Chapter 198: Lamb into Tiger's Mouth (Patreon)

The sky was growing dark, and the temperature indoors dropped back into the single digits Celsius.

The four of them had taken the kotatsu apart. The little low table and the wooden boards were set aside to be reassembled in the morning. The thick deerskin blanket moved to the bed, laid over a layer of quilting, and tonight they'd sleep under those two layers.

A thick coat of frost had formed on the window, so now even the snowflakes were out of sight. With the blizzard raging, opening the window to scrape the frost off was out of the question. It would have to wait until the snow stopped.

The kotatsu might be gone, but the rug stayed. Isac sat cross-legged on it. It wasn't as comfortable as a chair, but it had one big advantage: he could shuffle around freely. For instance, he could wedge himself between Yukinoshita Yukino and Kaguya.

What had happened earlier that day still hadn't worn off for the two of them. When Isac sidled up, they were too embarrassed to give him the time of day. Holding hands was fine, but anything more intimate, like an arm around the waist or a kiss, was off the table.

The moment Isac showed the slightest sign of making a move, Yukinoshita Yukino and Kaguya would both dodge him without a trace of fuss, then tuck a hand into his to make their position clear.

You can play with my hand. Don't expect anything else.

Isac had no good answer to that. He certainly couldn't run over to Hayasaka Ai's side. She would gladly let him hug and cuddle her, but the moment he did, there'd be no soothing Yukino and Kaguya.

Hayasaka Ai had no great solution for his dilemma either. Even if she had, she wouldn't have said so, because she had her own ideas.

Besides, he'd earned this. Wear the crown, bear the weight. Wanting a girl on each arm was never going to be easy, and a little hardship along the way was only natural. Really, it didn't even count as hardship. It was just a bit less sweet.

If he wanted real hardship, he should try splitting himself into three and following them all home to meet their families.

A chill ran down Isac's spine out of nowhere. He didn't think much of it, figured the temperature had dropped again, and got up to toss a little charcoal into the fireplace.

Seeing he wasn't getting anywhere with either side, Isac finally faced reality. He had no intention of sitting back down. Instead he decided to go downstairs and heat a bucket of water for washing up.

In this cold, a bath was out of the question. It was too much trouble, and the house didn't have enough water for everyone anyway. A wet towel across the face and body would have to do.

Once the blizzard outside let up, they could think about boiling water for a proper bath.

After all, as deep winter set in, the house would only get colder, and the chances for a bath would get rarer. It might well be spring before they could wash properly again.

Isac had never had strong feelings about bathing. Frozen winter or blazing summer, he washed about once every day or two, usually in the shower. He didn't share the strange obsession with soaking in a tub that Yukinoshita Yukino and the girls had.

No matter how big the bathroom was at their homes, they always found a way to squeeze in a bathtub.

Isac had only picked up the soaking habit after coming here.

"I'm heading downstairs to get water ready for washing up. Do any of you want something to drink? I can heat some up on the way," Isac said.

The three girls all shook their heads. Yukinoshita Yukino spoke up. "Plain hot water is fine for me. Just remember to fill the thermos... Never mind, I'll come downstairs with you."

Hearing that Yukinoshita Yukino was coming along, Isac's mind started racing. Wasn't this a lamb walking straight into the lion's den, and a perfect chance to pick them off one by one?

That was what he thought, of course, but he gave nothing away. He even extended the invitation to Hayasaka Ai and Kaguya. "What about you two?"

"Same as Yukino, plain water is fine. And it's almost bedtime. If I drink too much, I'll have to get up in the night, and all the warmth under the covers will escape." Kaguya slept in the middle, which made getting in and out a hassle, so she didn't like drinking much at night.

Besides, with the temperatures these days, getting up in the night to use the toilet was real suffering.

As a girl, she didn't have it as easy as Isac, who only had to take it out and didn't need to pull his pants all the way down.

Having said her piece, Kaguya made no move to get up. Clearly she felt that boiling water was a job for Isac and Yukinoshita Yukino, and she had no need to go downstairs.

"Same as Kaguya," Hayasaka Ai said, essentially a "me too." But the look she gave Isac was loaded with meaning.

She'd guessed what he was scheming. If it was only him and Yukinoshita Yukino going downstairs, it surely wouldn't be just about boiling water. But Hayasaka Ai didn't call him out.

You had to give a guy a chance. Otherwise, wouldn't that venison earlier have been wasted on him?

Actually, Hayasaka Ai thought that if Isac could hold out a little longer, he might even get more.

Still, this was fine for now. Chow down on whatever was already on the plate. Give it time, let the numbers add up, and things would move forward eventually.

Hayasaka Ai was in no hurry. She'd already gotten hers. The ones who ought to be anxious were Isac and the other two.

"Okay then, we'll go down and boil the water." Isac answered so fast it was as if he feared Hayasaka Ai and the others would change their minds. He turned and headed straight for the door.

He didn't forget to grab Yukinoshita Yukino by the wrist and take her along. No way was he letting her slip away.

Yukinoshita Yukino was puzzled. It was just boiling water. Did he really have to be this eager?

It was still way too early for bed!

"Wait, we haven't taken the thermos." Yukinoshita Yukino stopped in her tracks.

Isac slapped his forehead, turned back, and snatched the thermos from beside the fireplace. Then he bounded to the bathroom in three quick steps and fetched the other one.

The bathroom thermos still had a little water in it, though it had gone cold. No matter. They could pour it out and bring it to a boil again.

Watching Isac hurry around, Yukinoshita Yukino finally realized that going downstairs to boil water with him was probably a lamb walking into the lion's den.

The boiling water was a pretext. What this guy really wanted was to do something to her.

But she'd already agreed, and it would be awkward to back out now. So she lowered her head, face burning, and followed Isac downstairs.

Somewhere inside her, there was even a faint trace of anticipation.

In the first-floor living room, Isac added some firewood to the fireplace as usual. He didn't stuff it full. They'd be boiling water in a moment, and a packed fire would inevitably hurt the heat. He'd stuff it full right before they went back up, so the fire would last longer through the night.

Yukinoshita Yukino was distracted as she ladled water into the pot. Before she knew it, the water was almost overflowing, and her hands still hadn't stopped. If Isac hadn't spoken up beside her, she'd have wasted the water.

Well, it wouldn't have been wasted, really. She was filling the pot while it sat over the bucket, so any overflow would have drained right back into it.

Still, that didn't change the fact that Yukinoshita Yukino's mind was nowhere near the water.

Isac noticed. He restrained himself and didn't call her out.

Yukinoshita Yukino carried the pot to the fireplace and set it on the hearth stove.

All the while, half of her attention was on the pot and the other half on Isac behind her.

She kept wondering whether he would try a sneak attack, whether he'd take advantage of the time the water needed to heat up and do something to her. The thought brought a flood of past scenes to her mind.

Mostly they were set in the bathroom and the bedroom, the more private places, and what the two of them were doing in them was rather unmentionable.

The more she thought, the more her body started to feel off. But by the time she'd set all the water on the fireplace's built-in stove, Isac still hadn't made a move.

That left Yukinoshita Yukino a little sulky. Why wasn't he coming?

Her feelings were a tangled mess. She was afraid he'd go too far, and afraid he wouldn't.

What a perfect chance. Just the two of them...

When that thought surfaced, even Yukinoshita Yukino was startled. How could she think such a thing? This was the living room!

If Isac pushed a little, she could play reluctant and let it happen. But she mustn't be the one to want it. What would that make her?

Then again, it probably didn't matter. Hayasaka Ai had done it, hadn't she?

What if she took the initiative?

The thought left Yukinoshita Yukino feeling oddly guilty, yet also thrilled. It was like being a little kid whose parents had warned her not to eat too much candy, and she'd hidden some away to enjoy in secret once everyone was asleep.

It was a bit of a thrill.

Before her brain could make a decision, her body had already moved. She took a step backward, as if she'd forgotten Isac was right behind her, and fell straight into his arms. And the way she fell was rather clever.

Normally, when you fall backward into someone's arms, the first thing to touch is your back. Yukinoshita Yukino's was different. Her hips arrived first.

Well, that was a little deliberate.

Isac understood her meaning instantly. The corners of his mouth curled up. He never imagined Yukino would have a day like this, taking the initiative.

Yukinoshita Yukino kept her eyes shut, but the tips of her ears were crimson. The instant her body moved, she'd realized she'd botched it.

Even if she meant to offer herself, did she have to do it like that?

It was too obvious, too deliberate.

She didn't need to look at his face to know what he was thinking.

Isac, are you feeling smug?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Her slender hands itched, ready to go on auto-target at any moment.

But Isac seemed to have foreseen the danger. Before Yukinoshita Yukino could so much as twitch, he struck first with his signature move.

Having lost the initiative, Yukinoshita Yukino had no fight left in her. Her whole body went limp, as if her bones had been pulled out, and she sank into his arms. Her eyes went hazy, and even the firelight in front of the fireplace swam out of focus. She drifted up into the clouds one moment and tumbled into the abyss the next, with nothing in her ears but the scorching breath of the person behind her.

Gurgle, gurgle...

The water on the stove soon came to a boil, but Isac and Yukinoshita Yukino had no time for it just now. Let it keep boiling. A little longer would kill a few more germs, and a whole pot couldn't possibly boil dry.

And if it did, so what? They'd just add more.

The living room wasn't warm, but the atmosphere was blazing hot, thick with pheromones.

Who knew how long it was before Yukinoshita Yukino's body went taut for a moment, shuddered, and then abruptly relaxed.

Isac pulled a few sheets of paper from the little coffee table and helped clean her up. Yukinoshita Yukino didn't dare open her eyes through it all, but her small hand gripped tight enough to crease his sleeve.

Luckily, she wouldn't need a change of pants. Isac had shown real foresight and prepped Yukino beforehand by pulling her tights down to the crook of her knees.

Some liquid might have splashed along the way, but no harm done. A quick wipe-down was all it took, and everything was clean.

Only after Isac had finished tidying up did Yukinoshita Yukino slowly regain the use of her body. She still didn't dare look at him. She propped herself up on weak legs, walked over to the stove, put on the heat-resistant gloves, and started pouring water into the thermos.

Isac helped by pulling out the thermos's stopper, watching the steaming boiled water pour into the inner flask.

One pot wasn't enough to fill both thermoses, so they had to boil another.

"I-I'll take the hot water up first."

Well-fed Yukinoshita Yukino was ready to bolt, but Isac had no intention of letting her off so easily. He caught her by the wrist.

"Wait a bit. We'll take it up together."

Not a chance. She couldn't wait another second.

Thinking fast, Yukinoshita Yukino said, "I-I need to use the toilet. How about I send Kaguya down to keep an eye on the water with you?"

Better you than me, Kaguya.

Actually, that wasn't quite fair. Strictly speaking, Yukinoshita Yukino was practicing generosity: moral, noble, expecting nothing in return.

Isac admired her spirit of putting others before herself, and graciously let her go.

Yukinoshita Yukino felt like she'd been granted a general pardon. Thermos in hand, she hurried upstairs.

Isac refilled the pot, set it on the stove to heat, and sat on the sofa, full of hope that Kaguya would come down.

He waited a good ten-odd minutes.

He waited until the water in the pot began to churn with bubbles, and still nobody came down the stairs.

Isac understood perfectly well. He wasn't getting a bite of the pie in the sky Yukinoshita Yukino had painted for him tonight.

He should have seen it coming. Yukinoshita Yukino could say she'd send Kaguya down, but Kaguya didn't have to listen to her.

The two of them both had long, straight black hair, and neither outranked the other. They were equals.

Having worked that out, Isac glumly started filling the thermoses. Oh well, if she wasn't coming, she wasn't coming. He'd find another chance later.

Tonight, not one of them was getting away!

A bowl of water has to be carried level, after all. Play fair with everyone.

Isac stoked the living room fireplace full of firewood, picked up the thermoses, and climbed the stairs full of confidence. Back in the master bedroom, he found that Yukinoshita Yukino had already burrowed under the covers and curled up. Only a single ahoge poked out from the blanket. She wasn't even showing her face!

He couldn't see Hayasaka Ai or Kaguya anywhere, but there was light coming from the bathroom, so they were probably washing up inside.

Moments later, he heard voices from within.

"Kaguya, I'll go out first."

Isac perked up.

Hayasaka Ai was coming out, which meant it was his turn to go in.