CH 21

We finished eating and cleaning up.

“Phew, I’ve eaten.”

“”It was delicious, Mongolian noodles. Also, the tortillas had an unexpected flavor. I want to eat them again.”

“Well, Lida seems to like Mongolian noodles. If you’re okay with that, it’s a small price to pay. It’s cost-effective.”

“Yeah. –By the way, tomorrow is Saturday, right?”

“It’s my day off. I’ll clean up my room tomorrow. See, there are still some cardboard boxes left.”

In a corner of the dining room and kitchen, there were a few unorganized items left. That included me, but Lida had quite a few left as well.

“Oh, yeah, okay. So, do you want to go out afterwards? You know, I don’t know much about this area yet.”

“Hmm. Well, it’s good to know the neighborhood and I don’t want you to get lost. All right, I’ll show you around.”

“Yes! I’m looking forward to it.”

“Okay. Well, I’ve got some work to do.”

“Oh, work? Come watch a horror movie with me tonight…”

Lida tugged at my clothes.　

I don’t care if she looks at me like I’m such a child. …… But watching a movie with Lida? That’s not a bad idea. But I’m trying to maintain this apartment. I’m going to keep my mind occupied.

When I explained the situation to her, she reluctantly agreed. I promised her that I would at least give her a message and we went to our respective rooms.

South side of the dining room and kitchen.

The sliding door on the right was my room.

On the left was Lida’s room.

The room is still mostly unorganized, so it looks like a minimalist room, but this gives it a nice feeling of freedom. …… No, it’s inconvenient.

Working on a cardboard box is hard.

◆

While drinking a cup of Koiwai coffee, I started typing away at the keyboard. The screen was filled with source code. I did my work as instructed, but if I concentrated, I was able to get a lot done. Two hours had passed since then. The end was near.

“Pic.”

A message from Lida.

I have an agreement with her and I won’t ignore it.

“Let’s see.”

When I looked at the screen, all I could see was a “Pien” emoji. She seemed to be trying to show her loneliness, but yes, it was already midnight. I could at least say good night.

I walked over to Lida’s room and knocked. Then she opened the door with a thud.

“Oojirou! Are you done?”

“Ah, ……, you look better than I thought. And you’re crying.”

“I was watching a horror movie by myself, the one with the guy in the mask. It was so scary! It’s not something you want to watch alone. ……”

She was so scared that she was trembling. I mean, before I knew it, she was in her adorable nightgown.

Let’s watch it together some other time. Goodnight.”

“……wait.”

“Hmm?”

A thin arm goes around my neck.

She hugged me and covered my lips with hers.

It was just a kiss, but it seemed to contain a certain emotion. I’m not sure if it’s a goodnight kiss or not. ……