After Work, I Brought Home a Devilish Beauty - Chapter 76

The next day, large snowflakes began falling from the gloomy sky.

In an instant, the entire city of Tokyo was blanketed in white.

At the same time, orange weather alerts were being broadcast across mobile phones, television, and radio, warning residents not to go outside unless absolutely necessary.

Since he couldn’t go to work, Yuichi obediently stayed home.

“Damn it. What kind of weather is this…? I’m freezing.”

Even after turning on the heater and wrapping himself tightly in a blanket, Yuichi couldn’t stop shivering.

He stared out the window at the heavy snowfall and fell into thought.

…I wonder how Chiba and Alice are doing.

Ever since Chiba had taken Alice away, neither of them had returned.

And now the weather had become this terrible.

Naturally, Yuichi couldn’t help worrying.

Should I go out and look for them?

The moment the thought entered his mind, Yuichi quickly decided to act.

After all, this wasn’t something he could simply ignore.

It’s not like Chiba would really cut me off just because I looked a little lewd.

She probably just hadn’t returned because of the weather.

When he thought about it that way, everything seemed to make sense.

To prepare himself for the cold, Yuichi dug out the thick, old-fashioned down jacket he hadn’t worn in years. He also put on a plain brown knitted hat.

Come to think of it, Dad secretly bought this for me when I was getting ready to leave Osaka for Tokyo.

He hadn’t wanted to wear it, but he didn’t have much choice.

The clothes he’d ordered online had apparently been damaged during shipping, and the package had been lost.

The moment Yuichi opened the door, the temperature around him seemed to plummet.

A freezing wind immediately whipped against his face, making him regret his decision.

…Maybe I was a little too careless.

But he didn’t turn back.

Chiba and Alice might still be waiting for me somewhere!

With that thought keeping him going, Yuichi finally took his first step into the blizzard.

How should he put it?

The weather truly lived up to the orange alert.

The moment he stepped outside, the raging snowstorm was so terrifying that Yuichi nearly felt like bursting into song just to keep himself from panicking.

Even without a weather forecast, he doubted anyone in their right mind would choose to go outside in weather like this.

The blizzard was so intense that it severely restricted Yuichi’s vision.

He could only lower his head and slowly make his way forward, his shoes crunching against the snow beneath him.

Yuichi had originally planned to walk around the neighborhood first.

Perhaps he’d find some clue as to where Chiba and Alice had gone.

But not long after leaving…

Whether it was his imagination or not, Yuichi suddenly heard someone calling his name from nearby.

At first, he was confused.

Then he raised his head.

A petite girl who looked quite young was standing ahead of him, carrying another girl on her back.

…Chiba?

Yuichi stood there dumbfounded.

For a moment, he even wondered if he was hallucinating.

“Isn’t that Yuichi? You came at just the right time!”

Chiba called out to him.

“Quick! Help me carry Alice. I can’t carry her anymore!”

“Yuichi…?”

Alice’s weak voice followed.

“Hello!”

Yuichi still didn’t react.

After calling him several times without getting a response, Chiba finally stomped hard on his foot.

“Ouch! That hurts!”

That pain was enough to bring him back to reality.

So this really is Chiba.

Yuichi quickly realized what was happening.

Alice was sprawled across Chiba’s back, barely moving.

His expression immediately became worried.

“What happened to Alice…?”

Chiba hesitated for a moment before answering.

“It’s hard to say. There are several reasons. Alice is quite playful, and she accidentally caught a cold…”

Yuichi sighed helplessly.

Alice really is a handful.

But just as he was about to take Alice from Chiba, Chiba added something.

“Well… that’s not the whole story. I’m partly to blame, too.”

She looked away awkwardly.

“I accidentally got a snowball inside her collar.”

Yuichi fell silent.

After a moment, he silently took Alice onto his back.

Then, after walking for a while, he finally spoke.

“You mean you took Alice outside to have a snowball fight, and she caught a cold because of it?”

Chiba nodded obediently.

Yuichi immediately began complaining.

“If you wanted to go out and have fun, you should’ve at least told me first! Honestly, you’re such a worry!”

To his surprise, Chiba immediately became defensive.

“Why do I need your permission to do anything?! You’re just a human! Why should I have to ask you?!”

“Well…!”

Yuichi opened his mouth but couldn’t think of a convincing response.

After a moment, he lowered his head and spoke quietly.

“Uh… sorry. I was genuinely worried about you and Alice, so I complained a little. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Hmph. Good that you understand.”

The first thing Yuichi did after returning home was check Alice’s condition.

He carefully laid her down on the bed before taking a thermometer from the cabinet.

Alice’s face was bright red.

She slowly opened her eyes when she felt Yuichi beside her and seemed to try to say something, but she didn’t even have enough strength to speak properly.

“Don’t force yourself.”

Yuichi looked at the thermometer.

“You have a fever of forty degrees Celsius. It’s already impressive that you’re still conscious.”

His tone was sarcastic, but his concern was obvious.

It’s not like she’s completely blameless, though.

Alice had gotten herself into this situation.

Originally, Yuichi had assumed that Chiba took Alice away because there was something important they needed to deal with.

He had even thought Chiba’s excuse about his “lewd eyes” was just a convenient way of avoiding telling him the truth.

But who would have thought they had simply gone out to have fun?

Chiba was one thing.

But even Alice had joined in.

It’s infuriating!

Yuichi looked toward Chiba.

“Could you boil a kettle of water for me? Thank you.”

Chiba was clearly unhappy with the commanding tone in his voice.

However, when she remembered that Alice’s cold was partly her fault, she swallowed her irritation and obediently went to boil the water.