I Was Reincarnated as a Mob, and After I Kept Listening to the Losing Childhood-Friend Heroine’s Complaints, I Somehow Maxed Out Her Affection Rating - 36

Chapter 36: Is This Really Okay…?

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“…No way. I mean, I never heard anything about her actually staying over.”

Muttering to myself, I pulled a comforter out of the closet. Even though I was the one who suggested it, my heart was pounding like crazy. My hands moved, but inside my head, words like “A popular-guy event?” “Is this a flag?” “A death flag?” spun around endlessly.

“And the taxi fare… I kinda thought maybe I should offer to pay, but… Wait, how much does it even cost? Taxis nowadays, the meter jumps every second, right…?”

No one could hear me, yet I kept mumbling while holding the futon. Next was preparing the pajamas.

“Pajamas… No, there’s no way I have anything for a girl. Uh… How about the jersey I lent her last time?”

Holding the jersey I had kept in the drawer, I headed toward the bathroom.

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Kaede’s POV

Sitting down on the dressing room floor, I held my head in my hands.

“Why did I fall asleep…?! And in Yuuta-kun’s room of all places…!”

No one was watching, but I covered my cheeks with both hands and flailed in embarrassment. Falling asleep at Shouma’s house was… Well, we were childhood friends and mostly because I accidentally fell asleep. Basically, Shouma was like a family to me. But this time—

“Falling asleep at Yuuta-kun’s place…No matter how you look at it, that’s way too careless, right…?”

My face heated up. It definitely wasn’t because of the bath steam. For now, I took out my phone and contacted my parents.

“I missed the last train and I can’t get home… So I’m staying over at a friend’s place…”

A few seconds after sending it, my phone vibrated.

『What are you thinking??』

“Ugh… yeah, I deserve that…”

My hand trembled as I looked at the screen, and another reply came immediately.

『Should I come pick you up?』

I almost typed “Come get me,” but stopped. If they came to pick me up, I wouldn’t have to trouble Yuuta-kun… Honestly, since Yuuta-kun’s cold seemed to be getting better, I really did want to go home. But even more than that… The desire to try staying over at Yuuta-kun’s place was stronger.

Right. What if his cold came back?

“I want to stay here tonight…”

Murmuring that softly, I rewrote the message.

『I’m okay.』

The reply came immediately:

『Be careful.』

Simple, but filled with warm parental understanding. I bowed my head slightly and closed my phone.

“…Okay. Time to take a bath.”

While unbuttoning my uniform, I frowned at the reflection in the mirror.

“But… Yuuta-kun totally hasn’t noticed, has he? What I’m actually feeling when I say I’m staying over…”

Not lonely, not acting tough, not joking. Just… Today, I was “a little more honest than usual,” that was  all.

“…I wish he’d notice things like that.”

As I muttered that….

Rustle… rustle…

“Huh?”

My ears picked up an extremely unpleasant kind of sound.

Rustle… rustle rustle…

A chill shot down my spine.

“What… What is… Wait… No way… Hold on…”

Slowly, I lifted my head. I looked toward the wall and there it was. Black and shiny. Glossy. Six legs, antennae swaying… It was THAT thing.

“No no no no oh my god wait wait I can’t I can’t!!”

I screamed before I could stop myself. The glossy black C scuttled across the wall at terrifying speed. My heart felt like it was about to explode.

“Hiiragi-san! What happened?!”

At the same moment I heard the voice, the bathroom door swung open with force. Yuuta-kun! He must have sensed my distress and rushed over.

“Whoa—wait—what—?!”

His face turned bright red. He tried to cover his face with his hands.

…Huh? Why?

Confused, I looked down and understood.

Oh. I’m… I’m only wearing my panties…

All the blood drained from my body. Panicking, I grabbed the bath towel and clutched it tightly to my chest.

“Ahhh!! No! Don’t look!”

“S-sorry—!”

Yuuta seemed panicked too. It looked like he had been totally ready to fight the C, but my state of undress completely threw him off. A few minutes later, the C was safely defeated thanks to Yuuta-kun. Still holding the bath towel around me, I took a deep breath to calm down.

“I’m… I’m sorry… Seriously, that was my bad for coming in so suddenly…”

Yuuta apologized while scratching his head.

“No, it’s okay. More importantly… Thank you for coming.”

My voice came out naturally. Not forced, not shy—just honest gratitude. When Yuuta heard that, his face grew even redder and he grew flustered.

“Ye-Yeah…”

He spoke while quickly trying to leave the bathroom. Something about how flustered he was looked cute and I couldn’t help but smile.

“…Hey, Yuuta-kun?”

“Hm?”

“How much did you see?”

Teasing him, I watched him freeze in place, flustered all over again.

“I didn’t see anything! Seriously…!”

“Hmmm, really? Okay, I’ll believe you then~♪”

Smirking, I held the towel securely while inwardly enjoying the situation.

“A-anyway, your clothes! I’ll leave them right here!”

Maybe he was at his limit since he avoided looking at me directly. He didn’t even spare a glance at the towel. He only placed the jersey down with frantic movements, and practically ran out to the living room.

“…Heh. He’s so cool when he rushes in to help me like that, but also so cute…”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Tonight, he felt reliable…Yet a little clumsy and incredibly dear to me at the same time. Holding that feeling in my heart, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself again.

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