Can I brag about my very devoted wife to you?

Chapter 2 Part 1 – Please let me be your wife for a longer time

Translator: Chaos

Editor: Riciel

We had a lot of trouble convincing both of our parents, but Hanae Riko and I managed to get our marriage registered and started living together this April.

Actually, at first, I thought we were going to just pretend that we had a marriage registration.

I didn’t really care about my marriage record, but it would be a stain on Hanae Riko’s life, and I was worried about that.

But when I told her about the idea, she said, “You were thinking of me…”. Immediately after that, she sniffled and ran away from me. She avoided me for the next three days.

I thought hard about what I had done wrong, and then I realized. If I pretended to be married and moved in with her without submitting the paperwork, I would be forcing her to lie to her parents. I reflected on the fact that my idea was too simplistic and asked Hanae Riko, what she wanted to do and told her that I was going to go along with it.

“You don’t want to get married, Shinyama-kun…?”

She asked, and I denied it. Of course, I wanted to marry her.

Well, “I can’t pass up on the chance to marry a pretty wife, no matter what”, was not something I could really say.

Hanae Riko said, “If Shinyama-kun doesn’t mind, I’d like to marry you properly…”. No matter how many times I asked her if that was really what she wanted, she didn’t change her mind. I assumed she really didn’t like lying to her parents.

And since Hanae Riko had wanted it, on April 3rd, the day I turned eighteen, we submitted our marriage certificate and became husband and wife.

It has been a month since we started our married life, and in the beginning, it was a hectic series of events, with this and that problem occurring. It was really only in the last few days that things have finally settled down and we’ve managed to focus on the little things. I was embarrassed to admit that it was only by that time when I did the trivial stuff that I realized that I was being spoiled by Hanae Riko.

For example, today.

When I woke up to the sound of my alarm in the morning, the faint smell of miso soup tickled my nostrils. The taste of Hanae Riko’s delicious miso soup flashed through my mind, and my stomach rumbled instantly.

When I had been living alone, I had been used to skipping breakfast because it had been too much trouble. I couldn’t cook for myself, and I didn’t feel like going to the convenience store in the morning.

Hanae Riko changed the course of my self-destructive life with her delicious breakfast.

Ever since the day we started living together, she’s been waking up earlier than me and preparing breakfast for me every day without fail. Of course, I hesitated and told her that I couldn’t ask her to do all that. I was very happy, but my feelings weren’t important here. That was because we were only in a contract marriage. In this day and age, the idea that a wife should have to take care of her husband, was unacceptable. Hanae Riko,on the other hand, smiled.

“I enjoy being Minato-kun’s wife.”

I was so knocked out by the destructive power of those words that I couldn’t say anything else. And so, although I felt guilty for her, I continued to eat the food she cooked for me, up until today.

… Humans are weak-minded creatures, aren’t we?

Every day, I feel like I should say, “Today’s the day you don’t have to prepare dinner”, but when I see Hanae Riko cooking with a smile on her face, I just couldn’t resist stalling, “Just one more day… and I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

Hanae Riko is just too cute when cooking. The apron always looks good on her, and the way her hair is tied in one high bun and sways around her, it’s… very nice.

But today’s the time I have to tell her not to prepare the food. That’s what I thought, and as soon as I got ready and headed for the dining room and kitchen this morning, I told Hanae Riko the following words I wanted to say.

“Good morning, Hanae-san. I’m sorry I’ve made you cook breakfast every morning. I know it’s hard for you to get up early, so I’m going to make this the last day… I’m also sorry that it took me so long to tell you. Hanae-san’s food was so delicious that I ended up indulging myself. I’m really sorry.”

Looking at the delicious looking breakfast on the table, I felt my heart waver again. So I apologized quickly, staring at my feet, and after a pause, Hanae Riko asked me a question in her soft voice.

“Did you really think my food was that good? It makes me so happy.”

“Oh, um, yes. It was really delicious. But what I’m trying to say is that I don’t want you to push yourself any harder than you already are…

Please, don’t force yourself.”

If you became too overwhelmed one day and wanted to leave this place… I was afraid of that happening.

It was a contract marriage, and I knew it had to end. Maybe in a year, when we would graduate from high school. I’m sure her parents wouldn’t object too strongly to a college girl living alone, and then she wouldn’t have any need for me.

But until that time came, I didn’t want to lose the life with her that I had acquired. Even if we weren’t in a relationship, even if she didn’t think anything of me, I could be the closest to the girl I loved. Because it was a lot more pleasant than I had imagined it would be.

“I believe it’s better to live a natural life, just doing only what you want to do, and have less stress.”

“Then can I really do what I want?”

“Of course!”

“In that case, I want to make the bentos for you, not just breakfast and dinner!”

“What? Bentos…?”

“Yes! I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid that you might think of me being too intrusive.”

The conversation started to take an unexpected turn. Because I was too surprised to say anything, a look of concern immediately appeared on Hanae Riko’s face.

“Is that a no…?”

“W-well, I mean, isn’t it too much trouble?

“No, not at all! I really want to try it.”

“Do you usually make bentos?”

“I mean, I’ve always dreamed of making a… heartfelt, loving… lunch for someone.”

“What?”

Hanae Riko, who has turned her head down, fidgeted with the hem of her apron. Most of her words were inaudible, and I couldn’t hear them.

“But anyway! I can’t help but want to make lunch for Shinyama-kun, so please don’t hesitate to eat it… It’s not just bento, but breakfast and dinner as well. I’ll be happy if your body becomes healthy and energetic from the food that I made, so please… Please continue to eat my cooking…”

…Wow, Hanae Riko. I can’t believe you like serving food to others so much. Maybe she wants to be a cook or a nutritionist in the future.

If that’s the case, isn’t it too harsh to say no? I thought I was getting too spoiled, but I didn’t expect that I would end up in a situation where I would be taken care of even more than I already was…

I bowed my head to Hanae Riko with mixed feelings.

“In that case, please do so…”

“I’m glad…! I’ll do my best to make you a delicious bento!”

Hanae Riko declared with a sparkle in her eyes and an excited smile on her face.

… Oh, my God, isn’t she too cute?

[TN: She is, you dense ****]

[EN: I’ll better be rewarded with heart throbbing fluff for editing this density of a MC narration]

I’ve come to realize that the only thing I can do now is to accept the situation. I can’t help but feel that Hanae Riko is so cute that anything is okay anymore, and that’s all that matters. And if she’s not only not feeling burdened by it, but she’s enjoying it, there’s no reason to stop.

But how did my life come to have such a torrent of happiness…?

I can now rather seriously empathize with the embarrassing line, “I’m so happy that I’m terrified of anything going wrong.” If you already think Hanae Riko is “kind of nice and cute” and admire her, how afraid will you be in making any mistake if you really fall in love with her?

To be honest, I was a little worried.