“Ughhh~”
“Hieta, you sound like an old man.”
“Guhk!”
The moment I sank into the tub, the automatic groan that escaped my lips was brutally shut down by her comment. I’m still a fresh-faced guy in my early twenties, for heaven's sake.
“Anyway, is it really just us? It feels like we rented out the whole place.”
“Mm. Yeah. There haven’t been many customers for a while. I guess the owner doesn’t really mind.”
That said, the facility was kept quite clean. It hadn’t felt particularly run-down when we first walked in, either.
Still, I didn’t mind. Having the place to ourselves was actually quite calming.
“It’s been so long since I’ve been to a bathhouse. We have a tub at home, of course, but there’s a certain atmosphere you can only get at a place like this, you know?”
Sure, there was the obvious difference that I used to live in Korea and now I was in Japan, but a bathhouse was still a bathhouse.
“Yeah. There really is a feeling you just can’t replicate at home.”
Shido nodded in agreement.
“By the way, Hieta. Do you still not remember anything about Rinne?”
“...Huh?”
The question came out of nowhere. I was so startled that I could only stare blankly and repeat the words back to him.
“No, it’s just... you seem uncomfortable every time you see her. I thought maybe you still couldn't remember her.”
“Ha...”
Remember what? First of all, Rinne wasn’t Shido’s childhood friend—and honestly, I was starting to wonder if she had even existed in this world at all.
But there was no way the people around me would believe that. To everyone else, Rinne had always been Shido’s childhood friend. If I said something like that, I’d definitely be treated like a mental patient.
With that frustrating feeling tightening in my chest, all I could do was maintain my suspicion toward Rinne.
“Yes. I really don’t remember anything.”
I swallowed the rest of my thoughts: *It would be best to remain cautious around Miss Rinne.*
“I see... Still, I’m sure you’ll remember someday.”
Shido gave a bitter smile. He probably genuinely thought there was something wrong with my memory.
*This is seriously frustrating.*
It wasn’t Shido’s fault, but the situation was still irritating, so I sighed inwardly.
“I’m number one!!!”
A familiar voice rang out from the other side. Definitely Tohka. The soundproofing in this bathhouse was absurdly poor.
“Tohka! Don’t yell like that in a bathhouse!”
This time it was Rinne’s voice. She seemed to be teaching Tohka some proper etiquette.
“Shido. Is the soundproofing always this bad here?”
“I’m not really sure...”
So even Shido didn’t know.
Because the walls were so thin, every word from the women’s bath came through with crystal clarity. Normally, guys would exchange a few words, the conversation would lull, and then they’d start talking about something weird again; apparently, women were different. The chatter never stopped.
I just accepted it as it was and stared blankly into space, using their voices as background noise.
“Hey, how does everyone here feel about Shido?”
“Ghk!”
Then came a sudden, dangerous topic. Rinne was asking the girls what they thought of Shido.
Now, this was interesting. Honestly, everyone is curious about what the opposite sex thinks of their friend, right? I perked up and listened closely.
“Mm... What do you mean by that?”
“How should I put it... Right. Tohka, do you like Shido?”
“Of course!”
“Cough!”
Just as she had shown jealousy when Shido saved Yoshino, it was natural that Tohka liked him.
“Shido saved me. He told me I could live. He came to me. He gave me a place to sleep, a place to live, and a reason to keep living. I owe Shido a great debt. I will repay it no matter what.”
“I see, that’s a little different from what I expected...”
Hearing Tohka’s raw sincerity made Shido’s face turn bright red. Rinne mentioned the answer was different from her expectations, but I thought it was perfectly fitting.
A girl falling for the man who saved her—it's only natural. And since Shido didn't seem to mind the reaction, that settled it.
“Then, what about Yoshino?”
“I-I think... he’s, k-kind and... v-very... p-polite...”
“Anything else? Like, do you *like* him?”
At Rinne’s question, my body gave a tiny, involuntary shiver.
“N-no... nothing like that...”
Thank goodness. If Yoshino had answered that she liked Shido, then Shido would have had to watch out for my double-barrel shotgun.
『Hey~! Yoshino likes Hieta-kun, you know~』
“Cough, cough!”
I nearly choked on Yoshinon’s nonsense. There was no way Yoshino liked me. I had no idea what she could possibly see in me.
“Huh? Hieta?”
『That’s right! I mean Hieta-kun! She talks about Hieta-kun all the time~ Like, "What did Hieta-kun do last time?" "What is he doing now?" Stuff like that~!』
“Y-Yoshinon!”
『And last time she even said she was jealous of Shido-kun always being with Hieta-kun—ubub!』
With a loud splash, something fell into the water and Yoshinon’s voice was abruptly cut off.
“Hieta, are you okay? Your face is a little red.”
“H-huh? Me?”
When I touched my cheek, I could feel the heat. This was completely unexpected. Yoshino liked me? Normally, I would have brushed off Yoshinon’s words as mere mischief, but after Yoshino’s reaction, I couldn’t ignore it.
“...This is insane.”
Yeah, this could still be a misunderstanding, right? I wouldn’t know for sure until I heard it directly from Yoshino herself.
With that thought, I forcibly cleared my head and stared back into space.
“—!)*(^)&%!”
“—@#$!$%!!”
I had no idea what they were saying, but from the tone alone, it was obvious Tohka and Origami were fighting.
“Haha, Yoshino likes me... me...”
“H-Hieta? You’re starting to scare me a little...”
“Ah, haha. Shido, there’s no way Yoshino likes me, right? Right?”
“W-why are you acting like that? Your face is terrifying right now.”
Oh, come on. What was Shido talking about? What was wrong with my face...?
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
When I looked at my reflection in the water, I did look a little scary. I hadn't actually cleared my head after all.
Now that I’d checked, I successfully pushed the nonsense back out of my mind and returned my expression to normal.
“Mm. But what does Rinne think?”
“About Shido?”
“Correct.”
Now it was Rinne’s turn.
“If you like Shido, then you’re my enemy.”
Origami was already on guard against Rinne. Seriously, anyone watching would think those two were dating. Ah, right—officially, they *were* dating.
“Nothing like that is going to happen. I just want Shido to do well.”
“What does that mean?”
“Exactly what I said. I like Shido. Maybe enough to devote my life to him.”
Once again, Shido’s face started turning red. I thought the fight between Tohka and Origami had reached its peak, but apparently, the real climax was happening now. Today I learned just how red a human face could actually get.
“If Shido wants me, I’ll accept all of it. As his lover. I’ll kiss him, date him, marry him, have as many children as he wants, and grow old together with him. But if Shido chooses someone else, I don’t mind. Of course, if he chooses no one, that’s fine too. And if he wants to take everyone for himself, I’ll support that as well. If Shido is happy, I’ll do anything. If Shido wants it, I’ll make anything happen. Whether I’m Shido’s childhood friend, lover, wife, little sister, older sister, mother, daughter, boss, subordinate, enemy, sworn enemy, or just a stranger, it doesn’t matter—so long as Shido is happy.”
And just like that, the color rapidly drained from Shido’s cheeks.
I could guess why. What Rinne was saying was certainly kind, considerate, and full of goodwill, but it was also somehow... creepy.
Yeah, this was exactly what a yandere would feel like if one actually existed. A very considerate yandere.
“H-hey, Hieta. This isn’t the hot bath, is it...?”
As Shido asked me that, his face had gone completely white.
“It is, right...?”
“Then why do I feel so cold...?”
Shido must have felt the same as I did, because even in the steaming hot water, he was shivering.
Well, anyone who heard that would have no choice but to feel that way. I was feeling it too.
“Shido. Should we get out...?”
“S-should we...?”
And so, we left the men’s bath enveloped in a very chilly atmosphere.
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