Chương 23: Mouse's Place

It really came out of left field. I wasn't in anyway opposed to visiting Mouse's house, in fact, it was something I wanted to do eventually. I just wasn't expecting it to be on a random Wednesday. So, I took off my alchemist's outfit and put on some loungewear—joggers, a cardigan, and a sports bra. Since she said we're not going out anywhere, I'd wear something comfortable. Mouse offered to pick me up, but I rejected that and am now waiting for the taxi to arrive. While waiting, I decided to do a little cleaning.

My kitchen looked almost ransacked; Empty glass bottles were knocked over all over the place; My pot looked aged and wrinkly, it had definitely seen better days; And bits of pieces of leftover materials could be found everywhere.

"Hm…I should definitely clean this place when I get back." Though, the payoff for a dirty kitchen was well worth it. Alias - Raccoon Title - Floor 1 Rank 8 Followers - 76, 384 Points - 4, 382, 039 My point situation was looking extremely healthy. A mix of potion revenue and floor video purchases brought me to riches. …Though I was still far from being able to afford a cauldron. I'm still not even a fifth of the way there yet.

"Haah…" I yawned, stretching before I started to sweep up the debris on the floor. A few minutes later, I got a notification saying my driver was outside. Slipping on my slides, I was excited to see Mouse's place. …

"Ahhh! What did I do!?" Mouse rubbed the sides of her head with her knuckles. She was currently in a panic.

"I can't believe I suddenly invited Bin over!" It was an impulsive decision. She was lounging on the couch watching TV shows when she suddenly felt bored. But, she didn't feel like playing the usual computer game. So, she sent a text to Bin. Bin almost never rejected an invitation from her, only doing so when she's doing something important. She wanted to hang out with Bin, but after sending that text, she realized that she didn't want to leave her home. So, mindlessly and impulsively, she invited Bin over.

And now, she had to suffer the consequences for it. It wasn't that she didn't want Bin over, no, she actually thought she'd enjoy it if Bin visited. One day, she wanted to visit Bin's place too. The problem was that her place was extremely messy! Clothes that she didn't have time to wash lay either in the hamper or on the floor; Dirty plates, cups, and bowls sat in the sink; Random papers were scattered in various rooms… Yeah, she had a lot of work to do. [Stella: omw] Mouse looked at the text with wide eyes.

And she had to do that work fast. …

"Thank you." I said with a smile as I exited the vehicle. Looking around, I was surprised to see that Mouse lived in a more normal place than I thought. The area definitely looked a bit richer than mine, but overall it was pretty much the same.

"Let's see…" I checked the information she had given me.

"Third floor." After confirming the location, I headed inside and took the elevator. With the satisfying ding sound, I stepped out and headed to Mouse's door. It wasn't difficult to find it, the numbers had a simple pattern. The first floor would be the 100's, the second, 200's, and the third, 300's. Mouse lived in room 302. So, I didn't have to go far. That didn't mean there was a 100 rooms per floor by the way. It's more like 10. Standing in front of Mouse's door, I felt a little disappointed.

It looked just like a regular door. No fancy designs, no images, no external decoration, just a plain ol' boring door. Knocking on the door, I waited a few moments. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. CRASH!

"…?" Was that the sound of something falling? THUMP!

"…?" BREAK!

"…?" A few seconds later, the door opened and I saw a perfectly normal looking Mouse wearing casual loungewear.

"Hey, you're here?" She said calmly.

"…Yeah, hi!" I ignored it and smiled, opening my arms.

"How was the trip?" She asked as we hugged.

"A bit boring without my designated driver." I shrugged.

"I offered to pick you up though?"

"Yeah, but at that point you might as well had come to my place instead of the opposite."

"Hm…? Have something to hide?"

"No," I shook my head, "My place is just a mess right now because of alchemy. I wouldn't have had time to clean."

"Ah…" It seemed like she realized something and shook her head before continuing to speak, "I'm just joking. Yeah, who invites someone over without even cleaning their house first? That's crazy."

"…?"

"Anyways! Come on in!"

"Thank you for having me." There wasn't much to comment on, it looked just like a regular apartment, albeit way bigger than mine. I left my slides at the door as she led me through her place.

"That's the bathroom, feel free to go at any point…This is a storage room, where I keep things I have nowhere to put. Over here is the kitchen and living room, I don't use the kitchen much." She said that last part sounding a bit embarrassed. Continuing her tour, I followed with a curious gaze. Is it me, or does it look like she only cleaned this place just before I arrived?

"And that door leads to my bedroom." She pointed at a door with a mouse decal on it.

"Oh! Cute!" I said, looking at the decal.

"Right? I got it for cheap from an art seller." She paused before continuing, "So, any thoughts?" She asked as we naturally headed to the living room.

"Hm…It's cleaner than I thought?" I threw out. I saw Mouse flinch and knew exactly what I thought earlier was right. She had totally done last-minute cleaning.

"Well, I do like to keep things nice and tidy."

"Wow, that's surprising." I mumbled.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" She shot me a glare.

"I just figured you'd be someone who usually has a messy house and cleans at the last minute when someone comes over."

"…" Mouse flinched and looked away.

"But, that doesn't seem to be the case." Mouse's expression switched from anxiety to joy at my words,"Of course!" She said looking proud, "I always keep a clean house."

"Oh, is that dirty laundry?" Mouse practically jumped, her eyes widening as she immediately turned to where I was looking.

"Ah, I must've misseen."

"Ha…ha, it happens. Ahem, any other thoughts?"

"It's a nice place." I let off my teasing for now, "More normal than I'd expect."

"Than you'd expect…?" She shook her head, brushing off my words, "Well! I haven't shown you the true pride and joy of this place yet." She smiled, grabbing my hand and pulling me along.

"True pride and joy?" I asked.

"Through this door is where I spend most of my time!" We stood before a door that we had skipped past earlier, I was wondering what it was but I didn't ask.

"How much time is 'most your time'?" I asked.

"80% of my day!"

"…So you are a hikikomori?"

"N-no!" She stammered and looked at me, "80% of my free days! When I'm not doing anything!"

"Right…"

"Shut it! You stay inside all day too just brewing potions!" I gave her a pitying look.

"Grr!" She growled. Hehe, teasing Mouse is fun. I smiled in thought.

"Fine! Just look and be surprised!" She opened the door and immediately pushed me inside. And lo and behold I did. LED strips lined the ceiling and walls, giving off a nice aesthetic; On one side of the room there was a full gaming set-up, there was even a steering wheel. All of it was color matched to the LEDS, her computer itself had a cute design of a mouse chasing after cheese on fishing line. There was even a mini-fridge next to the desk. On the other side of the room, my eyes truly widened.

A large TV that covered half the wall was hung up. In front of it was a large, comfortable-looking couch that could turn into a bed. Several console systems were lined up underneath the TV. There was even a popcorn machine.

"Wow…" I was at a loss for words. Snap! The sound of a picture being taken pulled me back to my senses. Mouse had gotten a good view of my face full of surprise.

"So! Over here is where I play games, I tried to match everything but it was harder than I thought. I can play pretty much anything here, even driving sims which is why I have the steering set-up."

"All this just to die to skeletons…" I mumbled. Mouse clearly heard me but ignored my words before leading me to the other side of the room,"First and foremost, popcorn machine. This is a real popcorn machine that cinemas have."

"You stole a popcorn machine!?" I exclaimed.

"What?! No! I purchased it!"

"Hehe, I know, I'm just teasing."

"You!"

"Hehe."

"Ugh, continuing on, I have almost every popular console. They all connect to the TV, even the hand-held ones." I nodded and Mouse continued,"This couch was really expensive, as you can see it's both a couch and a bed. With the click of a button, it can swap between the two. Here, take a seat, it's really comfy."

"Oh, wow…It is. Even more so than my own bed." I said, sinking into the cushions.

"I made sure to spare no expenses." Mouse nodded with pride, "But! The main purpose of the couch isn't for the games. It's for TV shows and movies!" She exclaimed.

"Ah…As expected of you." I mumbled, "But yeah, this room is really nice. Do you sleep in here too?"

"No, not usually. Sometimes I fall asleep while watching a show, but I sleep in my bedroom."

"Mhm." I nodded, "So, what're we doing?" I asked.

"…" A moment of silence passed by before she hesitatingly spoke, "I don't know…I didn't have any ideas when I invited you over and just wanted to hang out…" She seemed embarrassed. I smiled at her.

"I get it! You just wanted to hang out without a specific plan in mind. Hehe, I'm totally the same, I don't care what we do I just like being with you."

"…"

"So, do you want to get destroyed in a party game first?" I asked, pointing at a specific hand-held console. She shot me a fighting look.

"You're on." … We proceeded to play console games together for the next few hours, sometimes Mouse would win, other times I would. After we finished a round of a fighting game, I excused myself to head to the bathroom.

"Hm…?" I paused as I noticed something, "Ah, there is dirty laundry." I chuckled, ignoring it before returning to the gaming room. Mouse was laying on the bed, scrolling on her phone.

"Should we be done with games for the day?" I asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Yeah…I'm a little gamed out." Mouse replied, putting down her phone.

"Then, what's next?" I asked.

"Hm…Do you want to watch something?" She asked.

"Sure. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, I can put on anything: TV show, movie, anime, cartoon…Any preferences?" Checking the time, I could see it was getting late. It was already evening.

"Should we watch Pumpkin Patch?" I jokingly asked. Mouse tensed, looking away before stammering,"I-I d-don't have that movie."

"I'm kidding." I smiled. She shot me a glare.

"Hm…Let's watch a movie, you can pick the movie."

"Got it." She nodded, "Should I make popcorn?"

"Ah, wait…Speaking of, we haven't had dinner yet."

"…Right, I forgot."

"Let's change plans a bit, lets put on a show for now and order delivery. If that's okay with you?"

"That's fine with me."

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Anything's fine."

"I'll just order some fast food then."

"Okay!" Mouse replied, "I'll put on something nice." … The show she put on was interesting. We watched the whole season in what felt like an instant. The food was also filling.

"Haah, that was a good show." Mouse said, stretching.

"I agree. I quite liked the story." I replied.

"But…" She looked at the time and it was already past evening.

"Should we watch another show?" She asked.

"How about a movie?"

"Is that okay with you? It's getting late."

"It's fine, it's fine. As long as you're fine with it, I'm good."

"I'm obviously okay with it."

"Then, there's no problem."

"Alright, I'll skimp out on the popcorn though."

"Sure." We immediately went into watching a movie. Mouse had a button she could click on her phone that turned off all the lights, turning the place into a real movie theater. Since the couch was in bed mode, we could watch the movie lying down, which was quite comfortable. Soon, the opening scene played. The movie was entertaining. It was a comedy that executed the humor perfectly. But… Midway through the movie, my eyes started to feel droopy. The bed was just way too comfortable.

Slowly, my eyes started to close more and more and eventually I wasn't even paying attention to the movie. Then, I drifted off to dreamland. … As the ending credits started to roll, Mouse stretched,"That was a good movie, I enjoyed it. What about-?" She stopped speaking as she looked at the sleeping girl next to her.

"Oh…She fell asleep. Haha." Mouse chuckled, snapping a few photos. She couldn't blame her, it was late and even Mouse herself was feeling tired. Combined with the cosiness of the bed, it was only a matter of time before it happened. Mouse turned on the dim setting for the LEDS before turning off the TV. She lay there and looked at her sleeping friend. She smiled before starting to mumble,"…Thank you, Bin."

"This is too embarrassing to say to you directly, but I really appreciate you."

"For hanging out with me…For constantly talking to me…For being friends with me…For everything."

"Honestly…After leaving my party, I felt terrible. I started to hate human interaction and isolate myself."

"But…Now, I think I'm opening up a bit more once again."

"So…Thank you, Bin."

"…Haha…You're not even going to know I said this, but it good to get off my chest." Mouse lay there and stared at Bin for a few moments before speaking,"Sleep well, Bin." But before she could get up to head to her own bedroom, she felt an arm wrap over her chest.

"H-huh? Bin? Y-you're awake?" Mouse stuttered and looked at Bin, but she was still asleep.

"Ah…You're not." She felt a wave of relief wash over her. If Bin had heard her words, she would've been way to embarrassed to do anything for months. But then came another problem. It turns out Bin was a sleep-hugger. Though, Mouse didn't particularly mind and only internally sighed. She slowly moved her body to a more comfortable position.

"Good night, Bin." She mumbled, closing her eyes. … There's one thing that Mouse didn't know…Bin is an extremely light sleeper.