The Correct Japanese Terms of Homestay Seems to Be Marriage - Chapter 14

Apologies

Keitaro’s consciousness, which had sunk to the very bottom, was abruptly pulled up to the surface of the water.

“Keitaro… Are you okay?”

Before he knew it, Sofia was standing in front of Keitaro.

And then, as if pulling him into her chest, Keitaro’s head was cradled by Sofia. The sweet scent mixed with soap, coupled with her light attire after a bath, enveloped his entire face in a soft, comfortable resilience, bringing Keitaro’s consciousness fully awake.

“…Huh, you’re already out?”

“Already?… It’s been forty minutes since then, you know?”

“Seriously… When did that happen…”

It seemed he had been lost in thought too deeply. Realizing that quite some time had passed, which felt very different from his sense of time, Keitaro looked up and said,

“Then, it’s my turn to go in next.”

But as he urged Sofia to let go,

“I can’t do that. You had that ‘I can’t leave you alone’ look on your face.”

Sofia shook her head decisively, clearly stating she wouldn’t accept such a thing.

It seemed immovable, but staying like this was problematic in many ways, both mentally and physically. After all, Keitaro was a healthy high school boy.

“…No, that’s not really…”

“No. It was really something. There, there, I’ll spoil you as much as you need.”

Sofia began to gently stroke Keitaro’s head.

Her gestures were filled with tenderness, and at this moment, calling Sofia a saint wouldn’t be an exaggeration. A warmth similar to hot milk was poured into his cold and dry heart.

Maybe it was okay to indulge in this moment a little longer, Keitaro thought, almost getting carried away by the atmosphere, but he stopped himself at the last second.

“…Sofia, are you trying to make me even more of a good-for-nothing?”

Having meals prepared and even fed to him, being hugged when his heart was troubled, and having his head petted like a child. And now, his face was being pushed into a mysterious object that was both melon and marshmallow.

This wasn’t good. It was a type of paradise he shouldn’t savor. A dangerous drug that could lead to dependency.

If this continued, he wouldn’t be able to live without it. That was a problem.

“Did you figure it out? My plan was to make it so Keitaro couldn’t live without me.”

Sofia didn’t deny it, but rather, she claimed it mischievously.

It appeared she was indeed planning to ruin Keitaro.

“That’s a terrifying plan…”

He felt like sighing deeply, but he refrained.

Currently, Keitaro’s face was stuck in a cleavage. Emotionally, he even felt hesitant to breathe.

“Hey, weren’t you disappointed when you met me? Unlike you, I haven’t grown at all; if anything, I’ve regressed since then. I’m always lacking motivation, I hardly ever want to go outside, and I don’t try to do anything on my own. I’ve become such a listless person…”

Keitaro timidly asked Sofia the question he had always wanted to ask.

He was afraid. He feared that Sofia might also drift away from him.

No one knew better than Keitaro how easily people could disappear. He knew all too well the pain and suffering that came with it.

If only geniuses were also given personalities and mentalities befitting their status. If he could have been strong enough to ignore others even when isolated, if he could have been cold enough to think only of himself, then perhaps Keitaro wouldn’t have suffered so much.

“Any kind of Keitaro is still Keitaro. I wouldn’t be disappointed. Rather… I’m happy.”

Keitaro’s concerns were entirely unnecessary.

Sofia gazed at Keitaro tenderly and lovingly, continually stroking his head.

Faced with words he hadn’t anticipated at all, Keitaro’s brows twitched slightly.

“…You’re lying if you say you’re happy.”

When Keitaro murmured softly, Sofia shook her head again, even more emphatically.

“No, I am happy. Because I can spoil Keitaro like this. In the past, it was Keitaro who spoiled me this way, but now I can spoil Keitaro. That makes me very, very happy.”

Sofia’s words, rich in the warmth of her soothing voice, replayed the days they had spent together in Keitaro’s mind.

Indeed, that was the case. When Sofia looked like she was about to cry, when she looked lonely or in pain, he was always there to embrace her.

“It’s okay,” “I’ll protect you,” “I’ll be by your side,” he remembered saying such things all the time.

It’s truly amusing how their roles had completely reversed from those days. He had become unreliable and wanted to rely on her.

“Then, can we stay like this for a bit longer…?” (tln : MC not avoiding FL affection :)) )

Keitaro wrapped his arms around Sofia’s waist and, with a little more strength in his embrace, decided to hug her back.

If it was alright to be spoiled, then he would indulge in this moment. It wasn’t good to disregard someone’s kindness… No, he simply wanted to feel the warmth of another person.

He desperately longed for human warmth. Just like back then, he wanted to spend time with someone.

“Yes, of course. You can stay like this for hours if you want.”

That was dangerous. Hearing such words made him want to indulge infinitely. He wanted to stay like this forever.

Even though he knew it was wrong, Keitaro couldn’t do anything but cling to Sofia.

The presence that accepted him as he was had become overwhelmingly significant to him.

The unadorned, life-sized Ayasaka Keitaro inevitably showed his face.

(I want to apologize to Master. If only I hadn’t run away then and said I’m sorry… Maybe even now, that time would still… Ah… it’s useless. If I remember, I…)

Tears began to flow endlessly. The sunny spot he had shattered with his own hands, the torrent of regret flowed out as if a dam had burst.

(I should have just apologized honestly. Without running away, I should have bowed my head and said I’m sorry. I wanted to see Master succeed. I wanted to applaud every shot she made. Whether she won or lost, I wanted to say, “Good job.” I just wanted to have trivial conversations and eat ice cream together like we used to.)

He could do nothing but sob like a child.

Rather, this was something the child Keitaro couldn’t have done properly.

Without saying a word, without asking anything, Sofia stayed by Keitaro’s side, in the same space, spending time together. Only Keitaro’s sobs echoed in the room.

After a while, as Keitaro’s tears gradually subsided, with his face still buried in Sofia’s chest, he murmured in a small but clear voice,

“…Sofia.”

“What is it, Keitaro?”

With a voice as soothing as melting into his ear, Sofia responded.

Keitaro tightened his embrace a little more and then said in a clear voice,

“Being able to meet you again… I’m truly, truly glad.”

It was an honest word.

A straightforward word, with nothing hidden, nothing twisted.

“…Nnn, that sneak attack is unfair…”

Unable to withstand the heat spreading like ripples on water across her face, Sofia suddenly turned her face diagonally upward.

She was aware that she was making a face Keitaro couldn’t possibly see.

And so, Keitaro hugged Sofia tightly, very tightly, and Sofia, in return, hugged Keitaro tightly, very tightly.

After nearly thirty minutes had passed in this manner, Keitaro slowly loosened his arms, and finally, the two of them parted.

Having calmed down somewhat with the passage of time, Keitaro stood up and, in a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s, muttered a bashful thanks to Sofia, then hurriedly, almost fleeing, made his way to the bathroom.

Exposing his vulnerable side felt immensely comforting, but it was overwhelmingly embarrassing above all.

As soon as Keitaro entered the washroom, he leaned his back against the closed door and plunged into an unguarded close combat with unbearable shame.

(Aaaaaah…!! I’ve done it… I’m not a kindergarten kid, you know… Just because I felt lonely… to Sofia, who just came back today… damn… it’s embarrassing…!)

Keitaro cradled his head in his hands, feeling an urge to cry for a completely different reason now.

In front of Sofia, a girl of his age, and moreover, in her arms, in her chest, he had cried like a baby.

He couldn’t help but resent his actions from just a few minutes ago.

However, even as he indulged in self-loathing,

(…But, it smelled so nice… and it was so soft… Ah, what am I thinking?! Am I in the midst of puberty?! Yes, that’s right, puberty! I have it too, I’m human after all!!)

In a corner of his mind, he was vividly recalling the warmth of Sofia.

Wanting to experience it again, he beat himself up, hitting his head against the wall.

(…Calm down. First, I need to take a bath. And wash away the shame along with the dirt.)

Leaving behind the noisy thoughts and palpitations like frogs on a summer night, Keitaro hastily stripped off his clothes and entered the bathroom.

The bathroom, with a faint scent of soap lingering, was warmed as if the heater had been used.

Although some time had passed, traces of the person who had been there before were clearly left behind.

(…Sofia was here just a while ago…)

That alone caused unsuitable images related to Sofia to involuntarily pop into his mind.

Scenes of her soaking in the bathtub or washing her body, such intrusive thoughts couldn’t be stopped.

(…No, don’t think too deeply! This is just water! This is just a chair! Don’t think about perverted things like leftover bathwater or warmth!)

Keitaro frantically shook his head. He counted things like pi, prime numbers, sheep, anything and everything nonsensically.

Keitaro’s struggle continued endlessly, leading to a first-of-its-kind bath in his life where he became more fatigued instead of recovering, barely managing to keep his consciousness without fainting from the heat, successfully completing this shame-filled bathing experience.

From tomorrow on, he vowed to himself to be the first to take a bath, thinking that he couldn’t endure this every day.