Chapter 55

"Let's go, hang in there!"

"Yes, hurry... hurry, p-please help me..."

When Yugen shouted loudly, a timid voice replied.

He then remembered that she had mentioned she was afraid of the dark.

First, he headed to the changing room, relying on the light from his smartphone.

Then, he called out to Airi through the glass door of the bathroom.

"Hey, Airi. Are you still alive?"

"Y-Yugen!! P-Please help me... I-I can't... It's too dark and cramped..."

A voice that sounded like she was about to die came back.

"Stay calm. Can you move on your own?"

"I-I can't... P-Please, hurry and help me..."

"Well, even if you say that..."

The darkness was probably due to a power outage.

There was no way to fix the electricity.

Yugen really wanted to help Airi, but with her being naked in the bathroom, there was nothing he could do.

"Can I come in?"

"Yes! Yes!! H-Hurry!! I-I can't take it anymore..."

"Don't give up. I'll close my eyes and come in."

Yugen said this, closed his eyes, and opened the door.

He then directed the light from his smartphone towards where Airi was likely to be.

Suddenly, something cold clung to Yugen's body.

"Yugen!!"

"Idiot! Don't stick to me while you're wet! No, don't stick to me even if you're not wet!"

Yugen said this and grabbed Airi.

He felt the smooth, slippery texture of her skin.

He forcibly pulled her away from his body and took her hand, placing the smartphone in it.

"With this, you should be able to manage, right?"

"Y-Yes... Thank you..."

"I have my eyes closed. Quickly dry yourself and change."

Yugen said this and left the changing room, sitting with his back to the door.

Occasionally, he heard Airi's voice, "Yugen... are you there?" "Please stay there!" and he would respond to encourage her.

After a while, the changing room door slowly opened.

It was hard to see clearly with only the light from the smartphone, but she seemed to be wearing a tracksuit top and bottom.

"I-I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Well... it can't be helped when you're afraid of something."

Indeed, he wanted to say, "It's fine," but he believed she didn't mean to cause trouble, so he decided to comfort Airi.

At that moment, the power came back on.

The house was illuminated.

He sighed involuntarily.

"Everything just happened at the wrong time."

"Y-Yes, that's true."

After that, fearing another power outage, they decided to prepare for bed early.

All they had to do was take out a sleeping bag from the closet and lay it down.

However, a problem arose.

"No, Airi, it's not good to be in the same room..."

"B-But! If there's another power outage, it will be completely dark again."

Airi insisted on sleeping in the same room as Yugen.

"Listen... Aren't you worried? I mean, I'm a guy. While lightning might be dangerous, just being in the dark isn't that bad..."

"Power outages are dangerous. I think it's safer for both of us to sleep in the same room."

Airi's face was pale.

When she pleaded so desperately, Yugen couldn't refuse her, even though she was the one being forceful.

"Is there a reason? A reason why you can't stand the dark?"

"It's... because I'm scared. When I was young..."

Whenever she made a mistake, she was often locked in a closet by her adoptive mother.

This became a trauma, and she still has a fear of dark and cramped spaces.

Airi explained this.

"I really feel bad for causing you so much trouble, Yugen. But..."

"Well, if that's the case, I guess there's no choice."

Don't worry about it.

Yugen comforted Airi.

"Think about it. I'll be on the bed, and you'll be on the floor with a sleeping bag. It's not that dangerous, right?"

Sleeping side by side would be awkward, but with the height difference, it should be manageable... Yugen convinced himself of this.

Bedtime.

Yugen turned on the nightlight as Airi requested.

(The nightlight is surprisingly bright.)

He hadn't paid much attention to it before since he rarely used it, but the nightlight was quite bright.

Yugen sighed inwardly, thinking it might make it hard to sleep.

But since it was Sunday the next day, it wasn't a big problem.

"If there's a power outage, I hope it happens while I'm sleeping."

Airi looked up at the nightlight with a slightly anxious expression.

The current brightness seemed not too bad for her, who usually slept with a nightlight.

"Well... If it happens again while you're awake, wake me up. I'll be here except when I go to the bathroom."

"I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Don't worry about it. ...Good night."

Yugen said this to Airi and closed his eyes.

Airi also said, "Good night."

About ten minutes later, by his perception.

"...Um, Yugen?"

"Hm? What's up?"

"Ah... Did I wake you up?"

"No, I was already awake. ...What's up?"

Was she going to the bathroom?

Yugen tilted his head.

It had been a while since the last horror movie, so he hoped she could handle it on her own.

"No, it's just... I'm so nervous I can't sleep."

Yugen's heart skipped a beat.

Of course, Airi didn't mean it in a deep sense.

It was probably the unique tension of a school trip night that was keeping her awake.

Still, a girl's statement of "I'm so nervous I can't sleep" while staying at a guy's house was quite cute, seductive, and meaningful.

Enough to make him a little confused.

"How about you, Yugen?"

"Well... I'm a bit nervous too."

Of course, his "nervous" was slightly different from Airi's.

But he couldn't deny that he was also excited by this unique situation.

Going to sleep right away would be a bit boring.

"Shall we play word chain?"

"Sure. ...Let's start with 'Ri.' Apple."

"Gorilla."

"Otter!"

"Kangaroo."

"R... Camel!"

"It's 'Da.' ...Pillow."

"Hey! You're being unfair, always using 'Ra'!"

"That's how the game works."

"Hmm..."

They played word chain for about ten minutes.

"Ra... Ra... Ra..."

Airi muttered, unable to escape from 'Ra'...

But her voice trailed off, and then a cute snore could be heard.

Yugen pretended to turn over and peeked at Airi's face.

She looked very defenseless, fragile, and adorable.

He almost wanted to pounce on her.

"Really..."

Yugen sighed.

Then he suddenly wondered:

(I wonder if Airi is wearing underwear now?)

That night, Yugen spent a restless time.

Airi: "It's so dark..."

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...

True Dere Level: 25% → 32%

If you think the Dere Level is "so enjoyable," please bookmark and rate (change the ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★) to make the future of this novel "so bright."