Can I brag about my very devoted wife to you?

Where is her Hikoboshi now?

[TN: Remember the Tanabata legend? Hikoboshi is the male lover, the female lover Orihime was separated from and could only reunite on July the 7^th.]

In the past, I would never have thought of stepping out if there was even the slightest chance of receiving a bad reaction. But now, I want to change myself to be brave enough to try my best to make Riko like me… I’d like to talk to Riko about my past if it might create a good opportunity for me to get closer to her.

All right, all right!

“Riko! Let’s go back to what we talked about yesterday… It’s about the boy Riko met when she was in kindergarten…”

“You mean my first love, the boy?”

“…That boy is this first love of yours, isn’t he?”

“Yeah. He was my first love, and I still love him.”

“… Nnrgh!”

Oh, right…!

The words that Riko once had said come back to me.

As soon as I graduated from kindergarten, my father had to move overseas for his job, so I never saw him again. That was until I came back to Japan as a junior high school student. – He was just as kind as he had been when I was a kid. When I saw him smile with a little shyness, my heart was filled with joy. … I thought to myself, ‘Oh, I’ve been in love with this guy since I was five years old’. That’s how I realized my feelings. [TN: Chapter 4 Part 3.]

And that means…!

Riko’s first love = supposed to be me when I was in kindergarten. And, Riko’s first love = the person Riko still loves today.

So… that means the person that Riko likes right now is me…?

For a moment, I almost forgot everything and let myself be filled with joy.

But just as I was about to make a gut punch, I came back to my senses.

Wait a minute… Reuniting after coming back to Japan as a junior high school student…?

The way she put it was a little ambiguous. It wasn’t until we were in high school that we met again.

“…You know, Riko… I’m pretty sure you told me before that you reunited with that first love of yours…?”

“Oh, Minato-kun, you remembered the story I told you. That makes me happy.

–Yes, I do. I came back to Japan in the spring of my eighth year of junior high school, and we were able to meet again a few months later. The memories of the summer vacation I had with him are one of my treasures.”

“…”

… I don’t know what’s going on. I haven’t seen Riko on the summer of my eighth-grade year. I’ve forgotten about my kindergarten years, but my junior high school years were clearer. So I could say for sure. If I met a girl as cute as Riko, how could I forget her?

So who the hell had spent the summer with me? There was no way to tell, except that the person wasn’t me.

Furthermore, Riko said that she became aware of her love when she came into contact with someone (let’s call him “A-man”), was touched by his kindness, and was moved when she saw his smiling face. Riko seemed to think that the boy she met in kindergarten was the same person as the man she met in that summer, and that she has always loved that boy, but to be cruel, this is a misunderstanding on Riko’s part.

The person Riko realized she was in love with A-man. In Riko’s mind, A-man = the boy she met in kindergarten. That’s why Riko concluded that the boy she met in kindergarten = her first love = the person she still loves. [TN: Aka. Minato believes that Riko loves the boy “A-man” in her eight year of high school. Since her first love was from kindergarten, she “misconcluded” that A-man is the kindergarten boy.]

If A-man is not me, then it is doubtful that she was in love with the boy she met in kindergarten in the first place. Even leaving that aside, I’m pretty sure that the guy Riko is currently in love with is A-man, not me.

… I felt like dying.

Just a few minutes ago, I was so excited that I was the one that Riko liked, but now I feel like I’ve been pushed to the edge of the abyss.

I’m envious of A-man. The process of Riko falling in love with A-man must have been triggered in some small way by her childhood memories of me.

… Shit. I even feel as if my memories of Riko has been stolen by A-man. It’s not my place to say that since I’ve forgotten the memories of Riko, but I just couldn’t help it.

In fact, I’d like to come forward and say that I was the one who approached her when she was in kindergarten.

But… Riko would be disappointed if she found out that the memories she had with A-man, the man she loved, were actually with me. I couldn’t take away Riko’s happiness for my own sake.

In general, it was too brazen to expect that Riko liked me in a sheltered way.

Don’t forget your initial intentions and try to be liked by Riko.

Expecting Riko’s feelings for me is only possible after I’ve done that. The current me was clearly not great enough to be Riko’s Hikoboshi.

As much as I was shocked by today’s events, I felt like I could use it as a springboard to go on a crazy weekend date.

“Riko…! I’m really starting to look forward to Sunday…! Oh, I was looking forward to it to begin with! But more than that, I’m even more excited and I’ve never felt anything like this before… I don’t know either what I’m saying. Sorry…!”

I wanted to put it into words so that I wouldn’t make excuses to myself and return to my usual negative thinking and weakness. I was not used to this, so I was a bit flustered when I told her, and Riko’s cheeks turned red.

“I’m really looking forward to it too…!”

“I’m sure we’ll make it a special day. I hope you can count on me.”

I’m going to work myself to death to make you like me as much as possible. I muttered that in my mind.

And someday, when Riko turns to me… I want to tell Riko the truth that the boy in her memories is me.

Riko must have been surprised to see me in a different state than usual. Her face was blushing and she kept blinking. Needless to say, she looked really cute.

There were only a few days left until Sunday, when fate began to unfold.

Translator & Editor: Riciel