kscans

Chapter 96 - The Number of People Who Know My Secret is Growing...

"I'm home!"

As I was relaxing on the sofa, Kaede-chan came home.

"Welcome back. You said you had overtime, so I thought you'd be later."

It was 7:30 PM.

"I worked hard because I wanted to get home early! And I have tomorrow off!"

"Oh! That's great! I'll get dinner ready, so let's eat together."

"Okay! Oh, I'll go get changed!"

Kaede-chan said and left the living room, so I went to the kitchen and heated up the bento I had bought in the microwave. After I finished heating the bento and placed it on the table with some beer, Kaede-chan returned to the living room.

"Oh, you even have beer ready! Senpai, you're the perfect gentleman!"

The bar for being a perfect gentleman is surprisingly low.

Kaede-chan sat down at her seat with a big smile, so I sat down as well.

"Cheers!"

"Good work today."

We toasted with our beers and started eating our bento.

"Today was tiring, but some good things happened too. The Level 3 Healing Potion will definitely sell for a high price."

"Right? Let's make a fortune. Oh, by the way, do you have any night shifts, Kaede-chan? You said before that you had them sometimes, but you haven't had any since we started living together, have you?"

I asked something that had been on my mind for a while.

"Oh, that. My night shifts were basically because we needed at least one person with the Appraisal skill in the guild at all times. But since you gave us the Appraisal Glasses, we can manage without me. So, my night shifts are pretty much gone. They try to avoid having women on night shift anyway since it's dangerous."

So they're sharing the Appraisal Glasses... Maybe I should sell them to other guilds?

"Are night shifts dangerous?"

"There are only a few people on the night shift. And sometimes, drunk adventurers show up."

That does sound dangerous. My Kaede-chan would be in danger.

"It's definitely dangerous for a woman... I'm glad I gave the Appraisal Glasses to Satsuki-san."

"It is. By the way, why did you ask about that?"

"Oh, I was just curious."

Totally, totally true.

"Hmm... You're not thinking it would be better if I weren't here, are you?"

"Of course not. I want to be with you."

"...Then let me ask you this. What are those woman's shoes I've never seen before doing in the entryway?"

Kaede-chan's smile vanished, and she put down her chopsticks.

"About that. Can you hear me out without getting mad?"

"...That depends on what you have to say."

It's not like I cheated on her.

"Actually, Yoshino-san came to visit this evening."

"Yoshino-san? What? She came to our house!?"

Kaede-chan was shocked.

"I was surprised too, she just showed up. She said she had something important to talk about, so I let her in."

"Something important... Don't tell me..."

It seems Kaede-chan figured it out.

"That's right. As soon as she came in, she said, 'You're Eleanor Ocean, aren't you?'. I think she knows."

I was so surprised.

"What... That's so sudden. And to come all the way to our house... Wait, what do you mean, you 'think'? Yoshino-san is...?"

"I didn't think I could handle it alone, so I silenced her."

"S-silenced her!? What did you do!?"

Kaede-chan leaned forward.

"I thought this was bad, so I added a secret ingredient to her coffee. Eleanor-san's special Sleeping Potion."

She took one sip of the coffee and collapsed. It's really effective.

"What were you thinking!? Isn't that the worst thing you could do!?"

Kaede-chan was angry.

"I had no choice. She's the one who showed up unannounced, right?"

Unforgivable! That big-breasted woman came while Kaede-chan was out. Did she think I'd slip up if I was alone?

"In terms of despicable acts, the sleeping potion is... No, well, that's fine. So, where is this sleeping Yoshino-san?"

"I put her to bed in my room."

"In your room, Senpai...?"

Just for the record, I didn't touch her chest. I wasn't in the state of mind to even think about that.

"It's cold. I didn't want her to catch a cold, so I put her in my bed. Your room was locked, Kaede-chan."

"Sigh... The effect lasts for six hours, right?"

I've taken the sleeping potion a few times at night, and it always wears off after exactly six hours.

"That's right. So she should wake up after 10 PM. We need to decide what to do by then."

"You should have told me sooner. I've already had a beer."

Well, I thought you'd get mad, Kaede-chan. I was trying to get you in a good mood first.

"Come on, this little bit doesn't count as drinking."

"Sigh... Senpai, after we finish eating, I'm calling Satsuki-san."

"She's her cousin, so that's probably for the best."

We'll have to have Satsuki-san persuade her, or rather, bribe her with money.

"Then let's eat. You went to the trouble of preparing dinner for me, Senpai."

Kaede-chan said as she picked up her chopsticks and resumed her meal.

"I just bought it and heated it up."

"That counts as cooking."

Does it? I didn't even put it on a plate...

◆◇◆

After finishing her meal, Kaede-chan went back to her room to call Satsuki-san. In the meantime, I decided to call Nanapon, so I sat on the sofa and picked up my phone.

"Hello? Nanaka-san?"

It's a pain, but since Nanapon gets upset, I've changed into Eleanor-san.

"Hello? Is that you, Eleanor-san? What do you want at this hour?"

"Sorry to call so late. What are you up to?"

"I'm at home. I'm organizing the potions you gave me, Eleanor-san."

She said she was going to a friend's house, but it seems she's already back.

"This is sudden, but you said you met Yoshino-san today, right?"

"Yoshino-san? Yes, that's right. I met her on the way back from Mireille Road, and when I was going to the guild."

"The one on the way to the guild was about the kidnapping incident, right? Was that all?"

"Yes. And she talked about Guild Master-san. It wasn't a long conversation, though. I was making you wait, Eleanor-san, so it was only for a few minutes."

Hmm? It doesn't seem like Nanapon was the one who let it slip.

"Listen to me calmly. Yoshino-san came to my house this evening."

"Hmm? To your house, Eleanor-san? You mean Okita-san's house, right?"

"That's right."

"...Are you cheating?"

Why would you think that?

"I'm not cheating."

"You're not dating, after all."

That's not what I meant!

"Okita-kun is devoted to Kaede-chan, so don't worry."

"You should say those cool lines to him, not me."

What a noisy brat. And she's only nineteen.

"That's not important. What's important is that Yoshino-san came to the house and said to Okita-kun, 'You're Eleanor Ocean, aren't you?'."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you if Yoshino-san was acting strange today."

"Oh, I see. Hmm, but I don't think she was acting that strange... Oh, but why was she on Mireille Road in the first place?"

Now that she mentions it, that's a good point. She said she was waiting for someone, but it was in the evening, not really a time to go on an adventure. A night expedition? But it's too early for that. And would Yoshino-san, who's known for coming in late, really show up early?

"Hmm, you didn't have any strange conversations, right?"

"Not really... Oh, but wasn't she staring at us a lot?"

She was staring... She was looking me up and down from head to toe. Honestly, it was rude, but since Okita-kun is always staring at Yoshino-san, I couldn't really say anything.

"So that's it, huh? Well, fine. I'll contact you if anything happens, so you just wait at home."

"Hmm? Isn't the conversation over?"

Well, she came in the evening, and now it's night, so I guess that makes sense.

"I put her to sleep for a bit."

"What..."

I can tell Nanapon is recoiling on the other end of the phone.

"I can't handle it by myself."

"Um, if she was just bluffing, or trying to trick you, didn't you just confess with that move?"

........................

"Good night. Sweet dreams."

"Wait, Eleano--"

I ignored Nanapon and hung up the phone.

"Jeez, that kid..."

If she says something like that, it makes me look like an idiot.

"What did Nanaka-chan say?"

Just as I hung up, Kaede-chan, who had returned to the living room at some point, asked.

"She said she doesn't really know."

I think that's what she said.

"I see... Oh, Satsuki-san is on her way."

"What did she say?"

"She said, 'I have to go to you two's love nest? Ugh.'"

That part's not important!

"I'll wait like this, as Eleanor-san."

If I'm Okita-kun, she'll probably give me a hard time.

"Well, she did say she could handle Yoshino, and that she'd manage to persuade her somehow."

She said that before, but is it really okay?

"I see. For now, let's just wait."

"Right."

Kaede-chan agreed and sat down next to me.

"I wonder how this will turn out."

"Who knows? Do you think a Level 3 Healing Potion would be enough to shut her up?"

If worst comes to worst, we'll go with that...

As we were sitting on the sofa waiting, Satsuki-san arrived at the house.