When I Brought The Lost Little Girl To Her House, The One Who Came Out Of The Front Door Was The Most Beautiful Girl In The Grade. - Chapter 62

“I… ended up coming…”

Even though I had a feeling I shouldn’t have come, I found myself walking aimlessly to Ayano’s house.

I stood in front of Ayano’s house with a small bag in my hand.

After all, today was Natsuno’s birthday. I hope she’ll like the present I chose…

With a mixture of anxiety and a slight sense of anticipation, I hesitated to press the doorbell even though I had the intention to.

Even though it’s my girlfriend’s sister’s birthday, just imagining how nervous I am now makes me shudder to think how I’ll be on Ayano’s birthday.

“Argh! Just press it!”

Hearing the doorbell sound different from my own house, I waited for Ayano to come out.

“Yes… may I ask who’s calling?”

I was completely caught off guard. This was Ayano’s house, but it wasn’t necessarily her who would answer the door.

From that voice, I could tell it was her stern and intimidating stepfather.

What should I do? All I could think of was that.

“If you don’t have any business… could you please leave?”

“Oh, no… I actually have something.”

“What is it?”

“Um… Shirakawa-san. I was invited for Shirakawa Natsuno’s birthday.”

“I see…”

What? During that silence, I felt really scared.

“Please, come in.”

The sound of the lock clicking was followed by the appearance of not the school’s most beautiful girl, but her stepfather.

“I-I-I’m intruding.”

I said that and carefully placed my shoes by the entrance before entering the living room that he led me to.

I sat on the sofa, maintaining a proper posture as I waited. It wasn’t like this the last time I came here.

I had been more relaxed before. But for some reason, I found myself sitting up straight.

While on the sofa, I tried to think of what to say to her stepfather, but I couldn’t come up with anything that sounded right.

During that silence, the only sound was the clinking of cups as he brewed coffee.

It was an ordinary sound, but precisely because of moments like these, it’s calming, almost pleasant.

“Um, Ayano-san isn’t here…?”

“She’s out shopping. I asked her on short notice to do this. Originally, Ayano was supposed to be the one welcoming you.”

“I-I see…”

With a thud, he placed the coffee cup on the table. His hand at that moment was covered in band-aids and scratches.

Seeing that, I felt a bit guilty, wondering if he had been in the middle of cooking or something.

Then, he looked at me and simply said, “Please.”

I bowed and gratefully accepted.

“It’s delicious.”

I said just that much.

***

“I’m home!”

Finally, Ayano was back! I couldn’t hide my happiness, and I had been hoping she would come back and break through this awkward situation.

“Oh? Yuusei-kun was here?!”

“Oh, I’m just intruding.”

“Oops, my hair and everything are a mess…”

“It’s okay, you look cute.”

“Huh? R-really?”

Well, if I were to leave now to fix my hair, it would mean I’d be left alone with her stepfather again.

The tension in the air was too uncomfortable, I couldn’t bear it.

“What did you bring?”

“Hmm? We were running short on ingredients for cooking, so I went to get those.”

“I see…”

No, I can’t have a weird conversation with her stepfather around.

If I say something weird or do something odd, I might not make it back in one piece.

“Oh, I got a call from Mom. Natsuno will be back in a bit. So let’s all get ready with the party poppers!”

She said that and handed me one.

“Here you go! And you too, Shirakawa-san.”

“Uhh, sure.”

“Don’t you dislike these?”

Ayano was peeking at her stepfather’s face with an anxious expression.

“I’m home!”

Just then, Natsuno’s energetic voice echoed through the house. She came back, running and flung open the living room door.

“On your mark, get set, go!”

With Ayano’s cue, we all pulled the strings of the party poppers downward.

A rather loud “pop!” echoed through the room. Following that, her stepfather also popped a party popper.

Natsuno was startled by the loud noise for a moment, but then, perhaps excited by the big bang, she started chanting, “One more time!”

In that moment, the young girl’s eyes were sparkling with excitement.