Chapter 2 Part 7 – My sleepy wife sneaks in – Part 1

Translator: Chaos

Editor: Riciel

The incident happened on the night one week after I started living with Riko.

It was past 11 pm. We said our goodnights and headed for the bedroom.

Of course, we had separate rooms. Even though we were married on paper, it was only marriage by contract, so there was no way we would sleep and wake up in the same room.

Outside, it was raining, mixed with strong winds, and the windows were shaking with rattling sounds. There was also the faint sound of thunder, though it was still far away.

According to the weather forecast, it would be sunny tomorrow morning. The rain with thunder would probably fall vigorously and disappear during the night. I turned on my music app and closed my eyes so as not to be bothered by the noise outside. While drifting off to sleep, I listened to the soothing sound that was set to automatically disappear after an hour.

◇◇◇

Normally I could sleep through thunder without worrying about it, but for some reason I woke up in the middle of the night that day. The sound of thunder was much closer than before I fell asleep, and it sounded like the earth shaking.

I guess this would wake me up…

I adjusted the position of my pillow, thinking about this in the corner of my mind that was barely awake. Soon enough, that pleasant sensation came over me and I slowly began to drift into a deep slumber again.

At that moment, I heard a squeak in a place that seemed both distant and close.

As I dozed off, not recognizing it as the sound of a door opening, I felt a slight chill in my back.

“…?”

What was that…?

I wriggled and tried to pull back the quilt that seemed to have been torn off.

Right after that –

I felt a soft lump hit my back with a thud.

… Huh…?

Thanks to the warmth, I wasn’t cold anymore, but that wasn’t the point. Something incredibly soft was touching my back, something I had never felt before in my life.

“……!?”

Wha…wha…wha… What’s going on…!?

My sleepiness was blown away. I turned over to check the situation immediately.

I couldn’t believe it, but Riko was lying next to me, deep in sleep.

… Why…!?

I tried to jump up in a panic, but Riko’s eyelids were still closed, her brow wrinkled, and a cute, frustrated voice spilled from her small lips.

“Hmmm… You must stay close to me…”

“Huh…?”

She then wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. And when I let out a small scream of shock, she squeezed me as if she didn’t want me to let go.

Every time I tried to move, the softness I had felt earlier was touching more and more directly against my skin…

Oh no, no, no.

This is bad…!

“Riko, Riko… Wake up…!”

“Mmm… Minato-kun is my hug pillow from today… suya…” [TN: Suya = cute sleeping noises]

No way…

It seems that she has a massive sleepwalking problem…!

Anyway, I have to get away from Riko…

I couldn’t be so indecent as to enjoy the contact with her while she was not aware of it.

Because if Riko finds out about it tomorrow morning, she will certainly despise me.

And even if Riko doesn’t remember what happened tonight, every time I look at her face, I’ll remember the feeling of her body that I indulged in without her permission, and I’ll feel so guilty that I’ll want to die.

I grabbed Riko’s shoulders with both hands and slowly pushed her away from me. I was relieved to have some distance between us, but that made the situation even more ridiculous.

I realized something. Riko was sleeping on her side with her chest defenseless. Even her cleavage, which was usually never seen, was peeking out from the V-shaped collar of her pajamas.

“……”

Sadly, my eyes were glued to her and I couldn’t take them away. I knew I couldn’t do this, but my eyes didn’t want to align with my reasoning at all.

… No, no, no, no.

Pull yourself together, my rationality!

I bit my lip so hard I wanted to cry, but I managed to roll off the bed. Needless to say, I sat down on the floor and had to calm myself down for a while by exhaling like an animal, “Woo… hoo…”.

Riko in my bed never woke up, and I didn’t sleep at all until morning.

◇◇◇

– And in the next morning.

“I’m really, really sorry…”

As soon as she woke up and understood the situation, she immediately sat on the floor and apologized to me.

“Oh no, Riko! Don’t worry about it! Come on, stand up. You’ll get cold if you sit there.”

“But I can’t believe I…”

“Everyone has been sleepwalking at least once in a while. Riko couldn’t have done anything about it.”

“That’s not true… In fact, I had a habit of slipping into my parents’ bed on lightning nights. I’m not a kid anymore, and I didn’t think I’d do the same thing to Minato-kun. … I should have told you the truth without being embarrassed… I’m sorry, can you please have your room locked so that I can’t barge in anymore…?”

What’s with that cute habit…?

It’s too cute, including the fact that she hid her secret out of embarrassment.

But the moment the other party goes from her parents to me, we’re in big trouble.

Unlike Riko’s parents, I see her as a girl, so I’m a danger to her.

… Then Riko is right, I should lock her room and protect her from me.

“All right. I have a day off from work today, so I’ll go to Home Depot on my way home from school.” [EN: The Home Depot is a store with products for home improvement, such as supplying tools and construction products.]

And later that day, my room was fitted with a lock. Since Riko didn’t usually come into my room in her sleep, I left the door unlocked as usual, but it wasn’t long before the night of the thunderstorm came when the key would be used.

I nodded to Riko in the hallway in front of my room, said “good night” and locked the door.

That night, I couldn’t sleep at all, though it was natural. I fiddled with my phone, forced myself to close my eyes, sighed, and woke myself up… As I kept doing this, before I knew it, it was 2 am, and behind the sound of thunder, the faintest hint of stepping on the floor began to blend in.

A few seconds later… clatter

I heard the sound of someone trying to turn a locked doorknob.

It had to be Riko.

I knew she’d come to this room again tonight, sleepwalking through the night.

I watched Riko’s movements with a frown on my face.

The doorknob stopped moving, as if even the sleepy Riko had noticed that the door was locked. Shortly after that, however, I heard a thumping sound, as if something was leaning against the door.

“Eh…”

No way.