Ch.163163. Bath Resumption (6)

“By the way, Yuri. Isn’t it about time to let Ellie go…?”

“I don’t want to.”

A resolute answer comes back.

I was going to say something because what Ellie said earlier was still bothering me.

Hmm.

Sorry, Ellie.

“Bine is right! You should let her go now!”

“I don’t wanna? Big sis is going to stay like this all day.”

“W-who’s your big sis?! And all day?! Are you crazy? Are you out of your mind?!”

“My, my… Has our Elise suddenly become so foul-mouthed? Should big sis correct that behavior?”

“What are you talking about?! Who’s correcting who?! And what’s this about keeping me until night?! I’m busy, you know? I have to sleep in the same bed as Bine?!”

Hearing this, Arin, from the side:

“Oh my… Sister Yuri. Are you planning to sleep with Elise…? If so, I’ll repay you later!”

“Arin’s repayment…? Sister, is it okay for me to look forward to it?”

“Yes. For today, I can accept that much of a loss…!”

“Hey, hey! What are you two talking about?! Don’t say such nonsense! Hey! Hey! Aaack?! That hurts! Don’t hug me so tightly! Magical girl! Your monstrous strength is unbelievably painful for a weak monster like me! Especially with this collar!!”

“Elise… Our little sister Arin wants it so badly… I want it too… A dakimakura to replace Bine… hehehe…”

“What are you thinking?! Just use Bine, use Bine instead…!”

“But Bine is supposed to be with Arin tonight… So… sister feels empty… Sister has been suffering from insomnia lately… How happily could I fall asleep with a cute child like Elise by my side… Right?”

“Hey!!!”

I think I heard something strange in Yuri’s words.

It’s true that I agreed to sleep with Arin… That was already decided before I came to wash up.

But… what does she mean by “use”?

I’m not an object.

I was about to ask when.

“Hehe… Sister.”

“Yes, Arin…?”

“I, I really like you.”

“Yes… I… too.”

Arin told me she likes me, but it’s still so hard for me to confidently say I like her back.

It’s not because I dislike Arin.

It’s not because I hate Arin.

It’s because I, I…

Because I have a history of pushing Arin away and leaving her.

Because I’ve hurt Arin’s heart before, how could someone like me tell her that I like her?

Could I properly convey familial love?

How difficult is it for someone who has betrayed someone once to regain trust?

I know that well, so I just can’t bring myself to tell Arin.

“Sister…? Why did your expression suddenly darken?”

“No… It’s nothing… nothing at all.”

Arin hugs my arm that’s around her even tighter.

As if trying to transmit her heartbeat to me.

“I like you so much, Sister. But… do you not like me?”

“No… that’s, that’s not it…”

“Then there’s no reason for your expression to darken like that.”

“…This is a somewhat different matter.”

“Different matter…? Sister, can’t you tell me about it?”

“…No. Not yet.”

“But… tomorrow is the day of the decisive battle. Wouldn’t it be better not to have any hidden secrets before such an important day?”

“…”

Even though Arin said that.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell her my thoughts.

Then.

“Sister, are you perhaps embarrassed to share a secret alone?”

“Pardon…?”

“If so, shall I tell you one of my secrets too?”

“N-no! No, no! Arin, you don’t need to…”

“You know… I actually have a worry. A worry I wanted to keep secret…”

“Arin…?!”

“Hehe… This is a secret I’m only telling Sister Bine. I’ve had a lot of worries and thoughts lately, but this is a bit embarrassing…”

“Y-you don’t have to tell me…! T-there’s no need to tell me such things…”

“I still can’t sleep without hugging something. You know that carrot doll in my room that’s as big as me? Actually, I’ve had it for a very long time. It’s an attachment doll my mother bought me when I was in lower grades. I couldn’t part with it, so I couldn’t sleep properly in the dormitory for a while.”

“Yes…?”

“But… you know what’s strange? When I’m next to you, I can sleep well even without such a doll.”

Arin pulled me closer to her.

She hugged me so tightly that I almost fell over onto her.

“It’s such a childish worry, right? I’m so embarrassed about this that I don’t tell anyone. At my age, I’m considered a senior at our school. If they knew I still couldn’t sleep without this, how much would the kids tease me.”

“Arin…”

“Well, I’m really embarrassed, you know? Can you feel my heart pounding?”

I can feel her heartbeat through her chest.

Whether it’s because she’s truly embarrassed, or for some other reason.

A heartbeat faster than usual, stronger than usual, is being transmitted to me through my hand.

As I’m quietly feeling this.

Arin says to me:

“Hehe… Sister’s hand is so soft.”

“W-what…?!”

Ah…

Arin’s chest…?!

“W-wait a moment…! T-this isn’t what I was trying to do…!”

“I’m the one who put it there, right? I grabbed your hand and put it on my body, so it’s okay. Now… I want to hear why you had that dark expression earlier.”

Faced with Arin’s calm statement of facts.

I…

Had no choice but to answer.

In this atmosphere, it would be awkward not to speak.

Looking around…

No one seems particularly interested in us.

Hyewon and Seohyun are playing together. Ellie and Yuri are…

Let’s just consider that as them playing together too.

Ah, she’s completely gone limp.

Blanc…

Is she still enjoying the afterglow of the hot spring by herself?

I can’t see her face, so I can’t read her thoughts.

No matter what, I can’t read someone’s mind without seeing their face.

She’s fidgeting a bit.

But I don’t know what those hand movements mean.

However, they don’t seem like movements of someone listening to our conversation.

Right.

So our conversation won’t be heard by anyone.

If that’s the case…

Should I tell her?

Tell Arin that I betrayed her before. That I’m afraid I might betray her again. That I’m too ashamed.

That’s why I can’t tell Arin I like her back. That’s why I had such a dark expression.

“Sister?”

“…Arin. You may despise me after hearing my story… but, please… at least until we leave this place.”

“What…? There’s no way I would despise you!”

“…Yes. I hope that’s the case.”

I explain my feelings to Arin, hiding nothing.

After hearing it once, she asks me to repeat it. Overcoming my embarrassment, I tell her again.

Instead, she suddenly gets angry.

“How could I not trust you! How could I?!”

“…Someone who has betrayed once is usually like that.”

“That doesn’t matter! You, you… are such a pure person. You couldn’t do that!”

“…But I did. So…”

“Even if you did! It’s up to me to believe you, so why are you deciding on your own that I won’t trust you, preventing yourself from telling me you like me?!”

“Pardon…?”

“That, even you can’t be forgiven for that!”

“Arin…”

“How many times have I told you to value yourself more…!”

“…Valuing yourself and thinking about yourself objectively are clearly different things. Someone who has betrayed once… can certainly do it again.”

“That’s not true!”

“…This is a fact, Arin. But, but…”

“How is that betrayal…! You were a villain from the start! That’s only natural!”

“…Even if hearing it so directly doesn’t hurt, the tone is a bit…”

“Anyway! Don’t put yourself down for something like that! Please value yourself!”

Arin’s passionate speech.

…It hasn’t changed my mind, but.

Still, maybe I can say something to Arin.

…

Even if it might seem false, if it gives Arin strength.

“Arin, I like you too.”

“I really can’t stand when you don’t value yourself… What? What did you just say…?”

“I said I like you, Arin.”

“…Eek?!”

Arin looks at me with a face redder than when she was giving her passionate speech.

If you look at me with such a surprised face, the reason I forced myself to say I like you disappears…

Arin, getting increasingly red, releases her hold on me, goes to Blanc’s side, and does the same action as Blanc.

…Why?

Well…

I don’t know why.

In the gap left by Arin’s departure, I thought I might have some peace.

But I ended up sandwiched between Hyewon and Seohyun.

The rest of the bath time, between those two…

I was tormented in various ways before finally escaping.

Well… I guess you could say they let me go.

If I had stayed a bit longer, I might not have been able to get Blanc and Arin out, who were too overheated to speak.

By the way, I heard that Yuri took care of Ellie’s final shower too.

Well… she looks happy, so I guess it’s fine.

* * *

“I’m sleeping with Bine!!”

“Hmm… really? Is this sister feeling lonely?”

“This was already decided earlier!”

The two in pajamas were arguing loudly.

When I returned after washing up, the bed arrangement was a bit different.

One bed in the room, large enough for three people – me, Ellie, and Arin.

To be precise, there was something like a mattress laid out on the floor where everyone could sleep together.

Actually lying down on it, there was no feeling of the floor, just the warmth of a bed.

Well… with blankets spread out like this. It really feels like being at a retreat.

This feeling is a first for me.

…Well, not exactly a first.

It’s not like I’ve never been on retreats or school trips before.

But it’s the first time in this body.

And… for some reason, there’s a battle going on for the spot next to me.

“I’m here.”

“Hmm… that’s by my head.”

“Why?”

Blanc has claimed an unusual position.

Realizing this, others are trying to choose their spots too.

Ellie says she’ll lie next to me, Yuri says she’ll sleep with Ellie between us…

“Can’t we just sleep anywhere…?”

“No, we can’t. Sister’s sleep is a major issue?”

Sigh…

Really.

How annoying.