Chapter 100: Something Completely Unexpected
Although she was very nervous at first, with Kaede accompanying her, having met Asakura Reiko before, and with Asakura Kiichi being easy to get along with, Eriri gradually relaxed.
Without lingering downstairs, Asakura Reiko directly had her son take Eriri upstairs.
Opening the door, Kaede said, "Come in, this is my bedroom."
Entering with a curious gaze, Eriri finally saw the full view of Kaede's bedroom.
A neatly made bed, a built-in wardrobe, a fairly large computer desk with two monitors, a keyboard, and another laptop. A large bookshelf that, besides rows of books, held many figures and models, as well as various physical game boxes. Other than that, there was a liquid crystal TV and game consoles placed together.
"Hmm~~ it doesn't seem like there's anything too special."
"A boy's room isn't that fancy to begin with. Plus, I don't like putting up posters or anything, so the walls are clean."
As he spoke, Kaede took out a small folded table and two floor cushions.
"Do you want a cushion, or the bean bag chair over there?"
"A cushion is fine; that chair is for when you're playing games."
Putting her bag to the side, Eriri sat down on the cushion. However, her gaze kept involuntarily drifting toward the underside of Kaede's bed.
"...Stop looking. There are no doujinshi under the bed."
"What, how boring." Hearing this, Eriri couldn't help but pout.
Kaede also shook his head with a wry smile. "Who would put that kind of stuff under the bed these days? Even if I had any, they'd be locked in a cabinet."
"True... hehe, it's my first time visiting a boy's bedroom, so I couldn't help but be a bit curious."
Eriri smiled as she looked around the room. "But it's much cleaner than I imagined!"
"I'm quite mindful of hygiene and clean often." Resting one hand on the table, Kaede said, "And since you were coming over today, I obviously cleaned even more thoroughly."
A knock sounded on the door, and Asakura Reiko entered carrying a tray, interrupting their chat.
"Eriri, have something to drink. Besides the sweets you brought, I've brought some snacks. Lunch will take a bit more time, so take your time eating."
"Thank you, Auntie!"
Looking at the various snacks on the tray, Eriri also showed a happy smile.
Asakura Reiko didn't stay long, leaving the space to the two children. However, at the moment the door closed, that meaningful look she gave made Kaede feel a bit helpless.
Finally left undisturbed, Kaede moved his cushion and came right next to Eriri, taking her hand into his own.
"Yeah, this is better."
In the private space, the close contact between the two naturally caused the atmosphere in the room to gradually turn rosy.
Eriri didn't refuse either, leaning against Kaede with her eyes narrowed.
Fortunately, she hadn't forgotten one of her purposes for coming today. After coming back to her senses, she said, "Um, didn't I say yesterday? I have something I want to tell you today, Kaede-kun."
"Hm? Oh right, I almost forgot." Kaede smiled. "What was it?"
"Wait a second!"
Eriri took her bag, opened it, and pulled out several pink envelopes, handing them to Kaede.
"...What is this?"
"Love letters."
"Eriri, you wrote these to me? So many?"
"No way!!!"
Eriri shouted shyly, then explained, "Ugh... It was after the Culture Festival. One day, when I came to school, I saw some girls putting love letters into your shoe locker. Then, when no one was around, I opened your shoe locker and found these five love letters inside."
At this point, Kaede understood how the story developed.
"Emm~~ So, you took these love letters and hid them yourself?"
Eriri's face flushed red, and she nodded, "Yes, I kept them hidden at my house, but I also knew it wasn't right, so I agonized over it for a long time and decided to tell you."
Kaede looked at Eriri with surprise, truly not expecting this girl to pull off such an unexpected move.
Then, Kaede also smiled, leaned close to Eriri's ear, and whispered, "So, can I know why Eriri did this?"
"Ugh..."
It was obvious, but Kaede just wanted Eriri to say it herself, which, it must be said, was a bit teasing.
But looking at Eriri's adorable, flushed face, Kaede truly couldn't stop himself.
Pulling Eriri into his arms, Kaede kissed her without hesitation.
Eriri's eyes widened instantly, not expecting Kaede to be so direct, and her small hands clutched Kaede's clothes tightly.
It wasn't until she was gradually broken down step by step that Eriri slowly closed her eyes and hugged Kaede.
A few minutes later, the two separated. Kaede looked at Eriri, who was leaning her head against his chest, smiled, hugged her, and whispered in her ear, "I'm very happy, Eriri. So you already liked me back then."
"Ugh... I, I just felt a little angry when I saw them, so I just did that. You're not mad, are you?"
"No, I'm not."
He shook his head, made Eriri look up, and lightly tapped her lips, saying, "Even if Eriri you didn't do that, I wouldn't read these love letters anyway. It's just too much trouble."
With Kaede saying that, Eriri finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, what should we do with these?"
"Unfortunately, I don't have a shredder here. Does Eriri have one at her house?"
"I do."
"Then I'll ask Eriri to take them back and destroy them. Just pretend we never saw them. Although I feel a bit sorry for the girls who wrote them, I'm already dating Eriri now, so it's not appropriate no matter what."
"Then, let's do that," a smile finally appeared on Eriri's face.
Leaning in Kaede's arms, the two sat intimately, Eriri nibbling on snacks and occasionally feeding some to Kaede.
After a while, Eriri got up from Kaede's embrace and went to the bookshelf to look at his collection.
As she looked, Eriri remembered something, something she had forgotten for a long time.
Last year, at the Comiket... She turned her head to look at Kaede beside her, and Eriri's expression became even more conflicted than when she had talked about the love letters earlier.
"Um, I just remembered something else."
"Hmm?" It seemed things were getting a bit much. "This time, it's not someone confessing to you, is it?"
"No way!!!!"
Eriri retorted, then, blushing, said, "Um... did you go to the Winter Comiket at the end of last year?"
Huh? Huh huh?
Kaede's expression immediately became subtle.