翌日、いつもの様に僕らは同じ寝床から出て、そして、食卓を共にした。「ぱんで、あるな。我にお任せを」と、簡単な事を布都ちゃんが手伝ってくれる。そろそろ布都ちゃんが居るのも普通になってきた。彼女を泊めた時、どうすればいいかと戸惑ったけど、ほんの少しいい方向に行っていると思う。僕自身もほんの少し、緊張が抜けたと思う。暫く、朝食を取った後、僕は4回目の布都ちゃんからの送り出しを受けて、家を出た。そして、いつもの様に仕事を終え、食料が枯渇していたのでそれを買って、帰路についていると僕を呼ぶ声が聞こえた。声する方を振り向くと、ぱたぱたと妖夢さんが駆け寄る。やぁ、妖夢さん。と僕が挨拶すると。「はい、「」さん」とにこりと微笑み、僕の隣について、妖夢さんは僕と歩みを合わせて、僕らはいつもの様に帰路を共にする。今日も里に下りているの？大変だね。と僕から話を始めた。「いえ、いつもの事ですから」とはははと笑う妖夢さん。きっと彼女の主人から急に食べたい物をせがまれて、急いで人里まで来たのだろう。こう毎日だと少し可愛そうになる。そして、今日も僕らは、身の回りの事とか、里での流行物の事とか、そんな他愛の無い話をしながら、歩みを進めていた。「あの、今日も・・・「」さんの自宅に布都・・・さんがいらっしゃるんですよね？」と話題が切れて会話が途切れ始めた時、少し声音が変わった様に妖夢さんは話題を変えた。そうだよ？居候だからねと答えると、そうですよね。あはは・・・。と妖夢さんが、答える。「あの・・・私にも何か出来る事ありませんか？」と妖夢さんが聞いてきたけど、僕はこれといって考えつかなかった。その旨を伝えると「そうですか・・・」と呟いた後に「あの、その買い物袋の中身・・・」と妖夢さんは僕の買った品を見た。「いつも、思うのですけど、「」さんってインスタントばかりじゃないですか・・・」と妖夢さんが少し非難めいた目で僕をみる。いつも妖夢さんに言われているのだけど、どうも一人暮らしになるとね。「それ、ちょっと酷いですよ。布都さんにも・・・。」と呆れた様に溜息をつき、そして何か閃いたかの様に、「明日、私が作りに行きましょうか？。」と僕に聞いてきた。僕は妖夢さんに迷惑はかけられないと言ったけど、「「」さんの役に立たせて欲しいんです。・・・友人ですからね」と言われて、結局お言葉に甘える事になったわっふるわっふる

The next day, we rose from our shared bed to have breakfast together as usual. "Leave it to me!" she said as she helped out with simple things. I had gradually gotten used to Futo-chan being around. I was a bit confused about what to do with her when she first came, but I think she's going in the right direction now. It's somewhat of a relief for me, too. A while after we ate breakfast, she saw me on my way as I left for work; this makes four times now. And as I was returning home from work, bringing back the usual groceries, I heard a voice call out to me. Turning to see the voice, I saw Youmu running toward me. "Hey, Youmu," I greeted. "Hello," she smiled back. She came up to my side and we proceeded to walk home together as usual. "Did you go into town today too? Must be hard on you," I started up with. "No, it's just business as usual," she grinned. I'm sure her master bothered her about something they wanted to eat, and Youmu rushed into town. I began to feel sorry for all the things she had to put up with every day.

We continued walking along, talking about our daily lives, the latest fads in town, and other trivial matters. Suddenly, she interrupted with, "Um... is Futo...-san at your place today as well?" with a different tone of voice. "Yeah, she's living with me," I answered. "Oh, that's right... haha...." "Um, is there anything I can do to help out?" Youmu asked, but I couldn't think of anything in particular. Hearing that, she muttered, "I see..." before switching to, "Ah, so about the contents of that bag..." and taking a peek inside. "I've thought about it, and it seems that you never buy anything except instant ramen," she said looking at me with scornful eyes. She's always telling me this, but that's what happens when you live alone. "That's pretty bad. It must be bad for Futo-san too..." she sighed with a hint of disgust. Then, as if struck with a great idea, she asked, "Why don't I go over there tomorrow and cook something for you?" I told her I didn't want to be a bother to her, but she pressed further: "I want to be helpful to you... I'm your friend, after all." Finally, I accepted her offer... to be continued