The Two Who Crossed Paths

The door opened.

And then—

SLAM!!!

The door slammed shut.

"..."

"...Did you see?"

Beatrice. The one who had shut the door.

I hesitated at her question, then had no choice but to nod. It had been far too striking a sight to lie about.

A scene of utter chaos—no, not five minutes from disaster. Just straight-up disaster. And that, uh... white... ahem.

My eyes had gone there on reflex. Honestly, it hit harder than when she'd first come on to me.

She was flushing in a way that didn't suit her at all, looking anywhere but at me.

...Was this really what she was like underneath? Or was it an act to lower my guard? Had she even left the house a mess on purpose?

...I can't let my guard down.

She was a terrifying girl.

"I could hardly miss it."

"...Forget it."

"That might be difficult. It left quite the impression."

"I said forget it."

"I'll do my best."

I played it off with deliberate nonchalance, trying to settle my rattled nerves.

"Want me to help clean up? Looks like you'd have a rough time doing it alone."

"No. Don't help. That's my problem. I'm not about to go begging Target for a hand."

"I appreciate the consideration, but I'd rather we clean it together. Waiting outside in this heat? Really?"

Beatrice's face went even redder as she twisted a lock of hair ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around her finger.

Then she muttered, her voice as tiny as an ant's footsteps.

"...Then just wait a little."

Whoosh. Beatrice slipped through the door with ninja-like speed.

"...Don't peek."

Just when I thought she'd gone in, she poked her head back out to warn me.

"I won't. Why would I look at that?"

"...You might, though."

She stared me down for a long moment, as if to make sure I'd behave, then disappeared inside again.

I let out a small sigh and entertained a bored Hayang-i with my hand for a while.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

SCRAMBLE-SCRAMBLE-SCRAMBLE!

...Some extremely violent noises came through the door, but I did my best to ignore them.

How much time passed after that?

Creeeak.

"You can come in now."

With an elegant posture that suggested she'd never been flustered in her life, Beatrice opened the door and welcomed me in.

"Ah— damn."

Then she winced and gave a little shiver. Sweat must have run into her eyes.

I had no idea what she was even aiming for anymore. Shaking my head inwardly, I stepped inside.

"Pardon the intrusion."

Cool air from the AC greeted me as I did. Whew. I could finally breathe again.

I wiped the sweat with my sleeve and looked around. For all that racket, surprisingly little had changed.

What was different? Ah. The clothes and underwear that had been strewn everywhere were gone.

Beatrice, as if she'd read my gaze, stared off at some distant mountain. She scratched the back of her head and said,

"So, uh... this is... I just haven't had time to clean. I'm out a lot, you know."

"Ah, I see."

"...I'm serious."

Beatrice made a pitiful face, looking thoroughly wronged.

But I didn't look at her properly. That, too, was surely a performance designed to charm me.

I could never let my guard down. I couldn't let her into my world.

She'd devour me whole.

I carefully set Hayang-i's box down in a relatively clean spot, then gave the hungry little guy some water and food.

"A little disappointing. I didn't think that furball would be coming into my house too."

"You don't like cats?"

Beatrice glanced down at Hayang-i for a moment, then shrugged.

"I'm not particularly fond of animals."

"Why not?"

"I can't read their thoughts."

With that, Beatrice headed into the living room. I followed after her.

The house is nice, I'll give her that.

My old place had been pretty decent, but this was practically a small mansion. To reduce a place this grand to such a slovenly wreck... Beatrice, this girl, seemed to have a genuine talent for making a mess of things.

"Let's get started."

"Yeah. Let's get this over with."

We divided the work. I'd handle the big spaces like the living room. Beatrice would take the side areas.

I sorted the snack bags on the floor for recycling. Rewound a half-unspooled roll of toilet paper. Stuck the batteries rolling around on the floor back into the TV remote.

On and on it went.

A spacious house meant there was a lot more to clean. The living room was just wrapping up—how long would the rest take?

I let out a heavy sigh and checked under the sofa. As expected, something was wedged in there.

...A school uniform?

It wasn't our school's, but it was definitely a uniform.

Does she go to school? The thought of a Nexus executive attending high school felt somehow strange...

Ah. Right.

I was the son of a yakuza boss. I was in no position to talk.

She'd cleaned up the clothes thoroughly, but apparently hadn't found what was stuck under the sofa. I'd take this over to the laundry area...

Hm? Something came out with it—

"......"

An electronic device I absolutely should not have seen popped out. Without a word, I quietly stuffed it back under the sofa. I tried to keep my composure, but my hands wouldn't stop trembling.

...Had she planned this too?

I couldn't tell if she'd deliberately set this trap or if she just genuinely lived like this.

Ah, I'm exhausted. I just want to drop everything and sleep.

I couldn't very well clean that up myself, so better to call her over and have her deal with it.

I headed toward where Beatrice was...

"...Uh."

...Why hasn't anything changed?

"What?"

"What... are you doing?"

"Cleaning. Can't you tell?"

Beatrice stopped at my question and tilted her head. Powder cascaded from the snack bag she was holding.

Watching that blankly, I got a pretty clear picture. Her housekeeping skills were truly catastrophic. It might be faster if I just did it alone.

"That's enough cleaning from you. Go start dinner. I'll finish up here."

"Hey, I'm the one who owns this house..."

"At this rate we'll be cleaning until tomorrow morning. Oh, before that—can you cook?"

Judging by her housework, her cooking was probably about the same.

"What a stupid question. Winning over a target with skilled cooking is a skill too, you know."

"Ah, I see."

"Are you going to keep talking like that?! It's getting on my nerves!"

Beatrice huffed and stomped off toward the kitchen.

After banishing her there, I threw myself back into the cleaning. It was pretty grueling work, but if it weren't for her, I'd be out on the street right now trying to figure out how to survive. Doing this much was only polite.

I focused without complaint, and before I knew it, the end of the cleaning was in sight.

"It's ready. Come eat, then finish the rest."

At the news that dinner was done, I trotted over to the table.

I wasn't expecting much. Surely it would be something half-finished, barely better than dog food...

"...You made this yourself?"

"Obviously. I don't lie."

I sat down and surveyed the feast spread before me.

Steaming soup. Pizza prettily topped with cheese, and a steak with a mouthwatering sear. Plus a salad that looked genuinely fresh.

The only flaw was that every item was identical to the lunch I'd had with Alice yesterday—but aside from that, it was a truly perfect table.

Beatrice urged me to take the first bite.

"Go on, try it. I bet you'll fall head over heels."

"...You've gone to the trouble. You should eat first."

I politely declined. The odds were low, but something unpleasant might have been mixed in.

"That's so mean. You think I put something in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it?"

Beatrice made a show of wiping away tears, then took a bite of every dish.

She chewed while giving me a look that said Satisfied?, and I started eating.

"Well?"

"It's ordinarily delicious."

"What's that supposed to mean? That's so vague."

"I mean exactly what I said. It's ordinarily delicious."

"You're no fun."

What was I supposed to do? It really was just ordinarily, unimpeachably delicious. I continued the meal under her withering stare.

Partway through, she spoke up.

"Ah, I forgot to mention."

"Yes?"

"The house rules. I'll tell you now."

House rules of a mafia executive. I tensed up for no reason.

The rules she laid out were as follows:

"Why did you include that last rule?"

"I looked you up a bit, Target. Your grades are good, huh? In exchange for letting you stay here, you can at least help with my homework."

They were surprisingly ordinary, cozy little rules—nothing like what I'd been bracing for.

What, she'd had me all worked up for nothing—

"Ah, and one last rule."

"Yes?"

That was when she looked at me with an unprecedentedly serious expression.

And then she said it.

"Understood."

"I don't say things twice."

After that firm warning, Beatrice went back to eating.

What on earth was in there to make her like that? A flicker of curiosity rose, but I shook my head and ate my salad. There was a reason you weren't supposed to do certain things. I had no desire to get myself beaten up.

"Thank you for the meal. I'll do the dishes."

"I'd appreciate that. Thanks?"

I'd been treated to dinner, so the least I could do was wash up. I gathered the plates and headed to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sink.

And as I turned my head looking for a sponge, I found it.

Meal-kit wrappers crammed violently into the kitchen trash.

Steak, salad, pizza, soup. A rather familiar list.

"...I knew it."

"What did you just say?"

"I didn't say anything."

I figured as much.

I let out a deep sigh, turned around, and said,

"Ah, I forgot to mention something too."

"Go ahead."

"Please clean up the toy under the sofa yourself."

"Toy...?"

Beatrice tilted her head, blinking.

"You...! You...!"

Then her eyes began to tremble violently, and her entire face flushed as red as a beet.

I watched her for a moment, then let out a small chuckle and went back to the dishes.

See, this is why you need to keep your things put away.

Morning.

I hadn't slept well.

It wasn't because I was now living under the same roof as a high school girl.

It was because it would be a problem if she came into my room while I was asleep.

Fortunately, the situation I'd feared never happened, but I was tired all the same.

Still, I had to get up. I couldn't skip school just because I was sleepy.

By the way, isn't she getting up? What time is it, and she's still not awake.

I should probably wake her. I was about to open Beatrice's door when—

Never. Never come into my room. Got it?

Yesterday's warning flashed through my mind, and I stopped.

...Ah, whatever. She'll get up on her own.

In good conscience, I called through the door three times for her to get up.

There. I'd done my part.

I freshened up in the bathroom, changed clothes, and quickly prepared breakfast for two.

Of course, "breakfast" was just frozen sandwiches nuked in the microwave.

How was the fridge nothing but instant food? I should suggest we go grocery shopping later.

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.

Then I heard something running from far away.

Hayang-i would be asleep at this hour, so it wasn't him.

"...Why, why didn't you wake me?! Even if things are like this between us, you should still do the decent thing."

"You told me not to go in your room. And I called three times. I told you to get up."

"...Hah."

Beatrice covered her face with both hands and sighed.

Then she shot toward the bathroom at the speed of light, and reappeared before even a few minutes had passed.

To finish her makeup in that short a time. So this was the transformation of an active high school girl. Impressive.

Of course, even saying that, the original was so pretty that she hadn't actually changed much.

"That was fast."

"If you're slow, you die. Oh, you heated these up for me? Thanks."

Sandwiches in hand, we set out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for school. We hadn't particularly agreed to walk together, but somehow we ended up leaving at the same time.

"By the way, are you going to acknowledge me outside?"

"Hm? Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

"Your friends might find it strange, Beatrice. Seeing you with someone as rough-looking as me."

"Friends? I don't have any."

"Pardon?"

"I've never thought of anyone as a friend."

That was a little unexpected. A girl as pretty as Beatrice having no friends.

"The ones I usually hang around with... well. Definitely not friends. Hmm, minions? Yeah, that about covers it."

No—it was just that her standards for friendship were impossibly high.

"So you can talk to me outside, I don't care. Whatever they think is none of my business. No—I'll be the one talking to you."

"You shouldn't call your friends that."

"Shut up. Don't give me advice, Target."

We were walking along, chatting about this and that, when a familiar figure came into view.

It was Alice.

"Ah, Ryuzaki-kun! Good morn—"

Alice approached with a bright smile. Then her expression gradually hardened, and her gaze locked onto Beatrice.

"......"

"......"

The two girls simply looked at each other in silence.

Then Beatrice flashed a grin.

—Grab.

And without warning, she pulled my arm into an embrace.