NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18 - Menhera? Yandere? Bitch? Or...
“Welcome back, Senior Kenya. ♥”
In front of my rundown apartment, Misuzu was sitting on a trunk case waiting for me.
Her outfit was the same as always, an oversized black shirt that covered her short pants, and heavy, sickly makeup.
Long fake nails, long eyelashes, and semi-long brown hair that curved to hide her face.
And then, her painful-looking piercings shone in the moonlight as she looked at me.
“Mi-Misuzu! Why are you here?”
“You said we’d meet again, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, but we just parted ways today.”
“That’s true, but… I couldn’t stop thinking about you, senpai.”
Misuzu ran up to me and stroked my chest with her long nails.
“Ah…” I almost let out a strange sound.
Then she looked up at me and said:
“Can I stay at your place tonight?”
“S-Stay? My place is poor and cramped!”
“It’s fine, SeniorKenya. As long as there’s space for you to sleep, we can stick close together.”
Kenya’s heart wavered at her aggressive approach.
As he stammered, Nana came out of the apartment.
“Misuzu? Has my brother come back?”
“N-Nana! Help me!”
Seeing the situation, Nana pouted.
“Hey! Misuzu! No seducing my brother!”
“Eh? That might be a bit difficult.”
“J-Just get away for now!”
Nana wedged herself between us, managing to separate us.
What a force! I couldn’t move, even though I was wearing my King series. It’s not that I’m weak; maybe I’m just susceptible to temptation.
“Do you two know each other?”
“Yeah, let’s go inside and talk.”
So we went inside the house.
The 10-mat room felt even smaller with the three of us.
Misuzu sat down right next to me for some reason. She’s close, and she smells nice.
But what is this situation? I found myself sitting upright. Nana started to look like a strict father. She might even say, “Please take care of my daughter.”
I don’t know what my father looks like, but…
“So, what’s the relationship between you two?”
As soon as Nana sat down, she asked in a stern voice.
Father, don’t be angry.
I’ll make sure to make her happy!
“We met in the dungeon…”
“He saved my life! And he got really mad for my sake!”
Misuzu jumped in before I could finish speaking, looking at me with dreamy eyes.
Well, that’s true, but she’s exaggerating.
“Hmm, well, my brother is kind-hearted. I can imagine that.”
Nana nodded, clasping her hands.
Kenya then asked Nana:
“So, you two? You seem to know each other.”
“Misuzu and I were classmates and friends in middle school, though we went to different high schools.”
“Oh, I see.”
Now that she mentioned it, she did say a friend of hers went to Kibogaoka High School.
I didn’t think it was Nana, though…
“So, about letting her stay?”
“Can I tell my sad story?”
Don’t call it sad yourself, Kenya thought, but he decided to listen quietly.
“I don’t have parents.”
Misuzu had apparently lived in an institution.
Her parents abandoned her when she was young, and she was placed in a facility.
Misuzu, who grew up in a children’s home, ran away from the facility last year.
It was due to the usual trouble with human relationships, she said.
She didn’t elaborate on the reasons.
She then tried to make a living by challenging the dungeon, where she encountered this incident.
“I see…”
Kenya understood why he saw himself in Misuzu.
He saw his own abandoned self in Misuzu and his unhappy upbringing.
By saving Misuzu at that time, he was also saving his past self who couldn’t be saved.
Those words were indeed meant for himself.
Is it the victim’s fault? That’s something only people who have never been bullied would say.
The victim is never wrong; they are just subjected to unreasonable malice.
In this cold world where hardly anyone will protect you, I at least want to protect someone.
Because I know the same pain, I want to save people who suffer from it.
So…
“Alright, you can stay.”
“Brother? Are you sure?”
“If Nana’s okay with it, it’s fine. You can stay for a while, but not forever.”
“Yay!!”
Even with just the two of us, the 10-mat room felt cramped.
With three people, it would be a tight squeeze.
But seeing Misuzu so happy…
(I can’t just leave her alone.)
…
The three of us filled our stomachs with stir-fried bean sprouts (only bean sprouts).
Misuzu, true to her appearance, had a small appetite, which was a relief.
I can’t let her put more strain on our household budget. Does she plan on freeloading? Even among friends, we can’t allow that. Our budget is tight.
That said, now that we’re full, all that’s left is to take a bath and go to bed.
“You go take a shower first.”
“Huh. Okay…”
“I didn’t mean it like that! Don’t blush! I’ll go last.”
Waving my hand to stop her silly joke, I sent Misuzu to the bath.
She had been in the dungeon today, too. She must be worried about the dirt.
Letting her go first was Kenya’s kindness.
But…
Is this a lucky pervert moment?