After I Started Living Alone, My Place Turned Into a Hangout Spot for Beautiful Girls - Chapter 7: Kanai Inaho (Part 2)

Chapter 7: Kanai Inaho (Part 2)

Inviting the surprisingly delinquent Kanai-san to my house carries high risks.

Is it really the right choice to let her use my kitchen in exchange for being treated to a meal?

While I was worrying about this, Mizutani-san corrected my misunderstanding.

Indeed, I had mistakenly thought that minors couldn’t sell items on flea market apps, but apparently, minors can sell and cash out just fine.

So, I listed a game from my house that seemed like it could fetch a decent price.

Thanks to Mizutani-san’s advice to set the price slightly below market value for a quick sale, it sold within an hour of listing, much to my relief.

“All that’s left is to ship it, and once the payment comes through, you can request a transfer!” Mizutani-san said.

While thanking Mizutani-san for guiding me through my first time using a flea market app, I opened my mouth with a wry smile.

“If only I’d realized my mistake sooner…”

“Isn’t it divine punishment for a bad kid who skimped on living expenses to buy games?”

“…Fair point.”

“Well, take this as a lesson to stop scheming with bad ideas, okay?”

“Yes. I’ll do that…”

Through this money shortage fiasco, I felt like I grew up a little.

Now then, time to ship the game that got sold.

“I’m heading to the convenience store to ship it. Man, I feel bad. You came to take a shower, but I’ve kept you caught up in my mess.”

Mizutani-san had put off her shower to help me out.

She then asked me, “Wanna go to the convenience store together?”

“Nah, you don’t have to go that far.”

“I mean, it’s kinda weird for me to stay at your place alone while you’re out.”

“Fair enough. Alright, I’ll go to the convenience store after you head home.”

“Eh, that makes me feel kinda guilty…”

Even if I left Mizutani-san alone in my house, it’s not like anything major would happen. There’s barely anything valuable here. After all, I only kept this place because I stubbornly stayed in Japan, but it was supposed to be sold, so it’s already pretty cleared out.

“It’s you, Mizutani-san, so it’s fine. I’ll leave you in charge!”

Eager to ship the sold item quickly, I said that, left Mizutani-san at my place, and dashed to the convenience store.

※

I finished shipping at the convenience store and returned home.

The clerk was a foreigner and a trainee, so it took quite a bit of time.

Now, all that’s left is for the buyer to receive the item and complete the transaction. I felt relieved knowing I’d soon be free from my money troubles. When I opened the living room door…

“Zzz, zzz…”

Mizutani-san, who must have showered and freshened up, was sleeping comfortably on the sofa.

Seeing her sleeping so defenselessly, I called out to her.

“Mizutani-san. Thanks for holding down the fort.”

I thought about letting her sleep and just watching over her.

But, well, I’m a healthy high school boy.

Before I could entertain the kind of naughty thoughts any healthy high school boy might have—like sneaking a peek under her uniform skirt—I decided to take the initiative and wake her.

“…Nngh? …Did I fall asleep?”

“Yeah, you were out cold.”

“Haha…”

Mizutani-san rubbed her sleepy eyes and wiped the drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.

Noticing that I saw it all, she smiled a bit shyly.

I told her I successfully completed my errand at the convenience store.

“Thanks to you, I got it shipped safely.”

“Good job. But, like, leaving me alone in your house? Your risk management is pretty shaky.”

“There’s nothing here worth stealing, and I trust you, Mizutani-san.”

“What if I was a bad kid?”

“…Are you a bad kid?”

“No, I’m not a bad kid, but geez, you’re gonna get scammed by someone someday!”

Mizutani-san scolded me cutely but firmly.

I countered her.

“You were the one sleeping so defenselessly, Mizutani-san. What if I was a bad kid?”

It seemed my counter landed well.

Mizutani-san looked frustrated, as if she couldn’t come up with a comeback.

Yeah, waking her up was definitely the right call.

If a cute girl like her was sleeping so defenselessly, I’m pretty sure I’d have pulled some kind of prank.

“…Oh, I forgot. Hey, can I borrow your phone charger?”

“Sure. Hang on…”

While I was getting the charger for Mizutani-san, she explained why she fell asleep.

“My phone battery died, and I had nothing to do, so I closed my eyes for a bit and just passed out…”

“Kinda figured. Here’s the charger.”

“Thanks. By the way, before I told you about the flea market app, you had this ‘Aha!’ look on your face. What was that about?”

I started to wonder how to explain it with a wry smile.

Well, it’s fine.

It’s Mizutani-san, so it’s probably okay to tell her.

“Do you remember Kanai-san from our first-year class?”

“Yeah, Inaho-chan, right? I wasn’t super close with her, but I definitely remember her face and name.”

“To keep it short, I was thinking if I let her use my kitchen, she might treat me to some food she makes.”

“Oh, that’s what it was. But why were you so worried about it?”

“Well, Kanai-san’s kind of a wild card.”

The food at her dorm isn’t tasty.

So, to eat delicious food, she’s been using the home economics room without permission. I was wondering if it’s okay to invite someone like that to my place. I explained this to Mizutani-san.

Hearing the situation, Mizutani-san said with a wry smile, “I know I’m one to talk after barging in asking to use your shower and troubling you, but I think you made the right call not letting her in.”

“Right?”

“But, well, I get where Inaho-chan’s coming from, wanting to eat good food.”

“Hm?”

“I mean, there’s a girl in the track team who’s staying at the same dorm as Inaho-chan, and I tried a bit of the bento from her place. It was awful. I’ve never had such tasteless, kinda smelly ginger pork before…”

It’s that bad, huh…

Still, even so, I can’t bring myself to invite someone who’s been sneaking into the home economics room just to eat good food, especially after the cooking club got disbanded.

That’s what I was thinking when I got a message from Kanai-san on my phone.

“Let’s go on a date next time!”

What the heck?

As I was wondering, another message from Kanai-san came through.

“Hina-chan told me there’s no way you’d let someone untrustworthy like me use your kitchen right now. So, I figured I’d get to know you better and earn your trust!”

Kanai-san seems really eager to use my kitchen.

Like, who goes that far?

I couldn’t stop wryly smiling at how bold Kanai-san was.