Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat - Chapter 65

Chapter 65 The Spoiling Cat

It was been a few months since I started spending time in Mashiro. The seasons have changed and it is now the rainy season.

One weekday, nothing out of the ordinary.
The day begins not with a sound from an electronic device placed near my ear…

“Satou-san, it’s morning.”

In my dazed state of consciousness, I feel my body being modestly shaken, and a familiar, gentle voice enters my ears.

“Hm-Hmmm…”
“Breakfast is already ready.”

I can’t open my eyes because of the unbearable sleepiness, so I can only respond with an unspoken grunt, but the outside world continued to call to me.
It seemed that she wanted me to come to her world as soon as possible, but when I hear her voice, my will to get out of my slumber faded more and more.

“Hmm. Five, minutes…”
“I heard those words five minutes ago. Please wake up.”
“Your memory has been tampered with…”
“It’s not tampered, it’s what you said five minutes ago and there’s fact that you’re going to be late.”

My body was shaken more violently than before, and my consciousness gradually began to awaken, and I opened my eyes slightly to look at the world outside.
There was a silver-haired girl with cat ears wearing a familiar apron and glasses.
The scene was so far from reality that if my memory had really been tampered with, I would have thought I was still in a dream world.

Once again, it was a really strange relationship. And yet, it has become a part of everyday life.
Suddenly, a girl with cat ears appears in the house of an ordinary office worker, and now she gives me a wake-up call every day.
Who would have thought that this would happen? In fact, even if I was told, I probably wouldn’t believe it.

I’m ashamed to say that even though I’m living such a miraculous life, I’ve become a completely useless person thanks to her continuous pampering.
In the first place, the fact that a grown man was spoiled by a younger girl who woke him up every morning was in itself a disgrace.
If my family and coworkers found out about this, I would lose my mind. I’m showing Mashiro a side of me that I never show outside the house.

“Look, I made French toast today as you requested. I won’t let you eat it if you’re a sleepyhead.”
“Good morning, Mashiro. It’s a beautiful morning.”
“…You really are out of it, aren’t you? It’s supposed to rain all day today, don’t forget your umbrella.”

When Mashiro saw that I was awake and upright, she went back to the kitchen.
It was not a surprise that we could have such a pleasant conversation in the morning.
Of course, there was also the fact that I haven’t lived alone since…but in the beginning, I did not have this much communication with Mashiro.

It was not surprising that the relationship was not awkward even though we did not talk much, but it does not mean that I did not feel a little lonely.
However, such fears were unfounded, and the more time I spent with her, the more conversation I had with her.
We’ve come to understand each other in areas that we were too reserved to go into, and we’ve even come to a point where we can tell each other small jokes.

“It smells good.”
“Probably taste good too… Fufu, what is that? That.”

As I walked past the kitchen to wash my face, I called out to Mashiro. She turned around, looked at me and suddenly started laughing.

“How can you suddenly laugh in someone’s face?”
“B-Because…Fufu. Are you shocked, alarmed by something??
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about your infinitely crossed hair.”
“Hair?”

She’s pointing at my head, trying to stifle a laugh, so I follow her lead and touch my hair.
Then I felt a tremendous sense of discomfort.

“I refilled the bed hair straightener yesterday.”
“…Thanks for that.”

I was more embarrassed that I hadn’t noticed that she was laughing at me than that I had a bedhead.
As if to escape the shame, I thanked her and headed for the bathroom, stroking my hair constantly even though it was never going to be fixed.

“You really do have terrible hair…”

The meaning of Mashiro’s words was now clear to me.
In the mirror, my hair was standing up, as she said, and I could almost hear her say “fusha.”.
Without any metaphorical expression, there was my hair, which had exploded to an unbelievable extent.

I’ve always had trouble with my hair, but today it was in a particularly bad state.
I washed my face lightly and then went to do what Mashiro had told me to do to tame my rampant hair.
As expected, today’s opponent was quite a tough one, but I managed to win despite my desperation. I got myself together and went back to the living room.

“Welcome back. Your guard seems to have been broken.”
“Quiet.”
“Hmm. I’m sorry. Shall we have some breakfast?”

When I looked at Mashiro, who was still reeling from my bedhead, with a grudge, she apologized again with a happy smile on her face.
It was not that I’m really mad at her, of course, but if she smiled like that, I feel like I can’t be mad at her.

“Damn it…itadakimasu.”
“Itadakimasu.”

I sighed, but nothing could beat my appetite, so I clasped my hands together and ate the freshly made French toast.
I usually just have a slice of toast with no seasoning, but today I changed my mind and went with moist French toast.

Hmm, this is good.”
“That’s good. It was worth the research.”

I didn’t have a big reason for it, I just happened to see it featured on a TV program and wanted to try it.
Mashiro was watching it with me at the time, so I asked her if it was possible to make it, and it ended up appearing in today’s breakfast.

“Did you do a lot of research?”
“No big deal, just a little.”

When I asked her about it, he said he had never made it before until I asked him about it, and that he had made a prototype during the day yesterday.
She didn’t have to go that far, but she always gave it her all. She does the best she possibly could.
I wish she would slow down once in a while, but she says nothing makes her happier than being able to help me.

…I really wonder how much more Mashiro needed to spoil me.
At this point, I’m spoiled with morning wake-up calls, three meals a day, laundry, and cleaning…and if I’m spoiled any more than this, I’ll become a complete mess.

“Haa…”

The French toast itself was lightly sweetened, but I sighed as I felt a burning sensation in my heart from thinking about it.

“Sato-san…? Was it still not to your taste?”
“No, it’s delicious.”
“But you sighed…”
“It’s just too good to sigh.”
“W-What do you mean?”

I sighed in the sense of being too happy rather than too delicious, but I didn’t dare to say that much.
If I told her how I felt, she was going to spoil me even more. And I’m afraid that I’ll accept it without a second thought.

With such agonizing thoughts in my mind, I sighed again.