Comfort Zone

Chapter 19 - Tipping Point

At school, people called out to Mika as usual, saying "Good morning, Neko," to which she would reply, "Mika."

They then noticed her collar and examined the ID tag. Word quickly spread through the school that, somehow, Suzuka had made the land's guardian deity her pet, and said deity was apparently okay with it.

There were mixed reactions.

"How the heck did that happen?"

"A lot of people are interested in Suzuka, even Neko. Is there something special about her?"

"I wish she'd make me her pet, too."

Suzuka ignored the chatter and headed to the stairwell. It had been a while since she talked with Nanmei.

After they greeted each other, Nanmei asked, "Did Neko accept the collar?"

"She did," Suzuka replied, nodding. "And the new name."

"Interesting. She's the first of the three, huh?"

"Mm, she's just a pet," Suzuka said, shaking her head. "Harumi said I could have sex with three others, not be with three others. I'm not gonna do that with Mika, so she doesn't count."

"I see."

Suzuka smirked. "Should I get you a collar, too?"

"No, thanks. I'm Asahi's pet already, and with you, I want to be more than a pet."

Suzuka giggled. "Seems like you're already more than a pet with Asahi."

"Well, yes..."

"So, you wouldn't be happy if we remained friends?"

Nanmei thought it over, playing with her fingers. "Between being friends and not talking at all, being friends is of course better, but I strongly want more."

"Strongly, huh?" Suzuka gave a teasing smile. "Do you think about me at night?"

Nanmei couldn't meet Suzuka's gaze. "I do."

"What kind of things do you think about?"

Nanmei let out a low, displeased noise as she shifted uncomfortably. "Beyond the obvious things, I think about that night when you stayed over and cuddled me a lot."

Suzuka hummed, then got up and knelt behind Nanmei, wrapping her arms around the hellhound's waist and pressing her breasts against Nanmei's back. "Something like this?"

Nanmei closed her eyes and nuzzled Suzuka's cheek. "Yeah."

"Hugging, cuddling, and sleeping together are okay, even if we're just friends," Suzuka said quietly. "But give me a couple weeks to decide about sex."

Nanmei nodded. "Mm."

"You weren't this strongly into me before," Suzuka mumbled. "What changed?"

"I didn't have your approval before."

"I think I can understand that."

They remained like that peacefully until it came time to go to class.

After school, Suzuka had archery practice, which she was a bit nervous about. However, Hikari more or less ignored her, or perhaps more accurately, ran away from her.

Suzuka could only sigh. "Maybe she just needs more time to come to terms with it."

Once that finished, Suzuka considered whether to go straight to Asahi's place. She didn't know what Asahi would be requesting.

She decided to simply ask, taking out her phone to send a text. "Do you have a preferred time for me to arrive today?"

"Not really."