An ordinary evening like any other.

The sounds coming from the kitchen tickled Siwoo’s ears.

After a short time, a delicious smell entered through my nose.

Chicken, perhaps.

Judging by the smell of oil and the frying sound, it must be fried chicken or a similar dish.

Arte turned out to like meat dishes much more than he expected.

Sometimes, when he hands her vegetables and tells her to eat them, she makes a face, hesitating whether to do so, which is kind of cute.

She ends up eating them in the end though.

…No, that’s not what’s important.

Siwoo continued his pondering with a serious expression.

He thought he had successfully delivered the gift.

He was sure he had successfully given the gift.

He was certain it had succeeded based on her expression, the trembling of her voice, her eyes, and various other information.

Could something have gone wrong?

“Time to eat!”

“Ah, okay. I’m coming.”

Lost in thought, Siwoo put down his sword and wiped his sweat with a towel.

Arte no longer takes his clothes. This is perhaps the biggest change that can be called such.

After responding appropriately to Arte’s question about today’s progress, Siwoo sat at the dining table.

Fried chicken after all, huh.

It’ll be hard to clean up, will it be okay?

When he looked at Arte with worried eyes, she just smiled brightly.

It’s not something for me to worry about. She’ll handle it well on her own.

“Looks delicious today too.”

“Right? You worked hard, so eat a lot.”

…No, this isn’t it.

He unconsciously started eating with Arte as usual.

Of course, the food she makes is delicious, the house has become a bit tidier than before, and now the restriction of Arte having to stick by me at ten-minute intervals is gone.

Based on their experiment, it’s clear there are no issues, even if they’re apart all day.

But why.

Why is Arte still staying here?

That was his question.

… Isn’t it about time she goes back?

He’s really struggling here.

But he couldn’t show that to Arte either.

How could he bring up such a thing to the person he likes?

‘…Alright. I’ll definitely say it today.’

Siwoo made up his mind.

Of course, this current life wasn’t bad either.

Because spending everyday life with Arte was more enjoyable than he had thought.

But it was too much now.

Siwoo’s self-control was now screaming at its limit.

“What would you like for dinner tomorrow? Chicken? Pork? Beef?”

“…Arte.”

“Yes?”

“This is just in case, but I’m wondering. Has your separation anxiety not gotten better?”

“It has? Thanks to the bracelet, I’m doing well. I’m sorry if I caused you any inconvenience.”

Siwoo barely suppressed his expression from crumbling at the sight of Arte smiling brightly as she held up her bracelet.

Right, it’s gotten better. That’s a relief.

The bracelet was meant for that purpose, so he was glad she was using it well.

“…But then why are you still here?”

“Pardon?”

But even so, Siwoo finally drove the point home.

Why was Arte still here?

That’s what he was curious about.

“I mean, well. If it’s improved, you can slowly go back ho…me…”

And Siwoo soon realized.

That he had made a mistake.

“Di, did I do something wrong…?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“If there’s something I did wrong, I-I’ll apologize, so…!”

Arte’s separation anxiety had not improved long ago.

He knew that.

He thought she had gotten better thanks to the bracelet.

But it seems his thoughts were wrong.

Did she take my words to mean he wanted her out of this house?

Arte began pleading with him.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Arte. Calm down.”

“If I didn’t do anything wrong, does that mean I’m useless…?”

“That’s not it. Calm down.”

He grabbed his aching head.

Did he really have to say this?

Is it really right to say it?

He pondered for a while, but the answer was already set.

If he didn’t say what was bothering him, she would never understand.

“Well, you see…”

He really didn’t want to say it.

What kind of face will she look at me with if I say this?

But the option to not say it no longer existed.

“…Listen, Arte. You know I’m a man, right?”

“Huh? …Of course?”

“You’re a woman.”

“Yes.”

He tightly shut his eyes at the sight of Arte looking at him as if asking what the problem with that is.

If she can’t understand even after he’s talked around it this much, there’s no helping it.

I’ll have to say it directly.

“It’s a bit hard for me to stick together like this every day.”

“…Hard, you say?”

“I’m a man too. I have sexual desires.”

A moment of silence followed.

The anxiety of having said something he shouldn’t have to her and the anticipation that she might finally understand me a little were mixed together.

How will she react?

He opened his eyes slightly and looked at Arte.

Arte’s face was dyed a deep red.

“Wh, what do you.”

“Sleeping in the same room every day, always being together, it’s hard for me to endure too.”

Siwoo felt he could no longer hold back.

Now that he had said it, he decided to vent all his complaints so far.

“I couldn’t say it until now because I was afraid you’d be anxious, but you need to be more careful.”

“B, but. Siwoo isn’t the type to…”

“It’s the same even if I don’t intend to do anything. You’re too careless. Especially those clothes.”

“Huh? Cl, clothes?”

Arte looked over her outfit as if wondering what was wrong with it, then frowned as if it was unfair.

Did she not even understand what kind of outfit she was wearing?

Thinking it might be right to say it now clearly, I decided to take this opportunity to make it clear.

“It’s better to wear underwear even at home, Arte.”

“Pa, pardon…?”

“Have you never looked in the mirror?”

He had never seen Arte doing things like putting on makeup.

She was always with him, even normally.

She probably didn’t have the chance to look in a mirror or such at home.

He wanted to say this a month ago, around when Arte started clinging to him.

The longer the time passed, the more likely she was to get angry and ask why he had never said anything.

Sighing, he brought Arte to the mirror, and as expected, her face began turning even redder.

Perhaps her face felt hot. She kept cooling her face with her hands.

“Wh, wh, why…!”

“Why didn’t I say anything? Arte, think about it. Could I have said such a thing to you a few days ago?”

“…Urk!”

There’s no way he could have.

Telling someone who depended on him so much to be more careful with her appearance?

That it’s hard for him to endure because he’s a man?

No one can guarantee what would happen if Arte, who only trusted him, could not do so.

As if realizing that fact, she could only blush without saying anything.

“No matter how comfortable our house is, your clothes are too short. To begin with…”

Now that it’s come to this, he tried to tell Arte this and that.

She’s too defenseless. Isn’t she acting too comfortably at home for someone who’s not even a man?

Even if it’s someone she trusts, she needs to have some caution.

He was going to say something like that, but.

“I, I, I’m so sorry…!”

Arte instantly ran away to the laundry room.

“Hah…”

But he decided not to chase after her.

He didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if he pushed Arte further.

“But this should make it a bit better…”

Too much is worse than too little, as they say.

If he had only seen it occasionally, he might have dismissed it as eye candy. However, experiencing it daily was a different story.

Especially since he lost any way to relieve it.

He hopes Arte doesn’t take it badly.

He looked at the laundry room where she was hiding with worried eyes.

“…But it’s a bit of a shame.”

Ponytail with dolphin shorts.

It was exactly his type.

***

“Ugh, hic, uwaaah…”

I feel like I’m going crazy.

Just what have I been doing for this past month?

I felt the urge to grab something and hit it hard.

[…You really didn’t know.]

“Uwaaaah…”

I recalled the image I just saw in the mirror.

The white shirt I was wearing was slightly see-through…that, that.

Kyaaaaaaah…!

I picked up the blanket hung in the laundry room.

Unable to hit it for fear it might rip if I used force, I hugged the still-damp blanket and rolled around on the floor.

I didn’t even think about the blanket getting covered in dust.

I just wanted to relieve this feeling even a little.

“I’m crazy, I’m crazy, I’m crazy, I’m crazy…!”

Ah.

My habit from before coming to this world.

The habit of wearing comfortable clothes and lounging around at home.

Because no one said anything about it back then. So I let my guard down.

Siwoo didn’t say much either, so I didn’t even notice.

To think I looked like that.

“Aaaaah… What do I do…”

Well, Siwoo might ask why he can’t be a bit apart.

I know very well since I used to be a man too.

Of course, those kinds of feelings would arise if a woman in this state stayed nearby defenseless.

Plus, though it’s embarrassing to say it myself, I’m pretty enough to rival the heroines.

“To think I stuck by him for over a month looking like this…”

Even when sleeping.

In a state where I couldn’t even be apart from him for more than ten minutes.

This is, this is just…

“I’m seducing him, aren’t I…”

How did Siwoo even endure for a month?

I don’t think I could have lasted even two days.

I felt admiration for him, but at the same time, I felt resentful.

Tell me sooner…!

But I also understood Siwoo’s words that he couldn’t say it back then, seeing me fall into anxiety.

If I had realized back then that I was doing something close to seducing Siwoo.

Then what actions would I have taken?

I didn’t know.

No, I didn’t want to think about it.

I just wanted to erase this situation from my mind.

[Reader-nim…?]

“Uwaaaaaah…!”

I rolled around hugging the blanket like that for a while.

… It’s damp.