Chapter 58 – Eri's Hesitation (Patreon)

Inside the Service Club.

After the family left, the room became quiet again.

Yukino sat quietly and coolly at the corner of the long table, reading a book.

But her eyes kept glancing to the other side.

At Kouma, sandwiched between two mature women.

This was supposed to be a space for just her and Kouma...

Although she was displeased, with her personality, she couldn't bring herself to say she wanted to be alone with him.

"Kouma, it's the school festival today! Do you want Big Sister to take you around the campus?"

Yukiko, occupying half of Kouma's body, tempted him.

With her playful personality, staying in the Service Club was too boring.

Eri seemed to remember something and also spoke up.

"Let's go see Ran's class. I heard they're doing a haunted house for the festival!"

Eri's gaze fell on Kouma, a faint desire flickering deep in her eyes.

For her, staying in the Service Club under Yukino's watchful eye, with Yukiko always around, made it hard to do anything.

Kouma was tempted.

To be honest, this was his first time seeing a school festival.

Especially one as big as Shuchi'in's.

He was a bit interested.

"Yukino-nee..."

The little boy's adorable eyes looked at Yukino.

Yukino's heart softened immediately. She couldn't refuse any of Kouma's requests!

"Be back before lunch..."

There was a hint of resignation in her cool tone.

"Yukino-nee is the best!"

Then, Kouma followed Yukiko and Eri outside.

This was the busiest time of the morning.

The paths outside the teaching building were crowded with people.

On both sides of the path were all kinds of stalls.

Food stalls were the most common.

Then there were stalls selling small toys and used goods.

Kouma also saw stalls selling power banks, phone screen protectors, blind boxes.

There was even palm reading and fortune-telling for relationships!

Looking at some of the strange stalls, Kouma wondered if there were any stalls selling... used items.

"Ran is in Class 2-B of the high school... that building over there!"

It was only a few hundred meters in a straight line.

But it took them nearly half an hour to get there.

Besides the crowd, it was mainly because Yukiko kept stopping at various stalls.

She bought a lot of snacks.

And she kept feeding them to Kouma.

Making the little boy take the first bite, then eating the rest herself.

For some reason, Yukiko felt her fatigue dissipate and her body and mind relax.

Eri watched this woman, her eyes narrowing.

If she remembered correctly, she had just said she needed to keep her figure and lose weight...

Eri simply sped up.

They arrived at Class 2-B of the high school.

"There!"

All the classroom windows were covered with black cloth. The door was decorated with painted cardboard to look like a demon's cave entrance.

It actually looked quite real!

There was a line of about fifteen or twenty people in the hallway.

"Is Ran inside?"

Eri called Ran.

No one answered.

"She might be inside as an NPC!"

Eri said.

"Then let's just get in line!"

"Let this haunted house expert judge whether it's up to standard!"

Yukiko took the little boy's hand and went to the back of the line.

The line moved fairly slowly.

Kouma looked at the poster on the wall.

The haunted house's theme seemed to be about a ghost bride, with escape room elements added.

No wonder, even with the size of a Shuchi'in classroom, it took almost ten minutes for someone to come out.

From their slightly pale faces and the occasional screams from inside, the setup seemed pretty good.

"Kouma, if you're scared, Big Sister can hold you the whole time!"

Yukiko crouched beside the little boy, slightly spreading her arms, revealing her generous bosom that the teacher's suit jacket couldn't hide. Her beautiful face was full of anticipation.

That way, she could openly hold Kouma without it being strange.

Yukiko thought to herself.

But the next moment, Eri picked her up.

"Kouma is very brave. You don't need to worry."

Eri said flatly.

She and Kouma had seen real ghosts. Why would they be afraid of fake ones?

Soon, it was their turn.

"500 yen per ticket!"

The cute girl at the ticket booth at the door said emotionlessly.

"Big Sister, do I need a ticket too?"

Kouma's handsome little face peeked out from under the table, meeting the girl's eyes.

The girl was startled, then her eyes and lips curved into a gentle smile.

"Little guy, you don't need one!"

"Okay, thank you, Big Sister!"

Kouma didn't expect to get in just by showing his face.

The little boy's polite thanks made the girl's heart race.

"He's so cute, I want to have him..."

The girl wanted to look at Kouma a little longer, but Yukiko and Eri pulled him away.

As they walked into the haunted house, their vision immediately dimmed.

Relying on the faint red light from the lanterns hanging in the air, they could barely make out the layout.

It looked like a bridal chamber.

In front of them was a large bed with big red curtains, with a big character on it.

But besides that, there was no festive atmosphere in the room at all.

White silk was draped from the beams.

It formed a stark contrast with the wedding bed.

"Not bad, Ran and her classmates did a good job!"

Yukiko praised.

Eri looked around and found a piece of paper on the wall.

"Only by finding the bride's hairpin can you leave this place alive!"

The slightly bloody font added to the horror.

"Obviously, we have to lift those curtains and look."

Yukiko said confidently.

"Kouma, there might be scary ghosts soon. Hurry to Big Sister..."

Yukiko suggested again.

But when she turned around, she saw that Eri was already holding Kouma in her arms.

"Curses, she beat me to it..."

Yukiko pouted.

But she understood.

After all, as a mother, she would naturally want to protect her child!

At that moment, Eri, holding Kouma, smelled his familiar scent, her body and mind trembling.

If this weren't a haunted house, Eri would have wanted to put the bed to its proper use!

Yukiko stepped forward and pulled open the bed curtains with the character.

When she saw what was inside, she and Eri were both stunned.

There was a large coffin on the bed!

"Almost scared me!"

Yukiko patted her chest.

It was just that she and Eri weren't ordinary people. An ordinary person would definitely be scared by suddenly revealing a coffin.

"Kouma, are you okay?"

Yukiko asked Kouma with some concern.

"I'm fine! Yukiko-nee, it looks like this coffin lid can be moved."

Kouma said crisply.

Yukiko felt relieved and stepped forward to open the coffin.

If she wasn't wrong, the hairpin would definitely be inside.

The sound of moving the coffin lid was loud enough to cover up the sound of approaching footsteps.

With their intelligence, Yukiko and Eri immediately understood the reasoning behind this part of the design.

"Next, the NPC should appear behind us..."

Sure enough, when the coffin lid was completely moved, a sinister female voice came from behind them.

"Come down with me!"

A female ghost in a red wedding dress lunged at them with practiced ease.

She had tried this many times this morning. At this point, everyone would be scared out of their wits, desperately avoiding her, and scattering in all directions.

She didn't have to worry about bumping into anyone. Then she just had to roll into the hidden passage and move to another spot to scare people!

Creating the illusion that she was everywhere!

But this time, the two people standing there didn't move at all.

Seeing this, the female ghost quickly tried to stop.

But her foot inexplicably stumbled, and she lost her balance!

At that moment, Eri recognized the female ghost from her familiar voice.

It was her daughter, Ran! But before she could say anything, she was tackled by her daughter.

And the little boy she was holding was also caught, and all three of them rolled into the large coffin.

Thump!

The three of them crashed into the coffin, making a loud noise.

Yukiko was stunned.

The next moment, two very similar moans rang out.

"Ahh~"

Kouma, sandwiched in the middle, was completely bewildered.

In the narrow coffin, he tried to get up, but was held even tighter by a pair of long, powerful legs.

The sounds also grew louder!

...

A long while later.

In the haunted house's break room.

Ran sat in front of Yukiko, covering her face, her cheeks red to her ears.

Remembering how she had made those sounds in front of Aunt Yukiko and her mother, she felt incredibly ashamed.

Ran took her clothes out of her bag and said softly,

"Aunt Yukiko, I'm going to go change..."

With that, she turned and walked awkwardly toward the restroom.

Leaving Yukiko alone.

She looked at the restroom door in confusion.

As soon as they'd come out of the haunted house, Eri and Kouma had gone to the restroom.

"What's with this family? Why do they all need the restroom..."

...

In a simply decorated office.

Mrs. Yukinoshita, in a high-end black OL suit, leaned back in her office chair.

Her black-stockinged thighs pressed into the leather cushion, spilling over slightly.

She sat casually, flipping through the company's recent reports.

After about ten minutes, she crossed and uncrossed her long legs.

She sat with them crossed diagonally, making the already long legs look even more stunning.

Unfortunately, it was all hidden under the large desk, unseen.

Knock knock

"Come in!"

Mrs. Yukinoshita said in a deep voice, her head down.

The door opened, and Mihoko, dressed in a light gray OL suit, walked in on high heels.

"Mrs. Yukinoshita, this is the last report."

She placed a form on the desk.

Mihoko was from an ordinary family. She had been sent to Mrs. Yukinoshita's side as a child and had grown up with her.

Now, she was considered the head steward of the Yukinoshita family.

Mrs. Yukinoshita picked up the form and quickly read through it.

Mihoko looked at Mrs. Yukinoshita's still-bright eyes and couldn't help but say softly,

"You're in very good health lately, ma'am!"

After several consecutive days of working overtime, Mrs. Yukinoshita showed no signs of fatigue.

Mihoko, who was a bit younger, was barely holding up.

Mrs. Yukinoshita paused slightly, her face blushing, a smile curling at the corner of her lips.

Her mind was full of Kouma's face and figure.

As soon as she got home, she would drag Kouma into dual cultivation.

Her physical fitness had long since surpassed that of an ordinary person, so working overtime for a few days was no problem.

Thinking of Kouma, her concentration wavered.

She crossed her long legs again, shifting her hips back slightly on the chair.

"I should be able to go to Shuchi'in by noon..."

Mrs. Yukinoshita looked forward to Kouma's takoyaki.

"By the way, has there been a reply from Attorney Kisaki?"

Mrs. Yukinoshita seemed to remember something, raised her delicate, mature face, and asked Mihoko.

"Attorney Kisaki took the day off today. She left the law firm this morning!"

Mihoko replied.

A day off?

Mrs. Yukinoshita was taken aback.

The Eri she knew was a complete workaholic, no less than herself!

And today...

Mrs. Yukinoshita suddenly noticed the key point.

Eri was indeed a workaholic, but in that certain area, she was also crazy!

As someone who had sandwiched Kouma with her, Eri's craziness was still fresh in her mind!

"Did Attorney Kisaki say what she was doing?"

"Her daughter goes to Shuchi'in. It seems she was going to visit the school festival with her."

Mrs. Yukinoshita's brow furrowed immediately.

What daughter!

She didn't need to think to know she was going to see Kouma!

Mrs. Yukinoshita immediately took out her phone.

She dialed Eri's number.

"Mmph, Mrs. Yukinoshita, is there something?"

"Where are you right now?"

"Mmph..."

"At Shuchi'in..."

Mrs. Yukinoshita's narrow eyes narrowed.

Eri's voice was so hesitant...

She thought for a moment.

Mrs. Yukinoshita hung up the phone!

"That woman, she went ahead without me!"

Even though Mrs. Yukinoshita could somewhat accept Eri's existence.

But leaving her here to work while she went ahead—that was unacceptable!

"Bring the files on the company's recent cases. We're going to Shuchi'in now!"

Mrs. Yukinoshita stood up and said.

Hmph, trying to escape?

...

At the same time.

In the restroom stall.

Ran, who was changing clothes with a blush on her face, suddenly heard the conversation from the next stall and instinctively spoke.

"Mom?"

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