After I Started Living Alone, My Place Turned Into a Hangout Spot for Beautiful Girls - Chapter 9-10

Chapter 9: Sakuya Ieyiri (Part 2)

As the one chosen to keep an eye on me while I live alone, my cousin Sakuya was selected.

It seems she didn’t come to my house just to check on my relationship with Mizutani.

“Tell me where you want me to inspect today. If I find anything out of line, I’ll report it to Aunt without mercy.”

She insists on checking if my place is a mess to ensure I’m managing to live independently properly.

And Mizutani, who happened to be at my house, finds this amusing.

“Yes, yes! I think Teruaki-kun’s room should be first!”

Mizutani says she’s curious to see my room.

I try to refuse, feeling embarrassed, but Sakuya smirks cynically.

“Well then, shall we?”

“I’m embarrassed to show Mizutani…”

“Oh? Are you hiding something you’d be ashamed for Mizutani to see?”

Sakuya teases me.

If I don’t let them see now, they’ll probably think I’m hiding something really embarrassing.

Reluctantly, I tell Mizutani.

“You can come into my room, Mizutani…”

“Yay! I’ve never been in a boy’s room my age before, so I’m super curious!”

“Let’s go to Teruaki’s room, shall we?”

And so, we head to my room on the second floor.

That’s how Mizutani ended up seeing my room. As soon as she steps inside, her eyes sparkle, and she asks me,

“Where’s the porn?”

It’s her first time in a room belonging to someone her age of the opposite sex.

Mizutani excitedly asks if I have any adult magazines.

“Thanks for the cliché manga line. Sorry to disappoint, but there’s not a single porn mag in my room.”

“Tch, figures. These days, all the porn’s digital, huh…”

“Not quite,” Sakuya chimes in. “Sure, there are no adult magazines, but there’s manga in Teruaki’s room that’s just as naughty. Like this one, for example.”

Sakuya, saying something unnecessary, pulls a fantasy manga from my bookshelf and hands it to Mizutani.

Mizutani flips through it, skimming the pages.

“Isn’t this 18+?”

She shows me a page with a graphic scene of characters getting intimate.

Having a cute girl blatantly show me a naughty manga page like that stirs up all sorts of feelings.

As a teenager in the height of puberty, I can’t help but blush and let out an awkward laugh.

But if I act embarrassed here, it feels like I’m losing somehow.

Trying to stay cool, I tell Mizutani,

“Nah, these days, manga like that is pretty normal.”

Nowadays, there are countless manga with pretty explicit scenes.

Mizutani uses manga apps a lot, so she probably gets that.

But, as expected, Mizutani loves teasing me.

“I don’t think so???”

She grins mischievously, treating me like some perverted guy.

This girl… she totally knows modern manga is full of naughty scenes!

As I grit my teeth in embarrassment, Sakuya, the mastermind behind this, opens her mouth to tease me further.

“You should be careful, Mizutani. Teruaki’s a pervert. When we used to bathe together, he’d purposely touch my butt, you know?”

Sakuya says it casually, like it’s just an old story.

But Mizutani’s face lights up at that.

“Whoa, are you two, like, that kind of close?”

Mizutani looks back and forth between me and Sakuya with a sly grin.

It seems Sakuya finally realizes she messed up.

“N-no, that was when we were kids! Back when Teruaki was still an innocent boy, not the filthy guy he is now. We definitely don’t bathe together anymore!”

Sakuya’s face turns bright red as she panics.

You’re the one who started this by showing Mizutani that particularly spicy manga from my collection, and now you’re embarrassed by an old childhood story?

I sneer at Sakuya, thinking she got what she deserved.

“Were you and Sakuya-chan super close back then, Teruaki-kun?”

From the bath story, Mizutani guesses that Sakuya and I were close.

I respond with a wry smile.

“Nah, we’ve always been on bad terms.”

“Even though you bathed together?”

“That was just us being forced into the bath together.”

“Hmm.”

Mizutani seems skeptical.

No, really, we’ve always been on bad terms!

Sakuya, annoyed that Mizutani suspects we’re secretly close, complains.

“Yeah, we’ve always been on bad terms! This guy’s nothing but a jerk who keeps causing trouble for Aunt. There’s no way I could get along with someone like that!”

“She’s my mom, so it’s normal for a son to cause her a little trouble, right?”

“Huh? There’s a limit to that, you know!”

“Yeah, yeah, Sakuya’s such a mama’s girl.”

I say it mockingly, and Sakuya, doubling down, puffs out her sizable chest and declares proudly,

“Yes, I’m a mama’s girl! What’s wrong with that? My real mother died right after I was born, and I was starved for maternal love. Aunt treated me like her own daughter. Of course I’d hate someone like you who keeps troubling the person I love!”

Sakuya and I bicker as usual.

Watching us, Mizutani sighs and mutters,

“You two are totally close.”

No, we’re not close at all!

I glare at Mizutani.

And Sakuya glares at her intimidatingly too.

—

Chapter 10: Sakuya Ieyiri (Part 3)

Sakuya thoroughly inspected my house to ensure it wasn’t a mess.

In the end, I mostly passed her check, but…

“Judging from the contents of your fridge and the amount of trash in the bin, you’re broke, aren’t you?”

With sharp intuition, Sakuya glared at me as she spoke.

Not wanting her to report this to Mom, I bowed deeply in apology.

“Please don’t tell Mom I’m broke.”

Making flimsy excuses probably wouldn’t work on Sakuya.

All I could do was keep apologizing.

As I desperately lowered my head, Mizutani stepped in to defend me.

“Sakuya-chan, I’m asking you to let it slide just this once, please~”

“Why would you defend this loser, Mizutani?”

“Because I don’t want to go back to a life where I can’t shower after club activities…! Riding the train all sweaty and having someone give me a dirty look again would crush me…”

“What a practical girl.”

“Well, yeah. So, please, I’m begging you! Teruaki-kun’s sorry, so don’t tell his parents he’s broke!”

Despite her practical side, Mizutani was sticking up for me, and it brought a tear to my eye.

Sakuya sighed, looking exasperated.

“Fine, I’ll let it go.”

“So, you’ll keep it a secret?”

“Just this once, okay?”

“Thank you so much…”

“There won’t be a second time, so take it seriously.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

If Sakuya had told Mom I was broke, I’d seriously be dragged overseas, and my independent living would be over.

“Well then, it’s getting late. Shouldn’t you both head home?”

Looking at the darkening sky outside, I said this.

Then, as if remembering something, Mizutani spoke up.

“Oh, right! I totally forgot why I came here.”

“Wasn’t it to apologize for the boyfriend-shirt incident?”

“Yeah, that’s part of it, but there’s one more thing…”

Mizutani dragged it out dramatically.

After a brief pause, she grinned and made a cute request.

“Can I have some of that second-day curry?”

So sly, but that’s what makes her charming.

At Mizutani’s request to eat second-day curry, I decided to serve her some.

※

Mizutani happily ate the second-day curry and left with a satisfied look.

I had little homework from school today and wanted to play some games, but…

“Why isn’t Sakuya leaving?”

Sakuya was still at my house.

Her business here was done, so I tried shooing her away, but she gave me an exasperated look.

Then, out of nowhere, she pulled her wallet from her bag and handed me 10,000 yen.

“Will this be enough?”

What? I thought, but Sakuya sighed and explained.

“You’re broke, right? So, I’m lending you this.”

“…Seriously?”

“What do you take me for? I know you’re broke, and I’m not heartless enough to leave you hanging.”

“…Thanks. I sold some games to make a bit of cash, but I was thinking I’d have to sell more.”

“You’re such a loser. Well, if you need more money, just tell me. I’ll lend you some.”

I never expected Sakuya to lend me money so easily.

Maybe I should’ve asked her for help from the start.

“That’s surprising. I didn’t think you’d be this nice to me, Sakuya.”

“What choice do I have? Aunt asked me to look after you. ‘Take care of Teruaki for me,’ she said.”

“Oh, that. If you really don’t want to deal with me, you can ignore me, you know. It’s just Mom’s request.”

Sakuya’s only looking after me because of Mom.

If that’s the case, I feel bad for her.

Sakuya’s life is her own—she should do what she loves and skip what she hates.

“…I won’t ignore you. You’re kind of like a little brother to me.”

Sakuya muttered quietly.

Since we spent our childhood together, I guess we’re like siblings in a way.

“Back then, I used to call you Sakuya-neechan, didn’t I?”

“…It’s been a while since I heard that.”

“Should I start calling you that again?”

“That’s creepy, so absolutely not.”

“Hey, that’s harsh, Sakuya-neechan.”

“Call me that again, and I’ll report you being broke.”

With a genuinely disgusted look, Sakuya shut me down.

Alright, time to thank her.

Despite everything, Sakuya’s looking out for me like a big sister.

It wouldn’t feel right not to say thanks.

“Even though we’re not real siblings, thanks for caring about me.”

“My, how rare. Teruaki saying thank you?”

I used to feel awkward about saying thanks when I was younger.

Knowing this, Sakuya teased me.

“Yeah, back then, I was terrible at saying thank you…”

“Absolutely. I always had to say ‘thank you’ for you.”

“…Yeah, that’s true. I can’t even argue.”

“Well, I’m relieved you’ve learned to say thank you. Now that I’ve given you some money, I’ll follow Mizutani’s lead and head out.”

Sakuya said this as she grabbed her bag.

Since it was already dark outside, I said to her, just like I did to Mizutani,

“Want me to walk you to the station?”

“I’m fine. But, well, good job. I’ll give you credit for being considerate—something you couldn’t do back then.”

“…Uh, thanks?”

“What’s with that half-hearted reaction?”

“Getting praised by you is so rare it’s giving me goosebumps.”

I showed Sakuya my arm, covered in goosebumps.

Seeing how pronounced they were, she got annoyed.

“Fine, I’ll never praise you again.”

Sakuya said this dismissively and started walking toward the entrance to leave.

Before she was completely out of sight, I called out.

“When are you coming back?”

“I’ll come check on you again soon. Since I lent you money, make sure you eat balanced meals, okay?”

“Got it.”

“Oh, and don’t go attacking Mizutani, even if you’re feeling frisky. She’s clearly not interested, so you’d just end up reported to the police.”

“I know.”

“Well, if you ever get serious about her, tell me. I might give you some advice.”

With a cool expression, Sakuya said this and left my house.