Chapter 7 | Playing House

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In the morning, I was tidying up all the rooms.

I especially focused on the living room, repeatedly putting away anything that seemed even slightly dangerous into my room.

I lived in an apartment, in a 1LDK room all by myself.

My parents had forced me to live alone, telling me to become independent.

To be honest, I had wanted to try living alone, so it was convenient for me at the time.

As for the kitchen, it was dangerous, so I used this opportunity to organize it, but basically, I tried not to get close to it.

“Alright, is this good?… But I don’t have any toys for kids. I wish I could play with them with something.”

After cleaning up, the living room became so barren that one would suspect it was a new house before moving in.

On the other hand, my room was completely messed up.

That was because I had thrown in almost everything that was in the living room.

I didn’t have any younger siblings, and there were no children among my relatives that I had any contact with.

That’s why I didn’t know much about how to interact with children, what kinds of things they would enjoy, or anything related to kids.

I had given advice to Kotomi, but that was knowledge that I had gained from searching the internet because I had a lot of free time.

I couldn’t deny that I had gone a little overboard with the cleaning, but it was better than Karin getting hurt.

Besides, the park was close to my house, so I would probably go there again after a while.

(Well, it’s about time, they should be here soon.)

Just as I thought that, the intercom rang.

Kotomi and Karin, whom Kotomi was holding, were on the intercom screen.

Even though it wasn’t something to be nervous about, I felt something strange in my chest.

I answered the intercom and headed to the entrance.

Then, I took a deep breath and put my hand on the doorknob.

“Good morning, Hanazawa-san.”

“Good morning~!”

When I opened the door, I was greeted by Karin, who was as energetic as always, and Kotomi, in clothes I hadn’t seen before.

I fully opened the door and urged them to come inside.

“Good morning, please come in.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you~!”

Karin quickly got out of Kotomi’s arms, threw off her shoes haphazardly, and ran into the living room.

I couldn’t help but smile at that. She must have been really looking forward to it.

“W-Wait a minute… I’m sorry.”

“It’s totally fine, I’m glad she’s so energetic.”

After running around the table, Karin dove onto the sofa.

Then, she took out toys from the backpack on her back and started arranging them on the table.

We both smiled at how much more energetic Karin was than usual.

“…Is there nothing in the living room?”

Kotomi, who had sat down elegantly on the sofa, said as she looked around the room.

Since there was nothing much except for the books on the shelf, she seemed doubtful.

“Actually, I just cleaned it up. I thought it would be dangerous.”

“I see, thank you for your consideration.”

“Also, don’t go into my room. It’s dangerous because I just pushed all the stuff I cleaned up in the living room.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Since Kotomi was sensible and responsible, I thought she would be fine, but I told her just in case.

Besides, there was a possibility that Karin would go in even if Kotomi didn’t, so it was safer to make sure they didn’t go in together.

Karin was moving around the living room, exploring, so I prepared the drinks.

“Karin, do you want some orange juice?”

“Yes, I want some~!”

“What do you want to drink, Amase? Tea, green tea, hojicha… If you want something cold, there’s barley tea or iced coffee.”

“Then, I’ll have iced coffee.”

“Alright.”

I prepared two glasses, pouring orange juice and iced coffee into each one.

Then, I placed them on the dining table. The table in front of the TV was filled with toys, so I couldn’t put them there.

“I’ll put them here.”

“Thank you.”

“Orange juice~, orange juice~”

Karin happily took the glass and started drinking the orange juice.

“…You’re a kind person.”

Kotomi said something in a low voice.

I couldn’t hear it, but I couldn’t help but look away from her sudden, genuine smile.

“Onii-chan, let’s play~!”

“Yeah, what do you want to play?”

“Umm, I want to play house! Let’s play together, Onee-chan~!”

“M-Me…”

Kotomi looked at me, troubled.

She probably still had some difficulty.

I nodded slightly. It was just playing house, so we would just be acting.

“…Okay, let’s play.”

“Yay! Then Onee-chan will be the mom and Onii-chan will be the dad! Karin will be the child!”

“O-Okay…”

I was a little silent, not knowing how to respond after hearing that. Kotomi was smiling wryly.

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