Chapter 10: The Plot Point of the Heroine and Protagonist Living Together is Surprisingly Difficult to Justify

[Cohabitation]

In romance stories, the pattern of the protagonist and heroine living together under the same roof is fairly common.

For example, it could be due to their parent remarrying, one of their homes becoming uninhabitable, a parent being away from home, or many other reasons.

Often, it starts in an unwanted way for both parties, and the story progresses with them deepening their love through repeated conflicts.

Whether adults or minors, cohabitation with someone of the opposite sex who is not related by blood is a significant event, and many stories begin with this as the starting point. This shows just how significant a change it is for someone to start living with someone else.

As someone who likes sickly heroines, I have a certain longing for the situation of living side-by-side with the protagonist.

That feeling of understanding each other's needs and desires through unspoken communication, resulting from living together, is truly..... wonderful!!

★★★

"I wonder what will happen to that boy, Sakura."

"Chitose-sama... You've been thinking about that all the time these past few days, haven't you? You've even been going to see that boy so often. Aren't you worrying too much about him?"

".... Did I.... really?"

"Yes, you did. In any case, it's up to Master to decide what happens to that boy. There's nothing we can do about it. More than that, I'm more worried about your health, Chitose-sama. You did something so reckless—"

"I'm fine! I just said hello to him!"

"It's good that nothing bad happened to you, but the problem is that you confronted a ruffian who suddenly burst into the mansion so carelessly!"

"Oh... well... you're right. I'm sorry, Sakura. I made you worry."

"Sigh~..... There's no need for Chitose-sama to apologize...."

"But, ever since I first saw him, I feel like there's connection between me and him. Especially after hearing what Ayame-sensei said."

"That's..."

Several days have passed since that fateful day. The fate of the so-called Protagonist-kun remains undecided.

Well, that's only natural.

To me, he's the perfect protagonist, a counterpart to my Chitose-chan, someone I've waited for with bated breath.

But to Otou-sama and Okaa-sama, he's simply an intruder.

Currently, because he's still a child, and his unusual behavior, plus my request, he's being kept at the mansion under temporary protection. However, otherwise, he would have been immediately taken into custody by the authorities.

In some cases, something could have happened right there. There aren't many people, regardless of the era or world, who would be kind to a complete stranger who suddenly bursts into their home.

Especially since this is a world where yokai and other supernatural beings roam freely. It's unreasonable to expect them not to be wary.

Furthermore, the fact that Protagonist-kun can't speak is also a problem.

Personally, the prospect of painting this blank canvas protagonist is incredibly exciting, but from other perspective, it's nothing but a disadvantage.

If you can't get a proper answer no matter what you ask, there's nothing you can do.

In fact, judging by his reaction to words, I doubt he even understand what we're saying.

..... I wonder what kind of life he's been living up until now.

And then there's that Yang energy.

It's the complete opposite of Chitose-chan's Yin energy, but it's equally abnormally unbalanced.

Yang energy is positive energy.

When you hear "positive," you might think there's no problem with having a lot of it, but apparently it's not that simple.

Ayame-sensei told me during a house visit that having too much Yang energy, which activates the whole body, makes the body too active. Everything, including the five senses, becomes endlessly active, resulting in an extremely sensitive body that would be horrible even with gout, where even a breeze would hurt.

Scary.

It also improves metabolism and other things, but too much of it can cause excessive heat, etc.

Just like with Yin energy, too much of it can cause more harm than good.

Ordinary people have a similar amount of Yin and Yang energy, so it cancels each other out and doesn't cause this kind of problem. Even Onmyōji who use their energy to perform spells adjust their energy to prevent such harm.

Ayame-sensei also said, "...As Chitose-chan probably knows, Yin and Yang energy must be balanced. An imbalance where one side is too strong can harm even the owner's body and soul. That boy must have had a hellish daily life."

Right now, Protagonist-kun is behaving surprisingly calmly, considering he suddenly appeared in someone else's yard. He's not causing any trouble and is staying in his assigned room, and he even comes over to me when I visit.

He's quite cute.

According to Ayame-sensei, that's probably also due to my presence.

Chitose-chan is biased towards Yin energy, while the Protagonist-kun is biased towards Yang energy. It is said that by canceling out each other's energy, we have temporarily achieved a state of harmony, suppressing each other's Yin and Yang energy effect.

When one's energy becomes unbalanced due to some factor, a common treatment method is to send in the opposite energy from an external source to restore balance.

In severe cases like Chitose-chan's and the Protagonist-kun's, this only temporarily alleviates pain and fatigue, but it's still considered effective in this world.

In fact, I also feel more comfortable after having my energy balanced by Sensei and Otou-sama, so I believe it's the correct treatment for him too.

In other words, there's no fundamental cure, but there are symptomatic treatments for this inherent illness called energy imbalance.

Of course, it's only a temporary fix, but having a means of relief makes a world of difference.

Considering his inability to speak and his appearance, it's hard to believe Protagonist-kun grew up in a normal environment. 

If what Ayame-sensei said is true, the Protagonist-kun must have lived in such an environment while suffering from excruciating pain throughout his body.

While I now play the role of Chitose-chan, a frail and sickly young girl, in my previous life I lived as an ordinary adult who simply had a slight fondness for sickly heroines. From my perspective, I naturally want all children to grow up healthy and to be able to live a decent life.

In that respect, sending him to the government office isn't such a bad thing.

Let's say Protagonist-kun is taken to the government office.

He had entered someone's house without permission. Of course, he won't get away without any consequences, but considering his circumstances, the punishment probably won't be too severe. 

In this world, a congenital energy imbalance is treated like a rare and incurable disease, similar to what I experienced in my previous life, so he might even be able to live a relatively normal life under government supervision afterward.

So, considering only Protagonist-kun's well-being, sending him to the government office isn't necessarily a bad thing.

However.... HOWEVER!!!

The situation changes if we assume that Chitose-chan is the Protagonist. The protagonist is me, Chitose-chan the Protagonist. 

In other words, he's someone who MUST have a rom-com relationship with me.

One of the weaknesses of a sickly heroine is that her range of activity and actions are inevitably limited.

It would seem strange if someone with a ailment were wandering around aimlessly, right?

That's the point. And of course, that applies to Chitose-chan as well.

The more sickly a heroine is, the harder it becomes for her to take active actions, forcing her to be more passive.

To resolve this dilemma of a sickly heroine and to have a romantic relationship, the other person needs to take action, such as visiting her. And for that to happen, naturally, there needs to be a certain level of affection from the other person.

Would that be possible between two people who just met a few days ago?

'The answer is no.'

Of course, it's not impossible for Chitose-chan to visit him, but given her image as a sickly heroine, she can't exactly go to see him that often.

Well, a memorable encounter in childhood, followed by separation and then reunion... that's also a possibility.

However, that carries the risk of NTR, and since whether they'll even be able to reunite is uncertain, it should remain a last resort.

IN OTHER WORDS!

As both an adult and a sickly heroine, the best outcome would be for Protagonist-kun to live in this house and have a happy life with Chitose-chan.

That way, the sickly heroine Chitose-chan will gain one more heroine attribute of being a childhood friend. 

Furthermore, if she teaches the almost childlike Protagonist-kun how to speak, she'll gain the motherly attribute despite being the same age.

Seriously, isn't Chitose-chan a super complete heroine package deal?

As expected. The cohabitation route with the Protagonist-kun is the most certain and safest bet!!

Moreover, it's great that classic events like accidentally meeting in the bath can happen regularly.

I'd also like to collect the "Aah~" event. 

My imagination is running wild!!!

At this rate, we absolutely must get Otou-sama to take Protagonist-kun in.

Hmm, how should I do that… Otou-sama is so soft on Chitose-chan. Maybe I can convince him with tears?

(She's lost in thought again. It's been like this every day for the past few days. Chitose-sama is so concerned about that boy... So the expression I saw back then wasn't a mistake after all...)

Just you wait, Protagonist-kun! You're going to become a member of the Onjōji family!! One way or another!!