Returning Home

“Kent-san, thank you very much. I’ll see you tomorrow at school, then.”

“See you later, Caro-san.”

A carriage from the Baron’s household had arrived at the station to pick her up, and Caro climbed inside to head home. Up until now, we had always walked back to my house together, so it felt a bit strange.

(Now that I’ve seen her off, I guess I’ll head home too.)

Just as I thought that and started walking toward my house, someone grabbed my arm.

“Kent-kun~. Got a minute?”

The person grabbing my arm was Elnette.

“Elnette-san, what’s wrong?”

“Well, I just really wanted to chat with you, Kent-kun. I was watching for an opening. Once Caro-san left, I thought it was my chance and called out to you.”

Elnette then clung to my arm, pressing her non-existent chest against me.

“A beautiful older sister is pressing her chest against you; is your heart racing yet?”

“Hmm, I wonder?”

I gave a noncommittal reaction.

“I think I’ve got more than your girlfriend does, at least.”

Elnette spoke with a puzzled look, seemingly because her attempted “honey trap” attack wasn’t working very well. In Caro’s case, she was short, so even without a chest, her proportions stayed balanced. However, Elnette was about the same height as me—average for a man—which made her tall for a woman. Because of that, her chest looked even flatter than it actually was. She didn’t seem to realize this herself.

Of course, Elnette had no way of knowing that back at my house, I had another “girlfriend” with a chest that could rival a final boss.

“I’ll treat you, so let’s go get dinner. Come on, come on.”

Elnette pulled me along with a ridiculous strength I couldn’t resist, and I was dragged away.

“Come on, come on, drink up! Pops, bring us plenty more!”

I was hauled into a tavern-style shop I had visited once before with Caro, and Elnette started ordering things left and right.

The table was soon lined with a mountain of food, and Elnette began gulping down alcohol.

“Don’t hold back; leave everything to your big sister here.”

“Then, I won’t mind if I do.”

I decided to gratefully accept the meal.

“Hey, Kent, listen to this. My younger sister, right? It seems she has a boy she’s interested in, but while she was hesitating, he was snatched away by a girl who’s like a little sister to her. She came to me asking, ‘What should I do?’ Like I’d know! I don’t have any experience with romance like that.”

“But if they are of high status, wasn’t it okay to have multiple wives? Couldn’t she just ask to join them? If her family is high-ranking, I’d imagine the guy is of high status too.”

“That’s the thing; the person she fell for is a commoner. So unless he’s incredibly wealthy, only one person is going to be chosen.”

“Is that so?”

“My sister used to say that men of low status were out of the question just a little while ago. I wonder what happened to her.”

As our conversation grew livelier, the food and drink on the table began to vanish.

“Old man, more drinks and food!”

“Right away!”

Elnette placed even more orders.

(Where on earth does all this stuff fit into that slender body?)

About 80% of what was served ended up in Elnette’s stomach. Another 10% went into mine, and the final 10% was still on the table.

“But Kent, I’ve gained a new respect for you. I didn’t think you had that kind of courage. Facing an unknown number of bandits without a hint of fear… your big sister here might have actually fallen for you.”

Just as we finished almost everything she had ordered, Elnette pulled me close and spoke.

“Elnette-san, that actually hurts a bit.”

“Ah, sorry, sorry. I guess I put a little too much strength into it. Also, could you stop calling me with ‘-san’ already? It’s not like we’re strangers. Just call me by my name.”

“Alright, Elnette.”

“Ah, my heart just skipped a beat. Hey, say it one more time.”

“Elnette.”

“I’m done for… zzz…”

With that, Elnette fell fast asleep right then and there.

“Hey, wait. Don’t go to sleep on me! Elnette, wake up!”

I tried to shake her awake, but there wasn’t the slightest sign of her stirring.

(Nothing for it… I need to get out of the shop first.)

“Excuse me. Check, please.”

“Sure thing, let me calculate it, just wait a second.”

The old man running the shop started his tally.

“Alright, that’ll be one gold coin, two large silver coins, and six silver coins (126,000G) total.”

“I knew we ate and drank a lot, but I didn’t realize that much had fit inside her.”

For context, I remembered getting change back from two silver coins when I came here with Caro before.

The person who said she would treat me was now snoring loudly. I had no choice but to pay.

(This expense really stings.)

“Much obliged! We made a huge profit today thanks to you. Come again!”

I left the shop, but since I didn’t know where Elnette lived, I was forced to carry her back to my house on my back.

(What am I going to say to Marie-san…)

“I’m home.”

“Welcome back, Kent-san? Um, what happened to that person?”

Marie asked me with a visibly displeased expression.

“Actually, we happened to be on the same stagecoach yesterday. Since we were together on the way back too, we talked about going for a drink once we returned. Then she just fell asleep halfway through.”

“And so you brought her home?”

“Well, that’s what it comes down to.”

“Ah, Kent-san brought another woman home again.”

Catherine also came out and spoke up.

“What do you mean ‘again’… I don’t remember bringing people in that often.”

“I’m just joking. Anyway, we have to let her sleep somewhere, right? Is Kent-san’s room okay?”

“Yeah. Let’s just let her sleep there for now.”

“Understood. I’ll go get things ready. Mother.”

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

Marie and Catherine opened the door and helped me carry her to my room.

“There we go.”

I managed to lay her down on my bed.

“Kent-san, since you went out for drinks, I assume you’ve already finished your meal…?”

On the dining table, dinner for three had been prepared. Seeing as Marie and Catherine’s portions hadn’t been touched either, it seemed they had been waiting for me to return.

“I ate a little, but I’m fine. Let’s have dinner then.”

“Okay!”

Marie and Catherine replied happily.

The three of us sat around the dining table and began to eat.

“Kent-san, how was your trip with Caro-chan?”

“It wasn’t a trip, it was an inspection. It was fun being able to hear all sorts of stories, though.”

“I see. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. But, please take me on a trip sometime too.”

“Right. It would be nice if we could go one day.”

“I want to go too!”

“Of course. Catherine will come too.”

“Yay!”

Marie and Catherine asked me all sorts of things about the inspection.

“Still, it’s amazing that Caro-chan is a Lord’s daughter. She was working here at the shop with us just a few days ago…”

“Is Big Sister Caro not coming here anymore?”

Catherine said worriedly.

“She seems busy right now, so I’m sure she’ll come once things settle down.”

I had no actual proof of that, but I said it including my own wish for it to be true.

Once the meal was over, I decided to take a bath. It seemed Marie and Catherine had already finished theirs, as they both smelled faintly of soap.

“Before that… I’m going to do a quick renovation on the house.”

Actually, there was one more untouched room in my house. I had left it alone because there was no need for it, but I thought having a shared bed forever wasn’t a good idea. So, I had been thinking for a while about making a tatami-matted Japanese-style room that would be somewhat versatile. I pulled out my terminal and selected a simple Japanese-style room renovation from the remodel plans. When I pressed “confirm,” the tatami room was completed. Along with that, I decided to install air conditioning in both the Japanese-style room and my own room.

(Akane is probably going to start making a fuss about wanting air conditioning soon, too.)

As summer approached, there were days where it felt a bit hot even at night. Being someone who disliked the heat, I didn’t regret the spending in that area.

“Kent-san, is this room made of grass? It smells nice.”

Entering the Japanese-style room that smelled of rushes, Catherine spoke.

“It’s a strange room; is the grass packed together?”

“These are called tatami; they’re made by weaving together something called rushes. If you lay out a futon on top of this, you can sleep here.”

“I see. Then it’ll be fine even if lots of friends come over!”

Marie said happily, perhaps thinking about the future.

“Well then, I’m going to take a bath.”

I headed to the bath alone.

“I couldn’t take a bath yesterday. Man, baths are the best!”

I enjoyed the bath, soaking in the gratitude for the comforts of civilization.

“So, Kent-san, how are we sleeping today?”

“Let me see…”

I thought about it after Marie asked.

“Since you went through the trouble of making it, let’s all three sleep in the ‘washitsu’!”

Catherine made a suggestion.

“Oh, sleeping in the shape of the character for ‘river’? That might be good.”

“The character for ‘river’?”

Marie asked when I said that.

“When a family of three sleeps together, you put the child in the middle and everyone faces the same way; it looks just like the kanji for ‘river’.”

“Ah, I see. So that’s why it’s the ‘river’ character.”

Marie spoke as if impressed after hearing my explanation.

“Then I’m in the middle! Hup!”

We lay down on a newly purchased double-sized futon in the order of Marie, Catherine, and then me.

“Something like this might be nice, too.”

“It is… Oh, look at Catherine, she’s already asleep.”

I said that to Marie as we both looked at the sleeping face of Catherine, who had already drifted off.