Chapter 192 - Bomb Disposal Squad
Tonight's sleeping companion duty fell to Ayako-chan.
Despite possessing breasts so large they seemed ready to spill out, she was a member of the No-Bra Faction during sleep. Her nightwear was a thin set of pajamas.
Even though I was sharing a bed with a girl who seemed to embody male desire itself, my mood was that of the Bomb Disposal Squad.
――Girls, you see, they bottle things up where you can't see them. All sorts of things.
With that warning from Angelica, and more than anything, because that delusional Diary was far too terrifying, I had tried to be thoroughly affectionate with Ayako-chan.
It was an operation conducted while praying, please, for the love of god, don't explode.
I'd kept it on the razor's edge, a line so fine it seemed like I'd take her virginity but didn't, and it seemed she was satisfied with that.
The dark maiden was breathing peacefully in her sleep. She was in a deep slumber, her head resting on my arm pillow, her legs entwined with mine.
Her breasts were resting on my side, their heavy, solid weight pressing into me.
The scene looked almost post-coital, but right now, fear came before any joy. I wanted to say, "I bet those are packed with curses instead of fat anyway, right?"
"...Girls bottle things up where you can't see them, huh."
I let my thoughts wander as I stroked Ayako-chan's slightly damp hair.
It's true, I am dense. I might be resented by women in ways I don't see.
Perhaps I even had some fateful connection with Emily or Rebecca back in the other world era.
...I desperately searched my memories.
But I had no clue whatsoever.
It's no good. Thinking any more than this is just a waste of time.
I slid my fingers into Ayako-chan's hair once more, enjoyed the sensation thoroughly, and then fell asleep.
When morning came, Ayako-chan had slipped out of bed before me.
If she's making breakfast for everyone, she probably needs to wake up earlier than anyone else.
Thinking to myself that it must be tough every day, I offered words of appreciation in my heart as I headed for the toilet.
I did my business, washed my hands and face at the washbasin, brushed my teeth, and then made my way to the kitchen.
Now then, I wonder how Ayako-chan is doing, I thought, craning my neck to peek in.
She wasn't there.
"Huh?"
...She wasn't there.
It was deserted.
Normally, she'd be here simmering a pot and making miso soup or something, but she wasn't there.
Did she go take out the trash? I thought for a moment, but today wasn't a trash collection day.
"..."
Tormented by an ominous premonition, I headed for the living room.
She wasn't here either—no.
The veranda.
Looking outside the window, I saw a back in pajamas. The slender back of the girl who had slept with me yesterday.
"What are you doing?"
I opened the window and called out to her.
Ayako-chan was just standing there, elbows on the railing, not doing anything in particular.
Simply gazing outside, letting the wind tousle her hair.
"...Good morning."
When Ayako-chan slowly turned around, the area around her eyes was red and swollen.
Condition: Red. Signs pointed to imminent explosion.
Why.
I gave her so much service yesterday, didn't I?
I told her I liked her, loved her, didn't I?
What more am I supposed to do!?
But I'm not childish enough to voice such complaints, nor do I have the courage.
Suppressing my true feelings of wanting to just crawl right back into bed, I put on an air of mature composure and asked, "May I ask what happened?"
"...I suddenly... felt so sad."
"Why?"
Ayako-chan sniffled then, covering her eyes with both hands.
This was way past the point of being on the verge of explosion; hadn't she already exploded?
Wasn't I not the Bomb Disposal Squad, but the Corpse Cleanup Squad?
As one rude thought after another floated through my mind, I stroked Ayako-chan's head.
"...Is it my fault?"
No reply.
She didn't explicitly deny it, so it probably was my fault.
...
What a pain...
If you have complaints, tell me directly before you bottle them up...!
Tell me before it gets to this point...!
While I was repeating such awful internal monologues, my spoken lines remained in Gentleman Mode.
"I'm sorry. It's my fault, isn't it. When you cry, Ayako-chan, it hurts me too, so please, talk to me properly."
"...hic"
And so, Ayako-chan began to explain through her sobs.
When Nakamoto-san was being affectionate with her, she felt happy.
But when morning came, it made her sad that Nakamoto-san's touches were so practiced.
He probably does the same things with Angelica-san and Rio-san, and when she thought that he must have done these things with Elsa-san, whom he used to date, she felt miserable.
I can never be Nakamoto-san's number one.
She was crying and sniffling, saying things to that effect.
"...But... I hate... myself too, for thinking these things... I just don't know... what to do anymore... Am I... a horrible girl...?"
It was getting hard to even understand her, but I could grasp that she was in a state requiring care.
"...Hey."
I whispered that I liked Ayako-chan the most.
"...Liar."
"It's not a lie."
I was used to this.
After all, I'd done this exact exchange with Angelica, with Rio, and with Philia too.
To be honest, it was a daily rotating event.
In a word, I was just the absolute worst.
I hugged Ayako-chan and murmured, "You're my main girl."
When you have multiple female subordinates, the trick is to make each one believe "I'm the one he favors most," Sugitani-san had said.
It's probably a universal technique for management, but I think it's also applicable to running a harem.
"Nakamoto-san...!"
Ayako-chan let out a voice thick with emotion and hugged me back tightly.
I patted her on the back and uttered a line straight out of a melodrama: "I'm sorry I didn't notice."
Alright.
With this, today's bomb disposal is complete.
I went to the kitchen with Ayako-chan, whose mood was now completely restored, and we stood side-by-side making breakfast.
Miso soup, bacon and eggs, spinach ohitashi, plus grilled fish and rice.
It was a truly healthy menu, based on Japanese cuisine.
"...I put in extra bacon, just for your portion, Nakamoto-san."
Tee-hee, Ayako-chan laughed, sticking out her tongue like a mischievous child.
I wore the smile of a co-conspirator, but in reality, I was probably the sole perpetrator. I am a heinous criminal, rarely seen in history, who toys with women's hearts.
"...I'm definitely going to hell someday, aren't I."
"Huh?"
Did you say something? Ayako-chan asked, but I answered, "Just talking to myself."
"...When you get absorbed in a task, you just can't help it, can you, talking to yourself. I often find myself, when I'm cooking, muttering under my breath, 'I love only Nakamoto-san even in death I love him I love only Nakamoto-san even in death I love him,' apparently."
I kept my honest thought—Isn't that called a seizure, not talking to yourself?—to myself.
I made a concerted effort to keep a gentle smile on my face as I went back and forth between the living room and kitchen.
I carried the dishes Ayako-chan had prepared and arranged them on the table.
On days when I make her cry, I help with the housework to earn back some points.
It's an essential skill for a Heisei Papa trying to survive family life.
"Next, this plate, please."
Every time I returned to the kitchen, Ayako-chan would secretly give me a kiss.
Since Angelica was already awake, it was a sneaky kind of flirting.
"...Could I also ask for a taste test?"
"I'll help with anything, yeah. I'm just in that kind of mood today."
"...Hehe. You seem like you'll make a good husband, Nakamoto-san."
With a Yamato Nadeshiko smile on her face, Ayako-chan scooped up some miso soup with a small bowl and held it in her mouth.
Then, holding my cheeks with her hands, she pressed her lips to mine and slowly, deliberately, sent the liquid from her mouth into mine.
...Normally, you don't do a taste test mouth-to-mouth, right.
This is way too close for first thing in the morning.
Forget a Yamato Nadeshiko, even a Western woman wouldn't go this far, would she?
But, I know.
That if you're kind to a woman after she's poured out all her complaints, she'll cling to you more than usual.
And once it gets to this point, there's nothing to do but let her have her way.