The Beautiful Girl I Accidentally Helped Who Has Somehow Become Attached To Me. - Chapter 19: Date And Invasion.

Date And Invasion.

After the commotion, we resumed our date.

We boarded a train heading three stations away to a large shopping mall.

The train had long bench-style seating. Fortunately, a few seats at the end were empty, so I had Mikami-san sit at the end and took the seat next to her.

Unlike the cross seats, there were no partitions between the seats, but if we sat straight, there shouldn’t be any contact between us… or so I thought.

No, this is way too close!

Um, Mikami-san? Why are you leaning over toward me?

Her head rested on my shoulder, and our shoulders, arms, and legs were practically pressed together.

Instead of feeling excitement from how soft she was or how nice she smelled, embarrassment overtook me. It was incredibly brazen of her, especially in a public place with others around; I felt the weight of the other passengers’ stares.

“Um, Mikami-san?”

“Don’t mind me.”

“Uh, wait…”

“Don’t mind me.”

“Seriously?”

“Don’t mind me.”

“Um…”

“Don’t mind me.”

I tried to speak to her quietly to avoid disturbing the other passengers, but the response I received was just her usual refrain.

It was one of her go-to phrases when she had switched to that mode of not listening. It was evident she had no intention of acknowledging my words.

She kept repeating those same words like a broken record.

Honestly, it was overwhelming, but the fact that she had this composure suggested that she was starting to shake off the fear from earlier, which was a relief.

Nevertheless, with Mikami-san in this state, she wouldn’t budge an inch, leaving me no choice but to accept the situation. However, if she continued to rub against me like this, it was going to tickle unbearably.

As her beautiful hair brushed against my face while she shifted, it made me feel even more flustered.

“Um, Mikami-san? You can stay like that, but it’d really help if you could at least stay still…”

“Don’t mind me.”

I figured I’d have to endure this, so I decided to close my eyes and pretend to be asleep to get through it.

***

In the end, Mikami-san stayed like that until it was time to get off the train.

In fact, she hesitated a bit when it was time to disembark, nearly causing us to miss our stop.

However, Mikami-san, who had been so relaxed earlier, now presented a completely different, cooler demeanor. She seemed somewhat tense, and I could swear her ears were slightly flushed.

As I glanced over at her, concerned, our eyes met for just a moment before she quickly turned her face away.

“Um… please don’t stare at me so much; it’s embarrassing,” she said.

Could it be that she felt embarrassed about her behavior from before? I was honestly surprised. The fact that someone who had so brazenly threatened my reason could also feel a sense of shame was unexpected.

Though her sense of personal space had always been a bit off, it was refreshing to see this reaction when she reverted to a more normal state.

With that in mind, I decided to tease her a little with a fitting response.

“Don’t mind me.”

“…That’s mean,” she replied.

What nerve she had to say that! It was amusing to think about her grappling with the emptiness of having her assertions rejected for once.

Having had my little moment of payback, it was finally time for some shopping.

This large shopping mall could fulfill most of our shopping needs. Given that it was a holiday, the place was bustling, and I felt a bit overwhelmed by the crowd.

“Where should we go first?” I asked.

“Let’s start by checking out furniture and home appliances. After that, we can have lunch and take a short break before browsing for daily necessities. That way, it won’t be too cumbersome to carry everything,” Mikami-san replied.

So, we’re starting with that. It makes sense since the furniture and appliances will be delivered later, so they won’t be a burden. Daily necessities might not be too troublesome to carry, but depending on how much we buy, they could become unwieldy. It’s standard practice to tackle the lighter items first.

By the way, it was assumed that furniture and appliances were being sent to my home. However, after enduring a barrage of plans and discussions about this “invasion” over the past few days, I had resigned myself to it. It’s better to think that they are being considerate of the homeowner’s intentions.

Well, even if I was consulted, I could only manage a noncommittal response like, “Sounds good to me.”

With that said, we first arrived at an electronics store.

One thing I knew for sure was that Mikami-san was planning to bake sweets at my place. We headed straight to the kitchenware section, where she was comparing ovens she had long wanted.

“…This is quite a dilemma,” she said.

“Is it? To me, they all look the same,” I replied.

“Not at all! They vary significantly. There are different functions, sizes, and even door orientations to consider. Do you think I measured the installation space for nothing?”

As I aimlessly gazed at the ovens, not really grasping the differences, Mikami-san scolded me.

She rattled off details about installation space, capacity, interior shape, and ease of cleaning, but I struggled to keep up.

So, I figured it would be best if she picked something that met her approval since she would be the primary user.

“Kirishima-san, which design do you prefer between this one and this one?” she asked.

“Hmm, I think I like this one better,” I said.

“Great! Let’s keep that as a candidate and look around for others. Next, should we check out double beds?”

“Mikami-san?”

“…Just kidding,” she said.

Please don’t scare me like that! With the serious tone she used, I half-believed she might actually suggest it.

Though she said it was a joke, I could hear her mumbling something under her breath afterward.

“Well then, let’s refocus… and get to work on creating a comfortable space,” she said cheerfully.

“…Please be gentle with me,” I replied.

With Mikami-san overflowing with enthusiasm, she led me around from place to place.

It was heartwarming to see her having fun, but her earnestness made me anxious about what the outcome would be.

How much would my home be taken over by Mikami-san?

…Well, I guess that’s okay. Or maybe it’s not.