Ch 1 part 1

 As a healthy high school boy, I'm sure you've all imagined what it would be like to live together with a girl. Whether it's the girl you like, the cutest girl rumoured to be in the whole school, a stepsister from your parents' sudden remarriage with no blood relation, or a beautiful and wealthy older sister living nearby. It's like a daydream from a TV drama or manga, a fantasy of youth.

And there's nothing wrong with it.

Because it's a rite of passage that every adolescent boy goes through.

Of course, if someone were to ask me whether I have such daydreams, there's no need to ask, and you'd already know the answer.

Excited by such fantasies, I would stay awake all night, counting the countless moments of emptiness until the blinding morning sunlight and the cheerful chirping of birds reminded me. Even if I used all my fingers and toes, I couldn't count them all.

That feeling of utter emptiness that makes you want to die, I'm sure healthy high school boys can understand.

Setting aside my sad experiences for now.

There are indeed people in this world who get to live the cohabitation life we have longed for. While praising these guys, I also want to send them a bomb. May all those fulfilled guys explode and die!

Though jealous of these guys I've never met, it's precisely because it's an unattainable daydream for us as students that living together with a girl becomes so alluring.

To achieve this dream, I can only wait until I grow up and get a girlfriend. That's what I thought─

"Welcome to my home. Don't be shy; come in."

"Sorry to intrude..."

─But I never imagined that I would become the one to be envied.

"You should go take a shower first. Um, here's a towel, and... this is my loungewear; you can make do with it for now. The bathroom is on the left down the hallway, and you can use any shampoo and bathing products you like."

I can't just let her stay soaked all over.

I thought I should let Sotome take a shower first, so I handed her the necessary items.

"Thank you..."

"It's okay, take your time."

In a relaxed tone, I handed the items to Sotome, then watched her back as she walked towards the bathroom.

"...No, no, what am I doing!?"

I scolded myself in the living room.

Even though we're classmates, it doesn't feel quite right to have a girl I'm not even close to enter my house.

Although I couldn't just ignore her, inviting her to my home in spur of the moment was quite surprising.

"I can't believe she actually followed me home..."

I felt like things were going smoothly with different expectations.

I remember reading something like this in a magazine before.

If it's okay to invite a girl to your home, then it should be fine to do various things as well.

"...No, that's impossible! It's definitely a trap."

It must be some kind of setup.

Believing in the saying, "When someone is delivered to your doorstep, you can't resist the urge to eat them up like a wild animal," only to be rejected and dragged to the police station, leading to a miserable life afterward—such stories are all over the internet.

If I'm not careful, I could become like that too.

I tried to imagine the scene where I would be taken by the police for questioning.

"Bringing a high school girl home, how enviable." 

"No, I absolutely have no ulterior motive." 

"Stop lying; do you dare to say you have no thoughts at all?" 

"Just a tiny bit..."

 "Arrested☆"

The thought of being interrogated is truly terrifying.

It seems like nowadays, even talking to a lost child could get you reported to the police.

I thought to myself, being a good person is really difficult in this world... Even if you have good intentions, you might still get arrested. If I were to be asked, "You don't have any bad intentions at all?" I'm sure I wouldn't be able to come up with a convincing response right away.

Goodbye, my youth. I'll try to do better in my next life.

"...Stop daydreaming and let's get dinner ready."

Perhaps because I had been indulging in wild fantasies, I felt calmer now. While sighing, I composed myself and carefully considered my situation while cooking.

Speaking of which, my preferred type of girl isn't that aloof, blonde "spicy" girl, but rather a gentle and pure beauty... No, now I need to understand the situation first, and then think about the most appropriate approach.

As I finished preparing dinner, I heard the sound of the bathroom door opening. The sound of a hairdryer echoed in the living room, and I brought the finished dinner to the table.

I didn't know what had happened to her, but it seemed that when humans were hungry, they'd become more vulnerable. Anyway, I wanted her to fill her stomach first. Maybe she would tell me a thing or two once she calmed down.

For now, I'll set aside what I can do for her.

With this in mind, after a while, Sotome came to the living room.

"Thank you for letting me use your place to shower."

"Oh, uh, it's nothing..."

Looking at Sotome, who had just finished her shower, I couldn't help but feel a flutter in my heart.

Her slightly damp long hair, along with her cheeks that were slightly red from the warmth, was a sight that made any man's heart race. And she was wearing my loungewear, which only added to the charm.

If only it was a pure white shirt...!

"What's wrong with you?"

"A-ah, nothing!"

To avoid being seen through, I averted my gaze and pretended to be calm.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed these worries aside and smiled at her.

"I happened to prepare dinner. Let's eat together."

"I'm sorry to trouble you."

"Don't worry about it."

We sat facing each other, hands together to start the meal. I watched as Sotome slowly brought the food to her mouth with a spoon.

"It's delicious..."

Sotome murmured to herself. I finally saw a glimmer of vitality in her face.

"Akamori-san is really good at cooking."

"It's just fried rice, that's all."

In the midst of this conversation, I suddenly remembered something.

Until now, I had never exchanged a single word with her. She was the aloof, blonde "spicy" girl at school who never talked to anyone, and I thought she would be even colder and difficult to continue a conversation with... But I never expected that we could talk so normally.

Maybe it was because she took a shower and had dinner; her mood seemed to have calmed down a bit.

Even so, I didn't know if Sotome would tell me the truth, so maybe there was no need to be so nervous.

Before asking her about her situation, it might be better to explain my own situation first and gauge her reaction.

"I've been living alone for now, so my cooking skills have improved a bit."

"Living alone?"

Sotome showed a surprised expression and glanced around.

There were only the basic appliances and furniture in the house, and it didn't look like several people were living together.

After seeing the scene in the house, Sotome seemed to realize something and turned her gaze back to me.

"I'm currently living alone temporarily. I just got into high school, and my father was transferred, so my parents and younger sister moved first. Since I've already completed the high school enrollment procedures, I can't transfer immediately. After discussing it, my parents asked me to transfer in my second year."

"I see..."

"So, if you can, I hope you can tell me what happened."

I put down my spoon and faced Sotome with a serious expression.

"If you don't want to say, I won't force you; even if you tell me, I won't tell anyone. I'm going to transfer someday anyway, so I won't reveal anything about you. Sotome... What does it mean to have nowhere to go?"

Upon hearing my question, Sotome pursed her lips and remained silent.

"My home..."

"I'm... homeless."

After a while, Sotome began to speak slowly.

"My parents divorced when I was young, and I lived with my mother. Our family was poor, and I wanted to help support us, so I started working part-time after entering high school. But... a few days ago when I returned home from work, my mother was gone without a word."

"Gone without a word... Didn't she leave a note or anything?"

"No, I think she left with a man because she seemed to have a boyfriend not long ago."

My mouth filled with bitterness.

I really wanted to smack the foolish version of myself who had been indulging in unrealistic daydreams just a while ago.

"Later, the landlord told me that the rent had been overdue for a long time, and since I couldn't afford it, I had to leave the apartment with only the most basic belongings. I don't have much money left, and it'll take a while before I get my paycheck from work... I had no choice but to stay in the park."

"No way, this is too extreme."

She had just started high school, and she was working so hard to support her family. Then her mother chose this time to leave home with a man. Even if one wasn't a parent, it's something that most people wouldn't do. Hearing her story, I felt a sudden dizziness.

"What are your plans now?"

I couldn't suppress the emotions welling up within me.

Even so, I tried my best to remain calm and asked her back.

"I don't know... What should I do?"

Her voice trembled slightly as she let out a soft sigh.

"If you have nowhere to go, would you like to stay at my place for the time being?"

"Huh...?"

Sotome looked at me with surprise, then gently shook her head.

"You've already been so kind in letting me into your home. I can't bring more trouble to you..."

It was only natural for her to answer like this.

Although we were classmates who knew each other, it was still too much for a girl to accept an offer to live together from a guy living alone, especially if she had nowhere else to go.

It would make her uncomfortable, cause concerns, and, more importantly, she might become cautious.

"I won't feel troubled."

But despite seeing Sotome's perplexed expression, I found myself blurting out these words.

It's better not to get involved since it has nothing to do with me──

I really shouldn't meddle in someone else's family affairs──

As a high school student, there's little I can do to help──

My mind was well aware of these things.

However, after hearing about Sotome's situation, I couldn't just ignore it.

Perhaps the reason for my strong feelings was because I remembered something about a girl from my kindergarten days.

Back then, I fell in love with a girl.

She always stayed alone in the corner of the classroom, seeming quite lonely. Even when I tried to talk to her, she rarely responded, but I cared about her and her solitude... Then I realized that I had fallen for her.

When I saw Sotome in the park, her lonely figure overlapped with that girl's.

Maybe I still regretted not doing anything for that girl.

"I won't ask for anything if you stay, and I won't do anything strange. We have other empty rooms in the house, and you can use them freely. As I said before, I won't casually talk about Sotome to others. If there's anything inconvenient, let's understand each other."

I was well aware that I was desperately trying to convince her to stay.

However, I felt that if I abandoned her now, I would end up feeling regret just like I did back then.

"...Is that really okay?"

"It is."

Sotome nodded.

"Then, let me stay for a while, if that's alright?"

"No problem."

And so, we began our cohabitation.

"But I hope you can promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"You don't have to pay rent or utility bills, so I hope you'll just work a reasonable amount and focus on going to school every day. I'll take care of our living expenses, and I hope you can return to a normal life."

Sotome had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"I understand... Thank you."

With a slightly apologetic look, she thanked me.

That expression remained in my mind for a long time.

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