Chapter- 28

The next morning, I came to Rie's house as promised. As soon as I rang the doorbell, Rika-san came to greet me.

　"Mamoru-san, come in."

　"Thank you, Ri...Mom."

　I was about to accidentally call her Rika-san so I called her back in a hurry. I had promised to call her Mom, so I had to call her that too.

　"Oh my, please don't push yourself and call me by whatever is easier for you."

　"Hahaha, did you know?"

　"Of course I understand. Don't underestimate adults, you know."

　Rika-san said and winked. …I guess she feels more like an older sister than an adult. Well, Rika is Rika, so I don't feel nervous any more than necessary.

Stolen novel; please report.

　"Hey, don't hang around like that forever, come inside~"

　"Oh, yes. Please I am coming in."

　"Oh, have you forgotten how to say hello yet?"

　"...Um, I'm home now."

　"That's right, well done. Welcome home, Mamoru-san."

　…I wonder if it was okay to come back here? It feels a little strange, but…Rika-san was happy, so it's okay!

　So I was led to the living room. There, I was alone with Rika-san. Rie-san was usually there between us, but I didn't know what to talk about. ...But, you said you had a requirement! I should have asked you about that!

　"...I wonder how long Rie is going to sleep for."

　...But I missed the timing to bring it up.

　"Rie-san, do she get up late in the morning?"

　"I wonder? she usually wake up around this time. I wish she had a little more time. I wonder who she take after?"

　...In terms of speaking style or demeanor, Rika is the more gentle one, but Rie is surprisingly the clumsy one.

　"Haha, how about it? By the way, I heard there's something you wanted to give me."

　"That's right. Yes."

　And then a silver object was placed on the table. ...Hey, this!

　"Well, you don't have a spare key, do you?"

　"What could it be? Your house keys?"

　"Huh!"

　A spare key?! It's not something you should give to someone you've only met three days ago! I couldn't accept it!

　"...I still can't accept this."

　"…I wonder why that is?"

　"Why? Because there are too many problems. There's no guarantee that I won't misuse it!"

　"That's true. But there's no guarantee that it will be misused, right? If that were the case, I wouldn't give the key to anyone other than myself. Even to Rie."

　"...That may be true."

　"In the first place, I'm the one who asked you to keep it. Whether you actually use it or not is aside, but I want you to have it."

　Rika-san said this with a serious expression.