Ch.32Male Friendship (3)

Rub-rub! Rub-rub!

I desperately massaged Umi’s shoulders.

“Your shoulders are really tense.”

I said to Umi. Was the castle raid last time too hard on her? I felt a twinge of guilt about that.

“Tense shoulders? That’s normal for me.”

Umi replied, then began to massage her chest with suggestive movements.

“I have to live with these heavy things my whole life, you know? Ah… can’t be helped.”

Umi said while deliberately kneading her chest.

“Ahem.”

I desperately averted my gaze, focusing only on her shoulders. If I started focusing on her chest… it felt like something irreversible might happen.

“Come on, hurry up and massage my legs too. And a foot massage.”

Soon, she got up, sat on the bed, and stretched out her legs.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She’s our team’s precious healer. I should treat her well. With that thought, I began massaging her legs.

“Mmm… ahhh…!”

Umi let out heated moans. I tried hard to calm my racing heart and focus on the massage. Right now, I was… a massage machine. Just focus on the massage…!

After finishing the massage, I killed time by casually flipping through Umi’s fashion magazines. She kept demanding compliments from beside me, so I had no choice but to pour out 5,000 characters of praise.

However, I couldn’t stay like this forever. I needed to head home soon to work on my writing.

“I should get going now.”

I said to Umi.

“Okay. See you… tomorrow.”

Umi smiled and waved her hand.

“And… during Golden Week too.”

She added with a grin.

“Ah, right.”

I smiled back. She’d mentioned going on a trip with the entire Kiryu family. Honestly, I’d be tagging along with someone else’s family. But I couldn’t refuse after being invited.

——-

After Shota left, from Umi’s perspective.

“Hehehe…”

I found myself smiling for no particular reason. Just chatting about nothing special was so enjoyable.

Kiryu Umi, who had gone on dates with other men due to persistent invitations but found them extremely boring and had sworn off dating.

But Shota was different. He always did unpredictable, eccentric things and acted silly, which never failed to make Umi burst into laughter.

“Getting a massage all over my body…”

Umi muttered with a grin. She felt a strange heat throughout her body.

That’s when it happened.

“Umi! Are you satisfied with just that? The current state of your relationship is a warning sign.”

Asuna arrived to offer her unsolicited advice.

“Huh? Aren’t we almost dating now?”

Umi tilted her head in confusion.

“Sigh… this is why dating novices… Umi, your pretty face is going to waste.”

Asuna shook her head.

“Mom!! That’s rude!!!”

Umi snapped. Wait, wasn’t the mood really good? But she did feel somewhat confused.

“Oh, my Umi… what are we going to do with you.”

Asuna looked at Umi with genuine pity.

“Eeek!! What are you talking about?!”

Umi finally reacted, complete with a strange shriek.

“…You’ve become just like Shota.”

Asuna looked at Umi with a pitying expression.

“Think about what Shota said. He mentioned being bored at first, right? That’s a warning sign. It means he’s feeling tedium in his relationship with you.”

Asuna said.

“………”

Umi’s expression suddenly hardened.

“…Is it because I didn’t buy a karaoke machine?”

Umi muttered without realizing it.

“No. Even so, buying a karaoke machine would be too much.”

Asuna immediately objected. She was happy as a mother that her daughter was dating a decent man, but… perhaps due to Shota’s influence, Umi was becoming increasingly foolish.

“Men always want novelty in their relationships with women. If you don’t provide that novelty, even Shota will turn his eyes to other women.”

Asuna said.

“Other women…”

Suspicious faces flashed through her mind. Eri, who was constantly looking for opportunities to get closer to Shota, and that delinquent Taiga also seemed to have feelings for him.

“Captivate Shota completely during this trip. I’ll teach you everything I know about love.”

Asuna said.

“…But Mom, Dad was your first love too. Acting like you’re experienced is a bit…”

“That’s why novices don’t get it. It’s not about how many people you date. It’s about how long you can maintain a relationship without incidents.”

Asuna immediately replied with a confident tone.

“When it comes to love, I’m a veteran with 20 years of accident-free driving experience.”

Asuna said.

“That’s true…”

Asuna and Gonzaemon had started dating at 17 and made it to marriage without any incidents. Umi had never seen them fight. Asuna had Gonzaemon completely under her control.

“Mom, no!! Master!!”

Umi immediately bowed deeply.

Then, Asuna began to impart what Umi should do during the trip.

Umi started to awaken in a different sense.

———

Back to Shota’s perspective.

When I entered the house, Eri greeted me right at the entrance.

“Shota!!”

Eri immediately rushed toward me for a hug. She was wearing just an apron over her school uniform. It was less stimulating than the swimsuit-apron from before, but it had its own charm. It felt very domestic.

“Yeah, yeah.”

I patted Eri’s head and led her inside.

“Just patting my head isn’t enough…”

Eri looked up at me and said.

I knew what Eri liked. I slipped my hand under her skirt and patted her bottom. I could clearly feel the firmness of Eri’s round buttocks. Eri liked this kind of affectionate patting.

“Hehehe.”

Only then did Eri smile and nuzzle her head against my chest.

“By the way… where’s my mother?”

I asked about my mother.

“Oh, your mother? She doesn’t live here anymore.”

Eri suddenly made a shocking statement.

“What nonsense is that?!!!”

No!! She should tell her son first!! It’s strange that Eri knows before me!!

“Your father… got reassigned overseas, right? Your mother went with him. They’re planning to enjoy life together now.”

Eri said.

“……..”

The news was too shocking to process.

“Shota, now that you’ve escaped being a hikikomori and have a capable girlfriend, they feel reassured. They want to enjoy the prime of their second life with your father.”

Eri chuckled and pulled something out of her pocket.

It was a spare key to our house. No, why does she even have that?

“From now on, I’ll be coming and going in a semi-cohabitation arrangement.”

Then, Eri suddenly kissed me on the lips.

“Let’s get along well, shall we?”

Eri grinned.

Seeing that healthy, radiant smile reduced my bewilderment a bit.

“Well… sure.”

What’s there to object to? I decided to just go with it.

I opened my laptop as usual. Eri now sat completely beside me, maintaining physical contact without disturbing my work.

“Shota!! Amazing!! Your view count is high!!”

Eri said, patting my shoulder vigorously.

“No, at this level I’m still a small-timer.”

I said seriously.

The power inflation in this industry is no joke. Right now, I’m just like a native of the East Blue. I haven’t even reached Alabasta yet.

“I… I was expecting a scene where Shota’s work ranks 2nd or 3rd in the latest view counts, and you’d cry in my arms.”

Eri said.

“Ha, sorry to disappoint you.”

I laughed. Sorry, but… such adversity hasn’t come my way. Don’t underestimate someone who’s succeeded in the Korean web novel industry, where only the strong survive.

“Then… won’t you lean on me?”

Eri asked, slightly opening her chest area in a suggestive manner.

“That’s a different story.”

I immediately buried my face in Eri’s chest.

“Hehehe.”

Eri laughed with satisfaction and stroked my head.

Anyway, I continued writing and published up to chapter 15 today. That was the minimum threshold for monetization. I immediately applied for monetization. Looking at the metrics, it seemed like I could earn enough for living expenses. I found myself hoping it would go well.

Eri supported me by bringing coffee or massaging my shoulders. Her presence was healing. How should I put it? I was afraid I might end up marrying Eri if things continued like this.

Eri seemed to want to stay overnight at my place, but she had a younger sibling at home. What could I do? I escorted Eri to her house and then returned home.

———

And then night came.

I immediately sent a message to the Special Activities Club group chat.

‘Sasix. Are we hunting monsters today too?’

The read receipt appeared immediately.

‘Of course.’

Sasix replied simply.

‘Ah… I’ll pass today.’

Umi made an unexpected comment.

‘I can’t make it today either.’

Taiga also sent a message right away.

The read receipt appeared, but there was no reply from Sasix. Sasix… I hope he’s not hurt? He tends to get sulky about these things, which made me anxious.

‘Let’s go, just the two of us.’

I immediately attempted some desperate grooming.

‘Two guys bonding over friendship.’

Well, this was a good opportunity to get closer to Sasix.

‘Well… alright.’

Sasix sent a message right away.

Geez… he’s such high maintenance.

Anyway, Sasix and I decided to go monster hunting at night.

Actually, it wasn’t bad. When we defeated monsters, the experience points were divided among party members. With just two people, more experience would be allocated to me.

‘I’ll use this opportunity to level up quickly… and surpass Umi’s level.’

I resolved.