CH 18

Then with the playback, the lights were dimmed for about an hour.

I kept watching the screen, which was basically a dimly lit image, almost absent-mindedly.

The movie was about a black-haired female ghost who tried to drag people into a cursed house.

I think people who like this shitty movie ......which has an obvious source material, but not an ounce of respect for the content. will like it? Though, I don't like it.

""Zzzz...... Zzzz......""

"......" (Rintaro)

I looked over at the couch and saw Rei and Kanon breathing peacefully in their sleep.

I'll forgive Kanon. Since she was the one who got involved.

But Rei, you shouldn't have.

Why are you the one who requested to watch this movie, falling asleep?

"......Haa." (Rintaro)

Since the person who started it has already fallen asleep, normally one would think that they should stop it.

But, the reason why I don't do that is because――――.

"Ri-Rintaro-kun...... do-don't leave......." (Mia)

"......Yeah, I know." (Rintaro)

"This is a Translation Content of pemudatunawisata[dot]my[dot]id. so, read only on there, kay~"

Because, Mia who is next to me, clinging to me.

When I tried to move from my seat, she pulled on my arm to keep me from standing up.

I feel somehow déjà vu.

It was almost as if I was being held in place, and now I could feel Mia's breasts through my elbows.

She had a more Japanese figure than Rei, but her breasts were large enough that Rei's was out of her league.

She had more elasticity than softness.

That's why I've been keeping my mind blank.

I don't want to become a criminal at my age either.

"You, surprisingly are not good with a horror movie, are you?" (Rintaro)

"I...... I haven't seen much of this kind of movie until now......." (Mia)

I see, she had no tolerance for horror to begin with.

Instead, I could say that she was lucky to have a movie of this caliber.

If this was a movie that was highly praised by horror movie lovers, Mia would have fainted.

"Is Rintaro-kun okay......?" (Mia)

"Mmm? Yeah, I'm used to watching this kind of stuff." (Rintaro)

In fact, one of my best friend, Inaba Yukio's hobbies was watching B-movies.

He often rented movies that could only be found in rental stores and watched them with me.

After we finished watching the movie, he would blabber on about his impressions, which I hadn't even asked him about.————To be frank, I always just listened to him from left to right.

I thought Yukio was aware of it too, but he's excited to talk about it anyway.

"We have one more hour left. Hang in there." (Rintaro)

"O-okay......." (Mia)

The force tightening my arms became stronger.

This inevitably led to a stronger feeling around the elbow, but I decided to endure it with my steel mind.

In a sense, a rough hour for me and Mia begins――――

◇◆◇

"This is a Translation Content of pemudatunawisata[dot]my[dot]id. so, read only on there, kay~"

"Pheew...... I didn't expect a grenade to be dropped into the well at the end to wipe it out at the source. That was surprisingly fun." (Mia)

"...... Right." (Rintaro)

An hour was shorter than I expected.

The next thing I knew, the end roll was playing on the screen.

Surprisingly, Mia seemed to like it a lot.

I'm sure she'll have a good time drinking with Yukio. She's still underage, though.

By the way, I was almost completely white.

I was almost overwhelmed by the demon called sexual desire, which exists at the opposite end of the spectrum from my rational mind, and each time it tried to destroy my mind, but I managed to finally win.

I think I finally understand what it means to fight against yourself.

"The other two are...... still asleep. They look so comfortable."  (Rintaro)

"Seeing them sleeping so peacefully makes me want to do something naughty." (Mia)

"Indeed...... Well, it's a party this time, so  I'll let them off the hook." (Rintaro)

I thought about doing the standard prank of writing the word "meat" on the forehead, but I decided to refrain from doing so on the idol's face because it would be too immoral.

Looking at the time, it was already well past midnight.

I thought it was time to wake them up or they would end up sick, so I tried to call out to them as they lay there breathing.

"――――you don't have to wake them up yet, you know?"

It was Mia, who was standing next to me, who stopped me.

"Why not? We can't just let them sleep here, can we?" (Rintaro)

"Well then, let's take them to your bed and let them sleep for a while. I'd still like to talk to you....... just you and me." (Mia)

Mia's eyes narrowed as she looked at me.

I have a bad feeling that she is planning something.

But I feel like I need to get to know this girl better.

As long as she is in this room, I can't just keep avoiding her.

"......Alright. Let's have a little chat." (Rintaro)

"That's the way it has to be." (Mia)

I let out a sigh and carried Rei and Kanon to the bedroom bed.

I used a slightly larger bed to make it more comfortable.

Even with two girls on it, there was still a little room to spare.

I put on a blanket to keep their bodies from getting too cold and went back to the living room.

"Don't be so cautious, I won't do anything to harm you." (Mia)

"I wonder about that. That's for me to decide." (Rintaro)

"Yeah, I guess so. But, I really don't want to be malicious to you, okay?" (Mia)

"This is a Translation Content of pemudatunawisata[dot]my[dot]id. so, read only on there, kay~"

I made eye contact with Mia.

Her eyes were surprisingly straight, and I was momentarily at a loss for words.

"...... I understand. I'm sorry for the way I treated you, as if I doubted you. ――――So, is there something you want to talk about?" (Rintaro)

"Actually, I wanted to thank you." (Mia)

"Thanking me?" (Rintaro)

"Yup, I wanted to thank you for being with Rei." (Mia)

I tilted my head.

Noticing my confusion, Mia continued,

"Rei has always been a very stoic person. She's the type of person who pushes herself to the limit for the sake of being an idol." (Mia)

"......Ah, I think I understand that." (Rintaro)

"Right? But since she'd been in this relationship with you, she'd been better. Rintaro-kun, has Rei ever told you about her on/off switch?" (Mia)

"Just a little bit. She said she's only turned it off when she's with you guys and when she's at my house." (Rintaro)

"Do you notice anything off?" (Mia)

"......It doesn't include her own house, or her parents' house, for lack of a better word." (Rintaro)

"Correct." (Mia)

Actually, I had heard that her parents were rarely home.

I had also heard that the Otosaki family was wealthy in its own right, so it must be a very venerable family.

Before being an idol, Rei might have had to keep her position as the "daughter of the Otosaki family" in the house.

So, I can't call it being turned off.

"The only place she could turn it off until now was when the three of us were together. Now that you're here, there's one more place for her can do so. You probably didn't know this, but after Rei started spending time with you, she began to smile a lot more." (Mia)

"......That's an honor." (Rintaro)

"Do you really think so?" (Mia)

"I do. I have a lot of respect for Rei. I'm glad to become one of those places." (Rintaro)

I'm not going anywhere――――.

I was reminded that Rei had said that to me.

As long as she said that, I wouldn't want to leave her either.

Besides, if I as a man, can't support even one woman, then it's just a far-fetched dream to become a full-time househusband.

"Respect, huh. Is that really all?" (Mia)

"What do you mean?" (Rintaro)

"I mean, are you not in love with her?" (Mia)

"This is a Translation Content of pemudatunawisata[dot]my[dot]id. so, read only on there, kay~"

The corners of Mia's mouth lifted slightly.

Before I knew it, her seriousness had somehow vanished, and now she was just her normal self.

"A love, huh...... I like her, but love is another thing. I've decided that I'm going to love one woman for the rest of my life." (Rintaro)

"Ee...... what, what's that thought? It's so ridiculously manly." (Mia)

"If I fall in love with her, I'll never look away. That's why I want to choose "that" one person carefully. Also, I can't have such feelings for someone I've only known for a month or so." (Rintaro)

I can't deny the possibility that I will fall in love with her over the next six months or a year.

The only thing I can say at this point is that I "am not currently" in love.

"Sorry if my answer was boring." (Rintaro)

"Yep, I think that answer is great." (Mia)

"Huh?" (Rintaro)

"Because, I'd still have a chance, wouldn't I?" (Mia)

Mia licked her own lips as she said that.