Translator: yuNS
Editors: Yuuki, xyi
Chapter 2: Lodging Fees
"You got rejected, Yamadsan? Poor you~"
As I took a sip of the miso soup, Sayu said that as if it had nothing to do with her. Wait, actually, that does have nothing to do with her.
I had intended to drive her away as soon as possible, but for some reason she began prying into what had happened yesterday, and for some reason I answered honestly.
"There's no way that that's how you actually feel."
"Of course I do! Being rejected sucks, doesn't it? Not like I would know though."
"I see…"
I took another sip of the miso soup that Sayu made as we chatted idly.
Now that I think about it, it's been a while since I drank non-instant miso soup. It's strangely delicious. The salty flavor of the soup was spot-on and the fact that this was 'homemade' left a stinging sensation in my chest.
Ah, I really wanted to drink Gotou-san's homemade miso soup.
"How does it taste?" Sayu asked, interrupting my train of thought about Gotou-san.
"Ahh… Well."
"Well?"
"All things considered, it's great."
"All things considered hm?"
Sayu cracked up a little, before glancing at me mischievously.
"Uhm, Gotou-san, was it? You wanted to eat miso soup made by her, right?"
"…No, not really."
It's uncomfortable to be seen through so easily. I hastily turned my eyes away from her, to which she once again laughed out loud.
"Bulleye. You're so easy to understand."
"You really are a troublesome JK."
I scowled in a conspicuous manner, but Sayu seemed to have found that funny as well. Her shoulder trembled as she started giggling.
In any case, talking to her was somewhat nauseating, or perhaps embarrassing? I don't really understand.
She had full control of the conversation. I merely followed along. Letting her seize the initiative didn't make me feel too good.
"Hey, Yoshidsan."
"Woah-"
The voice had come from right beside my ear, causing me to jump in surprise. While I was lost in thought, Sayu had somehow managed to put her head right beside mine. She stared into my eyes and brought her face closer.
"Do you want me to comfort you?"
I could feel her breath on my skin as she said that. Goosebumps rose from my body.
"Didn't I tell you to cut that out already?"
Her lips scrunched as I pushed her away from me.
"Ehh~, you're not being honest at all."
"Idiot. I'd have to be a crazy and miserable man to be comforted by a high-school girl with a scrawny body like yours."
Hearing what I said, Sayu went "ehh~" and suddenly started unbuttoning her blazer, which she then abruptly threw aside.
"I think my boobs are pretty big though." She said as she puffed out her chest.
Although my mind objected against looking at it with all it's might, my eyes found themselves fixated on what was being presented under the shirt. I'm a guy, after all.
"W-Well, you might be pretty big for a high-school girl… But Gotou-san is even more impressive."
"Haha, more impressive you say."
Sayu giggled and contracted her chest, returning to her previous hunchbacked position.
"What cup is she then?" the girl asked as if it were nothing special.
W-What cup… That's, what cup is she…?
"I-I don't really know, but around F probably."
"F? That's the same as me then."
"Hah!? You're also an F!?"
"Yup. If it looks even bigger than these then it's got to be a G or H, right?"
H-cup… What's an H-cup?
Images of gravure models and their supposed cup sizes flashed through in my mind. 'Just once is fine, I'd like to grab an H-cup'. That, I won't say.
"But you know~"
Sayu opened her mouth.
"Isn't an F that you can touch better than an H that you can't?"
Saying that, she once again stuck out her chest and tilted her head.
I sighed as naturally as breathing.
"Hey, what do you get out of seducing me? What are you gonna do if I really pushed you down?"
"Eh? Then we can just do it normally. I think you're pretty good looking, so I'm not really against it."
"…You want to do it with me?"
Hearing that, Sayu blinked her eyes a few times.
"No, that's not really what I meant."
"THEN WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!!"
I exclaimed from my seat without thinking. I just couldn't understand the reasoning behind her irregular behavior.
"If you don't want to do it then don't press it! There are guys out go for it you know?"
Sayu raised her eyebrows and tilted her head.
"Isn't it the opposite?"
"What is?"
"There's a girl who's fine with doing it right before your eyes. Why won't you do it?"
"Huh…?"
A breath that couldn't be called a sigh nor a confused yelp escaped my throat. Were our ages too far apart for me to understand what she meant? No, that's not quite it.
I looked at Sayu as if looking at an alien. She showed a wry smile in response.
"What's the matter? You're the weird one aren't you? All this time, no one has treated me this considerately without some demand."
Her declaration left me speechless. I thought she was just a typical small-scale high-school runaway, but judging by what she just said, she hasn't gone home for months?
As for how she managed to find shelter all this time, the thought alone was distasteful enough.
"…God, how stupid can you be."
I muttered under my breath. I squatted down in front of Sayu, level with her eyes.
"Where did you come from? Show me your student ID."
Hearing that, Sayu's expression turned gloomy for a brief moment.
In the next moment though, she bore a bright smile. She stuck a hand in her skirt pocket and retrieved a foldable wallet. Opening it, she took out her student ID and presented it to me. I took it from her.
"Ah, Asahikawa…"
My mouth gaped in surprise.
The ID wrote 'Asahikawa 6th High School, 2nd Year'.
"You came all the way from Hokkaido? Alone?"
"Yup."
"When did you leave Hokkaido?"
"About half a year ago I guess?"
"You haven't gone home for half a year?"
This was the center of Tokyo, way too far for a lone high-schooler from Hokkaido.
"Did you tell your parents?"
"Nope."
"Then hurry up and go home stupid…"
After that, I stopped.
Sayu, who had been acting quite frivolous until now, bore a rather gloomy expression.
Her gaze seemed settle on somewhere far away.
"It's alright, they're probably better off without me."
"How do you know that?"
"I just do."
As she answered, I could see a muddle of loneliness and resignation surface in her gaze.
I felt a prickling sensation in my chest.
"I'm out of money you see? So I have to do what I can to stay in someone else's home. That's why I—"
"What do you mean by 'What I can'?"
Sayu hesitated to continue.
I could feel my stomach curl in anger, which was directed to no one in particular.
"What the hell do you take me for huh?"
I found myself blurting out.
"I don't know about the assholes you've met until now, but I don't have a speck of interest in your body."
"Then…" TL from www . crimsonmagic. me
"You don't want to go home, you don't want to go to school. Just what are you living for then?"
Hearing what I said, her eyebrows scrunched in distress.
"That's why I'll find someone who'll let me stay…"
"What are you planning to do if I chased you out?"
"I-I'll somehow find the next person."
"'Somehow', what do you mean by somehow?"
"That's…" TL by yuNS
Taking in my words, Sayu seemed to have arrived at an impasse as her own words came to a halt.
I don't think that there's any normal thought process that would make one arrive at the conclusion of seducing simple and unknown men. No, at this point, it's impossible for me to tell what 'normal' really is.
A feeling that I couldn't differentiate into anger or sadness whirled within my chest. To shake this feeling off, I resolutely declared.
"Then work."
"Work??"
"You heard me. You're a kid that dropped out from school, right? Everyone lives by working and earning their wages."
"B-but—"
Sayu then said in a soft voice that was unimaginable from her carefree attitude moments earlier.
"What I can earn from a part-time job isn't enough to pay rent."
Well, she's right on that point. Anyhow, there's no place that would allow her to stay for a few months until she can afford to pay up, but it's not like she can live out on the streets either.
"Then you can stay here while you work that out."
"Eh?"
"I said you can stay here."
Hearing what I said, Sayu repeatedly blinked her eyes in disbelief.
"B-but I haven't given you anything Yoshidsan."
"Don't give me such nonsense. I don't want anything that you have. "
I grimaced and continued.
"'I don't have any money! I don't have anywhere to stay! Then let's seduce a man!' That's what you've been thinking, right? Listen, I'm gonna knock some sense into that downright retarded brain of yours, you hear me?"
"Why do you keep calling me stupid—"
"It's 'cause you're stupid, stupid! You're just a spoiled brat without a sense of value."
Sayu gulped as she took in what I said.
Looking head on, she really is cute.
Why did such a thought go round and round in my mind? Is it because I never had a proper youth? Because I never properly fell in love?
"You don't have anywhere to stay, right?"
"Mm."
"Then you can stay here."
"…Mm."
"Okay then. First off, you can do all the chores in the house. That'll be your job for now."
Hearing that, Sayu's eyes seemed to pop in surprise.
"Hey, I was thinking that I could go get a part-time job."
"You can do that in the future. For now, adjusting the paces of our lives to one another's comes first. Letting you run rampant will be troubling."
Sayu's mouth opened and closed a few times, as she tried to say something.
After waiting a while in this manner, she finally spoke.
"So it's okay for me to stay forever?"
"Forever is a bit much. You can stay until you've had enough of being a runaway."
"… So you mean I can stay until then?"
I was unsure as to how to answer that.
Based on our last few minutes of conversation, I could tell that this girl was spoiled beyond belief.
She seduced men and lived in their homes, wandering from place to place. Although it may have been even harder than that, there must've been a more wholesome path that she could've taken.
To be used in lecherous acts by men she didn't even like. Personally, I think that is much, much harder than mere physical labor, but perhaps such feelings had become jaded after all this time.
If I tell her that 'you can stay as long as you like', won't she possibly end up staying for several years?
Choosing my words carefully, I finally replied.
"At the very least, I'll leave you be until that spoilt nature of yours is fixed up."
Sayu, somewhat taken aback, meekly nodded her head.
"O-Okay…""
I exhaled loudly and sat down.
It's been a while since I've gotten so hot-headed. To be honest, I have no right to be lecturing others.
I grasped the bowl of miso soup on the table and took another sip.
"Man, it's already cold."
Even though it's cold, the miso soup Sayu made is still quite tasty.
"Ah, that's right."
I raised my head and looked in Sayu's direction.
"W-What."
Saying replied whilst avoiding my gaze.
Her commanding attitude a while ago had completely dissipated.
I pointed a finger at her and declared.
"Next time you try to seduce me, I'm kicking you out."
"I-I won't try that anymore…"
Thus began the strange cohabitation of a 26 year old salaryman and a runaway high school girl.
Thinking back on it, my thoughts on how hard it would be to live together with a 'high school girl' had been far too naïve.