Part 1 【A Changing Daily Life】 (End)
Trembling, Orchi grabbed Rai's hand.
"Rai... go look in there..."
"Huh?"
Rai tilted his head.
Ordinarily, Orchi would have come sprinting the moment she spotted him, leaping into his arms or circling around him in excitement.
But today, something was off.
Even as she drew close to Rai, Orchi kept glancing warily around at their surroundings.
"What's wrong?"
"I... I'm gonna stay out here..."
"Don't tell me there's been an accident?"
"An... an accideeent... an accident..."
Puzzled by Orchi's reaction, Rai eventually nodded.
"Well... okay. I'll go check it out."
He turned the doorknob.
Click.
The door swung open.
And then...
"......"
Rai's face froze solid.
Inside the room stood Shalla.
She looked nothing like her usual self.
In place of the clothes she normally wore, she was standing there dressed in red-tinted lingerie.
Shalla's face was flushed crimson.
The moment she saw Rai, she froze solid too.
"........."
"........."
Silence stretched between the two of them.
Rai's gaze drifted slowly toward Shalla.
"Uh..."
At Rai's dumbstruck expression, Shalla tried desperately to force a look of calm composure.
But her lips were trembling faintly.
"Welcome home, Master...?"
"......"
Rai's mouth opened slowly.
"What did you... just call me?"
"Master..."
"No, hold on."
Rai raised a hand.
"Did I hear that wrong?"
"You didn't. You didn't hear wrong...!!!"
Shalla answered in a small voice.
"You heard it perfectly fine, so WHY are you suddenly calling me Master?!"
Face burning, Shalla averted her eyes.
"Well, that's..."
She hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"It's your birthday today, okayyyy?!"
"So WHAAAT?!"
"Your birthday present..."
"......"
Rai's face went stiff.
"THIS is my birthday preseeent?!"
"What's wrong with ME being your present?!?!"
Shalla shouted back, somehow managing to act like the wronged party.
"Why are YOU the one yelling? I'm the one who should be yelling!!"
"That's what happens when you say weird things!! Just shut up and look!!"
Shalla did her best to appear composed.
"Today, you're my Master, and..."
"I don't need that setup!"
"I'll do whatever the Master desires."
"I don't want anyth— I mean I want nothingggg!!!"
Rai's face grew redder and redder.
Finally, he turned his body away.
"I... I'm leavin...!!"
"Huh?"
"Today never happened. I'm just going to pretend I saw nothiiiing..."
"Wait!"
Thwack--!!
Shalla seized his wrist.
"Why are you running away?!"
"Let go of meeee... Shalla, please...!"
"No!"
"UAAAAAH...?!"
Rai desperately tried to wrench his hand free.
"Do you have any idea how hard I've worked NOT to see you as a man?!"
Shalla's movements stopped dead.
"......What?"
"......"
Rai froze too, realizing what he'd just said.
Shalla's face began to crumple.
"HUH?!"
"No, that's not..."
"So you've been looking at me as the same sex this whole time?!"
"That's not what I meant!!"
"Then what DID you mean?!"
"Just that!"
Rai shouted, scarlet to the ears.
"I've been trying not to develop weird feelings for you, that's all!"
"THAT'S exactly what I said!"
"No it's not!"
Outside the door, Orchi looked back and forth between the two of them.
"Awww..."
Shalla, still refusing to release Rai's wrist, huffed and puffed.
"Fine."
"Fine with WHAT?"
"Anyway, today you're accepting the present I prepared."
"Why are you doing this in the first place?"
Rai asked in complete sincerity.
"Because it's your BIRTHDAY PRESENT!!"
Shalla bellowed.
"......"
Rai wore a blank expression.
"You... prepared it... for me...?"
"YES!!!!"
Shalla shrieked, her face fire-engine red.
"Hngh... uuuugh..."
Shaking all over, Rai couldn't even bring himself to meet her eyes.
"It's just that..."
Shalla fell silent for a moment.
Then she said, in a tiny voice,
"I wanted you to like it."
Rai's expression softened a little.
But it didn't last.
"Just LOOK at it, that's all!! For the rest of your life...!! I mean, maybe not forever, but you won't be seeing me like this again for the time being, so!!!"
"Stop iiit, Shallaaaaaa~~!!!"
The commotion inside the room continued for a while.
And then, at that moment.
Beep.
The sound of the door lock disengaging came from the entryway.
Both of them froze at once.
Beep. Beep.
Click.
The front door opened.
"I'm home."
Rai's face went rigid.
"VELLAAAAAAA...!!!!"
In that instant, a single thought flashed through Rai's mind like lightning.
(I'm saveddddd...!!!)
Rai tore his hand out of Shalla's grasp.
"GRAAAAAAAAH---!!!!!"
"Huh?"
And bolted for the front door.
"Rai, sunbae?!"
Rai arrived in front of Vella in record time.
"VELLA!!!!"
"Yes?"
"I'm honestly creeped out that you just happened to have the day off again today, but!!"
Vella blinked.
"We'll talk about that later!"
Rai said urgently.
"Right now, we have to RUN!!!!"
"......?"
Vella looked utterly baffled.
"Why?"
"Shalla has completely lost her mind!"
"The man-eating-insect girl?"
"Yes!"
From behind, Shalla screamed.
"HEY!! What do you mean 'lost her mind'---!!!"
"SEE!!!!"
Rai pointed at Shalla.
"Look at that state she's in!"
Face scarlet, Shalla yelled back.
"That's because YOU'RE the one saying weird things!"
Vella looked back and forth between the two of them.
Then she said, with perfect composure,
"Anyway, Sunbae."
"What?"
"Please look at what I prepared too."
"...Something YOU prepared?"
Rai faltered.
Vella gently rubbed her own belly.
"Yes."
"......"
Rai stared at Vella's stomach.
It looked a little... rounded.
"Why... are you touching your stomach?"
"It's in here."
"...What is?"
"A gift from you and me, Sunbae."
Rai's face stiffened bit by bit.
"Hold on."
Behind him, Shalla's expression began to harden as well.
"......"
The light drained from Shalla's eyes.
Rai asked in a trembling voice.
"Me and... you?"
"Yes."
"What are you talking about?"
"You'll have to take responsibility, won't you?"
Vella gave a meaningful smile.
"Sunbae."
Rai's face turned ghost white.
"I..."
His voice shook.
"I swear on my life, nothing like that ever happened between ussss...?"
"......"
"I... it's the truth!!! I swear it's the truth---!!!"
Rai explained desperately.
"That has NEVER happened. Not once!"
Just then, behind him, Shalla slowly raised her head.
"......Rai."
"Uh... yeah?"
Shalla's face was terrifyingly expressionless.
"You."
"Yes?"
"What did you just say?"
"No, that's not— that's not what I..."
Tears welled up in Shalla's eyes.
And the very next moment.
"RAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-----!!!"
Shalla launched herself at him.
"UAAAAAAAAH---!!!"
Shalla leapt onto Rai and grabbed him by the throat.
"I'll KILL you right here and noooooow---!!!!"
"Khhk!"
"And then I'll die tooooooo---!!!!!"
"Khk-hk-hkk... Shaaaaallaaaa...!"
Tears streaming down her face, Shalla had entirely lost her grip on reason.
"Why...!! Why is she the one you choooooose?!"
"N... no, that's not iiiit...!"
Rai flailed his hands desperately.
"It's really nothing at aaaaall...!!!"
"Don't you DARE say that's nothing!!!!"
"I... it's the truth!"
Just then, Orchi sprang into action.
"Aaaaah...!!!!"
SHWAAASH---!!!!
A cluster of tentacles wrapped around Shalla's body.
"Shalla! You're hurting Rai!"
"Let GO!"
Shalla thrashed and struggled.
"Grrrrrrrr...!!!!"
Orchi somehow managed to pry Shalla away from Rai.
Rai clutched his throat, tears brimming in his eyes.
"I swear on everything, I have NEVER done anything like that with Vella..."
And then Vella suddenly laughed.
"Heehee."
"......?"
Vella pointed at her stomach again.
Then she pulled something out from inside her clothes.
Rustle.
"......?"
It was a plastic bag.
Inside, it was packed tight with a huge stack of coupons.
"This..."
Vella said proudly.
"These are the delivery cards I've been collecting all this time."
"......"
Rai's eyes went glassy.
"Delivery cards...?"
"Yes."
Vella lifted the stack of cards.
"It's your birthday, Sunbae, so I brought every single one I'd saved. They're all cards that can only be used at first-class restaurants."
"......"
"Place one order and there'd easily be enough food for ten people, with plenty left over."
Rai's mouth hung open.
"...Then the 'gift inside your belly' you mentioned earlier?"
"Right here."
Vella beamed and waved the plastic bag.
"I deliberately stashed it inside my clothes~!"
"......"
Rai was completely dumbfounded.
Shalla, too, fell silent for a moment.
Then she looked slowly at Vella.
"...You."
"Yes?"
"Do you want to die?"
"Why would you say that?"
"You're standing there smiling serenely after dropping a bomb on someone's heart!"
Shalla ground her teeth.
Vella regarded Shalla with an air of mild contempt.
"Well, you never know how the future might turn out, do you?"
"...What?"
Vella smiled sweetly.
"This time it was coupons, of course."
She turned her gaze toward Rai.
"But who's to say what kind of present I'll have ready for his next birthday?"
Shalla's eyebrows twitched.
"Foreigner."
"Yes?"
"You're picking a fight with me right now, aren't you?"
"No."
Vella calmly straightened her stack of cards.
"I was merely speaking of the future."
Rai wedged himself between the two of them.
"I... my heart hurts a LOT too, you know... just stop it, please..."
"Why?"
"What do you MEAN why---!!!"
Orchi sidled up next to Rai.
"Raiii..."
Rai looked at Orchi.
"Orchi."
"Mmm..."
"You've suffered so much, stuck in the middle of people like this..."
And at that very moment.
Beep.
The door lock chimed once more from the entryway.
Rai turned his head.
"...Again?"
Click.
The front door opened.
And through the gap in the door, a familiar face appeared.
"I'm ho—"
The words died in Bat's throat the moment she stepped inside.
Standing in the entryway, looking out over the living room, Bat's expression slowly hardened.
"........."
A brief silence fell.
Bat looked around the room slowly.
"...What in the world is this mess?"
"......"
Rai couldn't find the words to answer either.
Bat's gaze shifted to Shalla.
"Hold on."
"......"
"Why is Shalla dressed like that?"
Shalla's face flushed crimson in an instant.
"Well, that's..."
"Don't tell me."
Bat narrowed her eyes.
Still gripping the doorknob, she asked carefully,
"Did I just walk in at a really bad time?"
"I did NOT!"
Rai shouted frantically.
"It's really not like that!"
"Really?"
"I'm telling you it's really not!"
Rai flailed both hands.
"Don't jump to conclusions on your own, Bat--!!!
At Shalla's outburst, Bat gave an intrigued hum.
"Hmmm~?"
Shalla averted her eyes from Bat's stare.
"Hang on a second."
Then, Rai called out to Bat.
"Hm?"
"Bat."
"What?"
"How did you know the passcode to get in?"
Bat blinked.
"The passcode?"
"Yes."
Rai pointed at the front door.
"You punched in the passcode and let yourself in, didn't you..."
"Well, yeah."
Bat grinned.
"I'm a national agent, you know."
"......"
Rai's face went stiff.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Security is the basics for a national agent."
"That's not the point!"
Rai made an exasperated face.
"The point is how you know the passcode to someone else's HOUSE!"
Bat casually shrugged her shoulders.
"Your house's passcode was way flimsier than I expected~!"
"You— what the..."
"Flimsy by national agent standards, that is~!"
"Don't try to hand-wave everything with that excuse!"
Rai let out a deep sigh.
"Come on, come on, isn't everyone here to celebrate Rai's birthday? Then let's get this party started in style--!!"