The Most Beautiful Girl in School Has Become a Mother - Chapter 44: Favorite Place

After school, as promised, I met Miori at the entrance. No matter how much I asked where we were going, she kept saying, “It’s a secret,” and wouldn’t tell me anything.

I thought that if I mentioned going out together after school, Shinya and Sumomo would be noisy again, but for some reason, they didn’t say anything today. It’s unclear whether Miori said something to them or if they thought it was better not to touch on the subject, considering my situation, but it was a bit of a relief.

When we are together as a group of four, we can distract ourselves, but there are times when I find it a bit difficult to match Shinya and Sumomo’s energy levels. To avoid letting them notice my low energy, I end up forcing myself to respond, which makes me even more tired.

I thought I was managing to cover it up pretty well, but it seems that Miori figured it out. I can only admire her keen observation skills.

As for Miori, she looked at the bus stop timetable and smiled, saying, “It’ll be here soon.” Apparently, the destination is a place I need to take a bus to.

I got on the bus that she told me to, heading towards a destination I didn’t know.

──I haven’t really been around here much… Oh, wait, maybe I did come here once.

While gazing out the window at the scenery, I absentmindedly think about such things.

About ten minutes after getting on the bus, Miori pressed the stop button. The name of the bus stop was “National Park Front.”

It seems that the destination was a national park.

──Ah, a national park. I really came here when I was very little.

It was such a long time ago that I can barely remember it. Surely, if I were a child living around here, I would have been taken here by my parents at least once; it’s a family spot.

We pay the entrance fee (of course, I paid), and we enter the national park.

As we entered through the entrance gate, we were greeted by the park’s symbol, a 200-meter-long canal. Lined with poplar trees along its banks, a glance at it made us feel as if we were in a foreign country.

Since it was already late April, the cherry blossoms had fallen. However, the lush green fields and the greenery spread out before me, typical of spring, were enough to lift my spirits.

It’s already evening, so it’s getting a bit dark, which is a shame, but if it were daytime, it would be even more liberating.

Miori didn’t say anything in particular, she simply enjoyed the scenery with a gentle smile.

“Hmm…! I really like this place after all.”

Miori stretched out while sitting on the bench in front of the large fountain in the back. 

“Do you come here often?”

“Sometimes. Is this your first time here, Isaki-kun?” 

“No, I think I’ve been here a long time ago.”

As I squint and gaze at the fountain, faint memories from long ago begin to surface.

That was before Shuri was born. I have memories of coming here for a picnic with the three of us as a family. I used to look forward to carrying the lunch bag and eating the bento that Mom made.

I don’t remember the details at all. However, I feel like I was running around this meadow, and my dad and mom were watching over me warmly… or so I think.

“This is my favorite spot. I used to come here alone a lot when I was feeling down.”

“Not so much lately,” Miori added with a chuckle.

“Even Miori gets down sometimes.”

It was a bit surprising. It’s been a few weeks since we started talking, but I’ve never seen Miori get down or depressed.

I wonder what kind of times make her feel down and think of coming here. I wanted to know a little bit about that.

“Yeah, I do. I’m human, after all. Hmm… I used to be really down all the time.” 

“I see…” 

From the part about the past, I could somewhat infer the answer.

Miori is blessed with good looks, can study well, and is popular. However, whether she is also blessed with a good family environment is another story.

After her parents’ divorce, her father went missing, and her mother passed away from illness. She was taken in by her grandparents and raised by them, but if I think that was a life without any hardships, that’s certainly not the case.

Due to the disparity in the surrounding environment, there might have been various things that troubled her when she was young, and perhaps there are past experiences where she was spoken about because she didn’t have parents.

She must have chewed through and overcome those hardships that she can’t understand on her own.

I don’t think I’ll try to pry those out of her now. Besides, the hardships she has endured might be the same suffering Shuri will experience in the future. I didn’t really want to hear about them.

“So… what happened?” 

“Huh?” 

After a moment of silence, Miori turned to me and asked. 

“No, it’s nothing──” 

“You can’t just brush it off.”

Miori interrupted me and continued.

“Well… we’ve been together every day lately. I can tell right away if you’re feeling down.”

She smiled with a troubled face and tilted her head slightly.

Being together every day──those words were warm.

For me, the only one I spent every day with was Shuri. And she is the little sister I have to protect unilaterally. She doesn’t go out of her way to consider me, nor can I expect that from a five-year-old kindergarten kid.

So… like this, having someone watch over me and notice my small changes was the happiest thing of all.

It’s as if my mother had been concerned about me when I was young. Of course, if I were to say something like that, I’d be accused of being childish again, so I won’t.

“If it’s okay with you, try talking to me. I’m not saying you have to, but I think just talking about it will make a difference.”

She still wears a soft smile and throws kind words.

If someone reaches out to me like that, there’s no way I could pretend to be tough. Rather, deep down, I’ve always wanted someone to extend their hand to me like that.

“You might look down on me.”

Just to be sure, I’ll double-check.

Rather than confirming with her, these were words I was saying to protect myself. I just wanted to set a precaution for myself, saying that what I’m about to say is the worst, and if she hates me, so be it. Be prepared.

However, Miori slowly shook her head and looked me in the eye.

“I won’t do it. Absolutely not.”