Episode 13 –  First time offering and outrageous proposal of a defenseless princess

I was kind of tired all at once.
I thought about going home like this ……, but then I reconsidered.

I’ve been having her cook for me every night.
And on top of that, she is cooking for me again this morning.
No matter how much she wanted to, it was indeed labor intensive.

Above all, Saara is involved in club activities today as well.
She is so full of vitality that I wonder if she is the same person as the athletic freak she used to be.

Still, something like the refusal to confess the other day must require mental strength.
A different part of your body is being whittled down, and it affects your physical strength a lot more.
…… just like I did today.

Saara does it almost every day.
It’s hard to say no when he’s a sweet guy and you’re sorry.

Then – today is the day.

◇

The door to the next room slammed open, and not long after that.

“I’m home!”
“Hnn, Welcome home”

The door opens immediately after ringing the chime, and a completely familiar looking Saara comes in.
I was wondering if my greeting to her at …… wasn’t a little strange.
I’m not sure what to do with it, but I’m sure it will work.

“Sorori, Sorori ……”
“You don’t have to come in here with your mouth full. Here it is.”
“Uwaa……!”

So I cooked dinner today.
As evidenced by her reaction, I had already notified Saara.
I felt bad about having her buy the ingredients in the meantime.

As soon as I got home, I put boiled fish on my plate.
It looked good today, so I took the plunge.

“This is, Fish san!”
“I found a nice-sized fillet of sea bream, and I boiled it.”
“Is that okay? Is today our anniversary or something?”
“Even if it’s not a day of celebration, you’d at least eat a sea bream.”

I laugh at Saara, whose comments are amusing, and take out the condiment cabinet.
It’s a little early, but let’s get dinner started.

“Itadakimasu!”
“Yeah, Itadakimasu”

Every time Saara eats, she says, “Delicious!　Delicious!” She responded cheerfully every time she ate it.
I tried it myself, and I think it was good for a long time.
Sake and mirin (sweet sake and sweet cooking rice wine).

“And here’s the rest.”

When I had eaten about half of it, I took out a seasoning from the shelf.

“Let’s change the taste. Wanna try?”
“Yes, I want to try it.”

It’s sansho.
It is ground sansho in a mill, and it is quite tongue numbing.
It tastes somewhat citrusy, but the same type of flavor as powdered sansho.
Since I first bought it, it’s been a favorite of mine, even if it comes up from time to time.

“……! Oh, this is so, so, so numbing! What is this? I’m bursting out laughing.”
“Oh sorry, be careful, it’s pretty strong. ……”

Saara, who had cheerfully poured plenty, happily drank the tea and said, “Tea is weird, too!” She laughed.
I’m laughing too much because she reacts so happily to everything.

No, she reacts so happily to everything already that I’m almost laughing because she’s so energetic.

“It’s been talked about as an all-purpose seasoning for reducing salt intake, based on its supposed ability to sharpen the sense of taste.”
“I didn’t know that, Sansho is amazing. I should buy some too.”
“Ah, it’s quite expensive.”
“I will come here every day to eat it.”

Saara finished her meal with a polite bow

“Thank you for the food.”
“Thank you for the food”

Just as she finished her dinner at the same time, her phone rang.

“Huh? It’s my mother.”

Saara’s mom, right?
Of course, I haven’t met her yet.

“Ah, I think she is chatting with your mom, Sora kun”
“No, seriously?”

Well, she said they were good friends or something.
But still, what the hell are they talking about, being together?
She just came to my house the other day, and I hope she didn’t blow any funny stuff …….

“Huuuh. Oh, by the way, Saara, we didn’t move out of our house, but where did you live over there?”
“My house is right around the corner from where I used to live.”

Ah, that’s close enough.
Because little me and Saara came to the house on foot, and then Saara’s mom drove to pick us up at the end of the day.

“Ah, yeah.”

Here, Saara took the keys out of her bag.

“Here”
“What, you’re still returning it?”

That’s …… well, that’s normal.
Even though it’s a man’s room by himself, he’s not going to come here all the time, and …… let’s keep the relationship proper and healthy.

Even though it’s a man’s room alone, she’s not going to come all the time, and we’ll keep the relationship healthy …….

“Eh?”

Saara, however, tilted her head.
I fingered the key and looked at Saara’s face out of the corner of my eye.

Maybe I was still a little off the mark.
Next, Saara said something outrageous.

“No no, it’s mine”
“your house……, no way.”
“My duplicate key. We’re both on the same page now, right?”

Instead of a healthy relationship, we were going full speed ahead into an unhealthy one!

“You can’t do that!”
“Why?”
“Why? Because it’s …….”

That’s hard for me to say, because I’m a guy too.
I mean, why do you trust me so much?

“We used to sleep together, huddled together.”

That’s because I thought you were a man!
I was a kindergartener, so I didn’t have the sensibilities to be aware of the opposite gender yet.
No, seriously, are you asking me out?
What a …… dangerous girl she is.

“…… got it. Now we both good”
“Yes!”

I add Saara’s key to the keychain, though I’m really not sure if this is a good idea or not, I’m in some kind of trouble.
The keys, identical in design, swung like a pair.

Saara is smart and looks mature, but when she speaks in my home, she sometimes feels extremely young.
It worries me. If her dad knew how loose she is, he would never have allowed her to live alone.

However, if that’s what she wants, I should be firm enough to go along with it.
I have to be ready to protect her when the time comes.

“Ehehe, nice to meet you again.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you.”