As for the question of where Horitake and Mitsuri would sleep tonight, Mitsuri's mother naturally had a solution ready and waiting.
After settling the drunken, snoring father into bed, she turned to the couple and suggested—with a perfectly straight face—that they share Mitsuri's old childhood bedroom.
The suggestion made Horitake hesitate. He looked at his future mother-in-law, feeling more than a little apprehensive.
"Auntie... are you sure? Is it really okay for Mitsuri and me to share a room here?"
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been an issue. He and Mitsuri already lived together, slept together, and spent their nights entangled in one another's company. But this was different. This was Mitsuri's family home. Being so blatant about it felt... indecent.
However, Mitsuri's mother remained remarkably composed. She replied with a beaming smile, "What does it matter if you share a room? Mitsuri is already your fiancée. It's perfectly natural for a couple to stay together."
With that, she turned to leave, but paused at the threshold to toss one final comment over her shoulder.
"Oh, by the way... if you two find you can't help yourselves tonight, please try to keep the noise down. We wouldn't want to wake the other children, would we?"
She gave a knowing chuckle, covered her mouth with her hand, and strolled away.
Horitake watched her retreating figure, his expression a mix of shock and speechlessness.
I'll say it again, he thought, just how desperate is this woman to marry off her daughter?
A mother-in-law this "progressive" was truly a rare find. But on second thought, Horitake realized it was a stroke of luck that he'd managed to drink the father under the table. If the old man were still conscious, there was no way he would have permitted them to share a room.
Horitake shrugged. He wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He turned to Mitsuri and asked with a thick-skinned grin:
"Mitsuri, where's your room? Let's head in and get some rest."
Because of her mother's parting shot, Mitsuri's face was currently as red as a ripe peach. She led the way with shy, fidgety movements.
"It's... it's just over here."
She brought Horitake into the space where she had grown up. Stepping into the room and seeing the familiar layout and decorations, Mitsuri was momentarily lost in a wave of nostalgia. A bittersweet, melancholy feeling washed over her.
Horitake, on the other hand, was quite curious. He looked around, though there wasn't much to see beyond a standard, modest bedroom. In this era of limited material wealth, a young girl's room wasn't the explosion of pink and plush toys one might find in the modern world.
Making himself at home, Horitake sat down and scanned the room. "Mitsuri, do we have enough blankets for me to use?"
Snapped out of her reverie by the practical question, Mitsuri nodded and hurried over to the wall cupboard. "Um... yes, there should be. Let me look."
She quickly pulled out two sets of futons—clean, sun-dried, and well-maintained. She spread them out side-by-side on the tatami mats, creating their sleeping arrangement for the night.
Once the task was finished, she sat down across from Horitake.
They sat there, staring at one another. Eyes met eyes. A moment of silence passed before Mitsuri suddenly burst into a giggle, and Horitake couldn't help but join in.
As the laughter subsided, Horitake couldn't resist a bit of commentary. "Mitsuri, I really didn't expect your family to be like this. The way they're practically pushing you out the door... I've never seen anything like it."
Mitsuri looked sheepish. "Honestly! It's all because of Mama and Papa and my siblings. Just because I had a few failed matchmaking attempts, they act like I was destined to be a spinster for life!"
"Well, it worked out," Horitake said, scooting closer and naturally pulling her into his arms. "I expected today to be a terrifying ordeal of trials and tribulations. Instead, I encountered... well, a situation I can't even describe. But a bizarre success is better than a difficult failure."
He held her close, resting his chin on her head. "It feels good. Your parents have officially entrusted you to me. From now on, our relationship is legitimate. Nothing stands between us anymore."
Mitsuri leaned into his embrace, radiating a sense of pure, unadulterated bliss. It was as if pink bubbles of happiness were physically manifesting around her. "Yes... finally official."
They lost themselves in a long, "lovey-dovey" moment, whispering sweet nothings until the hour grew late. Eventually, realizing they needed to sleep, they reluctantly pulled apart and crawled into their respective futons.
The lights were extinguished. The house fell quiet.
But... were they actually going to sleep?
Even though the room was dark and they had whispered "goodnight," Horitake found sleep elusive. Lying there, looking at the silhouette of Mitsuri's profile just inches away, his heart felt as though it were being teased by a restless cat.
It wasn't hard to guess what was on his mind. But the conflict remained: This is her parents' house. Is it really okay to do something... excessive?
Meanwhile, on the other futon, Mitsuri lay with her eyes closed, pretending to sleep while her mind was equally frantic. She was wondering: If Horitake-kun comes over to "attack" me, should I comply? Or should I refuse? We're in Mama and Papa's house... if we make too much noise, Papa might be passed out, but Mama will definitely notice. That would be so embarrassing!
Both of them were nervous. Both were overthinking.
However, something neither of them expected happened. In the midst of their frantic mental wandering, both of them—exhausted from the emotional tension of the day—gradually drifted off.
Yes, they simply fell asleep. Neither disturbed the other. The mental strain of the "parents' trial" had taken its toll, and the moment their spirits relaxed in the safety of the room, exhaustion claimed them.
While they slept soundly, someone in the room next door was very much awake.
Mitsuri's mother was, by nature, quite the gossip. After tucking in her snoring husband, she had remained hyper-vigilant of the situation in the next room. At several points, she had even pressed her ear against the wall, hoping to catch a stray sound or confirm if "that sort of thing" was happening.
Ultimately, she was left disappointed. No matter how hard she listened, she couldn't hear the sounds she was expecting.
"Well," the mother mused to herself, feeling a bit let down. "Are they actually asleep? Or are they just being incredibly quiet?"
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