What's Wrong With Interfering With My Childhood Friend's Love?

Chapter 3 : My Angel Was Appeased In A Matter Of Seconds

“I can’t hide what’s on my desk. So, I guess I’ll just have to give up. This side… ugh, it’s hopeless!”

After finishing the call, the first thing I did was open my tablet. I launched the notepad app and wrote down my urgent tasks in order of priority.

My mother had imposed a penalty on me that I had to ‘stop living alone.’

However, this didn’t mean I had to move out.

Apparently, the plan was to live together with my cousin.

While technically true that there would be more people in the house, it was misleading.

To be honest, I’ve never met this cousin.

In fact, I didn’t even know they existed until now.

I tried to argue with Mom, using the excuse that I was already living with Charo.

But, she decided a cat would not be able to take care of my health.

And the reason I was so busy now is because my cousin… is coming over soon.

So, I had too many things to hide and organize.

It was enough to make me want to scream. It was a situation where I could really use a helping hand, but Charo was asleep.

“Shit! I haven’t dealt with the pile of stuff in the living room! No, that can wait.”

As I worked diligently, the doorbell rang.

It seemed the cousin in question had finally arrived. I quickly finished ventilating the room and hurried to the entrance.

When I opened the door, a girl stood there with two suitcases.

I’d heard her name from my mother, but I knew nothing about her face or appearance. So, I was up for a surprise.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Miumi Aihara.”

Her forget-me-not-colored hair fluttered gently.

The moment I saw her, I was instantly captivated.

Her adorable face made me doubt she was really my relative.

She looked like she could be mistaken for an idol.

Even a devoted guy like me, with someone already in my heart, was still undeniably a man.

Faced with such a beautiful girl, I couldn’t help but feel my heart pound.

As I stood there speechless, my cousin gave me a puzzled look.

She stared at me, looking up, which snapped me back to reality.

“…Uh, I’m Riku Kaidou. Um… really?”

“…..?”

“Oh, I mean… are you really planning to live here?”

“Yes. I was told you would be very happy to welcome me.”

“Well… yeah.”

“…Is there a problem?”

I thought there were several problems, but that’s okay.

But still… What do you mean by warm welcome? I don’t remember that.

In fact, it was moments ago that I heard about this.

This was definitely one of my mother’s schemes.

Poor girl, she must have been tricked too.

I gently placed my hand on Miumi’s shoulder offering my condolences.

“No… it’s not your fault. Come on in.”

“O-Okay. Excuse me.”

I quickly tried to bring Miumi’s suitcases inside.

They were incredibly heavy.

Did she bring all her belongings?

“Shhh! Shhh!”

“Oh, is this… Charo-chan?”

“Chaa!!”

“Is she angry?”

When I brought the suitcases inside, Charo was threatening Miumi.

‘Could it be… she’s trying to protect our space that was meant for us?!’

I was moved by my angel’s courage.

Our bond was surely eternal.

“She’s just a little hungry. Huh? How do you know her name?”

“I heard it beforehand.”

“…I see. I guess it’s essential information to know if there’s a cat.”

“Yes, that’s right. I also brought cat food.”

She opened one of the suitcases I’d carried in and took out cat food.

Apparently, this was why the luggage was so heavy.

What about her belongings? Weren’t the suitcases supposed to be filled with clothes and other things?

But Charo wouldn’t be swayed by something like this. It would take many offerings to forge a bond as strong as ours.

If I played my cards right, I wouldn’t have to worry about Charo’s food for a while.

A new money-making scheme came to mind, and I smirked.

“Chaa~”

“That tickles. You’ll get fat if you eat too much, so just a little, okay?”

“…..”

However, after being given food, Charo perked up and snuggled into Miumi’s arms, being completely won over.

An instant fall.

Were you really just a little hungry, my angel…? Our bond seems flimsy now.

I put off organizing Miumi’s luggage for now and sat down at the table across from her in the living room.

She must have been exhausted from dragging those heavy suitcases.

By the way, Charo, who was satisfied, had wandered off somewhere. What an easy-going life.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Anything is fine.”

“Okay.”

Now that things had finally settled down, it was the first time I’d had a girl other than my childhood friend in my house. The fact that Miumi was beautiful made it feel strange.

Today had been a series of shocks, and I couldn’t relax. Why hadn’t my mother ever told me she had a sister in the first place?

My parents were secretive; I didn’t even know what kind of work they did. I’d suspected there were secrets in our family, but I’d never imagined I had a cousin.

Honestly, it was a much bigger deal than having a roommate. Fortunately, the house was large, so living together wouldn’t be a problem.

In any case, my mother had already given me an extra allowance for both of us.

Yes, that’s right… I had sold my soul for money and had no choice but to comply with her requests.

“You see… actually, I just found out about you coming today, Miumi, so I don’t really know what’s going on.”

“Is that so? I’ve heard about you, Riku-san, for a while now.”

“Really?”

“Oh… my aunt told me you were looking forward to meeting me, so I thought you knew.”

Unbelievable. I hadn’t even known she existed… and she’d been fed a blatant lie.

“My mom is basically a good person, but she has a habit of exaggerating. She probably just said that because she adores her niece.”

“Huh? But… I understand.”

Miumi looked very confused.

Well, it was hard to believe when you were suddenly told something like that.

“Also, you can call me Riku.”

“Then, may I call you Riku-kun?”

“Anything’s fine, as long as it’s easy for you… and we’re the same age, right? You don’t have to treat me like I’m older.”

“Are you talking about the way I speak?”

“Yeah, that.”

“In that case, it might be difficult to change.”

“It’s fine if you’re not forcing yourself. So, first, tell me why you ended up living at my house.”

“I’m not staying over. I’m moving in.”

So, it was moving in… after all. I tried to escape reality, but it didn’t change.

As someone who suddenly had a new roommate, I had a lot to think about.

It seemed Miumi had decided to move and came today, and she seemed calm about it.

“So, why did you decide to move here? If there’s a reason, I’d like to hear it.”

“To put it simply, my house became uninhabitable due to deterioration.”

“…That must have been tough.”

“So, I’m homeless now.”

I thought houses didn’t disappear even if they deteriorated.

She probably meant it was beyond repair.

It was a pretty realistic reason.

“Homeless… What about your parents?”

“They’re overseas.”

“I see.”

“So, my aunt took me in and told me to take care of you, Riku-kun.”

“You could have refused. In fact, you should have refused.”

“No, the school is nearby from this place, so it’s very convenient.”

As far as I knew, there weren’t any girls who were this cute in Higashikiba. If she was enrolled, I would have heard rumors about her.

“Wait, which school?”

“Nishikiba Girls’ Academy.”

“That one, huh? You’re smart. I remember that being a prestigious school with a high deviation score.”

Nishikiba Girls’ Academy.

A high-class school where girls from wealthy families gathered. It was a pretty exclusive place.

I knew about it because my childhood friend, Chiya, had been recommended there in middle school.

Honestly, when I heard she lived in a dilapidated house, it didn’t seem to fit the image of a rich girl. But considering Miumi’s appearance and way of speaking, it made sense.

Well, it wasn’t exactly close to my house.

Maybe it was considered nearby if you considered the distance to the nearest station.

“It was inconvenient not being able to bring friends over to the house.”

“If it was old, that might be true. But I wonder why you lived in such a house for so long.”

“The school was nearby.”

“…It’s certainly important that it was nearby.”

“Yes. It’s important.”

Miumi seemed to care about small details, despite being a teenage girl.

Or maybe she was sensitive because she was a teenager.

“By the way, didn’t you try to find a place closer?”

“Unfortunately, there weren’t any vacancies that met the minimum requirements.”

“…I see.”