Chapter 506

"All washed up?"

"I don't know."

Snorting heavily, Hiyori brushed past me and flopped onto the bed.

A glimpse of her rear peeked through the loosely tied folds of her robe. I couldn't tell if she was deliberately trying to tempt me or if she was genuinely defenseless.

I gave my damp hair a quick rub with a towel and sat on the edge of the bed, placing a hand on Hiyori's stomach as she crossed her legs and fiddled with the TV remote.

"Why so angry?"

"Because you were doing things you normally never do, Senior."

"What things?"

"Don't play dumb when you already know."

"Want another scolding?"

"You little..."

"Little what?"

"...I'm sorry."

A laugh threatened to slip out at the sight of her deep pout.

I didn't suppress the urge, breaking into a wide smile as I spoke.

"I'm sorry. I just suddenly felt like doing it."

"You have zero patience."

"I was hoping you'd write it off as a moment of indiscretion."

"Well... I have trouble controlling my impulses sometimes too, so... I understand. But..."

"But what?"

"Did you mean what you said earlier?"

"About what?"

"You know... about us living together..."

"I meant that."

"R-really...?"

"Yeah."

A long breath slipped from Hiyori's lips.

My firm answer had clearly sent a jolt of tension through her.

Unlike my aggressive behavior from earlier, I reassured her with a remarkably gentle tone.

"I'm serious about it, but if you don't want to, I have no intention of forcing you."

"But earlier, you forced me..."

"That was part of the indiscretion."

"Right...? Then what about telling me to have your baby...?"

"Same thing."

"I see..."

"Why? Were you anxious?"

"No... You were just acting so strangely all of a sudden. I couldn't help it..."

Hiyori mumbled in a timid voice.

She still seemed on edge.

I gently stroked her forehead and spoke.

"I'm sorry."

"...Why are you being so sweet now? Are you a psycho, Senior?"

Smack!

"Eep!"

When I lightly flicked the grumbling Hiyori's lower stomach, she let out a bizarre squeak.

Her whole body jolting in surprise was a bonus. Chuckling at her strange reaction, I slipped my hand under the nape of her neck and lifted her slightly.

"Wh-what are you trying to do...?"

"Nothing. Just staying like this."

"Why...?"

"Because it feels nice."

"What a weird fetish..."

Why was she picking fights over every little thing? Playing the straight man was Renka's job.

Did she want to be punished again? Or was this just Hiyori's unique way of venting her dissatisfaction to me?

Knowing her personality, it was highly likely the latter.

"Let's just say I do."

"By the way... if we do end up living together... does that mean the three of us will be in one house?"

She must have been curious about what living with Miyuki and me would be like.

Too bad it wasn't going to be just three.

"No."

"Then how many?"

"Five."

"Five...?"

"Senior Inoo and Senior Nanase, too. Five of us in total."

"What... how does that even make sense...?"

"And three makes sense?"

"Well, I guess not, but... aren't you dreaming a little too big...?"

"Everyone else but you has already agreed."

"S-seriously...?"

"Yep."

To be honest, they hadn't given a complete okay.

But they had definitely shown positive signs.

That was good enough. A win was a win; there was no need to overcomplicate things.

"You're not lying, are you?"

Hiyori's eyes narrowed with suspicion.

I gently brushed her long eyelashes, coaxing her eyelids shut, and changed the subject.

"I'm not. Aren't you hungry?"

"Not really... You filled me up with weird things..."

Now that was a wildly arousing statement.

To turn someone on this much without saying a single explicitly dirty word... What genius-level perversion.

She could give Chinami, who had a natural talent for this sort of thing, a real run for her money.

"What did I fill you up with?"

"Don't ask when you already know...!"

"Does that really have anything to do with being hungry?"

"I don't know, idiot."

"Dropping the honorifics now?"

"I don't know."

In the past, she would have defied me at least once, but after I practically forced myself on her earlier, her manners had miraculously returned.

Maybe taking this approach wouldn't be a bad idea whenever Hiyori threatened to run wild.

"Do you want to rest a bit? Or head out?"

"I want to rest."

"Why?"

"Because if we leave too quickly, it'll just piss me off."

"What's going to piss you off?"

"I'd feel like you only brought me here to use my body."

"Of course that's not it. You know that."

"I said that's how it would feel."

"Then should we watch a little TV before we go?"

"Yes."

"Got it."

Had she figured out that I was feeling sorry?

As we lay side by side watching TV, Hiyori would randomly swat at my leg or poke my waist with her finger.

It was her own brand of affectionate pouting.

I glanced over at her childish antics and spoke.

"What are you doing?"

"What."

"Keep still."

"I do what I want."

"Are you asking for round two?"

"No...! Jeez...!"

It was hilarious how quickly she panicked and threw a tantrum the second the mood threatened to get heavy.

But wasn't this exactly what Hiyori wanted, too?

She had only gotten worked up earlier and probably hadn't felt much actual satisfaction...

"What...! Don't look at me like that...!"

"Like what?"

"You look wicked...! Like a pervert...!"

"You're no different."

"Am not! I haven't been thinking about anything like that at all!"

"Thinking about what?"

"Can you stop being so sly? It doesn't suit you...!"

"Really? All right."

Nodding, I climbed right on top of her.

She flinched, her body going rigid as I gently parted the front of her robe and slipped my hand inside.

Unlike before, my touch was tender as my fingers grazed her skin.

Did that put her at ease?

Hiyori, who had been glaring up at me with wide eyes, gave a little pout and turned her head away.

She was embarrassed.

This time, I decided to treat her with my usual gentleness.

With that thought, I took my time, slowly heating up Hiyori's body.

"Take care."

"Yeah."

"Don't cause any trouble."

"What kind of trouble would I even cause?"

"You said you were meeting friends tomorrow. Don't do anything weird; just hang out a bit and head home."

"I have a curfew anyway, so I have to be home early, okay?"

"Stop talking back."

"I do what I want."

Flick.

I reached out mid-argument and flicked her cowlick, making her clamp her mouth shut.

Knowing she'd gotten the message, I gave her thigh a gentle pat and unlocked the passenger door.

"Head inside."

"...You get back safely too, Senior, or whatever."

"Are you telling me to get back safely or not?"

"I'm telling you to get back safely."

"Aren't your true feelings the exact opposite?"

"No. I'm just not very good at showing my feelings."

"I don't think that's true."

"It is true."

"You're talking back a lot today."

"It's because of you, Senior. You..."

"I did what?"

"Ugh, never mind. Anyway, it's your fault."

Did she realize she had just subconsciously rubbed her lower stomach?

I nodded indulgently at her petty grumbling and spoke.

"Got it."

"I'm going."

"Give me a kiss before you go."

"Wh-...! H-how can you just say something like that out of nowhere...!"

After putting on a massive fuss all by herself, her expression shifted into a mask of sudden resolve.

Perhaps annoyed by my calm demeanor, she jutted out her bottom lip, pressed a lightning-fast kiss to my mouth, threw open the passenger door, and sprinted all the way to her house.

Once Hiyori was safely inside, I started the car and mulled things over on the drive home.

I'd laid my cards on the table for all four of them...

Not all of them had agreed outright, but it would all work out the way I wanted in the end.

I had faith in that.

Was it time to start working on convincing their parents?

The chances of them actually signing off on us living together were practically zero, so maybe it was better to just bypass them completely.

Or maybe I needed to take that half-joking idea of seducing the heroines' mothers a little more seriously.

They called it a mountain beyond mountain, and the saying couldn't have been more accurate.

Back when I was having a threesome with Renka and Chinami, I'd thought the complicated part was finally over. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Still, I'd made it over the biggest mountain, so I could take some comfort in that.

I opened the Main Gate and stepped inside, instantly hit by a familiar, welcoming scent.

It was the fresh, earthy smell of nature wafting from the flowerbeds Miyuki so diligently tended.

Would Chinami, Renka, and Hiyori start helping out with the gardening now?

Chinami might, but I couldn't see Renka and Hiyori getting their hands dirty.

I'd thought about it before, but did we really even need to move?

I kept changing my mind, feeling like packing up and leaving would somehow mean losing our roots.

It wasn't exactly too cramped for five people to live in anyway...

Later, when the heroines eventually had kids, we could always just tear up part of the garden and the attic to renovate the place.

Plop.

Lost in thought, I was lingering around the yard instead of heading inside when rain suddenly began to fall.

Rain always brought me good luck. It was a fact I'd experienced firsthand over and over again.

But for tonight at least, I had a feeling... a feeling that things were just going to be peaceful.

I held out my hand to catch a raindrop, feeling its heavy weight against my palm.

The rain was coming down thick and fast. It was going to turn into a torrential downpour soon; I needed to head over to Miyuki's house right now and bring her back.

On a night like this, the only right thing to do was hold Miyuki tight in my arms, sleep soundly, and wake up at dawn to grab some ramen.