Living Normally In An Abnormal World

Chapter 50: Meeting the Boy

“Wow! It’s the real Grauzer! Amazing!”

A boy was standing in front of a man, and when he met the man, his eyes sparkled with joy.

The man he called out to was, as his name suggested, Grauzer. And inside was, of course, Kinoshita Yuuto, who had shocked the living room with his escape from Paradise.

“Hey, Grauzer! I want you to give me a piggyback ride!”

“All right, get on.”

The man knelt down to make it easier for the boy to climb onto his back, and the boy started climbing with a “Yatta~!”

“Okay! Let’s go!”

“Don’t fall.”

The man started walking slowly.

The boy patted the man’s head with a “teshi-teshi” and asked him various questions.

—

One day, after dinner, Yuuto, Yuuna, and Asuka were watching TV.

‘Now, today was really something! The son of the Emperor, Toudo Satoru, finally showed his face! Let’s take a look at the VTR!’

The TV announcer was explaining excitedly.

When it switched to the VTR, there was a very handsome and beautiful boy. However, the boy hid behind his mother, who was nearby, to avoid the gaze of those around him.

It’s understandable. There were too many people who came to see him in person.

The crowd was comparable to Comiket, and the excitement was on par with a popular band’s live concert. The heat could be felt even through the screen, and people were falling left and right.

“The son of the Emperor, huh?”

“I don’t care about that because I have Nii-cha.”

“I’m not that interested either.”

“Hey, don’t you have at least some interest? Come on, he’s a handsome boy. I’m sure he’ll be promising in the future.”

“Why are you even following him Nii-cha?”

“…You’re right, why?”

“Kinoshita-kun, I don’t know what to say regarding that.”

As they were talking about the boy, the interviewer was asking him a question.

‘Thank you very much for coming today! Now, I’d like to ask, what does Satoru-sama like the most?’

‘Eh… Um, that, Grauzer!’

……..

‘Is that Grauzer, the one from Paradise Escape?’

‘Ugh, yes. He looks a bit scary, but he’s super cool!’

‘Is that so~? Onee-san likes him too~!’ (T/N: The interviewer is talking in first person.)

‘But he only appeared once and hasn’t been on since. I want to see more of Grauzer capturing people, but… But! I asked my mother to let me meet Grauzer on my birthday, and she promised me she would!’

The two of them looked at me. Their gaze conveyed without words that they wanted an explanation.

However, unfortunately, I had never heard of such a thing, so I didn’t know what was going on.

The only thing I could say was that trouble was coming.

Then, the house phone rang in the living room.

Eh, did someone put out a white flag? Scratch that, has my identity been revealed? Is the Emperor that amazing?

“Ah, I’ll get it.”

Yuuna, being considerate, picked up the receiver and asked who it was.

“Hello? Ah, yes, my brother is here, but… Who is it? Oh, Toudo-san. I understand. I’ll pass the phone to my brother now. Nii-cha, it’s the Emperor.”

As expected of Yuuna, she’s a good girl who doesn’t lie.

Yuuna passed the receiver to me.

“Yes, this is Kinoshita Yuuto. Hello.”

‘I apologize for calling this late at night. I’m Toudo Haruki, and I have a request for you, Yuuto-san.’

“Is that so? Well I can probably guess what the request would be. You want me to meet your son as Grauzer on his birthday?”

‘Yes, ever since he saw you on that show, he’s become a huge fan, and he’s been rewatching it over and over. I understand your situation, Yuuto-san, but could you please grant my request?’

Meeting him is not a problem. But he’s the son of the Emperor, so a lot of people will come to celebrate his birthday. If I go there as Grauzer, a lot of people would notice me.

Once it happens, I can’t do anything about it anymore. The fact that Grauzer came to meet him on his birthday will be spread, and it is highly likely that others will ask me to come to their place as well. That would be a lot of trouble.

I really want to refuse, but… I can’t help but remember the VTR I saw earlier. On his birthday, his mother promised to let him meet Grauzer, the boy said with a smile.

Seeing his reaction, he still seems to be attached to his mother. It’s understandable for men to dislike women, but in most cases, they also end up disliking their foster parents, their mothers.

It would be nice if I could think, “It’s none of my business.” But again, I’m thinking too deeply.

Also, Toudo-san has already made a promise. If it’s broken, the boy, who is probably around that age, will cry and throw a tantrum. That’s still cute, but the worst thing would be to lose the trust of your child.

My values are abnormal in this world. As a result of acting based on these values, I’ve had painful experiences and a lot of trouble.

I don’t even want to imagine what would happen if I flatly refused. It’s common sense, though.

Haa… I’m thinking too deeply again. Now that I’ve thought this far, I don’t have the option to refuse. Why? Because I might regret it later if I refuse.

“All right. I accept your request. However, I have a condition as well.”

‘Ho, really!?’

“Yes, and my condition is that I’d like to meet your son the day after his birthday. I don’t want to appear in the media too much so that the rumor doesn’t spread that Grauzer came to meet him on his birthday.”

‘Eh, is that all right? Don’t you want some kind of reward or…?’

“It would ruin Grauzer’s image, so please don’t.”

‘I see. All right, I’ll do that.’

“Yes, now I’d like to ask about the time and date… “

The boy’s birthday is next Saturday. I’ll meet him on Sunday.

By the way, when I asked if I had to go there myself as Grauzer,

“He’ll know it’s you as soon as he sees you. Last time, I asked someone with the same build and height as you to come dressed as Grauzer to him, but he immediately noticed it was a fake.”

That’s what she said.

And after the phone call, I told Yuuna and Asuka, who were watching TV in the living room, about the conversation.

“Well, that’s to be expected.

The two of them seemed to have guessed that I would say yes as soon as I picked up the phone.

I thought I’d tell Mana when she came home, so I waited for her, and then my cell phone rang.

Who is it? I looked at the screen, and it was Mana

‘Yuu-kun, you’re going to meet the Emperor’s son, aren’t you?’

Mana-chan, you’re amazing!

Of course, I replied, and Mana sighed and said, “I thought so. I saw it on the company’s TV too. He was smiling so happily.”

“I’m sorry.”

‘It’s fine, do what you want to do, Yuu-kun. And make sure to make him happy.’

“Okay.”