I get those sudden bursts of inspiration too. Usually, I jot a few trigger words into my phone’s notes. Sometimes a couple lines, sometimes just a few words.

Natsuki was only sketching. She whipped through one page after another. People and settings were just abstract outlines.

Even so, I could kind of tell what she meant, based on what she’d said before.

Roughly: two neighbors. One stick figure sneaks over at midnight with a ladder, climbs to the second floor, slips in through a window, and while the other stick figure—long hair, so probably a girl—is asleep, he starts doing naughty things...

I’d almost forgotten this flat-chested loli debuted by drawing H-doujin... So her “inspiration” wasn’t my novel’s character sheets.

“Ehehe...”

Natsuki sketched as she giggled, like an otaku watching something naughty, a bit of drool almost pooling at the corner of her mouth.

After a while, she finished the last one. She tucked the drafts into her bag, satisfied. Then she looked up and met my disgusted face.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“It’s nothing. I just think, if Ai-Loli-sensei put that much focus into something proper, she’d be incredible.”

“Hmph, I already am incredible. And stop calling me that name!”

She could crack lewd jokes off the cuff and draw H-doujin drafts in front of a guy her age, yet she’s shy about her pen name?

Whatever. Let’s hurry up, get the character designs done, kick her out, and save my heart from a sudden failure.

I went up, unlocked the door, then looked back. “Come in.”

“Ehehe, a high schooler living alone, huh? Think I’ll find super awesome stuff? Like a F*shlight and a s*x doll?”

“I don’t have those! And I’m not living alone... Forget it. Are you coming in or not?”

Natsuki stepped in and looked around. The first floor had the living room, dining room, kitchen, and a study. From the entryway, you walked right into the space between dining and living room.

“Didn’t expect your place to be this clean. I thought it’d be a mess, snack bags everywhere and magazines tossed around.”

I like things tidy. I’ve got classes by day and writing at night, but I still clean daily and do a big clean every weekend. My situation’s special. I have to be self-sufficient.

I headed for the fridge. “Want something to drink? I’ve got tea and juice.”

“Cola.”

“Don’t have any.”

Carbonated drinks mess with Baiyu’s stomach, so I don’t keep any in the house.

Natsuki thought for a second. “Then juice, please. Oh, where’s your bathroom? I need to go.”

“By the stairs. Turn in.”

I poured the juice and set it on the coffee table. Just then, a text came in from Baiyu:

“I’m going out with the president tonight. I’ll be back late. Not home for dinner.”

I replied: “Be back before seven.”

A few minutes later, she sent back: “Got it.”

While I was texting Baiyu, a squeal came from the bathroom.

“Waaaooo~”

She ran out, eyes sparkling, both hands pinching a pink pair of panties.

“Chidori-sensei, I found something amazing!”

Th-that’s...

My mouth fell open. I couldn’t speak. Those panties with little strawberries... weren’t those Baiyu’s?

She must’ve changed after her shower yesterday. They were in the laundry basket by the washer with the rest of the dirty clothes. I’d planned to wash them this afternoon.

Natsuki squinted at me, a wicked grin curling her lips. “Heh, didn’t expect this side of you, Chidori-sensei. Wearing girls’ panties and all.”

“They’re not mine. Put them down.”

I lunged to snatch Baiyu’s panties back, but Natsuki dodged lightly.

“Then are they your girlfriend’s? Wow, you actually have a girlfriend?”

“You... you little...”

I trembled with anger, then took a deep breath to calm down. “They’re my daughter’s.”

“W-what? You already have a daughter?” She looked me up and down, stunned. “No way, we’re the same age, right?”

While she was processing that, I grabbed the panties out of her hand and snapped, “She’s my adoptive daughter. And it’s none of your business. Rummaging through people’s homes is rude, you know that?”

“It fell out of the basket by itself... Okay, okay, don’t be mad. I’ll apologize, alright?”

She gave me an exaggerated bow and said very earnestly, “I’m sorry!”

I snorted, tossed the panties back into the laundry basket, and returned to the living room. Natsuki was sitting obediently on the sofa.

I sat across from her, still annoyed. “Can we talk work now?”

“We can.”

Natsuki pulled a thick notebook from her bag and handed it over. “All my character designs for ‘Zero Hour’ are in here.”