It's a Chastity-Reversed World, But It's Different From What I Imagined? - 68

Chapter 68: The Relationship With My Childhood Friend’s Mother

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

After about three hours of riding in the car driven by Yui-san, we arrived at the hot spring inn, which was both luxurious and beautiful. More than anything, the breathtaking view from the inn was incredible. While I was getting out of the car, stunned, Yuuna jumped out and ran off somewhere.

“I haven’t talked to Yuuna lately.”

Yuuna had stopped sending me messages since I had declared my graduation from her before summer break started. Maybe I had made her feel like she had to be careful around me. Or maybe she felt relieved not to have to keep in touch with a creepy guy like me anymore. I didn’t really want to ask, so I didn’t.

“Come on, let’s get in the hot springs and eat lots of good food!!!”

Guided by Yui-san, we went into the hot spring inn. These days, there were very few hot spring inns that allowed men to stay. With the male population reduced to a quarter, and more than half of that over fifty, unless it was a men-only inn, there were almost no opportunities for men to stay. And even if a man came to a hot spring, he wouldn’t be bathing with his family, so for the inns, preparing baths for men was basically a waste.

“This place has open-air baths attached to the rooms!”

The room Yui-san guided us to had a view of the tallest mountain in the country. It was a room where you could soak in the bath while enjoying the most stunning scenery.

“Wow, amazing.”

“Ehem. It was hard to make the reservation, you know.”

“Thank you, Mother Yui.”

Tsuki also expressed her thanks. Back in middle school, she used to call me gross and kept her distance, but lately, we’d been going shopping together, eating dinner together—I thought we’d become reasonably close. Still, sometimes Tsuki got a little too close. Maybe it was because we were siblings.

“Onii, are you going to take a bath? Or go for a walk? If you’re taking a bath, do you want to go in together?”

How come the situation progresses naturally into me taking a bath with my little sister? 

No no, the women’s side had a proper large public bath. This open-air bath was supposed to be mine alone. Wait, monopolizing wouldn’t be good either. Ugh, fine, she could use it too. Just… Not together. I was still a teenager, after all.

“Hmm~ I was thinking of getting in with Yoru-kun though.”

No no, think about it. Just because this is a chastity-reversed world doesn’t mean it’s okay for me to be tempted like this. If you flipped the genders, this would be a super-problematic scene of an uncle asking to bathe with his niece. No no no.

“No! Absolutely not!”

Even if this was a chastity-reversed world, my sense of ethics wouldn’t allow it. I refused flat-out.

“I’ll go for a walk.”

For some reason, I felt like my range of movement was being quietly narrowed, so I bolted out of the room and went for a walk.

“Phew~ Just what are those two even thinking…Ah, right. I have to reply to Tae-san.”

I had told Tae-san during the ride in the car that I was going to a hot spring.

“I’m glad Tae-san managed to get a break during Obon.”

In her reply, she said that while I was on my hot spring trip, she’d be going back to her parents’ house for Obon.

“Summer vacation flies by. Once this trip is over, Seiya said he wanted to consult me about a support request. I should start getting ready for the second semester soon.”

The inn’s garden was designed like a Japanese garden, centered on beautiful pine trees, with moss-covered stones and a pond where koi swam, all arranged in perfect balance.

“……”

At the corner of the garden, sitting on a stone and staring at the mountains, I found Yuuna. Even when she noticed me, she didn’t call out to me. I hadn’t seen her since that day when Isaid goodbye.

Just from her attitude now, I could tell the decision I had made back then had been the right one. It meant she didn’t want anything more to do with me.

I quietly left the garden. When I returned to the room, Tsuki was gone, and Yui-san, dressed in a yukata, was drinking tea.

“Ah~ you finally came back. Alright then, shall we go?”

“Eh? Go?”

“Yes. Tsuki-chan went to the hot springs. I had something I wanted to talk about with you, Yoru-kun.”

“With me?”

“Mm. So will you come with me?”

It was rare for the usually assertive Yui-san to ask me for something.

“Sure.”

“Yay! Then let’s go.”

When she raised her arms in a cheer, I caught a glimpse of her large chest through the gap in her yukata. Though Yui-san was about twenty years older than me, her incredible beauty combined with her cheerful, free-spirited personality made her seem cute.

“Where are we going?”

The sun was beginning to set, so even if we walked outside it would soon be dark.

“When adults talk, it’s got to be at a bar.”

“Eh? But I’m still underage.”

“Don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it. As long as you don’t drink, it’s fine. Besides, we’ve rented out this whole inn for today and tomorrow, so no problem.”

It wasn’t a very large inn, but Yui-san had called it a luxury inn. It must have been expensive to begin with, and she had rented the whole thing—just how outrageous was she?

“Don’t look so shocked. I’m a company president with my own brand, you know. Spending money on the kids once in a while is fine, isn’t it?”

She was as outrageous as ever, but the love she showed us was stronger than that of my real mother.

“Alright, time to drink!”

We sat on the sofa with a view of the counter. The sommelier poured wine, and we toasted. I thought Yui-san would drink it down in one go, but after the toast she set her glass down.

“But before that… Yoru-kun.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, Yui-san stood up and bowed her head to me. I didn’t understand why she was apologizing, and it left me bewildered.

“Eh? Did you do something to me, Yui-san?”

“Not something I did, but something I didn’t know—that’s more accurate. I let myself get too busy with work, and didn’t notice what was going on with the kids. I’m a failure as a mother.”

When she said “the kids,” my (Yoru’s) heart jumped.

“A little while ago, we girls went out for a meal. Sei and I. Tsuki-chan and Yuuna too. Well, it was meant to cheer Yuuna up because she wasn’t feeling well. But then, I heard something unbelievable, and I lost my temper. I ended up fighting with Sei.”

“With Mother?”

“Mm.”

Mother Sei was, for better or worse, a self-centered person who didn’t care about her children. It had been Yui-san who made up for that. From Mother Sei, I’d learned how to be strong and how to survive. From Yui-san, I’d received a mother’s love.

Their roles had been clearly divided, and they didn’t interfere with each other, keeping a perfect equilibrium. So the fact that those two had fought for my sake was surprising.

“Yoru-kun… It seems our Yuuna did something foolish to you. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry for not noticing my friend, Sei, behavior… I’m sorry for not paying close attention to you… I’m sorry for letting you endure it all alone, unable to say anything.”

Ah, no… This is no good… I can’t hold it in… Even though I’d been holding it in all this time, this is so unfair… I can only be like this because this is Yui-san…

“I’m truly sorry. Forcing you to hold back your tears… Cry into my chest now.”

Tears simply overflowed, unstoppable. No one had ever apologized to me before… For me (Yoru), my mother was Yui-san. I couldn’t hide my weakness from her.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー