Chapter 1

My senpai is cute.

And my senpai is small, and cute.

Specifically, she is around 140 centimeters tall and cute.

Yet she has the top grades in her year, is very smart, and cute.

In short, my senpai is small, smart, cute, and the person I like.

Her name is Minato Yuzu.

She is a high school second-year who is self-conscious about her short height.

Inside my mind, I call her Yuzu senpai.

She has an asymmetrical single braid draped over her shoulder, and rimless glasses sitting atop large, round eyes that suit her very well, making her cute.

After school, she is always here in the literature club room, sitting across from me and silently reading a book.

Illuminated by the setting sun, that figure looked utterly mystical, and I loved watching it.

“You should be the one sitting.”

That was about to be lost right now.

Yuzu senpai and I were currently locked in a crackling confrontation across our desks.

The cause was the single chair left behind in this literature club room.

“I can’t possibly let you stand, senpai! Please, take a seat!”

“No way, you should be the one sitting! You’re my cute kouhai, so don’t hold back!”

…Wait, she called me cute!

Well, strictly speaking, the cute one is my senpai, but hearing it from the person I like makes me happy.

“…Is that so? I was the one who lent this room’s chairs to the baseball club because they ran short. Which means this is my responsibility as club president, so you go ahead and sit in this chair.”

Needless to say, a senpai who uses “boku”¹ is the absolute best, and I have no choice but to respect her sense of responsibility.

However, I had an argument of my own that I couldn’t afford to lose.

“No, I was the one who told my friend in the baseball club, who said they didn’t have enough spectator chairs for a sudden practice match, that our literature club had extra chairs. That’s why you should be the one sitting, senpai!”

Yes, the root of this matter lay with me.

Shinme High School, which features a sports department, places a strong emphasis on athletics.

Perhaps thanks to that, the baseball club is reasonably strong, but this year they recruited a genius, handsome first-year touted as the best in history, making them the talk of the town and drawing massive attention from scouts and the media.

That must be why they suddenly ran out of spectator chairs… No, wait, why does any of that even matter?

Even at this very moment… I was keeping Yuzu senpai standing!

“Even so, you should sit. You injured your foot, after all.”

“Ugh…”

Yuzu senpai is so kind!

She was worrying about my foot!

I’m so happy… Wait!?

“What’s wrong? Hurry up and sit down.”

Yuzu senpai, smirking under the assumption that she had won the argument against me, possessed a national-treasure level of cuteness.

No, this won’t do. I want to see that very same Yuzu senpai sitting in the chair and quietly reading her book.

Every time she turns a page, I want to see that cute little habit of hers where she lets out a small, soft chuckle.

However, I couldn’t let the kindness of a senpai who was worrying about my foot go to waste.

How could I make Yuzu senpai sit down in a way that satisfied her, and have her sit… Wait!

That’s it, if I do this…!

“…Understood. I’ll sit.”

“Yep, yep, being obedient is a good thing.”

Looking satisfied, Yuzu senpai placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and nodded approvingly.

Naturally, as a petite senpai, her chest is also small.

That is good.

“Senpai, I have a proposal of my own as well.”

“What is it? Hehe, if it’s a request from my cute kouhai, I’ll listen to anything you say, you know?”

So easily played, and so cute. That’s what’s great about her!

I had secured her explicit agreement.

“Then, please sit on my lap. I’ll become your chair.”

“Ah, sure. Sitting on your lap about as much as– wait, whaaat?!”

Instantly, Yuzu senpai’s face turned bright red.

I’ll say it as many times as it takes.

My senpai is cute.