Chikasugiru Karera no, Juunanasai no Tooi Kankei [LN] V2 Chapter 1.7

Chapter 1 - After The End Of The Rainy Season

It was after 10:00 p.m., and I could hear faint sounds of people talking and the TV coming from downstairs. I took a change of clothes from the wardrobe and went downstairs to see if the bath was empty by now. I hear Yuriko and my mother's voices. I opened the door to the living room, just to make sure the bathroom was empty.

"Oh, Kenichi."

Yuriko, who was sitting where the door was in sight, immediately noticed me and turned to look at me.

Yuriko was sitting at the table facing my mother, and they were talking about something, while Izumi was sitting on the sofa, drying her hair with a hair dryer. Izumi was wearing a white and red striped T-shirt and fluffy shorts, while Yuriko was wearing a light purple shirt and white nylon pants that could have been used as workout wear.

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Looking at her appearance, made me again think, who is this girl? Yuriko's hair was still half-dried, and she had an unfolded towel draped over her shoulders. I felt the same allure I had felt for Izumi when she had just arrived.

"Are the baths empty now?" When I asked,

"Yes," Izumi, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV, replied.

"I'll go in then."

"Okay."

Hearing Izumi's carefree answer over my back, I undressed in the changing room and entered the bathroom, where a soft, sweet aroma wafted through the air. As I soaked in the bathtub, I felt my exhaustion dissolve into the hot water.

The bathroom mirror was cloudy white, as if someone had just left. The shampoo and body soap bottles in front of the mirror were covered with droplets of water. Although I had not been thinking about it recently, the thought of Izumi and Yuriko soaking in this hot water made me feel uneasy and gave me strange palpitations. I hurriedly dismissed the thought. 

---What a long day.

It had only been half a day since Yuriko came to visit, but now I felt as if I was far away from the daily routine that my mother, Izumi, and I used to spend together.

After soaking in the hot water, I got out of the bath. I wiped myself off with a bath towel and changed into shorts and a T-shirt, which I use as my pajamas.

I dried my hair with a hair dryer, brushed my teeth, and when I left the changing room, it was already dark on the first floor. All three of them must have gone back to their rooms by now.

I, too, went upstairs. The staircase was tinted a faint orange because of the warm light bulbs.

The window facing the stairs was open, and a night breeze drifted in through it. It was a lukewarm breeze, but it felt comfortable to my body, which was burning and sweating after the bath.

Then the sound of Izumi and Yuriko talking leaked out, and I stopped dead in my tracks.

As I approach the door to Izumi's room, the vague outline of their conversation becomes clearer. Behind the wood-grained door, the presence of the two girls and their lowered voices leak out. Both of them were speaking in low voices, and I couldn't quite make out what they were talking about. I almost feel drawn to the door.

I took a few steps closer to the door, trying not to make a sound. I heard the sound of my own spit being swallowed.

And then,

---What the heck am I doing.

Suddenly feeling like an idiot, I turned my back to the door of Izumi's room and let out a thin, exhausted breath.

I went into my room. I set the alarm on my phone for 7:00 a.m., placed it near my bedside, and immediately turned off the light.

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