Chapter 27: Twin Beds ②

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Translator: Soafp

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One thing was certain.

Whether it was Sugawara-senpai or Nodoka, if someone was lying next to me, there was no way I'd get a single wink of sleep tonight.

To begin with, there was no way Nodoka would allow me to sleep beside her.

“Senpai, doesn't it bother you? Sleeping together with me.”

“I told you, didn't I? If Fukagawa-kun takes responsibility, makes me his wife, and supports me for life, I don't mind.”

“…Nodoka is in the same room. I have absolutely no intention of trying anything weird.”

“Even if you don't do anything, don't you think just a man and a woman being in the same bed is already a big deal?”

She had a point.

Which is exactly why I couldn't decide.

“But wouldn't it be fine if you and Nodoka just shared a bed, Senpai?”

“I don't mind, but do you think Komori-san would actually be able to sleep? You didn't notice, but when you weren't between us, she was completely stiff.”

“…”

That sounded entirely plausible.

I couldn't argue with it.

What should I do?

I crossed my arms and thought.

Then something occurred to me.

(…Why not just ask for another bed?)

I immediately picked up the room phone and requested an extra bed from the front desk.

Come to think of it, they could've suggested that at check-in.

When I hung up, Sugawara-senpai spoke with a dissatisfied tone.

“That's boring. I thought you'd make a bold, manly decision.”

“You said we were having a girls' night, didn't you? So right now, I'm not a man, and I don't need to make any ‘manly' decisions.”

“I see. You really are good at running away, aren't you?”

No matter what she said, I wasn't changing my decision.

Nodoka came out of the bathroom after finishing her shower.

Then, after Sugawara-senpai went in, a hotel staff member brought in a rolling bed and set it up in the empty space before leaving.

““Huh?””

Nodoka and I looked at each other in disbelief at the sight of it.

Seriously… is this for real?

Before we could process it, Sugawara-senpai quickly finished her shower and came out.

“Ah, I see. Fukagawa-kun, you really are one step ahead of me. I didn't expect this.”

“…Just to be clear, this wasn't what I intended.”

The extra bed had been wedged right between the two existing beds.

Because of the room layout, there was nowhere else to place it.

As a result, it turned into one massive triple bed.

“H-hold on! Doesn't that mean Ren will be in the middle—between me and Senpai!?”

“Oh? Don't like that? Then I'll sleep in the middle. I can just stare at Fukagawa-kun all night.”

“Ugh…!”

No, if either Sugawara-senpai or Nodoka took the extra bed, I was planning to turn my back and sleep at the edge.

But before I could say that, Nodoka shouted,

“I-it's not that I don't like it! If anything, aren't you the one who should be uncomfortable, Senpai? You barely know Ren! I'll take the middle!”

“I don't mind either. So it's settled—Fukagawa-kun in the middle, right?”

Sugawara-senpai grinned and looked at me.

“If your right arm were fine, you could've wrapped both of us in your arms and enjoyed a full harem experience. Too bad.”

“I'm not disappointed at all. And besides, I would never lay a hand on a girl who isn't my girlfriend.”

“You say that, but you've played with my hands plenty of times!”

“Well, that was…”

Back then, I only did that to push Nodoka away.

I never expected it to come back like this.

I was at a loss for words.

“Oh? Fukagawa-kun, do you like girls' hands? Want to borrow mine too? They might be a bit rough from work.”

“…I don't have a hobby of collecting girls' hands.”

I'm not some stand user with bomb powers or anything.

“By the way, didn't you say your favorite anime was a harem series? Don't tell me you planned all of this!?”

“No! There's no way I'd go insane and try to build a real-life harem!”

“Isn't that a bit off? The word ‘harem' originally refers to something that actually existed in reality. It's just rare in modern Japan, but technically it's still possible.”

“Senpai, why are you suddenly analyzing harems so seriously? And in reality, it's not all bright and friendly like in those stories. It's more like a palace drama.”

Come to think of it, Sugawara-senpai did say she liked isekai harem web novels.

She really is impossible to read.

Anyway, continuing this conversation would only make things worse for me.

I needed to change the topic.

“Instead of this, let's just have a girls' night.”

“Aren't we already having one? Fukagawa-kun—no, Fuka-chan.”

“Eh? We already started? I didn't even realize.”

“Uwa, that's gross… And you're weirdly good at copying a girl's tone, which makes it even creepier…”

“Eeh, Nodoka-chan, that's so mean! I might cry!”

“I seriously want to punch you. Can I?”

Nodoka clenched her fist and raised it, so I immediately stopped.

“But seriously, I'm a guy, so I don't really get it—what do girls usually do at these gatherings? It's probably different from what you see in manga or anime, right?”

It was an honest question.

But the response was—

““……””

Silence.

Ah… right.

Both of them had lived their lives keeping distance from others.

Of course they wouldn't have an answer.

“Sorry.”

“Don't apologize! That just makes it more pathetic!!”

“Komori-san, you don't need friends. You understand, right?”

“Don't drag me into that!! I'm going to make lots of friends, properly!!”

Whether it was a “girls' night” or not, we kept chatting like that—

and before we knew it, the night grew late.

---

“I'll turn off the lights then.”

I reached for the bedside controller and pressed the button to dim the main lights—

“W-wait!”

Nodoka stopped me.

“Why?”

“Leave one indirect light on! I get scared if it's completely dark…”

“What are you, a kid?”

“P-please! I won't be able to sleep.”

“Alright, alright.”

Just as she asked, I left a single soft yellow indirect light on.

To be honest, I'm the opposite—I can't sleep unless it's completely dark…

But well, I'm stuck sandwiched between the two of them anyway, so it's not like I'll get a good night's sleep regardless.

(At least we're not pressed up against each other…)

If I turned my head to the left, I'd see Nodoka.

If I turned to the right, Sugawara-senpai.

This situation was already abnormal enough—if we were close enough for our shoulders to touch, just keeping my composure would've been enough to fry my brain.

And with both of them being so ridiculously good-looking, I kept my eyes glued to the ceiling, doing everything I could not to look sideways.

About five minutes passed.

…Suu… suu…

From my left, I could hear gentle breathing gradually deepen.

Nodoka must've been really tired.

Well, that's understandable.

I'm not exactly full of energy either… maybe I should sleep too.

Just as I was about to close my eyes—

“Fukagawa-kun.”

Sugawara-senpai called out.

Without turning my head, I answered.

“Yes?”

“Won't you look this way?”

“Do I really have to?”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Well, if she says that, I don't have much choice.

I turned my head to the right and looked at her.

Half her face was buried in the pillow, faintly illuminated by the soft light.

“Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah. What about you, senpai?”

“I had fun too. Um…”

She lowered her gaze slightly, then looked straight into my eyes as she continued.

“Thank you.”

I was honestly surprised.

I never expected her to thank me.

It was only recently that she'd said she wouldn't thank anyone.

“I should be the one thanking you—for hanging out with me.”

“I know, you know. You took me around today for my sake, didn't you?”

“It's not really like that—”

“You're a bad liar.”

Sugawara-senpai smiled faintly.

“If you take care of me this much, I won't know how to repay you.”

“I'm not asking for anything in return.”

If anything, what I wanted was a future where that “nightmare” was avoided.

But even if I asked her for that, there's no way she'd believe me.

Just like Yuzuki and Nodoka didn't.

We'd finally built a decent relationship—bringing something like that up now would just make things weird.

“Fukagawa-kun… can I come over there?”

“Huh? S-senpai?”

Without waiting for an answer, she shifted slightly—

with the soft rustle of fabric, she slipped into my bed.

And then—

as if to pin me down, she pressed her slender body over mine.

“The only thing I have… is this body.”

What is she trying to do?

I instinctively swallowed.

Sugawara-senpai gently stroked my cheek.

“I'm not saying take responsibility. This is just my way of repaying you. So—”

She whispered softly into my ear:

“If you want… I'll give you my first time.”