Chapter 17: Do You Like House Visits?　３

The next day, Akaishi arrived at the station where he had parted ways with Hachiya and was on the phone with her.

Rrrring… Rrrring…

Click.

“Hello……”

“I’m awake already!”

“Too loud……”

The moment the call connected, Hachiya’s loud voice blasted into his ear, so Akaishi immediately pulled the phone away. He composed himself and put it back to his ear.

“Good morning. Tell me how to get to your house.”

Since Hachiya’s first words were as domineering as usual, Akaishi replied in his normal tone without changing his attitude.

He received directions from Hachiya and walked to her house.

Akaishi was extremely exhausted.

Because of what happened yesterday, he had been tormented by guilt.

He found it suspicious that he was now going to Hachiya’s house — a very rom-com-like development. He had tried to refuse by stabbing at her complex, but now he felt like he had hurt her heart.

For Akaishi, this was a first.

He had argued deeply with his parents before, but he had never once fought with someone his own age. Moreover, he never expected to receive such a long, emotional outpouring of resentment from a girl his age. It was like a bolt from the blue.

He had absolutely no intention of going to Hachiya’s house.

However, her outburst had changed his mind.

Why did I make her that angry and still refuse to go? Why was she so angry?

With a complicated mix of curiosity and fear, Akaishi decided to go to her house.

And what Hachiya had said was also correct.

It was the truth.

Although there was some spite mixed in, it was true that he was a rationalist with few friends. Or rather, he realized he didn’t even try to make friends and had a tendency to keep people at a distance.

Not everything she said was 100% accurate, but most of it hit the mark.

The phone call had also surprised him greatly. He thought she might have assumed something happened to him because he didn’t reply, but he wasn’t in a calm enough state to respond properly, so he answered and immediately hung up.

Akaishi was deeply shaken by Hachiya’s actions.

At the same time, he fully understood that he couldn’t stay the way he was.

“No…………”

Akaishi rejected all the excuses he had been making to himself.

“I’ll admit it……”

He acknowledged it.

The real reason wasn’t because he was worried about Hachiya after she poured out her resentment, nor because he wasn’t the kind of person who would refuse after making someone angry, nor because he needed to make friends as she said. All of that was sophistry.

Akaishi labeled his own feelings as sophistry.

No matter how he tried to justify it, he was simply looking for a reason to go to Hachiya’s house. He was flooding himself with convenient excuses so he wouldn’t have to admit the truth.

“I’ll admit my own feelings.”

He admitted that he, just like Sakurai, harbored dark and ugly ulterior motives — the desire to get close to girls and have them surrounding him.

“Alright……”

Having come to terms with his feelings, Akaishi headed toward Hachiya’s house.

Even if he acknowledged that he had the same base desires as Sakurai, there were still lines he wouldn’t cross.

He laughed self-mockingly, thinking he might already be acting like a rom-com protagonist just by going to a girl’s house.

“Found iiiiiit…………”

Akaishi had arrived at Hachiya’s house.

It was a luxurious mansion that far exceeded his expectations.

Seeing the grand residence that perfectly fit the “rich heroine” trope of rom-coms, he couldn’t help but mutter:

“It’s huge……”

Unlike his own ordinary wooden one-family house, Hachiya’s home was better described as a manor. He idly thought it could even be called a Western-style villa.

Akaishi pressed the doorbell and spoke into the intercom.

“Come in.”

Hachiya spoke in her usual domineering tone. The gate opened.

“Excuse me.”

As it was someone else’s home, Akaishi greeted politely as he stepped onto the property.

When he reached the entrance of the mansion, Hachiya was already waiting at the door.

“You came. I have a lot I want to say to you.”

“Haa.”

Hachiya stood with her arms crossed and chest puffed out in a familiar stance. Akaishi felt a sense of déjà vu.

He followed her inside the mansion as invited.

“First, there’s something I want to tell you. Come to my room for now.”

“Haa.”

Hachiya opened the door to her room and invited him in.

“Sit wherever you want.”

“Sure.”

Akaishi thought about where to sit. A rom-com protagonist would probably sit on the bed, he thought, so he chose to sit on the floor farthest from the bed.

“Cold!”

However, the floor was strangely cold.

“Isn’t it a bit damp here……?”

“Ah…………”

When Akaishi asked, Hachiya’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“Th-This room doesn’t get much sunlight, so it gets damp easily!”

“But the sun is shining right now……”

Akaishi looked suspicious at her obvious lie.

If this were a rom-com protagonist, his denseness would prevent him from understanding anything, but there’s probably some embarrassing reason, he guessed. I hope it’s not because I did something inappropriate the other day, he thought as he stood up.

“H-Here! This bed isn’t damp, so it’s fine!”

“Ah, I see. I’d probably get hated by Sakurai if I sat on it, so I’ll stand.”

Hachiya patted the bed vigorously, but Akaishi decided to remain standing. Even if he had acknowledged having the same base desires as Sakurai, there were still lines he refused to cross.

He laughed self-mockingly, thinking he was already acting like a rom-com protagonist just by being here.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

As if pushing that fact to the back of his mind, Akaishi restarted the conversation.

“It’s about that.”

Hachiya sat on the bed and began.

“Why did you hang up on me immediately yesterday?”

“Well, you sounded really angry, so I panicked.”

“Hmm…………”

Having learned that making things up would only cause more trouble, Akaishi answered honestly.

“Why were you so late replying?”

“Because you were angry and I panicked.”

“Hmm…………”

She listened with an expression that showed zero interest.

“Then I’ll let you off with one last question. What was that ‘Sorry’ about?”

“…………”

Akaishi was at a loss for words.

Even he wasn’t entirely sure. He didn’t know why the word “sorry” had come out. Maybe he thought it was the most effective way to calm down an angry person. But he didn’t want to settle for such a shallow reason.

After thinking for a moment, he gave his conclusion.

“Because I made you feel bad………… probably.”

“…………I see.”

Hachiya closed her eyes as if satisfied with his answer.

“But since you like Sakurai, I still don’t think what I said was wrong.”

“…………That’s fine.”

Hachiya wrapped up the Q&A and opened the door to her room.

“Follow me.”

“…”

Akaishi silently followed her. He felt somewhat relieved that she wasn’t as angry as he had expected.

“My parents won’t be back until late tonight.”

“…I see.”

Hachiya told him this casually, as if talking about breakfast yesterday.

Akaishi told himself that he felt no particular attraction to Hachiya as a girl. There was no romantic excitement between them like in a rom-com. Even if they were alone in her house, nothing inappropriate would happen.

He desperately pushed to the back of his mind the fact that he might be becoming more like Sakurai.

Chapter 17_ Do You Like House Visits