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 - 56

Chapter 56: The Incident Where We Somehow Got Approved by Her Parent

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Kaede’s POV

When I opened my eyelids, orange-colored light streamed in through the gap in the curtains.

Evening? Huh… Did I fall asleep…?

When I took my temperature, it had dropped to the high 36°C range. Thank goodness. The heaviness in my body also seemed to have eased a little.

“……Huh?”

When I shifted my gaze to the side, Yuuta-kun was there, sleeping soundly with his head resting against the edge of the bed. His neck was definitely going to hurt like that.

I mean…He’s way too defenseless!

Just looking at him made my chest tighten, and I became convinced. This wasn’t because of the fever. This must be what “liking someone” felt like. And so, what I would do in moments like this…

“Hehe. I’ll play a little prank.”

First, I took out my phone and snapped picture after picture of his sleeping face.

“This could totally be used for blackmail in the future… Hehehe.”

A villain-like laugh naturally slipped out of my mouth. Next, I poked his cheek with my finger…

“Poke… Poke.”

No reaction. How could someone be this cute? And then…

“Kaede? How are you feeling?”

She came back!? Right now?! At this exact timing!?

“W-wait, wait, wait! You can’t! Don’t come in!”

“Why not? I just wanted to check if your fever went down.”

Mom, there is currently an unknown high school boy in your daughter’s room, you know!?

“What are you hiding?”

“Nothing! Don’t come in!!”

Even I thought I was being ridiculously desperate. And because of all that commotion…

“…Nn… Eh…?”

Yuuta-kun’s eyelids slowly lifted.

“Huh… Kaede…? Wait, crap!? It’s already evening!? I fell asleep!?”

His loud voice exploded through the room.

Stop iiiit!! Your voice is way too loud!!

“Huh? Why did I just hear a boy’s voice…? And that’s not Shouma-kun’s voice… Hey, who’s really in there!? Kaede!?”

This was bad, bad, bad. Her ears were way too sharp! Mom!!

It’s over…

The next moment, I heard heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs. Mom was coming up my room for real.

“W-wait a second—!”

I tried to stand up, but my body didn’t cooperate, and I staggered. Ah, right. I had caught a cold. By the time I realized that, it was already too late.

“Kyaa—!”

Thud.

I fell forward, collapsing right on top of Yuuta-kun.

“Whoa!? Hiiragi-san!? Are you okay!? And… This is way too close!!”

Our eyes met at point-blank range. In every sense of the word, my body temperature refused to stop rising. And then, at the worst possible timing…

Click.

“Hey! That sound just now… Kaede!? I’m coming in—”

The door opened and then, my mother saw it. A high school girl and a high school boy pressed together on a bed.

……Silence.

And then—

“…My, my Kaede… How bold~♡”

You’ve got to be kidding meeeee!?

“N-no! It’s not what it looks like! Really! I just fell! That was a pure accident! An unavoidable one! Because of my cold! I have a bad status effect! My condition is bad!”

I desperately tried to explain. But my mother… She was grinning from ear to ear. In fact, she wore the most suggestive smile I had ever seen in my life.

“All right, all right. Youth really is wonderful, isn’t it?”

“I said it’s not like that!!!”

“Y-yes, exactly!”

Yuuta-kun was beet-red as well, frantically waving both hands as he denied it.

I want to die… No, I want to live… But still, I want to die…

Feeling like I might pass out more from embarrassment than from my cold, all I could do was pray.

Please, let the memory of this room be erased from the world.

☆☆☆☆

Before I knew it, I was sitting at the dining table in Kaede’s house.

I had been escorted with a smile by Kaede’s mom saying, “Since you’re here anyway, you should eat with us,” and before I realized it, I was seated with a “Please take your time~,” and before I realized it…

“Alright then, let’s start with your name and date of birth.”

The interrogation had begun.

“Uh, um…Yuuta Fujiwara, my birthday is—”

“Blood type? Height? Family members? Hobbies? Future dreams? Average test scores?”

“Why does it go that far!?”

It was bad enough that my soul itself wanted to retort. When I looked to the side, Kaede’s face was completely red, and she looked like she was about to prostrate herself as she apologized over and over, “I’m so sorry… I’m really sorry…”

No, this isn’t Hiiragi-san’s fault. Her mom is just way too fired up.

And then came the question from the one angle I absolutely wanted to avoid.

“So, how did you two meet?♡”

Th-this is bad…!

There was no way I could say, “I happened to be there when Kaede was crying after being dumped by Shouma.” So I mobilized every bit of vocabulary in my brain and wrapped it up as harmlessly as possible.

“Well, um… We were eating lunch together on the emergency stairs, and before we knew it, we got close… Something like that.”

Wasn’t that pretty good for something made up on the spot? Kaede nodded vigorously beside me. Even though we were lying, the way she agreed was way too natural. Kaede’s mom nodded in satisfaction too, saying.

“Well~ I suppose that’s how youth is~.”

We’re safe… I guess this route is the right answer…

Just as I let out a sigh of relief—

“Yuuta-kun, you know, this girl will make a wonderful wife. Please take good care of her for many, many years~♡”

“Buh—!?”

I nearly dropped my chopsticks.

“Many, many years.” “Wife.”

What a ridiculous surprise attack. When I hurriedly looked at Kaede, she had a face that showed she very clearly didn’t mind it. Her cheeks were flushed red, and she was smiling happily.

She’s so cu—no, wait, calm down, me.

Even while panicking, my heart kept skipping a beat at that expression. And then came the follow-up attack.

“You two really are a perfect match. Right, Kaede?”

“Yeah… We are a good match, aren’t we…”

Don’t say something like that while looking at me in a small voice of yours…

My HP was going to hit zero. We were basically a couple that had received the parents’ approval. There was no escape route left and of course, there was no room for rebuttal either. 

This is bad. This whole household is trying to finish off my sanity.

Kaede’s mom was smiling. Kaede was smiling shyly. And I was the only one sitting there, utterly confused with my face bright-red.

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