A Hard-Boiled (Self-Proclaimed) Guy Like Me Doesn’t Suit a Romcom-Style Youth

Chapter 6: Masaki

You’re kidding, right? Masaki was a girl!?

Does that mean I decided to go to Cicymel out of completely misplaced jealousy?

What is that…

It’s like a comedy, isn’t it…

“Heeey. What’s wrong, Ayata? Come baaack.”

“Ah, yeah.”

I came to my senses as Mirai brought her face close enough for me to feel her breath.

She’s too defenseless, isn’t she? If she lets her guard down with such a cute, vicuña-like face, she can’t complain even if she gets kissed, you know?

Most likely, she wouldn’t do this to any boy other than me. To Mirai, I am probably still the “Ayata” from back then.

Just as I mistakenly called a high school girl with “-chan” without changing, the sensation of five years ago remains between her and me like jet lag.

“Sorry, I remembered something. When I came to this town five years ago, there was a boy with you, right?”

“Oh. You noticed about Nako?”

I nodded.

“Actually, back then, I didn’t think for a second that Masaki was a girl. So I was surprised.”

“Ah, really? I thought so! I deliberately didn’t tell you back then because I wanted to pull a lucky lecher event in the bath. But Ayata, you went home right after that—”

What did you say?

Mirai, laughing kera kera, probably has not the slightest idea that a misunderstanding about Masaki led to a situation that changed my life 180 degrees. Since long ago, she has loved silly pranks, delighting in opening the lid of my randoseru the moment I bowed or dropping a blackboard eraser on the teacher’s head.

Even though it was unknowingly, I’m glad that plan was thwarted.

“Was it also your doing, Mirai, that Masaki-san was pretending to be a boy back then?”

If she answers yes, what should I do? Masaki’s existence changed my life greatly. I don’t regret going to Cicymel. I think it was good in the end. But that and this are separate matters.

Intending to grind my knuckles into her head, I clenched both fists so Mirai could see.

“Ah, that’s wrong. I was doing that on my own. So, Mi-chan? What were you plotting in the bath?”

“That was just an attempt, and the statute of limitations has passed!? Funyaa!”

It was Masaki-san who answered. She pinched and pulled both of Mirai’s cheeks. Because that face was funny, I decided to lower my fists.

“Back then, I hated my name and appearance. Everyone called me Yamato Nadeshiko and treated me with the image of a graceful young lady they selfishly held, and it was annoying.”

“Sorry. I had that impression too.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind it now.”

“Hmm. When I saw Nako for the first time, I thought a doll was walking, so I unintentionally chanted a sutra.”

“So far, Mi-chan is the only person who saw me and thought I was a ghost.”

Come to think of it, Mirai hated ghosts. But she likes yokai and UMAs, doesn’t she. I was often dragged along to search for kappa and tsuchinoko.

“Classmates treated me like a Yamato Nadeshiko or a rich young lady. Things weren’t going very well, so I became friends immediately with Mi-chan, who didn’t look at me with those eyes.”

“No. Nako is a rich young lady. A daughter of a distinguished family.”

Seriously!? Is she really the young lady of THAT Masaki family!?

I vaguely sensed that Masaki-san was a young lady from a good family. Moreover, the Masaki family is the lineage of the feudal lord who used to govern this area in the past. If she’s a direct descendant or something, she’s not a young lady but a princess.

“Why was the daughter of a distinguished family dressed as a boy?”

“At school, I was really treated like a rich young lady. But, you know. If I was asked my favorite food and answered hamburger steak, they’d say ‘That gives a different impression’ or ‘That’s not Yamato Nadeshiko at all’.”

True, if it’s a Yamato Nadeshiko, there’s an impression of eating Japanese food every day.

“If asked what TV shows I watch and I answered sumo broadcasts, they’d say ‘So lame’ and laugh. I was fed up with things like that happening all the time. The real me is a normal girl who runs around outside or lies down to read manga, you know? No one understood that. To top it off, when I said my birthday was May 5th, they laughed loudly, and finally, my patience reached its limit and we got into a huge fight. I beat the crap out of all the kids who laughed, and I got scolded severely by both my parents and teachers. At that time, I was told things like ‘Violence is wrong because you’re a girl’, ‘It ruins a perfectly good beauty’, or ‘No one will want to marry you’, and I got angry again, so I decided to become a boy. It’s not like I used violence because I liked it. And yet, to be deprived of the right to get angry or the right to fight just because I’m a girl… I thought, ‘Like hell I’ll let that happen’.”

Masaki-san speaks frankly about rather heavy content.

Indeed, I also selfishly held the impression of a Yamato Nadeshiko for Masaki-san. And I was selfishly surprised by the gap between her pure impression and her doing sumo. If the people around her selfishly imagine her personality like that and try to fit her into it, it’s natural that Masaki-san would want to rebel. Her temperament of not hesitating to fight for honor and dignity is like a proud samurai; I can understand why Mirai called her a “Japanese Son”.

But that is only because I am now able to understand the distinction of things and care about the subtleties of the human heart.

Children say what they think straight out. If it were the me back then, I might have said to her who liked hamburger steak, “Isn’t it nikujaga?” or laughed at the god’s prank that a girl like a Hina doll was born on the Boys’ Festival, which celebrates the birth of boys.

But I won’t forgive the guy who made fun of sumo broadcasts. I used to watch them often with my grandmother and Mirai too.

“Back then, because I didn’t have school acquaintances in this town, I often came to her house and enjoyed playing boy.”

“That’s wrong. It’s because it was fun being with Mi-chan.”

“Oh! You say that, best friend!”

“It’s obvious, Mi-chan!”

The two hugging each other tightly. I guess tomboys get along well. The adult me, who can read the atmosphere, won’t say that out loud.

“Is it okay now?”

“Yeah. When I reached the upper grades, I suddenly became embarrassed, and after that, I stopped caring about how others saw me.”

She must have grown up while embracing her dark history. She’s admirable for overcoming in elementary school what normal kids go through around the second year of junior high.

“But it was a bit of a waste. Boy-mode Nako was super cool, you see. She was popular even in the classroom.”

“Classroom? Ours?”

“Yeah. Nako is a student of Grandma-Sensei. She joined around the end of the third grade of elementary school, so she couldn’t meet Ayata until summer.”

“Ah, I see.”

Since I participated in my grandmother’s class during my visits home, I am tentatively acquainted with her students. However, I skipped returning home during that year’s spring break and Golden Week due to my Tokyo grandparents passing away.

“She suddenly came dressed like a boy, you know. I was surprised when she started saying ‘Call boku(me) Masaki’. That was an imitation of a cool and mysterious beautiful boy character from a manga we had at my house, right?”

“You noticed after all? Thinking about it now, it’s really embarrassing.”

The shocking truth revealed in the fifth year. The handsome Masaki who planted trauma deep enough to make me give up on my first love was just a rip-off of a manga.

“It was a huge hit. On Valentine’s, she got lots of chocolates from the older girls in the class. Truly a sinful guy.”

“Geez! It’s in the past, so stop it.”

“That’s how amazing Nako’s handsomeness was. See, you suddenly went overseas, and back then I was pretty depressed too. And then, what do you think this girl said? ‘I will call you Mirai-chan in place of him.’ Even the likes of me almost inadvertently fell for her then. It seems she gradually found it troublesome and settled on the current way of calling me.”

“Whoa!? You don’t have to say that much!?”

After the events of that summer, I left for overseas without even saying a proper goodbye.

Without thinking at all about the feelings of those left behind, just to make myself feel easier.

I really caused trouble for my grandmother and the adults who were preparing for my transfer.

I made my precious childhood friend sad.

“Sorry. For not contacting you until now, I’m really sorry.”

“Hey, stop it. I knew Ayata was being swayed by family circumstances.”

Mirai offers kind words to me as I bow with the force of a spilling randoseru.

But that time was different. I got jealous all on my own, felt like I had my heart broken, fell into despair, and decided to leave Japan. With that solo sumo of mine, I made Mirai sad.

“Mirai-chan…”

“Don’t say Mirai-chan!”

“I…”

“I said it’s fine. You came back cool, so I forgive everything!”

Saying that, Mirai shows her white teeth and smiles.

What is this… are there only handsome girls here?

“Well, you lose to the handsome Masaki-kun of those days, though.”

“You’re still saying that!”

“Fugah!?”

Gyumu. Masaki-san pulls Mirai’s head into a hug. It seems she possesses magnificent things that don’t lose even to Mirai’s, and Mirai’s face is buried.

“Puhah! But Nako, you seriously tried to become a boy completely, right? In the end, at the town sumo tournament, you mixed in with the boys and naked…”

“Mi-chan.”

“Yes.”

Masaki-san’s hand on Mirai’s shoulder… aren’t her fingers digging in awfully deep?

Mirai is making a face like a wild rabbit caught by a golden eagle, isn’t she?

“Shall we be silent for a bit?”

“Yes.”

Mirai becomes quiet, overwhelmed by Masaki-san’s intensity.

At that moment, I felt like I saw the character for “Heaven” (Ten) behind Masaki-san’s back.

Chapter 7: Tea Ceremony Club

Mirai and Masaki-san wrapped up their club activities and decided to help me carry my luggage.

Currently, there are only two members in the Tea Ceremony Club. The president is Mirai, and the vice-president is Masaki-san.

Masaki-san seems more reliable, but in terms of action and leadership, Mirai is probably more suited for president. Masaki-san looks like the type of minister who holds real power behind the scenes.

While Mirai wrote the club activity daily report, Masaki-san vacuumed the tatami mats.

I helped clean up the… not sumo ring, but the cushions for the time being.

“Are you not recruiting members?”

“The Tea Ceremony Club at this school has apparently been run by students who attended Grandma-Sensei’s class for generations. Right now, there’s only me and Nako in this school, and we can’t teach at all, so we can’t recruit. It’s more like we’re allowed to use this place freely on the condition that we clean it.”

Mirai answered while writing the daily report. I seriously doubt there’s anything to write about.

“You guys just study or chat, right?”

“Being able to lie down on the tatami is the best part, you know.”

How is such a club even allowed?

“Matcha and sweets aren’t free, after all. And we don’t get a club budget either.”

“Seriously? Even though it’s a club activity?”

“It’s in name only. With two members and no achievements, naturally, we don’t get a budget.”

“I feel like people would come if you recruited, though?”

Actually, there should be students interested in tea ceremony. Etiquette is a lifelong skill, so it’s useful for the future.

“Just in case, people who want to join do come, but so far we’ve rejected all of them. Well, most of them are boys lured by Nako’s looks.”

“Or boys who chase after Mi-chan with perverted eyes.”

Since I’m a guy too, I understand that. Their types are different, but both are beautiful, cute, and have good figures—enough to make you want to pick up a magazine if they were on the cover. I could imagine there are those who wish to join with ulterior motives of getting close to them.

“But not all of them, right? Can you just reject applicants like that?”

“We refuse them saying ‘no inexperienced people allowed’. Even if they join, the only ones who can participate in the tea gatherings hosted by the city are me and Nako, so wouldn’t it be sorry for the kids who went through the trouble of joining?”

“That’s true too, I guess.”

In Toto City, tea gatherings are held several times a year. The participants are the mayor, cultural figures from this town, politicians, and business owners. Being able to participate in such places is because the two of them receive instruction from a proper master and receive invitations.

To use a sports club analogy, it’s like not being able to participate in tournaments unless you belong to an external club team. With this, the motivation of members who joined would drop. It can’t be helped that Mirai feels sorry.

“But you have an advisor teacher, right?”

“It’s Chiyo-sensei. The principal of this school.”

“Eh? You’re kidding?”

“It’s true. She’s busy so she can rarely come, though.”

Chiyo-sensei… Asama Chiyo-san is a veteran among my grandmother’s disciples, and she frequently came to help not only with the class but also with my grandmother’s care; she’s someone I am greatly indebted to as well.

I had heard she was a school teacher, but I never thought she had become the principal of the school I attend.

“Mi-chan was super surprised at the entrance ceremony too.”

“Of course I’d be surprised. Nako seemed to know, though.”

“It was written on the homepage. Didn’t you see it, Asou-kun?”

“I saw the homepage, but I didn’t look as far as the principal’s name.”

I looked at the homepage when deciding which school to enroll in. There were several candidates, but considering commuting from my grandmother’s family home, it was effectively the only choice, so I didn’t look that closely.

“Nako is about the only student who checks the principal’s name before enrolling.”

“That’s not true. There might be acquaintances among the school staff, so isn’t it normal to look through everything just in case?”

No, the current principal being an acquaintance is really a coincidence; normally there aren’t any.

“Ayata. Nako’s family is special, so she has various connections and it’s tough.”

“Could it be that Masaki-san’s family really is that Masaki family?”

“Yup. Masaki Fish Market and Masaki Shipping Agent. It’s the Masaki family of Masaki Boat Race.”

Masaki-san’s family really was the former feudal lord’s family.

Masaki-san’s family home is in the neighboring Mihime City, where several events and place names associated with the former lord, the Masaki family, remain. Mihime City is a port town with the prefecture’s largest fishing port, and the current Masaki family are shipowners possessing many fishing boats, as well as business owners who deal in marine products and host boat races.

“You are in the presence of the Princess! Bow your heads!”

“Hah~!”

I prostrate myself on the spot like a villainous magistrate after being beaten up by Mito Komon.

“Not knowing it was the Princess, I committed numerous rudenesses! Please, humbly, I beg your forgiveness!”

“Hey, stop it! Geez, Mi-chan too!?”

“Sorry, sorry. Ayata plays along well too.”

“If we weren’t on tatami, I wouldn’t have done it. Sorry, Masaki-san. I got a little too carried away.”

“Geez! It feels like there’s another Mi-chan now!”

Masaki-san puffs out her cheeks at my exchange with Mirai. As expected, she isn’t a Yamato Nadeshiko who suppresses her emotions and walks half a step behind. She’s a normal girl with rich expressions.

Rather, glaring down suits her better than serving men. Ayataka (I) thought such things while looking up at her shapely legs.

“Mi-chan? It’s done over here.”

“I finished writing too. Then let’s wrap up.”

Mirai and Masaki-san sit facing each other in seiza and bow to one another.

“Good work today.”

“Thank you very much.”

Their movements are very beautiful; as expected of the Tea Ceremony Club.

Curious about what they usually do, I flipped through the activity daily report Mirai was writing just now.

April X.
The Toto High School Tea Ceremony Club April Tournament saw a 5-bout championship playoff between Mirai-Umi and Masaki-Fuji.

Mirai-Umi ● Push out (Oshidashi) ○ Masaki-Fuji
Mirai-Umi ● Lift out (Tsuridashi) ○ Masaki-Fuji
Mirai-Umi ○ Leg grab (Ashitori) ● Masaki-Fuji
Mirai-Umi ○ Push out from behind (Okuridashi) ● Masaki-Fuji
Mirai-Umi ● Two-handed throw (Nichonage) ○ Masaki-Fuji

Masaki-Fuji conquers the April Tournament with 3 wins and 2 losses! Can Mirai-Umi, who lost regretfully, achieve revenge next tournament!?

Because Mirai attended a calligraphy class in addition to tea ceremony, her handwriting is beautiful. That said, what kind of face would the principal make if shown this? I kind of want to see.

I looked at entries for other dates, but they only contained things like the content of their chats that day or what they studied; there was no record of even a single cup of tea being made.

Is this Tea Ceremony Club really okay?

“Hey! That’s confidential to outsiders!”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Apologizing to the angry Mirai, I close the daily report.

“Come on! Let’s go, Ayata!”

“Oi, don’t pull so hard. My arm’s gonna come off.”

“Moo, don’t say pathetic things. Nako—”

“Yes, yes.”

“Wait, don’t push me too, Masaki-san.”

Mirai taking my hand. That hand, which was strong when we were children, felt very small and soft now.

Pulled by the hand by Mirai, and pushed on the back by Masaki-san, I left the Tea Ceremony Club.

Chapter 8: Gazes

There’s too many classes for one grade, so I changed the protagonist’s class from 1-7 to 1-5.

“You don’t need to take all the Golden Week homework home today, do you? You won’t finish it in a day anyway.”

“That’s right. You can make progress at school during free time too. Also, I think you should put reference materials and textbooks you won’t use for prep and review in your locker?”

“Plus, you can just leave the Japanese, Science, and Geography textbooks here. You’ll probably only study at home during the test period anyway, right?”

“Hmm, I think you should do prep and review for Science, though.”

Mirai on the right. Masaki-san on the left.

For some reason, I was sandwiched between the two.

Since all three of us were carrying luggage received from the staff room, it was a surreal state to call “flowers in both hands.”

In my hands were paper bags containing homework and gym clothes. Mirai and Masaki-san were carrying cardboard boxes with about 5 kilos of textbooks in them, with my bag placed on top.

“Isn’t the cardboard heavy? Should I switch?”

“This is a piece of cake.”

“I’m fine with this much.”

It would have been helpful enough if they just carried one paper bag each. However, they took the cardboard boxes before I could offer. From the side, it looks like a composition of a useless man making girls carry heavy luggage.

Thanks to that, the gazes have been painful for a while now.

“Oi, aren’t those first-years Masaki and Miyazu? They’re cute, aren’t they? Who’s the guy in the middle, I’m jealous!”

“Truly a Yamato Nadeshiko. I want to be served by a girl like that…”

“Masaki-san really is super beautiful. I admire her.”

“The ponytail girl’s boobs are amazing… I’m good for today with this.”

“…I want to become a cardboard box.”

As expected, Masaki-san’s beauty seems to draw the eye, receiving envious gazes not only from the opposite sex but also from the same sex.

Mirai isn’t losing either. With her outstanding figure evident even through the uniform, wicked gazes from guys are pouring onto her.

“Nako, you’re being watched again. You appearance scammer.”

“I think they’re looking at your butt, Mi-chan. Because it’s big.”

“Whaaat—!”

“Now, now.”

Between the staff room and the classroom, we received various gazes from passing students.

Curiosity, envy, jealousy, wicked thoughts, murderous intent…

Compared to the back alleys of Cicymel, it’s lukewarm, so it’s fine.

“Hey, Mirai? You’re hitting me?”

“I’m hitting you on purpose?”

Needless to say, it’s her shoulder.

“Masaki-san? A little more to the side…”

“It would bother other people, so no.”

Eeh—!? Then why line up horizontally!?

Thanks to the gazes, I felt small not just mentally, but physically too.

For some reason, the two walked sandwiching me. The corridor has a decent width, but we have luggage, and there’s other student traffic, so we inevitably end up walking in a cramped state.

It seems they are doing it on purpose; even if I slow my pace to try and walk behind them, they match me perfectly, keeping tight to both my sides.

“See, we’re kind of being watched, so if we line up, neither we nor Ayata will get called out to, which is good.”

“It’s like being on an alpaca farm.”

“What’s that?”

Mirai bumps my right arm with her shoulder again.

“It means that with one trigger, you’d be surrounded in an instant. Those guys pretend not to care and just stare at us, but if our eyes meet, they’ll come over in a group.”

“Ahaha! That’s true, it feels like that now too!”

“Talking like it’s someone else’s problem…”

“Did you say something?”

“It’s nothing.”

To Mirai who remained pressed against me, I grumbled internally, You don’t know how others feel.

And on my left arm, Masaki-san is also pressing her shoulder tightly against me.

“Even Masaki-san…”

“Fufu, it’s okay. By appealing that we’re close like this and showing there’s no room to enter, the other side will hold back too.”

“Is that how it works?”

“That’s right. When I’m alone, I often get called out to, but when there are two of us, it rarely happens. Being watched doesn’t change, though.”

Having heard that picking up girls is most common in 2-on-2 situations, I tilted my head internally. Why do I know? Because a friend over there said so and dragged me along as pickup personnel.

Only I almost got taken home by the girl we picked up, so I was never invited again.

“Even if we get called out to, if we say we’re having fun just the two of us so don’t disturb us, they back off immediately.”

“Yeah, yeah!”

I see. But isn’t that being misunderstood in some way?

Mirai is an airhead so she might not notice, but I feel like Masaki-san is doing it knowingly.

Is Masaki-san perhaps interested in that way? When she was “Masaki”, she seemed to have seduced various girls.

“Masaki-san, are you perhaps…”

“Asou-kun. I’m not like that. If I were, I wouldn’t let you in between us, you know? It would be the death penalty.”

“What are you talking about?”

And Mirai didn’t understand.

“It’s nothing.”

Class 1-5’s classroom was at the corner of the first floor. Being after school, there was no one in the classroom. The corridor was sparsely populated too, but I still felt sporadic gazes.

Mirai, deftly opening the door with her foot, entered the classroom and dropped the cardboard box with a thud on the seat in the front row at the far left.

“This is Ayata’s seat!”

I heard my attendance number was 1, so I thought that would be the case.

“I’m here, and the seat in front is Nako.”

Mirai and Masaki-san are both in the ‘M’ row. Their seats are far back from mine. Even so, I’m impressed by the huge coincidence that the two close friends are in the same class and seated one behind the other.

“Mi-chan. We’re cleaning up quickly, so bring it here.”

“Ahaha, sorry, sorry.”

Lockers are outside the classroom. Mirai leaves the classroom carrying the cardboard box she had placed on the desk. Using the grip of her shoe sole, she deftly closed the door again.

She hasn’t changed. Even though she got scolded by Grandma for doing that when we were kids.

The lockers are lined up in the corridor in two tiers, top and bottom. I inserted the key I was given into the locker labeled 1501 and opened it.

“Well then, let’s sort this out quickly.”

“Right.”

Keep this, take this home. Don’t need this. No, better take that home for prep…

The two of them are doing the work, so I’m just watching from behind.

Somehow, I feel like even my plan for prep and homework is being decided by Masaki-san. Well, it’s fine.

We decided to temporarily take home the textbooks we argued about whether to keep or not to consider later, and before I knew it, the luggage from two cardboard boxes fit into less than half. We broke down the leftover cardboard boxes on the spot.

“Ayata, are you okay? Can you carry it?”

“Yeah, I can carry this. Thanks.”

I gathered the remaining luggage and lifted it. It’s a weight a guy can carry normally.

“Hmm. Ayata, you’ve gotten stronger. Yotto.”

Mirai grabs my upper arm.

“Whoa, Nako-Nako! Ayata has quite a bit of muscle!”

“Let me see?”

Masaki-san takes the arm opposite Mirai. Both arms being squeezed funi funi, it’s somehow incredibly ticklish.

“Whoa, it’s true! You really are different from before.”

“O-Of course I am.”

Going to Cicymel trained me both physically and mentally. To live in a settlement at an altitude of 2000 meters halfway up the Andes, I couldn’t remain the frail Ayata-kun.

“Onee-chan is happy you grew into a fine man!”

“Hey, stop treating me like a child.”

Taking advantage of my hands being full so I can’t resist, Mirai strokes my head. One arm is still held by Masaki-san, and I have luggage. If I twist my body, it’s dangerous, so I have no choice but to obediently be stroked.

Thanks to the smartphone in Mirai’s pocket ringing, I was finally released from the pat-pat attack.

“Ah, seems Dad is here.”

“Then let’s go.”

I’ll add here that upon leaving, the two laughed loudly seeing me wearing my poncho and ten-gallon hat.

Chapter 9: Future

“So, that’s what happened.”

“Hahaha! That’s youth for you! Ayataka-kun! I’m envious!”

The one laughing in the driver’s seat is my father’s friend and someone who has taken care of me since I was little, Miyazu Yousuke-san. Mirai’s father.

Visually, he’s just an ordinary middle-aged man of average height and build with salt-and-pepper hair. Although he’s the president of a company called Yunomachi Kogyo that manages multiple inns and hotels, his attire is always a polo shirt and wrinkled slacks—just like a dad on his day off. But it suits him very well.

The car he’s driving is also a light van with the inn’s name, “Raimu,” printed largely on the side.

Mirai said she had errands and went home by bus with Masaki-san. I’m currently going around with Yousuke-san driving to gather necessities for daily life.

“However, to think that Ayataka-kun, who was made to cry by my daughter almost every day, has grown so much. Getting decorated at that age… It’s quite something.”

“Please stop. I was just lucky.”

It’s been a while since we met in person, but since we’ve been exchanging emails, Yousuke-san knows what I’ve been doing in Cicymel.

“Haven’t you told my daughter your heroic tales yet?”

“It’s not something I should bring up myself. Or rather, I was surprised to meet Mirai today and find out she’s at the same high school. I assumed she would go to some private girls’ school.”

“Hahaha! It seems that child hasn’t decided on her future yet. Toto isn’t a bad school, and the current principal is Asama-sensei. I feel safer than sending her off to the city poorly.”

“I was surprised that Asama-sensei is there too.”

Laughter echoed in the driver’s seat again.

“So, how was she? My daughter?”

I’m not dense enough to miss the meaning behind that.

For a parent to bring up the topic of his daughter to a man is like asking, “How about her as a bride?”

From Yousuke-san’s perspective, it seems the current me has met his approval. That is a great honor. To me, far more than any medal.

“She’s become incredibly beautiful, yet her strength and kindness haven’t changed a bit from the old days. A man who ends up with such a good girl in the future will undoubtedly be the luckiest guy in the land. Really…”

Switching my mind to a colder state, I continue.

“It’s a shame I’m not qualified to date Mirai. I’ve decided that after graduating university, I will return to Cicymel and work for Cicymel.”

“I see. You’ve already decided on your future.”

“Yes.”

My heart is already in the Andes. In contrast, Mirai is the only daughter of the established inn “Raimu” and Yousuke-san’s successor. To date Mirai, one must be a man who can love Japan, love the hot spring town, and continue to love Mirai.

But I don’t fit any of those.

Japan is a good country. Public order and the economy are incomparable to Cicymel. The atmospheric hot spring town has become even livelier with the Shinkansen passing through. Mirai has grown into a very charming girl.

Even so, no matter how comfortable it is, no matter how charming she is, I have a dream, and there are people I want to protect even at the cost of my life. That’s why I will definitely return to Cicymel. A future with Mirai is impossible.

“Ah, don’t worry too much about it. As a parent, I just tried to meddle a little.”

“Yes. I’m sorry. Oh right, my stepsister is planning to come here during the holidays, so could I ask you to meet her?”

“Of course. I’m looking forward to it.”

I’m sorry.

Noticing that Yousuke-san’s eyes looked lonely for just a split second, I apologized in my heart.

Yousuke-san drives the van toward the station. To buy a bus pass at the bus company in front of the station. Parking the van in the station parking lot, I walk the rotary in front of the station with Yousuke-san.

“It’s only been five years, but it’s changed quite a bit.”

“Well, the effect of the Shinkansen is significant. The inside of the station changed too, right?”

“Yes, I thought I got off at the wrong station.”

“I thought so too when I returned from a business trip.”

During the five years I was overseas, Toto City became a Shinkansen stop. I was surprised when I arrived too. Because the platform was extended for the Shinkansen, and the inside of the station was completely different from my memories.

Even in front of the station, the bus arrival and departure rotary has been expanded considerably.

However, if you ask if the station front is developing, not really; stores with shuttered windows stood out. Well, tourists will probably head to the neighboring town rich in hot springs and seafood, so it can’t be helped.

After finishing the purchase of the commuter pass, Yousuke-san was on the phone.

While talking about a group reservation, the name of the inn Yousuke-san mentioned caught my attention.

“Sorry, sorry. Kept you waiting.”

“No problem. Is ‘Yuyugi’ also managed by your place now, Yousuke-san?”

‘Yuyugi’ isn’t on the level of ‘Raimu’, but it’s one of the leading established inns in the hot spring town. If I recall, it was run by an elderly couple. Once, I went along with Mirai who said, “We’re going to spy on the rival inn,” got caught spectacularly, and went home with sweets they gave us.

“Ah, we bought it recently. Come to think of it, you did sneak in there with Mirai a long time ago.”

“I remember getting scolded terribly.”

I remembered it because I was concerned by how the couple laughed somewhat lonely when they told Yousuke-san, who came to apologize, “We’re envious that you have a child interested in inn work,” and “The future of ‘Raimu’ is secure.”

“It seems you are quite successful.”

“Well, it’s true that company sales are going well.”

‘Yuyugi’ was a fairly large inn even within the hot spring town. I’m scared to ask how much he bought it for. With the Shinkansen effect too, Yousuke-san’s company must be making a profit.

However, Yousuke-san has a gloomy expression. I felt that expression somewhat resembled the couple’s faces from that time.

“It seems they couldn’t continue management without a successor. Overseas companies and major corporations also put their names forward for the acquisition, but they said they wanted it to be us by all means, so they let us buy it quite cheaply. They were people we’ve competed and improved with since long ago, so it’s quite a lonely story. Young people keep leaving for the city, and the aging of management and employees is serious. It’s true that profits are up since the Shinkansen came, but troubles have increased too, and the ones dealing with it are just old folks, so it’s really chaotic.”

What lay beyond Yousuke-san’s gaze was a store with its shutters closed.

Come to think of it, there used to be a bookstore there that I frequented in the past.

Since when has it been closed?

What about the grandpa who always sat at the counter?

“That bookstore too… the owner passed away a few years ago, and with no successor, it just stayed closed.”

I have no words to return.

Yousuke-san really loves this town and the hot spring district. I felt ashamed for thinking simply that he must be raking in money and overjoyed with the current situation.

I can’t say anything about young people leaving their hometowns. I will only live in this town for the three years I attend high school. Wherever I go for university, I will leave the town and rent a room. And after graduation, I will return to Cicymel.

“Somehow, I’m sorry. For not being able to meet your expectations in any way.”

“It’s fine. I’m just happy that you’ve become a fine person.”

My chest hurt at Yousuke-san’s words.

Even though he’s treated me well since I was small, I can’t respond to Yousuke-san’s expectations. That was more painful than I thought.

After that, I bought writing utensils and notebooks at a large bookstore, went to an electronics retail store in the suburbs, and bought a smartphone. With Yousuke-san acting as my guardian, the contract was completed safely.

The rest is a place to sleep for today and food.

“What’s the state of my grandmother’s house right now?”

“Ah, the students are cleaning the detached building with the classroom, but the main house has been left as is since Asou-sensei entered the facility. You have school too, so stay at my place for a while.”

“No, that would be imposing!?”

“You can clean up the house once the holidays start. My wife wants to see you too, and I want to hear about over there in detail.”

Well, I can’t refuse when the person who accepted being my guardian says he wants to hear my stories. Plus, there are documents I need to get signed, so I had to stop by the Miyazu house anyway.

“In that case, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Yeah. That’s how it should be! Tonight is a welcome party! I’ll have you tell me everything, okay? Hahahaha!”

Thus, I ended up imposing on Mirai’s family for a few days.

Chapter 10: Hospitality

“””Welcome home.”””

When I opened the front door of the Miyazu house, I was greeted by three beautiful women, and my eyes became dots.

An elegant woman wearing a wisteria-patterned kimono reminiscent of early summer, and two young girls. All faces I knew. The girls were wearing violet kimonos with crimson aprons. They were dressed as Nakai-san (inn waitresses).

True, Mirai’s family runs an inn, but what I entered was strictly the entrance of the Miyazu residence.

In other words, this welcome is a prank by these beautiful women.

“Welcome to Minshuku Miyazu.”

Yousuke-san playing along. Of course, no such Minshuku exists.

“It’s been a while. Geez, you surprised me.”

“Fufufu, long time no see! I heard from Mirai, but you’ve become quite a handsome man!”

“Nagisa-san, you don’t seem to have changed at all.”

“Oh my, listen to you talk.”

One is Mirai’s mother, Nagisa-san, the Okami (proprietress) of the established inn “Raimu”. She is smaller and more slender than Mirai, but her features are just like Mirai’s. She must be the main culprit of the prank. Mirai’s prank-loving personality definitely comes from her mother.

I understand Mirai being here. It’s her home.

But why is Masaki-san here too?

Moreover, she’s dressed as a waitress together with Mirai.

“Masaki-san?”

“Good evening. Long time no see since a while ago.”

“Ehehe, surprised? Nako is lodging at my house right now, and she does part-time waitress work sometimes too.”

“So the errand you two had was about the part-time job.”

“Yeah. Though I’m still an apprentice and just causing trouble.”

Come to think of it, Masaki-san’s house should be in the neighboring Mihime City, yet she took the same bus as Mirai to go home.

If she’s attending Toto High School, it’s closer from Mirai’s house than commuting from the next city. That said, would she go as far as lodging at a friend’s house just to attend Toto High School?

There are still many mysteries about this young lady.

“I see. The kimonos suit both of you very well. You look beautiful.”

“I-Is that so?”

Saying that, Masaki-san smiles bashfully. Her cheeks are faintly dyed red.

As for Mirai, she burst out laughing next to her.

“Keho keho… Beautiful, he says… Stop it, Ayata. I’m choking.”

Despite my compliment, her reaction is rude. That said, there was a part of me that spoke with an overseas vibe unintentionally. Good grief, Japanese is difficult.

“Hey, dear. Is that child really that Ayataka-kun? That quiet child, praising girls so smoothly. Just what did that child do over there?”

“U-Umu… He must have experienced various things by going overseas.”

“…Ayata is too funny, I’m dying.”

Truly, a rude inn. Just as I was about to say “Call the proprietress!”, slippers were swiftly presented at my feet.

“Fufu, dear guest, please place your footwear here. I will guide you to your room.”

“Thank you, Masaki-san.”

“No, let’s ignore those people and go.”

While the proprietress, the owner, and the senior waitress weren’t working, the only one who showed consideration was Masaki-san.

The fatigue of the journey and my frayed heart are healed. I am impressed by her work.

Japanese hospitality that the world praises. Personally, I didn’t think it was a very good culture because it burdens the on-site employees.

But this time, they got me. Just by having slippers presented to me, I came to like this inn.

…Though it’s not an inn.

“Oh my, for me of all people to have my job taken by an apprentice.”

“She’s cute and has a good disposition. I wish Nadeshiko-chan would work at our place forever.”

“As expected of Nako. Sasu-Nako.”

Leaving the helpless management family behind, I changed into slippers and intruded into the inn… no, the house.

Mirai’s house is large and has many rooms. Guided by waitress-mode Masaki-san, I placed the luggage brought from the van in the assigned room. Mirai was made to carry it.

The room is an 8-tatami Japanese-style room with only a chabudai (low table) placed in it, but the cleaning is thorough.

“Nako’s room is next door, you know? Pressing your ear to the wall to eavesdrop or entering by mistake, you know the drill, right?”

“I won’t do such things!”

“I wonder about that. Don’t go pulling something like out of a manga, like waking up in the morning sleeping in the same futon, okay?”

“Geez! Mi-chan! Ayataka-kun wouldn’t do something like that! You wouldn’t… right?”

Why did you lose confidence halfway there!?

Also, that kind of thing is a standard trope where the heroine screws up.

“I won’t do it, so please be relieved.”

“I wonder.”

“Geez. Mi-chan! Ayataka-kun. Until the meal is ready, would you like to rest in your room? The bath is free right now too?”

“Then, since I have the chance, I’ll take a bath.”

Mirai’s family bath is large and draws from the hot spring source. Actually, I was secretly looking forward to it.

“I can wash my body by myself. ‘Shall I wash your back?’ Don’t do something cliché like that, okay?”

Mirai had eyes like a condor that found a carcass, so I kept her in check.

“Muu, reading my thoughts despite being Ayata—”

“Come on, Ayataka-kun must be tired too, so let’s help prepare the meal.”

“Uiissu.”

Thwarted in her scheme, Mirai looks bored as she is pushed out of the room by Masaki-san.

Phew…

It’s not like I thought it was a pity or anything.

Ah, this is paradise.

The Miyazu family bath was wonderful.

Cypress tub, free-flowing hot spring water. Yep. Satisfied.

There are hot springs in the Andes too, but Japanese bath culture is a cut above after all.

Finishing my bath without incident, I changed into the prepared yukata and headed to the living room.

“Oh, the guest of honor appears.”

Food was already prepared on the living room table. It’s a feast that rivals a high-end Japanese restaurant’s meal.

“This is an amazing feast.”

“Because it’s Ayataka-kun’s welcome party. Since it was sudden, the ingredients are just what we had on hand, but I asked the head chef to prepare it. Not everything, of course.”

“S-Seriously?”

‘Raimu’ is not just an established inn. It’s a top-class established inn used for lodging by members of the Imperial family when they visit the prefecture, or for important Shogi matches. The cooking of its head chef is naturally top-class.

First, my eyes go to the beautifully arranged sashimi. Also hot pot, tempura, simmered dishes, ohitashi, clear soup, pickles… and there’s chawanmushi!

Chawanmushi is my favorite food. When I was in Cicymel, I tried to reproduce it somehow to eat it, but I couldn’t make something convincing and swallowed my tears. The chawanmushi I dreamed of is here now!

“The sashimi and tempura are by the head chef, but me and Nako made the rest. There’s ice cream for dessert too, so let’s eat it later.”

“I only helped a little; Mi-chan made most of it.”

“Heh, it looks delicious and beautiful too. Isn’t that amazing?”

“Ehehe. It’s not something we can serve to customers, though.”

Mirai says that, but the appearance is of a quality that I’d believe if told a pro made it.

To think that the master of making mud dumplings would become this good at cooking.

“Now, don’t stand there, sit, sit.”

Saying that, Yousuke-san makes me sit in the seat of honor (kamiza).

“No, I’ll take the corner.”

“It’s fine, I told you this is a welcome party.”

“Come on, Ayata.”

“Asou-kun.”

Sandwiched by Mirai and Masaki-san on both sides, my resistance was futile and I was made to sit in the seat of honor.

“Which is better, cola or oolong tea?”

“Then, cola.”

Mirai and Masaki-san go around pouring drinks. The high school group gets cola. Yousuke-san and Nagisa-san had oolong tea. They probably still have work.

“Now then, does everyone have a drink?”

“””Yees!”””

Yousuke-san takes the lead, and the women respond cheerfully.

“Then, to celebrate Ayataka-kun’s return to Japan and his decoration, cheers!”

“Cheers!”

The only one who raised a glass was me.

…Stop it. Those kinds of pranks hurt, you know.