Chapter 42: The Initial Witness of Friendship
As Eriri's voice trailed off, a bit more time passed. Finally, Kato Megumi, who had been sitting on the sofa, also requested to leave.
"Aragaki, my mom already told me to come home for dinner, so I'll be heading back now..."
The girl spoke with a calm expression. However, in Aragaki Takiya's view, Kato Megumi's expressions had become much richer compared to when they first met. Just now, he even vaguely felt a hint of reluctance in her tone?
"Okay, but..."
Aragaki Takiya didn't finish his sentence; instead, his gaze fell on the shopping bags to the side. Those bags contained the results of their morning's shopping, and at least in Aragaki Takiya's eyes, they seemed to have some weight to them.
"Do you need me to walk you home?"
The boy said softly.
Whoosh!
Aragaki Moeha, who had been staying in Eriri's arms, had been listening to the movements in the living room. When she heard her father offer to walk Kato Megumi home, she couldn't take it anymore and stood up abruptly. It was only after she stood up that she heard Kato Megumi's reply.
"No need. I'm already very grateful that you could accompany me to buy things today, Aragaki. I can take these things back myself."
The short-haired girl said with a smile. As she spoke, she naturally noticed Aragaki Moeha suddenly standing up, but Kato Megumi didn't think much of it. Instead, she blinked and waved her hand.
"Well then, goodbye, Moeha and Sawamura-san."
"Goodbye."
Eriri's answer was very simple. She was like this with most people, so it wasn't surprising. But Aragaki Moeha... perhaps realizing she had misunderstood this beautiful older sister, her reaction was very direct. She walked straight up to Kato Megumi and gave her a gentle hug.
"Oh, this is..."
Kato Megumi was a bit flattered and cautiously looked at Aragaki Takiya next to her.
"This is Moeha's way of expressing her affection. Kato, Moeha really likes you."
Looking at Aragaki Moeha hugging Kato Megumi, Aragaki Takiya said softly.
"Is that so?"
Feeling the touch on her body, a wave of warmth couldn't help but spread through Kato Megumi's heart. It turned out that besides Aragaki Takiya, there were other things here that could attract her.
"Then goodbye, Aragaki, Moeha~"
With that, Kato Megumi didn't stay any longer and left the Aragaki Residence directly. Suddenly, only Aragaki Takiya, Aragaki Moeha, and Eriri were left in the living room.
"What are you looking at? I'm staying here to play with Moeha. I'm in no hurry to go back~"
Perhaps sensing Aragaki Takiya's gaze, Eriri blurted out those words without knowing what she was thinking. But while she was still a bit dazed, Aragaki Takiya's voice came from the side.
"It's fine, Eriri. You can stay here as long as you want."
The boy's gentle voice came from the entryway. Unlike Sayuri's teasing or Aki Tomoya's helplessness from knowing her personality too well, Aragaki Takiya's answer felt more like... compliance?
Eriri herself didn't know why that word popped into her head, but she didn't think much of it and just collapsed onto the sofa.
It couldn't be helped; there were no game consoles or computers in Aragaki Takiya's house. She had been chatting with Aragaki Moeha just now, and only now that she snapped out of it did she realize that the entertainment options at the Aragaki Residence were pitifully few.
"By the way, Aragaki, you have neither games nor a computer at home. Don't you usually have anything you want to play?"
The Blonde Girl lounging on the sofa propped herself up to ask.
"Uh, because I'm usually out. When I'm home, I basically just study or read light novels, so I really don't have the kind of things you're talking about..."
Aragaki Takiya explained upon hearing this.
"What? That's way too boring..."
Eriri muttered, and then something suddenly occurred to her.
"What about Moeha then? Don't tell me all she can do at your house is watch TV..."
The girl's tone carried a faint hint of threat.
"Ah? Well, it seems that's indeed the case..."
For some reason, after hearing Eriri say that, a complex emotion welled up inside Aragaki Takiya. How should he put it? It was probably mostly guilt. After all, Aragaki Moeha had indeed suffered quite a bit following him.
At her age, children usually live under the doting care of their parents. But whether in his past life or now, he seemed to have failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a father.
"Eh? If it's really like that, wouldn't Moeha be incredibly bored? And since you have to work part-time, Moeha must wait for you for a long time every day..."
"Uh, there's no helping that, right..."
"I guess so."
At this crucial moment, Eriri remembered what Aragaki Moeha had once told her: this boy's parents had apparently passed away a long time ago.
"Um, sorry..."
"Eh? Why are you apologizing?"
!!!
At the critical moment, Eriri made another stupid mistake. She almost forgot that Aragaki Moeha had told her this in secret.
"Th-That... I misspoke. Anyway, that's not important. Since you don't have a game console or anything at home, I'll bring over some of my spare consoles tomorrow. Is that okay?"
"It's okay, but are you really comfortable leaving your game consoles at my house, Eriri?"
Aragaki Takiya didn't dwell on what Eriri had just said. Instead, when he heard she wanted to leave game consoles here, he couldn't help but express his confusion.
"It's fine. It's just a game console anyway. Besides, I'm mainly bringing them for Moeha to play."
Having made up her mind, Eriri spoke with her usual Tsundere attitude. But considering that what she said might be a bit inappropriate, she couldn't help but add another sentence at the end.
"Of course, if you want to play, it's not like you can't..."
"Haha, thanks for your concern for Moeha. But as for games, I'll pass. I'm not good at them, and I have to go to school and work part-time, so I don't have time to play games at all."
Aragaki Takiya explained with a smile.
"You guy! Fine, whatever!"
Hearing the other party reject the game console offer she had made after swallowing her pride, Eriri initially wanted to get angry. But as soon as she thought of Aragaki Takiya's family background, her anger vanished without a trace.
"Well, whatever. I'm doing it for Moeha anyway. I don't care about that guy Aragaki..."
The Blonde Girl thought to herself, but her mind couldn't help but drift back to what Aragaki Moeha had said yesterday morning.
"Hmm, I'll add some light novels too. Those are my personal treasures. I'll just store them here for now. He has such a good temper, he probably won't break them for me..."
Ultimately, for reasons she couldn't quite explain, Eriri decided to store a few sets of light novels at the Aragaki Residence. Was it out of sympathy? Or was it affection for Moeha extending to her surroundings? Eriri herself couldn't say for sure.
However, the only thing she was certain of was that after making this decision, her mood lightened considerably.
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