Vol 1 Chapter 8 – The Ward Office

I ate breakfast, then went to the ward office. Here, they need to verify my actual age.

My suspicion of being underage only deepened after this morning’s incident. Because I’m so clueless about sexual matters, people assume I look my apparent age.

“Are you nervous?”

“Yes, very.”

I’m anxious. If they find out my real age, they might toss me out. But this is a government office, so they probably have support measures for people in situations like mine.

Even so, being abandoned again would be unbearable. Once in a lifetime is enough for that kind of experience.

“It’ll be okay… Mama is going to make sure everything works out.”

But what if it turns out I’m older than Michiru-san? It’s possible—she looks young, and I’m an almost-thirty guy.

‘Number 514… please proceed to window 23… guest holding ticket 514…’

The machine’s voice announced our ticket number. It sounded garbled, as if someone had stitched words together awkwardly.

At the window, the clerk raised her hand and waited.

“Let’s go, Rin-kun. It’ll be fine!”

I still couldn’t fathom why Michiru-san was going to such lengths for me.

“Okay…”

My anxiety was overwhelming.

The procedure began.

“May I have a copy of your certificate of residence, please?”

This was something only I could say. After all, it’s me who needs the certificate of residence.

“Um, miss, what’s your name? And why do you need a certificate of residence?”

Right—people see me as a little girl. So being asked that was nothing new.

“I’m Rin Nanase. I need it as ID to enroll in national health insurance, so I’d like a copy.”

At that, the clerk seemed to realize I wasn’t the age I appeared. From there, the process went smoothly.

For identity verification, they asked for the head of household on my family register… my father’s name, his age, my mother’s name, her age, my age, my date of birth, my zodiac sign… After all those questions, they told me to purchase a 300-yen revenue stamp, then made me wait again.

“Oh, so you’re twenty-seven, Rin-kun?”

“Yes… it’s kind of gross, isn’t it?”

My apparent age and real age were so far apart. At first, I even considered using that to my advantage.

Deceive people, act spoiled, get treated like a child, take advantage of them, and have them help me.

But I changed my mind because Michiru-san was so kind to me. Sure, I felt like she’d done some slightly erotic things. But there were valid reasons—checking for signs of abuse, the fact there was only one bed. And according to Michiru-san, it wasn’t that erotic. So I no longer wanted to deceive anyone.

“Numbers don’t matter,”

Michiru-san declared.

“Huh?”

“Tell me, Rin-kun, do you think of yourself as a proper adult?”

I had no idea what a proper adult was. The only adults I’d really dealt with were my teachers, my parents, and the interviewers who rejected me on the spot.

So…

“I don’t know…”

“You know I said before your heart is a bit too young to call you a full adult. And back then, you mentioned you might be older. I never really believed you were, though.”

Michiru-san said that, smiling in a troubled way.

Surely, the immaturity of my heart wasn’t “a bit”—it was extreme. That’s why Michiru-san had considered the possibility I was underage until just now.

But I never imagined that, even knowing I was older, she wouldn’t change her stance at all.

“I’m a little… embarrassed.”

Embarrassed is an understatement—it was huge. Being coddled this much by a younger woman? Unthinkable.

Our relationship must look really gross from the outside. But maybe seeing it put a visual spin on things that lessened the creep factor.

“It’s okay. Mama is Mama.”

With that strange logic, any creepiness was swept away.

And if I didn’t go along, I’d be a rootless soul.

“Understood…”

“I’d be happy if you stopped using polite speech soon, too.”

I was at a loss. I only used casual speech with family.

Then, our number was called again.

‘Number 514… please proceed to window 23…’

When we went to the window, we exchanged the revenue stamp for the copy of my certificate of residence.

After that, we used it to enroll in national health insurance. That procedure took a long time too. But Michiru-san helped me through every step. She paid for everything.

Honestly, I feel pathetic.

I need to start earning real money soon so I can repay Michiru-san for everything she’s done for me.

By the time we finished the ward office procedures, half the day had passed. Time isn’t infinite… having her spend it all on me was really hard to bear.