CH 21

“… Yummy!”

“Fufu. Thank you, Hayato-kun.”

It’s currently dinner and I’m tucking into the beef stew that Arisa made for me. The stew was moderately thick, so perfect that the meat, carrots, potatoes, and other ingredients really enhanced its richness.

Not only Arisa, but also Aina and Sakuna-san are truly good cooks. Although they say that this is normal cooking, I, who don’t cook much, believe that their cooking is at a level that could be served in a restaurant.

“It’s best if you eat it with relish. There are seconds, so it’s totally fine, and you can eat the leftovers at a later date if you can’t finish it all.”

“Thank you for everything, really.”

“I told you already, it’s fine.”

Even so…

But still… I never thought I’d see the day when these girls would be going to my house like this. It’s a strange feeling because I’ve been the only one in and out of this house for several long years now.

“Hayato-kun?”

“Ah, my bad.”

I should’ve been more careful, there are only two of us here, and if I suddenly became silent, of course it would be worrisome for her.

I regain my composure and take a mouthful of the stew Arisa made for me. I can only say one thing about it, “It’s delicious,” though I’ve already said those words a lot of times now, I can’t help but laugh at my lack of vocabulary.

While I was having these thoughts, Arisa muttered,

“Hayato-kun, I’m sorry about the other day.

“The other day?”

My hand stopped moving at Arisa’s words.

—The other day? I don’t know what she’s talking about.

Arisa then told me to relieve my confusion,

“I felt like I was being abandoned by you when you suggested that it would be a burden and that I didn’t need to continue cooking for you. That’s the reason I got flustered… I ended up embarrassing you, Hayato-kun.”

“… Ah~ that.”

It was that time when I told her that they didn’t have to worry so much about my food because it would be a burden and just extra work, though that made Arisa panic and look desperate on her outburst.

“… I didn’t want to be abandoned, I wanted to be useful to you, and those feelings got the better of me and I annoyed you. When you said it was okay to continue, I was filled with joy, but now that I think about it. at that time I was helplessly thinking only of myself.”

“That’s not true…”

Well I sure gave in to Arisa because I couldn’t stand to see her in desperation. But I didn’t only decide that due to pressure. I agreed because I also wanted to immerse myself in their kindness, and I didn’t want to miss out on the warmth they were giving me.

I got up from where I was and went to Arisa.

Arisa’s eyes turned to me as if shaken by anxiety, I reached out and placed my hand on her head.

“…… Ah”

For some reason, I feel like someone taught me that this was the best way to calm an anxious child.

Arisa was surely surprised, but soon she narrowed her eyes and accepted my hand comfortably.

“I was certainly surprised to see Arisa like that. But you know what, there is a part of me that wants this to continue. I don’t want to let go of the warmth of having someone in this space even without my parents…”

“… That means.”

“… Ehm, … that.”

—Why am I embarrassed to say this much?

“…?”

But I noticed one thing there.

I once thought I could sense something disturbing in Arisa’s eyes before. But the eyes she was looking at me now were pure, and there wasn’t a hint of the darkness that I felt at that time.

“Hayato-kun?”

I shook my head.

“I want you to come… anytime. I actually like the food you make, Arisa.”

When I told her this, she nodded beaming with a smile.

“Yes, I will!”

My heart thumped loudly at the sight of her smile and I exhaled in relief.

After finishing dinner while chatting, I washed the dishes alongside Arisa. While doing so, the image of Sakuna-san flashed in my mind, and I chuckled to myself, thinking that this girl had also been etched in my mind.(E/N: Yeahh BOI!!!)

“Somehow, washing dishes alongside each other, Hayato-kun, makes us feel like a married couple, right♪”

“!”

My hand slipped and I almost dropped the plate.

I was relieved to see that the plate was safe, but when I turned to look at Arisa, I found that she too had a blush on her cheeks. She was staring at me with slightly moist eyes, and neither of us could say anything to the other as time passed.

Both of us returned our gaze to our hand, and the only sound was the sound of water flowing, the silence was even quieter than I thought it would be.

“Oh, come to think of it, why do you have so much luggage?”

I asked her about something that bothered me earlier.

When Arisa came to my house today, she was carrying a rather large bag. She wasn’t planning to stay the night, so she didn’t have a change of clothes in it, and yet it was that big…

When I was having those thoughts, Arisa clapped her hands and said, “Ah, I forgot.”

“I’m sorry, Hayato-kun, but can I leave this to you for a moment?

“? S-sure”

Wiping her hands, Arisa left the living room.

I washed the remaining dishes by myself. The door opened a short time later and Arisa returned, saying, —sorry to keep you waiting.

“Welcome back…!?”

I turned around and saw Arisa’s attire, and it was the biggest surprise I had ever seen.

Arisa’s clothes had changed drastically from her casual attire and she was dressed in what is commonly known as a maid’s uniform.

I’d like to say maybe if she was cold wearing that, the short skirt and frilly decorations were exactly what I’ve mentioned earlier: a maid’s uniform.

I knew that there are maid cafes in town, but I have never actually seen one up this close and personal. Seeing her in that uniform, I was both surprised and fascinated.

“I’m back, Master♪”

As Arisa bowed, the huge bulge on her chest swayed in tandem with her movements, drawing my gaze even more to her. As I questioned what was going on, Arisa came to my side and said,

“I thought it was a necessity if I’m going to start taking care of Hayato-sama here. Maid uniform, is it not to your liking, Hayato-sama?” [1]

Shaking her beautiful flaxen hair, Arisa looked at me.

I was definitely charmed by her, but more importantly, I was bewildered. No matter how unique Arisa may be, I was surprised to see her in a maid’s uniform, especially after she had suddenly disappeared.

“… So beautiful.”

I subconsciously gave my honest impression that isn’t an answer to the question of whether I liked it or not.

Surprised, Arisa shy away from me, her cheeks flushed red.

“That’s great to hear. I thought the design was pretty elaborate…?”

Arisa then spun around on the spot, but slipped and almost fell off her feet. Thinking I was having a deja vu, I immediately caught her in my arms.

“Are you okay?”

“… Un…”

I was holding Arisa to my chest and her face was quite close to mine. She then hugged me, burying her face in my chest.

“Can we stay like this for a while?”

“… Y-yeah.”

“Hayato-kun, your heart is pounding.”

“Of course it would.”

“… I know. Because so is mine.”

Arisa took my hand and pressed it against her own chest.

“Arisa-san!?”

The fabric of the maid’s uniform is soft… w-what is this?!

All of my five fingers sank into Arisa’s breast. I could feel her heartbeat as well as feel terrifyingly soft, incredibly elastic… and warm–.

“–Wait? Don’t tell me… no bura?”

This too soft of a sensation, which was separated only by the fabric of her clothes, meant that Arisa was not wearing a bra. While thinking about this, I felt my hand tighten, or perhaps my fingers, tighten unintentionally. Arisa let out a troubled sigh as my fingers sank further.

“Uun… haah… where do we go from here?”

I turned my face away from Arisa, who came closer to mine, and then I came back to myself and removed my hand from her chest.

“… Don’t make fun of me too much Arisa.”

“I’m not doing such a thing as ridiculing you… You’re a formidable opponent, really.”

Not good…. this is definitely not looking good.

Since Arisa and Aina started coming to my house, this kind of physical contact has started to increase at an extreme degree. They release sweet pheromones as if trying to melt my reason or take it away forcibly.

It’s like they’re making up for not being able to touch me at school… and if it’s just body touching, it’s still okay to some extent. But these girls can easily make a way to your heart.

“Hayato-kun.”

Arisa held my face to her chest.

She asks in a gentle, warm, reassuring way.

“I want to say welcome back to you, Hayato-kun.”

“Welcome back?”

“Yeah. I just want to let you know that you won’t be alone when you come home starting today.”

… See, this is how these girls melt my heart.

“If you can find some comfort in our presence, in our voices, in the moments when we touch each other like this, please accept it. I’ll take you in, I’ll tell you that you did your best. I want you to let me be your warmth.”

The words that enter my ears are not sharp like blades, they are like sweet nectar that softly oozes in. In the face of the warmth and tenderness that I wanted to drown myself in, my reason finally made me stop. However, for some reason I hear it cracking and it slowly breaks.

“I’ll be there for you. I’ll always, always support you.”

I wasn’t concerned anymore about indulging in her kindness, since I was already attracted to her from the start.

Helplessly… I found myself seeking her warmth.

[Postscript]

My goal is to reach 100,000 words, so I’m almost there.

I already have the ending in mind, but I haven’t decided yet if I’ll continue from there at the end of the chapter.

I hope you’ll stay here to witness the small changes in Arisa and others that are to come.

TLN-

[1] here she said, Hayato -kun, but I couldn’t stop myself from adding -sama.