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 - 38

Chapter 38: Conversation Before Bed

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Sinking into the living room sofa, I held my head in both hands.

“…I saw. No, I ended up seeing. …Or rather, it was visible. No, that’s not right. I didn’t mean to see it. I saw it but didn’t see it. I want to pretend I didn’t see it…!”

That one scene that had jumped into my vision when I rushed over after hearing the scream. It was definitely my fault for opening the door without knocking… But seriously, who would assume the door wasn’t locked…? And the fact that I thought, “She’s way bigger than she was in the original illustrations,” made me deserving of the death penalty.

“No no no! Why did I even compare it!? Am I stupid enough to calmly compare something like that!?”

Anyone looking at me writhing on the sofa would’ve known I was completely done for.

“…But if you hear a scream, you go, right? Not going would be weird, right? Yeah, it was a purely humanitarian action. Justice. Hero. Force majeure. Automatic safe-zone ruling…!”

Even I felt pathetic saying that. She didn’t seem bothered by it at all, so maybe I should also… No, there was no way I wasn’t going to be bothered by it.

That was what I had been thinking while running in mental circles trying to justify myself. And then.

“Haa… I feel so refreshed…!”

With a light voice, an airy, fresh breeze—almost like steam—moved through the room. The moment I lifted my head, my thoughts came to a complete stop.

“…………”

Kaede walked toward me wearing the jersey I let her borrow earlier. A jersey I should have been used to seeing. And yet… Fresh out of the bath Kaede was honestly cheating.

Her hair was wet, her cheeks were faintly flushed. That unconscious “just-out-of-the-bath relaxation” radiated from her whole body, and the looseness of the jersey made it even more dangerous.

Also…

What is this sneak-attack feeling? When combined with that “incident” from earlier, the damage multiplier is insane…

Right now, I had a little… No, a lot of dangerous feelings. No. I needed to suppress this. Calm down, Fujiwara. Stay cool, Fujiwara.

“…Yuuta-kun? What’s wrong?”

Kaede tilted her head and leaned in to look at my face. That distance was dangerous. Too close. Her sense of personal space was way too skewed.

“W-wah…! N-no! It’s nothing!!”

Panicking, I jumped up from the sofa.

“I-I’m going to go take a bath!!”

“Fufu. Go ahead.”

Hearing her soft giggle behind me, I bolted even faster.

She’s definitely laughing at me…!

But I couldn’t look back. I felt like if she entered my field of vision again, I’d be finished. I fled into the bathroom. I shut the door and leaned against the wall for a while, trying to steady my breathing.

“…There’s no way I can handle this…”

A sigh escaped on its own. Just today alone, my mental HP had already hit the left edge of the bar. Accidentally seeing that, then exterminating a cockroach, and then this… There were way too many events.

After my bath… Finally recovering from the earlier catastrophe (mostly concerning my mental state), I drank some cold barley tea and called out to Kaede, who was relaxing on the sofa.

“…Hey. Are you sure you’re okay with the sofa?”

I’d experienced the “you made me sleep here without confirming, now I’m annoyed because you made me feel bad” pattern many times before. So I needed to make absolutely sure.

Kaede waved lightly with a relaxed smile.

“I told you it’s fine, didn’t I?”

Saying that, she flopped over onto her side right there. Resting her head on her hand, she kicked her legs lightly as she looked at me.

Why does she casually slip in such cute movements like that…

“But you know—”

Still propped on her elbow, Kaede suddenly said something like a surprise attack.

“If I get lonely… I might sneak into your bed, Yuuta-kun.”

“Haaaaaaaah!? Give me a break!!”

In that instant, my soul floated two or three meters upward. Kaede giggled, shrugging exaggeratedly.

“I’m kidding. Wow, your reactions are so honest and fun, Yuuta-kun.”

“Stop making jokes that are bad for my heart! Don’t kick a patient when he’s already down!”

“You’re not much of a patient anymore, are you? What are you talking about?”

“I have no comeback for that!”

When I raised both hands in surrender, Kaede smiled in satisfaction. Her slightly reddened cheeks glowed under the soft lighting.

Seriously, the destructive power she has in moments like this is way too strong…

While I was grumbling in my heart, Kaede adjusted the sofa cushions.

“Okay, let’s go to sleep. We’re both tired, right?”

“…Yeah, I guess so.”

“Good night, Yuuta-kun.”

“…Good night, Hiiragi-san.”

With that, I headed for my room. Right up until I crawled under my blanket, the thought “What if that joke earlier wasn’t a joke?” kept circling in my head like some stupid high school boy fantasy.

I know I’m overthinking this, but come on, how am I supposed to ignore it?

Mentally scolding myself, I exhaled deeply and closed my eyes.

Seriously… The event density today is ridiculous…

With that wry thought, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー