The Carnivorous Maidens Living with Me - Chapter 74 & 75

Chapter 74: Hands, Hands, and Studying

“Mutsuki-sama, please!”

“No need for restraint.”

“It must be hot, I’ll fan you.”

“Worship me.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

I’m fanning Mutsuki with a handheld fan in the living room… or rather, reverently fanning her…

“What… are you doing, Shoma?”

Sofia, stumbling upon this scene, calls out to me.

It’s 8 p.m.

The day after our karaoke outing, after returning from school, we all ate dinner (cooked by Hazuki and the President today), took baths (I went alone), and now I’m entertaining Mutsuki, fresh from her bath, in the living room.

“I’m about to learn study tips from the great Mutsuki Daimyojin.”

“All that flattery just for that…”

“How rude!

It’s devotion.”

“…That doesn’t feel right either.”

As we banter, the other girls, fresh from their baths, start gathering in the living room.

(Lately, they’ve been bathing together a lot…)

“Oh my, Sho-kun, studying?

But the tests are over, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, but… I can’t keep relying on Mutsuki forever…”

“Hm!

Good mindset, Shoma!

Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

“The President’s saying something sensible…”

“I… can say sensible things sometimes, you know.”

“Oh… she’s sulking.”

“Oh my, cheer up, Satsuki-chan.”

Everyone’s gathered in the living room, creating a warm atmosphere.

“By the way, Sho-kun, how are your grades?”

“Uh… well…”

Yayoi-san’s sharp question makes me want to clam up.

I’ve tried to play the capable guy at work, so I never talked much about my grades.

“Awful.”

“Yup!

Worse than mine!”

“Without me, he’s in trouble…”

“Hm!

Disgraceful for the next student council president.”

““““First we’re hearing of this?!””””

The President’s jokes aren’t always funny.

“Hmm, Sho-kun’s bad at studying?

That’s kinda cute.”

“…Yayoi-san, ‘cute’ is a forbidden word for guys, you know?”

“Eh?

Really?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty shocking.”

“Oh my, but didn’t Mutsuki-chan say in the bath that Shoma’s thing is pretty cute?”

Yayoi-san’s comment makes me whip my head toward Mutsuki.

“Y-Yayoi-san, that was supposed to be a secret…”

“Mutsuki… you’re a pervert.”

“N-No, I’m not!

Don’t misunderstand!

I just…”

“Just?”

“I just said Shoma’s hands are cute…”

“Hands?”

“Hands…”

Sofia, Hazuki, and the others give exasperated looks and head off to their bedrooms.

Left behind, Mutsuki and I…

“You like my hands?”

“Uh… yeah…”

We sit side by side in an awkward silence, with only the tick tock… tick tock… of the clock filling the room.

(This is awkward…)

Not wanting to burden Mutsuki every test season, I rack my brain.

“Hey… Shoma.”

“What?

Give me a bit, I’m close to figuring this out.”

“…Your hand.”

“Hm?”

“Can I… hold your hand?”

Mutsuki makes that request.

My right hand, still not fully recovered, is busy wrestling with my notebook.

Only my left hand is free.

And right beside me, Mutsuki’s soft body presses close with a pitori.

“What’s with this all of a sudden?”

“Back then…”

“Yeah?”

“When we used to play together as kids, and my parents scolded me, you’d gently hold my hand, right?”

“…Did I?

I don’t really remember…”

“You did!

I haven’t forgotten.”

“Lend me some of that memory.”

“Hehe… hold my hand, and I’ll share it with you.”

Mutsuki gently takes my left hand, interlocking our fingers like lovers.

The gesture makes my heart skip a beat, but since she’s less forward than Sofia and the others, it catches me off guard.

Maybe my reaction was funny, because Mutsuki laughs happily.

“Your hand, Shoma… it’s warm…”

“You’re just cold-handed.”

“Maybe…

Hey, Shoma.”

“What?

Just so you know, I’m not lending my right hand.”

“No, I don’t need your right hand.”

There’s an almost intoxicated air about Mutsuki.

Her usual fierce, violent energy is completely gone.

Instead, I can’t help but see her as mature, despite being the same age.

“So, what should I do?”

My right hand’s no longer holding a pen.

I face Mutsuki directly, urging her to continue.

Her request is…

“Won’t you sleep with me?”

“…Come again?”

“Won’t you sleep with me?”

I ask again, but the answer’s the same.

What’s gotten into Sofia and Mutsuki lately?

“Let me be clear, I’m not doing anything.

So, no way.”

I turn down Mutsuki’s invitation.

Like I told Sofia before, I won’t make a move.

That’s my absolute rule.

“…What are you talking about?”

“Eh?

What, you…”

“Hahahaha!

No, no!

Not that kind of sleeping, just cuddling!”

She laughs her head off…

Mutsuki laughs so hard at my misunderstanding.

“Sigh… you’re so confusing…”

“Wow, I didn’t expect you to misunderstand.”

“With your track record, it’s reasonable, isn’t it?”

“Well, that’s for when the time comes!”

“I pray that time never comes…”

“And…”

“And?”

I sense Mutsuki’s hiding something and pin her against the sofa’s backrest.

“Spill it, Mutsuki…”

“W-Well…”

“Well?”

“I kinda pranked you while you were sleeping with Sofia, so I thought it’s too late now…”

“…What?”

I’m speechless at her words.

“N-No way!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!

Nothing happened!”

“That’s suspicious… seriously, please…”

“Yeah, nothing went in!”

That “in” feels like something I shouldn’t ask about.

And the “in” implies she did something else.

“Alright… don’t say any more… my heart can’t take it.”

“Then… as an apology, I’ll sleep with you.”

“That’s not an apology… I’m going back to my room.”

“Yay~!

I’m not letting you sleep tonight!”

And so, I barely study, get toyed with by Mutsuki, and my mood… fades like a watery day.

Carnivorous girls… terrifying.

Chapter 75: The Troubled Kurokami

Chun chun…

“Nn… what’s that?

Feels kinda heavy…”

I wake up with a strange sensation in my body.

To figure out what’s causing it, I lift the blanket…

“Suu… suu…”

“…”

There’s Mutsuki, making cute sleeping noises, using my chest as a pillow… no, as a body pillow.

(When she’s like this, she’s just like the old Mutsuki.)

With that thought, I glance at the clock.

It’s 5:18 a.m.

(Since living with the girls, I’ve been waking up earlier and earlier…)

Unbeknownst to Shoma, his survival instincts are kicking in.

Repeated ambushes have trained his body to wake up early.

“Sigh… can’t sleep.”

There’s no way I can fall back asleep like this, so I spend the next hour dutifully playing the role of a body pillow.

※

“Fwa~… nnya, Shoma~ morning~”

“Morning, Mutsuki.

You’re drooling.”

“Wipe it~”

Still half-asleep, she’s acting totally different from usual.

I guess taking care of her, drool and all, is part of being her partner this week…

“Here, turn your face this way.”

“Umyu~”

Making a sound like some aquatic creature, she scrunches her face and looks at me.

“Alright, done.

Go wash your face.

Time for breakfast.”

I toss the tissue, wet with Mutsuki’s drool, into the trash and start to leave the room when I feel a warm presence behind me.

“…What’s wrong, Mutsuki?”

“…I don’t… want to go to school.”

“…”

Her voice sounds like she’s on the verge of tears.

She’s been skipping club activities.

That’s probably the reason.

(What should I do…

It feels a bit different from Sofia’s situation…)

After hesitating, I decide there’s no need to force Mutsuki to go to school.

“Then let’s skip!”

“…Huh?”

I resolve to ease Mutsuki’s anxiety.

“No… I was just kidding…”

She hurriedly tries to pull away, but I know… her arms, clinging to me, were trembling.

Now it’s my turn to hold on to her.

“You don’t look like you’re kidding…”

I turn around and gently place my hands on her shoulders.

In that moment, her trembling seems to ease just a little.

“It’s… no good…”

“What’s no good?”

I ask gently.

“The cultural festival… it’s coming up soon…”

“Yeah…”

I touch her downturned cheek.

“I… need to get it together…”

“You’re always together.”

A warm droplet slides onto my hand.

“I have to… help Shoma…”

“You’ve helped me plenty.”

Her warm black hair trembles against my chest… shaking.

So…

“Now it’s my turn to help you!”

“…Okay.”

Can I really repay her this time?

The kindness that saved my heart from sinking into darkness…

That strong, black bond…

Will I be able to honor it?