After Reaching the Happy Ending, I Was Locked up by the Extremely Possessive Heroines I Had Conquered - Chapter 62: Mahiru's Mochi Pounding

Chapter 62: Mahiru’s Mochi Pounding

“Another failed course is confirmed. If things continue like this, you’re heading straight for repeating a year.”

“Even so, isn’t that going a bit too far?”

It happened during New Year’s.

Since the company was closed for the year-end and New Year’s holidays, I thought I’d spend the time watching some recorded comedy shows, but…

“Big brother, think about it calmly. It’s a failed course, you know?”

“It’s just one course. Failing it shouldn’t be a big deal…”

“It’s a required subject. That means you can’t avoid repeating the year if this keeps up.”

“…I see. But even then, that’s not the right way to handle it. Failing courses and this have nothing to do with each other.”

“Whether you repeat the year or not. Everything else is trivial. So relevance doesn’t matter at all.”

As she spoke, Mahiru raised the pestle. Then she swung it back widely and slammed it into the mortar.

“Petan koooo!”

What on earth was going on?

There was only one phrase that could sum it up.

—Mochi pounding.

※

Why Mahiru suddenly started pounding mochi right at the start of the new year.

The reason was exactly what she had said earlier: she had failed a university course and become self-destructive.

By the way, the timing when she realized she had failed was simple. She had overslept too much and didn’t have enough attendance days.

It was a very Mahiru-like reason, but it must have been a shock to her.

“Petan koooo!”

The shock was apparently so great that she had lost her mind. After all, she suddenly started pounding mochi. It would be impossible not to be confused.

“Petan koooo!”

“Hey, Mahiru.”

“Big brother, the mochi rice is going to stick, so could you turn it for me?”

“…Sure.”

Wondering why I had to do such heavy labor first thing in the morning, but overwhelmed by Mahiru’s intensity, I decided to help.

“Petan koooo!”

“Yes.”

“Petan koooo!”

“Yes.”

“Petan koooo!”

“Yes.”

I kept turning the mochi rice while responding in rhythm.

The basic fact was that it was six in the morning right now. Mahiru, who had probably stayed up all night on New Year’s Eve, was one thing, but it was still sleeping time for Satori and Toa.

It was so early that the sun probably hadn’t even risen yet.

Pounding mochi at such an hour was more than just a neighborhood disturbance.

But Mahiru didn’t stop. Her eyes were bloodshot as she pounded the mochi. She was going way too hard right from the new year.

In the middle of it, as I got used to it, I asked Mahiru.

“Petan koooo!”

“By the way, where did you get that mortar and pestle from? They weren’t here last night, right?”

“Actually, I started preparing a week ago when I realized I had failed the course. I hid them secretly in the storage shed.”

“…So it was premeditated.”

“I cooked the mochi rice after big brother fell asleep. Satori and Toa found out, but they put in earplugs and went to sleep, so it’s fine. Let’s pound mochi with all we’ve got.”

Why am I the only one getting dragged into this?

Thinking that to myself, but deciding that helping his sister pound mochi was a brother’s duty, I kept turning the mochi diligently.

But since I was a beginner, I gradually started running out of stamina.

“Petan koooo!”

“…Haa, let’s take a short break.”

“Big brother!?”

Mahiru’s eyes widened in surprise, but I was the one who wanted to be surprised.

It was surprising that Mahiru, who should have been under more strain, wasn’t even out of breath.

Had she secretly trained beforehand or something?

No, that couldn’t be…

“Big brother, could you put a bit more effort into it?”

“I’m tired.”

“Big brother, you don’t exercise enough usually. Your body’s gotten sluggish from desk work.”

“Then why are you so full of energy, Mahiru?”

“I did a trial membership at the gym for a week starting last week and trained.”

As she said that, Mahiru showed me her biceps.

Of course, muscles wouldn’t build in just a week, and her arms were white and slender.

Even so, the reason veins seemed to stand out was probably because of how strongly Mahiru felt about pounding mochi.

“Come on, let’s go all out!”

“…Got it.”

Honestly, I wanted to go back to sleep right away, but when Mahiru with her bloodshot eyes asked, I couldn’t refuse.

“Petan koooo!”

※

After that, we went through some intense time, and the mochi pounding finally ended.

“Akira, happy New Year.”

“Senpai, happy New Year.”

Just as we were about to start kneading the mochi, the two with earplugs appeared, and we all ended up kneading it together.

There were azuki beans, kinako, soy sauce, and nori in the kitchen, so we each wrapped our mochi with our favorite flavors.

I was definitely a kinako person. And with lots of sugar. The gritty feel of the sugar mixed with the kinako flavor was the best.

By the way, Satori seemed to like soy sauce-dipped mochi with nori wrapped around it, and she soaked it so much in soy sauce.

And Toa seemed to be an azuki person, wrapping so much that you couldn’t see the mochi anymore. All of them looked delicious.

What about Mahiru?

Thinking that, I turned my gaze to her.

“Mahiru?”

Somehow, she was sticking mochi rice to it. To the freshly made mochi.

“What are you—”

“There are lots of proverbs related to mochi. Leave mochi to the mochi shop, mochi falling from the shelf, mochi painted in a picture, jealous mochi, mochi pounding chop.”

“Mochi pounding chop?”

“Among them, the one that best describes me is this. One sho of mochi requires five sho of dusting flour.”

“Huh? What?”

“It’s a metaphor for how, just like pounding mochi requires a lot of flour, the related things can become more than the main matter itself.”

“So?”

“With university classes, attendance is more important than passing the exams.”

Yeah, that’s definitely true.

But I had no idea what that had to do with Mahiru’s actions.

Well, asking more would probably be pointless anyway. Because Mahiru is Mahiru, after all.

※

“””Itadakimasu.”””

After that, the four of us sat around the table.

We each ate the mochi we had made heartily. It seemed Satori and Toa liked it too.

“Mahiru’s mochi is delicious.”

“It’s true. It was so noisy this morning that it went right through the earplugs, and honestly, I was at my limit of patience, but this taste makes it a little forgivable.”

They both had it rough. Thinking that, I bit into the mochi.

“Delicious! Freshly pounded mochi really is the best.”

“Yes. In the end, university is just like mochi.”

I didn’t understand what she meant, but since Mahiru looked satisfied, that was what mattered most.

Alright, let’s get seconds. Thinking that, I headed to the kitchen, and Mahiru pattered after me.

“Big brother.”

She slowly caught my eyes and said with a smile.

“Let’s pound mochi together again next year too, okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll prepare by doing muscle training at the gym next year.”

“I’m counting on you. You’re the only one who’ll join me in pounding mochi, big brother.”

Mahiru said that and smiled shyly.

It had been a tough morning right from the new year, but it was a fulfilling time.