Ch.35Catfight

After that, the remaining time passed quickly.

My days consisted of attending classes, training at the kendo dojo, returning home to write my novel, and hunting with Sasith at night. Umi and Taiga continued to say they couldn’t join us.

They mentioned having something to prepare right before Golden Week. I couldn’t help wondering if they were just making excuses to slack off, but their expressions were so serious that I couldn’t say anything.

“Girls need their privacy, don’t they?” Sasith said in a nonchalant tone.

“Hmph. They’ll fall behind at this rate.”

My goal was to level up steadily while those two were away and show them what a veteran looks like.

“Good luck with that,” Sasith said with a smirk.

My level still hadn’t increased, remaining at 7. Despite hunting diligently for several days, my level hadn’t budged at all. This was getting ridiculous. Sasith was already at level 17. He had climbed to heights I couldn’t reach. Even though I was just an extra character, my experience points were increasing far too slowly. It really felt like I was playing solo on a classic server.

———

As usual, after finishing training at the kendo dojo, I was half-dragged to Umi’s room.

We were casually hanging out as usual.

Umi was leisurely checking her phone while hugging me. This girl had become quite bold with physical contact lately.

Still, even without much conversation, we both felt comfortable. It was evidence that Umi and I had grown quite close.

Bang-!

Suddenly, the door flew open. Ms. Asuna walked in without warning.

“Mom!! At least knock!!”

Umi’s face turned red as she quickly pulled away from me.

“Umi!!! I heard you had a pop quiz at school.”

Ms. Asuna was immediately upset.

“Geeek….”

Umi’s expression instantly soured.

“Really!! How embarrassing!! You got two out of three questions wrong!!”

Ms. Asuna exclaimed.

“All three questions were difficult!!”

Umi lied without even trying to make it convincing.

“What are you talking about?! I heard they were just basic questions. Really… I told you that even if you can’t excel at studying, at least aim for average scores.”

Ms. Asuna seemed worried about her daughter’s academic performance.

“Hmph….”

Umi puffed her cheeks at the mention of studying.

“Your homeroom teacher specifically asked me to tell you to focus on studying during Golden Week instead of playing around. He said there’s no time to enjoy youth.”

Ms. Asuna said.

He seemed like a good teacher on the surface… but I knew the truth.

“Teacher… what kind of battle are you fighting…”

He just couldn’t stand seeing students enjoying themselves during Golden Week. That’s probably why he strangely emphasized the word “youth.”

Teacher… I’ll visit you on Teachers’ Day. Really. I don’t know anyone suitable, but if I meet a nice woman, I’ll introduce her to you.

“If this continues, we’ll have to cancel our trip. Understand?”

Ms. Asuna then looked at me.

“Ah, Shota. I heard your grades are quite good?”

Ms. Asuna’s eyes lit up.

“Hmph. That’s right.”

I immediately became proud.

“Perfect. Then please teach our Umi. Hmm? There’s Golden Week homework too, right? You can do it together.”

Ms. Asuna said with a chuckle.

“Well… imparting knowledge to the ignorant is also the duty of a capable person.”

I said with a smile.

“Look at how he talks!! Who are you calling ignorant?! So annoying!!”

Umi shouted, jumping up and down.

“Could you help her study, even if just for a little while?”

Ms. Asuna continued with a smile, saying something shocking.

“I heard your mother also went on a business trip with your father? Then Umi can stay overnight at your place. Finish the homework in one day! It’s Golden Week now, after all.”

“No… Ms. Asuna. What kind of suggestion…”

I was flustered.

A mother casually entrusting her daughter to a young man… isn’t she trusting me too much?

“Sh-Shota’s house?”

Umi didn’t seem to dislike the idea.

That made sense, given that I was vaguely aware of Umi’s feelings for me.

‘But… I don’t live alone.’

I was practically half-living with Eri. And I had never mentioned that to Umi.

“I guess there’s no choice. Let’s just stay up all night studying today.”

Umi said.

“I… need my privacy.”

I tried to decline indirectly.

“Shota… don’t you feel sorry for my daughter who can’t even do basic arithmetic by herself?”

Ms. Asuna immediately appealed to my sympathy. She was even wiping away tears.

“I CAN do basic arithmetic!!!!! What do you take your daughter for?! I was even good at studying in elementary school!!!”

Umi protested loudly.

This… I couldn’t find a way to refuse. What should I do?

Before I could even think about it, Umi had already packed her bag.

In the end… I agreed to take Umi home with me.

———

While taking Umi home, I tried to text Eri. However, every time I tried to take out my phone, Umi would start talking to me, and I couldn’t find the right timing.

Eventually, I arrived at my front door with the feeling of a cow being led to slaughter.

“Why aren’t you opening the door?”

Umi tilted her head curiously.

“Ah. I should.”

With a strange sense of resignation, I unlocked the front door.

The moment we entered the hallway, someone rushed to embrace me.

“Shota, you’re back? I’ve been waiting for you!”

It was Eri. She seemed to have changed out of her school uniform after arriving, as she was wearing comfortable casual clothes. On top of that, she wore only an apron, looking every bit like a housewife. Normally, I would have appreciated the sight, but the situation was different.

“………..”

Umi was staring at all of this with an expressionless face.

“Um… Eri. We have a guest, so please let go.”

I desperately tried to persuade Eri.

“No way.”

Eri rubbed her cheek against my chest coquettishly.

“Do what you always do.”

Eri looked up at me with mischievous eyes.

She clearly had no intention of letting go unless I did what I usually did.

Pat pat-!

Finally, I affectionately patted Eri’s firm buttocks. Only then did Eri let go of me.

Seeing this, Umi’s expression turned to shock.

“…What you always do. What you always do. What you always do…”

Umi was muttering like a broken cassette radio. What’s wrong? Seriously… you’re scaring me.

“Well… would you like to come in?”

I forced a smile as I spoke.

“…What you always do.”

Umi just kept repeating the same phrase, looking at me with cloudy eyes.

This is bad.

Damn it. What am I supposed to do? I wanted to grab someone and ask them that question.

———

Time heals all wounds, they say. Umi finally came to her senses and started speaking normally.

“Explain, Shota.”

Umi looked straight at me.

“What’s there to explain? As you can see, Shota and I are in a lovey-dovey semi-cohabitation relationship.”

Eri smiled and clung to me.

Crack-!

I clearly heard something snap in Umi’s forehead.

“Eri… please, I’m begging you, don’t make this more complicated.”

I pleaded with Eri.

“If it’s my darling husband’s request, I have no choice.”

Eri seemed to be enjoying teasing Umi.

Snap snap snap-!

This is bad. Umi’s thread of reason was breaking in real-time. She was reacting to the keyword “darling husband.”

“My mother asked Eri to look after me.”

I explained.

“Already having a relationship trusted by your mother…”

Wrong move. It backfired. Umi’s mental state was being shredded in real-time. Um… could you please stop rummaging through your pencil case and fiddling with that sharp mechanical pencil? You’re really starting to scare me.

‘Sorry… Sasith. I think this is it for me.’

I silently bid farewell to my friend. Sasith… yes, he would be able to carry on my resolve.

“Anyway, that’s how it is.”

I tried to summarize the situation. Not that it would help clarify anything.

“Why… didn’t you tell me?”

Umi asked me.

“You never asked.”

I offered a flimsy excuse.

“One shouldn’t reveal strategies to the enemy.”

Eri said with a meaningful smile.

“………..”

Umi remained silent, clenching her fists.

Yes, in a sense, I had trampled on a girl’s pure feelings. I was prepared to take at least one punch.

Whoosh!!

When Umi lunged at me, I reflexively squinted my eyes.

However, what came flying wasn’t a fist.

Chu❤

Umi’s lips covered mine.

I was startled by the soft sensation of her lips.

Since I had been kissed by Eri before, I barely managed to gather my wits; otherwise, my brain would have simply melted.

Squeeze-!

Umi embraced me tightly, as if restraining me. With our bodies completely pressed together, Umi continued the kiss.

“……….!”

Caught off guard by Umi’s unexpected aggression, even Eri seemed too shocked to try to stop me. The usually composed Eri was just standing there with her mouth wide open.

Slurp-!!

Then, I was even more surprised.

Something was entering my mouth. Yes, it was a tongue. A soft, moist, and warm tongue was entwining with mine.

“Mmph….”

I tried to stop Umi, but she clung to me tightly and refused to let go. She’s surprisingly strong!!

Chu❤ Chu❤

Two tongues intertwined. This primal kiss, exchanging saliva, continued for several minutes.

After a long, deep kiss with our tongues entwined, Umi finally pulled her lips away.

Our faces remained extremely close. Umi looked at me, breathing heavily.

“Yes!! I like you!!! You idiot!!!”

Umi shouted loudly.

“………”

Wait. Umi. What are you suddenly saying?

“Hmph. So Umi has finally properly declared her feelings. Now you’ve become a true rival. I’ve been waiting for this.”

Eri spoke with an oddly warm expression. No, it’s troubling when you suddenly create this sports-manga-like atmosphere.

“A pretty girl like me has been throwing herself at you!! But you keep putting up walls!!! That’s why I’ve become so weird!!!”

Umi continued speaking, overcome with emotion.

“I can’t stop thinking about you!!! When I’m close to you, my lower abdomen feels strange!! I smell the clothes you’ve changed out of!!! When you don’t sweat much, there’s less of your scent and it makes me feel disappointed!!! You’ve made me this weird!! Take responsibility!!”

Umi was now speaking recklessly.

“………..”

After that, about 5 seconds of silence.

“Umi… you’ve been smelling my clothes? And what’s this about my scent…”

But there was one statement I couldn’t just ignore. Come to think of it… I thought I’d noticed something like saliva on my clothes.

“………..”

A silence longer than the previous one followed.

“Ah…!”

After a while, Umi’s face turned incredibly red, seemingly realizing the embarrassing things she had said.

Dash-!

Umi hurriedly ran to a corner of the house.

Slam-!

The door of an empty room closed.

Well… she had her fetish exposed. Of course she’d be embarrassed. I decided to leave Umi alone for a while.

And so, the stormy confrontation passed.

I was already feeling dizzy from it all.