Chapter 2

“I’m home~”

I ended up staying out all night.

I get back to my apartment.

Even though I live alone, I make a point of saying “I’m home” every time I get back.

There are two reasons.

First, it just feels weird not to say it.

Even if there’s no reply, I still want to say it.

And the second reason.

“Welcome home~. Was Daichi-kun okay?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Even when you live alone—sometimes you get a reply.

I never gave her a spare key.

But somehow, she started breaking in anyway.

…Maybe I should seriously look into a security company.

If their spokesperson was a world-champion wrestler, I’d sign up in a heartbeat.

Still, why did she bring up “Daichi”?

“What’s with that attitude? All jumpy~. Did you think you were going to get yelled at?”

Akane says with a laugh.

As if she isn’t the least bit suspicious about yesterday.

“You sent me a message yesterday, right? That Daichi-kun drank too much and looked sick, so you were taking care of him. And that you’d be out all night. You told me. So I’m not suspicious. I’m not the possessive type, you know?”

…Yeah, right.

That aside, I have no memory of sending that message.

Did I type it in my sleep? I don’t remember.

But if I did—my survival instincts are seriously next-level.

To think I can come up with the perfect solution even in a crisis, my four years of training haven’t been for nothing.

“Come on, Shion, you must be tired, right? I made breakfast, so eat up and relax.”

“Seriously!? Thanks!”

Akane’s not the most graceful person, but she’s a great cook.

That’s because she’s in culinary school.

To put it simply, she has a complete hold on my stomach.

What she brought out was salad, bread, and—

A mangled mess of scrambled eggs.

“Ahaha, sorry. I kinda messed up, so they turned into a sloppy mess.”

Is that supposed to be funny?

…No, something about the mood right now… is weird.

“It’s totally fine. Your cooking is delicious, Akane.”

“They ended up all mangled and messy, just like Shion would be after he cheated on me~! Hahahaha!”

“Hahahaha! That’s hilarious~~!”

…Bad bad bad bad bad. Which is it?

Does she know? Or is this just a really, really dark joke that isn’t funny at all?

Please, let it be a joke.

“So, about last night~. Your GPS wasn’t responding for a while, was it? …Does that mean you were up to something… ‘shady’?”

“Huh? Oh, seriously? Uh, ohh, it was probably that thing. The… battery was about to die, so it was in low power mode. See?”

I don’t bother with pointless resistance.

I present my phone, pleading my innocence. Conveniently, the battery was under 30%.

“Oh~? So low power mode just shuts off the GPS by itself, does it~?”

“Yup, yup, yup. That’s right. I’m pretty sure that’s how it works. No, I’m positive. Because it’s not like I turned it off myself!”

This was seriously a coincidence.

I never meant to turn off the GPS.

But it was probably—a blessing in disguise.

If the GPS had pointed to a love hotel… I would’ve been turned into scrambled eggs. No doubt about it.

I guess I have the glorious Low Power Mode to thank for not ending up on someone’s breakfast table.

On top of that, Akane is hopeless with technology.

She always operates her phone timidly with just her index finger.

The reason she calls more than she texts is because she’s bad at typing.

“I see. From now on, can you set it so it doesn’t turn off? I don’t want to have to doubt you for no reason, Shion. …You understand, right?”

“Yes, right away, immediately. As promptly as possible. I will address this issue as a top-priority task and will endeavor to resolve it right this instant!”

…Looks like I’m over the hump.

Chapter 3

“Akane, Akane, Akane is with Shion~♪”

I’m sitting cross-legged on the floor, and Akane comes and sits right in my lap.

Akane hums a weird little song.

It seems she’s in a good mood.

“Hey, Shion. What are the things Shion loves~?”

This isn’t a question.

The customer’s true desire is ‘Akane.’ There is no other option.

The answer is already set, like one of those RPGs where you can’t progress until you pick ‘Yes.’

But it’s human nature to want to resist.

I’m going to force this to be a real question, even if it kills me.

“Me! I love chicken nanban!”

“…Then I’ll make it for you sometime. I’ll put my all into it! But what do you love even more than that?”

“Cameras! I’m in the photography club! I love cameras!”

“…Something you like more than that. Or rather, something you love?”

“The Earth! It’s thanks to this world that we’re alive!”

SLAM!

The sound of a fist hitting the table.

She rage-slammed the table.

“Hey. Are you screwing with me?”

Her good mood from just a moment ago took a nosedive.

Her mood plunged like one of those record-breaking rollercoasters.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?! The one thing you love and adore more than anything!”

“Hmm. What could it be? I dunno.”

“Tch.”

From experience, this isn’t a death-level offense. I’m safe.

“No, wait. I get it, Shion. So that’s what this is. Geez, you’re such an attention-seeker.”

What kind of dialogue choice is this? I don’t remember this route.

Somehow, she thinks she’s figured me out.

An attention-seeker?

Which one of us?

Akane narrows her eyes and puckers her lips.

“Mmph! Go on. I’ll let you♡”

“???”

“You’re sulking because we haven’t seen each other much lately, right? Sorry for making you feel insecure. Akane belongs to Shion~”

She calls me every day.

The last time we saw each other in person was, what, three days ago?

So three days counts as “not seeing each other much lately.” Good to know.

…That aside, this is bad.

I’m trying to break up with her, so if we do anything… intimate… now, I’ll never be able to get away!

Because either way, I’m gonna end up as scrambled eggs!

Served with a side of dismemberment and a concrete coffin!

Ping.

A notification sounds from my phone.

“…Aren’t you gonna look?”

I can’t afford to choose the wrong answer here.

Because it’s probably a dead end.

“Nope! It’s probably just spam or Daichi, so whatever. Now then. Time to give Akane some love!”

“Eeeek♡”

God, I know I’m a cheater and have no right to ask this.

But please, can you give me like, three extra lives?