It Seems Like a Girl I Don’t Know Is Doing Housework at My Place. But She’s Cute, So I’m Watching Her.

“…Mmm, fuaa…”

I woke up. It’s morning. I sluggishly sat up and stretched. Maybe it’s because I slept on the floor, but my body feels a little stiff. I did lay out the futon for guests, but maybe it was too thin. I guess you get what you pay for.

“Mm, mmmm!”

As I crack my neck, I glance over to the side where my usual bed is. There lies Chiaki, sleeping soundly with a blissfully relaxed expression on her face.

“…What a goofy face.”

Even though I had just woken up, I almost burst out laughing. That’s how unguarded her sleeping face was.

Well, it’s understandable. After all, getting her into bed last night had been a bit of a struggle.

We stayed up late watching movies on a streaming site together. By the time we decided it was time to sleep, the “where will Chiaki sleep?” problem arose.

At first, I thought she could just sleep on the guest futon, but when I took it out and checked, it was thinner than I expected. That’s where the problem began.

I had prepared the futon just in case when I started living alone, but I figured it’d mostly be guy friends staying over, so I didn’t put much effort into it. Big mistake.

And yet, here we are—my first overnight guest being Chiaki. Since I had been the one to ask her to stay over, it felt wrong to make her sleep on such a flimsy futon. Besides, it had been sitting around so long that it still smelled like mothballs.

So, I suggested Chiaki sleep in my bed. Normally, offering such a thing to a girl would make me hesitate, but Chiaki isn’t just any girl. I figured she wouldn’t mind, or might even be happy about it, so I thought it was a reasonable choice.

But surprisingly, Chiaki refused. She argued that I was the host, and she insisted I get a good rest to recover from the day. She was surprisingly firm about it.

Neither of us was willing to back down. After some back-and-forth, we finally agreed to settle it with a fair game of rock-paper-scissors. I won, and I managed to shove her into the bed.

By the way, the classic rom-com trope of “let’s just share the bed” didn’t come up. It’s way too hot to be sharing a bed at this time of year, and sleeping next to someone as beautiful as Chiaki would be mentally exhausting. I wouldn’t make any mistakes, of course, but still, I wouldn’t be able to sleep.

Chiaki seemed to agree. Perhaps she thought it would be improper to suggest sharing the bed if we were both trying to get a good night’s sleep. Not once did she hint at the idea. Normally, I think she’d have suggested it in a heartbeat.

And so, we spent what turned out to be a surprisingly long night.

“Chiaki-saaan? Sorry to interrupt your deep sleep, but it’s time to wake uuuup. It’s already getting late.”

It’s morning now. By now, it’s past 10 a.m.—almost noon, in fact.

I was the one who suggested we stay up late, so I get it. And honestly, I don’t think sleeping in until almost noon is such a bad thing. I often sleep even later on my days off.

But Chiaki is someone else’s daughter, after all. I don’t know what her usual routine is like, so it’s best to act according to general social norms.

“…Mmmm, huh?”

“Hey, Chiaki-saaan?”

“Oh, Haruto-kun… Why are you here?”

“That’s because you spent the night in my room, remember?”

“I did? I don’t remember…”

“You’re totally out of it.”

Could it be that Chiaki is one of those people who wakes up really groggy? She’s way more out of it than I expected.

“Come on, wake up. It’s already 10 o’clock.”

“…Still sleepy…”

“I can see that.”

“Haruto-kun, come back to bed… Let’s sleep together…”

“Hey, don’t fall asleep again just because I woke you up. That’s not how it works.”

“Mmmm!”

“Stop flapping the covers around. You don’t need to make space for me.”

Why does she think I went through the trouble of setting up separate beds in the first place? There’s no way we’re going to sleep together again for a nap. Even if she’s half-asleep, it’s common sense.

So this is how Chiaki is, huh? I didn’t expect this… or maybe I did? I’m not sure how to react.

Her usual behavior is pretty goofy, and, to put it bluntly, she’s a bit all over the place. But she’s also oddly serious in some areas, always quick and efficient with household chores. So she’s not entirely unreliable.

Given all that, I guess her current state both matches and doesn’t match my image of her. But either way, she’s cute. Chiaki is a beautiful girl, so watching her like this is a feast for the eyes.

“…”

Still, staring at her being so defenseless for too long feels kind of wrong.

While I find her current state adorable, Chiaki herself might not want me to see her like this.

I mean, she really is charming—her sleepy demeanor, her sluggish movements, the way her hair is a little messy from bedhead. And then there’s her slightly disheveled pajamas…

Okay, I probably shouldn’t be looking too much. But, well, I’m a guy after all, so my eyes can’t help but wander a little. She’d forgive me for it, I think.

Anyway, for Chiaki’s sake, I should probably help her snap out of it. Whether or not she has any reputation left to salvage is beside the point.

“Come on, time to wake up. Let’s go.”

“…Mmmm! Don’t poke me…”

“I’ll keep poking you until you wake up… But wow, Chiaki, your cheeks are softer than I expected.”

“Mmmm! …Mm?”

“Huh?”

Wait, she just grabbed my finger… and… is she sucking on it?

“Mmm… Sluuurp… *smooch* …Hm?”

“…”

“Yah! Wait, Haruto-kun, what are you doing?!”

“That’s my line! What are you doing, Chiaki?!”

“That’s not fair!”

“Not fair?! What do you mean?!”

It’s not even morning anymore, but what the heck is this? My heart can’t take this…