Chapter 63: People of the Share House

The moment Inori left the house—the situation began to move quickly.

Sudama and Usuzumi stood up at the same time.

The closet door opened, and D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. peeked out.

Jin set down his newspaper and the reading glasses he’d been wearing on the desk.

A strange tension ran through the room.

The first to speak was Sudama. The shortest of them all, she glared up at everyone and spoke like she was throwing out a warning.

"...What is it? I’ve got an errand to run, so I’d like to leave the place in your hands, you see?"

"Hohoho, but that’s exactly my line. You all may not have noticed, but Inori gave me a very clear request for help before leaving."

Usuzumi’s words made Sudama falter, taking a step back. Trying and failing to hide her agitation, she shot back.

"Wha...! Th-that much, I was asked too! You heard it yourself—she asked me to come pick her up!"

"‘Come pick me up, I’ll contact you in a while’—that sort of request only becomes relevant once no contact comes at all. Which means, if anything, it was the exact opposite of a ‘come right away’ message."

Sudama staggered back another two steps. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, unable to come up with a reply.

As Usuzumi and Sudama bickered, D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. tried to walk past them—only for Sudama to lunge at him.

"Wait a second! What do you think you’re doing, just walking out like it’s nothing!?"

D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. glanced at the arm Sudama had grabbed, frowning in puzzlement.

"You’re not making any sense, Miss Sudama."

"Grnnngh...!"

"People actually say ‘grnnngh’? Oh wait, I suppose foxes do."

Ignoring Usuzumi’s nerdy commentary, Sudama yelled at D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E.

"I saw you! You didn’t even exchange a word with Inori... what, are you trying to say you two can speak with just your eyes!? Are you showing off!? Damn it! I’m jealous as hell!"

Her ears and tail fur bristled as she unleashed her jealousy at D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. Usuzumi, watching, was oddly impressed.

He himself had seen Inori interact with D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. a few times—but she had always looked like she had a headache. To find that enviable? Well... love is blind, perhaps.

Usuzumi then turned to Jin, who had quietly stood up.

"Please wait, Lord Jin. Weren’t you explicitly told not to come?"

"Hah? And what the hell does that have to do with me?"

"Inori is playing you! Maybe she thought telling you not to come would make you come instead!"

"And what’s that got to do with you? Nobody gets to tell me what to do. Not her, and not you."

"Ghh...! A direct hit of pure logic! Usuzumi takes 3,000 damage!"

"Tch. What a waste of time."

"That look—like I’m just a pig in a pen! My vision goes dark... Usuzumi collapses!"

Usuzumi gave up on stopping Jin any further. He valued his life too much. Inori herself had advised him: since Jin still tried to kill people now and then, it was safest to just let him be.

"Nooo! Don’t go! You already get to speak with Inori in those special words, and she treats you differently from the rest of us! Don’t you dare get any closer to her!"

D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. ignored Sudama, who was clinging desperately to his arm, and simply dragged her along the floor as he slowly, steadily made his way forward.

"And on top of that, Inori’s been doing all sorts of things just for you lately, hasn’t she!? I can’t stand it—jealous!"

Even while being dragged along, Sudama kicked and flailed her legs.

"Miss Sudama, shouldn’t Inori’s safety be our top priority?"

"Eeeek! This is exactly why I can’t stand people who live by logic instead of feelings! You’ve got no passion!"

"That’s the kind of line that would get you voted out on day one of Werewolf."

So said Usuzumi. Sudama continued to throw her tantrum.

"Nooo, nooo, nooo! Don’t leave me behind!"

"She’s turned into a spoiled brat, I see. A fox-eared, dialect-speaking shrine maiden loli throwing a tantrum... you’re stacking way too many attributes here."

Jin, trying to walk past D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E., also fell victim to Sudama’s clutches. Shifting her grip, Sudama wrapped herself around one of D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E.’s legs and one of Jin’s, becoming the connecting strap in a three-legged race.

Suddenly forced into the game, Jin’s temple veins popped as he growled from deep in his gut.

"Tch...! Hey, dumb muscle, let go."

"You’re pretty strong yourself, though not as strong as me!"

"Idiot. I’ll kill you."

"Hohoho! Don’t spout impossible things, Jin! As if someone like you could kill me."

"Want to try me?"

Ignoring the killing intent thickening in the air, Usuzumi spoke.

"If Inori comes home to find the house reduced to rubble, she’ll probably cry, you know."

"Hmm... If the house is gone, maybe she’ll come back to the countryside with me?"

"She’s got university. She’d probably just sleep in the lab. And then no outsiders would be allowed in."

"Noooo, I don’t want that!"

Sudama resumed her tantrum, still clinging to both D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. and Jin. D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. stared for a moment at Sudama clinging to his leg, then casually disassembled his own limb into separate parts, took a step forward, and reassembled it past her grip.

The parts had slipped clean through Sudama’s hands.

"Wha—! That’s cheating! You could do that all along!?"

Ignoring her as usual, D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. kept walking. Usuzumi, watching, moved to follow.

"So, I’ll be heading out too, if that’s all right? Sudama only has two arms—she can’t possibly stop Jin, D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E., and me all at once."

"You dare...! Don’t underestimate me! I don’t need just two arms—"

From the entrance came a clack. The sound of the lock turning.

Sudama instantly fell silent, let go of Jin’s leg, and stood up straight. She smoothed down her disheveled shrine maiden robes and waited, ears twitching as footsteps drew closer down the hallway.

Naturally, the one who peeked into the living room was Inori.

...

It’s kind of hilarious how fast I got back.

Hard to believe I just went through such a huge adventure.

Raiden disappeared somewhere in a flash, as busy as ever. Usui-chan vanished into smoke with his daughter.

I came back with Mio. Flux gave us a ride—shooting through the wide sewer system like it was a waterslide. A rare experience, for sure.

We popped out of a manhole near the house and slipped right back home. The whole thing might’ve taken less than ten minutes.

As always, I unlocked the front door, stepped inside, and peeked into the living room—only to find everyone standing up for some reason.

"I’m hooome! Oh? What’s with everyone standing around? Even D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. came out—that’s rare. Looks like a standing buffet party in here. This is my house, but it’s way too cramped for that, hahaha!"

The reason was probably me, but I still didn’t know why everyone was standing around with such weird tension in the air.

Was my roundabout cry for help so roundabout that nobody understood it?

Had they held some kind of emergency meeting like, “What the hell was he even talking about?”

Sudama suddenly leapt at me, so I caught her.

"Inori! You’re safe!"

At the very least, it seemed Sudama had been worried about me. As expected of a childhood friend—she understood me enough that I felt relieved.

"Sorry to make you worry, Sudama. I’m fine. Usuzumi’s fine now too. Haze Fog—he’s decided to play the hero."

"Kirishima quit the club!?"

"I don’t know if Kirishima joined the Go-Home Club, but Usui-chan isn’t going back to Public Security."

At my explanation, Usuzumi looked utterly confused, metaphorical question marks floating above his head. Judging by that reaction, it seemed he didn’t know about Usui-chan’s dream-walking ability.

Which meant their connection wasn’t all that deep—though, not that I felt any particular relief or anything.

Jin, who had been standing, dropped back down heavily into his seat and glared at me, clearly annoyed.

"Tch. Don’t say cryptic crap, it’s a pain in the ass. Just be straight."

"There are times you can’t be straight. You’re so impatient, Jin. Learn to enjoy a conversation for once."

"Die."

"Yeah, no thanks."

Jin slid his glasses back on and resumed reading his newspaper.

If I actually came right out and said, “Help me,” would he help me? Hard to say. Either way, I wasn’t so starved for love that I needed to test it with the truth.

"D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E."

I called his name, staring into those pink pupils. His eye movements slowed, then finally he met my gaze squarely.

I grinned and flashed him a peace sign. D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. gave a small nod, then smoothly retreated back into the closet and shut the door from the inside.

Would it be rude to say he was like one of those appliances that could recharge itself? ...Yeah, probably.

Anyway, the commotion should be settled now.

Ah, right—there was still Usuzumi.

Patting Sudama’s head, I looked over. He had lowered his brows, scratching his cheek awkwardly.

"Forgive me for being of so little use. If anything, I’ve only been the one receiving help here."

"I’d like to say ‘don’t worry about it,’ but if you feel even a little indebted to me, then I’ll ask you to handle the medicine."

"Understood."

A short reply—but precisely because it was short, I could tell he was serious. Usuzumi usually rambled whenever he spoke. Honestly, he might even be chattier than Raiden. Nerds always talk too fast, after all.

He immediately began getting ready to leave. Not that he had much to pack in the first place—just some test tubes, a smartphone, and a single shoujo manga volume.

That manga had actually been a gift he’d brought specifically to push on me, so it seemed he intended to leave it behind.

Not sure I’d have time to read it. Even I’m a busy student, you know.

"It was a short stay at the share house, Usuzumi. Come by again sometime—next time, try the round, middle-aged look."

"Hohoho, indeed. And I still have many manga I’d like to lend you. I’ll be sure to visit again soon."

...Not sure I’ll have time to read those either.

If I’m too busy, maybe I’ll have him swap it for an anime screening instead. Or maybe a read-aloud session right in front of me—that’d be fine too.

I’m a relatively fast reader, after all.