Chapter 289 – Pillar West (6)

The house looked quite large from the outside, but it wasn’t that big when I went inside.
That must mean the thickness of the metal used for the wall is thick…
A size large enough for a family of four to live comfortably, marble at the entrance, wood and carpet on the other floors, and wallpaper on the walls… When I touch the slightly scratched area, I can feel the smooth metal surface.

“This is the bathroom, this is the living room… If you want to watch TV, you can watch it whenever you want, and since I bought a game console a while ago, if there is a game I want to play, I download it and play it!”

Metal toilet, metal sink, metal tile, metal bathtub, metal TV…
It’s a little scary to see that it’s made so thoroughly.
Was it necessary to do this…

“If you want something to drink, here, in the kitchen… You can take anything out of the fridge and eat it. If you want to eat something, you can cook it and eat it… Oh, would you like some tea? It’s a good tea for digestion.”

Grape took a metal water bottle from the metal fridge and poured tea into a metal cup and handed it to me.
I was thirsty for the subtle sight that was hard to say, and I drank the tea at once.
Cool tea clears the mind.

Metal refrigerator, metal sink, metal cupboard, metal bowl, metal cutlery… No, cutlery and metal are originally made of metal.
Refrigerators are originally metal, and so are sinks…
Metal is metal… Let’s calm down.

Grape’s house was mostly made of metal, although some were not metal.
At least the floor and walls are treated with non-metal, so it looks barely normal.
If it were all metal, it would feel much more like an operating room or a dangerous animal containment facility.
It used to be like that, and maybe Grape had the same idea in his lifetime, applied the wallpaper, and raised the flooring to something else.

Grape’s house was very tidy, more normal and luxurious than I thought, except for the fact that there was too much matte silver.
The open structure with one side wall made entirely of glass as if no one would see it from the outside is cool, and the fact that there is nothing but really necessary furniture is neat.
To put it mildly, it was a house like a villa or mansion where the rich live sometimes in old movies.

“This is the laundry room… If you take off your clothes, I will wash them every time you commute. And this is the bedroom.”

The bedroom was plain.
A shower room inside, a closet on one wall, a very thick mattress on a metal frame, a chest of drawers and a full-length mirror.
The bed was thick and thick, but it was also large, so it seemed like it wouldn’t be enough to sleep together, not two, but three or four.

“Why is the bed so big?”
“When the National Guard made it, I didn’t know what kind of drool they would make, so I asked them to make it as big and safe as possible…”
“Grape doesn’t talk in his sleep.”

Once Grape falls asleep, he sleeps surprisingly calmly.
Still, the National Guard wouldn’t know about it, so it must have been made as strong as possible with the thought of preparing for an emergency.
While talking to Grape, I casually approached the chest of drawers on the wall and opened it.

“Still, it would be nice if we didn’t sleep together.”
“That, choo oh… ? That’s right, it’s not narrow. Would it be okay if Anger and I stretched out all our limbs? Ha, even if there is at least one more…”

There was no particular reason for opening the drawer.
I’m just curious what’s in it.
Would you like to have underwear?

“No, it’s not strange that there’s one more… I used to sleep with Esther and Rapid, so that’s why! It was okay to sleep with three people, so I thought it would be that much more comfortable… ?!”

At that time, Grape, who had been talking while turning his head away from me and touching the ends of his hair, approached me in an instant with a startled voice.
Before I knew it, the drawer I sneaked open was closed by Grape’s hand.
As if nothing had happened, Grape grabbed me by the shoulders and led me to the shower.

“Baby… Anger? Why are the drawers… ?”
“Huh? I’m just curious what’s in it… ?”
“Aha… That’s right, sha, shower! Should I? I need to go to sleep soon, and Anger wants to wash up too?!”
“Uh? Huh… ?”
“Wash up and come! Leave your clothes in front of me and I will take them and wash them!”
“Uh? Uh?”

Grape pushed me into the shower room inside the bedroom.
Maybe there’s something in the drawer you want to hide from me?
I’m going to sneak a peek and try to open it.

I was forced to push, but I just wanted to take a shower and took off my clothes as Grape said.
When I put my clothes out the door, Grape immediately takes them.
I walked slowly inside, looking at Grape’s shower room.

Grape’s shower room was quite unusual.
Instead of a shower head, it is a strange shape with something rectangular protruding from the ceiling, front and back, and both sides of the shower booth.
I pressed the button on one side of the wall with my hand after touching various things while thinking about what to do with the shower.

“Oh… ?!”

Then water came out weakly from all sides, and after adjusting the temperature properly, it began to shoot strongly.
The whole body except for the face is washed by the stream of water.
Surprised by the shower facility I had never heard of, I manipulated the panel.

The function of mixing shampoo and body wash with water, the function of dryer coming out from all directions, the function of water stream coming out from the bottom of the foot to remove soapy water from the floor… It’s more like a toy than a shower facility.
After experimenting with this and that, I discovered the water pressure massager function, and after enjoying the massage until I was satisfied, I used the whole body dryer function to remove moisture from my body.
It was a great shower facility that I thought would be hard to see even in a high-end hotel.

Satisfied with the shower, I got out of the shower wiping off the remaining water with a towel.
A robe was placed in front of the shower door.
I put on the gown Grape seems to have left behind.

“Grape?”

When I called Grape, I heard the sound of water outside the bedroom.
It seems that he is taking a shower in the bathroom in front of the entrance.
After a while, the sound of water stops and the sound of a hair dryer is heard.

Hearing the sound, thinking that Grape would soon come out, I walked around the bedroom and casually approached the chest of drawers.
Grape has long hair, so it will take longer to dry than me.
I don’t know what you’re trying to hide, but now’s your chance to check inside the drawer.

However, there was nothing in the drawer.
… It’s clear that I stole the contents somewhere else while I was showering.
I searched the bedroom, genuinely wondering what Grape was hiding.

Not in the closet… Only clothes
Another compartment of the drawer… Only underwear
Under the bed… There is something like a bundle that looks cheap in a hurry.

No dust, not enough time to hide, so it must be.
I took out the bundle, thinking that there must be things in the drawer in it.
The contents were revealed when the bundle was loosely covered with a blanket and untied.

“No way… What…”

Dildos, eye patches, masks, tripods that are neatly arranged… Condoms, gels… Rope…
Was it just a chest of drawers with things I used to play with secret accounts in the past?
It’s understandable to try to hide it, but this isn’t too surprising.
Since it’s Grape, you might have something like this.

“Huh?”

Disappointed, I tried to wrap the blanket again, but stopped when I saw something that didn’t fit in the bundle.
Cookie wrappers… An old three-tiered umbrella, company documents…
I wondered why non-adult goods were here, and when I listened to them, they all looked familiar.

The paperwork asking Grape to pay for it and asking for it, the wrapping paper for the 1+1 snack I bought at the convenience store on the way back from having lunch together, and gave it to me because I was smart enough to eat it alone, my umbrella that I gave it to use on a rainy day and throw it away…
Trash and papers are strange, but… Umbrella, really, why is this here?
I checked the handle just in case, and it sure had my name written on it.

At that time, the sound of the hair dryer from outside stopped.
Thinking Grape might come right into the bedroom, I hurriedly packed the bag and tucked it under the bed.
As soon as I sat down on the bed, the bedroom door opened and Grape came in.

“Oh, did you wash everything already?”
“Ah, uh, yes.”
“…Did it just come out?”
“Huh? Yeah, less than a minute.”

I replied casually to Grape, who came in wearing only a gown.
I don’t know why I keep the umbrella that I told you to use and throw away, but I’m trying to hide it even if I don’t know what it is, there must be a reason, so I think it’s better to pretend that I don’t know anything.
Seeing my awkward reaction, Grape glanced under the chest of drawers and bed, then went to the back shower and opened the door.

“… It’s so humid right after you come out of the shower, so it’s better to leave the door open.”
“Ah… I will do that from next time.”

An awkward air lingers.
I’m sure he didn’t check to see if I had just finished showering…
Grape and I looked at each other and said nothing.

“Hmm… Clothes… Because I reserved it for the washing machine… It will even dry on its own while you sleep. I’ll take it off and go to work tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“Cooking… Is there anything you want to eat for breakfast?”
“Anything… ? Anything Grape does is fine…”
“That, yes… ? Whooping…”

I responded calmly to Grape who broke the silence first and then lay down on the bed.
Then Grape came slowly towards me and lay down next to me.
Fortunately, the strangely creepy atmosphere of a moment ago seems to be gone.

Grape was lying next to me, looking at me quietly.
The wide open eyes shine brightly in the moonlight coming through the window.
I waved my hand in front of Grape’s face when I saw the amazement in his eyes and even the appearance of a hazy look.

“Grape?”
“Yes? Ah yes.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Oh, no… I’m curious…”
“…What?”

Was there anything strange about Grape in this situation?
Maybe something passed through the window behind me.
After taking a look at the empty back, I turned my gaze and Grape blushed and came a little closer to me.

“It’s strange that Anger is on the bed in my room…”
“Grape was often on the bed in my room too… ?”
“It’s different from that.”

Is that… ?
I don’t know what the hell is different, but it seems to be different for Grape.
Grape fixed his gaze on me and continued stroking my body with his fingers.

“This is the first time anyone other than a magical girl has come to the house.”
“Did magical girls come often?”
“I saw it on TV… ? Esther came to visit me every time saying she liked the exercise equipment at my house…”
“Rapid came with me, and Lily came…”
“So after Esther became like that, I was especially alone.”

I was speechless.
In Esther’s broadcast, Grape’s house was like a kind of playground where top-level magical girls often stopped by.
The word Grape’s house didn’t come out on the air, but the area around the vacant lot with exercise equipment appeared quite often.

Esther is known to have said something like a will with a scream in the last broadcast she turned on after being caught by Negative.
After that, people thought Esther was dead, and after a year, Esther appeared as a negative.
It must have been difficult to gather in a place where dead comrades and enemies who became enemies often visited and laughed and chatted.

Grape’s house is certainly large enough to live alone.
He probably didn’t even know that the house was spacious when the magical girls came to visit him every day, but he must have felt it later, even if he didn’t want to feel it.
I murmured, thinking that Esther was dead, imagining Grape sleeping alone in the same bed after playing together for a year.

“It must have been difficult.”
“…Are you okay.”
“It must be difficult because magical girls are people too.”

Of course, being a magical girl doesn’t say it’s difficult in front of people.
Even when it is known that Esther is dead, she burns with a vengeful spirit, shows a strong figure that does not break to this extent, and is a magical girl who comforts the citizens to be relieved.
Those who saw it changed their minds from the disappearing Esther and became fans of other magical girls, believing that they were safe and maintaining their daily lives as always.

Magical girls shouldn’t be weak.
She must never appear weak, she must always be strong.
Even if it hurts, even if it’s hard… Magical girls are human, but not human.

“Anger is a really bad guy.”
“Huh… Huh? No… Suddenly? Why?”
“Not knowing is worse.”

I answered without thinking and yawned, but I raised my head at Grape’s sudden beating.
Grape was swearing at me with a smile on his face.
Why do I have to curse all of a sudden?