Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

“Fujishima-san, your expression is making me uneasy…”

The ponytailed girl’s pupils sparkled with an unusual light as she stared off into space, clearly lost in thought. Seeing this, the Novelist couldn’t help but comment.

“It’s nothing, nothing at all!”

Misao hastily pulled back her feet and retreated to sit on the sofa behind her.

“…Is that so?”

The Class Rep eyed her friend suspiciously, then placed the serving tray she was holding onto the table.

“Let’s eat together.”

Dinner was quite lavish, but the more diverse the dishes that were served, the more concerning the situation became, given their distrust in the cook’s abilities.

“I tried my best to stop her. But Aunt Kaori seemed really excited today…” Itou Maho sat down and explained to them with a wry smile.

“I see… Oh right, Liang-kun, make sure you finish everything, okay?”

Fujishima-san appeared lost in thought.

“Why?”

“You’re the only boy here, so your appetite should be bigger than ours, right?”

“But I think personal safety is more important than satisfying one’s appetite…”

“Then, would you want to see Mom looking sad?”

“Ugh…”

This was bad – he was starting to waver without realizing it.

Fujishima Misao gave him a look that said “just as I thought” and regarded him with contempt.

“When you saw Mom smiling in the room earlier, you were completely enchanted!”

“That’s slander.”

A lie. He hadn’t been that obvious. …Probably?

“Heh, I understand without you saying anything. The charm of a beauty like Mom isn’t something a young rookie like you can resist.”

Misao said with a cold laugh, crossing her arms. Beside her, Itou Maho gave him a complicated look… Class Rep, you’re too quick to believe what others say!

She was being quite direct.

“Let me clarify – I see Kaori-san as a respectable elder, don’t misunderstand.”

It sounded like a rather weak defense. The Novelist sighed and used his chopsticks to add a piece of yellowish grilled fish to his rice bowl, hesitantly putting it in his mouth.

Ugh, it was indeed hard to eat. What we call “taste” comes from chemical compounds in food stimulating our tongue – it doesn’t change just because you’re looking at a beautiful woman.

…

“Come on everyone, let’s eat together.”

Looking at the high school students whispering among themselves, Kaori-san smiled happily and clapped her hands, calling them over.

“By the way, doesn’t Kaori-san realize that what she makes is barely edible?”

The question suddenly occurred to him. Kaori-san cared deeply for her daughter, so she wouldn’t feed Misao dark cuisine every day.

“I usually prepare the meals. Mom’s sense of taste isn’t very sharp. To her, anything that provides nutrition is the same. Besides, even if you point it out to her directly, she won’t care and will probably forget about it after a while.”

“I see.”

More terrifying than her talent for dark cuisine was probably her complete obliviousness to it…

“Anyway, let’s tell her about that matter.”

Misao nodded.

Ten minutes later. After hearing her daughter’s explanation, Kaori-san’s usual smile faded for once as she adopted a thoughtful expression.

Whether it was about serial killers or transporting corpses, she didn’t find Fujishima-san’s discussion absurd, nor did she think her daughter was worrying unnecessarily. Instead, she was seriously considering countermeasures.

“Maybe I should try talking to them…”

“No!”

Misao anxiously cut off her words.

“It’s too dangerous! Let’s forget about the past, but now that we know they might be dangerous, how can we approach them without any precautions?”

“But if we report it to the police directly, and they can’t find enough evidence for an arrest, if that person turns out to be dangerous like you suspect, they might come after us.”

Kaori-san answered very seriously.

…Eh?

The Novelist looked up slightly surprised, but quickly lowered his head again, maintaining a silent posture of careful observation. The Class Rep similarly kept quiet. This was a conversation between mother and daughter.

“But approaching them directly would be too dangerous for you, Mom. I won’t agree to it.”

Misao’s expression was equally serious.

“Is that so…”

Rather than stubbornly insisting, Kaori-san showed a troubled expression.

…

Looking at the mother and daughter engaged in heated discussion, drowsiness inevitably crept up after the feeling of fullness. He couldn’t help but yawn.

He really wanted to sleep.

But since he was a guest in someone else’s home, it wouldn’t be right to interrupt their conversation. Come to think of it, he’d been getting more rest lately than before, mainly because he wasn’t worried about living expenses anymore and could focus entirely on his writing career. He rarely had to stay up late meeting deadlines like before, and he seldom needed to catch up on sleep during classes now.

After developing regular rest habits, his biological clock had returned to normal and was faithfully doing its job.

The reason was naturally Yayoi, who paid him five million yen in rent monthly since he moved into Amazu Manor. With such stable income, he could naturally relax.

However, the current situation sounded like he was being kept by someone… Wait, was it more than just sounding like it? Anyway, his brain was starting to slow down.

“Oh? Is Liang-chan ready to rest?”

Kaori-san, who had been talking with her daughter, quickly noticed his condition.

“Ah… yes, I’m sorry.”

“Really now~ If you’re feeling sleepy you should say so, don’t worry about what others think.”

Kaori-san glared at him with slight dissatisfaction. Her pouty expression, like that of a young girl, made her already unclear age even harder to determine.

“I’ve already prepared a room for Liang-chan to rest. Come along.”

Without waiting for Misao to get up, she headed toward the hallway between the entrance and kitchen.

…

Kaori-san opened the door for him.

The guest room was about the same size as the game room, with just one bed. Compared to ordinary hotels, the room’s arrangement had more of a homey warmth to it.

“Excuse me.”

He took off his coat and hung it on the nearby coat rack. The bedding had clearly been carefully prepared.

“Thank you very much, Kaori-san.”

However, she didn’t leave immediately, and her hesitant expression was concerning.

“Um… there’s something I want to talk to you about.”