Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. Volume 12 Chapter 5

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Inside Yokodera-kun’s arms

“B-But then what will you do…?”

“I’m probably going to be a bit lonely, but I don’t care about the past too much. What’s most important is the crying girl in front of me. I saw Auntie Tsukasa cry. I realized that I should never make a girl cry. That’s what I swore to myself.”

Taken from the Yokodera-kun-notes’ fifth volume.

“Now this is quite the extravagant party.”

It was the first Sunday of September. Tsukiko-chan returned from her children’s welfare club activities and said this with a voice that hinted at a bit of surprise.

“I heard you were planning a celebration, but I didn’t think it was to this level. If you had told me beforehand, I would have gladly helped you out.”

“I would have felt bad bothering you from your club stuff, you know.” I put my hands together from inside the garden.

Today’s mission was to change the wide open garden and banquet hall of the Tsutsukakushi Household into a proper party location. Though we had to check beforehand with the examinee so that we didn’t bother her.

“It is a day worth celebrating, so of course I’ll join you if I find the time. If I were to use my left and right vision to train both sides of my brain again, even more so.” Steel-san made a warm smile and gave us permission.

You really have to appreciate her open-mindedness. Thanks to that, we decorated the garden and inside the house with origami rings, crayon pictures, and so forth. Emi worked on them all night.

“Decorating the place like this isn’t half bad!”

Since the girl loved festivals, and the fact that it was happening inside the house from the picture she had, she didn’t even hesitate to agree. There’s also the fact that she’s probably bored during her Japan trip as well.

“I’m hoping to make some new friends here, but I’m sorry if I play around too much. Please treat me well.”

“Ah, yes… Likewise. Nice to meet you.”

Tsukiko-chan was slightly bewildered at the sight of Emi politely lowering her head. She returned an awkward smile to Emi’s natural grin. When I saw that they seemed to be getting along just fine, I breathed a sigh of relief. Though I do feel worried that I’ll start shipping them as a yuri couple soon.

“Youto-onii-chan, are you tired from all the preparations?”

“I didn’t even do anything. It’s all because you helped out so much, Emi.”

“No, it’s all because Onii-chan is working so hard. You should take a break as well, Onii-chan!”

“…Do you really think so? You’re so kind, Emi-chan. How about we take a break together?”

“The costs for today’s construction will be billed to your bank account in less than two days.” Emi said with a super serious face all of a sudden.

Where’s my Onii-chan compensation? Ah, it’s gone? Okay.

“If possible, I want to keep being Emi’s Onii-chan forever!”

“Hehe, you really are a spoiled child, Onii-chan! …Learn to live without your little sister already!” Emi complained with a glare, but she was kind deep down.

Let’s use magic to calm down this magic stick swelling in my pants, okay?

“…Um, Senpai.” Tsutsukakushi tugged on the hem of my clothes.

This isn’t what you think it is, Tsukiko-chan! This magic isn’t evil at all. It’ll allow me to let out all the pent-up bad feelings inside of me!

“All perverts say as much. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.” She cleared her throat.

When I followed her gaze, I saw MaiMai arranging food on the porch and Azuki Azusa trying to help her.

“I heard that this was for a birthday party for a mutual friend of both Ma-chan and you. But it isn’t Emi-san, is it? Just whose birthday is it, then?”

“You know her too, Tsukiko-chan.”

“Meaning—?” Right when Tsutsukakushi asked that, someone gently tapped on my back.

“Oh?” I turned around.

“Hallo hallo, Youto-kun! How are you doing~? Thanks for calling me here.” Her long sleeves swayed with every action, and the girl gave a calm smile.

She had a soothing atmosphere to her, and was simultaneously a bit lacking in energy, which is why she resembles a tanuki a lot. I call her Cozy-sama, at least to myself.

“MaiMai, too~ Thanks for today~”

“Yup. Thanks for coming.”

“Do you need help with something~?”

MaiMai and Cozy-sama put their hands together, showing how close they were—But I couldn’t call them a two-girl pair like before. Possibly because she had childhood friends in this world, MaiMai wasn’t as dependent on Cozy-sama, which was why there was a bit of distance between the two of them.

“…Ahh, is that so? I understand.” Tsutsukakushi watched Cozy-sama approach MaiMai and Azuki Azusa and nodded in agreement. “So you’re using this party to get Ma-chan and her closer together, right?”

If you were to follow the history in the notes, yes. When you think about MaiMai’s life, Cozy-sama is one aspect of it that you can’t leave out. That being said—

“It’d be great if it all works out. But I feel like it’d be better if we leave that to the natural flow of time. You see, Cozy-sama is a guest today, too.”

“Hmmm?” Tsutsukakushi blinked in confusion, counting her fingers.

It wasn’t her own birthday, nor was it her older sister’s. Nor was it a party for A-chan, Ma-chan, or Emi. If you leave Cozy-sama out, and also Ponta, and even myself, then who could it be?

“I can’t think of anybody else… Is it Emi-san’s father?”

“Nope. I have yet to introduce her, but it seems like she just arrived.”

The sound of the doorbell rang, and we moved towards the entrance. Standing there was a girl with long, black hair.

“—Hello. Umm, this is the first time we’ve met, right?”

“This is my older sister, Yokodera Yotsuba.”

“My little brother is always in your care!” She made a dignified bow.

“………Huh?” In response, Tsutsukakushi’s eyes opened wide.

“Sis had to take a lot of time off school because of her weak constitution. Now she’s feeling much better, but she doesn’t have many friends, so I thought I’d hold a party for her.”

“………Okay…”

“You-kun, this is probably too much for her to process.” Sis gave me a wry smile. “Sorry to suddenly barge in here. I know that it’s supposed to be a celebration for my birthday, but I hope we can just get along normally and forget about all of that. So please treat me well!”

“Ah, yes, of course…” Tsukiko-chan’s response was delayed, and she nodded in confusion.

If I were to translate her reaction into words, it would be:

‘A new character this late into the game…?’

Her expressions really do tell a lot.

*

Yokodera Yotsuba loved taking pictures and looking at them. I think it said something like that somewhere in the Yokodera-kun notes. If someone has time, go look for it and let me know.

Anyway, a big reason that this had become her hobby was probably because she didn’t have anything else to do while she was hospitalized. This hobby continued even now, which is why the person who took the most pictures of myself in this world isn’t me or my parents, but her.

“Thank you very much for the presents, everyone. I am very happy. As a token of gratitude, you can have a picture from my treasured little brother picture collection.”

That being said, I don’t think you should be handing out random pictures of other people!

“…Hmmm? I can take whatever picture I want from this collection?”

“Indeed, take whichever you want.”

“Even this picture of him holding a watermelon, smiling beneath this hat that’s too large for him?”

With her right vision and right hand, Steel-san was studying, whereas she used her left vision and left hand to look through the pictures, gulping audibly.

“Naturally. You can have the grade school summer break photo set, the picture of him crying on the day he got a sunburn, and the picture of him sleeping in the afternoon while scratching his stomach.”

“Ahh, how shameless! My political power is expanding! Is this even allowed to be released out into the world!? I will take responsibility and keep them all!” Steel-san leaned forward, embracing the pictures with both arms.

She’s completely forgotten about her studies. Next to her…

“Um, do you have some more recent pictures instead?” Azuki Azusa made a more serious expression than ever before as she looked at my pictures. “The uniforms from middle school are entirely different from the high school ones, after all. It’s like a grouse whose feather color changes depending on the location.”

“Great taste. I have a picture of him winning the 400 meter dash at the sports festival, showing a peace sign to the camera while wearing gym clothes.”

“Oh…? Woah, so cool…!”

“I’ll give you this picture of him at the ocean with swimming trunks for half price!”

“I’ll buy your entire stock!”

Don’t buy them! Don’t take out your wallet!

“……”

MaiMai, for her part, stayed silent altogether, just stuffing pictures of a young Youto-kun, roughly three years old with diapers on, into her pockets. That’s a problem, MaiMai.

“What kind of weird culture is this…?” Emi-chan let out sigh.

“Pictures contain people’s important memories, after all. They show what a person has experienced in their lives.” Sis gave a warm smile. “You came here in order to look for the people in that picture, right? Pictures have a mysterious magical power to them.”

“H-How do you know about that…? Magic? Are you a magical girl?” Emi was surprised to hear Sis bring that up, but it was actually me who had told her about it.

Should I just become the magical girl instead? The second season will be Yokodera-kun’s time to shine! Anyway, since Sis and I are pretty close, I tend to tell her about my friends. That’s why she’s not acting too awkward even though she’s meeting the others for the first time.

“Pictures are wonderful. I can tell you all about You-kun’s life. I’m saying this in place of our parents, but I ask you to take care of him in the future as well.” Sis gave a deep bow.

For someone dealing pictures of her younger brother, she sure became serious quickly.

“…Ugh. I don’t really get it, but I guess I’ll take one.” Emi said, picking up a picture that looked like it was taken yesterday.

I never thought that the girl who would become my mother inside my heart would suffer such a defeat. I’m actually getting a bit worried about this illegal picture trading. But it’s not all bad. She’s right, after all. Pictures contain memories. Up until now, I only tried to understand the feelings and lives of the people around me. I’m sure it’ll be the healthy thing to do. I’m just a bit worried that they might find out too much about my body in particular!

Thus, after Yokodera Yotsuba was accepted into the gathering of people, the party began. The food and drinks vanished as quickly as they had been set out, and conversations broke out here and there. Eventually, many different party activities started.

For example, MaiMai and Yotsuba used the small pebbles from the garden to play curling. The one who won would get my old used socks! Funny. I didn’t even agree to that!

Emi and Cozy-sama sat inside the curling circle, holding deck brushes, currently in a meeting.

“She’ll probably aim for this stone!”

“Right~?”

“So we should rub this part here so it’ll curve this way more easily, don’t you think?”

“Sounds good~”

“Mmm… you sound like you don’t really care.” Emi pouted at Cozy-sama’s lackluster response.

That’s just the type of girl Cozy-sama is, though. She definitely has potential if she’s aiming for the Olympics.

“Is there something you’re bothered about?”

“…Hmmm, why do you feel that way?” Cozy-sama blinked.

“Because you keep looking at that person.” Emi pointed at MaiMai, who was currently exchanging words with Sis.

Because of their peculiar interests, I really hoped they wouldn’t hit it off like that, but… Well, for now I should just be thankful that MaiMai helped out with this party at all.

“You noticed, hmm~? Well, I was just thinking how nice it was to be that close~”

“You two are just as close!”

“Yeah, I guess~ Hmm…” She played with her fingers. “When I look at MaiMai, I start tingling, like there should be some other sensation I’m feeling.”

“What kind of sensation?”

“Mmm… I guess it won’t make much sense if I say it out loud…” Cozy-sama stretched out with her hands, grabbing Emi’s shoulders.

“…What’s wrong? Why are you moving around my back?”

“So that I can do this~”

“Gyanyaaaaaa!?”

Cozy-sama shoved her hands into Emi’s defenseless one-piece. Emi let out a scream, but she couldn’t defend herself.

“S-Stop…!” Emi-chan started moaning, making a face like a certain God-after-punishment had made before.

Now that is quite an amazing technique. If I end up being reborn, I want to become Cozy-sama!

“…Hmm… What about this, then?” She grinned like an animal who had found new prey.

I never knew tanukis could show such behaviour. Let’s just ignore these two and focus on the adult Steel-san, whose job it normally would be to interrupt these two. After all—

“Mmm, what is this?”

“Fufu, a large kitty… So cute, there, there…”

“Mmmm…!”

She was currently being pushed down by Azuki Azusa. She had gulped down the cup of juice that Ma-chan poured for her and suddenly started acting like a leopardess. I watched them, planning to break between the two of them, when—

“P-Pardon, but… I have someone I have feelings for, so… Nuah!?”

A-chan kissed her. Woah.

“When I look closely at you, your eyes are really long. I’m jealous…”

“Woah, hold on, what is that hand doing!?”

“There, there, good girl. I’ll make sure you get back safely to the wilderness…”

“Where!? What kind of wilderness are you talking about!?”

“Ufufufufu…” Azuki Azusa pushed Steel-san down even harder.

I see. When A-chan loses herself, she turns into quite an assertive girl, huh? Could you please continue? I need to study this some more. With just the two of us, if possible. But then another visitor arrived at the front entrance.

“Ayo, is this the party I’m looking for?”

“Ponta! So you came!”

“Sure diddo! You can’t ignore a party, right? Even more so since you invited me.”

I called him just on a whim, but since he was still in Japan, he could make it to this party.

“…But who are these girls?”

My good friend had a flower in both hands. The ‘flowers’ here referred to two well-proportioned girls. It was like a suspicious advertisement in a model magazine. Ponta snapped his finger.

“Listen to this, Yokodera. I was at a train station nearby when this legendary tale filled with joy and tears began.”

“Actually, he called out to us when, like, some old man annoyed us on the train.”

“At least make it a weird guy our age instead of some old man, mkaaay?”

“Before saving the world, I have to start at a place where my hands can reach. ‘Maintain appreciation for idealistic adolescent girls’—In short, the ‘Mafia Club’!”

He took the hands of both girls as he rambled on and on about weird things. There’s a lot of things I’d like to point out here, but if he’s found his way in life, then that’s just fine. He has his battles to fight, and I have mine.

…That being said, he went from only knowing the letters E and F of the alphabet to getting two girls at the same time. What is he, some kind of isekai novel protagonist?

The two girls observed the party scene and shrugged their shoulders.

“Well, we just had some time on our hands, so we, like, tagged along?”

“If we’re being a bother, then we can go elsewhere, mkay?”

Contrary to their outer appearance, they were actually polite and considerate. Imori? Yamori? Moriya? Their names were something like that, but I didn’t worry about it too much. Since they’re Ponta’s friends, they’re my friends.

“I’ll leave for my trip again after a bit of partying. I’ll fight for the world I believe in, as I am a man born in this country.”

Surrounded by these two girls, one whose skin was white, and the other whose skin was tan, Ponta let out a crackling laugh. I’m satisfied from seeing him this satisfied. Be happy, my dear friend.

…A bit of time passed. New groups had been formed within the garden. All my planning was ruined, and people who had never talked with each other suddenly formed new relationships. It was a revolutionary party, destroying the holy prophecy. Like Sodom and Gomorrah, everything was mixed up. Upon seeing this…

“This is…” Tsutsukakushi, who had kept quiet this entire time, muttered to herself. “This is all over the top. I can’t even begin to describe it…” She voiced her dissatisfaction, standing in the corner of the garden away from the mass of people.

She didn’t even participate in the Yokodera picture show just now.

“Do you dislike these sorts of gatherings?”

“Not necessarily. I would rather keep it in moderation, though.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you wouldn’t like stuff that’s out of your control.” I took a deep breath and looked at her.

She’s the girl who came down the hill with me. The only person who has memories from the other world except me. She is my only ally.

“What you really hate—is when things don’t go according to the things written in the notes, right?”

“—Huh?” She looked at me and blinked.

*

“I’ve been thinking it was weird this entire time.”

This year in July, Tsukiko-chan and I were reunited on the hill with the single cedar tree. Up until then, she had probably been waiting for me to take action. I honestly feel awful knowing that. If I had come to the hill faster, I might have been able to meet the young Tsukiko-chan carrying her school backpack, and she’d allow me to legally assault her. I regret it. I really do. However…

“Why did you never talk to anybody?”

“…About what?”

“The notes. Before we took a picnic, you could have just let everybody else read it.”

From what I could tell, MaiMai didn’t know anything about the Yokodera-kun notes. Neither did Azuki Azusa, nor Steel-san. She knew about the past and looked forward to this vague and anxious future all on her own.

‘If I had known a bit earlier, we might have done something else instead.’

That’s exactly the problem. Since they were a group of four childhood friends, it should have been fine to show these notes to everyone. Ignoring the chances of them believing it or not. Then we might have been able to reunite before reaching this age, and I could have gotten along with everyone more. It would have been much more beneficial than asking me to start everything from zero.

“That… is true, however…” Tsutsukakushi hesitated, shaking her head. “I did not have any clear intent with it… The idea of talking to someone else never came to mind… That is the truth.”

“Yeah, I know.”

I don’t think she was hiding the notes on purpose. Maybe she, the absolute ruler Tsukiko-chan, wanted to create an environment perfect for a pervert? Anyway…

It just never occurred to her. She never thought of any method for me to get along with these girls—except the methods I, Yokodera Youto, would take. That’s why she had to rely on the path written in the notes.

“By holding this party together, showing you that human relationships can come to fruition quite easily, you awakened to a sense of doubt. You must have realized that we went off the beaten path.”

“So just to inform me of that, you called everyone here?” Tsutsukakushi muttered.

I could hear her quite easily, as if we were blocked off from the noises from the party.

“…It wasn’t just for you. It was for our sake.”

In order to create an event not written in the notes, I asked Sis to come here and have this party. If water always changes back to its original shape, then we just have to change the entire pond. If the pond goes back to how it previously was, then we have to shape the entire planet differently. Changing the planet back to its original shape will be impossible.

“Why…?” Tsukiko-chan let out another breath.

She tried grabbing the edge of my shirt, failed to do so, and formed a fist mid-air. Her large eyes were looking up at me.

“Senpai, why do you hate the notes so much? Don’t you want to believe in the possibility of getting along with everyone, living a happy future?”

“That’s not what this is about, Tsukiko-chan. I have faith in the future ahead of us. The one who doesn’t is you.”

“I don’t…?”

For a moment, her eyes opened wide. Her pupils reflected mine, only for her head to start shaking. Tsukiko-chan is a clever girl, in a lot of ways. She should know what I’m talking about already, she just doesn’t want to admit it. That’s why I need to be the one who tells her. I need to be the evil being who draws her back down to reality.

“You don’t have faith in our future. All you put trust in is the past, right?”

Tsutsukakushi has always been like that. What was written in the notes wasn’t just some different world according to her, but one that definitely happened. She never saw what the future of this world had in store, but instead waited for the events of the other world to catch up. That was the same as not accepting the history of this world to be correct.

“You’re ruining what Tsukasa-san did for us.”

“…My mother has nothing to do with this.” Tsutsukakushi said quietly, her voice sounding a bit on edge.

Like a soldier who had stepped on a friendly mine, this time she aimed for my clothes more accurately, grabbing it.

“I’m sorry, Tsukiko-chan. But this is what Tsukasa-san wished for.”

“Again, that has nothing to do with it. Bringing her up is not fair. It’s an unfair method.” Her voice grew more and more sharp. “I’m well aware of it. How long do you think I’ve spent with Senpai—How many times do you think I’ve read those notes?” Her voice felt almost too sharp, so much that I started quivering. “I know the most about my own mother. She taught me all sorts of things, and she was a kind mother. But she is gone now. I read the notes, and she disappeared again. I lost my mother again and again.”

Tsutsukakushi lived more than ten years reading those notes, gaining memories that would fill eleven novel volumes, repeating the circle of sadness over and over.

“…That’s why you tried to take back the past?”

“No, that’s not…” Reflexively, Tsutsukakushi let out a loud voice.

She quickly covered her mouth and swallowed, like she was trying to swallow those words. She tugged on my clothes even more.

“I just think it would be amazing if everything went back to how it was in the notes. That was all I was thinking.”

That’s why she did the same things as before. Because she wanted to see the same results as before. We’re used to complicated loops. We went through time and space. We might be able to walk in circles, and by doing it over and over, reach a satisfying result. Holding hands with the person you love, and smiling with the people important to you. A world where nobody has to sacrifice themselves.

“But Tsukiko-chan.” I averted my gaze from the girl. “That’s not what Tsukasa-san wished for. You should already know that.”

“—!”

I told her the words she didn’t want to hear, but the words that she knew were true more than anyone else.

“Your mother is the person you loved the most. She even was my substitute mother after I lost my place in my family. It’s not just you and I. She looked after everyone… Right?” I looked to my side.

“………”

MaiMai gave me a horribly displeased gaze as she leaned against the wall.

“Hmph.” She let out a sigh, and looked at Tsutsukakushi. “Ten years ago, I heard from Auntie Tsukasa…”

*

MaiMai came to play with us pretty often back in the day.

‘That guy. Why didn’t he come? Does he hate us?’

She is the type of girl more bothered than anybody to lose a friend. When MaiMai asked her this question, Tsukasa-san said the following:

‘That’s not how it is, alright? Youto is currently busy finding his own life.’

‘His life?’

‘Everything turned into a mess, especially his own life. He has to fix everything now. His mother who rejected him, and his relationship with his older sister. His entire family, basically. He won’t be coming back here until he takes care of everything.’

‘I don’t get it. What are you talking about? Are you stupid?’ MaiMai shook her head.

Being direct towards adults is one of her strong points, as well as one of her weaknesses. Though it’s mainly a weakness. Tsukasa-san gave a wry smile and placed her palm on MaiMai’s head.

“Basically, just leave him alone. Nature will take care of things.’

‘Nature will?’

‘You’ll run into him again. And when you do, give him an earful.’

‘…But, what if I don’t meet him again? I’ll start hating nature.’

‘That won’t happen, you brat.’ Tsukasa-san said, calmly. ‘As long as you remember him, that guy will appear in front of you again. Nobody just vanishes from the world.’

‘I don’t get it…’ MaiMai seemed anxious because of this response.

‘People only die when they are forgotten. As long as you remember them, they will exist somewhere… For sure.’ Tsukasa-san looked MaiMai in the eyes.

Shortly after that, she left this world behind.

*

“We’ve been wrong from the very beginning.”

Tsutsukakushi called it ‘taking something back’, and I was planning to do it, too. But it can’t be the same. No matter what we do, the things we’ve lost won’t come back.

“There’s nothing we need to desperately take back.”

There is no problem that needs to be resolved in this world. There’s no captured princess, no evil dragon. This world doesn’t need a hero.

“There was never a ‘need’ to do anything. Because we haven’t lost anything.”

I’m your average high school student, living my life like any normal person my age would. I don’t need superhuman abilities, nor magic, nor the strength to sacrifice myself for someone else. I just have to remember the precious things and the precious people that I’ve met. Nothing else is needed. That is the one and only promise this world is made of. And it is the final wish of the Tsukasa-san I loved more than anybody else.

“Hey, Tsukiko-chan. There’s a lot of great things about this world. Let’s discover all sorts of new things.” I turned my gaze directly on the girl.

I couldn’t act like I wasn’t looking.

“There’s a kind girl who is ready to accept the wounds of a boy she just met, and a girl who treasures her memories of the past more than anything. This world is pretty great.”

I could see large tears building up in the corners of Tsukiko-chan’s eyes. They ran down her cheek and fell to the ground. Then, more and more came.

“That’s… not fair… It doesn’t have anything to do with this…” She rubbed her cheeks, trying hard to hide her tears, weeping like a child.

She wasn’t just like a child. Her body still was that of a young girl who was ready to trade her steamed bun to the rumoured cat statue in order to become more like an adult. I realized that there are times when a girl has to cry. Only a hero is allowed to force a girl to shed tears.

We will change, surely. Into a normal boy and girl.

“But there’s things that won’t change. No matter what, we’ll stay together.”

“This is not fair… this is not…”

“Both in these eleven volumes of notes you wrote, or in the far future.”

Even now, I will always stay by your side.

“Senpai always… always always says such unfair things…” Tsukiko-chan finally raised her voice, crying.

I gently embraced her shoulders as she sank to the ground, rubbed my palm along her cheek, and let her let it all out from inside my arms.

“Waaaaaah, waaaaaaahhh—”

She didn’t hold back at all. She hadn’t changed at all, even after all this time. A helpless crybaby, quick to sulk and be sad, a girl you could find anywhere. She can show her emotions, just like every other girl.

*

“Um, there’s one thing I don’t understand…”

“Go ahead.”

Azuki Azusa raised her hand like she was in class, and Steel-san nodded as she closed her eyes.

“They played tickle tickle while stripping, only to end up like penguins as they fell into the pond.”

“That was Emanuela and the other girl.”

“There’s a girl who ended up weird because she drank juice, and another who poured water on her in an attempt to run away.”

“That was us.”

“…I’m really sorry. I swear to God, I will never drink juice again…” Azuki Azusa returned from her feral state and lowered her head. “But why did Tsuu-chan and the others join in on our bath?” She looked around at her surroundings.

She found herself inside the Tsutsukakushi Household’s bath. The girls who had been part of the party hid their bodies with bath towels and joined together.

“…I cried a lot.” Tsutsukakushi said with a sulking expression and rubbed her cheeks.

“…Y-You cried?” Azuki Azusa looked over at Steel-san, as if asking for answers.

Steel-san slowly closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Of course I’m curious about it.”

“Tsuu-chan…”

“I believe in my little sister, and I feel the same towards my junior. There are many things that can lead to tears while we live on this planet.” She spoke with a calm voice like she was an adult.

“Sorry for bothering you.” Yokodera Yotsuba narrowed her eyes apologetically. “I want you to do all the things you couldn’t so far… is what my dear younger brother told me.”

“Huh?”

“Personally, I always admired the idea of taking baths with friends. Don’t you agree?”

“…Yes, you might be right.” Azuki Azusa, who had many friends, made a rather confused expression.

“Really, thank you all so much for today. I got to play around and have fun like I’ve never done before. If possible, I’d like to come over and play again.”

“Of course!” Emi smiled and took a water gun out of the hot water.

She showered Yotsuba’s body with it and snickered. Water sprayed here and there, and everyone laughed. It was your average bathing scenery.

“By the way, there’s one thing I’m still unsure about.”

In the midst of this atmosphere, filled with dreams, aspirations, and joy—

“—Is my You-kun currently going out with anyone?”

Yotsuba’s voice completely froze everything.

“Um…”

Everyone’s gazes wandered around aimlessly, only to eventually land on a single person.

“What does going out even mean?” Tsutsukakushi muttered from her position in the center of all these gazes.

“……”

“L-Like holding hands!” Azuki Azusa said with a beet red face.

“Running together…” Steel-san nodded deeply.

“Rubbing and groping~” Cozy-sama’s voice came from the changing room, immediately followed by a shriek from MaiMai.

The other members in the bath stayed silent for a moment, but the two of them never showed up. They probably had started some kind of yuri paradise on the other side of the door.

“I guess this is our limit.” Emi said with a sigh.

“Haaah…” Tsutsukakushi followed up with a sigh of her own. “In order to live a normal life, you need normal relationships. However, I’m quite unsure how to go from here.” She poked at the water surface with her finger. “Maybe I really should just focus on making children…”

“Why is that the first thing that comes to your mind!?” Steel-san blinked furiously.

“So far, we only had a fake child-making picnic.”

“What do you mean fake!?” Steel-san’s head hung low. “Tsukiko’s children… heaven, they’ll be incredibly cute…” She was about to jump out of the bath, but sunk deeper again. “If such indecent incidents really happened, then I might have to kill my precious Junior with my own hands… But Tsukiko’s children… Ahhhhh…!” She was torn between two choices.

“If you’re wondering, then you just have to ask the person in question.” MaiMai came out of the changing room, drenched in sweat and with flushed cheeks.

“Ask Yokodera, huh? But how do I bring it up?”

“No need to worry.” MaiMai lowered her gaze. “I’ll both clear things up and take my revenge.”

“Ma-chan? Where are you looking?” Azuki Azusa followed MaiMai’s gaze to the corner of the bath.

An unnatural number of washing buckets had been stacked there. It looked like they were hiding something. MaiMai reached out with her hand, knocking over the stack.

“……Eh…”

In the process, she met eyes with me inside.

Well, that’s about it. I was restrained by MaiMai, and remained there before the others even came inside the bath. I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong, okay? Just like my Sis said, I had never experienced ‘taking a bath’ with everyone like this. Until now, it was only with Tsukiko-chan and Azuki Azusa. This was necessary to finish off our epilogue. For the sake of the world, I burned this scenery into my eyes!

“…Wahh…” A-chan met my gaze, and her eyes started to spin.

She looked at me, looked at her surroundings, looked at herself, and steam rose from her head.

“This is what you get.” MaiMai was fully covered with her towel.

I don’t know who she’s talking about, but since we’re friends, I’m sure that she means she’s doing this purely for my sake.

“I shall use Ockham’s razor, Yokodera… Pervert.” Steel-san had opened the door to the truth.

That’s right, I am a pervert. So please give me your little sister!

“Sheesh, what a lewd Onii-chan!” Emi let out an exhausted sigh, hiding behind Yotsuba.

You might have realized this already, but that Onee-chan is a pretty dangerous individual herself, so it’d be best if you ran away, Emi-chan. And, finally—

“For crying out loud. Senpai really is a pervert.” Tsutsukakushi let out a sigh like it couldn’t be helped, and gave a faint smile.

She looked like she had found something never-changing in this new world. She had the eyes of a kitten.

*

Of course, I wasn’t forgiven in the slightest. What kind of a last volume is this? Can we please go to a world where I don’t get arrested!?