A New Truth

◇The Day After the School Festival, Saturday, 7:30 AM

We safely spent our first night together.

When I woke up, Marin’s bre**ts were right in front of me.

She forcefully buried my face in them.

“Mmff!?”

“Come here-nyan! goro-goro-nyan!” Marin snuggled up to me more than ever.

“stop…”

“Hehehe. I love you. I won’t let anyone else have you. Hehehe. Hey, I love you. I love you so much. So, so much. chuuuuuu~!” She rubbed her cheek against mine and kissed me all over.

“…I love you too.”

“Hehehehe.”

After cuddling, we got out of bed and had breakfast, spending a leisurely morning together. Then, a message came in from Kiyohito.

‘Are you free today?’ 8:35

‘I don’t have any plans. You should be studying for exams, Kiyohito.’ 8:40

‘Yeah, I know. But there’s someone I want you to meet.’ 8:43

‘Who?’ 8:45

‘Director Ando.’ 8:50

The unexpected name made me freeze.

“What’s up?” Marin peeked at my phone.

Since there was nothing to hide, I showed it to her.

“We might get to meet Director Ando,” I said, brimming with excitement.

“…I see. So, no plans for today then. Maybe we can do something on another day off,” Marin started to say, but I interrupted her by pressing my lips to hers.

“Mmm!!//”

“…Come with me, Marin. I want you to be there.”

“…Won’t I be a bother?”

“You won’t be a bother at all. Please? Come with me?”

“…Okay!”

I replied to Kiyohito’s message, ‘I’d love to. Thank you.’

◇

Marin and I arrived at the address sent to us. It was a quaint, old-fashioned café, a bit of a walk from the station.

Before even stepping inside, I had a feeling that their recommended lunch dish would be Napolitan. As we entered, a cheerful bell chimed.

Inside, a grizzled master with some white hair and a bit of a beard was washing glasses.

“Um…” I started, trying to get his attention, only to be met with a sharp glance.

“…Oh my, isn’t it unusual to have such a young couple here!” he greeted us with an incredibly warm smile.

What a surprising contrast.

“Over here,” called out a familiar voice. Turning around, I saw a much older Director Ando standing with a cane.

“…Director.”

“…You’ve grown into a fine young man. And… Marin, right? It’s really moving to see you both,” he said with a gentle smile.

We sat down in front of Director Ando. His eyes held a kind, almost parental warmth as he looked at us.

Just then, the master came over with the menu, walking in his own unique way.

“Here you go♡”

“Thank you.”

“The recommendation here is the melon float and the peperoncino. So, let’s go with that, Master.”

…Wait, not coffee or Napolitan? That was unexpected.

“Cutting back on sweets, aren’t you?” the master teased the director.

“Just this once is fine.”

“Alright then, I’ll make it extra delicious,” the master replied.

“I’ll have the melon float and peperoncino,” I said, and “Me too,” Marin followed after me.

“Alright!” the master said, disappearing into the back with a cheerful step.

“…I’m sorry,” the director started, bowing his head in apology.

“…Why are you apologizing, Director?”

“I knew about the situation you were in, but I couldn’t do anything. I’ve regretted it ever since.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Director.”

“…I see. You’re still as kind as ever, Aoi-kun. But it is my fault.”

“That’s not true…”

“…I watched your recent play. My judgment was right; your brilliance hasn’t faded at all.”

“…Thank you.”

“You managed to condense nearly two hours of film into a beautiful play. The script was excellent. You have far more talent than I do,” he said, looking at Marin.

“Thank you,” she replied, bowing her head gracefully.

As the melon floats arrived, the director’s eyes lit up as he drank, savoring the taste.

“Ever since I got diabetes, I’ve had to cut back on sweets. One of my legs is in bad shape now. But every time I drink this, I think of you. Remember how you, your mother, and I used to come here often?”

“…I’m sorry, I don’t remember much from when I was little. But! I do remember our training sessions vividly.”

“…I’m glad to hear that. Aoi-kun, I called you here for two reasons.”

“…Two reasons?”

“Yes. The first one is… I need to tell you that I’m the one who killed your mother.”

“…What?”

(TL: Ohhh)