An ordinary evening, just like any other.
A sound from the kitchen tickled his ears.
After a moment, a delicious smell wafted through his nose.
Chicken, maybe?
Given the sizzling sound and the scent of oil, it was probably chicken or something similar.
Arte seemed to love meat more than he’d expected.
Sometimes, when he handed her vegetables and told her to eat them, she’d scrunch up her face, hesitating—it was kind of cute.
In the end, she’d eat them anyway.
…No, that wasn’t the point.
Yu Siwoo continued his brooding, his expression grave.
He’d been sure the gift had been delivered successfully.
He *had* delivered the gift successfully.
Her trembling voice, her expression, the way her eyes had flickered—all the signs had pointed to success.
So what was wrong?
"Dinner’s ready!"
"Ah, yeah. I’ll be there."
Lost in thought, Yu Siwoo set down his sword and wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel.
Arte no longer took his clothes anymore. That, at least, was the biggest change he could call progress.
After giving a vague answer to Arte’s question about how his day had gone, Yu Siwoo sat down at the table.
Yep, it was chicken.
It’d be a pain to clean up, but would she be okay?
He shot Arte a worried glance, but she just smiled back at him.
Maybe it wasn’t something he needed to worry about. She’d handle it.
"This looks delicious, as always."
"Right? You worked hard, so eat up."
…No, this wasn’t it.
Without thinking, he started eating with Arte like he always did.
Of course, Arte’s cooking was good, the house was cleaner than before, and the restriction where she had to stay within ten minutes of him at all times had disappeared.
Their experiments had proven that even if they spent the whole day apart, nothing bad happened. So that was settled.
And yet…
Why was Arte still staying here?
That was the question gnawing at him.
…Shouldn’t she go back soon?
He was really struggling.
But he couldn’t let Arte notice.
How could he bring that up with someone he liked?
…Alright. He had to say it today. Yu Siwoo made up his mind.
Not that this life was bad, of course.
Spending time with Arte was more enjoyable than he’d expected.
But he was at his limit.
Yu Siwoo’s self-control was screaming for mercy.
"What would you like for dinner tomorrow? Chicken? Pork? Beef?"
"…Arte."
"Yes?"
"Uh, I was just wondering… has your separation anxiety gotten any better?"
"Yes, it has. Thanks to the bracelet, I’m doing fine. I’m sorry for causing you trouble."
I barely managed to suppress the way my expression threatened to crumble at the sight of Arte smiling brightly as she held up the bracelet.
Right, she’s getting better. That’s good.
The bracelet was made for that purpose, so of course it made me happy to hear it was working for her.
"…But why are you still here?"
"Huh?"
But in the end, Yu Siwoo drove the final nail in.
He couldn’t understand why Arte was still here.
It was a genuine question.
"I-I mean, if you’re better, you could… go home… soon…"
And then Yu Siwoo realized it immediately.
He’d made a mistake.
"D-Did I do something wrong…?"
"No, it’s not that."
"If I did, I’ll apologize, so—so please…!"
Arte’s separation anxiety had only recently improved.
He knew that.
He’d thought the bracelet had helped enough.
But maybe I was wrong.
Did she take my words as me telling her to leave this house?
Arte began to plead with him.
"You didn’t do anything wrong, Arte. Calm down."
"If I didn’t do anything wrong, then… does that mean I’m useless…?"
"It’s not like that. Just calm down."
His head started to throb, so he grabbed it.
Do I really have to say it? Seriously?
Is it really the right thing to say?
He agonized over it for a while, but the answer was already decided.
If he didn’t give her the exact reason, he had no idea how she’d react.
"So, uh…"
He really didn’t want to say it.
What kind of face would she make when she heard this?
But the option of staying silent no longer existed.
"…Listen, Arte. You know I’m a guy, right?"
"Huh? …Of course?"
"And you’re a girl."
"Yes."
Arte stared at him as if to say, *So what?* He squeezed his eyes shut.
If she still didn’t get it after all this beating around the bush, there was nothing else he could do.
He’d have to be direct.
"If we keep sticking together like this every day, it’s… hard for me."
"…Hard?"
"I’m a guy too. I have desires."
A heavy silence followed.
Anxiety over having said something he shouldn’t have mixed with the faint hope that she might finally understand him a little better.
What kind of reaction would she have?
He cracked his eyes open just enough to glance at Arte.
Her face was flushed a deep crimson.
"Th-That’s…"
"Sleeping in the same room every night, always being so close—it’s hard for me to hold back."
He didn’t know.
Yu Siwoo no longer had the strength to endure it.
Since he’d already started, he decided to let out all the frustration he’d been bottling up until now.
"I’ve been holding back because I was worried you’d get anxious, but you really need to be more careful."
"Hah, but… Yu Siwoo wouldn’t—"
"Even if I don’t have those kinds of intentions, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re too careless. Especially with that outfit."
"Huh? M-my outfit?"
Arte glanced down at her clothes, her expression twisting as if she’d been wronged.
Did she really not realize what she was wearing?
Maybe it was better to bring this up now and get it over with. The thought crossed my mind, so I decided to lay it all out clearly.
"Even at home, you should wear underwear, Arte."
"Y-yes…?"
"Have you ever looked in a mirror?"
I’d never seen Arte put on makeup or anything like that.
She was always stuck to my side anyway.
At home, she probably never had the chance to look at herself in a mirror.
To be honest, I’d wanted to bring this up a month ago, when Arte first started clinging to me.
If I waited any longer, she’d probably get mad and ask why I never said anything sooner.
I sighed and led her in front of the mirror. Sure enough, her face turned even redder.
Was her face hot? Arte kept pressing her hands to her cheeks, trying to cool them down.
"W-wh-why…!"
"You’re asking why I didn’t say anything before? Arte, think about it. Could I have told you this a few days ago?"
"…Nngh!"
Of course I couldn’t.
If her dependence on me had improved even a little, she wouldn’t have been able to argue.
How could I tell someone who relied on me that much to be more careful with how she carried herself?
That even as a guy, it was hard for me to hold back?
If I’d said something like that to Arte, who only trusted me, there was no telling if she’d stop trusting me too.
Seeming to realize that, Arte just stood there, face flushed, unable to say a word to me.
"Even if our house is comfortable, your clothes are way too short. And in the first place…"
Since things had come to this, I figured I might as well give her a few more pointers.
She was too unguarded. She wasn’t a guy, so why was she walking around the house so casually?
No matter how much she trusted someone, she still needed to be cautious.
I was about to say something along those lines when—
"S-s-sorry…!"
Arte bolted into the laundry room in an instant.
"Haa…"
But I decided not to chase after her.
I didn’t even want to imagine what might happen if I pushed her any further.
"Well, at least this should get better now…"
Too much of a good thing was just as bad as too little, or so they said.
If it were just an occasional sight, I might’ve considered it a treat for the eyes, but dealing with it every day was a different story.
With no way to resolve it, it only made things worse.
I just hoped Arte wouldn’t take it the wrong way.
I stared at the laundry room where Arte had hidden, my gaze heavy with worry.
“…Still, it’s a little disappointing.”
Ponytail and dolphin-print pants.
Exactly my type, too.
“Ugh, hah, uhaaaaaaa…”
I’m losing my mind.
What the hell did I do over the past month?
A surge of rage made me want to grab something and smash it.
[…You really didn’t know?]
“Uaaaaaa…”
I recalled the sight I’d just seen in the mirror.
The white T-shirt, the faint outline of… th-that.
KWAAAAAAAAH—!
I snatched the blanket left to dry in the laundry room.
Too afraid it might tear if I hit it, I hugged the still-damp blanket and rolled around on the floor.
I didn’t even think about the dust it would pick up.
I just wanted to vent this feeling, even a little.
“I’m crazy, I’m crazy, I’m crazy, I’m crazy…!”
Ah.
An old habit from before I came to this world.
Siwoo didn’t say anything either, so I never noticed.
Who would’ve thought I looked like *that*.
“Aaaaaah… What do I do…”
Of course Siwoo would ask if I could keep my distance.
I’d been a guy before, so I knew exactly how it felt.
If a woman in this state was clinging to you with no defenses, there’s no way you wouldn’t feel something.
And, well, I might be biased, but I *was* on the same level as the heroines in terms of looks.
“To think I’ve been stuck to him like this for over a month…”
Even while we slept.
For more than ten minutes at a time without pulling away.
This was… this was basically…
“Seduction!”
How the hell did Siwoo last a whole month?
I wouldn’t have lasted two days.
I felt a mix of respect and resentment toward him.
Why didn’t he say something sooner?!
But I also understood why he hadn’t—seeing how anxious I’d been back then, he couldn’t bring himself to tell me.
If I’d realized I was doing something that could be seen as seductive…
What would I have done?
I didn’t know.
No, I didn’t *want* to know.
I just wanted to erase this entire situation from my mind.
[Reader…?]
“UAAAAAAAAAAH—!”
And so, for a while, I rolled around, clutching the blanket.
…It’s damp.