Enchanted by the Power of the Evil Eye ~The Harem School Life Crafted by a Girl Falling Under My Hypnosis~ - Chapter 19: An Ordinary Day

Chapter 19: An Ordinary Day

“Fwaa… ah.”

I meant to sleep early yesterday, but maybe because of the weekend’s exhaustion, I let out a big yawn in the morning.

“Hey! Yawning so big in the morning? Bet you stayed up late, huh?”

I ran into Kisaragi Natsumi outside the house.

“Well, something like that. You had a training camp all weekend, Natsumi, and you’re still so energetic?”

“Yup! Unlike you, Mamoru, I’m trained!”

She confidently tossed her twin tails, her long, beautiful hair swaying, carrying a nice citrus scent.

Her smug, triumphant face was kind of annoying, though.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m just out of shape, okay?”

“Get some exercise, young man!”

“We’re the same age… Anyway, let’s go already, or we’ll be late.”

Natsumi looked surprised.

“Huh? W-We’re… going together?”

“What? You don’t want to? Fine if you don’t.”

“N-No, I didn’t say I don’t want to! Are you stupid? I’m going. Come on, hurry up!”

“? Sure, sure…”

As we walked together, Natsumi, who had been silent and a few steps ahead, turned back but avoided eye contact.

“H-Hey… wanna come over today?”

“Huh? What’s up? You inviting me is rare.”

I was genuinely surprised and happy inside. Yuki-nee had said Natsumi liked me, but I thought she actually disliked me.

“N-No big deal, I just don’t have practice today… I’m free… and, like, sometimes it’s nice… Are you busy? Or… do you not want to?”

Natsumi hid her mouth with her twin tails, glancing at me.

That habit of hers, which I hadn’t seen in a while… honestly, it made my heart skip a beat…

She says sniffing her hair calms her down.

“No, no, it’s not like that. Guess I’ll drop by then. Is Yuki-nee there too?”

I’ve been to their house the past two days and know Yuki-nee’s schedule completely, but still.

“Yeah, she’s home today, I think. Oh, bad news for you, Mamoru… Nee-san might have a boyfriend!”

“Wha?!”

I let out a weird noise… I was genuinely shocked.

“Fufu, thought so. Pretty shocking, huh? You had a thing for Nee-san, didn’t you?”

“Huh?”

Natsumi smirked smugly,

“I knew it all along. You had a crush on Nee-san… but too bad, looks like that love’s not happening.”

Natsumi turned her back to me,

“Recently, Nee-san’s gotten so pretty, all glossy. Even as her sister, it makes my heart skip. She probably met him while I was gone this weekend. Bet she met some cool, mature guy at university! So, tough luck for you, Mamoru…”

She rambled on, but when she turned back and saw my face, she fell silent.

Probably because I was so shocked by her sharp intuition.

I might’ve gone a bit pale.

“S-See, Nee-san’s older, a college student… she’s not a match for you, not that you’re bad or anything! I know your good points, like…”

“Huh?”

Natsumi, speaking rapidly, suddenly stopped, her face turning bright red.

“…What are you making me say?! Are you stupid? A-Anyway, I’ll cheer you up, so come over after school! I’m going ahead!”

Natsumi dashed off to school, her twin tails fluttering in the wind, making her look even faster. No way I could catch up.

The scent of a girl lingered in the breeze.

She probably can’t imagine what happened at her own house, but Natsumi’s wild intuition picking up on Yukino’s subtle changes is scary.

I need to think about this… she might get in the way if it comes to it…

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Good morning!”

“Morning.”

Yagami Kyousuke called out to me.

“Oh? Something bothering you? I’m all ears if you wanna talk!”

Kyousuke’s always had a knack for picking up on things I want to hide.

Is that just normal for people?

(Am I the weird one…? Nah, no way.)

I got a bit anxious and overthought things… but it just turned into an embarrassing waste of time confirming I’m ordinary.

What am I, a middle school edgelord?!

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Cool, but if something’s up, tell me right away. Best friend!”

“Got it. Best friend.”

One reason I like Kyousuke is that he doesn’t pry.

On the way to class, he went on about how necessary a girlfriend is and how much he wants one… but I don’t hate that about him either.

“So? Let’s get girlfriends and go on a double date!”

“Yeah, yeah, if it happens.”

I swallowed the “as if” and brushed Kyousuke off.

“Mornin’!”

Kyousuke greeted the class energetically as we entered, but it’s obviously a show for the group of cute girls.

“Mornin’!”

Yuna waved back at Kyousuke and me, her usual cheerful Akamine-san self.

“Morning.”

“…Morning.”

Utashiro-san and Kurokami-san, who were talking with her, greeted us too.

Kyousuke grinned happily, but no chance, buddy.

“Morning…?”

I greeted Yuna too, and she smirked at me, moving her mouth oddly.

It looked like she was pushing her cheek from the inside with her tongue, like rolling a candy.

But doing it so obviously…

“…What are you doing?”

See, Kurokami-san noticed.

“Oh, uh, uhh… mouth sore?”

Yuna answered hurriedly. Why the question mark?

“Mouth sore?”

“Yeah! Mouth sore! Got one, and it’s bugging me.”

“Really… don’t mess with it too much.”

Kurokami-san looked unconvinced, so Yuna, be careful.

I gave Yuna a slight glare. Noticing, she stuck out her tongue at me and gave an embarrassed smile.

That’s exactly the kind of thing I mean… if you weren’t cute, I wouldn’t let it slide.

“Dude, Akamine-san’s totally into me…”

Kyousuke whispered to me.

“Haa…”

My whole day was spent clearing up Kyousuke’s misunderstanding.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Wanna go to Yukino’s place today?”

Yuna sent me a message during class.

I glanced at her, and she was looking my way.

As~ I~ said~

“Today’s a no-go!”

I replied quickly, maybe a bit too forcefully, shaking my desk and making a noise.

“Then let’s go somewhere else? A hotel, lol.”

What a tempting offer… my crotch reacted, and I had to slump over my desk.

I barely held back with reason.

“I said no, I’ve got stuff to do today!”

“Ehh~? So I can’t be with you? …Even though I’m your girlfriend?”

I glanced at Yuna… she was glaring at me resentfully…

“Hey, Akamine-san. No looking around during class. If you want to flirt with boys, do it during break!”

Ren-chan-sensei patted Yuna’s head while scolding her.

Ah! That’s my exclusive privilege…

“Ren-chan, sorry~ I wasn’t really looking at any boys~”

Yuna apologized to Ren-chan-sensei, but she didn’t seem sorry.

“Then what were you looking at?”

Ren-chan-sensei peered in the direction of Yuna’s gaze… and our eyes met…

“Hoo~”

Ren-chan-sensei smiled, patted Yuna again,

“Well, be careful next time.”

Ren-chan-sensei went back to the blackboard, oddly cheerful.

She seemed to sense something but kept quiet, a good teacher who understands her students.

But I won’t forgive her for patting Yuna’s head…

Luckily, the class didn’t pry into what Yuna was looking at, not wanting to get involved… except Mutou-kun, who glared at me with murderous intent…

He’s kind of a nuisance. Make him a servant? Nah, I only want pretty things close to me, so pass.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Sorry about today~ I’ll be careful next time, so forgive me.”

I ignored Yuna’s message and headed straight to the Kisaragi house.

“W-Welcome back…”

Natsumi was leaning against the wall by the house.

The sunset hit her, making it kind of picturesque… somehow, that’s annoying.

Her denim shorts and white T-shirt with unreadable English letters suited her well.

It’s been a while since I saw her in casual clothes.

Maybe because of her martial arts, her waist is insanely slim.

I thought Yuna was slim, but Natsumi’s got this toned vibe. I don’t dislike it.

“W-What are you staring at… pervert…”

Her face looked red, maybe from the sunset, and she seemed kind of cute.

“Y-You got back first?”

I said, trying to cover my blunder.

“N-Not really, just… cleaning up or whatever…”

Natsumi hid her mouth with her twin tails.

Kind of cute…

“I’ll go change then.”

I decided to head home first. I need to calm down, or I’ll rush things… patience, patience.

Today’s not that kind of day.

“Mamo-kun, welcome.”

Yuki-nee, who was preparing dinner, came to greet me.

“You’re eating dinner here, right? I got all excited since you were coming.”

“Yeah, I’ll eat. It’s been a while since I had your cooking, Yuki-nee. Oh, Mom sent some potato salad.”

Come to think of it, I’ve been seeing Yukino, but it feels like it’s been a while since I saw Yuki-nee.

“Oh! Thank you. That’s great, Natsumi. You love Mamo-kun’s mom’s potato salad, right? We’ll have to go thank her sometime.”

“U… yeah… I’ll go… Anyway, sit down.”

Natsumi hid her mouth with her twin tails.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“““Let’s eat!”””

The table was set with katsuage, nikujaga, potato salad, and miso soup.

“Mmm! Delicious! As expected of Yuki-nee!”

Yuki-nee’s cooking was so good and it’s been so long since I last ate it that I couldn’t stop myself.

Can Yukino and Yuna cook too? I’ll ask them sometime.

“Oh! This miso soup is amazing!”

The miso soup was especially tasty; I could drink it all day.

“Fufu, that one? Natsumi made it. She made a lot, so there’s more if you want seconds.”

“Really? Nice job, Natsumi! I’ll have more then. I could drink this miso soup every day.”

“W-What? Are you stupid? I just made it ‘cause I had time!!”

Natsumi blushed, took my bowl, and rushed to the kitchen.

Yuki-nee was grinning. For some reason, I felt embarrassed and blushed too.

I ended up having three servings.

We chatted about old times and caught up while eating.

“Mamo-kun, you don’t have a girlfriend or anything?”

“Nope, never had one.”

I lied to Yuki-nee. Yukino knows the truth, but Yuki-nee doesn’t know anything.

“Hmm. Hear that, Natsumi?”

Yuki-nee grinned at Natsumi, as if saying, “Good for you.”

“Huh? Doesn’t matter to me. I mean, I’d be a bit worried if my childhood friend stayed single forever.”

“So I’m doomed to be single for life?”

“You got any chance of getting one? You’re like, weak, Mamoru.”

I was speechless. Sure, I’m on the frail side, but there’s a way to say it better.

“Then you need a strong girl like Natsumi, right?”

“Huh?! What are you saying?! Stop it!”

Natsumi’s face turned bright red. Did she have to deny it that hard? Does she really hate me?

“Thanks for the meal.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Thanks for the miso soup, Natsumi.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome…”

Natsumi replied while fiddling with her phone.

“Oh no, Natsumi practiced making that miso soup yesterday and everything.”

Yuki-nee poked Natsumi’s cheek.

“Huh?! Nee-san, why’d you say that?”

Blushing furiously, Natsumi glared at me,

“N-Not like I made it for you, Mamoru! I was just practicing for home ec! I’m taking a bath!”

Natsumi slammed the door and left.

Wasn’t home ec about omelets…?

“After coming back from camp yesterday, Natsumi suddenly started practicing. She kept remaking it, so my stomach’s all bloated.”

“Yuki-nee, don’t tease Natsumi too much, I pity her.”

“But I want my little sister to be happy, you know? If Mamo-kun became my little brother, I’d be happy too.”

Yuki-nee teased with a smirk while cleaning up.

I got a bit annoyed and thought about switching her to Yukino to mess with her, but patience, patience for today…

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Haa, all refreshed… What?”

Natsumi fresh from the bath… this is bad… Her twin tails were down, her long, beautiful hair still slightly wet, with a faint, nice shampoo scent.

She smells good… It’s supposed to be the same shampoo as Yuki-nee’s, so why does Natsumi’s smell better…?

This is bad, I can’t stand up for a while… I couldn’t get up until my thing calmed down.

“Well, I’ll head out now.”

Finally calm, I stood up to leave.

“Thanks for the meal, it was delicious.”

“Come back anytime.”

“See you.”

“Oh, Natsumi…”

“What?”

“With your hair down, you look different… I think it’s cute…”

She might think it’s creepy, but I felt like I should say it, so I did.

“…Huh?! A-Are you stupid? Idiot, idiot! That’s gross! Go home already!”

Natsumi rushed back to her room in a panic.

Yuki-nee smiled, “Oh? Mamo-kun says stuff like that too?”

“Was that bad?”

I thought I messed up, but Yuki-nee shook her head, still smiling.

“I think it’s fine. She looked happy.”

“Happy? Did she? Well, whatever. Night.”

“Night. Let’s all eat together again.”

When I got home and lay in bed, a message came.

“Don’t say weird stuffs out of nowhere!! …Thanks. Come eat again sometime? Night.”

It was short, but I felt relieved.

“Sorry for the sudden weirdness. The miso soup was great. I’d love if you made it again. Night.”

I replied simply, and my eyes closed.

A bit later, a sticker of a bear climbing into bed saying goodnight arrived.

I sent back the same sticker, which I’d happened to buy.