Chapter 4 - The Trick to the Crane Game is to Pull it in Close (2/?)

Ange gestured him over. She seemed interested in the bed section and she pointed at a plate that said "Please try me out."

"It's saying you can lie on it to see how it feels. Keep your shoes on the plastic at the bottom, though. Also…"

Before he could tell her to do it quietly, the girl dove noisily onto the bed mat. The creaking of the springs seemed to fill the entire floor.

"Wow, wow! This is amazing! It's so bouncy and soft."

The comfort that 99800 yen bought was apparently several steps above the cheap bed that had come with the apartment. She kept bouncing up and down on it like a trampoline.

An employee naturally started giving them a disapproving look.

(Why am I the one getting glared at?)

The employee seemed to think she was his little sister, so he averted his gaze.

But…

"~~♡♡♡ That settles it. I'm buying this. I'm definitely buying this."

Ange stretched happily.

Since she said she was going to buy it, he decided to let her do whatever she wanted.

"~~♪"

"…"

She lay on her stomach and kicked her feet.

Mutsuki's expression relaxed when he saw her playing around like a puppy wagging its tail in a nice sunny spot.

The two of them had not exactly been getting along, but he could not think of her as a bad person when he saw this innocent side of her.

He wanted them to get along.

They were roommates, she was helping him as his bodyguard, and they were about the same age.

He was pretty sure they would be able to get along when the right opportunity came along, but…

"I see, I see."

He felt a soft sensation on the back of his neck. Next, a sweet breath tickled his ear.

"How about we buy a bigger bed? The ones we have are too small, so we almost fell off when doing it doggy style. One with a waterproof mat would be best."

"H-have you bought a recliner yet?"

He quickly moved away from the large round objects resting on his shoulders.

Amused by his reaction, Micha giggled.

"I did buy one, but I've hit a snag. I used a trick to get the lease for our apartment, so we're technically not registered as its residents. I need to stop by the government office and get things legal."

"Oh… I see."

He was bothered by the parts about "using a trick" and "getting things legal", but she was an angel. He decided to turn a blind eye.

"Sorry. I'll be gone for a bit, so you kill some time with Ange."

"Oh… Wait, what!?"

"If you see anything you want, go ahead and buy it all."

She tossed the black card his way and turned around.

The boy naturally panicked when he was handed an object that could produce as much money as he wanted.

"W-wait, Micha-san!"

She was already gone.

All that remained was the weak-willed boy and the credit card he was afraid to use.

"What did Micha want?"

Having seen her guardian walk up and leave, Ange only tilted her head and got down from the bed.

They decided to look at the furniture later, so Mutsuki showed Ange around the mall since she wanted to see more large stores.

"What a strange place. It's like an entire shopping district was put inside a single building."

"That's what a mall is."

Fortunately, Mutsuki visited the place about once a month with his sisters, so he knew his way around pretty well. Showing Ange around was a simple task.

"Ha ha♪"

Ange seemed to like the spiral escalator that made a half circuit of the central space as it brought them to the second floor. A huge smile covered her face as she saw all the stores spinning around her.

The boy laughed quietly when he saw her unable to maintain her usual air of composure.

(She really is a good girl.)

Due to some compatibility issues and bad timing, he had not had a good impression of her. But when he saw her here, she no longer seemed like someone he could never get along with. As long as she could claim it was her duty, she would do a proper job of protecting him 24/7.

"Hm? What is it?"

She seemed to have noticed him looking at her, so she tilted her head while leaning over the railing.

He felt like he had been watching her all day and she seemed to have a habit of putting on that lopsided frown even when she was not particularly angry. That impression was helped by the natural angle of her narrow eyebrows and the sharp look to her eyes.

"I'm just glad you seem to be enjoying this," he said with a smile. "I thought you might not be able to enjoy yourself with me."

"Uuh… I-I'm not enjoying the human world in the slightest. It's just, um, not boring since it's so different."

This time, she really did look to the side with a sullen look. The problem seemed to be her prejudice against the human world, her short temper, and her refusal to be honest.

The escalator reached the second floor, so they continued on up to the third. The central space seemed to rotate around them on this half circuit.

Mutsuki spoke to the girl who leaned on the railing with her cute lips bent in a lopsided frown.

"Hey, Ange. Look at that."

"What is it? …Wow."

He pointed down toward the central space.

When she peered down, her angry expression immediately lit up.

On the first floor, the central rest area's decorative plants had appeared to be arranged in an irregular pattern, but from this high up, they formed a picture. With summer approaching, the many yellow seedlings painted a beautiful sunflower.

"Ah ha ha♪ You humans think up the weirdest things."

She seemed to be enjoying herself again. She completely forgot to frown as the escalator rotated around and changed their angle of view, somewhat changing the sunflower's colors and shape.

She really was a pure girl. Mutsuki stepped up alongside her with a smile. She was not going to complain if that was all he did.

Although maybe pure was not quite the right word.

"There are so many clothing stores, too. …Ah! Wait a second, Mutsuki! Why are those people standing around in their underwear!? They're in public!"

Ignorant may have been the better word choice.

"Those are mannequins."

"Manne…what? Oh, they're dolls. …Ah! Wait a second, Mutsuki! They're selling human bones over there!"

"Those are piggy banks shaped like skulls."

"Oh, so they're fake. …Ah! Wait a second, Mutsuki! That man is wearing a girl's sailor uniform!"

"That's…a personal preference…I guess."

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I hope you like my translation.

also, give me power stones to boost my ego little will ya.

also also like my original novel :Harem Tales of Reincarnated Elf Prince