A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life

Chapter 58 First Time at a Friend’s House

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After the summer vacation started, about two weeks passed when Inori and I were called by Kiriya to visit his house.

“This is Kiriya’s house, huh.”

“It’s pretty big.”

“Well, he did say his family comes from a martial arts lineage, so maybe there’s a dojo or something on the premises?”

“Ah, could be.”

Just as Inori and I were talking, we found ourselves standing in front of Kiriya’s rather large house. It had an old-fashioned, traditional Japanese house feel to it, something that looked like it had been around for ages.

We hesitated slightly at the sight of the wide grounds and imposing gate, but eventually pressed the doorbell and waited for a response.

“It’s an honor to meet the new ‘Blessed One.’ Please, come this way.”

“…”

After explaining the purpose of our visit, a man came out to greet us. His manner was clearly not how one would normally greet an ordinary person. The title of ‘Blessed One’ must carry significant weight, but I really wish they’d treat us more normally.

Though I sighed inwardly, I kept my expression neutral and followed the man’s guidance through the spacious mansion.

“Daigo-sama, your friends have arrived.”

“Let them in.”

“Please, come in.”

When the sliding door was opened, we saw Kiriya lounging casually. However, he wasn’t wearing his usual school uniform or Western clothes like us but traditional Japanese attire.

Seeing him dressed like that for the first time caught me off guard, and while I was still processing it, the man who guided us quietly left without saying a word. He really had a professional vibe.

“Seeing you treated like that really makes you seem like a rich kid.”

“I’m nothing special. There are plenty of families that offer even more extravagant treatment than mine.”

With a joking tone, we entered the room and were invited by the smirking Kiriya to sit across from him at the table.

“Oh yeah, there’s something I wanted to ask. Is that kind of treatment… normal for ‘Blessed Ones’?”

The guy earlier was doing his job well, but I felt like the way he treated us was overly polite. Even though this house is grand, that didn’t seem like the way you’d treat your school friends. I mean, the guy even mentioned the term ‘Blessed One’ himself.

“Huh? How exactly did he treat you?”

“He said it was an honor to meet the new ‘Blessed One.’”

“Ah, well, that’s pretty standard, I guess. I did inform them in advance, but in our family, even if there’s a ‘Blessed One,’ it doesn’t change our way of living or thinking much. But if it were a higher-ranking family, like the Kujou or Oda families, they’d probably roll out the red carpet, with grand receptions and long-winded conversations to win over a new ‘Blessed One.’”

So that was considered light treatment. I mean, all he really said was that it was an honor to meet me, but even that felt like overkill.

If they gave us an even grander welcome, I can’t imagine how overwhelming that would feel…

“I wish they’d realize that doing stuff like that would just have the opposite effect. Well, I don’t have any plans to meet them in the first place, and it’d be nice if I never had to meet them in the future.”

I don’t even have any friends who would invite me to their house… It’s sad to say, but that’s just the reality.

“Well, that’s typical for you. Otherwise, you would’ve announced from the start that you were a ‘Blessed One.’ But I think it’s inevitable that you’ll meet them at some point. You’re bound to run into them sooner or later.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

For now, I’m managing to avoid meeting anyone, but I have a feeling I’ll eventually be called to some party or event. I’ll decline as much as possible, but I’m sure they’ll find some way to make it unavoidable. Just thinking about that makes me feel gloomy already. Well, I’ll dodge it as much as I can. If I have to use my senior as an excuse… well, that should be fine. She’s forgive me.

“Daigo-kuuun! I heard you have guests! Can I come in now?”

While we were talking, a girl’s voice came from outside the room. But unlike the formal tone from earlier, this voice sounded friendly and casual.

“Ah, hold on a second!”

“Who’s that?”

I thought maybe someone else had arrived, but judging by Kiriya’s reaction, it didn’t seem like an unexpected visitor.

“That’s my cousin Mika. Since Inori is here too, I figured it’d be awkward if I was the only guy around, so I called her over. Also, if I was the only one you knew here, it could get troublesome if something happened, right? So, can I let her in?”

You didn’t have to go through all that trouble. But I guess he’s right. I didn’t really think about it when I came with Inori, but it’s not usual to bring your sister along when hanging out with guy friends. And having a girl join in guy talk could make things awkward too.

Now that I think about it, Kiriya is pretty considerate for paying attention to things I hadn’t even noticed.

“Is that so? You didn’t have to go that far, but thanks for being thoughtful.”

“Alright, I’ll let her in.”

The girl who entered looked about our age. Judging by her height, she seemed about three years younger—probably in her first year of middle school.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kiriya Daigo’s cousin, Kiriya Mika. I’m a year younger than you two, but I look forward to getting to know you.”

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Sahara Seiji, Kiriya Daigo’s friend.”

“And I’m his sister, Sahara Inori. Pleased to meet you.”

She’s Kiriya’s cousin, so they must be somewhat distant relatives, but they do seem to resemble each other a bit.

But she’s just a year younger? I thought she was three years younger, but I guess she’s just a little small.

A two-year age gap might not seem like much, but at this stage in life, it’s significant. Middle school first-year and third-year seem close, but when you think about it as someone who just graduated elementary school versus someone about to enter high school, the gap is much clearer.

Well, for us, it’s easier to interact with someone closer in age, so it’s actually pretty convenient.

“You guys all seem quieter and more polite than usual.”

Really? …Yeah, maybe. After all, it’s our first time visiting a friend’s house, and there’s also a girl we’re meeting for the first time. No way we’d act like we usually do.

“Of course! Your guests, after all. If we suddenly behaved rudely, it would reflect badly on the house.”

Ah, so it wasn’t just us being a bit reserved. It makes sense that they’d act more cautiously too. Even though Mika is Kiriya’s cousin, dealing with strangers probably makes it tricky to know how to respond. Plus, we’re not just any friends—we’re “Blessed Ones.” That would certainly make them think more carefully about how to act.

“Don’t worry about it. These guys aren’t that concerned about that stuff, so just act normally. Right, Seiji?”

“Yeah. Honestly, formalities aren’t my thing, so I’d prefer if you treated us like normal.”

It might take some time for everyone to relax completely, but it’d be nice if we could all act naturally soon.

“Is that okay with you too, Inori?”

“Yeah, I’m not one to care much about appearances or formalities. Feel free to be yourselves.”

“Alright then, let’s be friends, Inori-chan.”

I didn’t expect us to get along so quickly, but contrary to my expectations, Mika smiled at Inori with a more relaxed expression. It’s surprising how fast she became comfortable. Maybe she and Kiriya are alike in more ways than just appearance? Well, that’s a good thing, actually. Makes things easier.

“So, what’s the plan from here? Want to take a look around the house? That was the original idea, right?”

“Ah, something like, ‘Let’s learn about how the upper class lives,’ right?”

The idea to visit Kiriya’s house came from the fact that we had no real exposure to how the upper class lives, and we wanted to see for ourselves.

I grew up in an ordinary household, so I don’t know much about homes like Kiriya’s. Ever since I stepped onto his property, I’ve been impressed and surprised by everything I’ve seen.

“Wasn’t it more like, ‘Let’s see how unimpressive my house is’?”

“Yeah, I think it started from a conversation about whether you’d met Amamiya-san or not.”

“Was it? Well, whatever the reason was, let’s go check it out. If we head over now, we might catch a glimpse of the dojo in action, so you can see what a normal day here looks like.”

“A dojo, huh? So, you do have one after all.”

“Of course. We even teach other families here.”

With that, we wrapped up our conversation in the room and started exploring the Kiriya household.

It took us about five minutes to walk to the dojo, which is pretty long for an indoor stroll. Kiriya keeps saying his house is unimpressive, but when it takes five minutes just to walk through it, I really want to tell him, “What part of this is unimpressive?”