I Managed to Bring Down the Entire Family of That Impossible-To-Conquer S-Class Beauty, Completely Filling in Her Outer Moat
โโฆI ended up borrowing the bath tooโฆโ
After the bath towel incident with Amagiri san, she followed through on her words and gave Chitose san a thorough scolding.
I was about to head home too, but I accidentally spilled coffee on myself and ended up borrowing the bath as well.
And now, even though I’m just taking a shower, I feel like I’m getting dizzy from all these restless thoughts alone.
(Wait, did Amagiri-san just use this shower? Could this shower chair I’m sitting on have been used by herโฆ? No, no, stop thinking such wicked thoughts, me!!)
Before my desires took over, I turned off the faucet and ended the shower.
In the washroom, a change of clothes was laid out, and I immediately recognized them as Chitose-san’s.
โIt’s huge.โ
Chitose san is apparently 190 centimeters tall, so that makes sense.
After drying my hair with the blow dryer while wearing the oversized clothes, I return to the living room.
โI took a bathโฆ Wait, what are you doing?โ
A fierce battle was raging in the living room.
โHa ha ha! You won’t take down Papa with attacks like that~?โ
โMoou~! Why won’t my attacks land when I’m at such a disadvantage!?โ
In front of the TV, Amagiri-san and Chitose-san were playing a fighting game.
I was completely lost, so I asked Aki-kun, who was sipping his milk.
โAkitoshi-kun, what are they doing over there?โ
โWell, you know? They’re having a contest over whether to give onii chan back or not!โ
โWhat are they doing without me, the person involved?โ
โMore importantly, onii chan smells just like me~!โ
โThat’s because we used the same shampoo!โ
When I crouched down and spread my arms, Aki-chan came running over as if drawn in and hugged me.
This kid might actually be mine. He stirs maternal and paternal instincts so strongly it feels like an illusion.
โAki-kun, don’t you want to play games?โ
โRight now it’s bath time milk!โ
โOh, I see. Good job drinking lots of milk!โ
Stroking Aki-kun’s head, which sports a little white beard around his mouth, I turned my gaze toward the other two.
โWell, I lostโฆ!!โ
โHa ha ha! Even with a handicap, you still can’t beat me, huh~~!!โ
โGuhโฆ! But that makes it one-on-one now! The next round will decide it!โ
โYeah, you’re right. Then let’s settle it with a four-player racing game!!โ
Somehow, I had a feeling we’d get dragged into this tooโฆ
Chitose beckoned us over, and we moved to the TV as well.
โAlright. So now, it’s a team battle between me and Akitoshi, who want to eat dinner together, and Hope-kun and Chika, who wants to go home & want to let him go home!!โ
The game we were about to play seemed to be a nationally popular racing game.
We’d split into two teams. If we won, we could go home. If they won, we’d eat dinner together.
I could probably get them to let me go if I said I wanted to leave, but it looked fun, so I kept quiet.
โWatarai-kun, I’ll definitely get you home aliveโฆ!!โ
โDamn, that sounds like something you’d say on a battlefield. Amagiri-san is so dependable.โ
โAkitoshi! We’re definitely gonna win and make him play with us more~~~!โ
โI don’t really get it, but I’ll do my best!!โ
The four of us stood shoulder to shoulder, staring intently at the split-screen display on the TV.
Three, two, oneโฆ The countdown began, and the moment it hit zero, the characters in the cars all sped off at once.
โWhoa~ We’re gonna crash! Drift hard here! Steer right!!โ
โDad, you’re so loud! I can’t concentrate!โ
โOnii chan, how do you use the items?โ
โUse the R button for items. Got it?โ
The heated race battle unfolded. Early on, everyone was around the middle of the pack, but by mid-race, Chitose-san began pulling away.
โWatarai-kun! We’ll lose if this keeps up!โ
โโฆNah, Chitose-san usually loses when he gets cocky. he’s drunk on victory right now. Let’s send him straight to hell from here.โ
โS-so mercilessโฆโ
With one lap remaining, the race would end.
If they were going to make their move, it would be around now.
โAmagiri-san! Use the item you have now!โ
โG-got it!โ
The item Amagiri-san used flew all the way to Chitose-san in first place and exploded there. It could stall him for a few seconds, but it still wasn’t enough.
I, in second place, also used my item so that Chitose-san would take all the hits after his stun.
“Whaaaah!?ใThat’s awful! Both of you are awful! Ganging up on me, the weakling, and beating me to a pulp!!”
โAww, poor thing! Aww, poor thing!โ
โDon’t say โpoor thingโ without any emotion, Hope-kun!โ
After that, we beat Chitose-san to a pulp, almost to the point of overkill. Me and Amagiri-san finished first and second, bringing the race to a close.
By the way, Akitoshi-kun came in third, and Chitose-san even lost to an NPC, ending up in tenth place.
โYay~! Watarai-kun, we did it!!โ
โA huge victory! It’s all thanks to Amagiri-san.โ
โNo, no, it’s all thanks to Watarai-kun~โ
I high-fived Amagiri-san in celebration.
I’m not some hardcore fan, so I didn’t think โI’ll never wash this hand again!โ, but for some reason, it felt a little embarrassing.
โDammit~โฆ I couldn’t even make it to dinnerโฆโ
โGive it up, Chitose-san. Well then, as promised, I’ll be heading home now.โ
โUghโฆ It’s already dark. At least wait a bit, Papa will walk you part of the wayโฆโ
Only now did I realize the rest of Chitose-san’s family seemed to be out.
Her mother, Hina-san, was out for work-related stuff. Her grandfather, Nabatame-san, was fishing. Her grandmother, Sachiko-san, was at a girls’ gathering. And the cat, Serinuntius-chan, had snuck out for a walk again, undeterred.
It must be wonderful for a family where everyone is completely free from constraints, yet none of them are unhappy.
โAll set~! Alright then, Hope-kun, let’s go!!โ
โDad, no detours, okay?โ
โI know, I know!โ
Chitose-san, now changed, nudged my back as we moved toward the front door.
Just as I put on my shoes and was about to leave, Amagiri-san called out.
โUm, Watarai-kun. Thank you so much for everything today! See you tomorrow!โ
โYeah, see you tomorrow.โ
I accepted her beaming smile and left the house.
No matter how tired I was today, it was worth every bit of it.
Chitose and I walked down the dimly lit night street, streetlights casting patches of light on the ground.
โThanks to you too, Hope-kun. For spending time with us.โ
โNo, I had fun too. It felt like family time after so longโฆ Really, it was great fun.โ
โโฆI’ve always wondered, but is it possible that Hope-kun’s familyโฆโ
he might have sensed something from my usual behavior or what I said earlier.
It’s not like I’m hiding anything or don’t want to talk about it, so I might as well say it.
โThey’re not dead, and it’s not like we don’t get along. My parents are just both really busy with work, so we don’t get to see each other much.โ
โI seeโฆโ
โโฆWell, still, it’s lonely coming home to an empty house, you know.โ
โโฆโฆโฆโฆโ
he must have noticed the shadow fall over my face, because without saying a word, Chitose-san roughly ruffled my hair.
โHey, what are you doing!? You’re messing up my hair!โ
โHope-kun, if you ever feel even a little lonely, feel free to come over anytime. I’ll always welcome you.โ
โChitose-sanโฆโ
โOr better yet, why don’t you just come be my son-in-law? If you miss having a dad, I’ll be your father-in-law. Let’s hurry up and become family so we can play games all day long~โโ
โHey! I was just starting to think you were kinda cool, and now you’ve ruined it!!โ
I thought I finally saw him looking cool for once, but he ruined it at the very last moment.
Even if I wanted to be his son-in-law, there’s no way Amagiri-san would approve.
โWell, putting the son-in-law thing asideโฆ thank you. I meanโฆ I was happyโฆโ
โHah, you tsundere~โ
โShut up! โฆAlright, I’m fine here. See ya!โ
โBye-bye. See ya!โ
I turned away from Chitose-san, parting with a smile as bright as Amagiri-san’s.
But immediately after, Chitose-san’s words flew back at me, as if he’d just remembered something.
โAh! Oh yeah, Hope-kun, I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s thing too~~โ
โโฆTomorrow’s thing? What’s thatโwait, he’s gone!?โ
Before I could get an answer, Chitose-san had already walked away.
After that, I made my way home with a question mark floating above my head.
โI couldn’t recall it at the time, but the following Monday was the release date for the fashion magazine Ruelle.
Truth be told, I was in itโฆ but Fumihiko wasn’t.
Maiasa