I Was Reincarnated As An Instructor In An R18 Game... - Chapter 5

The time is midnight, 12:00 AM.

The tavern is closed at 10 PM for 4 out of the 7 days of the week.

On the 2nd day, it closes at midnight, and other day is a regular day off.

By the way, the opening time is 11 AM.

After returning from the war… no, when I was reincarnated and came to Suzuya for the first time, I was shocked.

Niimi-san kept the shop open until midnight every day for all 7 days of the week.

To keep the Suzuya that my father left behind.

She never showed fatigue and always treated customers with kindness, working tirelessly.

I also inherited the memories of the Reid.

I could tell right away that Niimi-san was exhausted.

Of course, I discussed many times with Niimi-san to come up with the current schedule.

The result ended up being the current schedule.

The inn operates every day of the year, but the tavern will have regular days off.

As I started doing 20 days ago, I tidy up the room a bit and warm it up with a fire magic tool that serves as a heater, then head to Niimi-san’s bedroom.

It’s a bit of a drastic measure… though, it might just be a wishful fantasy.

I lightly knock on the door, and Niimi-san, smiling helplessly, opens it.

It looked like she had been getting ready for bed, as her braid was undone, revealing her beautiful hair.

She was wearing a light brown, thin one-piece dress, loose and comfortable.

Because of the height difference, my gaze might wander towards her chest, but I make sure to look at Niimi-san’s face so she doesn’t feel uncomfortable.

“It’s bedtime, so I’ve come to pick you up.”

“Reid-san, I’m okay now, really…”

“Well, it’s unfortunate, but I can’t trust you… so I’m going to take you with me.”

“Kyaa… come on!”

I picked up the embarrassed Niimi-san in a princess carry and turned off the light in her room with my elbow.

Niimi-san’s cheeks turned a soft rosy color.

Her hands are placed on her large chest as if praying, and I watch as her chest sinks into the shape of her arms.

They really are marshmallows.

On the way to my room, I spoke to the quiet Niimi-san.

“Niimi-san, are you eating properly? You seem a bit lighter than before.”

“I’m eating. If I don’t, Reid-san will get worried…”

“Even now, I’m still worried… I’ve been worried nonstop since 20 days ago.”

“I’m sorry about that…”

“I won’t let you go so you don’t do anything foolish again, so brace yourself.”

I applied a little more pressure with the arm holding her, bringing her closer to me.

Niimi-san looked away from me, shyly avoiding eye contact.

“I… may only be your mother by marriage, but I am still your mother, you know?”

“Thanks to the way you raised me, I can carry things like this.”

“…From when…”

I open my room with my elbow and, though it’s bad manners, I close it with my foot.

I gently set her on the bed with a soft thud and then move to make tea.

I make warm tea for both myself and Niimi-san. It’s good because it has a relaxing effect.

Maybe some black tea would be good, but… it’s expensive.

I hand the tea to Niimi-san, who is sitting on the bed and slightly looking down. She takes it with both hands and places it on her lap.

“…Since when have you started seeing me as a woman?”

“On that night, 20 days ago. I figured it out from Niimi-san’s expression… It was at that moment I made my decision.”

“……”

In the past 20 days, this is the first time I’ve been asked such a question.

I place the tea on the nearby table, kneel down, and look up at Niimi-san, who is looking down.

Since Niimi-san is sitting, I end up looking up at her just a little.

It’s really just a little.

“If Niimi-san is going to be embraced by another man, then I’ll do it. I’m ready to be scolded by my father after I die for it. It’s not really a correction, but I see you both as a woman and a stepmother… roughly fifty-fifty.”

“…You say you’ll embrace me, but nothing like that has happened since 20 days ago, right?”

“I don’t just want to do that kind of thing. I love Niimi-san both as a stepmother and as a woman. If the time comes, I want you to give me a sign. But first, we need to heal your exhausted heart.”

“……”

“Well, it’s already a good time. Shall we sleep?”

I get into bed from the opposite side where Niimi-san is sitting and lie down.

I stretch my left arm out sideways and beckon with my right hand.

“Please, Niimi-san.”

“…I don’t know when… that signal will come you know?”

She snuggles next to me and gets into a posture as if she’s softly embracing me.

At that moment, two large marshmallows press against my side.

Niimi-san, using my left arm as a pillow, mutters without showing her face.

I cover both myself and Niimi-san with the blanket using my right hand, smiling awkwardly.

“Right… I might do that, but only to the extent that you don’t mind. If you’re wondering whether I don’t want to, the truth is I do want to.”

“…Good night, Reid-san.”

“Good night, Niimi-san.”

Saying that, I bend my left arm from the elbow and gently pull Niimi-san’s shoulder toward me.

The scent of my family, something I’ve smelled since I was young, and Niimi-san’s sweet fragrance.

Perhaps due to a sense of security, I quickly lost consciousness.

–

“What a cruel person…”

Niimi lightly holds Reid’s clothes, now that he’s started breathing softly in his sleep.

The woman who gave birth to Reid lost her life in exchange for bringing him into the world.

When Reid was 10 years old, her husband, Reid father passed away in an accident.

Seeing how he was at that time, I couldn’t possibly abandon him.

I managed the Suzuya that my husband left behind and raised him.

To raise him gently and strongly, ensuring his heart wouldn’t break. To help him live straightforwardly and healthily.

When I saw his smile, all my fatigue just vanished.

When the war began, he, a former adventurer, was also drafted to serve and make up the numbers for the country.

For a year, I received letters, but sleepless nights went on.

But he returned safe and sound.

Even I, who have lost so much, find it hard to lose another family member.

Something must have happened during the war, because after he returned, he started reforming the Suzuya.

First, setting regular days off. Renovating the kitchen and introducing magical tools.

Before I knew it, the rowdy adventurers were calling him Instructor and started calling me Proprietress.

Everything was going smoothly… until the son of the Dwarf Merchant Guild set his sights on me.

The skyrocketing cost of goods and bad rumors.

He said he would solve it right away, but… I.

From the expression on my face, he could tell I wasn’t angry or sad.

With his usual gentle, calm expression.

He just asked me.

Feeling emotionally exhausted, I started thinking those things, and that’s when he began to lie next to me.

If being alone makes me think bad thoughts, then we should got to bed together.

However, he desires to do such things… with me.

Certainly, we’re not related by bl00d, but I’ve raised him as if he were my son.

I thought I had been treating him well.

Over the past 20 days, I’ve come to feel a sense of security in his warmth.

I felt that I could see him as a man.

“Really… you’re a horrible person.”

Despite what she said, Niimi closed her eyelids, comforted by the sense of security.

Probably… no, I have a feeling I will give the signal soon.

Chapter length 2745 characters.