I Was Sleep-Deprived at a Matchmaking Meeting and Ended Up Engaged - Chapter 23

The two of them were quite satisfied after seeing the house.

“Yeah. That house is nice.”

“Yes…”

“Next is finding land to build on.”

“Yes…”

As they walked toward the parking lot a short distance away, Ayato keenly felt it. That their marriage was approaching. —Even though her feelings hadn’t caught up yet.

In fact, the wedding venue had also called, suggesting they should decide on a date soon.

According to Sano-san, “Regarding the currently available auspicious dates. They’re either very early or very late.”

Was there nothing in between…?

“Alright, shall we grab something to eat before heading back?” said Yoshinori when they reached the car.

Noticing Ayato wasn’t getting in, Yoshinori asked, “What’s wrong?”

“…I’m sorry. I can’t get in this car.”

Yoshinori turned pale.

“Was there something you didn’t like? Did I rush things too much? We can decline the current plan and think about it more. I want to respect your feelings. We can take our time with the wedding preparations. …Well, not moving forward isn’t really an option, though.”

Hearing this, Ayato, who had been looking down, laughed even though it wasn’t really a laughing matter. She was happy.

“N-no, that’s not it.”

Not that? Yoshinori looked at Ayato with a serious expression.

“…Actually, well, I stepped in something.” “In what?”

“Um, cat poop…”

Her shoe smelled terrible. Why was cat poop so incredibly smelly?

“In this fine car… No, even if it weren’t a fine car, with these shoes, I just can’t.”

Yoshinori burst out laughing.

“Let’s buy it, the current house.” “Huh?”

“Because it seems like good luck, right?” “Y-yes, I suppose.”

In the end, they stuffed the shoe into the bag that had held the pamphlets and got in the car. It still smelled awful.

With the windows fully open, Ayato’s long hair fluttered wildly, flying around like a living creature.

When a clump of hair covered her face and she exclaimed, “Whoa!”, “Are you okay?!” Yoshinori asked frantically.

Ayato laughed and said, “People probably think this car doesn’t have air conditioning, huh.”

Even though it’s a Mercedes. Her hair became a mess like Medusa’s, but it was quite a hassle.

Somehow, it was fun, and the two of them kept laughing.

They didn’t go out to eat. Because the shoe situation was so bad.

“Shall we warm up some instant food at my place?” “Sounds good.”

Ayato, who didn’t want to wander around with that shoe anyway, agreed.

The shoe emitted a terrible smell even in the genkan.

“Leaving it outside would bother the other apartment residents, right?” “Yeah, true. Well, I’ll handle it.”

Wondering what he intended to do, Yoshinori took the shoe in a plastic bag and went out. Maybe he’d wash it at the water spigot downstairs.

Holding the shoe, Yoshinori hesitated before getting on the elevator. This shoe— If he left it as is or threw it away, wouldn’t Ayato be unable to go home? If she couldn’t go home, wouldn’t she just stay at his place…?

For the moment, Yoshinori went downstairs and rinsed off the dirt at the spigot. It wasn’t entirely unwearable now. But if he returned this barely-wearable shoe to Ayato, she would wear it and go home. You must not return the shoe to Cinderella.

Yoshinori considered hiding Ayato’s shoe somewhere and stood still, holding it up and staring at it intently.

Hideko, returning to the apartment humming, saw it. Yoshinori standing by the water spigot next to the garbage station, holding a woman’s shoe. It was coincidental that the garbage station was next to the spigot.

Seeing Yoshinori holding the shoe with a grim expression, wild delusions raced through Hideko’s mind. He’s trying to dispose of the shoe. A woman’s shoe. No way. Did something happen to Ayato? Did he kill Ayato because she didn’t go his way? Murder?! Confinement?!

Hideko quickly sent a message to Ayato. It was a “Good work today” stamp.

Then, along with a smiling emoji, “Good work, Samantha!” came the reply.

She’s not murdered. More importantly, a silly reply came back. Seems okay for now. …No, wait. Maybe there’s an accomplice, and they’re just replying in a way that mimics Ayato.

Hideko sent another message. ‘Is this really Ayato?’

No reply. So, it is a fake?!

Should she confront Shirakami-san? Ah, when Shirakami-san moved into this apartment, I thought it was fate. To think my fate was to expose his crime.

But then, a reply came. ‘Is this really Hideko-san?’

‘No, why?’ she typed back.

‘You seemed strange. I thought maybe it was a scammer pretending to be Hideko-san.’

“Are you okay?”

Ayato peeked her face out. She seemed worried and had come downstairs while typing on her phone.

“Ayato!”

Then, Yoshinori, still holding the shoe, turned around and said, “I’m sorry!” apologizing for some reason.

Even though it was just their respective delusions running wild, somehow the atmosphere felt like: A man who committed a crime. A woman who witnessed it. And a woman who was actually still alive.

“…That’s fine, but why are you on one foot?” “Huh? Because one shoe is over there,” Ayato pointed at the shoe Yoshinori was holding.

“I stepped in cat poop.” “And Shirakami-san was washing it? This is love, not crime.” “Where did ‘crime’ come from?” Ayato asked.

“More importantly, did you hop all the way here on one foot?” “Yes.”

Hearing Ayato’s reply, Yoshinori muttered, “…So after all, she’s a woman who can’t be confined.”