Volume 1 - CH 2.2

Weekend Lovers

Translated by 64990022

Chapter 2: Weekend Lovers

Part 2

”Hehe, morning, Miharu-kun.”

After a five-minute boat ride, I get off the ferry. When I hopped down, Hiyori greeted me with her bright angelic smile.

“O-oh, mornin’” I scratched my chin, pretending to be casual.

She was dressed in a white cut-and-sewn top, with over-the-knee pants to match. I noted that she wore sneakers, presumably for the hike today. Against the October early afternoon backdrop, she looked like an impressionist painting from where I stood.

Then, with a proud smile on her face, she announced, “Welcome to Mukaishima! I’ll be your guide for today～!”

It all began when I  spoke up about wanting to go to Mukaishima.

We had gone out last week, so I figured that it would be time to get to know her more. With what happened the other day, I felt like I should know more about her. So, I suggested this sightseeing trip.

As far as memory serves, the number of times I had been here was so few that I could count on two hands. I had no business on this island and none of my friends lived here.

So, I thought that I could get a better insight about her if I could experience her hometown. Perhaps by seeing the town where she lived, I might understand her better, like how that little exchange between her and the ferry ticketer did.

Besides, I just want to see her vibing in her hometown.

“Today, I’m going to show you my neighborhood, the schools I went to, and some popular tourist spots in Mukaishima!” she beamed.

“Yeah, I will be in your care,” I returned her a thin smile and walked after her.

Hmm… Up until now, I don’t think we have been on a date before. That other time we went was before the confession too… 

A short walk from the pier led us to a residential neighborhood, with small alleyways criss-crossing. Houses here were as weathered as in Onomichi, but they stood on flat ground. I rarely venture out of Onomichi, so houses lined up on flat land exist only on TVs and on my infrequent vacation. Every time I walked past each house, I was reminded yet again that I was in a foreign land.

“Miharu-kun, you haven’t been here a lot, have you?”

“Yeah, all my friends live on the other side. I don’t have any errands here either…”

“I figure–. We’d be the only ones to go to the mainland. There isn’t much to do here for mainlanders–.”

“You even have a school district here?”

“Yep, yep. We’ll take a look there and move on to tourist spots. Actually, I have never been to some of them… knowing that you’d be here, I decided to give them a try,” Hiyori said, returning her sight forward.

“Ah, that’s my middle school and my house’s at the far corner there!” She pointed to the places respectively.

What to say… They were ordinary buildings.

An ordinary public middle school and weather-beaten two-story house that looked identical to any of the other houses in the block. It would be a view that would not even register in my memory if she hadn’t told me otherwise.

However, picturing Hiyori going there, imagining Hiyori living in that house suddenly made me think the world of these ordinary buildings.

“Sorry… actually, I’d like to show you around the inside too…” she looked down and said apologetically, “But it’s Sunday and my whole family’s here. I don’t want them to find out just yet…”

“Isn’t that what we agreed upon? I don’t mind.”

Then I stumbled upon a thought: I wished I was born in this town too. If I could live in this neighborhood, go to the same school with her–

No, if that happened, I might not have this relationship with Hiyori. 

I shook the thought away and followed her to the next spot.

**

“Here! Ramune factory!” 

[TN: Ramune, Japanese version of soda]

Deeper inside Mukaishima. She brought me to a miniature factory within a residential area.

“Ever since I was in elementary school, I’ve always loved the ramune here. This is the only real ramune in the world!”

She proudly led me inside and made me buy one. We rested at the bench outside. I popped the cap and took a sip–

“That’s unexpectedly good. I’m refreshed.”

“Right? This is the best thing you can have after walking around–!”

I see, this might be just as good after a long exercise.

In my mind’s eye, I pictured little Hiyori drinking this on her way home from the park. That instant, the ramune tasted much better.

She tittered, “I’m glad you like it too…”

She happily took another swig.

Yep, coming here was well worth it. 

“Right!” she suddenly said, “I want to ask you this now that we’re officially dating.”

“Yeah?”

“Like… what to call each other, to whom do we reveal our relationship. Or a promise only between us… what usual couples do.”

Promise…hmm, better decide on things now than worry later. Besides, she seemed to look forward to this. I’ll go with her.

“So, what first?”

“Er, walk to and from school! I already have you after school… before it was with Urabe-san, right? Is she okay with this?”

“Yup, nothing to worry about.” Seeing her beginning to fret, I assured firmly. Urabe was the leader of the central group in the class, so it would be normal for Hiyori to worry. “On the flip side, sorry for taking the morning walk. She rarely wakes up on time. And I’m the only thing keeping her from being late. So it’s my duty as her childhood friend.”

“Hm?! No, no! Not at all! Both in the morning and evening, that’s too much of a luxury!” She had the expression of an apologizing employee. “There’s only one of you, Miharu-kun! I need to share you with the world too…”

“What’s with the treatment…”

How could she say that with a straight face…

Besides, Urabe isn’t grateful for my existence in the least. She probably thought of me as either a bot player or an NPC.

“Next, as you already know, I can’t answer you messages when I’m out for ‘work.’”

Badum.

Here it is– The Heavens Council. That topic… she hasn’t touched it since “that day”, so now she would finally…?

Nope, I was wrong.

“And then– I can’t do LINE when in the living room…” She downed her ramune and leaned back against the bench while grumbling. “My dad lives in the Showa era. He’s overprotective of me and hates smartphones with passion. He’d get real grumpy the moment I pulled out my phone… So, sowie, if my dad’s a normal man, I would have introduced you long ago. Ah, right, I also considered Request once, but—”

[TN: Showa era,  1926-1989]

And she went on. Perhaps urged on by the familiarity of the surroundings, she continued ceaselessly.

“– in the end, he was only worried about me. I’m usually absent-minded, a little clumsy and get hurt often in elementary school. Ah, I even broke a bone at the time, too. Because of that my dad became overprotective. So, I thought it would be selfish of me to Request that.”

Saying that, she bent down and gently dropped the empty ramune into the nearby bin. My gaze innocently followed her and ended up on…

“…!”

I hurriedly turned away. But it was too late, my brain had already processed the image of a pink bra glaring out from under her cut-and-sewn top.

Urabe was right, it was huge. It was plump, white, soft, and… no good, I had burned this image into my mind already.

At the same time, I did feel guilty… the fact that she was completely unaware of it… if she were to be this defenseless, it made sense her dad would be overprotective….

…No! This is not it! About The Heavens Council! 

She was just carried away by the topic about her dad, right? Then I have to bring it up again…

“Then, can I ask you too?”

“Yup! What is it?”

“Ahem… About your Request.”

I figured that mentioning the name directly was boorish, so I brought up a topic that could steer into that way instead.

“You must have some troubling matters about Requests, right? If so then talk to me anytime. I don’t mind how trivial it is… if possible, I want to be your strength…”

Even though I said that myself, I was nervous. What would happen? Would she confide with me from now on? Or she would just continue the way things are? The answer I am waiting for might just as well change my life forever.

If she trusts me with this, I might end up working around the globe, helping her make extremely impactful decisions.

The shock of seeing death with my own eyes on that day still left me shaken. However, I couldn’t help but expect her to take me into the world she lived in. I could feel myself sweating, but I kept playing cool.

Then–

“Eh–!! Really–?!” Hiyori’s reaction was unexpectedly high-spirited. “That would really help me out–!”

“Ah… O-of course.” In my mind, I let my thoughts race: are we talking about the same thing? “I’m glad I could be of service…”

“Of course, of course! If you say so, then won’t hold myself back anymore–”

Hm? At this point I was sure we weren’t talking about the same thing, but what was it?

“You see, yesterday…” Her gaze dropped in embarrassment. “I Requested for teppanyaki. Now that I have somber up, I might have eaten too much meat…”

[TN: Teppanyaki: Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food (mostly meat)]

“Meat…?”

“Yup. See? I like meat. Yesterday and the day before, I Requested karaage and tonkatsu… honestly, they weren’t kind to my weight…”

[TN: I don’t need to explain these two, right?]

She studied her stomach then dropped her shoulders, defeated.

“So, I want your opinion on this. Like I should go on low calories or not…”

“Huh… “ 

Meat, weight…

So that’s what she considered to be her “troubling matters.”

“Restricting calories once in a while wouldn’t hurt,” I answered disinterestedly.

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That wasn’t the answer I anticipated at all. Whether intentionally or subconsciously, she managed to avoid The Heavens Council yet again.

“‘Aight! Got it.”

No matter what, I still felt unsettled.