The Kansai Villain’s Rebirth: I Accidentally Ended Up With a Harem.

A Kansai Guy Crashes the Three-Way Conference as Acting Guardian.

The year was drawing to its close. On the day I was idly wondering whether I should finally tackle the end-of-year cleaning, a call came from Shi-chan.

“Moshimosu~”

“Pffft—! M-Mou!”

“Hahaha, sorry, sorry. What’s up?”

“Um… well…”

It wasn’t her usual explosive energy. No excited “Can we go eat out today?” or “Can I stay over~?” Her voice was quiet, almost polite. This was serious.

“Shi-chan, did something happen?”

“No! I’m totally fine! It’s just… Mama, y’know?”

Shi-chan’s mother… Unlike the parents of the Akie and Fuyuki families, her impression of me had to be rock-bottom. Some guy claiming to be her daughter’s boyfriend had barged in during the night, yelled every insult under the sun, and taken the girl away, after all.

…She’s not going to tell me to break up, is she? If she does, I’m storming in again. No, wait, calm down, boy. Let’s talk this through calmly…

“Mama says she wants to talk with me and Dai-chan together. It’s not ‘break up’ or anything, so don’t worry, okay?”

…She read me like an open book. Well, if it’s not that, then fine… but what kind of talk is this? Is it really okay for me to go? What if scary older brothers stuff me into a trunk the moment I show up?

“Got it. So… what should I do?”

“Are you free right now?”

“Yeah, totally fine.”

“There’s a café called Laurent in front of the station, right? She wants you to come there.”

“Roger that. On my way.”

“See you later~!”

Laurent… I’ve heard of it. Some ridiculously stylish retro café. I’d thought about trying their coffee once, but since I’m firmly Team Tea, I never quite worked up the courage to step inside. Perfect timing… or the worst possible timing… Either way, my heart felt like lead, but I changed into slightly sharper clothes and headed out.

***

“Welcome.”

…Wow, the waiter is ridiculously refined. Cool.

“Dai-chan!”

“Ah, I’m with her.”

“Very good, sir. This way, please.”

He even pulled out my chair… This place has insane service…

“Dai-chan ♪”

“Hey, not in front of your mom…”

“Fufu, I don’t mind at all. You really are lovers, aren’t you? I’m sorry for doubting it, Shina.”

“No! I thought this would be the fastest way to make Mama understand!”

“I suppose so. Once again… um…”

“Tennouji Daiki. Regarding that night, I repeatedly behaved inexcusably—please accept my deepest apologies…!”

It was far beyond mere rudeness—I’d broken in and hurled abuse, after all—but Shi-chan’s mother remained perfectly composed.

“Natsume Reika. Pleased to meet you, Tennouji-kun.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am! The pleasure is mine…!”

I was half a second away from performing the legendary corporate-slave flying dogeza, but thankfully it didn’t come to that. Reika-san was even smiling gently.

“I’m sorry for calling you out so suddenly today. After talking properly with my daughter again… it seems you’ve become someone truly important to her. I wanted to hear about the kind of person you are, once more, with my own ears.”

“That night, Shi-chan… Shina-san was crying so hard on the phone, and I panicked and completely lost it…”

“Even just from that, I could tell how much you treasure her. And that’s not all—you cook for her, you protect her from dangerous people… On behalf of my daughter, thank you so, so much, Tennouji-kun.”

“N-No, I…”

“See, Mama? Dai-chan’s a really good person, right?”

“Yes. If he’d been the same violent boy who came to our house that night… Ah, black tea is fine, yes? Please don’t hold back. If he were still like that, I was prepared to tell her to break up… but like this, I can feel at ease.”

“Thank you… And, um… does that mean I don’t have to break up with her…?”

“Of course. She’s this attached to you, and you clearly in love… I could never tear you apart.”

Reika-san watched with a soft smile as I sipped my tea and Shi-chan snuggled up against me. I couldn’t taste the tea at all—probably excellent stuff, but nerves had murdered my tongue.

“I should say this to you as well, Tennouji-kun. That day, you told him, didn’t you? That if he was going to divorce me, he should at least wait until Shina graduated high school.”

“Y-Yes… I did…”

“I’ll try persuading my husband… but in the end, we will be divorcing.”

“Mama…”

I felt terribly out of place listening to such a heavy family matter as a mere high-schooler… but I was the one who’d opened my big mouth first.

“After Shina graduates and life settles down a little. Shina? Do you plan to go on to university?”

“Shina-san raised her grades tremendously in the second semester. She’s averaging over eighty on finals now. University should be no problem at all.”

“I see. She’s been smart ever since elementary school. She used to run home waving perfect test papers at me… and I trampled all over that.”

“Mama… you remembered?”

“Of course. I should have praised her, told her how amazing she was… but I didn’t.”

“…That’s okay. Just knowing Mama remembered makes me happy…”

“Whether you go to university or study to fulfill the dream you had when you were little—to open a clothing shop—you’ll need to attend vocational college either way.”

“Eh—Mama!? That—!”

“I was the one who tried to crush that dream, wasn’t I? Telling you not to talk nonsense and to go to university and get a proper job at a good company…”

“Yeah…”

“I’m sorry, Shina… A mother should never say such things. Parents are supposed to support their children’s dreams. I’ll pay for everything, so don’t worry about money. Walk the path you want to walk. At the next parent-teacher conference, tell them straight what you want to do. It won’t make up for anything… but please, let me be your mother from now on, even just a little.”

So the guilt had been eating at her all this time… Neglecting her since she was small, trying to crush her dream, thinking money could replace love—no, that was impossible. Yet Reika-san had realized her mistake. Even now, she was trying… to be a real mother again. It wasn’t my place to say anything.

“You opened my eyes, Tennouji-kun… I kept thinking how stupid I’d been, trying to buy affection with money alone… She’s already so grown up… I knew she was dyeing her hair and dressing flashily just to get my attention, and I knew… and I ignored it all.”

“Mama… that too!?”

“Yes. I was blinded by romance, hiding behind how busy work was… when I should never, ever have looked away from my own daughter…!”

They say love is blind, but ignoring your daughter for years is something else entirely. Still, here she was, tears streaming down her face, regretting it all even if it was far too late. Realizing your mistakes… maybe that alone was worth something.

“Mama… I really do want to work with clothes! So… Mama…”

“It’s all right. Chase your dream together with Tennouji-kun. Work with clothes, become Tennouji-kun’s bride—that’s your dream now, isn’t it?”

“…Yeah! I… I want to be Dai-chan’s wife… I want Mama to celebrate with us…”

“Of course! Come to me for anything from now on. I won’t ignore you ever again…”

“Mama! Mama!!”

This late in the game… this flood of tears… this kind of scene…!

“Shina… I’m so sorry for everything until now… Please… let me be your mother, even if only for a little while longer…”

“Yeah…! You’re my mama forever!”

I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“UWAAAAAAAHHHH!! Shi-CHAAAAAN…!! EVERYTHING’S… EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE OKAAAAAY…!!!”

“Dai-chan!?”

“Oh my…”

I bawled like an idiot. Filling the rift between them will probably take ages, but I truly wished this mother and daughter could walk forward together happily. I never imagined it would end on such a beautiful note. That’s why the tears exploded out of me. Lately my tear ducts have been pathetically weak…

***

“Then, Tennouji-kun—please continue to look after my daughter.”

“Snff… Y-Yes ma’am… Please… take care of me too…”

“Dai-chan! Please take care of me too!”

“Ah… um… Shi-chan loves omelette rice… so… if you make it for her or take her to a Western-style restaurant… she’ll be really happy…”

“D-Dai-chan! That’s embarrassing!”

“Fufu. Understood. Shina, I know a nice Western restaurant—shall we go there today?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Then I’ll excuse myself here…”

“Dai-chan…! Thank you so much for today…! I’m going with Mama now!”

“Thank you, Tennouji-kun. Next time, let me treat you to a meal.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am…”

Hand in hand, mother and daughter walked away. They invited me too, but that wouldn’t have been right. Today was for just the two of them. If even a little of the distance between them could close, nothing would make me happier.

“I’ll head home and make omelette rice too. Guess I’ll stop by the supermarket.”

Feeling somehow refreshed, footsteps light, I bought ingredients and made omelette rice at home. Gotta level up my skills so I can cook it for Shina-chan again soon!