somewhat surprised to learn that the novel sent by Akizuki Makoto was written by her.

Akizuki Makoto asked with a smile, "Doesn't it look like it?"

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant!"

Shiina Maki quickly shook her head in denial, then stammered, "It's just... just... a little... concerned."

To be honest, she really, really wanted to read Akizuki Makoto's novels and be his first reader, but such a request would be too shameless, so she dared not say it.

"Want to see?"

Makoto Akizuki noticed Shiina Maki's concerns, so he took out the only remaining manuscript and handed it to her: "If you want to see it, just tell me. Isn't the purpose of writing a novel for people to read?"

"W-Is it okay?!"

Shiina Maki was overjoyed and solemnly extended both hands to receive the manuscript, as if she were a knight being awarded a medal by the king.

She tilted her head back, her eyes, hidden beneath her dark hair, filled with a hopeful light.

"I've already given it to you, so here you go. This one is for you."

Makoto Akizuki smiled and casually gave the original manuscript to Maki Shiina.

If Snow Country becomes a big hit, his original manuscript will be sold for a high price, at least several hundred thousand yen.

"This is... a handwritten original?"

Shiina Maki glanced down at the bound manuscript paper, and with just one glance, she recognized that it was Akizuki Makoto's handwriting.

He is very dignified and composed, just like his character—upright and righteous.

Akizuki nodded slightly and said, "Yes, the ones that were mailed were all photocopies. This is the original manuscript, which I just finished writing yesterday."

Having received affirmation, Shiina Maki stopped in her tracks and stared blankly at Akizuki Makoto.

"Huh? What..."

Akizuki Makoto noticed that she had stopped and was about to ask Shiina Maki what was wrong when he saw Shiina Maki solemnly holding the manuscript to her chest.

Just then, a timely breeze blew by, caressing her black hair, which fluttered in the wind.

The crimson sky reflected on her, casting a pale yellow glow on her figure.

Shiina Maki revealed her stunningly beautiful face as she looked at Akizuki Makoto, her bright eyes reflecting his image.

Her face, which was usually shrouded in gloom and weakness, suddenly blossomed into a radiant smile.

"Akizuki-kun, thank you... I like you the most."

(End of this chapter)