ODL – Chapter 69 – The Fated Night

“Souma-san, can I have this ice cream?” (Miyabi)

The lively voice of Miyabi-chan, who had just come out of the bath, could be heard. I leaned back on the living room sofa and replied while trying to avoid looking in that direction as much as possible. Miyabi-chan was wearing baggy pajamas that swayed as she moved, which made me feel somewhat strange. I think the term used in this situation is ‘boyfriend’s shirt¹‘, but Miyabi was not my girlfriend, and she was wearing sweatpants.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you can eat whatever you like.” (Souma)

“All right! Then, I’ll take this Dazs²!” (Miyabi)

I kept my gaze fixed on my smartphone, repeatedly swiping and refreshing my Twitter feed, but nothing was registering in my mind. To be honest, I couldn’t calm down at all. Having a woman in the house didn’t bother me anymore, but when said person had just finished taking a bath, it was a different story. Even back then when Shizuka had caught a cold and showered at my place, it wasn’t as bad as the situation right now. After all, Miyabi-chan and I aren’t that close yet.

“Itadakimasu!” (Miyabi)

“Whoa?!” (Souma)

Miyabi-chan leaped energetically into the vacant space on the sofa, causing me to instinctively shift away. I pressed my body against the edge of the sofa as much as I could, but the distance was still relatively short, and a sweet aroma filled the air, tickling my nose. This sweet aroma, which was distinctly different from the scent of strawberry ice cream Miyabi-chan held, was undoubtedly coming from her. She should be using the familiar shampoo and body soap from our house, so why did she smell so good? The mysteries of the human body.

“Delicious~! Dazs the best!” (Miyabi)

Miyabi-chan was completely engrossed in the ice cream, which made me feel a little more at ease. It’s difficult to control my reasoning, but I still tried my best to do so. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t be able to survive this crazy apartment life. You know, lately, I felt like I was being tested every day.

“Ah, would it be bad if I ate the whole thing? I’ll give you a bite!” (Miyabi)

“Eh?” (Souma)

…For the next few seconds, it felt as though time had come to a standstill.

Miyabi-chan had just extracted a spoonful of strawberry ice cream and extended it straight towards my mouth. Seeing the silver spoon slowly approaching me causes various thoughts to rush through my mind.

…Are you not bothered by it?

Or am I overthinking it?

If I don’t eat it quickly she’ll start to get suspicious.

But… this is like an indirect kiss, isn’t it?

“……” (Souma)

Come on me, you’re already twenty years old, why are you thinking like this? You even shared drinks with Hiyorin. This is just a single scoop of ice cream. And the other person’s Miyabi-chan. It’s fine, she’s not concerned about it. It’s more uncool to be self-conscious.

“Are you not going to eat it?” (Miyabi)

“Ah, I’ll eat it. Thanks.” (Souma)

With my head still in a mess, I bit into the spoon mindlessly. Of course, I couldn’t taste anything at all.

“Dazs is the best, right? I like the chocolate chip one the most.” (Miyabi)

“Oh, yeah… that’s nice.” (Souma)

Unbeknownst to me who was still in shock, Miyabi-chan ate from the spoon as if she were a child who had no concept of an “indirect kiss”. The melting ice cream quickly found its way into her stomach.

“Thanks for the meal. Ice cream after a bath is really something special.” (Miyabi)

Miyabi-chan hopped up and walked to the kitchen. She placed the spoon in the sink and appeared to be washing the ice cream container. By not tossing it in the trash right away, she seemed much more responsible than Shizuka.

…No, that’s an understatement. Even if she had tossed it in the trash immediately, it would have already been better than Shizuka. After all, she thinks the floor is her personal trash can.

Miyabi-chan returned to the sofa like a busy little animal. Even though there was a dining table to sit at, she chose to sit next to me, which made me think she must be someone who’s comfortable with being close to others. It wouldn’t be a big deal if she were a guy, but… she’s a cute girl, so it’s a bit awkward to be next to her.

“Souma-san, Souma-san, there’s something I’ve been wondering about for a while now.” (Miyabi)

“Something you’ve been wondering about?” (Souma)

Miyabi-chan leaned her face closer towards me. I instinctively wanted to turn my face away, but it would be embarrassing to act all shy as the older person. I did my best to keep my neck and eyes fixed on her and pretended to be nonchalant. But…

…That didn’t last long.

“…Souma-san, be honest with me, who do you like? I heard from Ette that you have a harem, is that true?” (Miyabi)

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Thanks for reading!

She did it! She asked the thing! I like how everything was just built up to this one moment. Now let’s see how is our dense MC going to react to this. Or would there be some actual development?

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1. In fashion design, “boyfriend” is a style of women’s clothing that draws heavily from corresponding men’s garments. Boyfriend-style clothes are designed to be looser or boxier and tend to be oversized — giving the appearance that one is wearing their boyfriend’s clothing. Since MC mentioned sweatpants, I guess they don’t normally wear pants or something.
2. If you don’t rmb, Dazs is that luxurious ice-cream which MC wanted to buy for Shizuka back in ch 49.