Chapter 43: Clean Me

Reading Settings

Just then, my little sister rushed out of the bathroom, clearly having heard Kurebayashi-san’s sobs.

“Onii-chan? What did you do to Kurebayashi-san?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t think I did anything that bad.”

Ange gave me a suspicious look, making me feel the need to defend myself. Sure, I told her not to mock Ange’s rice balls, but that shouldn’t have caused this.

But her crying didn’t seem like it was out of sadness. It felt more like tears of joy. It was as if she were the protagonist in a tragic love story who’d time-traveled to meet a lover who had been killed.

“Sorry, I was just so happy… Ange-chan and Yuuta-kun didn’t do anything wrong. I cried because I was overwhelmingly happy.”

When Kurebayashi-san lifted her face, it indeed didn’t look like she was sad. Her face was a mess of tears and snot, but she was not unhappy.

I waited for her to calm down a bit before handing her a tissue.

……

What was she so happy about?

Ange seemed to understand that I wasn’t at fault for the conversation.

“I don’t really get it, but if Kurebayashi-san says so, I guess it’s fine. By the way, Onii-chan, did you get the seaweed?”

“Oh, yeah.”

I handed the seaweed I bought to Ange.

“Thanks. Now I’ll wrap the rice balls in seaweed.”

Watching Ange deftly wrap the rice balls with the seaweed I bought was nothing like what I remembered.

“Here you go. Try it; you’ll be amazed.”

For some reason, a powerful tune played in my head. Ange, I’m about to pass out from shock. When did you get so good at making rice balls?

……

And did you wash your hands after rushing out of the bathroom?

Given the reason she was in the bathroom, I couldn’t bring myself to ask. So, I ate the rice ball Ange made.

It was delicious, no doubt about it.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about whether she washed her hands.

My aversion to eating a rice ball made by someone unrelated to me, like Kurebayashi-san, disappeared entirely.

—-

—

Later, after talking for a while, I learned that those oddly-shaped rice balls were indeed made by Kurebayashi-san. She was self-conscious about her hands being dirty, so when she was forced to make them, her hands trembled, and she couldn’t shape them properly.

Eventually, Kurebayashi-san’s mom came back, and the moment she saw her daughter’s expression, she was shocked.

“Mii, what happened? You look like a weight’s been lifted off your shoulders.”

“Uh… um, yeah.”

“…”

Suspicious, her mom glanced at me. I almost yelped, but then her expression softened into a smile.

“Yuuta-sama, you saved Mii again, didn’t you? I can’t thank you enough, truly. Thank you.”

“Uh, well…”

I wasn’t quite sure what had happened, but then Kurebayashi-san started speaking to me.

“Thank you so much. I’ve decided to stop thinking of myself as dirty.”

“…Huh?”

“Because if I keep thinking I’m dirty, it would mean denying what you just told me, Yuuta-kun. And that, I can’t do.”

“…What?”

“I was really happy… It felt like I was forgiven. So, I’ll live by believing in what you said to me, Yuuta-kun.”

“…Uh?”

Oh, sorry. I had no idea those rice balls were made by the skillful and crafty Kurebayashi-san, so I chewed them up with my back teeth, and that just sped up the misunderstanding. Even Cyborg 009 would be surprised, though I guess I didn’t really disguise that well.

There is no way I can say that now!!

Besides, I didn’t even have time to feel grossed out. And, well, despite the shape, they actually tasted good.

It’s a weird feeling, but whatever. Let’s wrap this up.

“Thanks for the lunches, Kurebayashi-san.”

“No, thank you…”

“Well, it was delicious today.”

“…Yeah. Um, if you don’t mind, I could make lunch again.”

Whoa. Now that Ange has brought me some money, I don’t need to save that desperately anymore. Plus, if I let this drag on, it might cause more trouble and make Kurebayashi-san feel down again, so I’ll pass.

It’s important to keep her in a good mental state to pass her off to Kenzaki-san.

“No, it’s fine. I don’t think that’s necessary anymore.”

“…I see. Well, see you then!”

For the first time today, Kurebayashi-san smiled without any shadow and left the apartment.

The smile reminded me of our middle school days.

Suddenly, everything that had happened seemed trivial.

… …

Looking back at our final interaction, I feel like there was a big misunderstanding, but whatever. There is no need to bring it up with Kurebayashi-san now.

“Yuuta-sama.”

“Yes?!”

Oh, her mom is smiling radiantly too.

“To thank you for today, I will fully support your uncle’s business.”

“Oh, thank you so much… Wait, where’s Jones-san?”

“He has more meetings to attend, so I came alone to pick up Mii.”

“Ah, I see.”

“We will take our leave now. I will repay this debt someday.”

“No, no, no, it’s really nothing; don’t worry about it.”

“No, I insist. Goodbye.”

With that, she left in high spirits. She must have been really worried about her daughter.

All I did was accidentally relieve Kurebayashi-san’s, or rather, Mii-chan’s, burden through a misunderstanding.

But now I have a favor to call in from Jones-san. Heh heh heh.

“Onii-chan? You’re making a weird face.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. We’ll get something good for dinner from Jones-san.”

“…? I don’t really get it, but okay… Oh, I forgot to wash my hands after rushing out of the bathroom.”

“Hey!? Wait, I already ate!”

I let it slide with a spank on her butt. If I end up with a stomachache, I’ll think of a new punishment. Oops, I mean, I’ll add it to the list.