CH 8

TL: Kanenashi

ED: SevenTails

I felt a stinging glare in my eyes, and I woke up to see an unfamiliar room ceiling.

I remembered that I had stayed at Tojo-san’s house.

“Nn… Ugh.”

I sat up and stretched. 

My body felt terribly good.

I felt refreshed as if all of yesterday’s fatigue was no more.

“Tojo-san…?”

I looked around and called out to her, but there was no sign of her in the room.

Feeling somewhat out of sorts, I scratched my head and picked up the phone on my bedside table.

It was a cheap phone that I had bought a long time ago, and it was pretty beat up, but it was good enough to keep in touch and check the time.

The black screen lit up, and it displayed the current time.

It was 10:30. On a weekday.

“Oh no…!”

There was no way that a miracle could happen and that the school would be closed today.

It’s definitely a regular class day, and if you don’t go, you’ll be absent.

I’m not sure why Tojo-san didn’t wake me up.

It’s not her fault for not doing so, but, of course, it would have been nice for her to do so. Maybe I just didn’t wake up after she tried to?

(I have to go for now.)

I got up from the bed and went to the living room first.

There was no sign of Tojo-san after all, and judging by the fact that her school phone was missing, it was safe to assume she had gone to school.

There was, however, a letter on the table instead.

Along with it, there were two plastic boxes stacked on top of each other.

It looked very much like a lunch box.

Anyway, I guessed I should check the contents of the letter first.

‘To Inamori-kun:

Good morning. I called out to you several times, but you didn’t seem to wake up at all, so I thought you must be tired and decided to leave you be. I’ll tell the school that you’re not feeling well, so why don’t you take it easy today and recover from all the fatigue you had? I will leave my secretary (just a secretary) at home, so you may go and pick up your uniforms. Also, the lunch box on my desk is one I made for Inamori-kun, so please eat it at lunchtime. Now, I’m off.’

—A very well-written letter.

Even the handwriting looked very elegant.

“… Slow down and relax, huh?”

Looking back, there were many times I wanted to take a day off, but there were only a few days when I actually could.

I thought I was fine, and in fact, I was, until yesterday.

However, I could easily imagine myself breaking down if I continued with my life as before.

I wanted to avoid missing school as much as possible.

“I’m sure the school would be surprised if you came to school now.”

“Whoa”

I was so startled by the sudden sound of a voice other than my own that I couldn’t help but shout.

When I turned around, there was a woman in a suit standing there.

She was tall, slender, and beautiful. The black suit suited her well.

Her face was also very well-defined, and her black hair tucked back in a bun was shiny and well-kept.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Hino Asayo, Tojo Fuyuki-sama’s secretary.”

“It’s nice to meet you…”

As she bowed to me, I reflexively bowed back.

This person was Tojo-san’s secretary.

I didn’t know if it was because she was close, but the aura she emanated… wasn’t that of an ordinary person.

“Whatever you wish for, please let me know since those are my orders from Fuyuki sama today.”

“T-Thank you.”

Requests, huh?

As said previously, going to pick up my belongings was something I definitely needed to do.

I wanted to go to school tomorrow, and I at least needed my uniform.

“Could you take me to my house then?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll bring the car around to the front of the apartment building, so please wait a moment.”

Hino-san left the room with a crisp expression on her face.

I didn’t mean to be rude, but I got the impression that she was a cool person, despite her bright name, Asahou Hino.

After a while, I got into the car Hino-san brought.

I was not familiar with the car brand, so I didn’t know the specific name but judging from the comfort of the seats and the decorations, it was definitely a luxury car.

“We’re heading straight for Inamori-sama’s apartment. Is that okay?”

“Yes, please.”

The car started to drive slowly.

The speed at which the scenery moved gradually increased, and soon the car took off onto the main road.

The distance between Tojo-san’s apartment and my house was actually not far.

In fact, it wasn’t very far. Just a little too far to walk.

“If I’m going to spend the rest of my life with Tojo-san… I should cancel my lease, right?”

The silence in the car became a little painful, and I asked Hino-san a question that suddenly arose in my mind.

“You’re right. If you are engaged to Fuyuki-sama, I will contact the landlord and make arrangements for you to cancel the lease with just Inamori-sama’s signature. You may need to be there when the property is being handed over, but I hope you will forgive me.” 

“It’s my house, and of course, I’ll be there when it’s being handed over… Um, Thank you very much.”

“… Since you asked such a question, does it mean that you wish to go ahead with Fuyuki-sama?”

“Uu… Well, there’s nothing wrong with me. At least I’m not looking backwards. It’s just that, as a man, I feel a bit ashamed.”

“—If I may be so bold as to say so, I think the terms ‘as a man’ and ‘as a woman’ are a bit outdated.”

Hino-san looked forward as she drove and said.

“As the saying goes, ‘The right person for the right job is the right person in the right place.’ Fuyuki-sama is definitely a person who shows her strength by standing above others. She has the eyes of her mother, Arena-sama, and the work skills of her father, Soichiro-sama. There are not many people who can stand up to Fuyuki-sama like that.”

I’m sure that’s true.

Tojo-san was so good that I even wondered if she was on a different level as a person.

No matter how hard I worked, I’m sure I’ll never be on the same level as her.

“However, we don’t need someone who is equally busy in the future of Fuyuki-sama, who will be very busy. As you said, that would leave little time for you to be together, and there would be no point in being married.”

“… Indeed.”

“What Fuyuki-sama needs is someone who can stay at home and wait for her.

If you are okay with listening to my personal opinion—”

Hino-san turned to the side and looked at me, raising the corners of her mouth slightly.

“—Inamori-sama seems to be what Fuyuki-sama needs.”

She returned her gaze to the front, and did not utter any more words.