The clothes that were originally clean and tidy are now soaking wet... Aoto can only make do for now.
After a considerable amount of effort and trouble, he finally managed to put clothes on both himself and Toshisuke.
Of course, when using his own yukata to wipe Toshisuke’s body and helping him dress, Aoto kept his eyes raised throughout, preventing himself from seeing too much skin.
Fortunately, putting on a yukata is quite simple; you just wrap it around the person and tie the belt tight. You could almost do it with your eyes closed.
Next... there’s just the matter of taking Toshisuke back to Shiwei Hall.
If he were to drag Toshisuke back to Shiwei Hall like he did just now, as if dragging a corpse, that would be quite inappropriate.
For one thing, it’s inconvenient; the journey from Qianxun House to Shiwei Hall is several times longer than from the bathhouse to the changing room. "Dragging a corpse" is only suitable for short distances; over a longer distance, it’s both tiring and inconvenient.
Moreover, doing so might arouse the suspicion of the staff at Qianxun House and they might discover that Toshisuke, who was just a boy, has now turned into a girl.
He’d just have to carry her back... After weighing the pros and cons of various "transportation methods," Aoto found that carrying Toshisuke on his back was the safest and most convenient.
Aoto crouched down, causing Toshisuke to lean over his back, then placed Toshisuke’s hands over his shoulders, stretched his arms downwards, and lifted Toshisuke’s legs to waist height.
Toshisuke, being petite, was very light.
For Aoto, carrying Chokata was no different from carrying a cat.
"Mmm... hmm..."
Toshisuke, whose consciousness was completely hazy, might have felt very comfortable leaning on Aoto’s back, as she instinctively tightened her arms and legs, holding onto Aoto closely.
The plump persimmon was pressed into a firm persimmon cake...
Feeling the intense pressure on his back, it was as if two strong currents surged through Aoto’s body.
Aoto’s body noticeably stiffened for a moment. But soon, both his body and expression returned to normal.
For Aoto, who had already encountered numerous unexpected situations and emergencies tonight, such a trivial matter as "the persimmon turning into a persimmon cake" couldn’t stir significant waves in his heart anymore.
After all, he had faced much more intense situations tonight... and more than once.
Silently focusing on the path ahead, ignoring the constant flow of currents from Toshisuke, Aoto, composed and unruffled, carried Toshisuke out of the changing room, heading toward the main entrance and outside Qianxun House.
As soon as they reached the entrance, Granny Tang, sitting behind the counter, immediately noticed Toshisuke on Aoto’s back.
"Oh dear, what happened to this guest?" Granny Tang asked anxiously with a concerned face, "Did he soak his head just like that guest earlier?"
The "guest" Granny Tang referred to was, of course, Inoue, who had just been carried out by Kondo and Chiba Shigetarou.
Due to the tightly pressed persimmon, Granny Tang didn’t realize that the person on Aoto’s back had "transformed" from a boy into a girl.
"It’s nothing," Aoto smiled, "It’s just a bit late, and she felt a bit sleepy."
"Oh..." Granny Tang looked relieved, "As long as it’s nothing serious."
After politely saying goodbye to Granny Tang, Aoto pulled aside the door curtain and walked through the hall door, arriving outside the bathhouse.
As soon as he stepped out of Qianxun House, the unique damp heat of a summer night enveloped Aoto from all directions like a tide.
The route from Qianxun House to Shiwei Hall doesn’t pass through densely populated residential areas, nor are there any izakayas that stay open until the early hours along the way. Therefore, at this time, the streets in this area were almost completely deserted.
So, making an educated guess, Aoto didn’t have to worry about encountering any pedestrians on the way back to Shiwei Hall.
After successfully dressing Toshisuke and taking him out of the bathhouse—the most troublesome issues had been solved one by one—Aoto let out a long sigh filled with the fatigue of the night.
At this moment, Aoto suddenly noticed that Toshisuke seemed unusually quiet since a while ago. So, he tilted his head slightly to look back.
"..." Toshisuke breathed lightly, steadily, and rhythmically.
After leaving the stuffy bathhouse, Toshisuke’s complexion improved significantly.
The healthy flush returned to her cheeks and lips.
Watching Toshisuke sleep soundly with her left cheek pressed against his right shoulder, Aoto couldn’t help but let a faint smile appear on his face.
To avoid disturbing Toshisuke’s sleep, Aoto deliberately slowed his walking pace a little.
However, just as Aoto redirected his gaze forward—
"Mmm... mmm..."
Suddenly, a murmuring sound that evoked the image of light smoke echoed from his right shoulder.
Thinking Toshisuke had woken up, Aoto quickly turned his head back to look once again.
Toshisuke hadn’t opened her eyes... It seemed she was in a semi-conscious state, her gracefully lined jaw hooked onto Aoto’s right shoulder.
This action brought Toshisuke’s face extremely close to Aoto’s... So close that he could clearly see the skin’s texture on her delicate face, close enough for their breaths to almost collide.
Aoto was momentarily taken aback, then, with a delayed reaction, he leaned his head back, increasing the distance between his face and Toshisuke’s.

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