Chapter 70: Volume 9 - CH 2

This might be a bit sudden, but when living in a rented flat or apartment, what is most crucial is your relationship with your neighbours. If you get along just fine, that’s all well and dandy, but if you deal with someone who plays heavy metal until late at night, or constantly lectures you about how you should divide your trash, you tend to be exhausted fairly quickly. There are many things you need to be considerate of after all.

Despite that, having those two end up as our neighbours definitely is taking the cake.

“Here, some tea.”

“Fufu, thank you very much, Usami-san. But, only tea? I really wish you would have prepared some snacks for us.”

“So greedy. What about you, never heard of giving your new neighbours soba?”

“My, I’m sorry. But, rest assured, I have a few presents to celebrate our new relationship.”

“Presents?”

“Your utmost favorite—a carrot.”

“Are you making fun of me now!?”

“Oh, was one not enough?”

“Doesn’t matter if it’s one or two!”

“Then, what about ten?”

“Eh? That might actually help with finances a bit…”

“Fufu, you really are like a mother who loves to attend to the family finances.”

“Who’s a mother!?”

“…Hey, will you two finally drop it?”

We all sat inside Masamune’s living room. Masamune reluctantly invited Konoe and Suzutsuki inside, and prepared some tea so we could talk things out. Still, this situation is the worst. Since Suzutsuki and Masamune are archenemies, the atmosphere couldn’t be more tense. I doubt there was this much tension in the air at the Yalta Conference. Well, that’s not the only reason why the air feels so tense though.

“K-Konoe, you say something as well.”

“Eh…Ah, yeah.”

Konoe and I awkwardly exchanged these few words. Of course everything ended up awkward, since we never really talked after she rejected me. We promised to stay friends despite that, but things sure have gotten awkward.

“My lady, we really should properly give our greeting here.”

“Fufu, you’re right, Subaru. We actually moved in the room next to this.”

“…Hold on, you were serious about that?” Masamune asked, clearly cautious.

Yeah, I get how she’s feeling. They suddenly came here and introduced themselves as our neighbours after all. Not to mention that it’s Konoe and Suzutsuki. Something clearly is off here. I mean, they actually have a proper place they can sleep at, unlike me and Kureha. So, why would they suddenly move over here…”

“Fine, I’ll explain it.” Suzutsuki spoke up, answering Masamune’s question. “Basically, we decided to study society.”

“Study society?”

“Exactly. I am the person who will inherit the Suzutsuki Family, so I figured I should at least once live away from my parents, all by myself.”

“All by yourself…But, you have Subaru-sama with you.”

“Subaru is the bare minimum of protection that I always keep with me, my butler. What’s important is that I live away from my parents.”

“…Fine. It’s a pretty forced explanation, but I’ll accept that for now.”

“Fufu, thank you, Usami-san.”

“But, there’s one thing I won’t just ignore.” Masamune glared at Suzutsuki. “Why did you have to move into the apartment directly next to mine?”

“Eh? That was a mere coincidence. You just so happened to live in the apartment next door, and—”

“Lies! There’s no way such a coincidence would happen!”

“Correct, I was lying.”

“You admitted it immediately!?”

“In reality, I thought it would be interesting. I mean, the time you were living at my residence was so enjoyable, remember? That’s why, I figured moving next to you would guarantee the most fun.”

“Y-You pleasure addict…!” Masamune bit her lip.

Well, that sounds about what she would do after all. We’re talking about Devil Suzutsuki, remember? She hates boredom, and prioritizes having fun over everything else. She herself sure had fun tormenting me over the one month I lived at her residence. She probably came over here, chasing me as a result of that…

“Hm?”

No wait, this woman, did she actually…

“We had actually planned on moving here earlier, but the negotiations took us a lot of time.” Suzutsuki let out a sigh, like she actually was troubled.

…I knew it. She probably went through some weird negotiations in order to get this room from that Sasaki-san or whatever her name was. Really, Devil Suzutsuki is terrifying. I don’t think she would use any violent methods, but…she probably paid her large sums of money. She never holds back, huh.

“That being the case, we ended up moving in right next to you. Please treat us well from now on, dear neighbour.”

“H-Hell no! Why would I have to be neighbours with someone like you!”

“Did you not want us to get in the way of you and Jirou-kun living together?”

“Wha…what are you talking about!? That stupid chicken and I aren’t in that kind of relationship! Not to mention that Sakamachi is here as well…”

“Right. Since it’s three of you living here, nothing weird will happen.”

“…Weird?”

“You don’t get it, Usami-san? It would be a boy and girl living together in a flat. When I say weird, there’s only lewd—”

“Shut up! Don’t say any more than that! There’s no way the stupid chicken and I would do something like that!”

“Really?”

“Really!”

“…Hmmm.”

For some reason, Suzutsuki glanced over at me, and so did Konoe. Urgh, they clearly don’t have any faith in Masamune and her words. I get that this entire situation of me and Masamune living together is easy to misunderstand, but…

“Usami-san.” Suzutsuki spoke up with an awfully cold tone. “Can I look around the place for a moment?”

“Huh? Look around the place…Why?”

“Isn’t that obvious? I need to confirm if you and Jirou-kun haven’t done anything weird.”

“Wha…As I said, there’s nothing going on between me and that stupid chicken…”

“There’s no proof that what you’re telling is the truth after all?”

“Urk…A-Also, why do you even need to look into that!?”

“My, I am the daughter of the board chairman of the school the two of you are attending. I won’t allow any students to indulge in any indecent relationships in such a flat like this.”

“Talking nonsense again to bring your point across…!”

“That’s why, could you please show me around? You agree with that, right Subaru?”

“Yes, if you say so, my lady.”

“Even Subaru-sama!?”

“Then, let’s go.”

“…Ah, hey, don’t just search around other people’s homes!”

As Suzutsuki and Konoe stood up from their seats, Masamune followed after. Also, look around the place…Are they some detectives searching for drugs? Knowing Suzutsuki, she probably just wants to have fun looking around Masamune’s place, but I didn’t think she’d take Konoe with her. Hmmm…Is it really that hard to have faith in me? I mean, when a young boy and girl live together like this, it wouldn’t be unthinkable that something of that sort could happen. That being said, in my personal case that is definitely impossible. After all…

“First, let’s go to Jirou-kun’s room. Jirou-kun, where is it?”

“Ah, it’s right over there.”

“Over there?”

When I pointed at the balcony, Suzutsuki showed a dubious expression. Following that, I showed her the cardboard house I’ve been living in, to which her expression changed into exhaustion and disbelief.

“…Hey, Jirou-kun.”

“What is it?”

“I told you to show me your room, right? I don’t remember asking to see a cardboard house built by a grade school student.”

Ohhh, amazing! Even Suzutsuki is shocked at this sight. Well, I can’t blame her, forced to look at this mess.

“…Jirou, that has to be some awful joke, right?”

Even Konoe looked at the cardboard house in disbelief. Both master and butler were in shock. I was genuinely just trying to tell them the truth…

“W-What are you doing, stupid chicken! That cardboard box is something I made as a joke!” I heard a voice from behind my back.

That voice belonged to none other than Usami Masamune. She was the creator of this cardboard house, no doubt.

“Suzutsuki Kanade! Stupid chicken’s room is over here!”

“Usami-san, is that true?”

“Of course! Do you really think I would lie about that!?”

“I mean, Jirou-kun has had this ‘Hey hey, what are you talking about, nasty rabbit? I’ve been living in this cardboard box for the past month, you know?’ look for a while now.”

“T-There’s no way that’s what he’s on about! Right, stupid chicken!?”

“…Y-Yeah.”

I couldn’t fight against the pressure coming from Masamune, and agreed with her. Honestly speaking, it’s exactly as Suzutsuki deduced. Also, why is she trying to hide the fact that I’ve been living in this cardboard house?

“…Hey, what is this about?”

I asked for an explanation, calling out to Masamune. Of course, using a quiet voice so that Konoe and Suzutsuki wouldn’t be able to hear me.

“I-I can’t change it! It’d be bad if Suzutsuki Kanade found out what kind of life you’ve been living here!”

“What kind of life…You were saying something about eco lifestyle and whatever during breakfast, right?”

“Urk…”

“Not to mention that you said my room is more than enough right now.”

“Ugh…Sorry, I’ll apologize. I’ll reflect on it. I definitely went too far with this one…”

“You don’t have to apologize that badly…”

She probably was embarrassed at the fact of us living together, so she pushed my living space out on the balcony. Also, Masamune and I are friends. There’s no way that it would happen, but in the one in a million chance, it would be bad if something happened. That’s probably why she went with the cardboard house.

“But, why’d you lie about that now?”

“T-That’s…” Masamune kept quiet for a moment, and continued. “If Suzutsuki Kanade saw you living in such a place, she might give you a different offer.”

“Offer?”

“For example, something like ‘If you’re forced to live in a place like this, why not come back to our residence?’, you know…”

“…Ahhh, I see.”

Yeah, Suzutsuki might say something like that. If anything, she enjoys teasing me, and playing around with me. That’s why she probably wants to keep me close to her. Compared to my living situation here, it’s been a lot better at her place after all.

“And then, you might leave…and Sakamachi will go with you back to Suzutuski Kanade’s place, so…” Masamune showed a somewhat saddened expression, as she muttered these words.

…What, that’s not like you at all. Basically, she’d be lonely with me and Kureha gone. She doesn’t need to be that worried, really.

“No need to be this nervous. I don’t know about Kureha, but until my home has been rebuilt, I won’t be leaving this place.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Also, living in the Suzutsuki Residence is impossible for me. After all, she’s there—Konoe Subaru. To be perfectly honest, I still don’t really know how to interact with her. I don’t think I’ve gotten over her just yet. That’s why, living here for a bit longer should be fine…

“I see…I’m glad…”

Masamune must have been relieved at hearing my words, as she sighed with a smile. Ba-dump, I felt my heart skip a beat after seeing her smile. I knew it, whenever she smiles, she’s so cute.

“What are you two whispering around like that?” Suzutsuki called out to us, seemingly having gotten suspicious. “So, Usami-san, where is Jirou-kun’s room?”

“Ah, the stupid chicken’s room is over there! It’s an empty room, so—”

“Empty room?”

“…!? F-Forget about that! The room we’re going to definitely isn’t empty! After all, it’s the place where the stupid chicken lives!”

“Hmmm…I see. Can I take a look, then?”

“Of course!”

“Thank you, Usami-san. Then hurry and let’s go.”

“Eh, ah, wait!”

Suzutsuki pulled Masamune’s arm along, heading inside the apartment. If I had to guess, she probably is trying to sell that empty room as mine. If memory serves right, there were some private objects in that room, so it should be fine to sell it off as a room that’s being used. The current problem is rather…

“…J-Jirou…” I heard an alto voice next to me.

That’s right, since Masamune and Suzutsuki have left us, it’s just me and the crossdressing butler here.

“Y-Yeah, Konoe. Been a while since we talked, huh?”

“…Y-Yup, you’re right.”

We exchanged a few awkward words. That can’t be helped. After all, ever since I was rejected at that amusement park, we never really talked with each other. That being said, we’re best friends, so we should be able to get along just fine.

“T-That reminds me!” Konoe must have felt as awkward as me, as she spoke up. “This past month, how have you been spending your days?”

“How…Well, normally, I guess?”

“Really?”

“Are you…doubting my relationship with Masamune?”

“Urk…Because, it’s you two living here…”

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“Don’t be ridiculous. Kureha’s here as well. Also, Masamune and I aren’t dating either.” I gave Konoe a straight explanation.

In response to that, Konoe sounded oddly satisfied, giving me a brief ‘I-I see…’. Maybe she’s curious about my possible romantic relationships, seeing that she’s my best friend? That happens a lot, right? If I got myself a lover, our time we could spend together would lessen. I’m sure she would support my love, but she still might be sad, who knows.

“Masamune is just a friend. She sometimes gives me treatment for my gynophobia, but that’s about it.”

“Treatment?”

“Yeah. Thanks to that, I’ve seen a lot of positive progress with my gynophobia. Of course, that’s also thanks to your and Suzutsuki’s help.

“……”

For some reason, Konoe suddenly grew silent……Hm? I wonder, did I say something bad? Did she not like the part about Masamune helping with my gynophobia? But, there weren’t many chances where she and Suzutsuki could help me—

“……”

There, a certain question popped up in my head. Why have things gotten so awkward between Konoe and Suzutsuki? Maybe that’s related to why she’s suddenly gotten so quiet.

“…Jirou.” There, as I had gotten silent, Konoe looked up at me. “You just said that your gynophobia improved, right?”

“Y-Yeah, it’s a pretty spartan program, but I’m sure it’s gotten a lot better thanks to that.

“…I see. Then…can I test that?”

“Eh?”

I was about to ask ‘What do you mean by that?’, but it happened right after.

“…!? K-Konoe!?”

She suddenly closed the distance between us. Following that, she basically clung to me, burying her face in my chest, almost like she didn’t want her face to be seen.

“H-Hey, Konoe?”

Because of this sudden happening, I was at a loss for words, but still asked Konoe for confirmation. It’s true that having a girl this close to me would activate my gynophobia, but…

“…Jirou.” An alto voice pulled me deeper.

While she had her face buried in my chest, Konoe started talking. With a voice sounding like she was about to break out in tears.

“Can I…ask you something?”

“Ask?”

“Ahh, that’s right.” Konoe muttered, followed by a bit of silence. “—We are…best friends, right?” She asked with an anxious tone.

Hearing her words, my heart skipped a beat. Best friends. That’s right, we are best friends. I should have known that, and yet when I hear it from her mouth, it just shakes me down to my very core. After the confession, I got rejected. That’s why we’ll stay best friends forever—

“…Jirou.” As I stayed quiet, Konoe continued with a voice about to disappear. “I want us to always stay best friends.”

“……”

“When you confessed to me at the amusement park…I was really happy. But…we can’t go out…”

“……”

“That’s why, I at least want us to be best friends…If we’re good friends, then we can always stay together…even if we’re not a couple…!” It almost sounded like she was holding herself back with something.

Despite that, she still pushed her body closer to me.

“……”

Maybe…she was lonely this past month? Worried that because of my confession, everything turned out awkward. After all, we didn’t talk much over this past month. That’s why she must have been lonely.

“……”

Reflexively, I put my arms around Konoe’s back, ready to embrace her. My head was already spinning from my gynophobia, but that didn’t matter. I…want to protect her. Those were my honest feelings. I want to protect Konoe Subaru. I want to hug her right now, and make her feel at ease. I want to leave this long silence that happened behind us. I want Konoe to smile, and not cry like she looked close to. After all—

“……!”

In the end, I still love Konoe—

“What are you doing…you two?”

A voice suddenly called out to us, which led to both of us twitching in shock. Turning around. Masamune stood right at the entrance of the balcony. She probably came back from the room she wanted to show Suzutsuki.

“S-Stupid chicken, you two are boys, and yet you’re this close with Subaru-sama…Are you actually…into guys…?”

“No! There’s a reason for this!”

“A-A reason?”

“Y-Yeah! Konoe was just feeling a bit dizzy, so I supported him, that’s all!”

“…Subaru-sama, is that true?”

“!? Y-Yeah! That’s true! I was feeling a bit sick for a second…” Konoe panicked, and moved away from me.

Seeing that, Masamune let out a confused ‘…Hm’, and didn’t seem too satisfied. Wah, this is bad. This is the part where she’ll mistaken me and Konoe to have a gay relationship…!

“What are you doing?”

There, Suzutsuki appeared right behind Masamune. This is my chance. I needed to change the topic, so I turned towards Suzutsuki.

“Yo, did you see the room?”

“Indeed, I got a good look at what’s going on.” She showed a devilish grin.

…She must have seen through Masamune’s lie, right? There’s no way she’d look this joyful otherwise.

“Hey, Subaru.” There, she called out to her butler. “Why don’t you go see Usami-san’s room for now?”

“Eh? Why?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Maybe there might be something weird going on in her room?”

“Something weird?”

“For example…low-temperature candles1?”

Hearing Suzutsuki’s words, not only Konoe but Masamune equally let out a baffled ‘Huuuh!?’, frozen stiff.

“Wha…Wha…What are you talking about, Suzutsuki Kanade!? There’s no way there’d be some S&M objects like that in my room!”

“Really?”

“Of course!”

“Even though you like that sort of stuff?”

“Can you stop pushing weird fantasies and fetishes on me? Also, that sounds more like it would be right up your alley.”

“You think so? I feel like your and Jirou-kun’s names fit that much better.”

“…What do you mean?”

“SAKAMACHI and MASAMUNE, that’s S&M, right?”

“Don’t create some fake reality because of our initials!”

“My, I’m sorry. But, can Subaru still check out your room?”

“H-Hmpf, fine by me. Come on, let’s go, Subaru-sama. It’s totally fine, there’s nothing weird in there!”

“Ah, wait a second, Usami!”

Masamune seemed to have become desperate, as she pulled Konoe along, away from the balcony.

“Fufu, now it’s finally just the two of us.” The rich lady smiled.

…She set me up. She sent those two away so that it’s just the two of us. Now it’s Suzutuski and me—Master and former servant.

“…What do you want with me?”

“Don’t be so aggressive, please. I was just thinking that you’ve been indulging in quite the odd lifestyle. To think you’d be sleeping on the balcony.”

“So you realized, huh?”

“Of course. Subaru does trust you, but Usami-san’s attitude was beyond odd. Well, I don’t know why she was so desperate to hide that fact.”

“She’s got her own worries to carry, so don’t look into it too much, okay?”

That’s right, Masamune was just scared, that’s all. She was afraid that Kureha and I might leave once Suzutsuki finds out. Then again, there’s no way I would leave here and move back together with Suzutsuki and Konoe though.

“…Huh, you’ve gotten pretty close over this past month, I see.”

“It really isn’t like that, though.”

“Since we’ve moved in next door, I’d like for us to get along, see.”

“…You used forceful methods to make people do it your way, right?”

“Now, I wonder what you might be talking about.”

“Can you really leave that residence of yours empty?”

“It’s fine. Mother and father won’t be back home for a while, so I let my servants take care of the residence. Ichigo was against it, though.”

“Of course, she’d probably cry tears of blood.”

After all, she deeply LOVES her rich lady after all. It’s honestly surprising that she didn’t forcefully tag along. Must have been a harsh order she got. Still, I didn’t think they would suddenly move like this. Since she enjoys pleasure and fun over everything else, she would do something as crazy as that, for sure. There’s no other reason I could come up with.

“But, I’m relieved. It doesn’t seem like anything weird happened between the two of you even though you’ve been living together.”

“There’s no way anything like that would happen. Masamune and I are friends.”

“……”

Suzutsuki kept quiet for a moment, and then let out a dubious ‘Hmmm’. Man, she doesn’t seem like she’s believing me at all. Kureha’s with us, there’s no way something like that would happen. Right now, we’re more like family than anything.

“Also, why did you want us to be alone together like this?”

“Ah, that’s right, I completely forgot. There’s something I wanted to ask.”

—Something you wanted to ask?

I tried to return a question, but that’s when it happened.

“—!?”

Suzutsuki suddenly moved closer to me, reaching a distance where we could kiss at any second.

“…Tell me?” With a mere centimeter away from me, she used her beautiful red lips to form these words. “—Did something happen between you and Subaru?”

“Wha…Why are you asking that…”

“Don’t try to hide it. Ever since we went to the amusement park, something’s off about the two of you. During this entire month, you barely talked, right?”

“T-That’s…”

At the amusement park, I had my heart broken. I confessed to Konoe, and she rejected me. She said that we should stay as best friends, but things just have been awkward since.

“…Why are you asking me that? Did Konoe not tell you anything?”

“……” Suzutsuki bit her lip.

She continued with a weak voice you would never expect to hear from her.

“She didn’t tell me anything…”

“Eh?”

“Listen, Jirou-kun. Over this past month, I questioned her over and over. Asking if something happened between the two of you. But, she’s been silent about it this entire time.”

“……”

“Honestly speaking, this is the first time something like this happened. Never before did she go against my orders. Like this, we can’t even work according to the manual…”

“Manual?”

“…No, that’s not important right now. Please, tell me. What happened between the two of you?” She sounded oddly serious about that.

So far, she’s always been hiding her feelings behind a solid poker face, but being rejected by her butler, she might be confused. That being said…

“…Sorry, I can’t tell you.”

That was the answer I went with. I just felt like saying it myself wouldn’t be right. I mean, that would force me to accept it—the fact that I was rejected by Konoe.

“…I see, so you’ll keep it a secret from me as well.” Suzutsuki muttered with a saddened tone.

Normally, she’d forcefully make me spit it out, but…she just moved away from me. And then, a bit of silence passed.

“…Well, whatever.” She let out a sigh, and declared. “Moving in next to you was all so that I could look into that after all.”

Wha…

“You best be prepared, okay? I won’t hold back from now on.”

Ugh…

“However, I’ll let you off the hook for now. We need to settle in first. You best be working hard starting tomorrow, Jirou-kun. I don’t…plan on giving up.” She spoke with a usual devilish tone in her face, and showed a perfect smile.

“……”

…What is this. I was worried that she might be a bit dejected and bummed out about this. Yet, we’re right back to Devil Suzutsuki. Can’t you at least let me get over my broken heart in peace?

“…That’s right, this is for Subaru’s sake as well, so I won’t give up.”

“…Eh?”

For Konoe’s sake? What is this about? However, I wasn’t given time to ask that, as Suzutsuki left the balcony. Just…for one second, and it might have been my own misinterpretation, but I could see a faint determination tainted with grief in her expression.

1 Specifically made for wax play

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