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Chapter 38
A New Outlook and a Promise
Translated by HamletJr
Edited by HamletJr
It was the next day. Ryuichi thought back to last night’s conversation, which he wasn’t even sure could be called a farewell to his grandfather.
“…I sure as hell won’t be getting my living expenses anymore after that shitshow.”
His head was still rousing from its slumber, but he quickly snapped awake when he thought about what he was going to do from now on.
After an exchange like that, it would be best to assume that the money he had been receiving until now would be stopped. Of course, he did have some money in his savings. An older woman whom he had slept with in the past had given him money as a thank-you for satisfying her.
“I’ve never really used them, so I’ve still got some left to spare. Plus…”
If push came to shove, he could always just drop out of school and start working. Well, considering his circumstances, it may be a thorny path, but since the manager of the club and bar told him to tell them if he was in any kind of trouble, he thought it might be a good idea to have them employ him for work.
“Zzz… Ryuichi-kun…”
“…I’m his…number one…♪”
There were two kinds of sleep-talking coming from his sides: one cute and one stupid. On his left was Shizuna, asleep while hugging his arm, and on his right was a dumb-looking Chisa, whose pajamas were rolled up, showing her belly.
“…Geez, Shizuna is one thing, but you’re gonna catch a cold like that.”
He slowly removed his arm from the clutches of Shizuna and went to Chisa to straighten her pajamas. There was no sign of the older-sisterly side she’d shown him yesterday, the one that put him at ease. She still seemed to be cold, perhaps because it was morning, so she held the blankets close to her and stayed like that.
“Satsuki…must be in the living room, huh.”
The four of them had slept together in this room, Satsuki’s bedroom, yesterday. Seeing that she wasn’t here, she must already be awake, so he left the bedroom and headed for the living room.
“Ah, good morning, Ryuichi-kun.”
“Morning, Satsuki. Looks like you’re the first to be up.”
“Yes. The three of you were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you guys up.”
“Heh, well, one of us was definitely out like a baby.”
Satsuki, having inferred who he was referring to, put her hand over her mouth and laughed.
“Geez, that’s mean of you, Ryuichi-kun. Don’t you think her sleeping face is really cute?”
“Well, sure, I’ll give her that. She’s…a really nice big sister.”
“…Ryuichi-kun.”
Ryuichi sat down on a chair and said this with a laugh. Satsuki, also remembering what had happened yesterday, immediately approached him. She then grasped his hand with both of hers.
“…I can confidently say that my father and mother love me. So I can’t understand or sympathize with all of your suffering. But what I can do is ease that suffering and give you peace of mind as much as I can.”
“Hey, hey, I know things turned out the way they did yesterday, but I don’t have any more grievances about that, y’know? In fact, I’d say my heart is feeling pretty bright and clear.”
He wasn’t lying when he said that. To him, there were traumatic words that had been said to him for so long; words which also lied in the darkest parts of his heart.
“You are unwanted.”
“I wish you were never born.”
“I don’t want to think of you as my son.”
Words like those—words that denied his existence itself—had planted a permanent wound in his heart. Some might say, “It’s in the past, don’t worry about it anymore,” or “You’re being a hung-up crybaby by constantly dwelling on it.” But for Ryuichi, those words were a curse that had hurt him as a young boy and had been eating away at him for a long time.
“We will affirm him. We want him.”
He recalled Chisa’s words yesterday. He had never known the joy of being needed and wanted by someone like that. He cried with joy for the first time yesterday.
That very moment, his heart, which had been permeated by warmth at the hands of Shizuna, was cleared of its remaining pitch-black darkness by Chisa’s words and feelings.
“…I’ve been thinking about how important it really is to connect with people. I ended up venting my hatred for that bitch indirectly whenever I slept with women. But these days, I’ve had a lot of time to do some thinking…and I realized how connecting with others really saved me.”
Ryuichi had regained his memories about this world, and while it did not fundamentally change him, it did change the way he thought about it. In the original manga world, Ryuichi had only thought of women as objects until the very end, but one could tell by looking at him that he was different now.
“But putting that aside, are you okay after yesterday? I kinda feel like I pushed you too hard even though it was only your second time.”
“Oh… Fufu, don’t worry about me. But I was really surprised, you know? Even though there were three of us, how did you manage to handle us so well?”
“Ah~… Well, I guess you could say that’s my one redeeming feature?”
“Fufu, how manly and wonderful. ♪”
I don’t know if you can call that ‘wonderful’, though. Ryuichi gave a wry smile. This was something that surprised even Ryuichi himself, but the lust and sexual desire that his body possessed was truly tremendous. Of course, that didn’t mean he went around fucking like a monkey, but once his switch was turned on, he would aggressively take the initiative, regardless of whether he was handling three girls.
This body is so out of the ordinary in so many ways. Not trying to brag or anything, but I definitely wouldn’t be able to imagine anything like this in my previous life.
Ryuichi once again shivered at the high specs of his own body. But man, he thought as he eyed Satsuki from head to toe.
“Ryuichi-kun?”
She was dressed in a white knit short-sleeved top and a black skirt below. Her two breasts, which were larger than even Shizuna’s and Chisa’s, exuded a tremendous sex appeal even while covered by her clothes. He could certainly understand why Akira had gone crazy, seeing as he had had such a sexy sister by his side 24/7. He gave a bitter smile at the thought.
“You have a really sexy body, Satsuki.”
“…Hnng. ♪♪”
His words were much too direct and lacking delicacy, but she smiled happily nonetheless with a slight blush on her cheeks.
“It makes me sick when other men or my brother talk to me like that, but hearing that from you makes me so happy.”
“If words are all you want, I’ll tell ‘em to you as much as you want.”
“That makes me happy to hear. It truly delights me to be told that by someone who’s attracted to not just my body, but my heart as well. ♪”
At times like these, Ryuichi always wondered how such nice women like her had gathered around a guy like him. It was a bad habit of his to think like that even though these women had told him themselves that they were attracted to him and wanted to be by his side.
“I was really happy when you came to my place yesterday, Ryuichi-kun. You even let me meet Shizuna-chan, and now I’ve made a new friend in her.”
“I see. If that’s what you say, I’ll make sure to come back sometime. You won’t mind if I come over for some private business, right?”
“Of course. You’re more than welcome for that. ♪”
She kissed him on the cheek, seemingly relaying her expectations for when that time would arrive.
The group stayed at her house until late afternoon before they split up.
Chisa said she wanted to stick around a little longer before heading home, which Satsuki allowed. Even though they had met through Ryuichi, it seemed both of them had already become good friends.
“Bye-bye, you two.”
“Let’s meet again sometime, Chisa-san, Satsuki-san.”
“For sure. See you guys later.”
“Please do come back again. ♪”
As they exchanged farewells, Ryuichi turned to Chisa.
“Seriously, thanks a lot for yesterday.”
“What are you talking about? As someone who knows you, it’s only natural that I said what I did.”
Ryuichi and Chisa looked at each other for a while, grinned, then high-fived each other. He then left the apartment with Shizuna.
“…That was a really nice get-together.”
“I agree. I’m happy to have met Satsuki-san, and finding out just how strong Chisa-san’s feelings are for you makes mine even stronger, too.”
Shizuna hugged his arm as she spoke. Through yesterday’s events, Ryuichi’s outlook on life had strengthened once more, as had his feelings for the girls. Among them, it was Shizuna who melted his heart the most.
“…Say, Shizuna.”
“Yes?”
“Do you wanna go on a trip somewhere faraway for our next holiday?”
“Absolutely.”
“Oh, alrighty.”
“Guh…”
Suddenly, she looked down. When he asked her what was wrong, she answered with this.
“Well…your smile was just so beautiful…that it made my heart beat a mile a minute.”
“………”
He hadn’t intended for himself to be so conscious of it, but apparently the change in Ryuichi’s state of mind was clearly and blatantly apparent.
And so, as the two made plans to go out together, Shizuna’s house came into view.
“See you later, Shizuna. Next time, we’ll be going out on that trip together.”
“Yes. I’ll be looking forward to it. ♪”
He watched her back as they exchanged these words. As he gazed at her back, he thought about how much he’d enjoyed these past few days, and at the same time, he also felt a little sadness at having to part like this.
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