Chapter 119 - Social Standing Defense Battle
After that, I ran for about ten minutes and arrived in front of the Saito family home.
Peeking at my smartphone, the time was just past eleven in the morning.
At this rate, meeting Sugitani-san might end up being around evening.
A man who enters a high school girl's home while keeping his boss waiting.
You could say I'm walking the razor's edge as a working adult.
Well, I'm sure the world-famous Concealment Magic is protecting me from the neighbors' eyes, so I think it'll be fine.
It's fine, right?
No one's watching, right?
Fidgeting by myself, I headed to the front door and rang the intercom.
A few dozen seconds later, I heard the pitter-patter of footsteps from deep inside the house.
This light gait is surely Rio. If it were King Leo, the sound would have more weight to it.
"Hellooo."
My hunch was right on the mark.
The one who opened the door from inside with a cheerful voice was Rio Saito herself.
"Huh? No one's there."
Today's outfit was a form-fitting border-pattern top and a navy tight skirt. Both were items that clearly showed the body's curves, the kind of thing you couldn't pull off without considerable confidence in your figure.
What is this, this pointlessly sophisticated coordination?
These are the kind of clothes idols or young actresses wear conscious of their social media presence.
And it doesn't match this Showa-era house at all.
...As I thought, is she putting in the effort because she's meeting me?
Thinking that, it's somehow endearing, or rather, cute... wait, what am I doing, almost getting won over so suddenly?
I slapped both my cheeks with a smack, shaking off the distracting thoughts.
"Nakamoto-san, you're using magic to turn invisible, aren't you."
Yeah, I answered in a voice Rio couldn't hear as I stepped into the shoe removal area.
I moved to a spot where the neighbors likely couldn't see me, then released the Concealment.
"I'm coming in first."
"Wah!? ...Don't just appear out of nowhere, I thought my heart would stop."
Rio spun around sharply and made a gesture like she was recoiling.
Pressing her left chest with her hand, she opened her eyes wide and said, "You startled me."
"You could just come in normally. Why do you have to do things that surprise people every single time?"
Closing the front door behind her, Rio glared at me with a sullen look.
The fault was clearly mine. But if I apologized here, Rio is the type of woman who would make a disgusted face instead. While scolding me with her words, in her heart she's seeking arrogant behavior.
We've been associating for over two months now, after all.
I've gradually come to understand how to handle her.
"I just came in when I felt like coming in. How you feel about it doesn't matter to me."
While chanting an apology in my heart, I spat out that villainous line.
【Rio Saito's Affection Level has increased by 200】
"W-well. I'm glad she seems pleased."
I took off my shoes while glancing at the blunt system message as usual.
"Eh...? You're taking off your shoes? You won't walk around my house with your shoes on?"
"Is that something you'd be happy about?"
"It's an act that makes my heart flutter about as much as a wall slam."
It was a world I didn't quite understand.
She really does suffer from a severe combination of father complex and masochism.
Communication often breaks down. And if it did get through, that would be bad in its own way. It would mean I'd stepped over to that side too.
"I'd feel bad for King Leo and your mother, so I'll refrain from wearing shoes inside."
Ignoring the disappointed Rio, I proceeded into the living room.
Since I'd visited this house once before, my body remembered the room layout.
I headed for the tatami-floored, run-down Japanese-style room just around the corner from the entrance.
"...It's full of craters."
And.
The place that was supposed to be the venue for our discussion was, in a bad way, completely unchanged from before.
In other words, the holes in the floor made by those goblins the other day still hadn't been repaired.
It was in a state of just having emergency measures applied with duct tape and pieces of board, looking incredibly shabby.
It's a single-mother household, so maybe they don't have the financial leeway to cover repair costs.
"It's the worst already. Bugs and mice crawl out from the gaps in the tape."
Rio stood beside me, staring intently down at the holes.
It looked like it had long since lost its function as a living room, but do they still eat meals here?
The table and furniture were left as they were, so that's probably the case, but...
"Why not just seal this place off and use a different room as the living room?"
"This is the only room with an air conditioner. And it's close to the kitchen. After compromising on various things, this is how it ended up."
"But like this, it's impossible to entertain guests, right... Is that okay for a girl your age? What would you do if a classmate suddenly came over to hang out?"
"Of course, if someone saw this I'd be super embarrassed. I mean, even before it broke, it was shabbier than other people's houses, and I really hated inviting friends over."
"...I figured as much."
Having your own home be smaller or older than your classmates' is something that wounds a child's self-esteem.
"So I think I'll just leave these holes unrepaired forever. When I realized that as long as these are here, I can always savor the humiliation of having someone see my unsightly house, I noticed my heart was racing."
"Can I get some tea?"
【Rio Saito's Affection Level has increased by 3000】
When I brushed her off with a "I can't keep up with your fetishes," that apparently hit the spot too.
Rio's face turned bright red, and she looked down, murmuring, "Yes..."
It seemed to have been quite a critical hit, as she headed toward the kitchen while shyly rubbing her inner thighs together.
...I have to be careful.
If I let my guard down and coldly push her away, it turns into a pickup line.
If I don't choose my words carefully when interacting with her, there's a danger we'll end up as lovers right here and now.
I don't know if it's okay to call that a danger—or rather, for most men in the world, getting involved with a beautiful high school girl would just be a reward—but my sense of ethics won't allow it.
And the law won't allow it either.
I have no choice but to somehow fend off Rio's temptations and have her hand over whatever this forgotten item is.
Hey, I can do this.
No problem at all.
I solidified my unreliable resolve while gazing at her back, where the hooks of her bra were clearly visible through her clothes.
It's not like I'm looking because I want to look.
My eyeballs are just drawn there on their own.
It's not my will.
I can't stop it myself.
What the hell is it with men's eyes!
A popular talent with high Affection Level lays hands on a high school girl and gets suspended.
That, at the very least, that is something I absolutely must avoid...