CH 18

“Welcome back, Kenya-senpai ♥”

In front of my shabby apartment, Misuzu was sitting on a trunk case waiting for me.

Her clothes were the same, a black shirt so long and overstuffed you couldn’t see her shorts, and morbid makeup.

Long fake nails, long eyelashes, and semi-long brown hair that curled up and hid her face.

And her painfully pierced ears shine in the moon and look at me.

“Mi, Misuzu!　What are you doing here?”

“I said we would see each other again.”

“No, you did, but we just met up today, didn’t we?”

“Yes, but…. I was thinking of doing it tomorrow. But when I thought about you, I couldn’t stop.”

Misuzu ran up to me and patted my chest with her long nails.

I almost made a funny voice.

Then she looked me up and down and said, 

“I’m staying at my senpai’s house.

“Stay at my house?　My house is poor and small!”

“That’s fine, if there’s room for Kenya-senpai to sleep, we can just stick together.”

Misuzu’s aggressive approach shakes Kenya’s heart.

Just as he is about to get flustered, his sister Nana comes out of the apartment.

“Misuzu?　Is Onii-san back?”

“Nana!　Please help me.”

Nana is mortified at the sight in front of her.

“Muu!　Misuzu!　Don’t seduce my brother!”

“Eh?　That might be a little difficult.”

“And anyway, get away from him!”

Nana broke in between them and was able to separate them.

But what charm, I couldn’t move even though I was wearing the King series.

Not that I was weak by any means, though I might have been vulnerable to temptation.

“You two know each other?”

“Yes, let’s just go inside and talk.”

And we enter the house.

Even a 10-mat room becomes smaller with three people in it.

For some reason, Misuzu sits down next to me.

We are close to each other, and she smells nice.

But what is this composition? I can’t help but sit upright.

Nana is beginning to look like a strict father. I think I’m going to ask her to give her daughter to me.

I don’t have a father, so I don’t know what it’s like.

“So, what’s your relationship?”

Nana asks in a hushed voice as soon as she sits down.

Don’t be mad at me, father.

I’ll make you happy, I promise!

“We met in the dungeon…”

“He saved my life!　And he’s the one who got really mad at me for my sake!”

Misuzu’s voice is almost biting as she covers my voice.

She looks at me with enraptured eyes.

I know it’s true, but the way she says it is a bit exaggerated.

“Well, he’s a good-natured guy, isn’t he? I can kind of imagine.”

Nana folds her hands in agreement.

Kenya also asks Nana a question.

“What about the two of you?　You seem to know each other.”

“Misuzu and I were classmates and friends in middle school, though we went to different high schools…”

“Ah, so…”

Come to think of it, you said your friend goes to Hope High School.

I didn’t think she meant Nana…

“So what about asking to stay over?”

“Oh, so can I tell you about my sad situation?”

Kenya silently listens to her story, even though he thinks to himself, “Don’t call yourself sad.”

“I don’t have parents.”

Misuzu had lived in an orphanage.

Her parents abandoned her when she was very young and left her in an orphanage.

After growing up in an orphanage, Misuzu escaped from the facility last year.

She said it was a relationship problem.

She did not tell us why.

She then tried to see if she could make a living in a dungeon and came across this incident.

“I see…”

Kenya understood why he had superimposed Misuzu on himself.

He put Misuzu, who had been abandoned, on himself.

And by saving Misuzu at that time, he was saving his past self who could not be saved at that time.

Those words were exactly what she said to herself.

Does the abuser have a problem?　Those are the words of a person who has never been abused.

It is always the victim’s fault, only that he or she was subjected to malice for no reason.

In this cold world where there is almost no one to protect you, at least I want to be able to protect someone.

Because I know the same pain, I want to save those who suffer from the same pain.

So….

“Okay, you can stay here.”

“Big brother?　Is that okay?”

“If it’s okay with Nana, it’s fine. I’ll let you stay for a while, but not forever, okay?”

“Yes!”

Even with these two people, the 10-mat room was too small for even just the two of them.

If three people lived in the room, it would be a room full of octopuses.

But seeing Misuzu being so happy….

(I can’t leave her alone, can I?)

…

The three of us were stuffing our bellies eating stir-fried bean sprouts (only bean sprouts).

Misuzu was a small eater as she looked, so it helped.

We can’t let her put any more pressure on the family budget, or is she just going to eat for free?　

We are very strict about that kind of thing, even among friends. Our family budget is really tight.

However, I’m full today, so all I have to do is take a bath and go to bed.

“Why don’t you go ahead and take a shower?”

“Eh ♥ Yes…”

“That’s not what I meant, don’t blush. I’ll be fine later.”

I waved my hand to Misuzu to head for the bath, telling her to stop making funny jokes.

She’s dived in the dungeon today, too, and she’s probably worried about getting dirty.

It was kind of Kenya to let her in first.

But….

Is this a chance for a lucky peek?