It turns out that I have a fiancee, but she is the famous "villainess" of the school. What should I do? - Episode 46

Episode 46 There’s a Reason Why Ryoko is Good at Housework

After receiving a call from Ryoko saying, ‘Saturday is OK~,’ I went to my parents’ house – or rather, Ryoko’s house just next door to my parents’ house– for the first time in a while on a Saturday morning. 

When I rang the doorbell, the door opened with a voice saying, ‘I’m coming,’ and a mysterious, beautiful woman emerged from the inside.

“… Oh, isn’t this Hiroyuki?”

“Long time no see, Auntie.”

“Start again.”

The door slammed shut. I let out a sigh and pressed the doorbell again.

“Oh, isn’t this Hiroyuki?”

“… Long time no see, Rin-san.”

“Okay. You can enter now.”

After that, a beautiful woman, Rin Kamo-san, opens the door and smiles at me. She is Ryoko’s mother. She boasts of her excellent proportions and ageless beauty, so much that it’s hard to believe that she has a 17-year-old daughter. And perhaps because she is so proud of her beauty, she hates to be called “Auntie”. Well, that’s about it. She is a beautiful witch, as they say nowadays.

(T/N: A Beautiful witch is a word for middle-aged woman who looks very young for her age (as if through “magic”));

“I’m not sure how long it’s been since I’ve seen Hiroyuki. Isn’t this the first time I’ve seen you again ever since you entered high school?”

“That’s right… the last time I met Rin-san, wasn’t it at the graduation ceremony? I don’t remember talking much at that time… or rather, it’s rare, isn’t it? Seeing Rin-san at home.”

“I went on a business trip to Italy right after the ceremony. After that I was on a series of other business trips, and I finally got back from New York yesterday.”

“Is this your first time in Japan this year?”

“No, I came back often during that time, but it was only for two or three days. This time though, after a long time, I will be able to stay in Japan for a month. So I will be at home now.”

I don’t know about the specifics, but I heard that Rin-san is a designer for a certain famous brand. It seems that she is one of the initial members of the brand, so she is quite busy traveling around the world. It is quite rare for me to see her at home.

“And? What’s up today? You got a date with Ryoko?”

“It’s nothing romantic like that. We’re just going to a friend’s house for a visit.”

“Tomomi?”

“No… Those two are in a quarrel right now.”

“Ah… again. What did you do this time?”

“Are you saying that too, Rin-san? The rate of false accusations is quite high.”

“I’m not a big fan of those two dimensional blunt protagonists. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to beat Reiji down too.”

By the way, the one she calls Reiji is Ryoko’s father, Reiji Kamo-san.

“I’m already sick of hearing that story. Can you call Ryoko, now?”

Whenever Reiji and Rin-san are drunk, Rin-san always talks about how they got married after a big love affair. I’ve been listening to it since I was a little kid, and I’m a little sick of it now, and I’m sure her daughter can’t stand to hear it anymore as well. The usual event  is that Ryoko turns bright red with anger.

“Huh? Ryoko’s going with you? I thought I was going to be able to eat Ryoko’s food, but…”

“Oh… sorry. I was told she’s okay with Saturday.”

“There’s nothing for Hiroyuki to apologize for. That’s right. Is Meiko there?”

“My mom? Umm… wasn’t she at home?”

“I’m thinking of going shopping with Meiko since it’s been a while. Perhaps I’ll call her.”

My mother is Meiko, and she and Rin-san are good friends. They have been best friends since high school. Rin-san claims it’s just a “coincidence”, But I’m pretty sure it’s not the case that her best friend from high school ended up next door to us. I suspect that she and my mother colluded to build the houses next door to each other. Not that I really care though.

“I see. Mom seems to be bored too, so it’s nice that she can go out for a break once in a while. Also could you…?”

“Oh right, Ryoko..”

“Oi, Ryoko~” she called out from downstairs to Ryoko’s room on the second floor. And from upstairs I heard Ryoko reply,  “Hai… Eh? Wait! Huh?!”  Then, the door opened with a loud bang, and Ryoko emerged looking impatient. 

“Hey, why are you here, Mom?! I thought you said you were in New York!”

“… Didn’t I tell you that I came back? Oh wait–”

“-Sorry, I meant to surprise you but I completely forgot to tell you. You see, it was already midnight when I got home yesterday.”

◆◇◆

“I’m sorry, Hiroyuki-chan. I got a little flustered. You saw an embarrassing part of me.”

“It’s all right. Besides Rin-san, you’re still as playful as ever.”

“It is not at all appropriate to refer to an adult over the age of forty who is acting in such a way as a playful. It’s called being childish.”

Ryoko’s cheeks puffed out in dissatisfaction. Well… I’m not sure how you’re feeling.

“But I’m glad Hiroyuki-chan’s mother is going to play with my mother today. I’m sorry, she gave you trouble.”

“… Sometimes it’s hard to tell which one is the mother, Rin-san or Ryoko…”

Rin-san has been traveling throughout the world since we were children… Although she is exceptional at her job, her life skills are lacking in comparison. By necessity, Ryoko’s ability to perform household tasks grew rapidly. Although I can’t help but feel a sense of pity and a slight hint of neglect when an elementary school child’s reason for becoming highly skilled at housework is “to survive,”… Well, it’s a given that both Rin-san and Reiji loved Ryoko. Perhaps because my father and mother loved her as if she were their own daughter is the reason why Ryoko grew up like that without any complaints.

“My mother is a child after all…~”

“I don’t know what to say… Although there’s a part of me that can’t deny it.”

“You really can’t deny it. Well, you need not worry about my mother. Besides, what are we doing today? The cooking lessons for Kiryu-san?”

“That’s right. I would greatly appreciate it.”

Mainly for the sake of my diet. 

“That’s totally fine… By the way, how well can Kiryu-san cook? That will affect the way I teach her.”

“Ah…~. Basically her entire skill-set is ‘grill’. “

“Huh?”

“For the time being, she thinks that anything and everything will taste good if it’s grilled. ‘If you grill it, you can eat it!’, she says. “

Meat, fish, and vegetables. On the days when she is in charge of cooking, the food served on the table tends to be brown.

“What about simmering?”

“She’s not cut out for that.”

“Frying?”

“Sounds scary… I don’t want a fire in the house.”

“…”

“…”

“Ah, she’s awfully good at cooking rice though.”

“…Sounds like a triumph of civilization to me.”

“Yeah… Her rice is even better than mine.”

Even if I follow the same procedure, I feel that the rice she cooked tastes better. I wonder why.

“I see… It appears that Kiryu-san has next to no prior experience in the kitchen.”

“I mean, she’s an Ojou-sama… She was never in an environment where she had to cook.”

“That’s right~. Hmm… then…”

With that said, she put her hand on her chin and pondered for a bit.

“–Right!　Then let’s have meat and potato stew for dinner today!”

She said with a broad smile.