Splash—
Maki closed her eyes, letting the hot water cascade over her cheeks.
Steam billowed up, shrouding the entire bathroom in a hazy, unreal atmosphere, and the girl soon sat down, beginning to wash her hair.
"Hoo…"
As droplets fell from her hair, she let out a soft sigh along with them.
Her emotions today had truly swung from one extreme to another.
That woman—Fujiwara Chika—that bow-wearing fat butterfly who kept clinging to Takumi-kun.
Just thinking about her made Maki feel a tightness in her chest, a surge of irritation shooting straight to her head.
She was clearly the one who had first established an intimate relationship with Takumi-kun, yet that woman had barged in out of nowhere, becoming a third party, deliberately setting traps for her and leaving her at a loss as to what she should do.
And yet, in the end, that woman had chosen to retreat. She did not continue to cling on, instead yielding Takumi to her and allowing her to spend the entire day dating him.
Why had she chosen to give up at that moment?
Maki did not believe Chika was the type to abandon things so easily. Taking such action at that time had to mean she had some purpose behind it.
She had to raise her guard.
As for what came next… should she hire a private detective to confirm that fat woman's movements?
Forget it—doing that wouldn't be appropriate, and it would also be easy to get found out. After all, she was a daughter of the Fujiwara family; once something like that was exposed, it would inevitably lead to very bad consequences.
Moreover, no matter what, she really had gone through the Red Nut Grey Cave Instance together with me, Takumi-kun, and Oba-san. Everyone had staked their lives to clear that hell together, and it was better not to casually shatter that bond forged through fighting side by side.
So, as for what came next, was it better to just let things take their natural course?
Maki could not help but think back to that moment in the afternoon when she had thrown herself into Takumi's arms and cried out loud.
That feeling of grievance and pain, in truth, had still not completely faded even now.
After realizing that, as part of a survival team, she could not leave Takumi, nor could she stop other women from approaching him, the girl's sense of grievance and sorrow had never truly subsided. It was only that after venting it out at Takumi, her emotions had stabilized slightly.
Why should it be like this?
At the time, she had really wanted to demand an explanation from Takumi.
Why did something like this have to happen to me? Why did you, you bastard, have to keep getting entangled with other women? Why did I have to be the one to make concessions?
These words churned around in the girl's stomach, yet in the end, she never spoke them aloud.
Because she knew that questioning Takumi with those words would be meaningless. It was she who had chosen to keep him hanging from the very beginning; it was she who had chosen not to give the other party a response. And besides, Chika had once put her own life on the line to save him. After dozens of days of torment trapped in a rock fissure, it was that woman who had chosen to strap a bomb to herself and, before triggering the killing rules within the blood vessel, gone to rescue Takumi.
An act of such wholehearted devotion would naturally win affection. If Takumi-kun had not been moved by it, then he would not be who he was.
It was just that… it still felt really unpleasant, that was all.
"Haah…"
Maki let out a sigh as she soaked her body into the bathtub.
She lowered her head and examined her own body, then could not help but think of Chika's terrifying "forward armor," her expression immediately darkening.
If that day, when I was at Takumi-kun's place, I hadn't run away…
No—thinking about that now was completely meaningless, and in any case, it was something I could never have accepted in the first place.
How annoying…
Love really is so hard.
I clearly just fell in love with one person—so why did I have to run into something like this?
Maki sighed once more, leaning against the side of the bathtub and lifting her head to look at the mirror in the bathroom, its surface covered in beads of water.
Tomorrow… I'll go on another date with Takumi-kun.
Then, in a couple of days, when Takumi-kun comes to the school to apply for the security guard position, I can take him for a walk around the campus. Hmm—when he hugged me at school back then, he was wearing sunglasses. He probably wouldn't be recognized by other students, right?
Come to think of it, what is Takumi-kun doing right now?
Maki suddenly felt a bit tempted to try using that blessing that linked them together, to move to Takumi's side and take a look at the situation.
But in the end, she still put that thought aside. After all, it was already quite late, and if she were to suddenly disappear from home, it would be hard to explain things to her family. So it was better not to do that.
Splash—
She stepped out of the bathtub, wiped the water droplets from her body, and changed into her pajamas.
Maki let out a long breath and took a few steps back into her bedroom.
...
At the same time, at Takumi's home.
"Wuwa!"
A slightly panicked cry from Chika rang out from the bathroom.
"What's wrong?!"
Takumi, hearing the sound, walked over outside the door and asked.
"N-nothing, the water's just a little cold."
Chika's voice sounded muffled through the door.
"The water heater at home has been used for quite a few years. You need to let the water run for a bit before it gets hot."
Takumi patiently explained the situation to Chika. From the bathroom came the girl's "oh, oh" response, and soon after, only the sound of running water remained.
This was the second girl to bathe at Takumi's place.
And unlike last time, when Maki had showered at his home because she got caught in the rain, this time, Chika was going to stay the night.
The guest room on the first floor had already been tidied up by Takumi.
As for things like sleeping together—although Takumi did have such thoughts, considering that Chika was already forcing herself to go along with him, he felt that anything forced would only leave a bad taste. So he decisively gave up on that option.
Still, it did feel like a pity. Tch—Maki and Chika alike had stirred up his flames and then, for various reasons, just left them unattended. What kind of situation was this? Do girls all like this kind of push-and-pull?!
To calm himself down, Takumi ultimately chose to play games. He picked an ultra–high-difficulty roguelike dungeon game and set it to the highest difficulty. In less than half an hour, out of the four recruited heroes, one went mad and three died. Looking at that blood-pressure-spiking results screen, Takumi's mood immediately settled down.
Good. With this, there shouldn't be any problem.
"Takumi, could you help me blow-dry my hair?"
The sound of the door opening and Chika's voice rang out at that moment.
"Oh, sure."
Takumi responded as he turned his head—then froze.
The girl standing at the doorway blinked, then revealed a mischievous smile toward Takumi.
She was not wearing the T-shirt and shorts Takumi had prepared for her.
At this very moment, the Fujiwara Chika standing before Takumi was wearing nothing but a bath towel wrapped around herself.
From her fair shoulders down to her collarbones, everything was clearly visible.
Her two thighs were also almost entirely exposed to his view.
For Takumi, who had only just managed to calm himself down, the impact of this scene was far greater than the ancestor's incessant nagging in the game.
"Why are you—"
"Well, um, the clothes felt a bit uncomfortable around the chest when I put them on. Hehe. Anyway, this towel is pretty big, so I just wrapped it around myself. And I did take precautions, you know. If you don't believe me, look—"
With a somewhat smug laugh, Chika let go of the hand holding the towel in place, allowing Takumi to see a small clip attached to it.
Using a clip to keep the towel from falling?
Takumi nodded expressionlessly, then saw Chika walk up and hand him the hair dryer.
"Then, please help me out, Takumi."
Chika tilted her head and spoke with a giggling smile.
Are you actually asking me to help dry your hair, or are you asking me to help you step onto the path of adulthood?
Takumi really wanted to complain seriously, but considering the awkward situations such a complaint might lead to, he ultimately said nothing. He silently took the hair dryer, brought over a stool for Chika to sit on, and stood behind the girl to dry her hair.
Amid the humming sound, Takumi gently ran his hand through Chika's pink long hair, while the girl softly hummed a tune, closing her eyes contentedly and letting Takumi handle her hair as he pleased.
It had to be said that drying long hair after it got wet was indeed quite troublesome. Takumi spent a fair amount of time before finally drying Chika's hair. After confirming it was dry, the girl—still wrapped only in a towel—saw that Takumi had gone back to playing games, and happily moved up behind him to watch him play.
The fragrance drifting from the girl's hair wafted into his nose.
Feeling Chika's presence standing behind him, Takumi realized that he simply could not focus his attention on the game screen.
[You Died]
Before long, blood-red letters appeared. The character Takumi was controlling collapsed on the snowy plains, with three black steeds galloping nearby.
"Hehe, Takumi, you're really clumsy at playing games."
Chika laughed as she stood behind Takumi.
"Uh, no, that was just an accident."
Naturally, Takumi had no intention of admitting that his gaming skills were poor. He simply switched to another game and continued playing.
Then the presence beside him became even clearer—so much so that one side of his shoulder had already felt a soft touch.
Chika behind him leaned directly over the back of Takumi's chair, her body pressing against his shoulder.
He could feel her breath brushing against his neck.
And the faint, ticklish sensation of her hair falling against his skin.
[DEAD]
Before long, those blood-red letters appeared on the screen.
"Hehehe, Takumi, you don't seem very good at this."
Even without turning his head, Takumi could picture the smug expression on Chika's face.
There was no doubt about it—she was doing this on purpose.
This girl… you really like playing with fire.
"Actually, there's another game I'm especially good at. I definitely won't lose."
Takumi spoke quietly.
"Oh? What ga—uh?!"
Before the girl could finish her sentence, Takumi turned his head and directly kissed her lips.
He could see the flustered look on Chika's face.
But immediately after, she quickly calmed down, staring straight at him with her eyes wide open, even carrying a hint of provocation in her gaze.
So Takumi, expressionless, extended his tongue.
"Mmm… mmh…"
This time, Chika was genuinely flustered and instinctively tried to struggle.
Naturally, Takumi was not about to give her that chance. He reached out and held her head in place, firmly fixing her there as he kissed her deeply, forcing her into a direct confrontation with him.
The girl's breathing quickly became rapid.
Before long, Takumi released her. Chika nearly sank straight to the floor, unable to stop herself from gasping for air.
"Ugh—what kind of game is this supposed to be…"
Her cheeks flushed red, Chika protested with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.
"How is this not a game? And I already won."
Now it was Takumi's turn to wear a smug expression.
Gradually, the night grew late.
As the hour hand slowly approached midnight, Takumi turned off the game console and prepared to go to bed. Chika, who had stayed in the game room watching him play until now, also yawned and got ready to head back to the guest room on the first floor to sleep.
"By the way… Takumi, are you really going to let me sleep in the guest room?"
When they reached the stairway, Chika turned around and looked at Takumi with a meaningful gaze as she asked.
"I said I wouldn't force you, and if I said it, then I definitely won't force you. I still have that much credibility."
In response, Takumi simply replied in a calm tone.
"So that's how it is, then… Takumi, see you tomorrow."
Turning around, the girl—wearing nothing but a bath towel—casually headed downstairs.
Takumi watched her retreating figure. After a long while, he finally let out a long breath, then turned around as well and returned to his room.
He wasn't sure whether he would be able to fall asleep tonight.
Lights off. Bed.
Takumi pulled the thin blanket over himself and lay on the bed, picked up his phone, and idly browsed the player forums for a bit, scrolling through a few posts. Finding nothing worth paying attention to, he turned it off. Then he logged into a mobile game to clear some stamina, after which he prepared to rest.
The time displayed on the phone was 23:59.
Takumi placed the phone beside his pillow and was about to turn off the screen.
At that moment, a pink head popped out from under the blanket, blocking Takumi's view.
A familiar, light fragrance flooded into Takumi's nostrils.
And the girl's voice—carrying a hint of playful mischief—followed into his ears.
"It's already tomorrow, you know, Takumi~"
On the still-bright phone screen beside them, the time read 0:00.
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