I Was Sleep-Deprived at a Matchmaking Meeting and Ended Up Engaged - Chapter 18

What should I do?

Should I look away?

Should I tell Shirakami-san that someone’s peeking from over there?

I think my options are one of those, or maybe yelling “Hey!”—but what action should I take going forward?

…No, yelling “Hey!” is probably not it.

I can’t even tell if they’re really looking this way.

Well, they look like the person from that red car.

But our eyes met.

While I was thinking about all this, they beckoned me.

Ayato tried to ask Keiki for instructions.

But she put her index finger to her lips—”Shh.”

“U-um, Shirakami-san.

Could you go down first?” Ayato said flustered.

“What’s wrong?

Did you forget something?”

“Yes.”

Well, aside from the gift I brought, the only thing I’ve had with me since earlier is this small bag I haven’t opened even once, so there’s nothing I could have forgotten.

“Alright, it’s hot today.

I’ll leave the A/C on in the car.”

Here, he said, handing her the house key card.

“I’ll give you one of these.”

“Huh?”

Without waiting for her response, Keiki said,

“Then, I’ll go down first,”

and left.

I ended up receiving a key.

And on top of that, the person from the red car witnessed that whole scene.

Thinking, I’m going to get killed, she turned around just as the woman came running toward her—clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp.

Eek! Ayato tried to run too.

“What are you running away for?!”

Because you’re chasing me! she thought, but somehow managed to stop.

“So, you’re really going to marry Shirakami-san, huh?”

“Is that how it is?”

“…Well, he wouldn’t have given you the key otherwise, right?”

Ahh, I wanted to be the one to have an arranged marriage with Shirakami-san… she hung her head.

“Um, well, I’m sorry.”

Seeing how much this person loved Shirakami-san, Ayato felt guilty. Should someone like me really be marrying him?

Then, the woman lifted her face and said,

“So, will you give him to me?”

“The key?”

“Shirakami-san, I mean!”

…No, I don’t think I want to do that, she thought.

Why is that?

I don’t know, but.

“Ugh, I saw something I didn’t want to see.

And on my precious day off, too.”

“Um, I’m sorry.”

She looked so disappointed that Ayato apologized again.

Then, the woman suddenly lifted her head and asked,

“Hey, are you two going to live here even after you get married?”

“Huh?

No, I think we’re planning to move out.”

“Is that so?”

She said, seeming to think about something.

“No, that’s a bit much, even for…”

She muttered, then left.

What did she mean by “that’s a bit much, even for…”?!

she wondered, but the woman didn’t look back, just unlocked the door at the end of the hall and went inside.

She could hear her say, “Maa-kun.”

Maa-kun?

Her boyfriend, maybe?

Huh?

Wait, wasn’t that person stalking Shirakami-san?

Just as she thought that,

“So, she was a resident of that room after all.”

a voice came from behind her.

“Huh? I thought you went downstairs.”

“No, I was a little worried.”

Keiki said he’d pretended to go down because her behavior seemed strange.

“I see, I’m sorry.”

“No, there’s no reason for you to apologize.

Besides, thanks to that, I accomplished today’s goal.”

“Ah, to confirm whether that person lives here?”

she asked, but Keiki said no.

Keiki was glad he’d been able to give her the key.

He’d wanted to give Ayato a key to this apartment.

He was grateful to the woman from the red car for giving him the perfect excuse.

Ayato still seemed concerned about her, staring at her door at the end of the hall.

“What was that all about, in the end?

I feel like ringing the doorbell.”

“What would you do if you chased after her…”

Don’t, Keiki said.

The two went shopping and made dinner.

Today’s simmered dish—had the sugar and mirin gone on a trip somewhere…?

—was vaguely seasoned, but,

well, right now, everything she does is cute.

It’s fine.

While everything she does is still cute, I’ll make sure I become able to cook.

He hadn’t had high expectations for Ayato’s skills to begin with.

And besides—

Probably, I’ll always think she’s cute.

It’s fine.

…It should be.

I’m sure, he thought, eating the flavorless simmered dish.