“I’m worried about that boy that ran away from home. The owner of the inn didn’t seem too concerned, but I think it’s an emergency.”
“Yes. I don’t know how long he’s been out there, but it doesn’t feel at all safe that he’s sleeping in the forest alone. Let’s ask the president to put some effort into looking for him too.”
After dinner, Yuugo and Phi relaxed in their room, and worried about the runaway boy, as they looked at the village at night.
Serel was not too concerned, but they still thought it was clearly dangerous. They had to find the boy as quickly as possible, or his life could be in danger.
Yuugo stopped thinking about it after deciding to ask Precia to look for the boy the next day while they collected ingredients. Then he turned around and talked to the person who was also sitting on the bed and taking it easy.
“So… Why are you here!? This isn’t your room!”
“Don’t be like that. It’s a sleepover, so what’s wrong with going to others’ rooms to hang out?”
“I guess it’s not wrong, but it’s definitely strange. Why is Melt showering here like it’s no big deal!?”
Angel responded to Yuugo while waving her hand, as he asked the questions that had been on his mind for a bit.
This was Yuugo, Phi, and Marcos’ room, the latter having stepped outside. And yet, the girls were there, and were using the shower before them.
Yuugo heard the sound of the water, and the image of a naked Melt was dug up from the back of his mind.
He thought indulging in these indecent thoughts was not good, but also thought the girls were bad for inviting this situation. But then, Angel spoke with a somewhat serious expression.
“Yuugo… Do you know why you were pushed into this room away from the others?”
“Ah? It’s obvious. The vice-president is scheming to keep me away from the president.”
“That too, but that’s not all. It’s not just Precia, you were put in this room to keep you away from me and Melt.”
“Ah? Why would the vice-president do that?”
“It’s not him. You know those guys Shian and Egos? They did it.”
Angel looked exasperated as she realized Yuugo really did not get it, and since he looked like he was wondering what she was talking about, she began to explain in more detail.
“I’ve talked to that Shian guy before. He’s a creepy guy that kept staring at my chest. When we were on our way here, he kept staring at me and Melt too, like he was looking for any chance to try to talk to us.”
“R-really? I didn’t notice it at all…”
“Girls are sensitive to those kinds of eyes from guys. When someone looks at your chest, and of course, your butt, it’s easy to know. Be careful not to turn into a guy with those indecent eyes, Phi.”
“Eeh!? W-why are you turning to me…?”
Angel smiled awkwardly, after turning to tease Phi, and then faced Yuugo again.
She was somewhat exasperated, since it seemed he did not fully understand it yet, so she went into it again.
“Listen. It was definitely Hao who invited those two. They’re here to keep an eye on you and stop you if it comes to that. Also, those two have formed some sort of alliance. We could call it an alliance of hatred of you.”
“Uoo… That’s harsh…”
“So, those two are after me and Melt. You’re the one who’s closest to us now, so when you consider that they want to get close to us, they feel like you’re in their way. You’re someone they want as far away as possible. At this point. even someone as dense as you has to understand why we came here, right?”
“Well, yeah…”
They wanted to isolate Yuugo and the others, get him away from Melt and Angel, and use that opportunity to get close to them.
If Melt and Angel were resting in their rooms, those two would have definitely come to visit them by now.
Like Angel said, it was a sleepover, so there was nothing strange about hanging out in others’ rooms… But they might force their way in or try to take them to their room.
Angel and Melt could see exactly what kind of sleazy ideas they had. First they would bring some members of the cooking club along with them, and then over the course of a few days, they would bring fewer and fewer people with them, until it was just the two of them.
Yuugo now understood that Angel and Melt were there to take shelter, so he went quiet, and then mumbled.
“…Those two are hero prospects, right? Would they really do something sleazy like that?”
“Ahh… Well, I know how you feel, but so were Zenon and Isaac, and you know very well what they did. One is a bad guy who accused you of cheating in front of a bunch of students, and the other stole a magic sword and used it to take materials from others… Shian and Egos weren’t the least bit sad about Isaac dying either, and immediately tried to take the materials Isaac collected like looters.
Melt and I know what they’re really like, so we don’t like them, and we’re wary of them.”
Being prospective heroes meant Shian and Egos had the trust and respect of many students, but they also… Actually, the other prospective heroes Yuugo met so far were the same, housing darkness inside them that was far from that kind of honor.
Yuugo was well aware of how Zenon and Isaac let their desires drive them, so he could accept what Angel said to a certain extent. Still, he had to interject.
“Hold on. I get how you feel, but why shower in my room? Isn’t that weird?”
“It’s fine, isn’t it? You should be crying with joy. How about you hop into the bath with Melt? And I can shower with Phi.”
“Eh!? Eeh!?”
“Hey, stop playing! And don’t touch my little brother!!”
Said Yuugo strongly while stepping in front of his little brother to protect him.
But as they continued talking in this lively mood, the door suddenly swung open, and Marcos rushed inside.
“Hey Yuugo! We have trouble, Melt is…!! Hn? Angel? Why are you here…?”
“Hey, I came to visit. And don’t call me Angel, call me An.”
Marcos was going to say something, but interrupted himself with an obvious question when he saw Angel.
And just then, Melt came out of the bathroom after her shower.
“I’m done~! The next one can go~!”
“Melt!? W-why are you here…!?”
“Some things happened, so I came here with An~! I also used your shower, but don’t mind it!”
“What’s wrong, Marcos? You were saying something about Melt?”
“…No, nothing. Forget it.”
Yuugo heard Marcos speak fast and mention Melt when he came in, but even as Yuugo prompted him to continue, Marcos looked puzzled and shook his head.
He was curious about what Marcos was going to say, but Angel had a mean smile on her face, and started teasing Marcos.
“Hahan? I know what’s going on. It’s a staple of a sleepover, love talk. You were going to say you felt Melt was… Am I right?”
“Wha!? What are you saying!? I would not say that! Not to mention that Melt is far from my type!”
“Eh? But you said I had a nice body, and told me to be your concubine when we first met!”
“Ah, that was when I was straying off the right path in more ways than one, and was competing with Yuugo. Now I am self-aware enough to know I did some questionable…!!”
Marcos responded earnestly to the girls’ teasing, but it was not without merit, and was an actual good answer.
Melt giggled, as she saw him flustered over having his dark history dug up, and walked past him with a mischievous smile on her face.
“I’m happy you feel that way Marcos, but I don’t feel the same. After all, my heart belongs to another…!”
“Ueh…!?”
Melt grabbed Yuugo’s arm with both her arms, and held them while pulling him towards her.
She put her head on his shoulder and pressed her chest against his arm, and continued to speak as if teasing both of them this time.
“I already had my first kiss with Yuugo, and showed him my naked body… I am an earnest girl, so I cannot allow myself to be swayed by another man. I’m sorry, but try to forget about me, Marcos…!”
“Damn you! I told you that’s wrong!! I don’t care if you become lovers or share a bed!!”
“Don’t say weird things too Marcos! It’s too dangerous!! And get away from me, Melt!”
“Mu… After I’ve come this far, you could at least respond a bit like a man. You dummy.”
“Uguh… O-okay…”
Being told something like that in front of his little brother was embarrassing, but Melt had a point, and Yuugo felt he could have responded to her affection as a man a little bit.
Yuugo’s face turned red, as Melt was not only wearing a pajama that was thinner in fabric than her uniform, but her chest that looked bigger than usual was pressed against his arm hard enough to change shape. But he felt this was not the time to be curt and forcibly pull Melt away from him.
“Hehe~! Yuugo finally gave in~!”
“D-don’t cling too much. Phi is watching…”
“Ooh, it’s getting hot in here. If Phi is bothering you, I can take him to the bath with me. And if you throw Marcos out, you can fool around on your own all you want.”
“Stop it, in more ways than one, stop it. I can’t deal with it now, so stop making me play the straight man so much…”
A girl was clinging to him, his little brother was watching, and everything packed together meant Yuugo was at his limit.
He whispered weakly that any more weird teasing and he might blow a fuse, and continued to bear the embarrassment.
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That Marcos’ reaction is really suspicious… He didn’t push the issue but sounds like shenanigans are already happening.