When I reunited with my arrogant childhood friend, she had become a talented and beautiful girl – Even though she has probably forgotten about me and I don’t want to be toyed with, for some reason she keeps getting involved with me!?

After finishing dinner and tidying up, Fumiko and I were relaxing in the living room.

I was fiddling with my smartphone on the sofa while Fumiko was reading a book she had brought.

In fact, Fumiko and I have dinner together every night. Why it came to be this way is because we settled things when we were unpacking.

No, really… Fumiko’s pressure at that time was tremendous…

I was cut off with a “Yes?” or “You’re noisy” if I tried to say anything.

As a result, Fumiko and I ended up cooking together.

Fumiko takes care of the weekday menu and cooking, while I assist.

Conversely, I am in charge of the menu and cooking on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and Fumiko assists. That’s how it is.

We wash the dishes together and split the cost of the ingredients.

After meals, it’s becoming a routine to spend some quiet time together for a while.

Usually, she would go back to her own room by 21:00.

However, it’s past 22:00 and there’s no sign of her leaving…

Perhaps it’s because she’s so close that I can feel her shoulder, I can smell the nice scent of her shampoo.

…This can’t continue, it’s going to be a problem.

“Well, it’s getting late. I’ll walk you home.”

I decided to bring it up myself.

Well, if I do this, she would probably nod and say “Yes”.

“Can’t I… stay here?”

Huh?

“No… it’s not that you can’t… but it’s already past 22:00. You should go home.”

“I… don’t want to… go home today.”

Ah, what?

“That… senpai.”

Fumiko grabbed my sleeve, and looked at me with a pleading expression.

“Can I… stay the night… today?”

Looking at Fumiko, who seemed somewhat weaker than I had ever seen her before, I came to a certain conclusion.

“Did a cockroach show up in your room or something?”

“…You’re understanding. That helps a lot.”

A cockroach… the black, crunchy creature that often comes out in the summer.

“Well, let’s go. I’ll walk you home.”

“No. No. No. I absolutely will not go home today. I’m staying here.”

“…No, staying here won’t fundamentally solve the problem. You should take care of a cockroach yourself.”

“Impossible, absolutely impossible! Do you intend to send me to hell, senpai!?”

“Hell… it’s your room. A cockroach is nothing if you fumigate it.”

“Then you do it, senpai! I won’t leave here unless you take care of it!”

“You’re surprisingly able to live alone, aren’t you?”

“…You’re noisy.”

Perhaps because she was told what she had said before, Fumiko sulkily turned her head away.

So childish.

“Aren’t you supposed to go back to get ready to stay?”

“It’s fine. I brought an overnight bag, and I took a bath before coming here.”

She casually revealed a carry-on bag she had been hiding.

“Wha…”

She’s seriously planning to settle here…

From there, a long debate ensued, and as a result, Fumiko ended up staying at my place, and I agreed to fumigate her room tomorrow.

The school’s saintess is staying at my house… huh.

It’s a development that makes me break into a cold sweat thinking about what would happen if the fans found out.

“Is that a game console?”

Fumiko pointed to a game console stored in the TV board.

I haven’t been using it much lately, but she seemed interested in it.

“Oh, are you interested in it?”

“Well, I’ve never played before, so I might be interested.”

Well, the night is still young.

“Do you want to give it a try?”

“Eh? Is that okay?”

“Ah, let me see what game is in there.”

I turn on the television and the game console, trying to remember.

“…Ah, this one’s hard. Should I change the game?”

The game that was in was an action RPG with open-world elements. It’s difficult and requires you to die multiple times to learn enemy attack patterns, a so-called ‘die-hard’ game.

“No, it’s okay! I don’t have any particular game I want to play.”

“Eh? But… Are you sure? It’s a die-hard game.”

“Don’t belittle me. I’m fine even with scary games.”

Is she misunderstanding die-hard games for horror games? I can imagine Fumiko playing and going berserk due to the difficulty.

… Ah, no, that actually sounds kind of fun. I want to see that.

“Well, alright then.”

Fumiko’s eyes were shining like a child going to an amusement park for the first time.

She takes the controller, a little jittery.

“Is the character’s mobility even human with that armor?”

“Don’t question that part.”

I teach her the basic controls, and she goes into her first fight against a low-level enemy. She manages to win, though barely with a sliver of health left.

“…!! How was that?”

“Good, considering it’s your first time.”

“Right?”

Fumiko puffs out her chest proudly, looking a bit childish.

But, well, this is just a fight against minor enemies. The real hell begins now.

“Se…Senpai…!! A strong-looking knight has appeared!”

“Oh, that’s the first boss. Good luck.”

As expected, she gets killed instantly and has to retry.

With each respawn and death, Fumiko’s face gradually fills with despair.

“…I can’t win.”

“Well, it’s all about getting used to it. You also need to remember the attack patterns and habits of the opponent.”

“I’m hitting them so much and their health barely decreases, but if I take a hit, more than half of my health is gone! Isn’t this beyond just getting used to?”

Haha, I understand that feeling. I thought the same when I was playing.

But then again, Fumiko is playing games for fun, so maybe it’s time to bring out a different game.

“Right… let’s stop this game and try another.”

“No, I will definitely defeat this boss.”

“Eh, oh, okay.”

After that, every time she got beat up, I gave Fumiko some tips on how to beat the boss, and she was finally able to reduce the boss’s health to one tenth.

“Just a little more, just a little more…!!”

She carefully deals damage to the boss, a mix of tension and excitement on her face.

And then…

“!! I did it!! I defeated it!!”

She finally depleted the health gauge.

Seeing Fumiko, who seemed to be slackening her mouth with joy from the sense of accomplishment, I felt like I couldn’t help but laugh.

I need to hold it in, hold it in.

“Congratulations, Fumiko.”

“It was really a long battle… I died so many times, and there were moments of frustration. But there’s such a great sense of accomplishment, and it’s fun!”

Seeing Fumiko say this with a smile makes me smile too.

“Now, the real hell begins.”

“…Excuse me?”

The boss she had defeated stood up again, its health gauge replenished to max.

“…What? Huh?”

Ignoring Fumiko’s confusion, the boss transformed.

Yes, one of the common RPG tropes. The second form.

“Eh, wait…ho-”

Completely overwhelmed by the second form with a completely new attack pattern, Fumiko was defeated.

“…I see. I understand… This is what they call a crappy game, right?”

In the end, it was not until the next day that Fumiko defeated the boss.