Sandai sat down on the living room sofa and decided to wait for Shino while watching the rest of the typhoon information.
Listening to the announcer and the meteorologist guest who went on and on, it seemed that the typhoon would continue to affect the area until the wee hours of the morning.
“The northward speed has slowed down a bit……”
“It is not so unusual for the speed to slow down as it makes landfall. Heavy rain and strong winds will continue until about mid-morning.”
I was staring at the TV in a daze with my cheekbones when Shino came back about 20 minutes later.
Shino’s face was still blushing, but she seemed to have regained her composure compared to right after the discussion about underwear.
Her cheeks are still lightly tinted vermilion, but not bright red.
“….. Are you done?”
“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or not…… And, this may be an after-the-fact report, but I found a dryer in the room and used it.”
“I don’t mind. You can use it as you like.”
“Thanks……By the way, it’s amazing that you have a dryer in your house. It must be expensive, right?
“I don’t know if it’s expensive or not. It was equipped in the apartment. Thanks to economic competition, or perhaps because many rentals are well-equipped these days, it’s not unusual. …… But more importantly, what did you do with the uniforms after you dried them?”
“I stretched it out so it wouldn’t lose its shape, then hung it over there.”
Shino pointed to the corner of the room.
She successfully hooked a hanger on a slight edge ledge.
“You don’t have to hang them there.”
It’s not that I don’t have room to dry them indoors, so there’s no need to hang them apologetically in the corner like that, Sandai thought.
However, when he saw Shino slightly crouch down, he quickly realized that this was a complete change from when she was doing the laundry.
Shino had underwear, so she wanted to keep it out of sight as much as possible.
“No, I think I’d rather it be right over there. After all, it’s near an air conditioner. No matter how much you use the dryer, the uniforms could still be a little damp. If we put them over there and dehumidify them, that would be perfect.”
Shino was relieved to see that the air conditioner was working. Shino patted her chest in relief.
For now, let’s stay away from that place – Sandai decided.
☆
“Ugh～”
“Growling won’t help you.”
As the clock ticked around 23:00 and the typhoon was finally hitting, the two were playing video games.
While Sandai was idly watching the news, Shino said, “Let’s play,” so he pulled the game console out of the closet.
The console and software are both 10 years old, not the latest, but they are playable to a point.
(When I was little, I begged my father to buy it for me so that I could play with my friends when I made them someday. I didn’t end up making any friends, but I couldn’t throw it away……. I never thought it would come in handy now.)
Although he is an otaku, he mainly watches late-night anime and does not play games very often.
一This is because he has no one to play with.
Of course, there are many games that can be played alone, but he is content with watching videos of them being played or looking up strategies on the Internet.
“By the way, aren’t …… NPCs too strong?”
“I have them set to the weakest setting, but …… they sure are strong.”
They are playing a party game of Sugoroku with a mini-game in the middle. The settings are set to the lowest level so that even two beginners can enjoy the game, but for some reason, the NPCs reign at the top.
The NPCs were so strong that it was almost impossible to catch up with them.
“You’re in the wrong stage. Start over from the beginning and start at a different stage.”
Shino was not amused by her loss, so she asked me to change the stage.
“I’ll change it then at…….”
With no particular reason to refuse, Sandai decided to start over from the beginning as Shino had suggested.
This time, the NPCs became suddenly weaker.
It seemed that the previous game was a bug …… after all, but when the game started over again from the beginning and reached the midpoint of the game, Shino began to take over first place this time.
“I’ve got it! I’m already a winner!”
“Okay, now it’s my turn……”
“It’s like a dead game now. Too bad~.”
Shino, grinning and proud of her victory, encouraged him, and Sandai rolled the dice.
He rolled the dice and got an item. It is a rare item that allows players to swap squares with each other.
“Oops, this is …….”
Sandai glanced at Shino, and her once spare expression changed, “Awww,” she said, holding her mouth with both hands.
The item was unexpected and made him shudder.
“Hey, you don’t use…… do you?”
“Well, I don’t really care if I win or lose.”
“Thank goodness ……”
“But now that we have it, it would be a shame if we didn’t use it.”
So, Sandai used the item with a pop. Then, the positions of Sandai and Shino were switched.
He jumped to the top at once.
“Ehhh, liar~!”
Shino tapped him on the shoulder while she was half crying.
The gesture was somewhat endearing, and Sandai giggled and laughed unintentionally.
――The next moment.
With the sound of a violent lightning strike, the electricity went out altogether.
It was a blackout.
Both Sandai and Shino rolled their eyes at the sudden event.