Chapter 151: Chapter 151: Recorder in the Bathroom
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Today, whether Shouko wants to fix this faucet or not, the faucet has to work.
Naturally, Shouko doesn't know Hikari's thoughts, but upon hearing Hikari's agreement, a happy smile immediately appeared on her beautiful face.
"Thank you so much, Hikari-kun. I'm really sorry to trouble you."
After chatting casually for a few sentences, Hikari followed Shouko into the home of the self-proclaimed home security officer, Kareki Tsunetaka.
As soon as they entered and took off their shoes, Hikari saw two beautiful girls, one big and one small, standing at the entrance. One of them seemed very familiar.
After taking off her shoes and looking up, Shouko also noticed the figures ahead.
She quickly introduced them to Hikari, "These are my two daughters. This is the older sister, Sayaka."
"And this is the younger sister, Yuki."
Following Shouko's introduction, Hikari looked over.
The younger sister, Katsuragi Yuki, had shoulder-length brown hair similar to Shouko's, with red pupils resembling her mother's. She had a delicate and lovely appearance with a slender figure. The older sister, Katsuragi Sayaka, had long black hair tied into a high ponytail and was also very beautiful. She had inherited her mother's excellent figure, boasting an impressive bust, much larger than perhaps not-yet-fully-developed Yuki. This Katsuragi Sayaka was none other than the swimming club president Hikari had met when he first went to the swimming pool with Akane. They seemed to have a good relationship.
At that time, Hikari didn't pay much attention, as there were too many beautiful girls around him. Katsuragi Sayaka's actually quite attractive appearance seemed just average in Hikari's eyes.
But now, after Shouko's introduction, Hikari instantly remembered.
She was also one of the main characters among the self-proclaimed home security officers, along with Shouko and her two daughters.
After introducing Hikari, Shouko also said to her two daughters, "This is Hikari-kun, who will be our neighbor from now on. Let's all get to know each other."
Katsuragi Yuki blinked her eyes, staring at Hikari, "Hikari...kun?"
For a young girl like Katsuragi Yuki, who was just developing and still young, just seeing Hikari's face could increase her favorability. Now hearing that he was a neighbor made her even more curious.
Although she wanted to get to know him, being shy, she only softly greeted him.
On the other hand, Katsuragi Sayaka stared at Hikari for a while, confirmed, and then smiled, saying, "Mom, you don't need to introduce him. I've met Hikari-kun at school, so we already know each other."
"Right, Hikari-kun? Do you remember me?"
As she spoke, Katsuragi Sayaka smiled and asked Hikari.
Hikari also smiled and nodded.
"Huh?", Shouko and Katsuragi Yuki immediately looked curiously at Katsuragi Sayaka, wanting to know what was going on.
Katsuragi Sayaka explained, "Well, I have a friend from the swimming club who I'm quite close with."
"Then, not long ago, when I met that friend again, Hikari-kun happened to be with her, and we greeted each other, so I remember him. But I've only met Hikari-kun once."
Hearing Katsuragi Sayaka's words, Shouko smiled, "So Hikari-kun and Sayaka are at the same high school. That's great. If it's convenient, you can go to school together in the future."
"Sayaka, why don't you pour Hikari-kun a cup of tea first."
"I need to use the restroom. We haven't had a chance to go yet. After drinking tea, we'll trouble Hikari-kun to help fix the faucet."
As she spoke, Katsuragi Sayaka wanted to invite Hikari in for tea, while Shouko planned to use the restroom.
Seeing this, Hikari immediately spoke up to stop them, "Wait, let's not drink tea first. I should check what's wrong with the faucet."
Hearing Hikari's words, Katsuragi Sayaka, who was about to go in and pour tea, stopped and turned to look at him.
Shouko also quickly said, "It's alright, Hikari-kun, no need to rush. It's already very kind of you to come and help. Have some tea first."
Hikari shook his head, "I'd rather help you fix it first, otherwise I won't feel comfortable sitting down."
Hearing Hikari's words, the eyes of Shouko and her two daughters lit up, and their expressions showed increased gratitude, clearly their favorability had risen a notch.
After all, fixing a faucet is an extra task, and it's already very kind of Hikari, as a neighbor, to come and help.
But to be so eager to help, rushing to do it without even drinking tea, is just too good. Anyone would be moved.
Hikari's reason for doing this wasn't really out of eagerness to help or anything; he's not that enthusiastic about helping others.
It's just that he knew, based on the nature and methods of the self-proclaimed home security officer, there was likely something like a camera in the bathroom. His pure love radar also gave a hint, so for the sake of pure love points, he naturally wouldn't let that happen.
"Hikari-kun, you're really too kind, thank you so much!", Shouko expressed her gratitude with a tone full of thanks.
Then she led Hikari into the bathroom.
Arriving at the sink, Hikari checked it briefly and said, "It's not a big problem, just the faucet valve core is crooked. Just straighten it out."
Hikari casually adjusted it, and the faucet, which previously only dripped a few drops of water, instantly gushed out a large amount of water like a fountain.
This scene made Shouko, as well as Katsuragi Sayaka and Katsuragi Yuki, widen their eyes in surprise and admiration.
Although it seems like just fixing a small faucet, women are easily moved by such small things. If placed in a romantic context, it could be considered a significant boost to boyfriend appeal.
It's like when a guy has a friend who can easily help him defeat a boss when he's stuck in a game, it fills one with a sense of security and admiration.
"Wow! Hikari-kun, you're amazing!", Katsuragi Yuki couldn't help but exclaim. Even though Hikari was about the same age as her, he handled things so efficiently.
"You fixed the faucet so quickly. I was fiddling with it for a long time and no water came out. Hikari-kun is really amazing!", Katsuragi Sayaka also exclaimed.
"Thank you so much, Hikari-kun, for your hard work!", Shouko expressed her gratitude.
In response to the thanks from the mother and daughters, Hikari just smiled, "It's nothing, just a small effort, not hard at all. I happen to have some experience in this area, like unclogging blocked faucets and drains."
Hearing Hikari's words, the light in the eyes of the two young girls, Katsuragi Yuki and Katsuragi Sayaka, brightened even more, and their admiration for Hikari increased.
Shouko's beautiful eyes also flickered a few times, as if she had gleaned some deeper meaning from Hikari's words.
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Meanwhile, in a dark, lightless room upstairs, a fat, obscene-looking figure was hunched in a chair, staring intently at the surveillance footage on his computer screen.
He gritted his teeth, his face twisted.
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The person spying through the camera was none other than the self-proclaimed home security officer, Kareki Tsunetaka.
When Kareki Tsunetaka saw Hikari fix the faucet and then the Shouko mother and daughters surround the handsome Hikari with happy and admiring faces, he couldn't help but clench the mouse in his hand.
"So what if he can fix a stupid faucet, what's so great about that?"
"Damn it! These three women who illegally invaded my home. Not only did they ruin the perfect ecosystem of my home security, but they also dared to bring a man into my house. How outrageous!"
"This woman, Shouko, remarried my old man, surely aiming for my family's wealth."
"If it weren't for the fact that the rent for this house is still being paid by that damn old man, if it weren't for that damn old man threatening to cut off my funding if I didn't let them live here, I would have kicked these three females out immediately, ahhh!"
"But since they're here, hmph, three beautiful women, and a mother and daughters at that, how exciting!"
"I must protect this home from these females, teach them a harsh lesson, and make them get out of this house."
His obese and greasy body squeezed into a small chair, Kareki Tsunetaka pushed up his glasses, a wicked glint reflecting in his small, obscene eyes.
In his mind, he was contemplating countless dark and evil ideas, planning to put them into practice one by one.
"This damn man, is he the neighbor next door? Hmph! If he dares to obstruct my plans, I'll kill him!"
Kareki Tsunetaka looked at Hikari's handsome face, feeling more and more displeased the more he looked at it.
At this moment, in the bathroom, it seemed that Hikari and the others had not noticed Kareki Tsunetaka's secret surveillance.
Actually, this camera was installed by Kareki Tsunetaka after he learned that Shouko and her daughters were coming to live here, and so far, it hadn't captured anything.
On the other hand, to thank Hikari for fixing the faucet, Shouko and her daughters were preparing to invite Hikari out for tea and some snacks as a token of appreciation.
But just as Hikari agreed and was about to turn around, he suddenly stopped.
Hikari suddenly leaned close to the mirror above the sink, staring at a certain spot on the reflective surface, and said, "Mrs. Katsuragi, have you noticed that this mirror seems a bit off?"
Kareki Tsunetaka, who was originally plotting how to deal with Shouko and her daughters, was suddenly startled by Hikari's face appearing close up in the surveillance footage.
At first, Kareki Tsunetaka thought Hikari was just coincidentally looking in the mirror or something, but then he realized that Hikari's position was right in the center of the camera, and his gaze was fixed directly on the pinhole camera he had installed.
At this moment, even though they were separated by the screen, it felt as if they were looking directly at each other.
Looking into Hikari's deep, abyss-like black eyes, Kareki Tsunetaka felt a chill in his heart.
'No way? He couldn't have discovered me, could he? No, no! Absolutely impossible! It must be a coincidence!'
Kareki Tsunetaka couldn't believe that Hikari, who had just arrived here for the first time, could have discovered the camera he had only recently installed.
And just as Kareki Tsunetaka thought.
Upon hearing Hikari's words and seeing his actions, Shouko and her two daughters also leaned in to carefully examine the mirror.
But soon, Shouko said, "Hikari-kun, what do you mean by something being off? I don't seem to notice any problems?"
Sayaka also nodded, "Yeah, isn't this just a normal mirror?"
Katsuragi Yuki: "I don't see any problems either."
Looking at the three women's puzzled expressions, Hikari smiled, "Haven't you noticed that this corner of the mirror has been flashing red light?"
The three women blinked and looked towards the spot Hikari was pointing at.
"It seems... there really is something strange."
"There does seem to be a light like an infrared ray..."
"Could it be a psychological effect? How could there be light in a mirror?"
Shouko was still a bit puzzled.
Seeing the varied expressions of the mother and daughters, Hikari didn't hesitate and directly reached out to the bottom of the mirror, which appeared to be a normal mirror but was actually a mirror cabinet structure.
After a few forceful tugs, the seemingly seamless mirror opened like a cabinet door.
Under the astonished gazes of Shouko and her daughters, Hikari pulled out a small black cube the size of an eraser from inside the mirror.
"Huh? What is this thing inside the mirror?", Katsuragi Yuki looked at the black object in Hikari's hand, quite curious.
Hikari smiled and handed it over, "Take a look for yourself and you'll know."
Katsuragi Yuki took it and immediately exclaimed, "Huh?! This seems to be a camera?"
Katsuragi Yuki passed it to her sister Katsuragi Sayaka and mother Shouko for them to see as well.
"This is indeed a camera!", Shouko also confirmed with a grim expression.
"And it's a pinhole camera.", Katsuragi Sayaka added.
Katsuragi Yuki looked curiously at the mirror on the sink, "This camera is placed in the bathroom, probably to record people using the toilet, how disgusting! But what's the use of placing it behind the mirror in the cabinet? Wouldn't it be blocked by the mirror?"
Hikari smiled, "Not necessarily, come and take a look at the situation at the bottom right corner of this mirror."
Hearing Hikari's words, Shouko and her daughters quickly came over to carefully examine the mirror's anomaly.
Katsuragi Sayaka exclaimed in surprise, "So this part of the mirror at the bottom is actually transparent."
Shouko: "That means this camera placed here can clearly capture the situation inside the bathroom. And this camera is directly facing the toilet."
Katsuragi Yuki: "Ah! Good thing Mom hasn't used the toilet yet, otherwise she would have been recorded."
Shouko also realized and quickly turned to Hikari to express her gratitude, "Thank you, Hikari-kun, for discovering it in advance. Otherwise, things could have gotten really bad!"
"Hikari-kun not only helped us fix the faucet but also found this pinhole camera. We are so grateful to you!"
Shouko bowed deeply to Hikari in thanks.
Katsuragi Sayaka and Katsuragi Yuki also expressed their gratitude to Hikari.
After all, if Hikari hadn't discovered it.
Not only would their mother have been recorded using the toilet, but they would also have used it later, and thus would have been secretly filmed as well.
Looking at the grateful trio, Hikari waved his hand and smiled, "It's nothing, I just happened to find it."
"Rather than thanking me, I think it's more important to find out who placed this camera here."
Hearing Hikari's words, Katsuragi Sayaka nodded, "Right, we must find out who placed this camera in the bathroom!"
Katsuragi Yuki: "I've heard that some perverts place cameras in public restrooms to secretly film women using the toilet and then sell the videos. But this isn't a public restroom, it's a private residence. How could someone place such a pinhole camera at home?"
Hikari smiled and asked, "You just moved your luggage here today and haven't officially moved in yet, right? So, who lived here before?"
Hearing Hikari's words, Shouko and her daughters were suddenly struck with a realization, simultaneously thinking of Kareki Tsunetaka, their stepson (brother), who had lived here before.
"Could it be..."
[Ding! With the host's help, Shouko and the others discovered the camera placed by the self-proclaimed home security officer Kareki Tsunetaka and began to harbor some suspicions about him. The host thwarted Kareki Tsunetaka's scheme and successfully promoted the spirit of pure love!]
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