Chapter 18: 17

“Yo~, Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Ah? You’re early. I thought you would take a little longer.”

“Thanks to Ryoko and Tomomi. I’m here now because they checked on me, remember?”

“Yeah. Then maybe next time I’ll bring some food?”

“What’s the point of offering something if you can’t even cook? If they end up not being able to do club activities because of that, they will hate you, won’t they?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I do something reckless like making it by hand? I’m going to buy it.”

“Stop acting proud about it.”

Besides,

“What did you mean by “date”?”

Yeah

I got into a lot of trouble with Mizuho just now because of her crazy words on the rooftop, “Today is our date”. She was such a pain to handle. 

“It was just a joke, you know?”

“Can’t you think of a better time and place to make such a joke?”

“Sorry. I got carried away.”

Saying that she smiled happily. 

“It’s been a while since I had lunch with a girl of the same age you know.”

That was really sad. Well in her case she’s just suffering the consequences, but still I pity her.

“Will you come again?”

“Well, I think it’s a tempting proposition, but I wonder if it’s a good idea?”

“What is?”

“Well, if you don’t understand, that’s fine. Let’s get going, shall we?  We have a finite amount of time.”

“Going? Where?”

“Shopping.”

“I thought you were joking.”

“I’m kidding about the ‘date’ thing, but I’ve been wanting to go shopping with you. It seems that big things like furniture and TVs will be brought in tomorrow or the day after, but not daily necessities. There are various things, right? I was thinking we could do it this Saturday, but I’d feel bad if you had something to do that day.”

“As a matter of fact, I do have some things to do on Saturday.”

“I’m glad to hear that. The contractors will probably be bringing in the equipment and we will just be in their way, so today was the only chance I had. By the way, I’m going to the house on Sunday. What about you?”

“Ahh,  what should I do…?　Well, I might go out in the evening.”

“I see. Then I’ll give this to you.”

Then she took two keys from the skirt of her uniform.

“House key? There’s two of them, does that mean one of them is a duplicate key?”

“No. One is a key to the house and the other is a key to your room.”

“There’s a key for my room?”

“It’s my room too, you know? It’s just a matter of time before an engaged man and a woman of the same age live together under the same roof. Isn’t that something you should take into consideration?”

Even if you are my fiance… 

My face formed into a strained smile to what Kiryu said while laughing. 

“I don’t know how much of an excuse this is, though.”

“That’s right. If we get caught, we will be out in a heartbeat. Well, I guess the excuse for the way out is that this is ‘parent-approved” by both of our’s. It’s not like we’re having impure heterosexual relations, is it?”

” By the way, I’ve never talked to your father … is that okay?”

“It’s alright. My father said he couldn’t face you anyway, so it’s a win-win.”

“I see.”

Well, it wasn’t like a “Please give me your daughter” situation. If anything, it was more of a “You are now in our custody” sorta thing.  That’s pretty crazy, when you think about it.

◇◆◇

“Ahhh, I’m exhausted.”

“Good work. Come on, put your stuff down. Do you want some juice?”

“The one we just bought? Then give me an orange.”

“Alright. Take your time. I’ll clean up for a bit.”

I took her word for it and sat down on the sofa. Thank God there was a little supermarket and a hundred-yen store near the apartment. After all, you need a lot of things when you start a new life.

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“But still, a hundred yen store?”

“What? It’s good, isn’t it? You can get everything you need.”

“Well yeah, I thought you were going to say it had to be a little more expensive or something.”

Her image of the world is crazy. 

“Well our family is “nouveau riche”. I heard that when my father was young, beef bowls from a certain beef bowl chain were a treat. Basically, I am a commoner, too”

“In fact, I thought that in this (Reiwa) era, beef bowls are something that you treat others and that the poor eat.”

Well it’s probably the Heisei Era if it was her father’s.

“At least he’s a hard worker. That’s why he is so concerned about the ‘family’. Well, anyway, if you are welcoming guests, you need to know some formality, you know? Anyway that’s enough.”

“I don’t see how that’s the case. Rather, what more do you want  to bring in?”

We have a desk, a refrigerator, and a sofa. Hmm… A TV would be nice, wouldn’t it?

“I…. Sorry, I’m bringing in my furniture and stuff that I use in my house. I could buy new stuff, but… I like it more and it’s too good to waste.”

“No need to apologize.”

“The furniture for your room has already been brought in. I’m sorry if there might have been some things you wanted. Of course, you won’t be charged for it, and I’ve picked out some nice things, you know? My father said, ‘You have to let me do this at the very least.’”

“It really is alright. No need to apologize.”

Yeah. Because it means I’m getting brand-new furniture, right? Rather than feeling depressed, I feel lucky.

“That so? Well, that’s good to know.”

“Ah…. but in that case, can I go take a look at the room?”

I was a little excited. Seeing my expression, Kiryu gives a small smile.

“You see the room closest to the front door? It’s there. I’ll call you when the juice is in. Take your time.”

“Sure.”

I leave the huge living room and walk down the hallway to the room closest to the front door. When I tried to turn the doorknob, I noticed that it was locked  so I took the key out of my pants pocket, inserted it into the keyhole and slowly turned it.

“Big.”

The room was approximately around ten tatami mats in size.　There was a study desk and bookshelf by the window, a bed in the corner of the room, and even a small refrigerator and TV. (T/N: A tatami mat is a rectangular shape of 3 x 6 feet.)

“I think I can live in this space alone.”

I could probably shut myself in. There’s even a lock on the door, so if I want to, I could–

“Hm?”

Upon closer inspection, I found an envelope on the desk. On the front, “Hiroyuki Higashi Kujo-dono” was written in a masterly script, and on the other side, “Gonosuke Kiryu” was written.

“Kiryu?”

“What is it? Could you wait a little longer?”

“No, it’s not that, what’s your father’s name?”

“My father? It’s Gonosuke.”

“…”

So this is from Kiryu’s father, huh? Kiryu asked, “What’s wrong?” I replied that it was nothing, and opened the envelope. 

There were three papers in the letter.

“…”

At the top of the first page, in handwriting as masterful as the front page, what was written is “To Hiroyuki Higashi Kujo-dono” 

“Dear Hiroyuki Higashi Kujo-dono. First of all, I would like to express my deepest apologies for the manner in which I have greeted you, and for the fact that I have done so by letter only. I would also like to apologize again for the trouble I have caused you due to my family’s selfishness. I know that a young man with a bright future will not be happy to be forced into a marriage and even to a person he does not even love, I know that you will hate me. And I want you to remember, first of all, that I am willing to accept your resentment with solemnity.”

“You’re a serious guy, aren’t you?”

He’s also… Well, he’s selfish, but my dad is too. Well you can’t really call him the only bad guy—-

“Mm?”

“That being said… I want you to think about it carefully. Although her parents may be greedy, our Ayane grew up very beautifully. There is a saying, “A (Chinese) peony when you stand, a (tree) peony when you sit, and a lily when you walk.”,but I think that my daughter grew up so beautifully that I wondered if that saying was meant for her. In addition, she has good grades and is a good athlete. Don’t get me wrong. She was by no means gifted. No, she was blessed with talent, of course, but she never neglected to make efforts to develop that talent, in other words, she is a beautiful girl inside as well. Indeed, socializing is somewhat difficult for her. It is true that she has some difficulty in socializing, but isn’t that also adorable, like a kitten that is afraid of people? My little girl is so cute.”

“Huh?”

“Such a tender-hearted girl will become the property of a complete stranger. I know it’s selfish of me. I know that, but as a father, let me say this.”

“….”

“If I meet you now… I’d hit you, honestly.”

“And you say you don’t have a face to show me?!”

From the living room, Kiryu asked “What’s wrong?” and I answered “It’s nothing!”, and I buried the letter deep in my desk drawer. Yeah, I’ll pretend like I didn’t see it!

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