In a World of Reversed Chastity, I’m Surrounded by a Clingy Older Woman, a Walking Red Flag, and an Exhausted Office Lady - 17

Chapter 17: Not a Listless Onee-san, but a Crybaby Onee-san

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After rubbing Yua-san’s back and letting her cry her fill, I couldn’t just leave her like that, so I brought her inside and had her sit down for now.

“I have cocoa, coffee, and tea. What would you like?”

“…Cocoa.”

“Got it. Then I’ll have cocoa too.”

While I took the milk from the refrigerator and warmed it… I wondered what had happened to make her cry that much. And about a week ago, I had made her cry so hard her face was a mess. Since then, things between Yua-san and me had become a bit awkward.

What should I do…?

While I was thinking that, Yua-san, who had been sitting down, somehow came up behind me and lightly tugged at my sleeve, staring up at me. Maybe it was because of her appearance, but she somehow looked like an abandoned kitten.

“The cocoa will be ready soon, so please wait a little longer.”

“C-Can I stay here and keep holding your sleeve?”

“That’s fine.”

Until the milk boiled and the cocoa was finished, she never left my side. Even while I was making it, maybe it didn’t have to be my sleeve specifically, but she held onto the edge of my clothes and didn’t let go. Once the cocoa was finally done and I sat down, Yua-san sat beside me. I took a sip of cocoa, paused for a breath, and then spoke to her.

“Yua-san, what happened?”

When I asked that, her body flinched, and she looked up at my face.

“Hm…?”

“Um… well…”

Yua-san looked at me awkwardly.

“I won’t get mad. I just want to know what happened to you. Will you tell me?”

When I saw her sitting in front of my door crying with her head down, it reminded me of the first time I met her. Just like back then, she had an atmosphere about her that made it seem like she might disappear from this world at any moment. When I looked at her seriously, she shyly averted her eyes.

“Well, you see…”

“Yes.”

“The other night, I ran into you, right, Shirasu-kun?”

The other night? When she said that, I thought back. It was true. I had run into Yua-san by chance. That was the day I went out to eat dinner with Kaoruko-san.

“That time… you weren’t your usual self, Shirasu-kun. You were kind of holding back, or something.”

“That’s… well, yes. That’s true.”

That time, Yua-san had once again bought a half-price supermarket bento. So I almost warned her and offered to cook dinner for her instead. But I felt I had meddled too much before and made her cry, so I decided to keep some distance.

So I had said:『Well, I guess it’s fine. Just… try not to eat too much of that, okay? See you.』

“I thought… Maybe you were fed up with me because I can’t do housework or take care of my health at all. I thought maybe you were tired of dealing with me and didn’t even want to talk to me anymore.”

“…Huh?”

I was fed up with Yua-san?

“That’s why… I practiced cooking. A lot. So you wouldn’t get tired of me, Shirasu-kun. I thought maybe if I practiced a lot and let you taste it… But…”

She looked at me again, on the verge of tears.

“Yesterday, I went to your room because I wanted you to try the dishes I practiced. But you weren’t there. At first, I thought you were just out somewhere… but you didn’t come back no matter how long I waited.”

Her face grew more and more anxious.

“I thought… maybe you got tired of even living next door to me. Even so, I thought maybe you’d come back eventually, so I waited in my room. And then… my ex-boyfriend came.”

As if her anxiety had overflowed, tears began to spill down her cheeks again.

“He said he ran out of money, so he came to ask me for some. I remembered how kind and worried you were for me, Shirasu-kun, so I somehow managed to chase him away. But then he said this to me.”

『Who would ever like a woman who reeks of STDs like you? A guy who’s kind and worries about you? There’s no way someone like that exists. Stop with the delusions. Who would ever be nice to someone like you who has no money? And this cooking looks disgusting as hell, too.』

After saying that, he threw away the food she had made for me and left.

“So… I got scared. I thought maybe you weren’t coming back anymore, Shirasu-kun. That you were tired of me. That maybe there really wasn’t someone like you who would be kind to a woman like me. So… I waited in front of your door.”

Like a confession, Yua-san told me everything that had happened. After I finished listening, the first thing I did was…

“Sh-Shirasu-kun?”

“I’m sorry. For everything.”

After wiping her tears, I pulled her into a hug. There were many things I wanted to say. But first, I had to hold her. That was what I thought.

“I thought maybe you didn’t like me meddling in your life, Yua-san.”

“…Eh!? W-Why?”

“Because you cried last week. I thought maybe you hated it. Or that you were embarrassed. And after that, you didn’t come back to my place.”

When I told her what I had been thinking, her face turned bright red.

“Well, that was, um… How should I put it… Things down there were kind of a mess…”

“…? What do you mean?”

“…!! I was embarrassed because you saw me crying, so I couldn’t come back! And I don’t hate it when you worry about me, Shirasu-kun. Actually… I like it.”

Her face was still red, but she didn’t look away this time. She looked straight at me.

I see. She didn’t hate it.

“…We were just misunderstanding each other.”

“Yeah… I guess so. Hehe. I’m glad. So you weren’t fed up with me, Shirasu-kun.”

Yua-san looked relieved.

“Well, I was a little fed up, you know? I told you not to, but you bought another half-price supermarket bento.”

“Ah—!! I-I’m sorry!”

“Well, I forgive you. You practiced cooking for me, right?”

“Y-Yeah. I did. It might not be very good, though.”

She looked anxious again. It was probably because of that worthless guy she had mentioned earlier.

“…Yua-san. I’m actually a little hungry right now. Would you cook for me? You can use my kitchen.”

“Eh!? B-But…”

“Please. I want to eat it.”

I already had dinner at Shizuku’s house, sure—but you shouldn’t underestimate a young man my age.

If it’s for Yua-san, I can still eat plenty.

Perhaps she gave in to my serious gaze, because she nodded.

“I-It’s not that good, okay? D-Don’t get your hopes up.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Geez… really, don’t expect too much.”

Even though she said that over and over, how could I not look forward to food she practiced making just for me? No matter how it turned out, I was confident I could say it was delicious. Yua-san left the room, brought ingredients back to mine, and started cooking. Partway through, I told her where the seasonings were and quietly waited as she cooked. After several dozen minutes, she brought over a plate.

“Um… this is… omurice.”

She set it down on the table very timidly. It was slightly misshapen, but it looked plenty delicious.

“May I eat?”

“Y-Yes. Please go ahead.”

“Then, thank you for the meal.”

I pressed my hands together and took a bite with my spoon. It tasted like a perfectly ordinary omurice but in my mouth, it felt like the taste of happiness spreading.

“It’s delicious, Yua-san. It’s really delicious!!”

“I-I’m glad…”

When I said that, she finally looked relieved, though her eyes were still teary. I continued eating the omurice that tasted like happiness, and before I knew it, I had finished it completely.

“Thank you for the meal, Yua-san. It was really good.”

“I’m glad.”

She smiled like a sunflower blooming. Seeing that, I smiled too.

“Hey, Yua-san.”

“W-What is it, Shirasu-kun?”

I placed my hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.

“Yua-san, you might not be very good at daily life or taking care of your health.”

“Ugh… y-yes.”

She made a pained expression.

“But you have even more good points than that. You work really hard. And that jerk said something awful about you smelling like STDs, but there’s no one as beautiful as you, Yua-san. Your inner color is beautiful too.”

I wondered how I could erase what that jerk had said from her mind. Then I realized, I could overwrite it with my own words. If she could feel reassured enough, his words would lose their power.

“That guy has no eye for people. Please forget about him. Anyone who makes fun of someone as hardworking and beautiful as you and who tries to cook for me… Yua-san, I’ll knock them flat. So please, don’t worry.”

I didn’t know what basis he had for saying she smelled like STDs. He probably just judged her by her appearance. She’d be better off forgetting someone like that.

“I don’t care whether you have money or not, Yua-san. You might be clumsy and not very good at housework or daily life, but you’re hardworking. Will you let me keep being your neighbor from now on?”

I looked into her eyes. Just like before, tears were streaming down her face.

“Y-Yes. Please take care of me too. Thank you for not abandoning me, Sh-Shirasu-kun.”

Sniffling, her beautiful face was once again a mess.

“Since we’re at it, how about calling me Aoi-kun instead of Shirasu-kun?”

“I-Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

“Aoi-kun. Please take care of me from now on.”

“Yes. Please take care of me too.”

As I rubbed Yua-san’s back, I wiped her nose with a tissue.

Maybe instead of a listless onee-san, she should be called a crybaby onee-san.

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