kscans

Chapter 145 - Because I Want to Cheer You Up

Technically speaking, this world does have elves, or rather, a race that could be considered the origin of the elves we imagine. They belong to the realm of Norse mythology, but I don't count them as elves. Their names are slightly different, for one, but they also just don't fit the common image. If we're going by looks alone, Setsuko-chan is actually a closer match. This makes them wholly unsuited for healing the emotional wounds I've suffered from the elf shock.

How should I handle this? How can I fill this void?

I guess that's my only option. Should I start seriously researching a way to cross over into another world? But then again... if I go around punching holes in the walls between worlds, there's bound to be a backlash somewhere. What if my research pokes too many holes and the world becomes unstable, ushering in a great interdimensional age or something?

It'd be one thing if the consequences came back to me, but having them affect this entire world would be a disaster.

That's the very reason why, despite all the other things I've dabbled in, I've never researched technology related to other worlds. I'm feeling a little tempted right now... but what's wrong is wrong. I mean, we've already seen an incident where all of Okutama was overwritten by something from another world. If that happened on a much wider scale... say, nationally, or even globally, it would be too horrific to even contemplate.

"Ah."

I realized it just as I reached my front door. That's right, Sakuya isn't home today. She was going to a study group sleepover with her friends, I think? She had told me to just get whatever for dinner.

"I could go to the convenience store."

But the thought of even walking that short distance again felt like too much effort, so I went inside. It was just past nine... I could get delivery, but waiting for that is also a pain. The instant stuff I have stocked up will do. I let out a sigh and opened the living room door. The lights immediately flashed on.

"Welcome home!" they all chimed.

"..."

I was speechless. Uh, wait a second. What is this? Where do I... where do I even begin to comment? There are so many things to question here that I don't know where to start.

"...He really does seem down."

"...Yeah. Normally, a guy like him would be all 'whoa!' and getting excited."

"...I, I feel kind of awkward, like we're bombing."

Suzuki, Takahashi, and Chika-san were whispering amongst themselves. ...Okay, I'll start there. Let's tackle this point first.

"Um, what's with... the outfits?"

They were a familiar group, but their attire was bizarre. Why bunny girls? I mean, they look good in them. They look sexy. But that's beside the point, this is weird. It's weird to have bunny girls in Satou-kun's living room. It's weird that the three of them are dressed as bunnies when that's not their character at all.

And not just any bunny outfits, but the lewd kind.

Well, bunny outfits are inherently lewd from the get-go. Still, I think you can classify them into wholesome and lewd categories. And theirs were definitely lewd. There were several small, erotic details, but to point out the most significant one, the angle of the high-cut legs. Isn't that pretty extreme?

"...Look at his eyes."

"...That's not the lustful gaze of a man overcome with raw desire."

"...Is he exasperated? That's an exasperated look, isn't it?"

And as for the other things to question. The room's decor. What's with this interior, it looks like some kind of shady establishment. The color of the lighting is suspicious, too... where did my LEDs go?

"...Wh, what do we do?"

"...We just have to push through."

"...R, right."

There was a fruit platter and a bottle of pink champagne on the table... Did the Satou residence get invaded by the concept of a hostess club?

"I'll take your jacket."

"Come on, over here."

"Don't just stand there spacing out."

Chika-san snatched my jacket while Suzuki and Takahashi grabbed my hands and led me to the sofa.

"Here you go."

A glass was put in my hand and filled with alcohol. I seriously have no idea what's going on... but, I guess I'll have some?

"So, what's all this about?"

"Ugh." All three of them flinched.

"Don't 'ugh' me."

"Y, you're usually so into this kind of thing..."

"Yeah, well, I'm tired."

And wounded.

"...Sigh. Look, Satou-kun, it seems like you've been going through hell recently, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, we thought we'd try to cheer you up a little."

"You don't like bunnies? Touching is allowed today, you know?"

So that's what this is...?

"Well, I appreciate the thought... and I love bunnies, but..."

Having this sprung on me out of nowhere when I'm exhausted?

"My brain can't process it."

"Th, that's a perfectly sound argument..." they all muttered.

"Also... I debated whether I should say this."

It'd be a shame if they failed somewhere else and made things weird, so as a friend, I'll have to be harsh and point this out.

"I've thought this for a while, but the three of you are not suited for this kind of surprise stuff."

Like at my birthday party. No, I'm not blaming them. These are things you learn from by failing repeatedly. But it's also true that a failure as an adult is different from a failure as a kid. If you bomb in middle or high school, you're just a kid. People forget quickly, and the bar for laughter is lower, right? It's just a minor injury, so it's fine for kids to fail. I think they should go for it as much as they want.

"But it's different for adults, isn't it?"

It tends to come off as pathetic or just plain awkward. It might be fine if you have the skills to recover after a failure. But that kind of thing comes from experience, too. And you three... you don't have that, do you? From your teenage years. Takahashi acted like a lone wolf until she started hanging out with us, and it seems she kept her distance from others after becoming an adult, too. Same for Suzuki. She had friends before hanging with us, but she wasn't the type to get wild. She stayed that way as an adult. As for Chika-san... well, you know?

"That's so mean! You just indirectly called me a gloomy loner!"

"I did not."

"He just said we're super boring and kill the mood!"

"I didn't say that."

"He laughed and said it's just pathetic when loners try to act like popular kids!"

"I wasn't laughing."

Their victim complex is off the charts...

"Look, I do appreciate the gesture, okay? The bunnies are great. The Satou gauge in my crotch is shooting right up."

As I spoke, I patted Takahashi's rear.

"...His hand is so half-hearted."

"You're impossible!"

Wait... thinking about it carefully, this is strange. Like I just said, the three of them aren't suited for this kind of thing. I don't think they'd even come up with the idea unless it was a birthday or some other special occasion. For them to do something like this out of the blue, there must be a reason. The only thing I can think of is...

"Was it Sakuya-chan?"

Their expressions stiffened for a moment, so I guess I hit the mark. Sakuya was worried about me being down, so she went through Rika-chan to talk to Chika-san, Takahashi, and Suzuki.

"...You're way too sharp."

"I can pretty much guess what happened. You were genuinely worried about me, sure, but you also got carried away because a kid was involved."

And this was the result. If I consider that it all ended up like this after their efforts backfired, the situation makes a certain kind of sense.

"...Sigh. You're right. Sakuya-kun was worried. She said Hiro was troubled by something other than work and seemed to have no energy."

"Hey, don't go making the kid worry about you."

"You're right. That's my fault."

But still, I thought I was doing a good job of hiding it.

"So the elf shock was that big of a deal, huh."

"Elf shock?" they all asked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, so the other day..."

I flopped down with my head in Chika-san's lap and explained the reason I'd been so dejected. As my story went on, their expressions became more and more vacant...

"Are you kidding me?!"

After that, they beat me up for no good reason... Why?