Chapter 1078 Next Step

Chapter 1078 Next Step

At exactly noon, after resting and eating the lunch Miwa-nee prepared last night, we changed back to our hiking gear and checked out of the cabin.

Even if descending the mountain was supposed to be easier than climbing it, being in full gear at all times was more than just being careful. It’s something that most hikers tend to observe. While some only treated climbing a mountain as some kind of achievement or one entry to cross on their wishlist, those who took the hobby seriously would like for everyone to not put themselves in danger by doing just whatever they wanted.

Well, that’s something I heard from Miwa-nee. And it was common sense to agree to it

Although there’s nothing interesting that happened on our way down the mountain, we did stop for a moment to check on the two girls we left earlier.

They’re actually still at the same rest stop.

The injured girl, Sara, was sleeping on the same bed, wet cloth on her head while her foot’s bandage was redone to keep it in place properly and prevent her from moving it accidentally.

Shiina was at her side, yawning as she flipped some kind of guide pamphlet over and over. She’s clearly bored but she couldn’t just leave her friend there.

And lastly, Sara’s boyfriend, who I had already forgotten the name of, had returned. But instead of his earlier confidence, he looked like a beaten dog while sitting in a corner, not daring to approach Sara's bed. Most likely, he got into an argument with Shiina once again and he had no words to rebut.

Another show of his patheticness.

According to Shiina, they were advised not to move the girl hastily. They were told to wait until her fever subsided.

It was deemed serious enough that they might need to put a cast on it, depending on what’s going to happen in a day.

Because of that, they already gave up the chance to climb the peak. And Shiina blamed everything on that guy.

It’s the result of poor planning and the lack of decisiveness from the guy. Had he carried the girl back to the foot of the mountain when she got injured, they wouldn’t be stuck there.

Two hours later, the car stopped in front of our house. And as soon as the engine was turned off, Akane and Kana emerged from the front door, welcoming us back.

With Minoru falling asleep once again during our ride back home, I carried the boy in my arms as I approached the two girls.

Akane looked at Minoru dotingly while Kana’s doting eyes were focused solely on me. The former took the boy in my arms and went ahead inside while the latter jumped in my arms as soon as it got freed.

Even if I was still wearing thick clothes, the girl didn’t even hesitate to bury her face in my chest.

“Ruki, I missed you…” Kana lovingly whispered as she raised her head and parted her lips to wait for a kiss.

“Mhm… Me too.” I swiftly answered before giving her what she wanted.

And while I doted on my adorable Kana, Miwa-nee passed by us and pinched Kana’s cheeks. “With how adorable this girl is… I can see why you can’t resist.” She said before continuing inside while carrying one of the backpacks.

When Kana heard that, her face quickly turned as red as an apple as she once again buried her face in my chest. A few seconds later, she reluctantly took a step back and went inside.

The way she ran back inside was too cute. If someone saw her like that, they would probably fail to recognize her as someone older than me and Akane.

“I could dote on her later… For now…” I still have something to do.

Seeing the backpack that Miwa-nee carried reminded me of it. Unloading everything we used from the car. It’s my job as the man, right?

Doing that for at most five minutes, I soon entered the house and found my father still sleeping on the couch. On the other hand, my mother was in the kitchen, mashing dough. She’s probably about to make snacks for everyone.

“Did you have fun?” My mother asked as soon as she spotted me.

And naturally, my answer was a swift nod. “Mhm… It was more fun than it was tiring. Besides, I’m with Miwa-nee and Minoru. There’s just no way I won’t enjoy it.”

“Great answer, baby boy.” My mother nodded approvingly and giggled before putting her focus back on the dough.

I’m wishing for her to stop calling me that but I guess that’s wishful thinking on my part. In her eyes, I’ll always be her baby boy… I won’t mind her calling me like that while we’re inside the house but… it will definitely be embarrassing if I run into her outside and she immediately calls me with that nickname. No matter how thick my face is, being called ‘baby boy’ at this age is just… frightening.

After I finished carrying everything inside, I ran up the stairs and into Miwa-nee’s room to check on Minoru. Following that, I returned to our room to change.

As though they predicted that I would be there, Akane and Kana were already waiting for me, my clothes for today’s part-time job neatly prepared on the bed.

To have thoughtful wives like these girls, I was once again reminded of how lucky I am…

And so… to repay them properly, I stripped in front of them… Wait. That sounded wrong. But that’s really what I did. I took off my hiking gear and returned to a normal shirt and shorts before taking them both in my arms.

Akane smilingly said, “See this, Kana-chan-senpai? If you start living here, you’ll also be subjected to husband’s constant spoiling.”

“Y-yes!” Kana nodded continuously.

Looks like, within half a day, the two had become even closer. Thinking back on the first time I brought the cute and shy girl here, Akane scared her off that she could only hide behind me.

This is also progress, I guess?

“What’s this, Akane? Are you trying to advertise the benefits of living here with me?”

“Why, yes, of course. Husband… isn’t that the next step? We’re already letting everyone in our bed. Now I can’t wait to have someone else here with me. That way, we can always team up to resist your teasing habit.”

“The next step, huh? That’s nice. But even with the two of you, you won’t be able to resist it.” As soon as I finished saying that, I began my attack, teasing them in any way possible.

While Akane could resist to an extent, Kana easily succumbed to it before holding onto me tightly, her tears about to burst from her eyes. Upon seeing that, I immediately switched to doting on her…

Well, I’m also weak to their tears, am I not?

Anyway, what Akane said wasn’t possible at the moment and we could only see that coming to fruition a year from now. At best, the girls could stay one or two days here without arousing suspicion from their parents… But living here, only Akane got approval for that.

Well, Shio could also live here. However, with her identity as our teacher, there still exists that risk of our close relationship being exposed to our school. Besides, we already deemed that apartment as our love nest or our own place as a couple.

Maybe I could ask Nami’s mother to let her stay with me for a night. It will be hard for the other girls though. Unless the excuse of sleeping over at a friend’s house was accepted by their parents, then that’s doable.

Maybe I could also ask Elizabeth’s parents and watch her father seethe in rage when her mother gave her approval.

In the end, it’s still staying one night and going home the day after… However, that’s already many times better than only meeting at school or somewhere outside...

After pampering the two girls for around thirty minutes, the time came for us to prepare again.

I would first send Kana home before going to the Boxing Gym with Akane, meeting up with the other girls and starting the 9th day on my part-time job.

Now that I think about it… I haven’t exchanged any messages with Coach Ayu this week… It’s not that I forget, Coach Ayu just refrained from sending me those reminders that she used to send… Most likely, she’s still affected by what happened last week…