I won't be a loser.

His empty eyes lit up a little, and he looked at the wise man beside him, but shook his head silently.

This went on for about three more hours. After work, Qingpu Mai returned home and looked at Xianren and Setsuna who were sitting in the living room. Especially when she noticed that her daughter's cheeks, which had originally been as swollen as an oval, were now swollen, her expression suddenly became subtle.

"how's it going?"

"Five hours have passed. I can now drink water and eat, but I can't chew food. It seems that today I can only eat liquid food. I will have to wait until tomorrow before I can chew, but not on the side with the wound."

"What does that mean?"

"A week of liquid food, it seems like this is the only way now."

Seeing that both sides of her face were swollen, the two looked at each other. Qing Pu Mai felt a little weird. She might have to accompany her daughter and eat liquid food for a week?

The preparation of dinner was handed over to Qingpu Mai. When Xianren saw the porridge on the table, he felt a little subtle and looked at Qingpu Mai beside him.

"......"

The two looked at each other. Since this was their first meal of porridge, they were not very resistant. They had dinner quietly. After telling Qingpu Wu the doctor's instructions, they said goodbye and left Qingpu's house.

Instead of going home, Xianren left Qingpu's house and turned around and walked towards the subway station.

Arriving at a restaurant that was still open, he entered and ordered some barbecue, and—

"Juice bar."

Ordering wine is not appropriate either.

After having a meal in a restaurant and filling his stomach, a man took the subway to the door of the "coffee shop".

Seeing the light on the 2nd floor, Xianren opened the door, entered the house, locked the door, and walked all the way to the living room, where he saw three women sitting together.

"Ah, I'm back."

Machida Sonoko was the first to notice Kento's return. She was a little surprised to see his tired expression and eyes.

"Did something happen? You look like a dead fish, as if you've been humiliated a thousand times."

"Nothing, I just accompanied a friend to get a tooth pulled."

"Huh?"

Machida Sonoko became interested, but Fukaoka Mari raised her arm, gently pinched Machida Sonoko's cheek, and rubbed it twice, which made Machida Sonoko immediately shift her attention to Fukaoka Mari.

"I'll go back to the bedroom."

When he returned to the bedroom from the living room, he saw the pair of white silk stockings on his legs, which made Xianren stunned for a moment.

Just now in the living room, wasn't Futaba Rio wearing socks on her legs?

It seems that she is not wearing anything.

He walked to the edge of the bed, picked up the pair of socks, rubbed them gently in his palm, and put them aside. Just as he was about to change his clothes, he heard footsteps at the door.

Look back.

The bedroom door opened, and Futaba Rio entered the room and saw Kento.

"Ah, the socks are still there."

"Just to get socks?"

"I need to go wash up, otherwise, why do you think I came here?"

"I helped her get two wisdom teeth removed, and I have to stay with her for a while tomorrow."

"Why tell me?"

Looking at Futaba Rio standing at the edge of the bed with an indifferent expression, Xianren took a deep breath, walked to the girl, hugged her with both hands, and carried her to his bed.

"Are you really not curious at all?"

Sitting in the living room, Machida Sonoko glanced at Kento's bedroom, then looked at Mari Fukaoka who was sitting beside her.

"I've already seen yours, so I'm not interested."

"Haven't I seen your appearance too? So, I'm actually even more interested in you~"

Machida Sonoko's answer made Fukaoka Mari feel helpless. She stood up silently and walked towards her bedroom. Machida Sonoko, who stayed behind, turned her head to look in the direction of Kento's bedroom, stared at it for a while, then stood up and walked towards Fukaoka Mari's bedroom.

Rio Futaba bit her lips, and her expression was different from usual, which always made Xianren feel extra excited.

It was around ten o'clock in the evening when the two came out of the bedroom and went to the bathroom to stay for a while. When they came out, Xianren returned to the bedroom, picked up his mobile phone, and sent a message to Saionji Sekai.

Let Sekai Saionji go and accompany Setsuna for a while, he might not be able to return to Koishikawa until later.

- - - -

Thanks to Chang Shengli, Mu Rongguang, and Bounty Hunter Skadi for their monthly passes and blades! Thanks to everyone for their recommendations!

Another year of budding: 307. Close observation

Looking at the tissue on the desk and the two teeth on the tissue, he looked at Kiyoura Setsuna who was sitting next to him, his cheeks were not so swollen anymore and he had almost recovered.

The boy's face showed a puzzlement full of wisdom.

"Sorry, I felt a little bit deaf just now... If I heard correctly, you are going to make these two teeth into-"

"Amulet."

"..."

He silently looked at Qingpu Setsuna beside him, and his eyes couldn't help but fall on the two teeth on the desk. He felt a little subtle in his heart. It was the first time he discovered that his girlfriend had such... unique interests?

“Why do you have such an idea?”

"So, I can stay by the side of the wise man?"

My heart couldn't help but skip a beat. I felt that if things continued to develop like this, there would be some subtle trends, and I felt a little unsafe.

"It's better to keep them as treasures. Even if they're made into amulets, they're not very convenient to carry around all the time. It's better to store them away and keep them at home. When you open them again one day, perhaps you'll feel even more deeply."

"......"

Qingpu Setsuna stared at Xianren for a while, then lowered his head to look at the two teeth on the desk. He was silent for a moment, then nodded, agreeing with Xianren's suggestion.

He silently put the two wisdom teeth back into the drawer. The wise man standing beside him felt a little relieved when he saw Qingpu Setsuna's actions. The thought that he would have to carry a amulet made of a tooth with him all the time made him feel a chill just thinking about it.

It's not a question of the so-called 'depth of love', but his instinctive resistance to this kind of behavior. He always feels that doing so is not like being a normal person, but more like a primitive man who is conservative and living in modern society. It is indeed physiologically difficult to accept.

Taking care of Kiyoura Setsuna, with him and Saionji Sekai taking turns to accompany her, Kiyoura Setsuna, who had been hiding at home during this period, did not feel lonely.

During the day he was with Kiyoura Setsuna, but at night he would go to the 'coffee shop' more often to meet and stay with Futaba Rio. She basically stayed in the bedroom or the living room during the day.

The originally empty house has been constantly filled with different furniture and daily necessities at a considerable speed since Mari Fuka and Sonoko Machida moved in. There are also some cost-effective simple bookshelves in the living room, which are filled with magazines and single volumes that the two are responsible for publishing.

"It's mostly magazines, not a lot of light novels."

"Magazines are released almost every week, but light novels aren't published casually. Most authors can't even finish the first volume before they're rejected. Revisions and rewrites are very common. If you're a published author, or one whose first volume was accepted, you definitely can't understand the hardships of ordinary authors."

They talked about a lot of things, which was rare. After hearing what Kento said, Machida Sonoko seemed to be touched and became serious for once.

The four people had already had dinner, but because of Kento's words, they ordered takeout and sat at the table in the living room. Machida Sonoko, who was drinking beer, couldn't control herself after hearing Kento's words.

"Even among authors who win awards and receive publishing opportunities, many disappear from the public eye shortly after a book is released. In this world where sales determine everything, even highly acclaimed works face the risk of being cut short if sales don't meet the target."

Even the wise men of the past have never experienced this kind of feeling.

Although he was a sensual writer before, he was very talented in this area. From the initial newspaper articles to the publication of his own works later, everything went smoothly and without any obstacles.

Sometimes the sales of his works may not be as good as expected, but they have always been able to meet his expenses and use.

It was like his own work was being obstructed and could not be published. Without Machida Sonoko in front of him to explain it, it was really difficult for him to understand that feeling. Now it was almost the same. After hearing about this from her, he still could not truly understand what those people felt.

"Some children do work very hard, but they do need a bit of talent in this area."

Mari Kazeoka was also somewhat touched by what Machida Sonoko said.

Many parts of the magazines in the publishing house are edited and revised by professional in-house editors. It is not the case that anyone's content can be easily approved after submission. Most people will not try again if they fail.

"Talent. Some people work very hard but don't have talent. Some people have talent but don't work hard at all and often delay their submissions. It's really a headache."

Machida Sonoko's gaze slowly fell on Xianren, her eyes narrowed, as cunning as a fox.

"Hey, Miyamizu-kun, I think this is actually a great place to write."

Xianren, who sensed something was wrong, couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly when facing the gaze of Machida Sonoko.

"is it?"

There was no confirmation or denial, he also wanted to see the other party's purpose.

"I'm in charge of a very talented writer, but she's always procrastinating on her manuscripts, which is a real headache. So, in order to get her to finish the next volume as quickly as possible and so I can constantly supervise and urge her, could you let her live here too?"

Without saying a word, Futaba Rio, who was reading a book, raised her head slightly and looked at Machida Sonoko who was sitting opposite her.

Noticing the girl's gaze, Machida Sonoko clasped her hands together and showed an apologetic expression.

"Yeah, I know this is a bit excessive, but she hasn't written a new volume yet, and it's really giving me a headache. Isn't there an unused bedroom downstairs?"

Yes, there is another bedroom.

This 'coffee house' has a total of four bedrooms. In addition to the master bedroom where the sage lives, there are three small secondary bedrooms.

The floor area of 6.1 tsubo is about 20 tsubo, or about 20 square meters, even if it is divided into three bedrooms. Considering that some rental apartments are also about 8 square meters in size and the rent is about 10 yen, it is really very cheap for a month like Kento's - cough.

"And you know each other."

"Kasumigaoka-senpai, who will be entering her third year soon?"

After hearing what Machida Sonoko said, a familiar figure quickly appeared in Xianren's mind.

"Hmm~"

Futaba Rio also had some impression. She was not completely unaware of the influential figures in the school. Even if she herself did not want to pay attention, the discussions of the people around her would make her passively accept the information.

"Second-year Kasumigaoka Utaha?"

"It's almost year three, so in a year, I'll be graduating and going to university. With Kasumigaoka-senpai's grades, getting into a top university won't be a problem, huh."

His eyes flickered as he remembered that his senior schoolmate had outstanding academic performance, especially in the liberal arts.

If the other party is willing to live here, then he will have an environment to interact with the other party. Even if he wants to ask questions related to exam preparation, there will be no obstacles, right?

He remembered it very clearly, it seemed that he entered the liberal arts department of Waseda University or Keio University... Anyway, he entered one of these two private giants.

Having such a senior as a mentor is very helpful for completing——

"Before, you decided to enter the humanities department because you had no hope in life and wanted to live a dull life. But now, are you still determined to enter the humanities department and aim to be in it as you did before?"

He hesitated for a moment, but he was sure there would be no problem letting the other party move in.

He glanced at Rio Futaba beside him. One was studying liberal arts, the other was studying science. It didn't matter which route they chose!

"I don't have any objections. 10 yen a month. If she agrees, she can move in. But she probably won't agree. There's a boy here too. There's no reason for her to agree."

"Just leave this to me!"

Machida Sonoko suddenly became excited, while Futaba Rio, who was sitting next to Kento, looked at Kento next to her, her eyes flickered slightly, and she felt a little depressed. She sat quietly at the table and didn't say much until the midnight snack was over.

When he returned to the bedroom, he saw Futaba Rio coming out of the bathroom without saying a word, returning to the bedroom and lying directly on the bed. Xianren, who was not slow-witted, naturally noticed the girl's depressed mood.

"I originally aimed to study liberal arts. Coincidentally, Senior Kasumigaoka also has this goal. Now that she's in her third year, she can give me some advice and serve as a reference for you."

"I am not interested."

"Is it about the reference, or about Kasumigaoka-senpai, or - me?"

Xianren came to the edge of the bed and sat on it. Looking at Futaba Rio who had her back to him, he moved closer to her side little by little, put his face on her shoulder, and stared at the girl's profile. He watched Futaba Rio turn her face to the side again and bury it in the pillow. Her hair slid down her face, making it impossible to see her expression.

"Don't you live here too? I'm not always here. In comparison, the two of you might spend more time together."

After thinking about it, it seems to be the case.

Futaba Rio's mood improved a little, but she wasn't completely relieved, and the fact that she returned to normal so easily made her feel as if she was a little jealous and petty.

Xianren lay down on the bed, stretched out his hand and hugged Futaba Rio who had her back to him.

The girl, who was originally a little depressed, felt the warmth behind her, was silent for a moment, and did not insist any longer, and quietly closed her eyes.

By the next day, this incident would not have happened tonight.

However, she must pay attention to the fact that Kasumigaoka Utaha is moving in and be fully prepared!

"Hey, Shiyu-chan is also living at home with her parents now, right?"

At the publishing house, Kasumigaoka Utaha was suddenly called over by her editor. She thought that the other party was urging her to submit her manuscript as usual, but she didn't expect that the other party would start talking about his own life, which made Kasumigaoka Utaha frown.