Living Normally In An Abnormal World - Chapter 31.1: Yaya-chan

Chapter 31.1: Yaya-chan

‘Yuuto-sama. I want to see you, Yuuto-sama.’

It was a call from Yaya-chan one night. As we were chatting about the usual topics, such as stories from her neighborhood and about me, she suddenly blurted this out.

Of course, my answer was yes.

“Sure, that’s fine.”

I had given Yaya-chan my contact information because she had expressed her desire to meet me again, but I completely forgot to give her my address.

“I’ll give you a moment to get a paper and pen ready, and I’ll tell you the address.”

‘I’m already prepared!’

It was reassuring to hear her enthusiastic response.

I proceeded to tell Yaya-chan my address.

And then,…

“Yuuto-sama”

One day during the holidays, I ran into Yaya-chan at the supermarket. She came up to me and gave me a hug.

I was surprised to see her at the fish counter, as it was the last place I expected her to be. I was so taken aback that I was momentarily lost for words. This was because she was an ojousama (a young lady from a wealthy family). It was unusual for her to be in such a place.

“You seem to be doing well, but what brings you here?”

“I wanted to see you, Yuuto-sama, so I came.”

“…… Why didn’t you just come to the house?”

“I knew that you usually go grocery shopping at this time, so I came looking for you because I wanted to see you sooner.”

How cute. I have to make sure to treat her well.

“What kind of food do you like, Yaya-chan?”

“Cucumber sunomono (vinegar-marinated cucumbers).”

That’s an unusual choice.

“I like how it’s crunchy, has a bit of salt, and is delicious.”

“I understand.”

I often make it at home.

“I want to eat the cucumbers you make, Yuuto-sama.”

“Ah, I have some pre-made ones at home. Let’s go home and eat them.”

“Okay.”

“By the way, let’s separate for now.”

Because she had been hugging me since earlier, I couldn’t move. Additionally, since we were in the supermarket’s fish section, we were attracting attention from those around us. I had also been feeling people’s gazes on us since a while ago. Furthermore, as a man, if I were found out, it wouldn’t just end with bringing her home.

“In that case, I want to hold your hand.”

“Okay.”

I held hands with Yaya-chan and headed for the checkout counter. I wondered if it was a recent trend for girls to hold hands in the ‘koibito tsunagi’ (lover’s hold) style. Seeing Yaya-chan trying to act a bit more mature made her seem even cuter.

“I came here by bicycle, but did you come by car, Yaya-chan?”

“I came alone.”

“…… Did you inform your mother?”

“If I did, Okaa-sama would come with me, so I didn’t say anything.”

I’ll make sure to contact them when we get home.

—At Home—

“This is Yuuto-sama’s house, I’m so excited!”

“Come on in.”

I invited Yaya-chan into the house.

“Ah! Nii~cha~…”

Yuuna greeted us, but when she saw Yaya-chan standing next to me, she froze. Then, she glared at me as if accusing me of bringing home a mistress.

“Nii~cha, who’s this?”

“It’s Yaya-chan. You know, the girl I often talk to on the phone at night.”

“Ah, so that’s who it is. So, what’s your relationship with Nii~cha?”

“We’re engaged.”

Oops, this feels like a bad situation.

“…… I’m sorry, but I’m more important to Nii~cha, so it’s impossible.”

“No, I’m more important to Yuuto-sama, so I’m the real fiancée.”

“Just talking on the phone isn’t enough.”

“That’s not true. Yuuto-sama always tries to end the call early so that I won’t feel lonely. This is Yuuto-sama’s kindness, showing that he cares about me more than you.”

“Hmm, I always sit on Nii~cha’s lap. No matter what, Nii~cha always smiles and lets me rest my head on his chin, even if he teases me for being a spoiled child. You can’t experience this kind of love with just a phone relationship. There’s a bigger gap between the love Nii~cha and I share, and the love you and Nii~cha share than the Berlin Wall.”

“That’s only because you’re always with Yuuto-sama. In my case, Yuuto-sama and I have only known each other for a few months, but he already treats me with so much importance. If we spend a few years together, Yuuto-sama and I will have a relationship that everyone will envy.”

“Well, in that case, my relationship with Nii~cha will only deepen. I spend the most time with him, so it’s only natural. Even if you become Nii~cha’s wife, you’ll never be loved more than I am.”

“Just being loved by Yuuto-sama isn’t enough to be his wife. A proper couple should support each other. That’s what Yuuto-sama desires.”

“You think you know a lot about Nii~cha just because of your long phone calls.”

“I’m different from those people who only know about him from the information in the novels. I asked Yuuto-sama about his feelings during our phone calls.”

“Huh? You mean my Nii~cha, who never talks about himself?!”

“When I asked him, he answered me normally.”

“Can you tell me about that?”

“Sure, in exchange, I want to ask you some things too.”

“Okay, come on in! Ah, I’m Yuuna. Nice to meet you!”

“I’m Yaya. Nice to meet you too.”

As the two of them were about to head to the living room,…

“Yaya-chan, first, let’s go wash your hands.”

…I stopped them.

“Okay.”

“The washroom is this way.”

Yuuna guided Yaya-chan to the washroom.

While they were busy talking, I took the opportunity to wash my hands as well. I knew that if I tried to stop them, Yaya-chan would tell me to be quiet, so I didn’t bother.

However, I was glad that the two of them seemed to get along. I hoped that they would become good friends. But Yuuna’s comment about ‘not talking about himself’ bothered me. I thought I talked about myself quite a bit.

Well, I guess I’ll just go with the flow as usual.

After Yaya-chan finished washing her hands, we headed to the living room,…

“Now, I’ll snuggle up to Nii~cha.”

“Okay.”

“Hey, Yaya-chan, aren’t you going to ask me anything? And Yaya-chan, here, have some cucumber sunomono.”

I took out the pre-made cucumber sunomono from the refrigerator, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and served it to Yaya-chan on a plate.

As for me, I took another cucumber and started biting into it directly.

Ah, I just love the luxurious feeling of eating it whole like this.

“Ohhh, Yuuto-sama, thank you!”

Yaya-chan’s eyes sparkled as she took a bite of the cucumber.

“It’s second-rate to snuggle up to Nii~cha in front of me. We exchanged LINEs, so I’ll ask you in detail later.”

“I see.”

“Yuuto-sama, the cucumbers are so delicious.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Ah, Nii~cha, I want some too!”

“Sure, go ahead.”

As I said that, Yuuna took a bite out of the cucumber I was eating.

“Hey, hey, wait for me to get you a new one.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s not like the cucumber will run away!”

Even as she said that, she kept eating. But this was a usual occurrence, so I didn’t mind. Yuuna was smiling, and there were still plenty of cucumbers left.

I took another cucumber from the refrigerator and started biting into it.

“Yuuto-sama, I want to eat more cucumbers too.”

As she said that, Yaya-chan took the cucumber I was holding and started biting into it.

Brutus…

I decided to secretly eat it later.

More importantly, I needed to contact Yaya-chan’s house. I had to ask them to pick her up, and even though she trusted me, it wouldn’t be good to keep them waiting without any contact.

“Yaya-chan, what’s your home phone number?”

“Mm.”

I handed Yaya-chan a piece of paper and a pen. She wrote down their home phone number and handed it to me.

I looked at the number and called their home phone.

‘Hello, this is the Yamazaki residence. May I ask who’s calling?’

Oh, someone picked up.

“Um, this is Kinoshita Yuuto.”

I heard a ‘clunk’ sound over the phone, probably from the receiver being dropped.

‘W-W-W-W-Wait a moment! Are you really Kinoshita Yuuto-sama?!’

They seemed extremely flustered. From their reaction, it seemed that Yaya-chan hadn’t told her family about me. I would have to scold her later for this.

“Yes, today, your daughter, Yaya-chan, seems to have come to see me without informing you, so I wanted to apologize and ask you to pick her up.”

‘No, thank you for your kindness. The mistress is here right now, so let me pass the phone to her.’ (E/N: Not literal Mistress, it refers to the female head of the house.)

“Ah, okay.”

As I replied, I heard, “Ma’am, it’s Kinoshita Yuuto-sama on the phone” from the other end of the line, indicating that she was nearby.

‘Hello, I’m Yamazaki Shiori, Yaya’s mother. I apologize for any inconvenience my daughter may have caused today.’

“No, I’m the one who should apologize. I feel bad for letting Yaya-chan come to see me without first asking for your permission, as it could have been dangerous. She’s resting at my house now.”

‘It’s only natural for young girls to be impulsive. Please don’t worry too much about it. I’ll also talk to her, so please don’t be concerned.’

“Thank you for saying that. Also, could you please come to pick up Yaya-chan?”

‘Of course. What time would be convenient for you?’

“Well, what time works best for you?”

‘Um… around 5 pm would be good.’

“Alright, I’ll inform Yaya-chan as well. Please come at 5 pm then.”

‘Thank you. I’ll see you later then.’

“Okay.”

With that, the call ended.

As I hung up the receiver and turned around, Yaya-chan was standing right in front of me with puffed-up cheeks.

Did I do something wrong?

“Yaya-chan, your family will be here to pick you up at 5 pm today.”

For now, I informed her about the time they would arrive.

“Okay. But, Yuuto-sama, you were on the phone with Okaa-sama for a long time.”

“I don’t think it was that long…”

“As punishment, be my horse.”

“Okay, okay.”

I became a horse on the spot.

Yaya-chan climbed onto me and said,…

“Go, Yuutoumaru-sama!”

She even gave me the name Yuutoumaru, how thoughtful of her.

I slowly started moving forward, being careful not to let her fall.

Seeing this,…

“Ah! Yaya-chan, that’s unfair! I want to ride too!”

…Yuuna climbed onto Yaya-chan’s back. However, even though I could carry a toddler and an elementary school student, the weight on my knees was still too much, and it started to hurt.

“Hehe, good boy, Yuutoumaru-sama.”

Yaya-chan patted my head while she was on top of me. Meanwhile, Yuuna started humming a tune.

Seeing their happy faces,…

“Get off, my knees hurt.”

…I couldn’t bring myself to ruin the moment, so I decided to continue.

My knees were sacrificed for the sake of the children’s smiles.

After that, I bought knee pads online, thinking about the future.