Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 247: Mayumi-san is “Mother-in-law.”

Mayumi-san is “Mother-in-law.”

Let’s calm down… take a breath, and sort this out.

Yesterday, both Mom and Mayumi-san had said they would be coming from fourth period onward.

I heard it directly from Mom, and Sara-san heard it directly from Mayumi-san.

Mayumi-san clearly said she’d be going to see Sara-san during fourth period. In other words, she never said she’d be visiting Sara-san’s class in third period. Which means… even if she’s here in this classroom during third period, it technically isn’t a lie. So then…

…Could this be another prank on me!?

No—at this point, calling it a “prank” might not even cover it. Could she actually be serious this time!?

What am I supposed to do…?

“Kazunari, something wrong?”

Hanako-san had noticed me stopping mid-step, looking at me curiously. Fortunately, Mayumi-san still hadn’t approached me. My classmates were gawking at her, but of course, none of them realized who she was.

Which meant… if I could just get through this without engaging, there was still a good chance this might blow over. No matter how much of a prankster Mayumi-san could be, I wanted to believe she was just here to watch quietly this time.

For now, greeting Kayo-san took priority. Hanako-san was waiting too, so I should at least speak with her first.

As Hanako-san and I walked over together, Kayo-san gave us a deep, polite bow. That much formality almost felt excessive—it left me awkward and at a loss for how to respond.

“Good afternoon, Takanashi-san. Thank you for always looking after Riko.”

“Good afternoon, Kayo-san. No, really, I’m the one who should thank Ha—Riko-san for everything.”

It wasn’t anything clever—just the safe, textbook greeting—but Kayo-san smiled warmly anyway. And seeing that smile, I couldn’t help but notice… it reminded me a little of the smile Hanako-san had started showing me lately. I couldn’t explain why, but the resemblance made me happy.

“…Hey, I heard that’s Hanasaki-san’s mother.”

“…She’s really cute. Figures—look who her daughter is.”

“…That bit of baby face is a nice touch.”

“…Looks like she’s close with Takanashi-kun too.”

“…So, she’s already got the parents’ approval, huh…”

“…Hey, doesn’t that lady next to her look familiar?”

“…Yeah, I’ve been wondering the same thing.”

“? kazunari, something funny?”

“Not exactly… just, your smile and Kayo-san’s overlapped for a second there.”

I couldn’t explain why it made me happy—it came out awkward—but Hanako-san seemed to understand anyway, giving me a shy little smile.

“Hey, kazunari-kun! You should introduce me to your mother-in-law already!”

…Oh, God. You really aren’t going to let me have a peaceful day, are you?

I knew it—Mayumi-san, standing beside me, had been waiting for me to speak to her this whole time, her eyes practically sparkling with anticipation.

Still, I’d been hoping—just maybe—that she’d be content to simply watch from a distance. A “don’t poke the sleeping beast” kind of thing.

But with that one line, she sent the entire classroom into an uproar.

“Wha—She’s his mother!? I thought she was his sister!?”

“No way!! Takanashi’s mom!?”

“You’ve gotta be kidding… that’s his mom? Lucky bastard…”

“Damn it! I was hoping she was his sister so I could get an intro!”

“Wait, seriously? That’s Takanashi-kun’s mom?”

“She’s way too young—and way too pretty!”

Ah… the chaos was spreading.

Once it’s gone this far, there’s no stopping it. All I could do now was adapt on the fly.

“Eh!? K-kazunari’s mother!?”

Even Hanako-san was wide-eyed in shock, and Kayo-san’s mouth hung open.

“kazunari, that’s awful. If your mom was coming, you should’ve told me. Um, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Hanasaki Riko—”

“W-Wait! Hanako-san!”

I quickly stopped her before she could go any further. Letting this misunderstanding stand would be bad. I needed to explain—at least to her and Kayo-san.

But first, I had to confirm something with Mayumi-san.

“M-Mayumi-san, why are you here…?”

“Ehehe~ I asked the principal to let me.”

She answered in a whisper, at least mindful enough to keep it down.

“The principal!? Wait—how do you even know him—no, more importantly, does Sara-san know about this?”

“!?”

Hanako-san, overhearing, froze in shock. I’d never seen her look so rattled—but then again, I’d been just as stunned when Mayumi-san had walked in moments ago.

“W-Wait… you mean… you’re… Satsukawa-senpai’s…?”

“That’s right~. But I’m kazunari-kun’s mother-in-law.”

“…Ah, that kind of meaning. Barely acceptable…”

“Uh… Riko? What’s going on here?”

Thankfully, Hanako-san had pieced enough together to drop her voice to a whisper. The only one still lost was Kayo-san, who turned to her daughter for an explanation.

“Mom, listen carefully. This lady’s going to be kazunari’s future mother-in-law.”

Predictably, that did nothing to clear Kayo-san’s confusion. I decided I’d better explain myself.

“Kayo-san, this is Satsukawa Mayumi-san—”

Her eyes lit with recognition at the name, and she suddenly began bowing so deeply and repeatedly it was almost pitiable.

“M-My apologies! My husband is greatly indebted to you at work!!”

“Eh? …Ah, I see. No, no, we’re the ones who owe him.”

Right—if Tadao-san works at Sanami, that would make Mayumi-san the wife of his boss’s boss. No wonder she handled it with such effortless poise—she was clearly used to this kind of formality.

“So then, Mayumi-sa—”

“Mother-in-law.”

…That’s when it hit me—she was using the situation to her advantage. Of course, if I called her by name, people would be suspicious. This way, I had no choice.

“M-Mother-in-law.”

“Ehehe~ Yes, kazunari-kun?”

She beamed, clearly delighted. Was it really that nice to hear me call her that?

“Uh, over there—”

“Takanashi! Your mom’s gorgeous!”

“Whoa, up close, she’s even…”

“N-Nice to meet you, ma’am!”

With one guy speaking up, the rest of the boys swarmed in. Their interest was obvious—and irritating. The crowd drew even more eyes from other parents.

“Oh my… thank you. Please, keep being good friends with kazunari-kun.”

“Yes, ma’am!!”

“O-Of course!!”

“Don’t worry—we’re his friends!”

And in that moment, I found myself seeing her… as if she really were my mother.

She always played up the “mother-in-law” thing like a joke, but… seeing her now, I couldn’t shake the feeling she genuinely meant it. She’d always looked out for me—not just teasing, but truly caring.

Maybe this wasn’t just another prank. Maybe she’d come here today for my sake.

“kazunari… are you sure this is okay?”

“Eh!?”

She was right—her presence here hadn’t been part of the plan. And if she was here…

…then there was a chance my real mom was elsewhere.

Most likely, the two of them had coordinated this. I wanted to confirm it, but with everyone crowding around, I had no chance.

Ding-dong…

And now the bell rang. There was nothing I could do but hope my fears were unfounded.

Too late, I realized I should have messaged Sara-san to confirm… but that chance was gone.

***

Sara’s POV.

A little earlier, just before the end of second period…

The voices in the hallway told me the parents were already gathering. With today being the open class day, the whole room had a restless air.

But…

The truth is, I’ve never liked these events. Not because my mother comes to class, or because she watches me during lessons—but because of the result of her being here.

Call it daughter’s bias if you like, but my mother is beautiful. And she looks young. Too young. She sometimes jokes to new acquaintances that she’s my older sister—and they always believe her.

…If I end up like her one day, would that make kazunari-san happy…?

I’m a woman too. If it’s something he would appreciate, then of course I care about my appearance.

…Anyway.

Whenever my mother comes, it always causes a commotion. Not just in theory—this has happened every year since I was little. And with that comes the kind of attention I hate most.

Still, there was something to look forward to today—meeting kazunari-san’s mother. My future mother-in-law.

We hadn’t had a proper introduction yet, and now that we were engaged, I wanted to greet her properly.

“…Can’t wait for Satsukawa-san’s mom to get here.”

“You’ve been saying that since yesterday. I get it, though.”

“Last year was shocking. I swore she was her sister.”

“Plenty of guys want to impress both of them.”

“Haah… Sara, you’ve got it rough.”

“…Did you say something?”

“Not really—wait, huh?”

Natsumi glanced toward the door. Curious, I turned as well—

Ah… so that’s it.

If she was going to speak with her, I should go greet her too—it had been a while.

“Mom, you’re early.”

“I rushed to finish work.”

“Hello, Koharu-san. It’s been a while.”

Natsumi’s mother, Yuuzuki Koharu. Last year, I often visited Natsumi’s house, so I saw her often—but not this year.

“Sara-chan, you’ve gotten even prettier. I guess that means… you know?”

“…?”

“—Congratulations! Natsumi told me.”

Ah… so she meant about kazunari-san.

“Thank you. But if we’re congratulating people, Natsu—”

“Waaahhh!!”

“Wha—!? What’s wrong, Natsumi?”

“What is it all of a sudden?”

She’d cut me off with a loud shout—again. Lately, she’d been doing that a lot.

“Look! Over there!”

“…Why are you acting so suspicious?”

“Uh, well—we can talk later!”

“Right… Koharu-san, if we have time later, I’d love to introduce you.”

“Of course.”

Yes, if we moved before heading to the café, we might have time. Hanako-san and Toudou-san had also said they wanted to meet my mother…

“By the way… where’s Mayumi-san?”

“She’s supposed to come during fourth period.”

“Eh? But I just saw her.”

“…Just now?”

“There’s no way you’d mistake someone like her. She looked like she was in a great mood.”

A “great mood”… that was new.

“…Where did you see her?”

“Over near the first-year classrooms… oh? Did she go to the wrong room? Maybe you should call her.”

First-year classrooms…

No. No, there’s no way she would go to the same place as last year… right?

Natsumi’s eyes went wide, turning slowly toward me. We’d clearly had the same thought.

If she was intentionally heading there…

“S-Sara… could she be…”

“I’m going to—”

Ding-dong…

The bell rang just as I moved.

Ah… too late. Just five more minutes…

“Alright, take your seats.”

There was nothing I could do now. All I could do was hope she wouldn’t cause kazunari-san too much trouble—and go retrieve her as soon as class ended.

If she did cause trouble… I would never forgive her.