Volume 1 - CH 10

Tenth day of confinement

Translated by SoundDestiny

Edited by Kaepinned

Jaki. 

Zaku. 

Misha.

‘Nnn……What is it?’

A disturbing noise wakes me up.

“&#$* &$──!”

Words that make no sense, leaking from outside the room.

It is an animalistic meow, like that of a monkey or a kitten, but I don’t need to think about who it is coming from.

I wonder what she is doing.

I nip quietly towards the door.

I want to hear it clearly.

‘Aa, the chain is longer than it was yesterday’

Apparently, the girl has adjusted it.

Until yesterday, I couldn’t even reach my fingertips to the door.

But now I can stick my forehead to the door.

‘Does this mean, it’s a reward for drawing the manga?’

With this in mind, I peek into the kitchen space through the gap in the door.

She is standing in the kitchen.

A familiar knife in her hand.

Hidden by her body, I cannot see what she is cutting.

She occasionally makes strange noises and blindly swings the knife down.

Pieces of something are flying in the air.

Watching her clumsy hands, I am really glad that I didn’t resist her back then.

If I had resisted, even if she had no intention of doing so, it is highly likely that the knife would have moved unexpectedly and the threat would have ended up being more than a threat.

I gently step away from the door.

It appears that she is practising her cooking.

There are a number of rejected names before a single manga is produced, but that is not something the reader needs to know.

Likewise, she won’t want me to see the hard work part.

Gacha.

A few minutes later, she enters the room with a nonchalant air, as if nothing had happened.

“Here.”

She places a tray of food in front of me.

The same three-piece set as usual.

But today’s yoghurt was topped with pineapple.

‘I see, so this is her experiment.’

I spoon the poor fruit, a victim of her improved cooking skills, into the yoghurt.

‘Just a little topping makes the usual yoghurt taste a lot better, doesn’t it?’

Gari, Gusasu.

“Owh.”

I feel something pierce my lips.

Reflexively, I spat the foreign object onto the tray.

“….. Pineapple thorn?”

I mutter to myself as I look at the brown thorns.

The yoghurt turns a faint reddish colour.

“…………”

Pera.

She silently flips up the hem of her shirt and puts her hand into the waist pouch.

Soon, the highest denomination note of Japan is thrust in front of me.

“Wh, why did you suddenly give me a ten thousand note?’

“Alimony.”

I then say in a serious tone.

“Sincerity is important but I don’t think it’s good to try to solve everything with money.”

“……….”

She swims her eyes from side to side and quickly withdraws the money.

“Yeah. I wouldn’t ask for money for something like this.”

“How about this then?”

The girl suddenly puts her hand to pull up her skirt.

“It’s not like that.”

She looks away and stops herself from pulling up her skirt.

I can see up to the point of her thighs but I can’t see the fabric beyond that point, so it’s safe.

“Then, what should I do?”

“I don’t need anything. This is nothing if I eat with care.”

I said in a light tone so that the girl would not be bothered and resume eating.

As if she can’t stand it any more, she quickly leaves the room.

‘This is probably not what I should expect from a home-cooked meal.’

Inwardly, I lower the bar for her making food.

I finish my meal by carefully dodging the thorns and taking small mouthfuls.

As if at the right moment, the girl returns to her room.

In her right hand is a knife.

And on her left hand…

“Why the earpick?”

I ask, taking one look at a thin stick with a curved tip, similar to a muddler.

“Because pain can be compensated by pleasure.”

The girl replies, coming up next to me and sits down.

She PonPon her thigh with her hand and tries to guide my head.

She really wants to apologise for the foreign object.

“…..Just for confirmation, have you ever ear-cleaned anyone other than yourself?”

“No.”

The girl says this matter-of-factly.

A JK ear-cleaning.

In the literal sense, it’s a dreamy situation but as I know the girl’s clumsiness, it’s not reassuring at all.

The fear of having my brain directly stirred up just because her hand is a little out of control is greater than the threat of a kitchen knife.

“I’d love to, but I don’t want it.”

“……So, indeed. Is this still the way?”

The girl tries to lift her skirt.

“──Please use an earpick.”

I involuntarily follow and lay down on her thighs.

I feel the warmth of her skin through the fabric of her skirt.

But that’s probably not the origin of the pounding in my chest.

Scary, scary, scary.

“Izaa!!”

[TL: ‘Iza’ is a word that is used/shouted when the speaker starts to do something important enthusiastically.]

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The girl says in the tone of a warrior before going into battle.

“Yes, life is precious.”

I reply to her and close my eyes.

A tickling sensation in the shallow part of my ear canal.

A probing hand.

‘If she is this careful, then there’s no problem right?’

That was what I thought until─

Gari

“uU!!”

Intense pain.

It suddenly came deep inside.

“You’re fine.”

“No, I’m the one who decides that.”

“…….”

The girl ignores my protests and continues to clean my ears.

There were a few chilling moments, but she managed to finish one ear without bleeding.

I flip my body over.

A rustling, dry sound shakes my eardrums.

“……Feel good?”

The girl asks, halfway through the work.

“Yeah, one of the three best I’ve ever had.”

I’m not lying.

Because so far the only people who have ever earwigged me are  myself, my parents and her.

“….. Draw me again. Manga.”

Is she satisfied with my answer or not?

The girl demands in a soft tone.

“I’ll try.”

I mutter bluntly.

Even without a knife, she still holds the right to my life and death in her hands.

“─ ─ Finished.”

She pulls her knees.

My head hits the floor with a thud and my ear canals are released.

It is refreshing, but also leaves me feeling somewhat icky.