“…Mm. I’m still a little sleepy.”
When Yuzuru woke up in the morning, he felt a slight heaviness in his body.
He was never particularly good with mornings to begin with… but yesterday he had spent the whole day walking around and talking late into the night, so he felt even sleepier than usual.
He wanted to go back to sleep.
But—
“Right. Arisa’s here today.”
He couldn’t exactly show her such an unpresentable side of himself.
With that thought, Yuzuru got up and went to wash his face.
As he walked down the hallway—
“Yaaawn… Ah, Yuzuru-san. Good morning.”
He ran into Arisa.
Apparently she had just woken up as well, because her eyes were still droopy.
On top of that, her long hair was a complete mess from bedhead.
Seeing Arisa in such a sloppy state—normally so perfectly composed—felt strangely refreshing.
But—
“Yuzuru-san? What’s wrong?”
When Yuzuru suddenly averted his gaze, Arisa tilted her head in confusion.
Grabbing the collar of his own yukata, Yuzuru spoke.
“…You might want to fix that.”
Arisa first glanced at Yuzuru’s yukata.
Then she looked down at her own.
Her cheeks instantly flushed red.
Her yukata had come slightly undone.
Soft-looking twin mounds and a deep cleavage were visible, along with her pure white underwear.
And that wasn’t all.
Her obi had loosened quite a bit as well, exposing her long white legs.
If it slipped just a little more, even her shorts might have been visible.
…Actually, Yuzuru felt like he might have already caught a glimpse.
“S-S-Sorry!!”
Arisa hurriedly tried to fix her yukata.
But trying to forcibly correct something that had already come undone only made it worse.
Yuzuru quickly turned his back.
From behind him came Arisa’s distressed cries.
Yuzuru pointed towards a nearby room.
“That room’s empty right now. Go fix it there calmly.”
“Y-Yes! I’m so sorry!”
He heard the sliding door close behind him.
After a moment, Yuzuru slowly turned around.
Arisa was no longer there.
But—
“…Oops.”
A thin cord-like piece of cloth lay on the floor.
It was probably the sash from her yukata.
Yuzuru picked it up and slid the door open just a crack.
Without looking inside, he reached in with only his hand holding the sash.
“Arisa, you forgot this.”
“S-Sorry! I’m really, really sorry!”
After handing it over, Yuzuru firmly closed the door again.
Holding down his racing heart, he muttered,
“Well… that definitely woke me up.”
It had been quite a stimulating morning.
“I’m sorry you even prepared breakfast for me…”
At the breakfast table, Arisa bowed her head to Ayu.
Apparently, she had planned to wake up early and help with breakfast.
But she had overslept a little, so that didn’t happen.
“It’s fine, dear. You’re a guest.”
Ayu answered with a cheerful smile.
Then she urged Arisa not to worry and to start eating.
As Arisa picked up her chopsticks, Yuzuru began eating as well.
Since Arisa was present today, there was one extra dish.
But the taste was the same as always.
“The fish is so fluffy and delicious.”
“Oh my, Arisa-chan. You have good taste. Actually, we recently replaced the grill with the newest model.”
Ayu began happily praising her kitchen appliances.
Notably, Arisa avoided commenting on the miso soup.
Honest girl.
“Takasegawa-san’s house is really large. Isn’t cleaning very difficult?”
Since Arisa usually did housework at home, seeing such a big house immediately made her think about cleaning.
She voiced that honest question to Ayu.
“Not really. We have housekeepers for that.”
“Ah… so you do have them?”
“Of course. If I had to take care of a house this big and four dogs by myself, I’d work myself to death. I wouldn’t even be able to do my job.”
Arisa smiled politely.
But only Yuzuru noticed something.
When Ayu said “my job,” Arisa looked slightly surprised.
…Apparently she had assumed Ayu was a full-time housewife.
Given her relaxed appearance and atmosphere, Ayu didn’t really look like someone who worked in an office.
“Where are the housekeepers now?”
“They’re off today. It’s the weekend. They work eight hours a day with two days off per week, plus paid leave.”
Incidentally, the housekeepers’ names were Suzuki, Sato, and Tanaka.
But since Arisa would be leaving later today, she probably wouldn’t meet them.
“By the way… what kind of work do you do?”
“What do you think?”
Ayu grinned mischievously.
Arisa frowned slightly, clearly struggling to imagine Ayu working at all.
Ayu watched her with great amusement.
Seeing Arisa troubled, Yuzuru decided to answer instead.
“She’s a university professor.”
“Hey, Yuzuru! Why’d you give it away?”
Then Ayumi—who had been silent until now—jumped in.
“Because his beloved bride was getting bullied by her future mother-in-law.”
“Oh really? Listen to the sister-in-law talking.”
Ayu and Ayumi immediately started bickering.
Meanwhile, Arisa—who had just been referred to as the beloved bride—lowered her head in embarrassment.
Her ears had turned bright red.
Seeing that reaction made Yuzuru feel a little embarrassed too.
He quietly crunched on some pickles.
“Hey, Arisa-chan,” Ayu said. “Then… what kind of researcher do you think I am? Try guessing.”
“…Let me think. American literature?”
“Eh?! How did you know?!”
Ayu looked genuinely shocked.
Arisa, now back to her usual calm and composed expression, answered smoothly.
“I heard that Yuzuru-san’s great-grandmother was American. That means Yuzuru-san’s father—Kazuya-san—is a quarter, correct? I thought perhaps that connection influenced your field.”
“Annoyingly correct,” Ayu admitted. “Right, Kazuya?”
“Yes. It brings back memories.”
When Ayu asked him, Kazuya answered with a gentle smile.
A faintly sweet atmosphere filled the room.
Yuzuru quickly sipped his miso soup to distract himself.
Sweet and salty.
Perhaps to break the strange mood Kazuya and Ayu created, Ayumi suddenly changed the topic.
“Oh right, Arisa-san. What do you think of Mum’s cooking? Is it good?”
“Huh? Ah—yes. Of course… it’s delicious.”
“You already said it was delicious earlier,” Yuzuru pointed out.
Ayumi ignored him completely.
“Well, that’s because Onii-san once said Arisa-san’s cooking was better than Mum’s. So I got curious.”
Arisa’s expression stiffened.
She was clearly worried that Ayu might feel offended by the comparison.
She even shot Yuzuru a reproachful glance.
Yuzuru quickly looked away.
“Oh yes, you did say that,” Ayu said lightly. “Yuzuru’s stomach has been completely captured by Arisa-chan. I’m almost jealous.”
She said it jokingly.
Then she winked at Arisa.
Don’t worry—I’m not offended.—
That seemed to be the message.
Arisa relaxed slightly.
“Well… tastes differ when it comes to cooking. But Ayu-san’s cooking feels full of love. I think it’s very delicious.”
Arisa tried to give a polite answer.
But Ayumi, fully embracing her role as the teasing sister-in-law, wasn’t satisfied.
“I want to try Arisa-san’s cooking too. Could you make lunch or dinner?”
“Eh? Um… I don’t know…”
Kazuya finally stepped in.
“Ayumi. You’re putting Arisa-san in a difficult position. Stop.”
Meanwhile, Yuzuru spoke gently to Arisa.
“You can ignore Ayumi’s selfish requests. Don’t worry about it.”
But Ayu looked just as curious as Ayumi.
“I admit… I’m curious too. If the dish my son praises so much is really that good, I’d love to learn how to make it myself. …But of course, we can’t force you.”
Even so, she looked at Arisa with hopeful eyes.
With both Ayumi and Ayu watching her expectantly—
Arisa blushed, shrinking slightly as she nodded.
“If… if my cooking is good enough, I’d be happy to make something…”
““Missin success!!””
Ayu and Ayumi clapped their hands together with a sharp smack.
