While soaking in the bathtub, Shoko ponders the cause.

Shoko has managed to handle general household chores, including laundry, while living in Akabane.

Currently, it is best to save money, but I am not living in such poverty, and it is not the case that Shoko and Hatsune have different detergents.

I struggled with the two-layer washing machine in Akabane, but in my current home, I have a quiet washing machine that I can run at night without complaints—long live high-tech!

In other words, it shouldn’t be a problem with the act of washing itself.

In the beginning, I remember that both Hatsune and I used to wash all our clothes at the same time.

Shoko didn’t particularly care, but Hatsune had somehow started to separate things like this without realizing it…

A thought occurred to Shoko here.

Could it be that my clothes smell?

“…No way… That can’t be…?”

Normally, it’s an unattainable thought, but once it surfaces, it tends to linger, especially shocking and negative thoughts.

And this idea is quite shocking for girls of that age.

If it was presented to them through actions by a partner of the same age, it could even lead to a collapse of their pride.

“This… must be resolved immediately!”

Fortunately, the answer is within easy reach.

Shoko, who had just stood up from the bathtub, hurriedly began to wash her hair and body.

“Hatsune… please take a seat, I have something to talk about.”

“Eh, Shou-chan…? O-Okay…”

Hatsune seemed a bit scared, as if sensing the serious atmosphere, sitting upright in front of each other under the constellations of the starry sky in the loft.

Take a deep breath.

“…I’ll get straight to the point, why do you go out of your way to separate my clothes when doing laundry?”

“…Huh!?”

Shoko sensed the voice of Hatsune when she was taken aback by an unexpected question and when she hit upon some hidden matter.

“I’m fine with the talk about how to do laundry, but earlier, why does Hatsune go out of her way to carefully separate my laundry?”

“Well… um… yes…”

“I’m not angry… No, rather, if that’s the reason, then Hatsune should be the one getting angry…?”

“Eh? Are you angry? Why…? What…?”

“Anyway… please tell me the reason for separating!”

Having said this much, I decided to wait for an answer. Although Hatsune was mumbling incoherently for a few minutes, she eventually responded.

“Well… um, it’s because I became curious about Shou-chan’s scent…”

Ah, it’s over───

“Th-that’s why I have to keep Shou-chan’s beautiful and fragrant clothes separate… because if they get mixed with mine, they might get dirty…”

A nice smell… a good smell?

“My clothes… it’s not that I was avoiding you because they smell, right?”

“That’s true, but it’s not good if my smell gets mixed in…”

“Is it okay!? Is it not okay!?”

Once I managed to hold back the desire to forget the complexity of conversations that lack substance, I organized my thoughts.

Hatsune likes my scent.

My clothes smell like me.

Washing clothes together makes my clothes smell like me, which excites me.

So I decided to separate the laundry.

“…I see… I understand well now…”

“…Huh, did you understand? Sho-chan…”

“Yes… It means you are a much worse child than I expected!!!!”

“!?”

“First of all, the person is right in front of me, so why go to the clothes!”

“Because… I wanted to feel you, Shou-chan, strongly.”

“What do you mean by feeling stronger than the person in front of you?! I mean, you were smelling it while dividing it, weren’t you?!”

“Uuuh…! I’m sorry… but Shou-chan smells good…”

“That’s already a matter of delicacy!!”

As a result of a brief pursuit and argument.

Do the laundry all at once if possible, don’t do unnecessary things with the clothing, and hang them together when drying.

It is said that new cohabitation rules were established, and that night, Sayoko’s punishment myth burned intensely.

On a later day after the season had changed.

“It’s been hot lately, hasn’t it…?”

At the end of a day’s activities, during a season where being drenched in sweat is not uncommon, Shoko mutters to herself in the changing room.

I suddenly brought the change of clothes I had close to my face and smelled it; they say it’s difficult to feel your own scent.

For Shoko, it only smells like freshly laundered clothes.

Remembering what we talked about before, Hatsune said that doing laundry together would mix with Shoko’s scent.

Does Hatsune have such a good nose that she can smell even after laundry?

Perhaps Shoko herself is picking up on things about herself that she doesn’t even understand.

“It’s just like a detective, isn’t it?”

After finishing undressing, I went to take a bath.

If Hatsune is that good at sniffing things out, then even while trying to understand Shoko, insisting on recommending coffee is…

Perhaps that strong scent is making me unaware of something.

Syouko decided not to think about whether they both desired a space wrapped in a single fragrance.

Anyway, I’m sorry for just wanting to write something.

Complaints?

There isn’t any?

Give me more 💛

I feel a strong urge, but it would be presumptuous to act on it recklessly.

Isn’t that distance just right…?