MTLNOVEL Episode 117 - Shuraba
…I see.
Was it because he was too tired yesterday? Before falling asleep, he hadn’t noticed at all that another person was lying on his bed. The girl’s fragrance he’d smelled then wasn’t lingering remnants, but emanating from a living, breathing person.
Time seemed to freeze in that instant—
If only that were truly the case.
Frozen in place, completely unable to move. Only himself. Only himself remained.
There was no possibility of escaping this disaster. Yayoi and Miyagi Aki were entirely different in personality, but their attitudes toward him weren’t far apart—at least neither had the good habit of knocking before entering his private domain.
Thankfully his limbs weren’t pinned down. The Novelist hurriedly put on his coat and pants; otherwise, he would have had to face the two girls outside the door wearing just his shorts. This was probably the only thing worth being grateful for.
The atmosphere was absolutely terrible.
No turn of events; no miracle was born. Even if there were one, the gods wouldn’t allow it to be used in this situation!
With an ominous “creek—” that signaled a tragic ending, the door opened.
The ever-expressionless kimono-clad Ojou-sama and Senpai, whose face showed slight uneasiness but more anticipation, appeared in the doorway.
The scene was exactly as he had once imagined, truly—
The silence lasted for several seconds.
“…”
Asami Yuko’s mouth hung open, speechless. Her gaze toward him looked both shocked and disappointed, remaining silent with a hint of sadness.
“…It seems he’s not very welcoming to us.”
Yayoi blinked. For a moment, he thought she might pull something out from her kimono sleeve—but in the end, she didn’t take anything out.
A cruel, cold smile appeared at the corners of Yayoi’s mouth, and her gaze fixed on him like someone watching a reptile, clearly prepared to deliver some cutting remarks.
But before that could happen, someone stopped her.
“—Yaaaaaah!”
Asami Yuko let out a series of onomatopoeic sounds like a fish blowing bubbles, but the result seemed muted, lacking the impact suggested by the written expression.
“Th-that…”
Senpai shook her head, trying hard to maintain her composure. Although her expression and gaze genuinely showed anger—
“Assistant-kun… get ready, we’re leaving right away. You promised me yesterday that we’d go to the Metropolitan Police Department together, didn’t you?”
Asami Yuko’s voice remained controlled and calm, with the latter part of her sentence sounding more like an explanation to the kimono-clad girl beside her.
She is…
Under the Novelist’s gaze, Asami Yuko stepped forward into the room, blocking Yayoi’s view.
“Quickly put on your clothes and cover her with the blanket, then wake that woman up! Don’t let this situation get worse, or you’ll provoke this person beside me!”
He had never been able to imagine those scenes in novels or plays where people communicate with just their eyes, but now it appeared to be true.
That was a clearly pressuring gaze, yet one that conveyed concern and comfort.
…Senpai is truly a good person.
But things never develop so smoothly.
Before the Novelist could follow Senpai’s instructions to put on his clothes and wake Miyagi Aki—she woke up on her own.
Aki blinked her bright pupils, quickly sensing the heavy atmosphere in the room, while the girl’s lips curled slightly upward.
Or rather, this was precisely the development she had been hoping for.
“This is the scene boys love to see, isn’t it! How fortunate you are, Landlord-san! Waking up in the morning surrounded by girls in a battlefield of jealousy!”
Miyagi-san affectionately wrapped her arms around his neck, the soft, full sensation transmitting from his back. In a voice too quiet for the other two girls to hear clearly, she whispered in the Novelist’s ear.
What are you narrating for?! Is this behavior really that interesting?
“Dar~ling~”
Her tone was sickly sweet, almost honey-like, as if she feared the world wasn’t chaotic enough.
She fabricated the situation in a voice neither too loud nor too soft, just right for Yayoi and Asami Yuko to hear.
“Last night was so intense~ Even though I was crying that I couldn’t take anymore~ But Landlord-san was still so rough, really xx…”
These lines designed to cause misunderstandings and jealousy among other female characters are too cliché!
But in some sense, it’s also a classic approach…? Although he was curious about what followed, he couldn’t actually hear the rest of her lines. Because his eardrums were suddenly bombarded by an enormous noise.
“Yaaaaaaaaaaaah—”
…This time, it was truly shouted at full volume.
“I’m ignoring you! Assistant-kun is a big idiot! Don’t come over tomorrow!”
After angrily throwing down these words, Asami-senpai turned and left Amazu Manor toward the other end of the corridor. Only the two tenants, one at the door and one on the bed, remained in confrontation.
“Well then, regarding Liang’s recent activities…”
After a while, once Asami Yuko had left, the Ojou-sama removed her shoes, revealing feet wrapped in pure white socks and a glimpse of smooth calves, and climbed onto the Novelist’s bed from the front.
“Would you care to share with me?”
Yayoi asked with a condescending attitude.
…
…
…Let’s not discuss what happened after that.
As for the simple result, he still met with Asami-senpai the next day.
The time spent running around with Asami-senpai passed in the blink of an eye. More than a week had gone by. He had tried not to miss classes and attendance as much as possible.
On this day, at the end of school.
Misao, as usual, ran to Class 2-1 after the bell rang.
“I’m sorry, I can’t accompany you today, Maho-chan, because it’s club review day, and as a representative, I need to go…”
“It’s fine, because I’m in the same situation.”
Class Rep smiled while packing her schoolbag.
“Eh? Maho-chan, are you in a club? I had no idea!”
Misao widened her eyes in surprise.
“Since we don’t have many activities in the first semester, it’s mostly extracurricular… I’m the representative of the Cooking Research Club.”
“Wow! That’s amazing, Maho-chan will definitely make a wonderful wife in the future.”
As expected, Class Rep’s face turned bright red.
The Novelist was observing the girls’ conversation when he heard a slight sound from the back door of the classroom.
Long hair, falling on her shoulders like seaweed. A ghost-like girl appeared at the door. From beneath her overly long bangs came a powerful gaze.
“It’s Asami-senpai… Are you looking for Liang-kun again?”
Class Rep said softly from behind.
He had already learned about the rumors concerning her from Itou Maho. As expected, Asami Yuko was actually a well-known eccentric at school.
“Hmm, I’ll go over.”
After waving to the two behind him, the Novelist picked up his bag and walked toward the door. But as soon as he reached her, he was grabbed by the wrist and dragged away.