I Will Do Everything In My Power To Bring Happiness To The Enchanting Beauty Who Can No Longer Smile. - Chapter 21: A Match.

A Match.

“This is my home… or rather, my apartment.”

“Wow…”

After finishing up preparations at home, Tsubame’s mother offered to drive us back.

The place we arrived at was a visibly luxurious apartment complex—so much so that it even had a front desk.

“For security reasons, it’s best to live in a place where guards are stationed around the clock.”

“I see.”

Tsubame was already one of Japan’s most renowned models—famous even on a global scale. It made sense for her to live in a place with strong security.

Nodding in understanding, I followed them inside. We took the elevator from the front lobby and went up. The fifth floor, it seemed, was where Tsubame’s apartment was located.

Once we stepped inside, I couldn’t help but let out a quiet exclamation.

“Whoa… Excuse me for intruding. This place is huge.”

“It’s smaller than a standalone house, of course, but it’s still quite spacious. I prioritized security over interior design, but in the end, we found a pretty large place.”

“This size is just right. It gives my mother a good amount of exercise when cleaning.”

Even the entrance was spacious, and the interior looked even larger.

As I was given a tour of the apartment, the room that surprised me the most was—her study.

“This is… incredible.”

Though it was called a study, there were no novels in sight. Instead, the shelves were filled with books related to modeling—practical guides on posture, collections of poses, and stacks of fashion magazines, neatly arranged by year.

“I’ve studied a lot. I still do. It’s something I need to keep doing.”

“I see…”

Hearing that, I recalled something Tsubame had said before—her fear of losing work.

Maybe this studying was part of that… or perhaps I was overthinking it. When she first started, back when she was just a reader model, she must have needed to study a lot. And in any case, studying is never a bad thing.

After that, I was led to the living room. The television and the sofa were both larger than the ones at my house.

“Lately, Tsubame and I have been watching animal videos on this TV. They’re just so adorable.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. We’ve been watching the ones Shigure-kun recommended.”

“Oh, is that right? I should thank you, Shigure-kun.”

So after that conversation, they started watching them at home too. That made me happy.

“Well then, I’ll be heading back to work now. I’ll cook dinner tonight.”

“Okay. Thank you, Mom.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Make sure you have lots of fun, okay?”

With that, Tsubame’s mother returned to her room—or rather, her workspace.

“My mom is working two jobs right now.”

“Two?”

“She had to leave work a while ago due to health issues and started doing freelance work from home. Then, about two years ago, she resumed working remotely for her previous company. She’s careful not to push herself too hard, though. Mom was always really competent at her job.”

“I see. So she’s also the one who drives you to work?”

“As much as possible. Sometimes my manager takes me, but most of the time, it’s my mom.”

Hearing this, I realized there was still so much I didn’t know.

“Given the nature of my job, this setup works best for us. Oh, of course, Mom has informed her remote workplace about it as well.”

“She really loves you, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah. She’s always been there for me. I love her a lot, too.”

That answer made me smile. I’m glad she has someone like that in her life.

“So, we’re playing games today, right?”

“Yeah. I figured I’d give it a try. Whether I end up liking it or not, it’s just a test run.”

Recently, not just console games but mobile games had been growing in popularity. However, there weren’t many multiplayer mobile games besides FPS titles. Maybe Tsubame would enjoy those—but that was something to think about later.

“For now, I brought some of the games we used to play—party games, racing games, and 2D action games. But if you don’t like them, just say so. There are plenty of other things we can do.”

“Got it.”

I made sure to emphasize that. Games nowadays tend to have more complex controls than the ones we played as kids. Since she hadn’t played anything since then, she might find the controls difficult.

If necessary, we could stop and do something else. But first, we’d try things out and see how it went.

And so, I hooked up the console to the TV. I needed to keep an eye on how Tsubame was doing.

***

In the end—my concerns turned out to be completely unfounded.

“Tsubame… you’re really good at this.”

“As I kept playing, it all came back to me. This is fun.”

Right now, we were playing a well-known kart racing game—the kind where you can use items to speed up or hinder opponents.

“Shigure-kun, let’s have a match.”

“A match?”

“Yes. Whoever wins the next race gets to make the other do one thing for them.”

“That takes me back.”

We used to do this all the time—playing racing or party games with a wager on the line.

Usually, the winner would make the loser act as a body pillow or feed them a bite of food. Not that it really mattered—we ended up doing those things anyway, regardless of who won.

“So? Are you in or not?”

“…Yeah, let’s do it.”

There was no reason to refuse.

I didn’t have any particular request in mind if I won, but I’d figure something out when the time came.

“I won’t hold back.”

“Of course. I’ll do my best to win.”

Not holding back—or rather, I couldn’t afford to. It wasn’t like I was some hardcore gamer, but Tsubame’s improvement was ridiculous.

Honestly, I had no idea who would win.

***

“I win.”

“…That was a close one.”

Until the very end, I had been in the lead—until a CPU opponent hit me with an item.

Luck played a role, sure—but this was still a victory that wouldn’t have been possible without Tsubame’s skill.

A loss is a loss. I wasn’t about to back out of our agreement.

“So, what’s your request?”

I had been trying to predict it, but I still had no idea what she might ask for.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.”

“Something you’ve wanted to do?”

Tsubame set down her controller and looked at me.

Then—she lightly patted her lap.

“I want to give you a lap pillow. Just like back then.”