Chapter 114

After the dragon meat tasting event, Diamond Dust and Gravity are lying on the living room floor, connecting the TV screen and playing a game.

Pretty Heart and I are sitting on the sofa, and Pretty Heart is clinging to me so persistently that it’s a bit uncomfortable.

And Yura… is still asleep.

—

“Ame, unnie. Please take care of that.”

“…Okay.”

—

By the way, I didn’t know Gravity was so good at games.

Her fingers are moving much faster than Diamond Dust’s, and her kill score is way higher.

Considering how she usually acts, she’s surprisingly competent…

She’s even better than Diamond Dust, who’s always playing games.

—

“Watching games is fun too…”

“Really? Well, that’s why there are pro gamers and tournaments, I guess.”

“That’s true.”

—

…Speaking of which, Pretty Heart?

Can you stop sitting on my lap and hugging me like this?

Stop casually touching my stomach, and don’t even think about moving your hands up.

Even if I used to be a guy, it’s still weird for someone to touch my chest like this.

No, even when I was a guy, if someone tried to touch my chest, it’d still be…

—

“Nari. Stop touching me.”

“Yes, huh?!”

—

Sigh… I don’t know if Nari was always like this or if it’s her friends’ influence.

But it’s probably mostly her friends’ influence…

—

“…Is it okay if I touch you openly?”

“No.”

“Okay…”

—

I shut down her usual nonsense and kept watching Diamond Dust and Gravity play games.

Pretty Heart kept fidgeting, watching the game, then fidgeting again, then watching the game.

It feels like she’s about to do something reckless, but Pretty Heart isn’t that impatient.

…I really hope she isn’t.

—

“Haam…”

“What, you’re awake?”

“Yeah…”

—

After a while, Yura finally woke up and crawled out of her room.

…By the way, don’t come out in just a tank top and underwear when there are kids around.

And your underwear is halfway down.

—

“Go change first. The kids are here.”

“…Huh? Oh, right… Huam~…”

—

What time is it now? …It’s past 12.

She really slept in, huh?

And it’s time for lunch, so we should get up.

I can’t keep sitting here with Pretty Heart clinging to me.

—

“Chubby. What’s for lunch?”

“Pasta! Meatball tomato pasta!”

“Oh… that sounds good.”

—

Huh? I get using good meat for the meatballs, but adding cheese too?

And you’re sprinkling a ton of Parmesan on it…

This kid’s using every cheat code in the book.

Well, as long as it’s tasty, it’s fine.

—

“It’s ready!”

“Kids! Let’s eat lunch!”

—

…The plates are huge, and the food is piled up like a mountain.

I’ll never get used to this…

—

“Umm…”

“Ame. Wipe the sauce off your mouth while eating.”

“Too lazy…”

“…Ayun. You wipe it for her.”

“…Okay.”

“Ehehe…”

—

She’s really like this even after graduating high school.

But since she’s doing what she needs to do, I can’t really complain…

—

“Unlike unnie, Ame unnie is really like a baby…!”

“What do you mean, unlike me?”

“If unnie is the kind of cute you’d want to marry, Ame unnie is like a pet-level cute!”

—

Pretty Heart has started treating Ame not as a rival but as a cute pet…

Well, looking at how Ame acts, it’s not entirely wrong, but you shouldn’t treat people like that.

—

“Don’t treat people like pets… Just treat her like a little kid. Pets are going too far.”

“Okay! By the way, this pasta is really good. Cheese makes everything better!”

“Right.”

—

Hmm, this pasta is really delicious.

It’d probably be good even without the cheese, but the cheese makes it stick to your mouth so nicely.

Parmesan… I should just sprinkle it liberally on Western dishes from now on.

—

“Nari is definitely faster.”

“Ehehe~…”

“That’s not a compliment.”

—

By the way, whether it’s because of body size or Pretty Heart is just unusually fast, she eats way faster than Gravity.

Almost twice as fast, which is a huge difference.

Even though Gravity eats pretty fast too… Pretty Heart is really something else.

Not in a good way, though.

—

“……”

“…What?”

“Ah, nothing! It’s… it’s nothing!”

“…?”

—

What’s she thinking to suddenly get so flustered and mumble like that?

…I didn’t want to do this, but I should ask Tinihu.

She probably knows what Pretty Heart is thinking and doing all the time.

—

“…Hey, Tinihu.”

“…Yes?”

“…Why is she like that?”

“…She’s probably thinking about some kind of lingerie that would work on Rampage…!”

“……”

—

Damn, I thought it might be something like that, but it had to be the worst kind of fantasy.

Sigh… What kind of Pretty Heart is this…?

—

“…By the way, she’s been getting worse lately. Do you know why?”

“…It probably got worse after the love potion incident…!”

“…I see.”

—

That’s exactly what I expected.

So Pretty Heart wants to do all sorts of clingy things with me, huh?

…No way.

I’m not touching a minor.

So give up, Pretty Heart.

If you’re upset, wait six years.

—

“Kkeh.”

“Ame’s done eating too.”

“She’s so cute…”

“Right. It’s hard to believe she’s an adult.”

“…Yeah.”

—

Since everyone’s done eating, it’s time to sit back on the sofa.

Ah, before that, I should grab some beer… and ice cream and snacks.

…No, skip the beer, just bring the ice cream and snacks.

—

“…Everyone else doesn’t gain weight, so I’m the only one who has to restrain myself…”

“What’s wrong, suddenly? You were eating just fine.”

“No~! Think about it! Unnie and Ayun don’t gain weight because of their magical girl bodies, and Ame and Nari don’t gain weight because of their metabolism!”

“…So?”

“It’s unfair!”

“I see. That’s too bad.”

“You don’t mean that…”

—

Yura’s complaints are the usual, so I’ll just let it slide.

She’s always jealous because everyone else can eat as much as they want while she has to be careful, even though she goes to the gym regularly.

—

“So, you’re not eating? Got it.”

“No, no! I’ll eat the ice cream!”

“…Here.”

—

Anyway… Even after graduating college, she still acts the same in front of me.

Well, even though she did some devilish things, I’m probably the only one she can act spoiled with.

—

“…Ame unnie.”

“…Hm?”

“Come sit here.”

—

Meanwhile, Diamond Dust is letting Gravity sit in her lap…

She’s gotten close to Gravity like this naturally.

Even though their ages are reversed.

—

“Ah! Unnie! I want to sit in your lap too!”

“You already hugged me a lot earlier.”

“That was just sitting on your lap!”

“……”

—

Wait, what’s the difference between sitting on my lap and hugging me?

Honestly, it’s pretty much the same, so why make such a distinction…

…Well, it’s more comfortable to just let her hug me than to have her sit on my lap.

And if I ignore her, she’ll be sulking all day, so I have no choice but to indulge her.

……Wait, that sounds weird.

—

“By the way, are you okay just staying like this?”

“Yes! Totally fine! Unless… you’re not okay with it, then unnie can do something…”

“No. And stop having weird fantasies.”

“…Eh?”

—

Pretty Heart started having another weird fantasy, so I pinched her cheek and stretched it.

But seeing how she still likes it, I’m starting to wonder how far she’ll go.

And stop pulling me and casually putting your hand on my chest!

That’s definitely not an accident, is it?!

—

“Haong…”

“Sleepy?”

“Yeah…”

“Here, lean on me.”

“Hmm…”

—

Oh no, she was watching the game but got sleepy and fell asleep.

So is the game-watching over now?

—

“Unnie, you can sleep in my lap too!”

“No thanks.”

“…You can use my chest as a pillow…!”

“No.”

—

Chest… chest, huh… It’s true that those would be soft and comfortable.

It’s a tempting offer, but you’re a minor.

So it’s an automatic no.

—

“…Nari?”

“Please snuggle in my lap…!”

“No, I said no.”

“Eeek!”

“Ugh.”

—

Damn, is she forcing it this time… Ah, it’s soft.

No, not that it’s soft, but I can’t do this right now!

—

“Don’t cross the line with a minor.”

“Ehh… But we’re both girls!”

“Even if we’re both girls, it’s the same.”

“Then kiss me instead!”

“…Sigh, fine. Is that the end of it?”

“Yes~!”

—

Well, a kiss is fine….

…But no deep kisses.

Just a little peck.

—

“…Mmph!”

“Ugh?!”

—

You little…! As soon as I thought about it, she grabbed my head and tried to go for a deep kiss…?!

I clearly said only a normal kiss was allowed!

—

“Ah~ failed…”

“…Yunari.”

“…Yes?”

“You’re getting scolded today.”

“Sc-scolded…?”

—

Sigh… I really need to scold her this time.

But a normal scolding won’t feel like a real scolding…

…Ah, that’ll do.

—

“Nari.”

“Yes.”

“Kneel in the corner of the sofa and stay still for an hour.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ll be in my room, so you can’t even look at me. Got it?”

“Why, why…?!”

“I said I’d scold you. This is probably the best punishment for you.”

“Ehh…”

—

Now that Pretty Heart’s punishment is decided… I’ll grab some beer and enjoy it in my room.

Anyway, Gravity and Diamond Dust are sprawled out asleep in the living room, so there’s nothing for me to worry about right now.

—

“Phew…”

—

Ah~ beer is always refreshing…

By the way, Pretty Heart is in her second year of middle school, so this is probably the noisiest time for her regarding relationships.

So after this year, she’ll calm down a bit.

Which means I need to be extra defensive for this one year.

—

…If I were a minor like Pretty Heart… Honestly, I’d probably go along with it.

I’ve started feeling those kinds of emotions too.

But I’m an adult.

I’m 25 this year.

The age gap is over 10 years, so it’s impossible.

—

“…Even so, this is really like a rabbit in heat…”

—

But Pretty Heart is way too serious right now.

This… I should take her to the research lab for a check-up, like with Gravity.

It’s a completely different issue, but they can figure out almost anything there.

…Alright, after training tomorrow, I’ll take her there for a check-up.