Chapter 35

When Arisa and Kazuya contacted Amakasu Naoki, he readily agreed to Arisa's overnight stay, saying, "If it's Ms. Takase, I can entrust my daughter to her."

Then, with Sayo accompanying her, they bought the bare essentials, such as underwear, at a nearby convenience store.

Since they had already finished dinner by eating at the festival, they decided to take a bath.

And then...

"Does my kimono fit...? Arisa, is the size okay?"

"Yes, it fits just right."

Arisa answered.

The kimono Arisa was wearing was a yukata that Sayo used as pajamas. It wasn't a beautiful one for special occasions like a festival; it was a very plain one in a dark red color with no pattern.

Perhaps because she had just come out of the bath, Arisa's chestnut hair was damp.

Her skin was slightly flushed with a rosy hue, and her complexion was good.

For that reason, she looked a bit... no, quite alluring.

Moreover, although Arisa had said it fit just right... it seemed to be a slightly wrong size.

Especially the chest area didn't fit well.

It was a bit uncomfortable, and if she bent over, her cleavage might show.

However, Arisa didn't seem to be too bothered by it.

It seemed that because she had little experience wearing a kimono, she accepted it as "that's how it is."

"Then, Yuzuki, it's your turn to take a bath. During that time, we'll hear about Yuzuki from Arisa."

"Okay, okay. ...Arisa, don't say anything too weird, okay?"

"I'll protect Yuzuki's reputation."

The way she said it made it sound like there was something dishonorable to talk about.

However, within Yuzuki's memory, there was nothing he didn't want his family to know.

Yuzuki quickly decided to take a bath.

When he came out of the bath and returned to the living room, Arisa and the Takase family were in high spirits.

It seemed that they were enjoying a lively conversation about Yuzuki's past, using the souvenirs Arisa had brought as a snack.

"Ah, brother. We were just talking about you."

"I can see that. What are you talking about?"

While saying this, Yuzuki sat on the zabuton next to Arisa and reached for the sweets in the center.

He removed the wrapper and put it in his mouth.

It seemed to be a type of Western confection that was meant to be eaten cold.

Yuzuki raised his evaluation of Arisa's adoptive father, thinking that his taste wasn't bad.

Of course, he was talking about his abilities, not his character.

"The story is about how Yuzuki never properly cleaned up as a child. He would leave toys scattered around and games out after playing."

"It was a struggle to teach him to put away his toys. I had to give him a lot of praise just for putting one toy back in the box."

"Right, right," Kazuya and Sayo said, enjoying the conversation.

Even Yuzuki, who could at least put things away now, must have been talking about when he was in kindergarten or just starting elementary school.

"Children are all like that. ...Is there something entertaining about it?"

While drinking barley tea, Yuzuki asked.

Kazuya and Sayo looked at each other and laughed happily.

"You could put away toys, but you couldn't clean your room, right?"

"You could do whatever you wanted in your room! And you wouldn't even let us clean it."

"What's your point?"

Somehow, he could sense where the conversation was going.

The Yuzuki from a while ago was the kind of person who didn't properly clean his private space.

But now, it was different.

Since meeting Arisa, he had started to clean his room.

"I was wondering how Arisa 'taught' you."

"I couldn't get you to do it no matter how much I said, but you started doing it after your girlfriend told you. Mom, I'm jealous!"

"Did Arisa pat you on the head and say, 'Good boy, good boy, for cleaning your room,' brother?"

Kazuya, Sayo, and Sayo's sister, Sayo, teased Yuzuki.

Even Yuzuki, who was usually composed, felt embarrassed and a bit annoyed by this.

When he looked at Arisa, who had probably told this story... she seemed apologetic and had shrunk back.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... I was just trying to explain that the current Yuzuki is a good person who cleans his room."

"...Well, you're not to blame. The problem is these guys."

After comforting Arisa, Yuzuki lightly glared at his parents and sister.

However, the fact that he hadn't cleaned his room was true, and he couldn't argue with his parents on that point.

So...

"Sayo, your room is probably a mess too, isn't it?"

"Brother! You peeked in my room without permission!!"

"No, I just imagined it. But from the look of it, I hit the mark, didn't I?"

Sayo's expression twisted.

She frantically shook her head from side to side.

"No, it's not! It's not dirty!"

"Then... why don't we ask Arisa and Mom to confirm? Since they're the same gender, it would be fine, right?"

"No way! That's an invasion of privacy!!"

As Yuzuki and Sayo were having this exchange...

Arisa laughed softly and happily.

"Ah! Arisa, that's mean! You laughed!!"

"Hehe, I'm sorry. I just thought you all get along so well."

Arisa looked very happy, but there was a hint of admiration in her expression.

By the time the gathering with Arisa and the Takase family ended, the clock had passed midnight.

Yuzuki led Arisa to the guest room and took out a futon from the closet.

"I'm sorry for making you set it up."

"Don't worry about it. You're a guest, after all."

After setting up the futon, Yuzuki asked Arisa,

"Do you know where the bathroom is?"

"Yes, I'm fine with that."

"Good. If you're thirsty, feel free to open the fridge and get some barley tea. ...Is there anything else you're concerned about?"

When Yuzuki asked this, a look of hesitation appeared on Arisa's face.

She then looked up at the ceiling and the light with an anxious expression.

"Um, is there... an orange light here?"

"An orange light? ...You mean a night light, something between bright and dim?"

"Yes, that's it."

Arisa nodded, looking very anxious and embarrassed.

She confessed to Yuzuki,

"I... I'm afraid of the dark. I can't sleep without a night light... Do you have one?"

"Don't worry. Here, this is the remote control."

Yuzuki handed her the remote control for the lights and, while he was at it, the air conditioning as well.

Arisa pointed the remote at the light and pressed the button.

It became a bit darker, but...

The orange light was bright enough to see around the room.

Arisa let out a small sigh of relief.

"Then, Arisa, good night... If anything happens, come to my room."

"Okay, I understand. Good night."

Yuzuki waved to Arisa and closed the shoji door.

If you found this interesting and want to read more, bookmarking and rating (changing the stars at the bottom of the table of contents from ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★) will give me the motivation to continue updating.

As for updates, I'm running out of pre-written content, so from the next update onwards, it will be irregular.

I'll try not to let it lag too much.

The next update is planned for tomorrow or the day after.