Chapter 22: 21

“Alright, guess I’ll go now.”

I packed one bag and a suitcase my father gave me along with my school uniforms and then I left the house.

I wondered if I would feel sentimental to some extent when saying goodbye to the house I lived in for seventeen years, but… that wasn’t the case.

“Well, though I’m leaving, it’s pretty close by anyway.”

If I wanted to go home, it would be a twenty-minute train ride away. So to be frank, there is no reason for me to be sentimental about it. I could just go home anytime. Perhaps thinking the same, neither my father nor mother bothered to even come to see me off. 

“…”

I walk through the city, pulling my suitcase which rolls with a rattle. 

It’s Sunday evening, there’s a faint scent in the air, then my thoughts diverted to today’s dinner…

…Kiryu’s home cooking. I’m not looking forward to it…

“Will I really be alright?”

Come to think of it, at the end she said, ‘Bring some stomach medicine,’ right? Is this alright? 

“And cold medicine, cold sheets…. And a thermometer.”

Seeing the drugstore, I recall the purchases I was asked to do and went straight in. After buying the goods, I went to the station and took the train. Two stops later, I arrived at Niitsu, where my apartment was located. Perhaps it was because these are quiet residential areas and there are relatively few people out and about on Sunday evenings, the area in front of the station was rather deserted.

“Well, this is no place to play.”

I’m going to have to commute by train to school from now on. Well, it’s okay, because I was kind of longing for it. Will I be able to get up in the morning though?

“Now.”

I finally arrived at the entrance of the apartment building and went into the elevator hall. I got on the elevator, which I was accustomed to the size of, and headed up to the 32nd floor.

“…”

Standing in front of the door, I was a little troubled. I’ve been given a key, and I could just open the door but… I felt pretty shy, so I rang the intercom.

“Yes?”

“Ah. It’s me. Higashi-kujo.”

“Did you forget your key? Why are you ringing the intercom?”

“Ah… yeah.”

I was embarrassed to say that “I was shy.”

“Oh, is it the luggage? Can you give me a minute? I’ll be right there.”

“Mm? Yeah something like that.”

I don’t have much luggage. Nevertheless, I waited for her to open the door. I am more than willing to be pampered. ‘

I heard a clunk, and the door opened.

“…”

“…”

Kiryu, who probably was cooking, was standing there wearing an apron with an illustration of a cat on it.  Her long hair must have gotten in the way of her cooking so she had tied it to a ponytail…. Huh? Seeing her made me ‘gulp’. Why, though? I’m not sure if it’s the new wife feeling or the young wife feeling. 

“We-welco.. Wait, no.. umm.”

“We-welcome back.”

(T/N: Kiryu at first says いらっしゃい [irasshai] which is how you welcome guests or visitors while the second here is おかえりなさい[okaerinasai] which is how you welcome family members )

I instantly freeze when Kiryu shyly says this to me in a whisper.

“…”

“Well…uh.. Higashi Kujo-kun?”

“..? Wha?! A-ahh. Sorry. Ummm… I’m home.”(E/N:Yabeee, I’m getting jealous here, this is far more superior than those typical romcom and ecchi novels.)

“…”

“…”

“This… is pretty embarrassing, isn’t it?”

“Very much so.”

I do a strained laugh. That removed a bit of my tension away and then Kiryu showed a beautiful smile. With that my tension is non-existent. 

“Come on up.The food was just about ready. Perfect timing!”

—-I was getting nervous for another reason. Are you sure you’re okay, me?

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no… you know what?”

“You’re not going to come and say you’re worried about my cooking, are you?”

“…”

My silence is affirmation. Kiryu lets out a grand sigh at the sight of me like that.

“Hey, you. I told you, didn’t I? I’ve tasted it, and I have my father’s seal of approval.”

“By the way, I have to ask, does your dad have a soft spot for you?”

“I think he’s a pretty sweet guy… I’m his only daughter, and they say daughters are bound to be cute in the eyes of a father, right? I’m in that category.”

Kiryu stares at me with her eyes half-closed as if she had realized something.

“Ohh. So you’re telling me that even though my father says it’s good, you don’t trust him?”

“Frankly… well…”

“Well, I certainly don’t understand your concern. Because, you know? My father never told me any ‘lies like that’ even though I am his cute daughter. He appreciates my efforts, but he doesn’t let the amount of effort I put in affect his evaluation of the outcome.”

“For an example?”

“If I study hard for a test and do well, he will praise me for my “hard work,” but if I do poorly on the results, he will usually get angry. The process and the result are two completely different things.”

 

“Heh… He’s a good father.”

“He’s a kind father, who can be pretty rough at times. At least he doesn’t lie about ‘bad’ food being good.”

Kiryu beams with pride when she says so. He seems to be a man with a solid way of thinking, you know? He’s also a successful manager, and I think he has an excellent sense of balance in that area.

“You don’t trust me, do you? Alright. I’ll let you in on the assessment of the first dish I made.”

“Your father’s? Let’s hear it.”

“I made meat and potato stew that day for my father to eat. When I served this to him he said…. you know that saying right? “This is the type of food that will make a man fall in love with you.”?”

“Now now, that’s not something you should say to me, even more, from your father’s words.”

“I heard it was easy, which is why I made it. The stew was rated —-”

Don’t accumulate more. You’re making me scared. 

“— “Apart from being a meat and potato stew, isn’t this a dish that puts a man through h**l?'”

“…”

“Well, it was my first dish, and I knew it would be a failure.”

“I see. Didn’t you taste it beforehand?”

“I didn’t. My father was very angry with me afterwards. “At least taste it yourself before you serve it to others!”, he said. Then I tried it and it was… amazing.”

“In what sense?”

“I thought of it as a desecration of the ingredients.”

“…”

“It wasn’t inedible, okay? But the potatoes and carrots weren’t cooked properly and the meat was dry. Anyway, the food was like the perfect harmony of “terrible””

“Harmony of h**l is what it is.”

“Absolutely. It was a giant failure.”

Kiryu’s shoulders slump a little. But it was only for a moment, and then she looked up confidently.

“But! Today my father said that it was “Delicious! I would pay for this!” So, don’t worry!”

“Ehh~”

It’s a lie, that’s for sure. It is hard to believe that someone who has made a dish that was a desecration of the ingredients will be able to make something tasty in three days or so.

“It’s alright! Come on! Let’s go!”

Kiryu pulls me away as I stand in the doorway saying that. Hey, wait! Sh-Shoes!

“Wait a minute! Shoes! Let me take them off!”

“Hurry up!　Let’s go!”

I don’t know if she even spared me that moment, but she pulls my arm as I take off my shoes. I’m telling you! Wait a minute!

“Saa~, Higashi kujo-kun. Feast your eyes!”

With a bang, she opened the door to the living room. The smell of savory meat and garlic filled the room, and sitting in the middle of the table was..

“… Steak?”

“Yes! Since today is the commemoration of us living together, I decided to make steak!”

“…”

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“…”

“This is the dish your dad said he would ‘pay’ for?”

“That’s right.”

“By the way, what kind of meat?”

“Kobe beef, A5 rank.” (T/N: Top of the line, very expensive)

“…”

“…”

“Ahh, as I thought! Is the sauce original?”

“It’s a steak sauce ordered from a well-known restaurant.”

That’s a lot of money. A5 grade meat and sauce from a famous restaurant, huh?

“I’m wondering if the accompanying veggies and such are on a separate plate? Looks like there’s only meat on the plate?”

“You’re not a rabbit or a caterpillar, you don’t have to eat vegetables every day, do you?”

“…”

“…”

“Um.. Kiryu-san.. Did you just cook the steak?”

“Wh-what?! Are you saying that steak is not a dish?! It’s a splendid dish!”

“N-no! That’s not what I’m saying! It’s meat well made. I’m so happy! All I can say is thank you for making it for me!”

“No, seriously. I’m not going to complain about having it made, okay?　I’m not, but it’s not what I…”

“I would have liked to cook something a little more “cooking” in it. But I had no choice! I didn’t have time! I’m still training!”

“That’s right. Sorry, that was my fault. I didn’t mean to complain.”

I apologized flatly. Kiryu looked away a little awkwardly, as if her anger at me had subsided.

“I understand. Even though I confidently said that “I’m going to serve you a home-cooked meal!” “This is just steak!” is probably what you are thinking.”

“I don’t think so…”

How do I say this? There’s a mysterious feeling of “disappointment”. But I’m not really dissatisfied or anything.

“Hmph! One of these days I’m going to feed you some food that will make your cheeks fall off!”

“In a bioterrorist kind of way?”

‘I don’t mean crumbling your face! It’s a figurative expression for delicious!”

“I was kidding.”

I bow my head to Kiryu, who is still puffing up her cheeks in a sulky manner, and I join her at the dining table.

“Come on, let me eat! I’m hungry!”

“Mou~ Fufufu. Then eat it before it gets cold.”

“A plateful!”

“Okay, okay… Fufufu. Hmmm, It’s kinda nice. People eating food you made.”

Saying so, Kiryu happily served the rice and put it in front of me. Ooh! It’s sparkling! 

“Looks delicious.”

“I’ve only gotten really good at cooking rice. It’s a good thing, but… I was hoping I could expand into other areas too.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Alright, then–”

“Wait.”

Kiryu, restraining me from eating, opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of champagne from inside and two champagne glasses from the cupboard. 

“Can you open it?”

“I can open it, but aren’t we minors?”

“No, it’s non-alcoholic. It’s our commemoration of living together. I thought it would suit the atmosphere.”

“Acting like a young lady, surprising.”

“Ara~? I may not be a villainess, but I’m still a ‘young woman*’. Of course I’m a young lady.*” 

“Don’t you hate that nickname?”

 

“I guess.”

As if taking out every bit of poison she ever had, I shrug my shoulders looking at that smile which was devoid of every sort of evil ever there before.

“Do you have a towel or something?’

“Yeah.”

“Well then..”

With force, I pulled the cork out. The cork pops inside the towel with a nice sound.

“There.”

“Thanks, let me do the rest”

She pours the champagne into each of our glasses. When she finishes, I follow Kiryu’s example by raising the glass of champagne.(E/N: Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!)

“Cheers.”

“Cheers.”

 

We then clink our glasses. I downed it in one gulp and let out a small exhale.

“Well…”

“Mmm?”

“I’m sorry about what happened before. I was rude in many ways.”

“Don’t worry about it. The feeling’s mutual.”

“Yeah. That may be so.”

Saying that I laugh a little.

“You know? I wanted to make things work with you, at first.”

“In the past tense?”

“Yeah, past tense. I want to work well with you and….. More than that–”

–I want us to have a “fun” time.”

“…”

“I had lunch with a friend for the first time. It was the first time I went to a movie, had tea at a cafe, and recommended books to each other at the library… everything was a first.”

“None of them are thanks to me though?”

“But if I hadn’t met you, I wouldn’t have had that experience. Even this dish is like that”, she laughed.

“I know I can have a good time with you.”

“What’s your reasoning?”

“A woman’s instinct.”

“It really is the strongest, that instinct.”

“Right? It’s the strongest, a woman’s instinct. But even so… I’m sure there will be many difficulties in the future, there will be things that will not be easy, and there will be things that will be frustrating.”

“I’m sure.”

Even cohabitation between lovers can fail. It would be strange if there is no dissatisfaction between me and Kiryu, who are both just strangers from the start. Kiryu nodded in agreement to my words.

“I still want to live a positive and ‘happy’ life with you, I think. Even if we can’t be like lovers, and you said it might be only about money or a physical relationship… but I think it’s too lonely to live a long life like that. Not only do we have to do it well, but we have to… make it ‘fun’ anyway.”

“That’s right. I agree too. “

“I’m glad you think so too. Then, once again…”

“Please treat me well from now on. As fiancees.”

“Yeah. The both of us.”

Kiryu smiles a little shyly, but still beautifully, and my heart skips involuntarily.

“Sa~! Eat! The food’s getting cold!”

“Ah. Let’s eat” 

“Huh?! What the heck! It’s so soft! I bet you could cut it with chopsticks!”

“Right? It’s my signature dish! Come on, eat up! It’s delicious!”

“Oooh. It really is delicious!”

Even though she was hiding her embarrassment with exaggerated words. You can see Kiryu’s smile.

(T/N: This is regarding the young woman and young lady part. Her nickname is  “akuyaku reijō” meaning “Villainous young woman” while Hiro talks about how she acts like an “otome”. Slightly different meanings. I used the term “Villainess” instead before for her nickname because I felt like it sounded better. Feel free to let me know what you prefer. Also this was a nice chap hehe)

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