Adolescent Adam

Volume 5, Chapter 3 - To Hi-no-Hoka Valley

“I’m back.”

Mutsuki returned home while enjoying a sweet lethargy stained with the scent of an adult woman.

“Welcome back.”

“Welcome back.”

“Welcome back.”

He was greeted by some unusually cheerful voices.

Ange would not give him a bright greeting on general principle, and yet three voices did just that.

He had a pretty good guess what this meant and, sure enough, he found two guests in the living room.

“Hey there, BFF. So you’re finally back?”

“What took you so long, Mutsuki-kun?”

Both of them were boys. One was his childhood friend Tomono Sakae and the other was his friend Satowa Lucia. The third greeter was Micha who was lounging in her chair with a beer in hand as usual. Ange sat on the sofa looking upset.

The two guests had a pile of loose leaf paper spread out.

They were likely here to plan out the camping trip. After showing up and being driven off earlier in the day, Lucia had probably called Sakae as a buffer. Ange was duty-bound to blend into human society, so she could not grow violent in front of a normal person like Sakae.

An ignorant human was preventing a clash as a demon visited an angel’s home. Mutsuki could only smile bitterly at the strange scene as he walked in.

“Good evening, Fujita Mutsuki-kun.”

“Wah! …Oh, g-good evening, Rapha-san.”

He had not noticed the other person present. The tall and skinny male angel seemed to suddenly appear from the side.

Rapha was the angel that Ange adored like a big brother.

His presence here made more sense than a demon like Lucia’s, but Mutsuki’s face still stiffened.

If he was being honest, he would have to say he had trouble with the young man.

Because he truly cared for Ange and viewed her as a girl, he felt the same tension as a boy meeting his girlfriend’s father. And…

“I hear you’re planning a camping trip. Ha ha ha. Camping is wonderful. I hope you enjoy nature to its fullest.”

With a lighthearted laugh, he patted Mutsuki’s shoulder.

Mutsuki’s face only stiffened further at the young man’s beautiful features and charming behavior.

Rapha had been oddly friendly lately. He seemed to approach more than necessary like this. Mutsuki had always had trouble with him and he was also a shy boy, so this made him nervous.

“Okay, Mutsuki. Now that you’re here, let’s take this to your room.”

“Right.”

Sakae and Lucia stood up at the perfect moment. Mutsuki brushed off Rapha’s hand and followed them, feeling like they had saved him.

The three angels were left behind.

“Heh heh heh.” Rapha grinned. “It looks like Fujita Mutsuki-kun is gradually opening up to me.”

“…Um, if you say so.”

“Benevolence is your real virtue, Nii-san.”

Meanwhile, with the three boys…

For a while after moving into this apartment, Mutsuki had held off on inviting people over due to the issues with FeTUS and the demons, but once summer break had begun, he had started inviting Sakae over like normal.

The relationship between FeTUS, the demons, and the angels had softened enough for unrelated humans to come between them. Mutsuki could not have been happier about that.

Sakae and Mutsuki’s other friends had been told the same story as his family, so they thought Mutsuki had left his home to learn a foreign language.

“This is a nice place you’ve got here. Isn’t this room bigger than your one back home?”

“Yeah. It’s not that different, though.”

“Hurray! Eh heh heh~ Mutsuki-kun’s bed is all mine?”

Sakae and Mutsuki sat on nearby chairs, but Lucia jumped onto the bed and buried his face in the pillow.

This was a time to hang out with just the guys. Having some time without having to think about sex (even if Lucia ruined that somewhat) was an absolute necessity for a teenage boy like Mutsuki.

“So about the cabin. That one isn’t happening. It costs more than 3000 a person.”

“I see. Yeah, spending 3000 yen on just lodging is a bit much.”

“We do have sleeping bags, so we could sleep in tents if we had to, but I’d rather not.”

“Yeah. I’d be afraid of rain.”

They discussed the camping trip. Except for Lucia, that is, who was relaxing as he sniffed at the sweat soaked into the pillow.

“So I think this campground will be the best. It’s not as popular, but that means it’s cheaper.”

“Good point.”

“I’m a little worried about safety, though. I hear biker gangs sometimes gather there.”

“Ohh. But it should be fine. The cabin has a lock.”

His real reason was the presence of an angelic bodyguard who could blow away a biker gang with a million members in a single blow.

“Then this place looks good.”

They quickly reached a conclusion, so Sakae began gathering the pile of loose leaf paper he had brought.

“Hi-no-Hoka Valley Campground.”

“…”

But then…

“Yeah, that settles it. I’ll get us a reservation later.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, but call me if you can’t get one. I have a second and third candidate in mind too.”

“Sure.”

Mutsuki and Sakae were too excited to notice the change that came over the other person in the room.

“…Hi-no-Hoka Valley, you say?”

With his face buried in the pillow, Lucia whispered to himself so the other two could not hear.

“This should be fun?”