CH 36

Maya is Cuter Than a Penguin

Translated by Dawn

Near the entrance of the aquarium was an expanse of ponds, in which we could see sea urchins, starfish, sea anemones, and turtles.

Then, passing through the pond area and through the gate, there was the penguin area, where the walls of the corridor were made of glass.

Inside the glass, penguins swam in pools and waddled around in groups on the white floor, looking very cute.

In the back, the keeper’s older sister was feeding the penguins fish for food.

Maiko loosened her cheeks and relaxed.

“Penguins are so cute. Why are pandas, orcas, and other black-and-white animals so cute?”

“Zebras are the cool type, though. But the cuteness of penguins is foul. It’s not every day you find an animal that’s so cute even as an adult.”

“Oh, even boys think so.”

Maikoi looked surprised.

“Oi, oi, cute things are cute even for boys.”

“Especially that penguin who is bigger than the other penguins but has fluffy hair pulled up on two sides, white skin, and big eyes, just like Maya, don’t you think?”

“That’s true. It’s just like Maya.”

“That’s basically Maya-chan herself.”

“They’re like two peas in a pod.”

“Maria, where’s Maya?”

“I’m right in front of you all?”

Shisae, me, Maiko, Miina, and Kiriha all gasped at the same time.

“No, Maya-chan!”

“Where did she come in from?”

“Maya-chan, you can’t go there! Come back here right now!”

“Kiriha-san, let’s find a way in.”

“Alright.”

“I think it’ll be a big mess if we go in with too many people.”

“Shisae’s operational skills will do the trick! Penguin-chan, we’ll form a scrum and form a wall to defend so that Maya-chan won’t go to the back!”

“Kyu~”

As instructed by Shisae, the penguins lined up side by side, forming a wall with their shoulders tightly together, blocking Maya’s progress.

Maya dived into the wall of penguins.

Maya was pleased as she rubbed the penguins’ flabby bellies with lust.

“Oh, no, Maya-chan’s going to get more and more into it.”

“Hey, the keeper’s going to notice.”

The keeper in the back had not yet noticed Maya’s presence. It was a good thing that Maya was so quiet.

But she was almost done feeding them.

In a few seconds, she would turn around and catch sight of Maya.

“Noooooo! Penguin-chans attract the keeper’s attention!”

The penguins, who were being fed by their keeper, suddenly started fighting.

The keeper tried desperately to mediate the fight.

“Okay, now, while they’re at it, that girl, Maya, has started sleeping with the penguin in her arms!”

“Kuuuhh! How can I get the keeper’s attention anymore! Do I have to make the penguins do a moonwalk!?”

“That would start a lot of strange rumors!”

Shisae and I were panicking about what to do, Maiko was just upset, and Maria was waiting like a maid for instructions.

Then Miina said a few words.

“No, honey, shouldn’t we just use your teleport to bring her back?”

“Right, right.”

Kiriha nodded her head, and the three of us looked at each other.

*****

While teleporting Maya back out, after that I cleaned only the dirt from her clothes using teleport.

Then we ran off with Maya to the back of the aquarium.

Now we bought juice from a vending machine and sat around a table in the rest area.

“Yareyare, I was afraid she’s going to find out at any moment.”

“Maya, you can’t go in there without permission.”

Even though Maira was angry with her, Maya showed no signs of remorse; in fact, she was rather dissatisfied with the situation.

“Muu, my belly was chewy, but my hair wasn’t fluffy.”

“I mean, it’s a bird that swims. You can’t swim with water-absorbing feathers.”

Maya got out of her chair and climbed into Kiriha’s lap. She then relaxed with Kiriha’s ample breasts as her pillow.

“After all, Kiriha-san’s boobs are the best.”

“Really? Do you like my boobs that much?”

Kiriha happily hugged Miya and poked her pudgy cheeks with her fingers.

While I was relaxing at the sight of their friendship, Miina said,

“”By the way, Maiko-san, did you call Maya by her first name?”

“Eh, no…….”

When Maiko started to panic, Maria interrupted.

“Maiko-san talks to me and Maya-san rather frankly.”

“Fuya! Maria!”

As if interrupting Maiko’s words, Maria blurted out.

“But this does not mean that there is a wall between her and all of you. Unlike us, who are in the same police squad, when she is with you guys, it is almost always when Honey-san is also in the group. So, if she calls you all by your first name, she has to call him by his first name as well. It’s a manifestation of her girlishness that she is embarrassed to address a boy of her own age. In other words, Maiko-san has a high level of maidenliness.”

As soon as she said it, Maria gave a thumbs up to Maiko. Her expressionless face seemed to be the same expressionless face as usual, but there was a definite sense of accomplishment in her eyes.

Koimai’s face was red with tears in her eyes.

“Idiot Maria……”

Then Miina tilted her head.

“But Koimai-san calls him Honey-kun, right? I don’t think she used his name in the first place.”

“Huh? Uh, then…Honey? But that sounds like he’s my boyfriend, so Ikuo. I’m not going to call him by his first name now, and if I call him by his first name, it sounds like he’s my boyfriend, and I’d rather have a chance to call him legally…….”

Koimai was depressed and went into a mumbling meditation.

“I think Maiko is definitely the type of person who will have a hard time in the future.”

“I think she’s the type that already has a hard time…….”

“I guess so.”

I finished my juice and put the empty can on the table, and Kiriha stood up with Maya in her arms.

“Let me throw it away.”

“Oh, my bad.”

After setting Maya down on the floor, Kiriha walked to the trash can next to the vending machine, carrying as many empty cans as she could carry for me, herself, and everyone else.

It was a lot for one person to carry for seven people, so Maya helped her with the ones she couldn’t carry.

Although their hair colors were different, they looked like close sisters.

“Kiriha-san has changed, hasn’t she?”

“Yeah. At first, she was the type who didn’t want to get close to anyone but me. But isn’t that true for Miina, too?”

“Me?”

I nodded.

“I’m sorry if I’ve got this wrong, but I kind of feel like you’re saying things more clearly now than you used to.”

That said, I never had a deep relationship with Miina, to begin with. So that was probably just me overthinking things.

But Miina fell silent and looked at me a little.

Then she opened her mouth as if she had decided to talk, but with a radiant look on her face.

“I’m sure it’s because I’ve stopped being so beautiful on all sides.” (+)

The air in the room was hushed by this rather bombshell statement.

“I don’t know if this is something I should go out of my way to tell you, but the truth is, I am an adopted child.”

I was at a loss for a response to the heavy words that followed.

But as if out of consideration for me, Miina began to speak matter-of-factly.

“My parents couldn’t have children, so they adopted me. But soon after, when I was eight years old, they had a real child, and there was no place for me at home. So I didn’t want to lose my place at school, so I tried to say and do things that would make everyone like me. But, you know, I’m done with that.”

Exhaling heavily, Miina leaned her weight against the back of her chair and said.

“Because this is where I belong.”

Miina said with a soft smile.

“Everyone doesn’t expect me to be selfish, they don’t get mad when I don’t say what they want me to say. They don’t coerce me, attack me, or try to take advantage of me. With you all around, I don’t need to fit in at school.”