After school, I went outside the main gate with Enami and company, just like yesterday.\n
The temperature seemed to be dropping further. Every time the wind blew, the temperature was taken away from the nape of my neck. I should have worn a scarf.\n
That feeling didn’t change after I entered Enami-san’s house. Mother Enami seems to be indifferent to the cold. The heating was not on at all, even though she must have a chill from her cold.\n
Enami-san immediately turned on the heat, but it seemed to take a long time to warm up.\n
“Risa-chan, warm me up.”\n
“Hey, Nishikawa. You’re in my way.”\n
“That’s fine!”\n
Nishikawa hugged Enami while raising her voice in a subdued manner. Both girls are cute, so it’s a feast for the eyes. Although Enami-san does not like the tone of her voice, she does not try to pull away, so I guess she does not really dislike it.\n
I took out my jacket from my bag and wrapped myself in it. I had brought it with me from my own house to reflect on yesterday.\n
“Naochi, that’s not fair!”\n
“Sorry, but it’s Nishikawa’s fault for not being prepared. You knew it would be cold.”\n
I pulled the zipper up to the top and it was much better.\n
I looked around the room.\n
Yesterday, we threw away a lot of trash, so things are a little cleaner. The pile of stuff on the dining table was gone, so I had a better view. I could see Mother Enami sleeping right there on the edge of the table.\n
However, the room was still not clean.\n
First, the furniture. It was in shambles. It’s not something that can be used. At the very least, I would have to get rid of everything that was broken. In addition, there is a lot of small trash scattered on the floor. Not all of it is bagged.\n
Plus, the kitchen sink. From a cursory glance, mold was growing there. Rotten food scraps were also left unattended. I haven’t seen any cockroaches yet, but I think they might be coming out. Or rather, they will come out.\n
“We’ll just have to keep at it steadily ……”\n
I decided to move the furniture out of the living room. The table in front of the TV had a broken leg and was useless by any stretch of the imagination. The cut surface is sharp and extended like a thorn, so it seems dangerous to leave it there.\n
“Can I just move this table off? I don’t think I can carry it by myself, so I need your help.”\n
“……Then we can carry it while mom is sleeping.”\n\n
Enami-san was paying attention to the back of the room. Her mother must not be aware of our presence because I could hear her breathing in her sleep from earlier.\n
Why did she have to say, ‘while she is sleeping ‘?\n
I wondered, but there was no point in worrying about that. Enami-san seemed to be holding the other side of the table, so we breathed together and lifted it up. I asked Nishikawa to open the door to the living room and carried it to the front door.\n\n
“Thank you.”\n
“It’s times like this when you need a man’s help. Don’t worry about it.”\n
“Are you trying to be cool ……?”\n
“No, no, I’m just saying what I thought normally.”\n
“fu fu, I see.”\n\n
It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a genuine smile from Enami-san. She seemed to be tense lately because she had asked me for favors and invited me to her house. I wonder if that means she’s loosened up a bit.\n\n
“You look weak for a guy. You don’t usually exercise much, do you? You looked like you were struggling earlier.”\n
“I don’t exercise ……, but I don’t remember it being that heavy either.”\n\n
In the past, I used to work out more. At least, when I was with Yamazaki, I used to do strength training every day. I knew that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to win fights.\n
Now, though, I don’t do it at all.\n\n
“If we don’t clean up quickly, I won’t be able to cook the food you asked me to. You can make use of me as you like, let’s try to organize today.”\n
“That’s right. Mom is quiet too, so let’s do it while we can.”\n\n
It sounded as if she needed to be quiet to clean.\n
We went back to the living room and took the broken furniture we could carry out to the front door. It took us about twenty minutes to finish.\n
This is where the real work begins.\n
Nishikawa was right. We were only dealing with the big stuff yesterday and today. It would take more time to collect and clean the smaller trash.\n
The smell in the room still lingered. Or rather, the level of the smell had hardly changed. This was both because the smell had seeped into the living room and because we had not yet disposed of the source of the smell.\n
We went back to Enami-san’s room and opened the package we had bought at Home Center. I don’t want to get my hands too dirty, so I put on plastic gloves. I picked up the garbage bag and reentered the living room.\n
The smell stung my nose again. No matter how many times I smelled it, I couldn’t get used to it. It made me feel uncomfortable.\n\n
That’s when I noticed it.\n
On the other side of the dining table. Mother Enami, who was supposed to be asleep, was no longer there.\n
This was strange. She had been sleeping just a moment ago. I wondered if she had woken up.\n\n
“Hey.”\n
Someone called out to me and tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around.\n
“……!”\n
The person there was Mother Enami. She was talking to me with an expressionless face that I couldn’t read her emotions.\n\n
Nishikawa and Enami-san, who were following behind, were frozen as well.\n\n